It may have taken a little longer than normal for the snow and freezing temperatures to arrive in New England, but now that the seal has been broken, chances are you’re like us, cold and looking for something - anything - to warm you up. Sure, a fresh cup of coffee would be nice, but you know what would really hit the spot? Some hot chocolate. And you know what might make it even better? If it had bourbon in it.

To that end, we’ve sought out the best possible recipe for a spirited mug of hot chocolate. And here’s what our extensive search produced: Maple-Bourbon Hot Chocolate. Yes, we can assert with a great degree of confidence that we’ve tried every hot chocolate recipe out there. Every. Single. One. It’s been a mighty tough job, but someone had to do it.

This Maple-Bourbon Hot Chocolate recipe has everything you crave; it’s a little sweet, a little salty, and a whole lot of chocolaty. Plus, it packs a beautiful little bourbon punch. And one thing we appreciate the most though, is that it’s made from scratch. We’ve always proclaimed that there is great joy in the “doing” of things.

We believe that pre-prepared foods and cheaply-made goods rob your life of intrinsic value, the value that comes with appreciating time and effort. So, just like our handcrafted whiskey stones, there’s a meaningful ritual involved with this process. Take some time, invite somebody you love, and make yourselves something special. Then enjoy it. Together.

Maple-Bourbon Hot Chocolate 

18 ounces whole milk
4 ounces dark chocolate
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
pinch of salt
4 ounces of bourbon

1. Finely chop the chocolate into small pieces. The pieces have to be able to dissolve easily in the liquid.

2. Place the milk into a small, thick-bottomed pot on low heat and bring to a low simmer. Whisk once in a while to ensure that the milk doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Add the brown sugar, salt, maple syrup, and chocolate and whisk vigorously until the chocolate has melted.

4. Heat for another 4 minutes, constantly stirring. Add the bourbon at the last minute and serve into mugs. Top with whip cream and chocolate shavings. Indulge silently.

ALEKSANDER DOBA

The Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge 2011: The World´s Toughest Rowing Race, began on December 4, 2011. Seventeen heavily-sponsored teams from around the world have been participating over the last few months to complete this epic task. More people have been into space than have rowed the Atlantic, and it is rightly considered as one of the toughest challenges on the planet. It is a superb race, sponsored by an equally superb whisky company. Talisker whisky has often graced our tumbler, partnered with one of our exclusive whiskey stones. But we’d like to talk about something else. We’d like to talk about a man named Aleksander Doba. He was not a participant in this highly-publicized corporate event. Aleksander Doba is a kayaker, not a rower. Aleksander Doba did cross the Atlantic though, and he did it alone. He is 64 years old.

On February 1, 2012, sapped of strength but nonetheless jubilant, Doba paddled ashore in northeast Brazil; completing a transatlantic kayaking expedition that lasted almost 99 days and spanned 3,320 miles. It’s believed to have been the longest solo-kayaking voyage ever, in terms of time spent at sea. He spent his first few hours after completing the journey being checked by doctors and sleeping. The day after landing the Polish senior citizen, thickly bearded and disheveled, but appearing remarkably fit, told a small gathering in the remote fishing community of Acaraú, that after a little more rest he’d like to climb back in and paddle to the United States.

Doba began his odyssey in Dakar, West Africa, on October 26, 2011.  His vessel was a customized 23-foot sea kayak, which is only 39 inches wide. It was his home for 98 days and 20 hours. It has a small forward compartment in which he napped when conditions allowed. His desalination unit stopped functioning on January 11th, making it difficult to obtain drinking water; from that point on he relied largely on gathering rainwater. His meager freeze-dried food supply was supplemented occasionally with fresh fish. At times he had to maneuver over waves measuring 20-plus feet.

Doba, an expert whitewater kayaker, carried a satellite phone and Tweeted sporadically. One of his early Tweets: “Since the beginning I see a lot of sharks. Often they surface, but sometimes they stay a few meters underwater. I can only splash, no swimming!”

We raise a glass to Aleksander Doba, the physical challenge would have broken men half his age. And our glass, it’s filled with Talisker, poured over one of our unique whiskey stones. Just so you know.

Bourbon Milk Punch

One of the most voluptuous and comforting of all drinks, milk punch has also been known to travel under the objectionable nickname, “Bull’s Milk.” Like all great drinks, it has an equally great history. Namely, that milk punch was initially concocted not as what we think is the greatest milk-based cocktail of all time, but as a medication. Apparently, people drank it in during colonial times; Ben Franklin even had his own personal recipe. During the 1830′s people enjoyed it while cruising up and down the Mississippi river aboard elegant steamboats. Then sometime around World War II, it fell off the charts everywhere but in New Orleans. New Orleans, now there’s a city that knows a good thing.

Recipes for milk punch vary wildly. Some use superfine sugar, others use powdered sugar which dissolves almost instantaneously. You might use brandy, whiskey or bourbon in it, but you know we use bourbon because that’s how we roll. Some recipes call for milk, some half-and-half and many, like ours, use both. There are recipes that have you shake it with ice and serve  immediately, ones that serve it hot, but we prefer to freeze it until it becomes a slush. We even toss one of our unique whiskey stones in, to keep the chill going until the end.

Either way you choose to prepare it, milk punch is both historically and scrumptiously rich. It’s an unusual cocktail that needs a renaissance. So, whip a bunch up tonight and clink a few glasses with people you love. You’ll be glad you did. And no, you can’t use skim milk, or soy milk. Grow up.

