George Dickel's new rye a bargain price

To contact us Click HERE
George Dickel turns out a very nice Tennessee whiskey. But, like a growing number of distillers, it's putting the spotlight on a new rye.

George Dickel Rye is a straight rye whisky matured in new charred oak barrels for at least five years. The mash bill is 95% Indiana rye and 5% malted barley. It is bottled at 90 proof (45% abv).

Besides the Dickel reputation, another drawing card is the suggested retail price: $25 for the 750ml bottle.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select begins slow rollout

To contact us Click HERE

Sinatra, and Jack, in concert.

Frank Sinatra's long love affair with blues, broads and booze, as he often phrased it, was well chronicled during the iconic singer-actor's lifetime. Now, 14 years after his death, his favorite brand of whiskey is honoring him.

Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select was unveiled this week, the first step in a drawn-out marketing plan.

Sinatra Select, bottled at 90 proof (45% abv), is matured longer than the standard Jack Daniel’s, in "Sinatra barrels" that have carved interior grooves to expose the whiskey to more wood. That results in a faster maturing spirit.

The new expression will be launched -- with an initial suggested retail price of $150 -- at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas Airport in December. It then will be rolled out to about 200 other airport locations around the world in January.

The marketing plan calls for selling Sinatra Select at the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, TN, beginning in 2013, and eventually being made available in other domestic markets.

Why the delays?

“We hope people will both collect it and consume it,” said Jim Perry, managing director of Brown-Forman Travel Retail. "The year 2015 will be Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday. Over the next couple of years, we’ll be building up to that moment."

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

Woodford releases seventh in Master's Collection

To contact us Click HERE
Woodford Reserve this week unveiled the seventh release in its limited edition  Master's Collection, which will be released in early November.

This release, called Four Wood, is a unique batching of mature Woodford Reserve bourbon which has been aged in American Oak, as required by law for all bourbons, and finished in barrels made from maple wood, and from those used to mature both sherry and port.

Woodford Reserve began to experiment with wood finishing in 1999. Notes master distiller Chris Morris, "The batching ratios of the three finishing barrels were painstakingly chosen so that no one character dominated the final product. Instead, Four Wood is so balanced that the palate effects of each of the four woods plays a discernible role in the final flavor presentation."

With each release, one of the five sources of flavor is changed for the Master's Collection expressions. The sources -- grain, water, fermentation, distillation, and maturation -- are unique to bourbon whiskey, and altering just one of them creates a totally new flavor profile.

Previous Master's Collection releases were Four Grain, Sonoma-Cutrer Finish, Sweet Mash, Seasoned Oak, Maple Wood Finish and Rare Rye Selection. They are released periodically at the master distiller's discretion, and are bottled only once.

Each bottle is individually numbered and presented at 94.4 proof (47.2% abv). Limited cases are available with a suggested retail price of $99.99 for a 750ml bottle.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

'Whiskey fungus' probe cloaked in silence

To contact us Click HERE

The Millers Lane facility.

• From the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal:

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Diageo Americas Supply Inc., a subsidiary of a British company that makes Bulleit Bourbon, had a November 4 deadline to respond to a Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District enforcement action against a so-called "whiskey fungus" that authorities blame for covering cars and homes with dark spots.

But district officials aren’t saying whether the company met the deadline, and they are withholding all correspondence from the company to the district related to the enforcement action.

The secrecy -- for now, anyway -- is allowed under the Kentucky Open Records law because the district’s enforcement action is still ongoing, officials said in a response to a request of mine to review the records.

Back in September, the violation notices sent to the company cited air-quality infractions at whiskey warehouses at 2349 Millers Lane, and were the first since the district began looking into the vapor problem in the mid-2000s.

The case could be called high profile because it involves a signature Louisville industry -- bourbon. Mayor Greg Fischer, in a response to a reporter’s question, at first questioned the science behind the enforcement action of his own agency, but later withdrew from the matter, citing a potential for the appearance of a conflict of interest. A business partner is among those suing the company over the fungus.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

'Your Whiskey, Your Way' at new craft distillery

To contact us Click HERE
Having your own wine made isn't unusual. There are any number of wineries in many states that will tailor a batch to your specifics. But a new craft distillery that just opened over the weekend in Washington state may be the first to allow customers to help create their own spirits.

