So, what are you drinking now?

@CanadianNinja Theadjack! Reading both yours and @paddockjudge 's comments, got me thinking about early to mid 80's Bowmore. Have either of you experienced the overly lavender accented, FWP (I'm being pc here), bottles that many reported from this time? It is not present in more recent bottlings, but there was a period in their history that had this problematic profile.

To segue back to the original discussion, I wonder if the floral notes you pick up are similar.

@Onibubba I can say that I DEFINITELY have noticed that quality - and I hate it. To date, the worst whisky I've every tasted (well, maybe 2nd worst after Jim Beam Red Stag) was a 22 year old Bowmore distilled in the '80s. Nauseatingly floral FWPey, in the worst way.

@Onibubba, it's funny that you mention Bowmore. Now, I don't have a lot of experience with the Bowmore range, and I have no experience whatsoever with any Bowmore whiskies from the '80s. Having said that, I am not a fan of any of the Bowmore whiskies I've had, the main reason being the overpowering floral notes I've come across in them. Each whisky felt like I was nosing a bottle of Dior! I'm sure there must be something they produce that I would like, but I will never buy another Bowmore unless I've sampled it first.

I'm aware that my love for Japanese whiskies may seem a little odd, floral notes are extremely common in Japanese whiskies! But I have always found the floral characteristics of Japanese whiskies to be much more sophisticated and subtle. They are also counter balanced by the common spice notes existing in their whiskies.

Has there been any discussion on the Dalmore King Alexander III, 40% alcohol?. This is the only single malt in the world to unite 6 different cask finishes: Ex-bourbon casks, Matusalem oloroso sherry butts, Madeira barrels, marsala casks, port pipes and Cabernet Sauvignon wine barriques. I found it very interesting from the fact that each sip I took i got something different from it, any comments!

@CanadianNinja

I tried the 12, 15 and 18 in a sample pack of Bowmore and wasn't impressed. But I took a chance on a bottle of Laimrig and it's not the same beast at all. It's a really good whisky. Maybe it's the difference between watered down and cask strength.

@Nozinan That has been my (limited) experience with Bowmore as well. I tried the 15 and 18, was not impressed in the least, and wrote them off. Then I got to sample a cask strength 16 year old, and it was very nice. Not nice enough to make me want to do much more exploration of their range, but nice.

Starting with Red wine tonight and then venturing into Talisker Storm, Tried it last night disappointed would be the word of the evening but always willing to give it another go.

COLLINGWOOD 21 continued...Day 2.

I couldn't finish a dram of this whisky last night; however, I did finish it this evening. The off-putting perfume-like floral notes have dissipated and so did almost everything else with it.

What remains is more pleasant, rather than less unpleasant, but underwhelming. Some of the floral notes reminded me of another long-aged 100% rye whisky - Alberta Premium 30 YO.

The AP30 is balanced - brilliant spicy notes that create flares of flavour, complimented by sweet waves of honey yet contrasted by citrus pith and bitter oak; an ebb and flow, mimicking the decades-long exchange between whisky and wood. The COLLINGWOOD 21 lacks this balance - perhaps it is a combination of the 'toasted maple' influence and the floral notes that have accumulated after two decades - whatever the reason, this whisky lacks dimension and the ability to impress when poured from the bottle on days one and two.

I am now all-in with this one. I'll be returning to this well-aged 100% malted rye rarity. This is arguably the most unique whisky ever distiiled, aged, and bottled in North America....distilled in Ontario, Canada, aged at the Brown-Forman facility in Collingwood, Ontario; transported by tank truck to Louisville, Kentucky, USA to be bottled and then returned to Ontario...100% Canadian malted rye grain, lengthy barrel aging, toasted maple finish, international travel before and after bottling, and then back to where it all started.

Follow-up required.

@paddockjudge I'm about to watch The Marx Bros. Duck Soup for the umpteenth time….I wonder, should I open this now and try it, in the context of zany comedy? And in the hope that, over time, it will improve with oxidation in the bottle? Or………skip it?

