So, what are you drinking now?

Tonight finished off my bottle of Mortlach 17 year Cask Strength (Duncan Taylor)-Dstl'd July 1995-Btl'd July 2012-Cask # 4103-Bottle 18 of 272 - Really enjoyed this one!

Moved on to Springbank 15

and finished the night with Kilchoman Machir Bay (2012 Release)

finally, a nice early night at home, no friends, girlfriend or family to worry about. just me with a dram, exactly what i feel like. Nothing too spetacular tonight id be too tired to appreciate it, just the 'Livet master distillers reserve, simple and decent.

Cheers mates

Ruffino Gold, welcome aboard. Forty Creek in Georgia, awesome. I'm a big Forty Creek fan, especially the annual Reserve limited releases. Cheers!

Visiting Vancouver, B.C. for the weekend, celelbrating our wedding anniversary earlier in the week. At dinner with pan-seared scallops - Talisker 10.

Later, at our favorite whisky bar - Shebeen Whisk(e)y House;

Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique - A very interesting dram. Maybe a little too much wine forward for my taste, but still a quality dram. Glad I had a chance to finally try a Kavalan.

Followed that up with Talisker Storm. A little underwhelmed compared to the standard 10 year old. Great nose, but not much of a finish.

Finished the night with Bruicladdich Octomore 4.2 Comus. An exceptional whisky! I would love to find a bottle of this one. It rivals Orpheus, in my opinion, which is one of my all time favorites. Thanks to the Sauternes finish, this dram is Salty, Sweet and Smoky. Perfect!

@bwmccoy I LOVE Shebeen - they had Kavalan at the bar?? Wow! And I agree with you about the Storm - I find it quite overrated (and I'm a big Talisker fan).

Oogie:) L13 246

@talexander - I'm a big Talisker fan as well, but have been disappointed with the last couple of bottles that I've purchased (the 2011 Distillers Edition and the Port Ruighe).

We love the Shebeen as well. This is our 4th visit and each time over the past 5 years, we've had the same bartender - Randy; he really knows his stuff. He convinced me to try the Kavalan. He said their ex-bourbon cask is even better than the vinho barrique, but they were out of that one.

After getting back to the hotel, my lovely wife recommended that I pick up a bottle of the Kavalan. When my wife tells me to do something, especially when it's to buy a bottle of whisky, I listen. Just got back from the BC Liquor Store with my purchase.

After dinner tonight, we are heading over to Fets, which I understand is a partner bar with the Whisky Society. We've never been, but in looking at their website, they have over 420 different bottles of whisky and over 30 of those are Society bottles. I'll post what I sample later.

Red Breast CS and it's tasting great. I'm bumping it up from 90 to 92.

@CanadianNinja - I'm hoping you have a cracker of a barrel. I've hit a couple of sweet and spicy honey barrels that were rye-forward, mmmmm. Where did you find yours?

Hello my friend @paddockjudge! I finally picked up the Caribou Crossing, I've been eyeing it for months now. It's quite easy to find here in Sendai, there are a number of stores which currently have some in stock.

I had a couple drams last night. So far my take on my bottle is, fantastic vanilla and maple both on the nose and palate. The rye spice is there but not as strong as I usually prefer. A very drinkable whisky, but it's just...too weak! I think bottling this whisky at 40% ABV really inhibits this from becoming a 'knock your socks off' dram. I would love to give this whisky a spin at a higher ABV...

Tonight, My wife and I visited Frets Whisky Kitchen in Vancouver, BC. which features several hundred whiskies including 30 plus Society bottles. My goal tonight was to try Society bottles from distilleries that I have never tried before. Mission accomplished with the exception of the last one.

First up, an 8 year Miltonduff (SMWS 72.24 - "A Promise of Sophisticated Desserts") Distilled in Sep. 2004 from an ex-white wine hogshead. This one was a complete surprise. For an 8 year old, due to the color and the nose / taste, I would have sworn this was from an ex-Sherry cask. An exceptional dram, especially for its age.

Next, a 17 year Glen Moray (SMWS 35.85 - "Vivacious, Voluptuous & Luxurious") Distilled Oct. 1995 from a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel. The nose was very subtle neat, but more pronounced with water. The taste was sweet; honey, toffee and vanilla.

Next, a 23 year Aultmore (SMWS 73.52 - "Speakeasy Perkiness") Distilled May 1989 from a refill Sherry butt. This one was not your typical sherry bomb; much more subtle. There was a whiff of smoke in the finish. Wonderful dram.

Finished the night with a 10 year Bruichladdich Port Charlotte (SMWS 127.32 - "A Manly Dram") Distilled June 2002 from a refill barrel. Everything you would expect from a Port Charlotte and some much more. I tasted this one well after the getting back to our hotel. I begged the bar to sell me a bottle. No such luck.

A great night of whisky in a great venue.

@bwmccoy I live in Vancouver, and I've been to the Shebeen (and had some of that very bottle of Octomore 4.2, natch! Great dram, wish I could find a bottle as well).

I didn't know Fet's had rebranded as a whisky bar though. I remember it from about 15 or so years back as a decent place to eat, but that's it. I'll have to head on over ASAP!

@bwmccoy I actually liked the Port Ruighe, not so much the Storm. Hope to try the Dark Storm one day!

@CanadianNinja, I totally agree about the 80 proof whisky being too subtle. I have often wondered why Sazerac would not bottle this at a higher abv, they certainly have the experience to get it right.

Recently I had the honour of sampling a Blended Canadian Whisky from the 1940's; this had an abv of 45% and was full of spiciness.