Heritage Distilling Company, which just opened to the public in Gig Harbor on scenic Puget Sound, is Washington's -- and perhaps the nation's -- first distillery to have a do-it-yourself component.

Owners Justin and Jennifer Stiefel are offering a program like called "Your Whiskey, Your Way." Customers can order a cask of spirits made to their specificatiopns, or can even take part in the process under the distillery's supervision.

The process is a bit tricky. State regulations do not allow unlicensed individuals to produce spirits without the proper federal and state licensing and permits. Heritage Distilling gets around that problem by doing all but the final stage of the distilling. Customers are allowed to selec a recipe and, later on, run one of the distillery's six micro-stills to complete the process.

"We are the ones licensed. We own all the equipment and have all the responsibility. It only becomes the customers’ product when they pay for it at the end," Justin Stiefel told The Business Journal.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

George Dickel's new rye a bargain price

To contact us Click HERE
George Dickel turns out a very nice Tennessee whiskey. But, like a growing number of distillers, it's putting the spotlight on a new rye.

George Dickel Rye is a straight rye whisky matured in new charred oak barrels for at least five years. The mash bill is 95% Indiana rye and 5% malted barley. It is bottled at 90 proof (45% abv).

Besides the Dickel reputation, another drawing card is the suggested retail price: $25 for the 750ml bottle.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select begins slow rollout

To contact us Click HERE

Sinatra, and Jack, in concert.

Frank Sinatra's long love affair with blues, broads and booze, as he often phrased it, was well chronicled during the iconic singer-actor's lifetime. Now, 14 years after his death, his favorite brand of whiskey is honoring him.

Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select was unveiled this week, the first step in a drawn-out marketing plan.

Sinatra Select, bottled at 90 proof (45% abv), is matured longer than the standard Jack Daniel’s, in "Sinatra barrels" that have carved interior grooves to expose the whiskey to more wood. That results in a faster maturing spirit.

The new expression will be launched -- with an initial suggested retail price of $150 -- at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas Airport in December. It then will be rolled out to about 200 other airport locations around the world in January.

The marketing plan calls for selling Sinatra Select at the Jack Daniel's distillery in Lynchburg, TN, beginning in 2013, and eventually being made available in other domestic markets.

Why the delays?

“We hope people will both collect it and consume it,” said Jim Perry, managing director of Brown-Forman Travel Retail. "The year 2015 will be Frank Sinatra’s 100th birthday. Over the next couple of years, we’ll be building up to that moment."

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

Woodford releases seventh in Master's Collection

To contact us Click HERE
Woodford Reserve this week unveiled the seventh release in its limited edition  Master's Collection, which will be released in early November.

This release, called Four Wood, is a unique batching of mature Woodford Reserve bourbon which has been aged in American Oak, as required by law for all bourbons, and finished in barrels made from maple wood, and from those used to mature both sherry and port.

Woodford Reserve began to experiment with wood finishing in 1999. Notes master distiller Chris Morris, "The batching ratios of the three finishing barrels were painstakingly chosen so that no one character dominated the final product. Instead, Four Wood is so balanced that the palate effects of each of the four woods plays a discernible role in the final flavor presentation."

With each release, one of the five sources of flavor is changed for the Master's Collection expressions. The sources -- grain, water, fermentation, distillation, and maturation -- are unique to bourbon whiskey, and altering just one of them creates a totally new flavor profile.

Previous Master's Collection releases were Four Grain, Sonoma-Cutrer Finish, Sweet Mash, Seasoned Oak, Maple Wood Finish and Rare Rye Selection. They are released periodically at the master distiller's discretion, and are bottled only once.

Each bottle is individually numbered and presented at 94.4 proof (47.2% abv). Limited cases are available with a suggested retail price of $99.99 for a 750ml bottle.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

'Whiskey fungus' probe cloaked in silence

To contact us Click HERE

The Millers Lane facility.

