The Full Whiskey Tournament Field!

For those who missed out on the Raise A Glass Whiskey Tournament selection show on the radio over the weekend, here if the full field of 68, er, 64 whiskeys that are still alive! 

Click on the bracket for a full-sized version.

Please write in the comments, tweet me at @BRBeerScene, tweet the show at @RaiseAGlass, or post comments on my facebook page and let me know what you think about any of the match-ups.  In the event that the judging panel of myself, Jay Ducote, James Lawson, and Jeremy Spikes (with possible other guest panelists) are split on a vote, then the reader/listener participation is the tiebreaker. 

The field after the #1 seeds was set randomly, so there are some interesting first-round match-ups and some big-time upsets in the making.  Tell me what you think and who you think should win!

Here are the four sections of the bracket broken apart:

Beer Cocktails - Dark Wood Flip?

I was checking out a beer blog (of course) called "The New School" and they had a post about beer cocktails.  Interesting... the only beer cocktails I've ever tried were the standard Car Bomb, Boilermaker, and the Slinky's special Lunchbox.  Well, at that one time we decided it would be a good idea to add shots of cuban rum to cheap domestic beer.  Easily one of the five worst hangovers of my life.  Moving past that, I've never really thought about a beer cocktail as a sipping drink.  Apparently other people have, though, so much that Wine Enthusiast Magazine wrote an article about them.  Normally this wouldn't necessarily be relevant beer news, but one of the recipes featured Abita, so I was wondering if anyone had tried it?  It's apparently for a "Flip" which is a type of drink featuring egg yolk or sometimes eggnog. 

Here's the recipe:

Dark Wood Flip
By Corey Bunnewith, Citizen Public House, Boston

It may look like a glass of dark ale, but—surprise!  It’s a cocktail with rich flavor and texture, thanks to a heady mix of 10-year-old Bourbon, maple syrup, and egg yolk (not white).

3 ounces Abita Nut Brown Ale
1 egg yolk
¼ ounce Maple Simple Syrup (3 parts water to 1 part maple syrup)
1½ ounces Eagle Rare 10-year-old Bourbon
Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Bitters, to garnish
Fresh grated nutmeg, to garnish

Pour ale into a pilsner glass and set aside. In a cocktail shaker, combine egg yolk, maple simple syrup and Bourbon. Shake vigorously without ice (dry shake); then add ice and shake again. Double strain into the pilsner glass with the ale.

Garnish with Whiskey Barrel Bitters, and a light dusting of fresh grated nutmeg.

Normally I'm not much of a raw egg guy, but this one does seem interesting to me.  I'm sure by "Abita Nut Brown Ale" they are referring to the Pecan Harvest Ale which is a brown ale featuring nuts.  Makes sense, right?  I like the idea of maple simple syrup and bourbon and Abita Pecan Harvest, and I'd ever try it with the egg yolk.

Anyone around here ever tried something like this?  Anyone want to?