The latest episode of the Substandard (subscribe! review!) is, I'm told, quite funny. I take my revenge on JVL for his Scorsese heresies and we had a great chat about, um, Legos. I dunno, man, I'm surrounded by dorks.
But one non-dorky thing we discussed was booze, and after the embed of the show, I want to talk just a bit more about that.
So, the topic of the show was Matthew Vaughn and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. And one of the subplots of the sequel to the surprise 2014 hit about a squad of posh, privately run spies, involves the Statesmen—essentially, the Kingsmen of America. While the upper-class Brits of the Kingsmen own and operate a Savile Row tailor shop—a typically British store selling typically British stuff—their American cousins sell the most American product that exists: bourbon.
Specifically, Statesman Bourbon. And while there is, sadly, no Statesman distillery here in the real world, there is now a Statesman-branded bourbon from the good folks at Old Forester. Check it out:
What I like about the product placement in Kingsman: The Golden Circle is that the bourbon in question is actually integral to the plot. It's not just some dingus holding up a can of Coke while he's talking about whatever he's talking about: Bourbon plays into the themes of the film and is an important prop. The other thing I like about this is just how tasty it is: Despite being 95 proof, Statesman is nice and smooth, a solid sipping bourbon, all oak and rye with the hint of a high-proof burn that never actually stings the palate.*
At a price point in the $50-$60 range, Statesman provides good bang for the buck; it'll look great in your liquor cabinet next to the similarly priced Prohibition Style, which we've also discussed on the show. But if your tastes are a bit more, ah, refined, you should attempt to get your hands on a bottle of the Kingsman-branded Scotch from GlenDronach. I say attempt because it's not going to be easy; here's some info from the press release announcing its availability:
The GlenDronach Distillery, Scotland’s renowned producer of sherried single malt whiskies, is pleased to announce the exclusive release of The GlenDronach Kingsman Edition 1991, a unique collaboration with Marv films and Twentieth Century Fox to mark the release of "Kingsman: The Golden Circle." A total of 240 bottles are allocated for the U.S. market at a suggested retail price of $900 (750ml/48.2% ABV).
The GlenDronach release isn't the only movie tie-in hitting Scotch shelves this fall; Johnnie Walker is releasing a "director's cut" of its world-renowned Black label. I wonder if it tastes half as pretentious as this advertisement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uURpPA3pdPg
Smokiness I buy: a good Scotch needs that peaty, smoky flavor. But I'm not really sure how one adds "femininity and mystery" to a Scotch. And at $90 a bottle, I'm not sure I'll find out.
But if Johnnie Walker Black is your thing, go for it and let me know how it tastes! I'll stick with my Statesman for now.
*Many thanks to the kind folks at Brown-Forman for providing a bottle for the show; it's one of the better spirits of the week we've had at the Substandard.