Jet’s Free Little Library
Online School of Cocktailory 
(aka: how to gussy up survival-quarantine-drinking on the couch in our pajamas) #alonetogether (see, now you’re not drinking alone, you’re enrolled in night classes, cheers my friends 
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Section 101: The Old-Fashioned
Week 1, The Core, or primary flavor component of your drink, in this case Whiskey.
Irish & American Whiskey, Scottish Whisky, Bourbon & Rye are combinations of cereal grains, typically corn, rye, wheat & barley that are malted, fermented, distilled, and then most are aged in oak barrels. The older the whiskey, the more woody barrel you’re tasting. Mmmm barrel.
The percentages of each ingredient determine the mashbill. More corn makes it sweeter, ryes are more spicey, and wheat makes it soft or smooth. To be called a Bourbon, you have to have at least 51% corn in the mashbill. Rye has to have at least 51% rye (surprise), and you guessed it, Wheat Whiskey has 51% min. wheat. There are apparently lots of other styles, like a sour mash Whiskey where varying amounts of the last batch of grain mash is added to each new fermentation batch and sometimes filtered by different methods, but that stuff is getting above my pay grade.
My homework for the week, and yours too should you choose to imbibe: Dig through your cupboards to see if you have anything whiskey-related. If not, try knocking on your neighbor’s door with a mask and a 6ft stick and see if they’ll share with you, like for research purposes. They’re probably lonely too so your odds are good. Try looking up what that whiskey is made of, or try a few different styles to compare bourbon, rye & wheat. Then you can tell me in the comments if this cocktail book is full of crap and they all taste the same, or what the hell is a soft whiskey, or what’s a good word for this tastes like burning. I look forward to reading all your results this week.
Bonus virgin round for non-drinkers and/or your young: buy a few different brands of the same flavor of juice, soda or sparkle-water. See if you can taste any differences, compare ingredients, and pick a fave.
Alright, have fun and see you again next week!!
Jet Tries 
Alright turning in my homework at the last hour.
We did a category comparison of:
Glenlivet 12yr Scotch (decent, light burning, not particularly wood barrel flavored, no smokey peatmoss weirdness, pretty smooth 👍)
Followed by a Kentucky Bourbon with 21% wheat which was the highest level wheat I could find not locked up in the expensive case. It was…meh. sweet and a little smokey. Wouldn’t drink it straight again.
#3 was my old standby Irish Whiskey Jameson. By comparison to the others this was very mild. Tastes more like memories than anything else. Then did the ryes last. Learned in the beer drinking days to start with the mild beer first, otherwise the stronger flavors of an IPA will ruin your palette for the next one. #4 was the Knob Creek Rye. By far the most fun to open cracking the wax. It was more interesting than the last few, the rye did give it a good woody spice smell, but was also described as “smells like an empty freezer, or a old camper van.” #5 was Quarter Horse Kentucky Rye Whiskey, and that turned out to be the winner by far. Smooth to drink, lots of rye spice, not too woody, and maybe a little sweet.
Alright check in again tomorrow for the next installment! 🥃