Memories Of Heather Greene And Angel's Envy

Whether this bottle is lying horizontally or tipped over slightly, the liquid is doing something it shouldn’t be capable of, according to the laws of physics. (Photo courtesy Angel’s Envy)

Last night I saw Heather Greene — a terrific writer (her book, Whisk(e)y Distilled , is one of the best of its breed) and whiskey blender extraordinaire who launched her own Milam & Greene brand (which is excellent and I really need to write about it again) a couple of years ago. I’ve known her since she was a brand ambassador for the Glenfiddich in the late aughts, but whenever I see her my mind goes back to a few years later, when she’d taken on the role of Whisky Sommelier at a then-new bar called The Flatiron Room. I’d been invited to come check out the place and see Heather doing her thing, and I was totally intimidated because I suspected she knew infinitely more about whisky than I, and my inexperience and ignorance would be revealed.

Sure enough, as soon as I got there, Heather handed me a glass of something amber and said, “Tell me what you think.” Uh-oh. I was toast. But even on first sniff, I knew it could only be one thing. Angel’s Envy had debuted its bourbon a year or two earlier. Then as now, it was finished in port wine barrels, something virtually unheard of back in 2012. So I was pretty confident I knew what it was. But maybe she was trying to fool me! Maybe there was another port cask-finished bourbon out there that I was too uninformed to know about! So, hedging my bets, I merely said, “Is that port I taste?” She smiled and said, “Yeah, it’s Angel’s Envy, do you know it?” I was so relieved at not screwing up that I think I just stared blankly as she recounted the brand’s background.

Heather and I are friends now, and because she’s super nice and kind and friendly, I’m more in awe of her vast knowledge of whisk(e)y than I am intimidated by it. Anyway, my little story doesn’t have a whole lot to do with my latest Whisk(e)y Of The Week, which is Angel’s Envy but isn’t bourbon, nor is it finished in port casks. But you should read it anyway! Head on over to ForbesLife — link is -> HERE <-.