Ramblings of the Mule, Volume 1

Today I’m introducing a new feature here on the Mule—Ramblings of the Mule, Volume 1. Ramblings of the Mule will be a semi-regular post where I share a bunch of random thoughts and opinions about… whatever. Whisky, beer, politics, sports. You know, all the important stuff.

By the way, I’m not entirely sold on the name of this feature. Ramblings of the Mule? Meh, kind of a boring title. But the only other name idea I have is The Mule’s Bray, which I’ve decided is worse. (Bray is the sound a mule makes… which is a fact I only recently learned.) I suspect that “bray” is not a particularly attractive word, which is why I’m not going with that title. It’s hard for me to say though—the name of my first dog was Bray (or Brae… we were inconsistent in the spelling), so the word does have some sentimental attachment to me. I loved that dog, but I hate sentimentality. So for now, I’m going with Ramblings of the Mule. If you have a better idea for a title, please let me know.

OK, here we go with Volume 1:

1. Zima is a horrible product. It has always been a horrible product. The fact that it has been brought back from the dead should not be celebrated in any way whatsoever. Imagine if Ford reintroduced the Pinto. Or Microsoft brought back the Zune. No one would buy those things because everyone knows they were awful products. Just like Zima. For the love of god, please don’t buy that crap.
2. Whisky is spelled whisky, not whiskey. Except when it’s spelled whiskey. But whisky is the best spelling because it just looks better than whiskey. And yes I know that in America we usually spell whisky whiskey, but dammit America, we don’t add vowels, we remove them. We spell color, not colour. Flavor not flavour. Humor not humour. So why are we putting an extra vowel in our whisky? I like my whisky straight and neat. I don’t need anything added, including vowels.
3. The three best breweries in Nashville, ranked: 1) Black Abbey 2) Yazoo 3) Bearded Iris. Black Abbey gets the top spot in my list because they consistently make good beer in just about every style they attempt. Their standard lineup is solid, their seasonals are often very good, and their limited/small batch releases (usually available only in the taproom) are usually great. Yazoo’s high ranking is based solely on their Embrace the Funk (ETF) line. If you separated out ETF from Yazoo, I’d rank ETF #1 and Yazoo’s standard line near the very bottom of Nashville breweries. Bearded Iris is third because they make by far the best IPAs in the city (and no one else is even close).
4. Wheated bourbons are overrated. They can be good, but most are pretty mediocre. More on this another time.
5. This week’s MLB All Star game was… not terrible, but kind of boring. Most All Star games in recent years have been boring. The problem is that the All Star pitchers are just so good that there is little to no offense. Now I do love a good pitchers’ dual, but this isn’t a pitchers’ dual. The pitchers only pitch one inning each before giving way to the next All Star pitcher. It’s just not the same as two pitchers going at it for seven or eight innings, matching each other’s brilliance. That said, I’m thrilled that MLB finally got rid of the stupid idea of determining home field advantage in the World Series based on the All Star game winner. It never made sense. The All Star game is an exhibition—it’s more fun when it doesn’t count.
6. David Brooks is probably the best columnist in the US right now. He’s conservative and I’m liberal, but that doesn’t matter. His articles are always well thought out and insightful. If all conservatives and Republicans were as thoughtful and intellectually honest as Mr. Brooks, I might vote Republican. Unfortunately just like the Left is no longer liberal, Republicans are not really conservative anymore.
7. Unpopular whisky opinion: Aberlour A’Bunadh is overrated. Recent batches of A’Bunadh have been underaged, immature, mediocre whisky. No depth or complexity and massively overpriced. Bottles of A’Bunadh are now around $110-120 around me. No way I’m paying that for a whisky that tastes like it’s only 7-8 years old, maybe younger. Aberlour makes good whisky. The Aberlour 12 NCF is fantastic and literally half the price of A’Bunadh. I’ll take the 12 year NCF every time.
8. Ben Nevis might be the most underrated distillery on the planet.
9. Sad to hear that Denis Johnson died. He was a great writer. Jesus’ Son might be the best book of its era.
10. Age isn’t everything in whisky. Springbank 12 year is better than most whiskies twice its age.
11. It’s unfortunate, but the Southern Poverty Law Center has lost its way—it has become the very thing it is supposed to be fighting against. Including people like Maajid Nawaz and Ayaan Hirsi Ali on their “hate” list is simply unacceptable. For that matter, making hate lists to begin with is unacceptable. Since when have liberals accepted or tolerated blacklisting? That’s what fascists do. Both sides of the political spectrum like to point out elements of authoritarianism, fascism, communism, etc. coming from their opponents, but neither side is willing to own up to it when it comes from their own side. Is intellectual honesty too much to ask? Apparently so. As much as I despise Trump and see elements of fascism in his regime, there are elements of fascism on the Left too, and the SPLC is the best (worst) example. Liberals, please stop giving them money.
12. Writing about whisky and beer is much more fun than writing about politics.
13. If you’re looking for a good charity to support, try one of the ones recommended by GiveWell.
14. West Coast IPAs have always been overrated. Give me a well balanced East Coast IPA or English IPA over a West Coast IPA any day. Or better yet, give me a New England IPA.
15. I wish that there were more cask strength rye whiskeys readily available on the market.
16. Trump just might kill the bourbon boom.
17. Wild Turkey 101 is the worst bourbon I’ve ever had. I don’t understand all the love it gets on Reddit and other social media outlets. It’s immature, medicinal, foul crap.
18. Happy to see John Oliver talk about vaccines. There is no evidence whatsoever that vaccination causes autism. It’s a message liberals (and conservatives) need to hear. You can’t pick and choose your science, people.
19. [WARNING: Twin Peaks spoiler] I am not your foot.
20. Goats are coming for your job.

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