Trivia: Alcohol and Army

Hello All,

Scotch

   How did the weekend start? Well, at our end, salaries got credited. So it is party time again. Yesterday, I had fun digging into facts about Alcohol and Scotch as a part of my efforts in sharing my love of Black Dog Reserve with you all. Today we have a few more facts, this time related to Military Men and Alcohol. Why Military men? No one loves his Scotch like the good old G.I. (General Infantry) Here we go with a few facts:

• At the beginning of World War I, prohibition was introduced in the Russian Empire. Army officers were ordered to restrain from Alcohol unless there was a foreign guest. Six months into the war, and Russian Officers were always ready to entertain a foreign guest.

  

  Army Alcohol
  

• During the prohibition days in USA, alcohol wasn’t served to troops on ships. Since a little beer always raised the morale of troops, during the prohibition days, officers ensured that beer was available to soldiers every now and then just off the ship. It was wrong to drink on the ship but not wrong to come back drunk.
• The availability of beverage alcohol was seen by military authorities as good for morale and the war effort throughout the history of world.
• In World War II, every Russian soldier at the front was given a daily

  

  Black Dog
  

  ration of vodka — roughly a shot's worth
• Prior to the United States entering World War II, those supporting Prohibition thought they had yet another chance to ban alcohol.
• World War II soldiers drank much more heavily than their World War I predecessors Army officers were given up-to one bottle of hard liquor every two weeks
• There were many a World War II pilots who were under-aged when it comes to drinking. So, the army bars used to have a poster saying “To get a drink, Get a warrant from your mom”.

    It was a little hard to dig into these facts. Got any source which tells about facts like this? Kindly do share with me.  Also, forget not to enjoy the weekend.

Abhishek Boinapalli

Trivia about Alcohol

Hello All,

    Thank god, Friday is here already. What are your plans? Well, not many plans here, went dry with respect to cash. So, this weekend is gonna be simple HOW LONG CAN YOU SLEEP UNDISTURBED event a

Dead Broke

t my home, after sipping the last round from the bottle of Black Dog Reserve I have.  Today I have some trivia on Alcohol to share. Here we go:

• President Lyndon B. Johnson's favorite drink may have been scotch and soda. He would ride around his Texas ranch in an open convertible in hot weather. He drank his scotch and soda out of a large white plastic foam cup. It was believed that secret service always ensured a refill was handy for the president
• A national  ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol was in place during 1920-1933 in United States of America. On the day, when prohibition came into effect, naval officers rowed from ship to ship and finished all alcohol in the mess.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected President of the U.S. in 1932 on a pledge to end National Prohibition
• Dram also known as a Scottish term for a small glass of whisky
• Scotch in UK is enjoyed with a little water, but in spain they mix it with cola. In Japan Scotch is enjoyed with lots of water and ice, and

  

  Black Dog
  

  in China with cold green tea
• When the Scotch matures in the cask, it evaporates at the rate of 4% per annum. The evaporated part is called angel’s share. Once bottled, Scotch doesn’t evaporate
• Some whiskeys contain chemicals that only some people are genetically capable of tasting
• Lore says that Scotland brewers,  used to light some of the scotch on fire to determine how much alcohol was in it. The color of the flame shows whether or not the alcohol content is right. If it burns too hot, there is too much alcohol.

    Share some trivia / fun facts / quotes about Scotch / Black Dog / Alcohol with us. Also, do let us know what you would do on the weekend when you are dead broke.

Abhishek Boinapalli

Globalization and Brands

Hi,

    Hope you are doing well. Even after writing so many blog posts, I seriously have no idea about what can be called as great way to start a blog post. Anyway, today me and my friends were discussing over lunch, about what might be the three important changes globalisation brought into our lives with respect to day to day life. Everyone had a different point to add but my points are here:

Food:

Brand Craze

    I now have easy access to global cuisine. The olden days of home food only, good old country tea stalls Irani Chai Cafe were gone. Now the joints I frequent are named as KFC, McDonalds, SubWay, U. S. Pizza, Coffee Day, TGI’s Friday, Pizza Hut and such. The food I eat ain’t limited to traditional rice based dishes, I have access to multi-cuisine restaurants, wonderful chocolates and spice-less food of the western world.

