The Drink: Glenfiddich 12 Year Single Malt Scotch
The Comic: Clone #10 published by Image Comics
The Drink
Scotch Whisky: noun – whiskey distilled in Scotland from malted barley.
Scotch production, labeling, packaging and advertising is defined and regulated in the UK by the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009. The legal definition of Scotch Whiskey is pretty fascinating (and very long). If you’d like, you can read that here. The first time I tried Scotch, I shivered in pain. It hurt and, like my sister says, tasted like “some sort of cleaner.” I was still in that phase of drinking primarily to get drunk, but I finally grew to respect and love scotch.
William Grant opened the Glenfiddich Distillery on Christmas Day in 1887. Now, nearly 130 years later, it is still entirely family owned. There are only a few distilleries left in the world that are still owned by the original family.
I received a bottle of Glenfiddich as a housewarming gift a few months back. That’s one of the many great things about scotch; it’s there for every celebration. Whether it’s a birthday, Christmas, New Year’s or even conquering a hellish work day, it’s there to warm your belly. This specific Glenfiddich is a 12 year single malt. A single malt Scotch Whiskey is produced from water and malted barley from a single distillery by batch distillation in pot stills.
Glenfiddich 12 year is aged in American bourbon and Spanish sherry oak barrels. It has a wonderful sweet, fruity nose that develops into a rich creamy butterscotch flavor with hints of oak. This is the first bottle of the 12 year that I’ve had and I do enjoy it thoroughly. For about $40 a bottle, you can’t go wrong with this scotch.
The Comic
Everyone once in a while, a crime drama comes along that makes me remember why I love that genre so much. That’s exactly how Clone feels while reading it, but with a great sci-fi twist. This should be no surprise once you visit writer David Schulners’ IMDB page. He has written many TV dramas including his own brain child Do No Harm (cancelled after only TWO episodes had aired.) He may not have had the best luck with that television show, but don’t let that ruin this book.
Corruption. Betrayal. Murder. CLONES. Dr. Luke Taylor is a successful young doctor whose life has been turned upside down when another version of himself comes knocking on his door. Suddenly he is pulled into a world of government corruption and human cloning. Starting with issue #6, Schulner got some writing help and I thought this would hurt the story. To my surprise, it didn’t at all. Issue #10 was the end of the second story arc. In this issue, the big bad is finally defeated and it seems like everyone can breath a sigh of relief. Then, Vice President Davis (the one behind the systematic hunting and killing of the clones) takes the story in a whole new direction. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but the last couple pages sets up the next arc. I am very excited for the next chapter of Clone to begin.
I know a few people who say, “Juan Jose Ryp is gross” then cry like little babies because they couldn’t handle his Avatar book No Hero. Well, his art in that book was amazing and he keeps getting better! No one can draw action the way he can. I love the way he draws something that looks like a cloud of dust after an explosion every time someone punches someone else. His ultra gory action-packed pencils are perfect for a book like this. I love how he brings something different to each of the clones. One character in particular explains this a bit further. He has made some drastic changes to his physical appearance so he can feel different or unique. I love this character and feel like he represents a real life need to change oneself physically to be different. I think everyone has had that hunger in his or her life at one point. Everyone wants to be an individual. Everyone wants to be different. How do you do that when there are hundreds of clones of you?
Schulner and crew are weaving a complex story of morality, survival and family. I’ve been hooked since issue #1 and I am definitely on board for the duration. The first volume (issues #1-#5) is out now with volume 2 coming in December. I highly recommend this book. If you don’t want to shell out the cash, just ask me. I’d be more than happy to let you borrow the issues.
Thanks for reading,
Christopher Kelley
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Chris Kelley is Matt Baum’s cousin. We try not to hold that against him.