• From the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal:

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Diageo Americas Supply Inc., a subsidiary of a British company that makes Bulleit Bourbon, had a November 4 deadline to respond to a Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District enforcement action against a so-called "whiskey fungus" that authorities blame for covering cars and homes with dark spots.

But district officials aren’t saying whether the company met the deadline, and they are withholding all correspondence from the company to the district related to the enforcement action.

The secrecy -- for now, anyway -- is allowed under the Kentucky Open Records law because the district’s enforcement action is still ongoing, officials said in a response to a request of mine to review the records.

Back in September, the violation notices sent to the company cited air-quality infractions at whiskey warehouses at 2349 Millers Lane, and were the first since the district began looking into the vapor problem in the mid-2000s.

The case could be called high profile because it involves a signature Louisville industry -- bourbon. Mayor Greg Fischer, in a response to a reporter’s question, at first questioned the science behind the enforcement action of his own agency, but later withdrew from the matter, citing a potential for the appearance of a conflict of interest. A business partner is among those suing the company over the fungus.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

'Your Whiskey, Your Way' at new craft distillery

To contact us Click HERE
Having your own wine made isn't unusual. There are any number of wineries in many states that will tailor a batch to your specifics. But a new craft distillery that just opened over the weekend in Washington state may be the first to allow customers to help create their own spirits.

Heritage Distilling Company, which just opened to the public in Gig Harbor on scenic Puget Sound, is Washington's -- and perhaps the nation's -- first distillery to have a do-it-yourself component.

Owners Justin and Jennifer Stiefel are offering a program like called "Your Whiskey, Your Way." Customers can order a cask of spirits made to their specificatiopns, or can even take part in the process under the distillery's supervision.

The process is a bit tricky. State regulations do not allow unlicensed individuals to produce spirits without the proper federal and state licensing and permits. Heritage Distilling gets around that problem by doing all but the final stage of the distilling. Customers are allowed to selec a recipe and, later on, run one of the distillery's six micro-stills to complete the process.

"We are the ones licensed. We own all the equipment and have all the responsibility. It only becomes the customers’ product when they pay for it at the end," Justin Stiefel told The Business Journal.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

Apple's iPhone 4S: Siri's Buzz

To contact us Click HERE
    Like every other Apple product before it, the iPhone 4S has been highly anticipated. But this time, the buzz is about Siri, the phone’s “personal assistant”. Siri is a feature that allows you to ask it or tell it to do virtually anything, and will answer immediately. It understands most natural languages. While it is not new technology and is available in Google’s Android phones, Apple has completely mastered it.The amazing feature can do tasks as simple as playing the song you ask, setting an alarm for the time you specify, or making an internet search, to a task as advanced as making a reservation at a restaurant. Siri can obviously be perfected and will continue to evolve, but after buying the rights to the software Apple made it feel as if it’s the only product like this, and more importantly, the one you can’t live without.

For further reading: http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2011/10/17/apples-siri-the-culmination-of-steve-jobs-legacy/

Glad's New Green Trash Bags

To contact us Click HERE
      Glad Products Company has a new green trash bag. Beginning Monday, October 24^th, the tall kitchen drawstring trash bags with be made with less plastic. Not only will it cost the same as previous kinds, but also Glad will reduce their use of plastic by 6.5 million pounds a year. This equals 140 million bags, a huge amount that definitely requires a huge marketing campaign. Glad is spending between $30 and 40 million to create a buzz and demand for the eco-friendly trash bags. But Glad is being smart; instead of showing an obnoxious save the planet, overly exaggerated environmentally beneficial commercial, Glad is adopting a simple and clever plan. The ads, also to begin on Monday, use lines such as “strength with less plastic” and “stronger with less plastic waste”. The campaign will even boast the millions of pounds of plastic it will save by explaining it’s enough “to cover all of Manhattan” or “to fill over 200 garbage trucks”. Some ads will show the product’s environmental benefit with a small single green leaf, versus an entire forest.       Even with a culture where consumers pay so much attention to social issues and greener products, Glad wants to advertise the whole products benefits, with its eco-friendly aspects an added perk.  Glad’s new product sales will most likely soar above their original trash bags. The new trash bag will clearly succeed with prices the same as ones with no environmental benefit, especially considering eco-friendly products are usually more expensive.
For further reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/business/media/glad-cuts-the-hyperbole-for-its-new-green-trash-bag.html?_r=1&src=recg