Clothing:

    Well, thanks to Globalisation / Westernisation, my folks started using every brand available including Nike, puma, Reebok, pepe jeans London, Gucci, DKNY, and what not.  When it comes to me, I still prefer formal clothing, decent and plain attire. So I prefer brands like Peter England, White House, Arrow, Oxemberg and other country made goods.

Spirits:

    This is one area, where I am thankful for the globalisation. Blessed be

Black Dog

the soul of the man, who brought / introduced Black Dog in India. Had it not been for him, I would have missed some of the biggest moments in my life. Imagine, someone in Scotland,  works hard for years to make the perfect drink for me to unwind and relax and I get it over the counter here. That is the power of Globalisation.   Also bless the soul of the makers of tuborg beer, grey goose vodka.

What are the brands made available to you by the concept of

Running

globalisation, without which you can't live? Coming to other updates, I decided to try the Couch to 5KM program and am gonna start it from Sunday onwards. It typically is a 8 week long exercise program aimed at running 5 km non-stop at the end of eight week. Got any tips, advices and points to share with me, do let me know. 

Abhishek Bionapalli

Visit To Scotland

Hello All,

    It is that time of the month, when I start looking back, trying to track how the month went by, how many extra round of snacks I had, how much did I spend beyond the budget, how many times I cheated the exe

Black Dog Scotch

rcise journal, how many classes did I skip, how many weekends did I waste,  how much cash I need to have in hand to bail out my friends till the next salary and many more things. So, while reflecting back on the doings of the past month, I was kind of happy, I almost posted every single day on this blog, this month about my love of Scotch in general and Black Dog Reserve in particular. So, I wondered how a visit to Scotland, where the finest scotch of the world is made,  would be:

Kilt

If I ever get a chance to visit Scotland,  the list of events / things to which I look forward include

• Visiting some of the finest scotch making centres of the world.
• Meeting and talking with at-least half a dozen master blenders who make Scotch such a wonderful drink. It would be my pleasure just to shake hands with one of these blenders
• Try angler fishing, just like the great James MacKinlay who launched Black Dog Scotch and if possible catch / eat a salmon or other fishes which are local to Scotland
• Mix a spoon of water from Spey and Tay rivers with Black Dog Reserve and sip it slowly taking in the aroma and the richness
• Try some local chocolate and Scotch pairings.
• Play a bag-piper, try a kilt, and much more

  

  Black Dog

Well, how are your month ends? Do you plan to visit Scotland? If you won a lottery and the prize is an all paid trip to Scotland which you can design including modes of travel, places to visit then how will you design your trip? Do let me know.

Abhishek Boinapalli

Black Dog Improv Evenings

Hello All,

    How did your day go? Bringing it to a grand finish? Hope you all enjoyed yesterday’s post by Miss Manasa Edward about her intentions of enjoying memorable stays in five-star hotels and about her experience at the Taj Palace Hotel - New Delhi. Well, today I would like to share my first experience at visiting and enjoying a fine evening in a five-star hotel. Well, at the invitation of team Gignerclaps, I have been to hotel Taj Krishna in Hyderabad to unwind and relax as part of Black Dog Improv Evenings.

    Well, as mentioned earlier, the evening was a great success. The

Improv Evenings

weather was wonderful and suited the outdoor set-up. In a lush green lawn, I sipped my first round of Black Dog Reserve and finished it soon there-after on the rocks. The outdoor arrangements were fantastic, the grass was cool and green, the lighting was right, the music was entertaining, the guests were friendly and the staff were polite. I enjoyed casual conversation with a few guests and the bartender was friendly enough to mix a nice drink for me.

