I mean there’s only so much a man can take, when faced with this situation:
[Britain’s] international Trade Secretary welcomed an announcement by US trade representative Robert Lighthizer that Washington would not go ahead with a threatened extension of the tariff regime that would have affected gin and blended whisky.
And in a ‘modest’ easing of the tariffs, Mr Lighthizer said products such as shortbread would now be exempted as the two sides continue to seek a resolution to a dispute centred on planemaker Airbus.
But duties on top-quality single malt whiskies – which are made from a single batch of malted barley – remain in place at 25 per cent.
Shortbread? Shortbread? Who gives a shit about shortbread (a.k.a. compressed sugary sawdust) when Glenmorangie is being taxed to the skies? Twenty fucking five percent?
And let me warn our esteemed President and “trade representatives”: raising taxes on Sipsmiths and J&B would make you no different from the high-tax-loving Democratic Socialists.
HANDS OFF MY BOOZE!
*Just kidding.
Geez, you haven’t weened over to a Dewar’s, or better yet, a good, solid bourbon like Buffalo Trace or Eagle Rare? You’re in the South son, and have been for some time, right?
Jack & Coke. That’s the full extent of my taste for bourbon, and is likely to remain so.
I would like to offer my thanks for the recommendation of Sipsmiths. Sipsmiths, Fevertree tonic water, and a bit of fresh lime may be the Platonic ideal of gin and tonics.
More seriously, my reading of your old blog prompted me to act on a vague sense I had that I should learn how to handle a firearm. Not only did I learn to shoot, but my high school age children did also, under the aegis of a neighbor who was a WWII veteran of the Burma theatre. We became good friends and shared our home holiday meals with him for many years until he passed away this year. My son has gone on to become an infantry officer, and I think his introduction to shooting had at least some influence on his decision to pursue that path.
The state of the world can be pretty discouraging. But your life has more effect than you know. And if the tariffs on Scotland’s wonderful exports seem too onerous, there is always Redbreast 12 ( better than the 15 yr stuff IMO)
Ye gods… Redbreast 12 costs more than Glenmorangie. Plus Irish.
And by the way, thankee for the shooting thing. I’m often told that I’ve affected the lives of many people, but I forget… until I read things like that.