My favorite Scotch glasses are a couple of Simon Pearce tumblers I grabbed off the seconds rack at the factory in Vermont. They are laserbeam clear and heavy as rocks. And not nearly as perfectly shaped as the ones in the pic.
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Interesting. Of course, GC postdates prohibition, and had it been available, the Treasury chemists would have tried to defeat it, and so on.
Wowāglad I didnāt bother buying it. Saw it in the store the other day and considered it, but went with the Laphroaig in the end.
Been looking for good scotch tumblers for a long time. A few years ago in a rather sorry state I purchased a completely kitchy cut-glass cheap-o tumbler (I believe itās got a beach scene engraved on it) to go with my finely cheap-o Passport scotch (ugh). Now that Iām of a right mind again and have the wallet to purchase drinkable stuff, I still use and enjoy that glass as it reminds me of how shitty things were, and how much better they are now.
Although I wouldnāt mind seeing how it reacts with concrete should I acquire some worthy drinking vessels.
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I think trying to develop anything with a regional style in the NW US is gonna be hamstrung by the American tendency in alcohol, both brewing and distilling, towards extremity and experimentation. You guys are kind of the heart of that. When I think of NW beer I think of some of my least favorite tendencies in American brewing, over hopped flashy labels weird ingredients etc. Thereās very little looking towards history to build on regional traditions. And there would be I mean there was a lot of whiskey floating around during the gold rush, and it could not have all be imported from back east. In the NE we have distilleries looking toward that history, with the rising interest in rye. But thereās the same problem as with the US wine industry: mimicry. Everyone here is either mimicking bourbon and southern ryes or scotch.
But thereās also some regulatory hurtles too. IIRC you have to age your spirit in new charred barrels to even call it whiskey in the US, not just for bourbon. So obvious things like aging whiskey from the NW or NE in all those sued wine barrels that currently get turned into planters is kind of a no go. And there a fairly strict rules in terms of which grain bill can be labeled as what. So thereās sort of a cap on the sort of experimentation that would lead to regionally defined traditions.
One more then Iāll stop derailing 
A touch of backgroundāhomebrewer for 20 years, vinter for about ten, learned the ādark artsā (which shall not be named) six years ago, and am seriously flirting with opening a cidery.
All valid criticisms and observations. In fact even though my wife is a beer lover, she canāt stand anything over 40 ibus and 4.5%.
What I am thinking is not making something called whiskey (because of labeling laws), but perhaps NW Malt. Or something. And use modern techniques to bring forward a spirit faster but just as flavorful. I like looking back in history for methods, but similar to the balsamic I have fermenting it could take a lifetime for trad methods to finish.
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indeed. why second-guess perfection?
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Oooh, color me intrigued. Any particular goals in mind?
You understand you are opening a can of worms, right? >:). I can talk and talk and talk.
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Okay, here it is. I can lease several enormous plots of land from a friend-and-future biz partner for profit sharing. So if I get me behind in gear and stop posting on forums I can get a cost benefit and break even analysis done, figure out distribution, and ferment some apples.
The biggest sellers around here are high gravity, mild sweet carbonated ciders made from a blend of ~15% crabs to sweet. They are fermented dry, then back sweetened.
What I want to do is produce a light red cider with grape skins and oak. Not too tannic, but closer to a full bodied rose than a cava or champagne.
Some companies are doing hopped ciders, and they are okay, but come on. Angry orchard is basically pop but ginger and other flavors are more suited than hops.
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I have thought there could be a way to digitally tune the reflux.
Temp probes along the virtual plates along with independent heat exchanging coils on the columnā¦ But some guy on the street told me that.
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Yeah I was at some Starbucks somewhere and this old beardy dude started distilling a bunch of information at me. I was like, āwhereās your proof?ā He says, āyou better simmer down before I get superheated and blow my packing.ā I said, bottoming out, āthen condense your argument or Iāll cut off your feed.ā Then I handed him this and vaporized out of there:
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Youāre Heading for trouble, so donāt get your Tail kicked. I hope you have the Heart to keep going, otherwise you may have to see a doc and get four shots.
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