So, what are you drinking now?

@numen, we did in fact taste them in that exact order posted, though the Van Winkle 10 yo was consumed with dessert, rather than with the full meal. I rely a lot on intuition as to what the guests are ready for. Nice folks last night. I am delighted that you have taken an interest in Tequila/Mezcal. Casa Noble Anejo is a real crowd pleaser, and almost all the women who sample it love it. That one is a great start to any tasting of any type of spirit. And, ...because everyone knows that you are starting the tasting with the lighter flavours, there is no downside whatsoever.

Maybe in future we will see more tequila at above 40% abv. Jay Erisman at The Party Source has in the past bought at least one cask at higher proof. Sounds interesting to me. I have been delighting in those rum samples you left with me. I see that @hunggar likes the Ron Zacapa 23 YO Centenario a lot. It is currently on sale at MoCo for $ 35.49 plus 9%= $ 38.68. Is that one you also know? Under $ 40 sounds great to me for anything 23 years old.

@Pudge72, I think that I would be immediately decanting that Glenfarclas 15 YO if I were you.

That is also quite interesting to me about the large shifts you have been seeing in your Talisker 18. I really haven't seen large shifts in my long-opened big bottle of it, except that the 200 ml bottle I went through before opening the larger one took a very long time to open up to its best flavours,...like maybe 8-12 months. With the 750 ml bottle the full flavours were there right away. It was quite a strange contrast, actually.

Last night poker & scotch with family;

Rosebank 21 year (Nov 1990) SMWS 25.63-"Poire et poivre" (pear & pepper) (Refill Hogshead)

Glenturret 10 year (Mar 2001) SMWS 16.32 "Leather armchairs and old wardrobes" (Refill Port Pipe)

Caol Ila 10 year Madeira Wood Finish (Gordon & MacPhail bottling)

Springbank 18

Caol Ila 16 year (Aug 1995) SMWS 53.173 "Glowing embers on the tongue" (Refill Sherry Butt)

Caol Ila 17 year (Jul 1993) SMWS 53.154 "Surfer's sundown dram" (Refill Sherry Butt)

@bwmccoy, there is nothing like a posting from you to make me start to lust after those SMWS drams. I've had that "Poire et poivre" for sure already. Closest buddies for me with that stock is Toronto, though.

@Victor - I know I'm not as close as your Toronto friends, but you are welcome any time!

That particular Rosebank is something very special. It blows me away every time. So light, but yet so complex.

@Victor, the Zacapa 23 is light and sweet -- too sweet for my liking without any fruit, bitterness, or non-sugar/caramel flavoring. I put it in the C+ range, but then again, that was just my preference. I don't think that it's actually 23 years old; it's technically aged in a solera system. I'm not sure what the average or minimum age of the spirits is.

Having said all that, you know that my preference for rum tends more to the less-sweet and less 'banana' flavored variety...

I opened a newly acquired Karuizawa 13 year old this evening. I'm not sure how to put it into words but I'll try. The nose is the most compelling aroma I've ever smelled in a whiskey. This going to sound crazy but right up front is BBQ, beef bouillon, dark dark fruits, wisps of smoke.....holy cow this is a crazy nose. I can't stop nosing the glass.........

The entry is a powerful, big meaty profile, some heat, sherry is there but in a dark aged way.....coats the tongue is a big way....finish is so long......bitter chocolate on the finish but some sweet sherry notes hanging around.

I would say this is the Mephistopheles beer of whiskey.....big, bold, chewy, complex with so many flavors dancing in and out....it's a crazy whiskey. At only 13 years old....its so so good. This is going to be fun to try over and over.

@Bourbondork, glad you liked it too. I was floored by it. Easily one of my favorites, and shows that, sometimes, age is just a number :)

Tonight I wanted to reward myself for a workout. But I ended late, so I decided to go for a less complicated dram. Something that would open up and be consumed within an hour.

So having recently returned to Forty Creek Confederation Oak, I am now sipping the Portwood (second release). I haven't had it in months. Tonight it is a little spirity, not as smooth as a port-matured single malt, but a pleasant easy sipper.

Trying the new Compass Box, Delilah's Blend. Just wrote a review. A smooth, easy, party whisky, just as it was intended to be. Careful of this one: it goes down as easy as Grandma's lemonade.

Celebrating the news that my wife is expecting our first child with Springbank 12 Cask Strength, Port Ellen 25 year - The Old Malt Cask - Dist'd 11/1982 Bottled 1/2008 and finishing with Bruichladdich Octomore 02.2 Orpheus (5 year old).

