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| Photo by Bill Dowd |
This will be Ardbeg's annual new release when it hits the global market in the fall. The name alone is sure to create some interest.
The Islay non chill-filtered single malt is aged in new, severely charred -- thus the "alligator-ing" effect -- new American white oak barrel. The resulting product is blended with "regular" Ardbeg 10 Year Old, then aged another year in refill casks before being bottled at 51.2% alcohol by volume (102.4 proof).
It has all the deep smokiness of Ardbeg 10 in the initial nose but with additional elements -- tangy barbecue sauce, cocoa, and a hint of ginger. The taste broadens to include even more leather and smoke, making one long for some spicy food to complement it (see my adventure with "chili and 'gator"). The finish is long, smooth and with a hint of sweet chocolate at the end.
Don't go scrambling to your local spirits shop just yet, though. Ardberg Alligator won't be on the market until September.
Suggested retail price: To be announced.
Go to Dowd's Spirits Notebook.
My new book, "Barrels & Drams: The History of Whisk(e)y In Jiggers and Shots," will officially be released on September 6. 
• Troy & Sons has something unusual going for it. Troy. As in Troy Ball, a female distiller in a world heavily dominated by men. When I lunched with her at the Mount Vernon Inn in Virginia recently, she insisted her moonshine would be the best I ever tried. Here's what happened.
• For its sixth annual release in its Master's Collection, Woodford Reserve has created a change of pace with a pair of 375ml bottles of rye -- one aged in a used, charred cask, the other in new wood.
Beautiful Peta
Ha'atafu Beach Sunset
Atata Island
Bodhie & her beautiful Tongan necklace
An amazing experience...
Pangaimotu island owned by "Big Mamma"
Most of our crew on Ha'atafu beach
Atata Island
Place your sausage into your skillet and brown (just like you would with hamburger). When that is ALMOST done place in your sweet potatoes to soak in all the grease. Cook until tender which took about 10 minutes. Mean while you can get your casserole dish (9x9) and add your eggs, and green chilies and beat together. Set aside. Go back to your sausage mixture and check on it. When it was done I took TONS of paper towels to soak up the remainder of the grease because there was so much and I am not a huge fan of grease NOR heart attacks. If you like grease and want it in your dish, by all means you can leave it. It's a personal choice. However, as a warning I ended up used a good 1/4 of the roll just on soaking up the orange grease. Slowly add the sausage mixture into the egg mixture (slowly so you don't cook the eggs from the heat the meat is giving off), stirring constantly. Now here comes the part when you can sit down and enjoy your morning joe. Bake it for 30-35 minutes in a preheated 350 oven. It may or may not take that long just keep an eye on it. I had to put aluminum foil on top about 15 minutes in because the top was browning to much. You'll know when its done when the eggs are cooked all the way through. Take the casserole dish out and serve with cheese if you prefer. I left mine out. You may be wondering how spicy this dish turned out and actually its just a very tiny kick. The sweet balances out the spicy very well. Bon appetite and GOOD MORNING to you. This dish is beyond de-lish!
Lets start off with the M&M Samoa Blondies found here:
This recipe was super easy. I put the white chocolate chips in the microwave (just keep an eye on them so they don't over cook) and then stirred in the strawberry icing and placed in an 8x8" pan that had parchment paper placed inside. EASY EASY. This recipe is also from the site as well because I don't like how my fudge did not hold up. This recipe is a bit of a mess so I would suggest 'lil eyes can watch just not touch. As far as suggestions go with the recipe: Put the fudge in the freezer for a fair amount of time before you cut into them. It breaks really easy and when you handle it for to long (even with it being in the freezer before hand) it starts to get sticky. So how do I rate this? Well, I am not a huge fan of strawberry icing so I was not keen on the taste. The texture was also a bit off for fudge. It was too soft and creamy. Just think in between icing and fudge. However, I am a fan of how quick and easy it was. I will be making this again BUT next time I may try milk chocolate chips and the german chocolate icing, or white chocolate chips with dark chocolate icing. The ideas and flavors are ENDLESS with this recipe so this too will be a keeper (just not the strawberry one). I give this a 7 out of 10.