Hammerstone’s Bourbon Milk Punch

3 cups whole milk
2 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 cups bourbon
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish.
1 Whiskey Disk brand, whiskey stone (frozen)

In a pitcher, whisk together milk, half-and-half, bourbon, sugar and vanilla. Freeze until slushy, which will take 3 to 4 hours, but you can leave it in there up to a day. Stir, before pouring it over one of our disk-shaped whiskey stones, and serve finished with a few gratings of fresh nutmeg.

Many cask-aged type liquors take on important flavor characteristics from the barrels they are aged in. The natural oils in the wood leach into the distillate over time and contain a large part of the residual flavor profile that will mark that particular spirit. These oils, although dissolved in alcohol, will partially congeal or “close down” if the temperature of the liquor falls below a certain point. Temperature is important. A subtle chill can enhance the drinking experience; too much can destroy it. Storing fine liquor below 45°F, or adding large volumes of ice, can eliminate important flavor notes.

High-quality spirits are almost always tasted in two ways – neat (no ice) and with water. When taken neat, many liquors can have an edge to them. Our own extensive personal experience tells us, as well as many experts, that a little chilling helps mask the “hot” flavor impression lent by ethanol. When taken with water, a liquor is almost always at cask-strength with the water being added in precise measure. The degree of dilution directly affects the flavors of the spirit. It is a complex and weighty process; one best left to the masters of the trade. Unless you purchase cask-strength, you have no real need to add water. Most bottled whiskies are already diluted with water to bring their strength down to a level that makes it less expensive to produce and more palatable, usually about 40% alcohol by volume. So, the two things you don’t want to do are take temperature below a certain point and dilute unintentionally. This is where adding ice becomes dicey, because it is not a very precise way to either chill or add water to spirits. Too much ice can destroy the complex flavor structure due to temperature or dilution.

There you have it; a slight chill makes for smooth drinking and most of us are already drinking pre-diluted whiskies. No need for added water. A subtle chill without water is exactly what we intend with our unique whiskey stones. We have always said, “Keep it neat, but lose some heat.”

There’s really only one reason why Prohibition failed, and it’s because the idea was insanely friggin’ stupid.

When we see objects of worth,

we should acquire them;

when we see objects with character,

we should value them.

Pig’s Nose Scotch Whisky

My grandfather used to say, “The only part of a pig you can’t use is his squeal.” That coming from a man who lived a simple life, during somewhat simpler times. He appreciated thrift and resourcefulness. He never saw value in fancy or elaborate things. Straight forward and practical were his watchwords. To my knowledge, he never got a chance to try this fine blended Scotch whisky. I think he would’ve liked it. As I do.

Pig’s Nose is a blended whisky containing a mixture of Lowland, Speyside, and Islay single malts with a touch of specially selected grain whiskies. The age of a blended whisky is that of the youngest whisky used in the process, therefore, Pig’s Nose is labeled “aged five years.” Though Pig’s Nose has been around since 1977, the packaging as well as the whisky itself has been revitalized in recent years by Whyte & Mackay’s master blender Richard Paterson. The name evolved from an exchange Paterson says he had with a friend when presenting his blended whisky. The friend commented that it was ”as soft and smooth as a pig’s nose”. It’s bottled at 40% ABV and a 750ml bottle should cost around  $35.00 from specialty whisky retailers.

The color of Pig’s Nose is golden amber and the nose is bold but young. There’s plenty of caramel and fruit up front. These are followed by some distinct cereal grains and dried fruit. The character of the nose matches the taste on the palate, although it’s a little more rich and thick than the nose suggests. The finish is of decent length, the younger age of the spirit comes through, and it becomes sharp at the end.

It’s said, “Even a pig is beautiful – to another pig.” Pig’s Nose Scotch Whisky is no ordinary pig. It’s one wickedly handsome hog, that everyone will find appealing.

Alberta Springs Aged 10 Years (40% Alc/Vol)

Luscious and weighty with beautifully integrated aromatic spices and waves of white pepper. Sweet, like toffee, vanilla, and dried fruit. Citric zest, linen, some dustiness, and hints of oak.

My mother is Canadian. I’ve spent a lot of time there. There are some things Canadians know almost instinctively: “Double-double” is coffee, usually Tim Horton’s coffee, with two sugars and two creams added, a “two-four” is a 24-bottle case of beer, and “rye” is whisky. In fact Canadians start calling it rye, long before they ever learn some people refer to it as whisky.

Marketing folks love to extol the virtues of whatever sets their whisky apart. When it is distilled from four different grains, the marketers scream, “Four-grain whisky! The Holy Grail!” Similarly, when it is made from 100% rye grain, they scream, “100% Rye! The Holy Grail!” So it’s refreshing that the only major distillery in North America capable of regularly distilling whisky from 100% rye grain does not believe it necessarily has to scream about it, or even distil from 100% rye grain all the time.

Although they claim “100% rye” for their Alberta Premium line only, Alberta Distillers actually makes a number of other whiskies that are also distilled from 100% rye grain. Most of the time that is. They don’t claim 100% rye for these whiskies though, because sometimes, when they are blending a new batch, there’s other whisky in the warehouse that also fits the rye flavor profile. The whiskies for each batch of Alberta Springs, for example, are selected based on the flavors they will contribute to the final blend, and not on some pre-determined recipe for marketing types to shout about. With Alberta Springs you are drinking a whisky, not a recipe. Yes, some batches may use nothing but rye distillate, but others, as the taste tests direct, may also include whiskies distilled from mashes made with corn, wheat, or even a rye-wheat hybrid called triticale. These guys are Canadians, eh? They know, first off, that rye is a drink.