@bwmccoy - I hope you're also dancing in the streets and lighting fireworks tonight. You could receive the gift of ten thousand rare whiskies and it still wouldn't compare with the gift of fatherhood. Many congratulations to you and your wife.

a"bunadh batch #45. Freshly opened but already showing all the right signs, this will be one of the memorable ones. Into the decanter it went but have a small pour to see the 'state of play', if you like. This is a rather special drop; even at this early stage, it has the most wonderful nose of sherry and Xmas cake with swirls of Golden Syrup.

It is not as dark as a couple of others I have on hand, #'s39 and 44, with less sherry and more of the deep old gold hue - It really sparkles! The sherry is there but not, at this stage, as forward as I have seen but there is enough and it is spotless.

45 probably doesn't need the large decanter to show well, in fact, the a'bunadh bottle is a good decanter with about 100ml. removed, nevertheless, it be interesting to see how it mellows but at this stage it looks as good as I've seen in 'many a moon'. Chewing this,as I write and starting to get the

fantastic old Bar-B-Que smoke: Wonderful stuff!

Slainte!

Sorry about the large type, must have been the hash key at the start of the line.

@numen I completely agree with your age comment. This one blew me away by the complexity and maturity for such a young whiskey. I tried it at cask last night and look forward to taking it down a few notches to see how it changes.

Wow, someone must have something against Forty Creek!

@bwmccoy, congrats on your news. Great line up to celebrate. Drink it while you can...once the baby's there, the malt moments may be fewer and farther between.

Congratulations @bwmccoy!!

@bwmccoy, warm congratulations from Dramlette and from me! It is a good thing that "pregnant" men can safely drink alcohol!

I am continuing experiments with using small amounts of highly flavoured rum to revive old somewhat soured whiskies. Currently I am sampling Ezra B 12 YO single barrel whisky with a touch of Bacardi Reserve (bottle opened in 1995, but it doesn't seem to have made a decisive difference that it is that old). In general I am very pleasantly surprised at how drinkable a touch of rum makes over-aired whiskies, both bourbons and Scotches. It is a matter of giving a BIT of a sweet balance back to the whisky to counter the sourness which has developed. Really, I would much rather be able to enjoy the whisky which I have paid for than to pour it down the drain.

@Victor

Ralfy has in the past recommended a drop or two of maple syrup to fix a bad bottle. I've never tried it though.

@Nozinan, you could add something sweet like maple syrup if you wish, like Gibson's 100th Anniversary Grey Cup adds the maple syrup to the Canadian whisky. If I can make it work to only vat distilled spirits to try to improve on the whisky that is what I will do. I would not entirely rule anything out, however. If I am drinking a little rum in my whisky I feel like I am drinking vatted spirits. If there were maple syrup in it, I would consider it either a liqueur or a cocktail. Does it matter a lot? Not a huge amount.

Tonight, sipping on a Springbank 13 year bourbon finish cask strength.

@Victor

You could always toast a nice piece of oak, soak it in sherry, dry it, char it, and stick it in the bottle...Ralfy does a lot of such things (he also uses different woods). Speaking of your open bottles, I wonder how many he has?

@Nozinan, yes that all sounds very interesting, shaving the oak...charring the oak, and all...but a few drops of rum is a lot simpler, and probably just as good a result, or better.

Tonight it is The Arran Malt 10yr old. This is a very interesting whisky. Congratulations to @bwmccoy on the news of the new family addition. Have you begun to think of good gender specific whisky names?, and maybe plan on getting some whisky to bottle when the child comes and let it age 18yr. :)

@PMessinger @Victor @CanadianNinja @Nozinan @WhiskyBee - thank you all for your congratulations and kind words.

Tonight, Springbank 12 Cask Strength, followed by Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 9 year (SMWS 127.26) "Student Party Aftermath"

For me Monday is a long . . . very long . . . day. I leave the house at 8:30am and return at 10:45pm. So tonight I set up an Ardbeg tasting: Galileo, Chieftain’s 12yo single cask at 56.8% (Binny's), Ardbog, Uigeadail (L13 058 13:13 6ML), and the Corry (L9 231). The order I just gave was from least enjoyed to most enjoyed. That Corry is something special . . . the Uigeadail is a recent batch . . . but not the greatest (still good mind you).

@bwmccoy - Congratulations to you and your wife! I can see your cabinet being full of 2014's someday. A toast to both of you with Octomore 4.2

Cheers!

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC7: In a word, "Scrumptious"!

This bottle is so much more exciting than I remember it from four or five years ago, more settled, if you like! Without any doubt, the best 7yo. Whisky I have ever seen. It would hold its' own punching well above its' own weight!

How good could this Whisky have been at 10 or even 12yo.? And that gorgeous peat...

Slainte!

Glenfarclas 105 - I prefer Mac Cask, but this is very close.

Diet tonic water and lime on the rocks. I'm on call, and quite envious... Though we had a scorcher today and a cool drink is quite refreshing...