The Sheep Dip
I flew into Auckland early on June 4th, so I had the whole day to look around after checking into my hotel. Sky City (a casino/hotel complex next to Sky Tower) is a decent hotel, especially if you’ve paid half price through hotels.com as I did – hehe.
Down by the wharf area, I thought the central ferry building was a fantastic piece of architecture:
In my wanderings, I stumbled into Albert Park, mostly filled with college students chillin’ out. It’s also home to a lot of HUGE and weird-looking trees of all types. This one had a support pillar to keep it out of the path!
If there’s one thing the Kiwis can do well (and believe me, there are a lot more things than one), it’s lamb. So of course I went for lamb shank as my first dinner; I believe the bar was called Queen’s Ferry Hotel.
What Germany is to pork, New Zealand is to lamb. I like lamb more, though. Mmm!
As for the Sheep Dip, it’s a Scotch that I saw up on the bar shelf. It fit so well with the Kiwi vibe (and with what I’d just eaten for dinner) that I had to try it. Pretty good for a blended Scotch!
The story is that the old distillers were trying to avoid paying taxes on some of their casks of whisky. So they labeled these “Sheep Dip” to trick the tax collectors. Whether it worked or not, I have no idea – but it makes for a good name, eh?
Scotch drinkers: what’s YOUR favorite single malt, and why? Currently I’m going with Mortlach, for its amazing unique flavor.
Tags: Auckland, New Zealand
Greeting from Scotland glad you seem to be finding things good in NZ and our wonderful malt
Thanks, Sheep Dip! I am honored to have a comment from the creator of such a tasty malt. Will have to look for “the Dip” when I get back to Germany ;-).