So, what are you drinking now?

Tonight it's Macallan 10yr old Fine Oak. :)

Forty Creek Portwood Reserve. Neat. It seems the complexity has gone up a notch since I last tried it.

Willett 12 YO Bourbon, barrel # 8065, "Calypso", 57.8% ABV; open nearly 5 years, this is still excellent.

Treating myself to a hearty dram of Talisker 10 yr.

Don't mess with the Bourbon loving Japanese - their flag will blend nicely with Maker's Mark colors!

I've got an Ardmore 'Traditional' freshly opened and will decant it. 'Had a taste and it is splendid, however the color is unlike any Ardmore I've ever seen - It has the same red(ish) hue as Laphroaig 'Cairdeas' 2013 edn., not as intense but unmistakable! This confirms what I have suspected for a long time that the Ardmore 1/4 casks are ex. Laphroaig: She is a sister Distillery, after alI. I might be wrong but...

Has anyone else noticed this color similarity?

Cheers.

Balmenach 27 yr - Chieftain's bottling. Lovely toffee and caramel everywhere... uh oh... none left

Finishing off the remnants of three 375ml bottles tonight: Great King Street Artist's Blend, Old Pulteney 12, and Old Pulteney 17. Had to make some room in the cabinet and thought I'd start with the little guys.

Eagle Rare 10. Oxidation has really helped this bottle. Really enjoying it now.

@pareeparee - Dans quelle ville as-tu achetée la bouteille de Macallan Cask Strength?

Started the night with Cragganmore 18 year (SMWS 37.51 - “The saloon of a classic yacht”) from a first fill sherry butt.

As a toast to my son who just moved from Seattle to Sydney, Australia for school, finishing the night with a side by side tasting of the last dram of Bruichladdich Octomore 2.2 Orpheus and the first dram of Bruichladdich Octomore 4.1.

Congratulations to your son @bwmccoy! There is no better education than the experience of living in a another country. What he will learn at school will pale in comparison to what he will learn from living abroad.

Thanks @CanadianNinja - I couldn't agree with you more.

Blind Vertical / Horizontal Aberlour Tasting last night (I organized it, so I knew what was in the bottles): Aberlour 10yr, 12yr, and 16yr at 40% AB, followed by Aberlour 10yr, and 12yr at 43% ABV, then a'bunadh Batch 46 at 60.4% ABV. It was a bit of an experiment on my part to see whether people could tell the difference between the 40% and 43% 10 and 12 year expressions (I wasn't able to lay my hands on a bottle of the 12yr non-chill filtered at 48%...).

It was pretty much a unanimous decision (8 blind tasters) that the 10 and 12 year at 40% were the better bottlings, even beating out the 16yr at 40%, which I found very interesting.

Hockey Day In Canada - a celebration of the sweet game. Enjoying all things hockey with a delightful dram of Jameson Gold Resrve.

1996 Vintage Port, pretty sweet but very tasty with a nutty honey nose and some complex dark fruit tannic flavors and a long grapy finish. Im planning on buying a nice port matured whisky so this is a nice way to get to know and maybe recognize the flavors better. Would port and peat go well together?

Relaxing after hosting a few days of family visiting. Introduced an uncle to JW Green Thurs night. He enjoyed it but insisted having it over ice. Not a problem as long as he enjoyed it and our company. Tonight enjoying Bruichladdich 10....nose smells just like bisquit dough (I love Bruichladdich 10). Next Belvinie 15 Single Barrel...tonight all I smell and taste is strong alcohol. Can't appreciate it tonight. Finishing with Belvenie 21 Portwood. Elegant, graceful, delicious. An amazing spirit.

My first post here.. Currently sipping a glass of Balvenie Triple Cask 12 which was a Christmas gift (purchased from an airport duty free shop I think..). I'd love to do a formal review but I'm not sure my Whisky tasting skills are quite there yet.

Amateur review:

Nose: Green apples and a hint of orange/citrus.

Palate: Fruit, Spice, Vanilla, and a fairly harsh alcohol tone which is slightly worse than I'd expect from a 12yr Whisky.

Finish: Lingering fruit and spice.

Overall, I can't complain. This was a gift after all. I'm not sure I would purchase this bottle again, but I know I'll find a way to enjoy it while it lasts..

@bainsy

Welcome to Connosr. Hope to hear more from you.

Tonight, finally got to crack my Springbank CS 12 year old. It tastes very similar to the batch I had last. Not super great, but you can tell it's a quality product. But after a year open the last bottle was fantastic, and I expect similar things from this one. A little salty, great nose for the first half hour. Does turn more bitter after about an hour (hazzard of pouring before the kids are in bed) but it's been a bout 2 hours now and I'm still enjoying it.

There's a sour hit on the finish I just noticed, can't quite place it. But it really works!

I still can't believe they've discontinued the 12 YO CS for a 10YO. I think I'll have to ask my brother in law to pick up another (maybe 2) for me back in Calgary for "the future"

Glenfarclas 15 ... I can understand all the great reviews now....wonderful stuff

@PeatyZealot Yes, they do. See BenRiach Solstice for example. Or maybe a littlebit cheaper the 12 Y.O. 'Importanticus Fumosus' . Excellent whiskies.

@bainsy - Welcome! Your tasting notes are very informative indeed. As long as you go with what you honestly find, there's nothing "amateur" about them.

No logic, no verticals, no rhyme or reason to what I'm drinking tonight. Just a case of going to the cabinet and thinking "That looks good...that looks good." Started with some Booker's (to start ?!?), followed up with Elijah Craig 18, a bit of Glenfarclas 12, and now finishing with a taste of GlenDronach 15 Revival. My tasting evenings are usually all-Scotch or all-bourbon, and I usually increase the strength as I go along. Yet this progression has worked splendidly tonight.

Tonight was the Ardbeg Corry tasting I have been meaning to do for a while now. I put the L9 231 against the L11 012 and the L11 279. Boy are these guys different. I have already review the L9 231 with a score of 97 . . . and boy does that stand (it is so very awesome). The L 11 279 I scored a 94. Tonight it came out at a 92.5 (so in the ball park). the L11 012 came in around 87 for me. It really was a sad thing to realize how different the batch variation can be . . . I mean . . . I know it is reality, but I am just so sad to see it up close and personal.

For the love Ardbeg . . . get your act together!

But here is the big question: would you rather have a few "amazing" batches from Ardbeg, or a bunch of consistent mid 80's score bottles? Difficult call if you ask me.

Well I know this isn't whisk(e)y but it is delicious, Im enjoying a Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbeer, a wheat beer from the worlds oldest brewery (since 1040). Its in Germany if you haven't noticed. Extremely recommended for you beer drinkers.

@Nock - Batch variation is the spice of life! Same old, same old is a blend. Grain harvest and yield vary - weather varies - wood quality varies - batch variation keeps us hunting for old dusties.

Säntis Dreifaltigkeit 52% peated blended malt, its from Switzerland and its really good:)

@Mammon Ive been looking at those... gonna grab it when the weather gets better :)

And a Cherry/Minneola Old Fashioned, so lovely:)

Long day, just finishing up documentation. Then time for a small Booker's while I work on our 2011 photobook. I know I'm behind, but I'm even more behind in consumin the whisky that I buy. Anyone in Toronto want to have a whisky tasting party?