So, what are you drinking now?

Tonight is a Laphroaig night: the standard 10yo (43%) followed by the Quarter Cask, and then the 10yo Cask Strength Batch 005.

Today/Tonight it's more of this J&G Stewart's Usher's Green Stripe. Not overly complex in nature but very enjoyable non the less. :)

PC6

Just finished the Whisky tasting. Some people brought some bottles to try. The final line-up was:

• Forty Creek Heart of Gold

• Amrut Cask Strength Batch 15

• Aberlour 16 YO 40%

• Aberlour A'Bunadh Batch 45

• Springbank Cask Strength batch 11

• Ardmore Traditional Cask

• Edradour Ballechin, a peated expression at 46%

• Laphroaig PX cask

A good time was had by all. We had 11 people over at our peak. The one that most people liked a lot was the Amrut. Other favourites were the A'Bunadh and the Springbank. In all, a very successful evening.

Tonight, had a couple of drams at my brother-in-law's;

11 year Ardmore from a re-fill ex-Sherry butt (SMWS 66.46 - "Pretty Woman’ in a new Maserati"). Ardmore is not usually a favorite distillery of mine, but this was awesome.

Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Scottish Barley. Younger and more subtle than the PC series, but I really enjoyed it.

Home now, 18 year Cragganmore (SMWS 37.51 - “The saloon of a classic yacht”) from a first fill sherry butt. Awesome dram.

Finishing the night with Bruichladdich Octomore 4.1 - A perfect way to end the night.

@Nozinan nice lineup! Do you know which Ballechin batch you had? And what did you think of it. I own a bottle of the Marsala cask, batch 5. I think it is a Whisky with an incomparable character. I quite like it, even though I usually prefer 'Islay' Peat in stead of the farmy highland peat.

Are you going to review the A'Bunadh batch 45?

@wtrstrnghlt

The Ballechin was sherry cask matured. I didn't see a batch number. It was brought by someone else so I have fewer details, sorry. It wasn't bad. Definitely different from ISLAY peat.

I wasn't planning to to do a review of the batch 45 but I could. It will have to wait a while until I can sit down with it in the absence of other malts and concentrate. I have a lot of call shifts, and I'm going to spirit of Toronto this weekend, so I'll need a couple of weeks at least. In short, really nice, maybe not quite as good as the 44 from last year. I would definitely get another if I could find one.

Tonight entertaining the start of the week with Highland Park 15yr old. :)

Tonight I am tasting the first 4 releases of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12yo in honor of @Victor. He graciously supplied me with 2oz of the 3rd release (the "Beast" at 66.6%) that I was unable to get my hands on. Notes will follow before too long.

Cheers my friend

Bowmore 8yr old..... Last of it

Wemyss Peat Chimney 8yo. Nice all around blend.

Glenmorangie 8 year (SMWS 125.70 - "A dram of two halves") with a few drops of water to open it up.

Bruichladdich PC10

The drams of my HP 15yr old, and Ushers Green Stripe. These two side by side while my admiral/wife is away at choir practice. :)

Highland Park 10, Im doing ok:)

I'm not a fan of entry level blends, but my wife decided she needed some last minute butterscotch and the only thing I had was a 3 year opened bottle (200 cc at that) of Grant's family reserve. So before wasting the sugar and cream I gave it a sniff and a taste and it wasn't at all bad....

As for the butterscotch.... It tasted ok but I don't know if it will end up thick enough...

Ledaig 15, wonderful complex malt

Machir Bay and finally.. the Loch Gorm, its very good:)

Redbreast 12 Cask Strength, one of the best whiskies i've owned so far.

Winding down the day with a Masterson's 10 Year Old 100% Canadian rye.

Recently finished the Angel's Envy in Port Cask - excellent bourbon at a great price and now rotating bw Rock Hill Farms and High West Campfire (w a lean to the High West)

Finishing the evening with some Mitchell & Sons Green Spot, wow this is a candy store in every drop. :)

I have a Highland Park Svein bought at the Chilean duty free to give break to the peat monsters, but my current selection for weekends is Laphroaig QC, Ardbeg Uigeadail and Talisker 175th Anniversary

Picked up a bottle of the old-version Black Bottle the other day, if only because it's supposed to be so much better than the new version. A bit disappointing. More grainy and one-dimensional than the taste I had at a bar several months ago. Drinkable, no more.

Followed it up with some Glenfarclas 105, from a bottle down to the last few drams. A new-ish bottle, but it's already showing it's age. The sherry's dissipated, and some tired wood and baby sick now overwhelm.

I'll finish up with some A'bunadh Batch #44 so the night won't be a total bust!

With @Dramlette and a visiting friend: Lochside 47 yo 54.6% (thank you, Brother Nic!), Bowmore 26 yo, and Bushmills 21 yo Madeira. All were quite enjoyable. It took me about 36 hours after the Spirit of Toronto afterparties to be ready for more whisky. I am now ready to go.

@Victor It took me just a little longer than you to recover. I am ready now though, and I hope to relax with a dram of Booker's to continue my enjoyment of good bourbon....if my kids will let me.

@Nozinan @Victor Luckily, I left the afterparty early and got a decent night's sleep. But really, that makes me a giant loser.

@talexander - you would have enjoyed the police escort back to the hotel. Toronto's finest are excellent chaperons and their horses are magnificent.

Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. A good starter dram for an evening. Slight oily mouth. Certainly one of the better Irish Whiskies I've had.

Laphroaig 18 yo. WOW. Such a complex whisky. Aged Islay malts are really very nice. They have a lot to offer, considering the maritime character of the spirit and the fruitiness, sweetness, spiciness added by the long cask maturation. Delicious.

Something about May and Bourbon go together in my mind. Tonight I am tasting (very wee drams) of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12yo (4th batch), Stagg Jr. (1st batch), Stagg Jr. (2nd batch), and Pappy Van Winkle 15yo (2013 release). Keep in mind this is coming from a peat-head - but I like the Pappy the least of these. To me there is something - which I can't quite pinpoint yet - that I don't like in the finish.