Oh, look what came in today’s mail.

Happy birthday from your friends at Jiffy Lube, the postcard reads.

Aw, they remembered. That was nice. Although, they did forget the last two letters of my first name. And they added an “s” to my last name. My last name is Thoma, not Thomas.

Whatever. I get it. Still, I’m not stupid. And so I went ahead and redesigned the postcard. Here is, essentially, what it really says…

By the way, it’s the 13^th of May. My birthday is in the middle of October—many months beyond May.

But hey, since we’re celebrating my birthday, how about popping the cork on something new and pouring a few fingers worth. This Pendleton Midnight looks nice, and it’s been sitting here a while unopened. I guess I forgot it was here. Maybe it should’ve sent me a postcard.

Never mind.

The nose of this blended Canadian gem gives away the fact that it spent some time in casks that at one time held Brandy. There’s also a hint of malted chocolate that moves from the nose into the first sip. With this malty delight, the palate sees the addition of a hint of distant concord grapes—very sweet, but mildly so.

The medium finish is like the postcard I received in today’s mail. It savors the chocolate and offers a dark raspberry sweet and kindly “Happy Birthday.” But it only does this to keep me coming back for more. In the case of this whisky, I will.

To conclude, and in all, this is the perfect dram for celebrating one’s birth five months in advance. I suppose I have Jiffy Lube to thank for that.