The lack of rye spice in your bottle is a hit and miss thing with the single barrel offerings. I've had a few that would pass for aged Alberta Premium. Drew Mayville, formerly of Seagrams/Crown Royal picked the barrels for the Caribou Crossing release, he seems to be pretty good at it. I've had a few that were lacking in spiciness and possessed the mellowness of aged corn whisky - both styles have been very nice; I suspect you may have the latter.

@paddockjudge, maybe you are on to something. Maybe SAZERAC COMPANY should bottle more Canadian whiskies, but do it at 50%, 55%, and 60% abv, sell them back to the Canadians, and then maybe the Canadian public will see how good they can be and generate a groundswell to have the Canadian distilleries bottle some of their own barrels at 50% abv and up. They could call it 'CBSE', "Caribou Crossing Steroid Edition".

Well...'CCSE'....

@Victor, Absolute agreement!

Let the marketplace decide how good this stuff is. Leave the juice alone; I can add my own water.

What a great suggestion...The Caribou Crossing Collection - available at a retail outlet near you. Presenting a gift pack with 3 x 200 ml bottles; one each at 50%, 55%, and 60% (if possible). This would be the beginning of a new era for Candian Distillers and bottlers of Canadian Whisky...so far it seems to be a game of chicken...and nobody is willing to go past 45% abv.

It's amazing to me that Canadian distilleries are not more open to single cask or cask strength expressions. It must have to do with some kind of tax penalties on higher ABV bottlings? Even John Hall won't explore those possibilities, let alone the big guys...

@paddockjudge, that Boss Hog Alberta Distillers Vermont juice is upwards of 65% abv. It should certainly be POSSIBLE to do a standardized 60% abv Canadian whisky.

Yamazaki 12 y.o. so smooth

@Victor , so how do we lobby the bottlers or distillers...maybe we should hire @bourbondork to get us a honey barrel out of Calgary.

@talexander - somebody must be able to do this. Barrie and Barrie have released at high abv with there early barrels.

@paddockjudge Yes, but they don't have the distribution (nor, IMHO, the quality) to make it work...

@talexander - It's not that I didn't like the Port Ruighe. It just didn't live up to my expectations. Thanks for letting me know about the Dark Storm. I haven't heard of that one before. I will keep my eye open for a chance to try it as well.

@HeartlessNinny - You are in for a treat at Fets. I was like a kid in a candy store. The price per dram was in line with, if not a buck or two cheaper than The Shebeen on comparable whiskies. As we were leaving, the bartender mentioned that the Legacy Liquor store in Vancouver sells SMWS whiskies (to members), so we went there today on the way out of town. In addition to SMWS bottles, they have a very nice selection of whisky. I did some damage to the credit card... of course, with approval from my lovely wife.

Tonight, started off with North British 21 year grain (SMWS G1.11 - “Iced mulled wine and Sorrento Limoncello”)

Finishing up with Kilchoman 4 year (SMWS 129.3 - “Unwind and set your watch to ‘Islay Time’”)

@Nock needed to drive up for his semi-annual haul of 8-10 whiskies from Montgomery County, Md, and to drop off some bottles he had for me. So we hung out last night and today over a few drams. The list, if I remember them all, of what we sampled:

Talisker 10, 18, 57 North, and a newly opened bottle of 25 yo

Danfield's 21 yo, Royal Canadian Small Batch, Alberta Premium

Van Winkle 10-90, 10-107, two batches of 12 yo, a 2013 15 yo Pappy Van Winkle, and an Old Weller Antique 107, 7 yo age statement

Bushmills 21 yo malt Madeira Finish, Bowmore 26 yo, Glen Garioch Founders Reserve

Willett Family Estate # 8065 12 yo Calypso bourbon, # 79 18 yo Sopressata bourbon, 4 yo # 1475 Rye, and 4 yo 27A Rye

Jura Prophecy, Port Charlotte An Turas Mor, Port Charlotte PC 5 Alchemist

Batches 2 and 5 of Amrut Intermediate Sherry

Johnnie Walker Black Label, 43.4% abv, bottled 1979, Islay Mist 8 yo

2 bottlings of Ardbeg 10, a new bottle of @Nock's Corryvreckan

Smith and Cross 57% abv Traditional Jamaican Pot Still Rum

and ...Bruichladdich Black Art 2.2 21 yo. 32 total? Yeah, that sounds right.

@Victor

Wow, you tasted in 24 hours more different drams than I will in a year! I would be lying if there weren't a little awe and envy...

@Victor ONLY 32? Must have been a quiet night! ;)

@Nozinan, the opportunity to taste with a good friend is something of which to take full advantage.

@talexander, I admit it, I really didn't have it in me to comfortably try any more. We did call last night a little early, though, before midnight, so that we'd have something left for getting a few more in today.

@talexander: Opened a Talisker 'Storm' and it rather subdued, to say the least -Dumped it into my large square decanter (with about 2 1/2" of air space), left it for about a month and the Whisky improved as much as any I have decanted. What a splendid Whisky it mellowed into with all the 'Old School' traits & a truly magical finish. I use a large funnel and bubble it in as fast as it will go, then put it aside.

I always get a buzz when I wake a sleeper: This Talisker is a classic example of how a fine Whisky will mellow! Samaroli had quite a lot to say about mellowing also he contended that every Whisky had a perfect age to be bottled and a perfect time to be opened (sic)!

Slainte!

Acquired some Four Roses Small batch Reviewed shortly. Thinking about some Sazeracs as I found a lonely bottle of Herbsaint in a little northern town of 5,200 Lost? I thought so.