Each year for Christmas the Admins & Mods produce a Whiskey Advent Calendar. We do 25 Days (we know most are 24, but we like to add a pour for Christmas Day), with each day, from December 1st. thru 25th., providing a 1oz sample of whiskey selected by Admins, Mods & Friends. All of the Samples are BLIND. Only we know what they are.
Each of the Admins provides a flight of 4 whiskies, which take us from December 1st. to the 20th. The last 5 days are decided on by the group as a whole and we try to provide “special” pour for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
The Whiskey Advent Calendar got its unofficial start back in 2017 when 13 members of PWF got together at Carmella’s Plates and Pints on the South Side of Pittsburgh to participate in what was billed as “The 12 Samples of Christmas’. Each member brought 12 blind samples from a bottle of their own choosing and there was an exchange of samples followed by the next 12 days of sampling and guessing, These first 12 bottles included the following:
12 Samples of Christmas
Blade & Bow, 45.5 ABV/91 Proof
Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond
Mad River Revolution Rye
Wigle whiskey Rounders share. Collaboration with East End.
The Balvenie Caribbean Cask. 14 year old Scotch whiskey finished in Caribbean rum casks.
Tomatin 12yr Bourbon & Sherry Casks finished.
Bird Dog 10 Year Old Bourbon
Baker’s 7 Year
EH Taylor Small Batch
Stagg Jr 129.5 Proof
Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Strength 119 Proof
Bastille 1789
Smooth Ambler Contradiction 100 Proof
2018 Advent Calendar
After the sucess of the 12 Days Of Christmas event, The Admins decided in 2018 to release a full fleged advent calendar with 25 samples. There were many lessons learned that year, long with many great memories that we still talk about to this day.
1 Mellow Corn BiB
2 Weller Special Reserve
3 Early Times BiB
4 Oban 14YO Highlands
5 Sazerac Rye 6YO
6 Old Bardstown Estate
7 Glen Scotia Campbeltown Double Cask
8 Heaven Hill 6YO Old Style Bourbon (Green Label)
9 Old Bardstown BiB
10 Redbreast 12YO
11 Rittenhouse Rye BiB
12 Knob Creek 14YO “This is for the G’s” Pick Barrel #7052
13 Cragganmore 12YO Speyside
14 Old Overholt Rye Bonded
15 Old Ezra 7YO Barrel Strength
16 Auchentoshan The Bartender’s Malt Lowlands
17 Elijah Craig Small Batch
18 Evan Williams SiB
19 Suntory Toki
20 Rebel Yell 10YO
21 Johnny Drum Private Stock
22 Ardbeg 10YO Islay
23 Henry McKenna 10YO
24 1792 Full Proof
25 Gordon & MacPhail Ledaig Cask Strength Islands
2019 Advent Calendar
The 2019 Advent calendar was the first year we implemented some time saving elements including a standardized box for packing the samples as well as upgraded labels. The Admins were also tasked with coming up with a “theme” for the set of 4 selections they picked which made up the first 20 days of the calendr. See if you can spot the patterns for yourself.
01. Larceny Very Small Batch 92 Proof
02. Bernheim Wheat 7YO 90 Proof
03. Woodford Reserve Wheated Batch #0038 Bottle #0261 90.4 Proof
04. Maker’s Mark Limited Release 2019 RC6 108.2 Proof
05. Evan Williams BiB 100 Proof
06. Old Grand Dad BiB 100 Proof
07. EH Taylor Small Batch BiB 100 Proof
08. Old Forester 1897 BiB 100 Proof
09. Deveron 12YO 86 Proof
10. Glen Grant 12YO
11. Aerstone Sea
12. Aerstone Land 80 Proof
13. Wild Turkey 101 Proof
14. Kentucky Spirit SiB 101 Proof
15. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
16. Russell’s Reserve SiB “Lucky #13” 110 Proof
17. Maker’s Mark Cask Strength
18. Jack Daniels SiB
19. Booker’s 2019-03 “Country Ham”
20. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof A119
21. Glendronach 18 Allardice 92 Proof
22. Sagamore Spirits Rye Cognac Finish Batch 101 Proof
23. Glenfarclas 21 86 Proof
24. Liberty Pole Spiced Rye 80 Proof
25. High West A Midwinters Night Dram 98.6 Proof
2020 Whiskey Advent Calendar
In 2020 the Admins made adjusments to the assembly and distibution process to allow for social distancing and best practices for Covid-19 mitigation. This included having the distribution of the calendars to the PWF members in timed sessions at a parking lot of a local shopping center.
1. Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey
2. OGD 114
3. Writer’s Tears Double Oak
4. Bird Dog 7YO
5. Benriach Smoky 10
6. Fighting Cock
7. JTS Brown BiB
8. Ancient Age
9. Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or
10. Old Forester Rye
11. Benriach Smoky 12
12. Rare Breed Rye
13. Four Roses SiB
14. Coopers Craft 100 Proof Bourbon
15. Russell’s Reserve 10YO
16. Chivas Regal Mizunara
17. Jim Beam Devil’s Cut
18. The Tottori Japanese Whisky
19. Heaven Hill 6YO Olde Style
20. Pikesville BiB Rye
21. Kinsey Popcorn Whiskey
22. Basil Hayden Dark Rye
23. George Dickel BiB 11YO
24. Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban Highland Single Malt Scotch 92 Proof
25. Aberlour A’bunadh
2021 Whiskey Advent Calendar
In 2021 the Admins got creative and decided to craft an original story to go along with the calendar samples. Each sample from days 1-25 inclued a label that was a take on a popular Christmas movie and had a portion of the overall story. The full story can be found here:
01 Bluebird Distilling American Wheat Whiskey – Home Alone
02 McLaughlin 3799 Bourbon – Home Alone 2
03 Live Free Distillery White Beard Wheat Whiskey – Die Hard
04 Wild Turkey Longbranch – Four Christmases
05 Good Times Bourbon – Christmas Story
06 Bradshaw Bourbon Batch 3 – Love Actually
07 Four Roses Small Batch Select – Lethal Weapon
08 Two James Catcher’s Rye – Harold & Kumar
09 Pinhook Bourbon War Vertical Series 5 Year – Fatman
10 Stranahan’s Single Malt Whiskey 94 Proof – The Grinch
11 Wyoming Whiskey Bourbon Small Batch 88 Proof – Ernest Saves Christmas
12 TX Whiskey – Miracle On 34th Street
13 The Lost Distillery Towiemore – The Man Who Invented Christmas
14 Wild Turkey 101 Rye – Elf
15 Green Spot Chateau Leoville Barton Cask – Muppets Christmas Carol
16 Balcones Texas Single Malt Whisky Special Release 106 Proof – Christmas at Pee-Wee’s Playhouse
17 Four Roses Small Batch – Emmit Otter’s Jugband Christmas
18 Spey Tenné – The Santa Clause
19 Dad’s Hat Founders Single Barrel Selection #2 – Scrooged
20 Two James J. Riddle Peated Bourbon – Jingle All the Way
21 Liberty Pole High Rye Bourbon – Christmas With The Kranks
22 Laphroaig Ten – Planes, Trains & Automobiles
23 Mayor Pingree 5YO Straight Bourbon The Polar Express
Christmas Eve Teeling Blackpitts – Krampus
Christmas Day 2021 Laphroaig Cairdeas Pedro Ximenez Cask – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
2022 Whiskey Advent Calendar
The Admins and Mods are hard at work on this years calendar, and while we can’t reveal any details about the whiskies, we will shae some photos of the assembly team. If it wasn’t for the hard work that they put in, there wouldn’t be an Advent Calender. Thanks Team!
