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stranahans whiskey

The old man check-up and no dum-dum’s!

June 6, 2011 by robertforto Leave a Comment

Yep, I am becoming and old man. I had a visit at my doctor’s office today. Not any doc. He is a surfin’, snowboardin’, bleached hair, soul patch wearin’, ultra cool, Internal Medicine doctor.

No, there is nothing wrong with my inner workings so if you are ready to jump on as my primary beneficiary and look to be included in my will let me say first: there is not much for the taking unless you want a 90-hour-work-week -business and a cabin in Alaska that needs A LOT of repairs!

It was just the becoming an old man physical. You see, I don’t like to go to the doctors. My idea of health care is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and possibly an Advil or a Claritin if I get too sneezy.

I can probably count on one hand how many physicals I have had in my life and most of those were required to play sports in little league. I am so adverse to the medical community that I purposely have my family doctor in Denver, 2300 miles from my home, so there is no way he can make a house call. Do they still even do that? 

The whole process started last night when I had to start fasting. I was required to do it for 12 hours. My appointment was until 1:15 PM the next day. So that meant that the feast of frog legs, chicken wings, pulled pork and three shots of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey likely could have been my Last Supper.

I knew they were going to the a full blood work up including all the Cholesterol guys (I am guessing that last meal might just skew my numbers a bit), a test to check liver and kidney function, one for diabetes, and the dreaded P.S.A. test.

If you are not familiar with what a P.S.A. Test is, it is either you are not a guy or you are too young to worry about it much. It is a test to see how the ole’ prostate is working (or not). Thank God my doc is not a proctologist! I get to skip that test until I am 50, he says…

The doc and his bevy of “assistants” including the “always there” medical student, poked and prodded, tapped, and listened to every inch of my body. They took a temperature with something that looked like it was from Star Wars across my forehead, used that little finger tip thingy to check my pulse, and made me open up and say ahhhhh. At least I didn’t have to sit there in one of those open-in-the-back-smocks.

They gave me three vaccines using both arms. One for tetanus, the first round of Hepatitis-B series, and a diphtheria shot. I am looking at doing an EMT course and need all of those to even apply. I also need a booster for measles, mumps and something else. I haven’t had any of those shots since I was ten! You will have to look at my permanent record at grade school to find those dates.

They told me as soon as I arrived that I needed to take a U/A. What! I don’t do good at those especially since I haven’t had ANYTHING to drink since the three shots of Stranahan’s at 7 pm last night. I made it happen giving them the bare minimum sample filling it to the little line. That is the best I could do.

After we were all done the doc said I was the picture of health, at least on the outside, meaning that the blood work wouldn’t be back for a couple days. He said, and I quote: “You are just like every other 40 year old American male. You could stand to lose 10 pounds but other than that you are the picture of health.”

Thats reassuring.

I headed to the front desk to collect and pay my bill. Being self employed I have to choose very wisely how I spend my health care dollars. I am not on Obamacare, at least not yet. At this doctor’s office if you choose to pay in cash they give you a 40% discount. That’s how I roll.

I left a little less of a man than when I arrived I think–but I feel pretty good about the whole 30 minute appointment.

But you know what I didn’t get a lollipop! I remember when I was a kid my doctor used to give us those suckers with the stick that was kinda round, like a handle, so you wouldn’t choke on it.

They could have at least had some dum-dum’s available. That’s the only thing I was looking forward to. When I go to the dentist next time he better give me a free toothbrush or I will be highly irate!

Filed Under: Daily Post, Robert Forto Tagged With: Colorado, denver, doctors vist, old man physical, P.S.A. Test, postaday2011, robert forto, stranahans whiskey

Stranahans Whiskey: Knock your socks off, the Colorado way!

April 2, 2011 by robertforto 1 Comment

There is whiskey and then there is Stranahan’s.

On my overly quick trip to Denver I had appointments with financial planners, the beginnings of becoming an old man check up at the doctor, a fantasy football football party that was three months late and visiting the family.

But the highlight of the trip was the distillery tour of Stranahan’s.