@talexander - Absolutely, YES!! I don't want to be alone on this journey. Try pouring two and let the second dram sit for a while.

@paddockjudge Hm. It's 9:40pm on a work night…I shall not open two, but I shall open one. I'll send my thoughts….but won't write a review until much later. I have to say, though, based on your notes vs. my expectations…it's really too bad. Canada needs a seriously kick-fuckin-ass non-Alberta rye whisky. Sounds like this ain't it.

...I'll be there in four hours.

@paddockjudge Ha - ya better ring the bell a few times 'cuz I'll be asleep!

@paddockjudge WOW! What is this? Seriously, no other Canadian whisky, nor rye whisky from anywhere, tastes like this. It is the only rye and/or Canadian whisky with French Whore Perfume notes - EXACTLY like those weird 1980s Bowmores! Totally off the shizzle, yo. Not enjoying this. BUT…I won't give up. No, I won't. I'll let it sit, let it oxidize, and see what happens. Fascinating, though. Like a train derailment.

Which, by the way, is kind of perfect for The Marx Bros. Duck Soup.

@talexander - I think we have a theme going here. Sherried malt and strippers - perfumed ryes and working girls...perhaps Ruby, Amber, and Sienna can use this when on duty.

@paddockjudge If we have a perfumed rye from Collingwood, we need a stripper with a predilection toward Elvis? Is there a Priscilla in the house?

@talexander - I suppose we'll find out in July.

Picked up a 3 pack of Uisge Source water of Scotland recently with water from 3 locations (Highland, Islay and Speyside). Last night tried 2 Speyside drams and one Islay dram in 2 glasses; 1 with no water added and the other glass I put about 5 drops of water from the appropriate regional water. While the water obviously changed the whisky, I couldn't really tell that the Scotland water made any difference. Has anyone else tried this water? If so, I would appreciate your feedback. The whisky used for my "experiment" was;

Cardhu 27 Year (SMWS 106.18-"Bottled essence of summer") - preferred this one without water

Macallan Cask Strength - great with and without water, but much more dark chocolate notes with water.

Kilchoman 4 year (SMWS 129.3 - “Unwind and set your watch to ‘Islay Time’”) - not a lot of difference either way. Maybe that is due to the age of the whisky. Should have added more water in this one.

Reflecting on last night, a better experiment may have been to add my usual water to one and add the Scotland water to the second glass to see if I can tell a difference. I will try that in the coming days.

Tonight, no water. Started with Springbank 15, then North British 21 year Single Grain (SMWS G1.11 - “Iced mulled wine and Sorrento Limoncello”) and finishing the night with Kilchoman Machir Bay (2012 Release).

whacked up a bunch of reviews from a tasting 2 nights ago. We had the deanston 12

Kilkerran Work in progress 5

Glendronach 21 Parliament (@PeatyZealot as promised connosr.com/reviews/glendronach/…)

Heartwood Convict Release (review: connosr.com/reviews/heartwood/…)

An Adelphi 6 y/o Glenrothes

Glendronach 10 y/o single cask

and a Gordon & Macphail 12 y/o Caol Ila

Now i might dig into a dram as well. hmmmmm what will it be...........

Compass Box Asyla from the May 2010 batch. Apparently Jim's scored this particular batch of the Asyla a very promising 93.

Found 3 bottles at a local bottle-o doing a runout clearance at $48 a bottle. To put it into perspective, a bottle of Johnnie Black typically goes for about $40 a bottle here in Australia and the current Asyla goes for $80 a bottle.

Rest assured I bought all 3 bottles. :D

Started with a dram of Famous Grouse Gold Reserve, went on to some Shinshu Mars Amber and now enjoying a glass of Laphroaig Triple Wood.

