Today is...

[IceWizard]

27 Mar 2017


Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day



If you’re rocking out to classics such as “I Still Miss You Baby, But My Aim’s Gettin’ Better” or “You’re the Reason Our Kids Are So Ugly”, then chances are you’re already well on the way to celebrating Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day.



And





International Whiskey Day



Whiskey has a long and august history, being one of the most recognizable forms of distilled spirit in the world. The name for Whiskey comes from Gaelic, where it used to be called Uisce na Beatha, or “The Water of Life”. It wasn’t long before the name got shortened to Uisce (Merely “Water”) and then the pronounciation slowly changed over time from Ish-Key, to Whiskey. Thus it has remained ever since.

History of International Whiskey Day

The history of International Whiskey day is necessarily intrinsically tied to the history of Whiskey, so let’s start there.

Whiskey is the result of a distillation process, a chemical/alchemical process known as far back in history as Babylon. While we don’t know if they created a beverage quite as wonderful as modern day whiskey, it was known that the process was available to them.

All whiskey starts with a ‘mash’, a mixture of grain and water that is slowly heated to bread down the starch in it into sugars. The result of this process is then known as a wort, and is just the beginning of this amazing drinks journey. What kind of grain you use determines what kind of Whiskey you end up with.

Bourbon starts from a mash that is 51% or more corn base, though it becomes a Corn Whiskey once it reaches 81%. Malt whiskey is made from 51% malted barley, while Rye is 51% plain Rye. Malted Rye is a specialized version made from a base of Malted Rye, and Wheat Whiskey, as you might suspect, is made from Wheat. All of these are considered kinds of whiskey!

So where did International Whiskey Day come from?

Well it was first announced in 2008, and celebrated in 2009 at the Whiskey Festival in the Northern Netherlands. This was all done in honor of Michael Jackson. No, not the King of Pop, but a man well known for his writings on Whiskey. The purpose isn’t just the raising of awareness of whiskey and its charms, but also to spread awareness for Parkinson’s, a disease that Michael suffered from in his later years.

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March 27 Birthdays




Mariah Carey - 47




Fergie - 42




Quentin Tarantino - 54




Pauley Perrette - 48




Elizabeth Mitchell - 47




Gay Blackstone - 65




Tony Banks - 67









March 27th

1987: U2 performed on the rooftop of a liquor store in Los Angeles while filming the music video for “Where the Streets Have No Name”. The Los Angeles Police Department would shut down filming of the video due to traffic concerns.

1986: Sammy Hagar made his live debut singing for Van Halen at the Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, LA.

1984: Metallica made their live debut in the U.K. at London’s Marquee Club.

1982: Small Faces bassist Ronnie Lane entered a hospital in Florida to be treated for multiple sclerosis.

1981: Rush recorded their concert at the Montreal Forum for their second live album Exit…Stage Left which was released in October of 1981 & on video in 1982.

1979: Eric Clapton married Pattie Boyd, the ex-wife of Clapton’s friend George Harrison in Tucson, AZ. They would divorce in 1989.

1976: Gary Wright peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “Dream Weaver” which was Wright’s first top ten single in the U.S.

1973: Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia was pulled over for speeding in New Jersey. Cops also discovered LSD in Garcia’s car & Garcia spent three hours in jail before being released on $2,000 bail.

1971: George Harrison peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart with “What is Life” which was Harrison’s second top ten single as a solo artist in the U.S.



Birthdays:

Tony Banks - Keyboardist for Genesis born in 1950