Slainte!

For me uisge beatha (water of life) flows not only from the Highlands of Scotland, but also through the meandering rivers and tributaries of Kentucky.

Bourbon has been the pilot light to many a romance, friendships, and a merry Christmas - Christmas Eve is not complete without warm Bourbon toddy supped by a roaring open fire.

In the US there is another auspicious date in the calender that is not complete without bourbon; The Kentucky Derby. 

Woodford Reserve holds its own as the official bourbon at the event at Churchill Downs.

What's in a name? Well it seems quite a bit, back in the 1780's if you wanted to get ahead in the bourbon business, Elijah was the moniker to have. Elijah Pepper set up the distillery in the early 19th century but it took until 1996 for Brown-Forman to really make their mark by producing this small batch premium bourbon, Woodford Reserve.

Ah the 1780's; those halcyon days of the Colonies when many ancestors fled Scotland with nothing in their tartan breeks but a bottle of Scotch whisky and dreams of a better life and of course the know how for building a still to keep the good times rolling.

As to taste notes; Woodford Reserve is very smooth, mellow bourbon, it doesn't jar the palate with complicated layering, and it is not as spicy as some other brands but the softened spiciness merits sipping it slowly with ice. The bottle is beautiful and I'm quite sure you would applaud me for sitting it beside Tiffany boxes atop a verre eglomise table - after all it spun straw into gold by creating America's finest drink, Bourbon, from Scotland's national drink.

Slainte, because; "down the stretch they will come."