Chicago Pub Crawl_13July2008

[Retro Red]

Yesterday, I was given a wonderful welcome to the Windy City by a contingent of the Chicagoland Rabble.

A special "thank you" to McFarkus & Auld Argonian for keeping me from getting a parking ticket by plying me with quarters & reminding me to check the meter (had 3 minutes left ).

We met at a wonderful Scottish Pub, the Duke of Perth. Recognized as one of the world's great whisky bars by Whisky Magazine, I was in single-malt heaven!

The weather was beautiful so we sat outside on their back patio quaffing a number of brews & enjoy the fine food. That's where the pics below were taken. I was having such a good time, I didn't take many photos. Brewboy took some, too, & hopefully he'll post those, soon.

A candid photo of Auld Argonian


The Rabble [l-r: TheKiltedCoder, me, Auld Argonian (kneeling), Glen C, McFarkus & Brewboy]


(stay tuned - more to follow...)

.

[Retro Red]

After about 3 hours at the Duke of Perth, we headed down Clark St. in search of another pub to grace with the power of the kilt.

These 2 pics are outside the Duke of Perth as we marshalled our forces.

The Chicagoland Rabble


...with me & McFakus trading places...


We headed about 3 or 4 blocks down to a place called the Celtic Crossing, creating quite a stir amongst the local populace with the awesome sight of 6 kilted gents strolling down the street. At the new pub we had a few more brews (& TheKiltedCoder had dinner) before being driven out by the bad musical choices (Who Let The Dogs Out? ) & called it a night.

All-in-all this desert rat had a great time & gives a big tip of the sombrero to the Chicago Rabble for their most generous hospitality!

Thanks, guys!!!

.

[Brewboy]

It was a grand old time with Retro Red and the Chicagoland Rabble. I look forward to our next pub crawl. Here are some more pics commemorating our Arizonian visitor.

McFarkus, Retro Red and Auld Argonian at the Duke of Perth:


McFarkus, Retro Red and TheKiltedCoder almost giving an answer to The Question at the Celtic Crossing:


Lastly, Auld Argonian, Retro Red, and Glen C doing what we do best in a pub:


It was great to meet you, and you've got drinking buddies whenever you're in Chicago.

[Big Mikey]

A great set of pics. It's grand to know that where ever you go, if there's a fellow XMarker, you're home.

[CelticRanger66]

Great Pics!!!!

[TheKiltedCoder]

Egads!!! That was a very strategically placed Guiness!!

It was good to meet RetroRed, and the rest of the Chicago folks as well. I'm looking forward already to the next outing!

[McFarkus]

Egads!!! That was a very strategically placed Guiness!!

It was good to meet RetroRed, and the rest of the Chicago folks as well. I'm looking forward already to the next outing!

Not to mention my strategically draped garters. It was a great time, it was good to meet you, Craig, and to reconnect with the other Chicago Kilties.

Anyone from the Chicago area should join the Chicago Kilted social group here on XMarks. That makes it easy to notify everyone of upcoming events - sometimes one misses a thread.

Don't forget the upcoming kilt night with MacTavishofJapan on July 26th!!!

[Finn]

I'll be up there soon, guys!

[Panache]

Fun pictures gents. Glad to see that Retro Red was well treated in the Windy City.


Cheers

Jamie

[Streetcar]

The Duke of Perth! Boy, that brings back memories!!

(Brief thread hijack follows)
When I lived in Chicago, The Duke of Perth was my introduction to Single Malt. I remember I was there with my girlfriend of the time, and her brother. Neither of us knew much about whiskey, whisky, or scotch. We knew NOTHING of single malts.
We looked at the lengthy bottle list, and picked a couple of moderately priced drams – I don’t remember which. We picked solely on price.
At any rate, we got our drinks, toasted and were about to “shoot” them when we heard a voice tinged with a slight Scottish burr.
“Yer not gonna just drink that, are ye?”
I looked over and saw an older gentleman in a peacoat at the far end of the bar, standing by himself. I told him that as we paid for the drinks, yes we were going to drink them.
“Nah, ye cannae do that. First ye’ve got to smell it.”
I glanced at my companion and took a deep whiff from the glass.
The old man barked at us, “No, not like that! Put it right under your nose, then breath in through your mouth.”
I thought, “Let’s just humor the old bastard,” and did as he instructed.

A whole new world opened up. I couldn’t tell what all I was smelling, but it was rich, complex, floral and leathery all at once. I looked over at my companion and could see the surprise on his face as well.

We spent the next hour with this mysterious old man teaching us the Ways of Scotch, how it’s made, how regions are different, what influences taste, etc. It was like we stumbled on our very own Yoda of the Single Malt.

I never learned the man’s name – he slipped out while we were foxed. But I like to think that he’s still out there “schooling” initiates into the world of Scotch.