THE BARD OF BEER, THE MAVEN OF MALT:Call him whatever
alliterative, king-making title you like, but Michael Jackson
(his highness of hops?) is the undisputed grand poobah of beer
and whisky, and he's coming here this weekend to lead you in a
tasting of and discussion regarding his favorite topic--tasty
hooch. Saturday afternoon will see 300 lucky souls tasting eight
rare, single-malt scotch whiskies, including never-before-seen
in the U.S. agings of 27-year-old Invergordon, 29-year-old
whisky from the Isle of Jura (the sheep-heavy island where 1984
was written), a 27-year-old aging of the highland malt
Bruichladdich, and a 27-year-old aging of Tullibradine, from a
small distillery south of Perth. Beer-lovers get their shot
Sunday evening when a tasting will feature six cask-conditioned
ales, three from the United States, and three flown in from
Great Britain, including at least one from the great MacClay
brewery north of Edinburgh. Both tastings use the same format:
Pours are followed by discussion led by Mr.