State Farm's New Commercial

To contact us Click HERE
Last month, State Farm Insurance Agency released a new commercial featuring the Green Bay Packers Quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. The ad promotes State Farm's "Discount Double Check" program, and displays the player's signature touchdown dance as the new "discount double check dance". Since the release of the commercial, State Farm's buzz score increased dramatically, specifically within football fans and Wisconsin residents. Add this commercial to their previously existing ads that pair a catchy slogan / jingle, "Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm is There", with a perfect balance of comedy and a relatable lifestyle, State Farm has a flawless advertising campaign.  

Personally, I think State Farms ads are hilarious. Theirs are among the few ads that I actually like watching. The new Aaron Rodgers, "Discount Double Check" commercial fits right in with the rest. In this way, State Farm should be an inspiration for other companies marketing teams. Grab the consumers attention and get a jingle stuck in their head without being annoying? Sounds like a successful ad campaign.


The Aaron Rodgers Commercial:



For further reading:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/brandindex/2011/11/16/aaron-rodgers-ad-lifts-up-state-farm-among-football-fans-wisconsinites/

Google's New Digital Music Store

To contact us Click HERE
Watch out Apple. Google’s really coming after you now.

First, it was the Droid, Google’s smartphone that’s becoming stronger and tougher competition for the Apple iPhone. Now, it’s Google Music, Google’s new music download store, and the first real competition to Apple’s iTunes.
Wanting to expand its product line as the new face of social networking and digital technology, Google introduced its own music store, which will sell tracks and full albums. Google Music allows users to store its songs on “cloud accounts”, where friends can have one free listen to any friend’s bought track. Users will also be able to listen to their own music on any device or computer, something Apple iTunes charges $25 per year.
The only obstacle to this new product is that Google has been unable to form a partnership with the Warner Music Group, the third largest major label. However, Google Music is ready to sell $13 million songs, from three of the four major record labels.
This new business venture is one that, I think, will prove to be successful for Google. Apple iTunes, as dominant as it is, is expensive and sometimes difficult. If Google Music is marketed as the new place to buy music, with lower rates and simpler ways to move your own music, this could be hugely popular and profitable. Best case scenario, as it improves and grows, Google Music could have a strong hold in the music downloading industry, becoming strong competition for iTunes and propelling Google even further in the social networking and entertainment industry.
For further reading: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/google-opens-a-digital-music-store/?src=me&ref=business

Smirnoff's New Flavors

To contact us Click HERE
Smirnoff, the world’s largest vodka brand, just added two new flavors:  Fluffed Marshmallow and Whipped Cream. To go with these new flavors, they are launching a new, edgy campaign estimated between $8 million to $11 million. The campaign features commercials, print ads and billboards and will be shown in places where most viewers are above the age of 21. With competitors like Three Olives and Pinnacle Vodka, who already have sweet vodka flavors like bubblegum, cake, cotton candy, and whipped cream, Smirnoff needed a fantastic campaign to convince consumers to buy theirs instead.  


With the two new flavors and the new campaign Smirnoff is definitely making the right moves. The new ad campaign plays to the fun side of vodka and the new flavors play to the sweet side. Between the two, viewers will be too interested and curious to resist. Also, since no other vodka brand has a marshmallow flavor, Smirnoff now has an edge on its competitors. Even if the flavor sounds not so great, Smirnoff has one flavor the others don’t. And being a trusted name in the industry, Smirnoff is bound to increase sales.
For further reading: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/how-do-you-drink-your-vodka-fluffed-no-chaser/?ref=business

'Whiskey fungus' probe cloaked in silence

To contact us Click HERE

The Millers Lane facility.