Black Dog

    The Scotch and the food went well together. The dishes made out of potatoes, the chicken and the fish, make my mouth water even today. Every single dish was made specially taking into note, the aroma and the taste of black dog to give you a great experience. The highlight of the day was comedy, theatre and loads of fun. The entire show was unrehearsed, uncut and unbelievably good. The actors would perform any act to entertain the audience. The team was challenged by the audience to enact a theme / concept and they always did a wonderful job.

Black Dog

    That day, they made me feel, “The brand promise of Black Dog is to help consumers relax and unwind - to pause and re-energize”. It was a great evening of which I still carry memories. Have you ever been to any event organized by the Black Dog? Enjoyed the Improv / the easy nights / ..? Do let me know.

Abhishek Boinapalli

Hotel Taj Palace -- Delhi

Hello All,

   Today, I have, one more guest post from Miss Manasa Edward, the co-author of QuotesN. She is a regular reader of my blogs, a contributor

Luxury Scotch

to various print magazines, a traveller, a scotch lover and the mother of the cutest devil I know. You can read her previous article by visiting this link Here we go:

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At least once a year, I make it a point to visit a new destination. Whenever I travel on these pleasure trips, I save a load of money and enjoy a stay at the best five - star hotel in the place. One might wonder why this kolaveri-di (read, why this extra strain).

Black Dog Scotch

Well, a five-star joint for sure becomes one of the major highlight of the trip sometimes due to host of reasons including scenic views, wonderful food, in house entertainment, elegance and grace, warmth of service, rich heritage, king size life, the special bouquet of freshest flowers / gifts they usually give and much more.

One such wonderful place is Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi. Standing apart in service, its facilities and of course, in its distinguished

Taj Palace

patronage, this hotel has played host to Heads of State, corporate moguls and high profile businessmen from across the world and is nestled in six acres of lush greens in the exclusive Diplomatic Enclave of the city.

Should you visit Taj Palace Hotel, don’t forget to enjoy a game of golf. They have a great nine hole putting green at the hotel and a private club near-by. After a game of golf, the right way to unwind and relax is by sipping Scotch. Don’t forget to ask for the Black Dog Reserve / Black Dog Quintessence, for these two are the luxurious drinks which cheer me up the most.

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What have you got to say about five star hotels? Did you like the post? Why don’t you go ahead and say “YaY” for Miss Manasa Edward or reach out to her using her mail id

Abhishek Bionapalli

Weekend of Movies and Scotch

Hello All,

    How is the weekend going on? Enjoying? Yesterday, was fantastic. My friends threw a party after loads of persuasion. We intended to unwind

Luxury Scotch

with the help of a little Scotch, letting its warmth consume us while we watch a movie or two. So, we choose Black Dog Reserve and after lot of fighting over the movies, we settled upon Transformers, the Dark of the Moon.  So here is how it went:

    Well, it took sometime for us to settle down for even now, we were arguing about the food to have, the chocolates to buy, the juice and many

Black Dog

other things. Once we settled down, Ravi started showing his magic by mixing drinks with rocks, juices, liqueurs and other stuff to the delight of everyone in the room. The drinks were awesome and the chocolates went well with the first round or so.

    When, Srikanth started getting involved in the movie too much, Ravi again played his magic using Scotch, Orange Juice, Herring and dunno what. This round was the highlight of the entire evening. It really went down smooth, bringing out the flavors out of Black Dog, freshness of orange juice and relaxing everyone to the core. It was this round, after which everyone stopped grudging about minor details, became more friendly and started enjoying the food, the drink and the movie.

Bumblebee

    After the movie, we went on to the main course and enjoyed sumptuous biryani and closed the evening with a ice cream. Ravi again, mixed ice cream and Scotch to end the evening on a high note for all of us. A really worth experience, thanks to Black Dog, to Ravi and to  and bumblebee and Optimus Prime from transformers.

    What is the best movie one should watch, sipping a round of scotch? Do you enjoy the  too? Who is your favourite character in it? Don’t forget to let me know.

