We here at Noble & Blue like to think of ourselves as gentlemen, connoisseurs of style and taste. Being a hiker, shooter, woodsman does not in essence single out chivalry and manners that a real gentleman, or gentlewoman for that matter, needs to have. Gentlemen always keep themselves properly groomed and clothed for the occasion, and so we like to think that it should be thus in outdoors and in more formal occasions.
So being the gentlemen we are, we also have the needs of gentlemen, and this does not go away when we leave the comfort of our city homes to head out to the wild. Granted, the life in the field is rugged and simpler in nature, and it is right to embrace the suck fully, without complaint, as a real gentleman should. But a touch of class in the outdoors can make a huge difference. To the British gentlemen, whom we admire enormously, it is the luxury of tea that makes their day. We have heard that even in the heat of battle British soldiers are reported to have been brewing a nice ‘cuppa’.
Inspired by this and a post we saw in Instagram about a Peli Case holding a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass, we thought to make one for us too and do a little DIY article about our process to fill this niche in our outdoors gear. The purpose of the “Whiskey case” is to bring a little something else for the end of a day on a long hike or, say, a little pick-me-up for a ill-lucked fishing trip. BUT as you know we also like to play with guns, so we would like to take this occasion to remind you that guns and alcohol do not mix well and should never EVER be used together.
Bearing that in mind… We set some specs the case should have. We decided that the case should be a hard case, like a Peli case, but a little cheaper brand will suffice. The case should be big enough to hold a small (0,2 – 0,3l) bottle of quality whiskey and two Glencairn whiskey glasses, but not too big as it has to fit in a ruck. So we settled our minds on a very affordable case from a local hardware store, with dimensions of 32x28x12 cm. Being water, dust and shock resistant the case is more than enough for the purpose we need it to fulfill.
As it happens, we already had a few Glencairn glasses close at hand for the case, and to review something completely different in this piece, we think that the Glencairn glasses are the only real choice for a proper whiskey enthusiast, bringing up the aromas like no mere tumbler could. So now we only needed to find a whiskey bottle that fits just perfectly in the case. After a little searching and measuring in the liqueur store, we decided to go with an Irish whiskey from ol´Dublin-town called Teeling. Their Small Batch whiskey bottle is just perfect for the size of the case and besides, the whiskey is excellent.
The next step was to take the two pre cut foam layers off of the case and make the holes for the glasses and the bottle. This was a bit tricky, since if you ripped the wrong piece off you can not attach it back to the foam layer. But with careful planning the holes turned out just fine and after an initial crash test of dropping the loaded case from our couch, we conclude that the glasses and the bottle would stay where they needed.
Next in this project are two steps that will be updated in the future: the personalisation of the case. Already we cut a piece of British Sniper tape to make a tag for a description of the holdings of the case, but we intend to get a few decals of our favourite gear brands to show loyalty and swag up the case. The final step will be the field testing of the case! So stay tuned and look out for updates in our Instagram “noble_and_blue” and here in blog.
Stay safe, stay classy and remember your manners! Even when teaching someone a lesson. Whiskey maketh the gentleman!
– Noble and Blue
Noble and Blue is a small Finnish outdoor and tactical gear reviewing blog, that also shares stories of learning and adventure. Click here to know more about Noble and Blue