• From the Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal:

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Diageo Americas Supply Inc., a subsidiary of a British company that makes Bulleit Bourbon, had a November 4 deadline to respond to a Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District enforcement action against a so-called "whiskey fungus" that authorities blame for covering cars and homes with dark spots.

But district officials aren’t saying whether the company met the deadline, and they are withholding all correspondence from the company to the district related to the enforcement action.

The secrecy -- for now, anyway -- is allowed under the Kentucky Open Records law because the district’s enforcement action is still ongoing, officials said in a response to a request of mine to review the records.

Back in September, the violation notices sent to the company cited air-quality infractions at whiskey warehouses at 2349 Millers Lane, and were the first since the district began looking into the vapor problem in the mid-2000s.

The case could be called high profile because it involves a signature Louisville industry -- bourbon. Mayor Greg Fischer, in a response to a reporter’s question, at first questioned the science behind the enforcement action of his own agency, but later withdrew from the matter, citing a potential for the appearance of a conflict of interest. A business partner is among those suing the company over the fungus.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

'Your Whiskey, Your Way' at new craft distillery

To contact us Click HERE
Having your own wine made isn't unusual. There are any number of wineries in many states that will tailor a batch to your specifics. But a new craft distillery that just opened over the weekend in Washington state may be the first to allow customers to help create their own spirits.

Heritage Distilling Company, which just opened to the public in Gig Harbor on scenic Puget Sound, is Washington's -- and perhaps the nation's -- first distillery to have a do-it-yourself component.

Owners Justin and Jennifer Stiefel are offering a program like called "Your Whiskey, Your Way." Customers can order a cask of spirits made to their specificatiopns, or can even take part in the process under the distillery's supervision.

The process is a bit tricky. State regulations do not allow unlicensed individuals to produce spirits without the proper federal and state licensing and permits. Heritage Distilling gets around that problem by doing all but the final stage of the distilling. Customers are allowed to selec a recipe and, later on, run one of the distillery's six micro-stills to complete the process.

"We are the ones licensed. We own all the equipment and have all the responsibility. It only becomes the customers’ product when they pay for it at the end," Justin Stiefel told The Business Journal.

---

To Dowd's Tasting Notes latest entry.
Back to Dowd's Guides home page.

It's Star Wars Time... For Real. SEIKO Launches Six Official Star Wars Wristwatches.

To contact us Click HERE



A collaboration between Lucas Films and Seiko brings us six Star Wars Watches, each modeled after a character from the George Lucas saga. The watches are fashioned in the men's Seiko Brightz style and vary in terms of functionality. Each has faces and bezels with emblems and icons reminiscent of the characters and their likenesses are on the back of each watch.



The Seiko Darth Vader Radio Solar Control World Time Watch:




The Seiko Darth Maul Chronograph Solar Watch:




The Seiko Yoda Mechanical Watch:




The Seiko C-3PO Mechanical Watch:




The Seiko R2-D2 Active Matrix EPD Watch:




The Seiko Stormtrooper Mechanical Watch:




For more information, visit this site (prices and info in Japanese only):


Available at the following stores:

加藤時計店
http://www.rakuten.co.jp/tokeiten/
ゼノン
http://www.rakuten.ne.jp/gold/zenon/
�ックタックオンラインストア
http://www.neuve-a.net/TiCTAC/shop/c/c10/
マルイウェブ�ャ�ル
http://voi.0101.co.jp/voi/index.jsp

New Set of Modernist London II Winter Edition Greeting Cards by Graphic Designer Stefi Orazi

To contact us Click HERE


Designer Stefi Orazi of East London has produced her second set of Modernist London Winter Edition cards for 2012.



above: details from London Zoo's Penguin Pool card and the Centrepoint card.

The elegant and graphic urban snow scenes are printed in 4 special colours. The iconic buildings featured in this set include the Brunswick Centre, Erno Goldfinger's house on 2 Willow Road, Lubetkin's Penguin Pool at the London Zoo, Centrepoint as well as her old favorites - Barbican and Golden Lane Estate. She's also donating £1 of every sale to a homeless charity Shelter this year, making them even more beautiful.