Stranahan’s is Colorado’s own whiskey. It is made right in the Centennial State and they are very proud of it.

History

The whiskey got its start right in Colorado up near a little town called Aspen. There the head dudes used to sit around with Hunter S. Thompson and refine their craft until one day the place burned down. Some say under questionable circumstances. They moved to Denver and as they say, the rest is history.

The Distillery/Brewery

Its not Bourbon. Not a Scotch. Not an Irish. Not a Rye. It’s Stranahan’s. They call it it a Straight Rocky Mountain Whiskey. They do every thing different. They distill it different. The mash is different. In a nutshell it just rocks!

Stranahan’s shares it distillery/brewery with the Rackhouse Pub in downtown Denver at 200 South Kalamath. It is a small place and is open to the public. They hold tours every day but I encourage you to sign up in advance at their website Stranahans.

The Tour

Its free!

I have been on a lot of brewery tours in my day. I have visited the giant Anheuser Busch breweries in St. Louis and in Tampa. I have been to a micro-brewery or two including Henry Weinhard’s in Portland back in the day. I have even toured a backyard brewery in a friends garage where they made a pretty tasty brew. I have never been to a still or a moonshiner’s secret in the deep woods of Kentucky but I thought it would be cool.

The Stranahan’s tour was great! It took about 45 minutes and the young lady showed us everything from start to finish. The barrel room was very cool as our tour guide talked about the challenges of the Rocky Mountain climate.

The stills looked like they could come right out of a Kentucky farm house and they explained the use of a gas pump nozzle on how they fill the barrels.

The best part was at the end. The tasting–of course. Each of us were educated on how to experience the whiskey at it’s finest.

What was most cool is the filling parties that they hold. Every couple months or so volunteers can come to the distillery and help fill the bottles of Stranahan’s. I don’t think any other brewery in the world does this. After a few hours of standing on your feet you will get a complimentary bottle for your “hard work.”

The label

Every product has its gimmick. We all know that. But the folks at Stranahan’s have taken that to a new level. Each batch comes with its own label and there is a place where the brew master can share a few notes. There you will find things like: “Listening to AC/DC”, “Go Avs!”, or even “I’m in the dog house.” telling about a rough night on the home-front. The people at Stranahan’s believe that special touch adds something to the whiskey itself. How could it not? Listening to hard rock while distilling the stuff has to have an effect, doesn’t it?

The Taste

I have become a huge Deadwood fan. The series appeared on HBO a few years ago and I just got around to watching it on Netflix. When I think of whiskey I think of the Old West and I think of how they used to drink back then.

In the Deadwood days a Pony was 10 cents and a Jigger was 15 cents. My, how things have changed. But I don’t think the taste of whiskey has changed much. Back in the day they drank out of the bottle and everybody had hair on their chests!

When you take your first shot of Stranahan’s you will notice a difference. It is nothing like the taste of Jack Daniels, Scotch or Jim Beam. It is potent and you will feel it right as it explodes in your mouth.

You will taste hints of citrus, floral, vanilla and maybe even coffee. It is very smooth and flows down just as it should. It is a fine drink but I will warn you it has some real kick!

Where to buy

Of course you can buy Stranahan’s right at the distillery/brewery. We bought three bottles. One for my wife, Michele’s dad, one for me and one for a friend in Alaska. I had two bottles packaged up so I could take them on the plane and they made them up North with no problems.

A bottle will set you back a cool $59 bucks. Remember this is not your ordinary Jack. You will pay for the experience of a fine whiskey like Stranahan’s. It is worth every penny.

You can also buy it right from the web at Total Beverage and search Stranahans.

Robert Forto | Team Ineka | Alaska Dog Works | Mushing Radio | Dog Works Radio | Denver Dog Works | Daily Post

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Robert Forto is a musher training for his first Iditarod under the Team Ineka banner and the host of the popular radio shows, Mush! You Huskies and Dog Works Radio Shows

Filed Under: Daily Post, Robert Forto, What Rocks Tagged With: Colorado, denver, postaday2011, robert forto, straight rocky mountain whiskey, stranahans, stranahans whiskey

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