Abhishek Boinapalli

A little fact, fictiona and mythology

Hi,

    Hope you started the weekend with a bang. I am trying to encourage my friends to throw a party to celebrate our good results without much success till now. Taking a leaf out of yesterday’s blog post, I decided to share my knowledge of various drinks which usually appeared in fiction works and in mythology. The topic actually started with the question, why does Abhishek Boinapalli drink Scotch only?  You can read the first part here. So here we go:

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Miruvor

Appearing in The Lord of the Rings, miruvor is a warm and fragrant clear cordial of the Elves. It gives the drinker renewed strength and vitality. Miruvor is used by the Elves at their festivals. They do not reveal how miruvor was made, but it is thought to come from the honey of the undying flowers in the gardens of Yavanna.

Dwarves mead

Orc "vitality drink"

Appearing in The Lord of the Rings, this is an unnamed liquid given by Uglúk to the captive and weak Merry and Pippin. It gives them strength during their journey to Isengard. Described as having a burning sensation when drunk, it gives Merry a "hot fierce glow" inside. It also removes or dulls his bodily pain, enabling him to stand. Despite its invigorating nature, it is not very filling

Ent-draught

Appearing in The Lord of the Rings (The Two Towers), an Ent-Draught 

Home Made M

was an extremely invigorating drink of the Ents, brewed from the waters of the mountain springs on Methedras. These springs were the source of the river Entwash and the water had special properties. When Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took drank from the Entwash and bathed their feet they felt refreshed and their wounds were healed

Mead

The drink of choice for Dwarves, Saphira the dragon in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. As per Norse Mythology, the mead was made like this:

After the Æsir-Vanir War, the gods sealed the truce they had just concluded by spitting in a vat. To keep a symbol of this truce, they created from their spittle a man named Kvasir. He was so wise that there were no questions he could not answer. He travelled around the world to give knowledge to mankind. One day, he visited the dwarves Fjalar and Galar. They killed him and poured his blood into two vats and a pot called Boðn, Són and Óðrerir. They mixed his blood with honey, thus creating a mead which made anybody who drank it a "poet or scholar"

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Black Dog

Am I missing some important race or mythology or belief?  Kindly

do let me know of the same. Do you also love black dog just like me? Share your love along with me and I would be happy to share your story on the blog.

Abhishek Boinapalli

Why Scotch Only?

Hi,

    Today was quite hectic at my end. During lunch hour, at the office, I had one question posed by Mr. Kiran, that kept me searching for satisfactory answers all day long. Here is it “Why does Abhishek Boinapalli drink Scotch only  and why Black Dog only?”. I know, the answer, it was my choice of-course. But why? Well here is my reasoning:

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Beer:

Beer

    Beer is for kids. No joking, that is true. I searched once / twice for a sweet tasting beer after reading the quote “Beer is proof that god want us happy” but now I am sure, Beer is for kids alone. Not for the real men.

Vodka:

    Vodka is for the women and for those who don’t yet know what to drink. It goes well with everything and can make quite a number of cocktails, but doesn’t have the richness, punch and taste of Scotch.

Rum:

    Rum is for the men of sea, the pirates, the rough men who work all day long. It is also a good drink for the horses but not for gentlemen. So, I would consider a little rum after joining the Indian Army.

Mead:

Mead is made from the blood of Kvasir and honey by the Dwarves.

Scotch

 When I was a kid, I really wanted to drink some mead just like the dwarves of Eragon, Hobbit and elsewhere.

Scotch:

Black Dog

    The absolute drink, which every gentleman must enjoy. The only drink fit for gentlemen, who intend to relax and unwind after a hectic day at office. Black Dog is my choice among all brands for there is none, that would match it in its glory, heritage and richness.

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    Are you like me too? Do you drink only one spirit? Do you enjoy every drink out there? Do let me know what you got to say about it. Should you have a nice story, where sipping scotch (or any sip) made your day, consider sharing it with us.

Abhishek Boinapalli