Printed on recycled paper in England, each pack includes 6 illustrated cards (size A6) and envelopes. Since the cards don't feature any text they work throughout the season as Holiday Greetings, New Year's Cards or just for special correspondence.

Get your pack here.

Stefi's first set from 2007 which contained four cards and is no longer available, can be seen here.

Much To Many A Gamer's Delight, Igor Chak's Space Invaders Alien Couch Is Now A Reality - In Leather.

To contact us Click HERE



The Retro Alien Couch (modeled after the classic video game Space Invaders) by Igor Chak is now more than a concept, it's an actual sofa available for purchase. At least for a limited time.



An instant conversation starter, this unique retro gaming inspired couch will be the highlight of any room.



Designed and manufactured in Los Angeles, California; to insure the highest build quality. It features and all fine leather pixelated retro design, a low profile, and memory foam cushions. This is a limited production and will only be available for a short time.




Width: 77.2 in (196 cm)
Depth: 33.1 in (84 cm)
Height: 29.8 in (75.8 cm)
Seat depth: 22 in (56 cm)
Seat height: 18.5 in (47 cm)



Order your couch today, these couches are hand built custom couches, expect between 2-4 weeks for your couch to be completed. They currently use PayPal for all their payment processing. Customers can setup an account free with PayPal, from there PayPal offers a wide variety of payment options including credit card, e-check, bank transfers, and gift cards. PayPal helps them receive and process your payments in the securest possible way. Upon clicking the link to pay through our payment processor, PayPal, you will be redirected to their site using an SSL (encrypted connection). Fill out your information and include the address you would like it shipped to. As they are based out of Los Angeles, California there will be a sales tax of 9.75% included with the purchase. Shipping cost are a flat fee of $300.00 USD to be shipped anywhere in the USA. Customers are also welcome to pick up their couch directly from the warehouse located 5406 San Fernando Road, Glendale CA 91203 (Customers outside the US please contact them via email)

$5000 USD, Order it here

Lucky Ducks... I Mean Turkeys. Meet Cobbler and Gobbler, This Year's Pardoned Thanksgiving Fowl.

To contact us Click HERE



This year the choice was between Cobbler and Gobbler (via an online social media vote), two 19 week-old, 40 pound birds. Elementary school students in Rockingham County, Virginia - the native area of the turkeys - chose the names.



While one of the turkeys is recognized as the National Thanksgiving Turkey – chosen for the first time by the American public through an online contest this year – the president traditionally pardons both turkeys, one serving as an alternate.


above: The presidentially pardoned turkey Cobbler, whose distinguishing mark from his brother, Gobbler, is a small black mark on the beak, arrives at George Washington's Mount Vernon, Nov. 21, where he and his brother will live out their days under the property's care following a pardon by President Barack Obama. (Photo: M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO)

"If for some reason Cobbler cannot fulfill his duties as the official White House Turkey, Gobbler will be waiting in the wings," Obama said.



With the turkey gobbling away nearby, Obama teased about new beginnings.
"They say that life is all about second chances, and this November I could not agree more," he said, joking about his re-election. "So in the spirit of the season, I have one more gift to give and it goes to a pair of turkeys."



Following the pardoning, the turkeys will be taken to George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, where the winning turkey will be on display for visitors during "Christmas at Mount Vernon." They'll stay on the property after the holidays. The birds grew up on a farm near Harrisonburg, Virginia under National Turkey Federation Chairman Steve Willardsen's supervision.


above: Cobbler and Gobbler arrive at George Washington's Mount Vernon, Va., where they will live out their days under the care of the property following a presidential pardon, Nov. 21, by President Barack Obama. (Photo: M.Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO)

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the turkey presentation. In his remarks, Obama also thanked the troops overseas and asked Americans to remember the victims of Superstorm Sandy, which killed dozens in the U.S. and wreaked major devastation across the Northeast last month.

Concluding his comments, the president gave one final blessing to the turkey.
"You are hereby pardoned. Congratulations, Cobbler," the president said. "You'll have a great life."

Photos and info courtesy of The White House, CNN and Reuters