Glenkinchie 12yo, not too impressive, fairly boring, but a nice sipper

Ledaig 15 official botteling while watching boxing. Having trouble keeping the attention on the match :)

Expanding my palate and flavor profile with a Missouri Winery (Yes not whisk(e)y I know) made cream sherry and port. Going with basics to understand the flavors that are imparted into whisk(e)y through these barrels and before I spend more money on bigger names on Port houses and of course Port finished drops of the water of life (whisk(e)y).

Trans Canada Flight - 1185. Eleven Canadians from eight distilleries across five provinces. The western provinces tend to produce more single grain expressions while the central region produces more blends with rye highlights.

No phenols, no smoke, no iodine nor pickled fish. No wine, no double barrels, no hogs heads nor sherry butts; no virgin oak. Only Canadian grains, water, and yeast aged in wood already charged with beautiful brown spirit. The oak is subtle and the grain is dominant. Simply put, an exercise in Sweet Surrender.

Caribou Crossing,

Crown Royal Ltd Ed 1975

CR Extra Rare

CR Reserve

Wiser's Red Letter 2013 45% abv

Wiser's Legacy L11 196B 43% abv

Wiser's 18 YO 2010 L10 137

Highwood Ninety 5 YO 45% abv

Highwood Ninety 20 YO 45% abv

Canadian Club 20 YO

Gibson's Finest Rare 18 YO.

Karuizawa 13 yo, 57.5%. Thick and yummy.

It has been a very, very busy weekend. We had our St. Clynelish's Day / International Whisk(e)y Day Celebration last night, featuring:

1) Compass Box Oak Cross (the Clynelish...Scotland)*

2) Dalwhinnie 15yr (Scotland)

3) Redbreast 12 (Ireland)*

4) Tullamore Dew (Ireland)

5) The Belgian Owl (Belgium)

6) Mackmyra 1st Edition (Sweden)

7) Teerenpeli 8yr (Finland)*

8) Brenne (France)*

9) Basil Hayden's (USA)

10) Stranahan's Colorado Straight Whiskey (USA)*

11) Collingwood (Canada)*

12) Tap 357 Maple Whisky (Canada)

13) Kelowna Urban Whisky (Canada)

14) Amrut Fusion (India)*

15) Amber Distilleries Ltd. Desert Queen Reserve (India)

16) Nikka Taketsuru 12yr (Japan)

17) Nikka Yoichi 10yr (Japan)

13 people, 17 whiskies (the ones marked with an * are the ones that I tried either last night or tonight, and food to go with each one...bacon wrapped water chestnuts, bacon corn bread muffins, slow cooked pork with baked beans, savoury olive, onion, and cheese bread, other cheeses, shortbread, samosas, chocolate, sushi, crackers...

And now I'm sipping the last dram from my bottle of Taketsuru 12yr, which I was given and opened for Father's Day in 2012.

This HAS been a busy day for Ontario Connosr members!

I met a high school friend in January after a few years of not seeing him. He lives out of province now. At the end of our visit I discovered he had an interest in the brown spirit. So today I was finally able to have him over for a tasting. I prepared the usual lox, bagels (even though he can do better in Montreal), cheese, accessories.... And in between catching up, I was able to come up with a successful flight to introduce him to "my world" of whisky:

1. Forty Creek Heart of Gold.

2. Booker's small batch Bourbon.

3. Highland Park 12 YO (43%).

4. Bladnoch sherry matured 11 YO sheep's label (55%).

5. Laphroaig Quarter Cask.

I think the order worked very well. I wanted to start with the light complexity of the Heart of Gold, . There was enough food between the Booker's and the HP 12 to reset his taste buds. I was a bit worried that the peat of the HP would taint the Bladnoch but I must say it tasted as good as I've ever had it up until now. The Islam finish worked well as a dessert malt (he even had seconds of that one).

In all, more proof to me that this stuff tastes even better when you share it with friends.

Ok, I apologize for the typo in my last post. I meant to type ISLAY finish, but my iPad thought it knew better and I didn't catch it. I apologize for the mistake, and hope I didn't offend anyone.