Little did I know when I walked into an Inverness brewery that I would walk out with an elusive Blanton's "N:" after a delicious healthy pour of Kentucky gold.
On my short list of Scottish breweries to visit was Uile-bheist along the River Ness. Besides some good looking brews featured on their website, they had awesome swag with one of the best logos I have ever seen. You cannot beat their Ugly Beast, aka Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster.
After a nice walk along the River Ness from our hotel, we finally found the tap room tucked in the back of the building and sidled up to the bar. A personable, young barkeep welcomed us and asked what we'd like to drink. We had a couple of samples and both settled on their Inverness Lager (4.6% ABV).
Our barkeep grabbed a couple of pint glasses and starting filling the up. As he poured, I looked at the selection of liquors along the back bar wall. They had a nice variety, including some fine (Scotch) whiskys. But it was three bottles on the second shelf that drew my attention most.
Three globes of horse-topped Blanton's beckoned to me. My jaw dropped as I had not seen any Blanton's while during our two weeks in Great Britain. Was I seeing things? A mirage?
The bartender sat our two beers in front of us and I inquired about the Blanton's, specifically the bottle that was far more empty than the others. He took it off the shelf and sat in front of me.
"How much for a pour?" I queried. He did not know off the top of his head and asked his supervisor as she glanced by. She told him. I can honestly not remember what she said exactly because my mind was blown by the fact it was half of what a pour of Blanton's would have cost at home in NC.
"I'll take it," I said as I sipped my lager. "You have a big rock?" He nodded.
As the bartender dropped a huge square chunk of ice in a glass, I picked up the bottle and saw that the horse topper was the "N:" that many collectors searched for. My eyes grew wide and I tried to hide my giddiness.
"You know..." I casually mentioned. "Back in the States, it's customary for the killer of a bottle to get to keep said bottle as a momento. Y'all do that here in Scotland?"
"Aye," he responded as he rung up the sale. "We're just going to toss it. Oh, and by the way, there was a wee bit left in the bottle that was more than single pour, but I'm just charging you for the one. Cheers."
So there I am in Inverness, Scotland with an empty UK stickered bottle of Blanton's, it's "N:" horse topper, a pint of lager, and a double pour of one of my favorite bourbons that I paid maybe $10 USD for, I mean, does it get any better than that.
On a side note: Sarah says this is the happiest she's ever seen me and that this photo of me is the one she will be using for my obituary. Sweet!
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