So, what are you drinking now?

Amrut Cask Strength batch 15, May 2012. Trying the warming technique Ashok used at his Masterclass on Saturday. Certainly brings out the nose. Very perfumy. The palate is spicy and it's not as sweet as I remember it. Very bourbony with some banana on the finish. First time I've tasted that. Great dram!

A'Bunadh: A mini tasting of batch #'s42, 44, 45 and there was not much in it - It would have been better, had the the bottles had the same levels, had been open the same length of time etc. just the same there was very little separating them with the three of us leaning towards #45, however the longer they sat, the more impressive the #42 became. Will do this again.

Cheers.

Cheers

just polishing off a bottle i got the dregs of from a tasting i was at a couple of weeks ago. Tomintoul with a peaty tang, its not bad at all

Very much agree that peat is a taste you acquire but when you do, a whole new world is opened to you.

Wanting to expose some friends to other types, over the last couple of nights, opened bottles of the El Dorado 25 year old rum and Don Julio 1942 tequila (both are staples for any residential bar).

@paddockjudge, I really did laugh out loud when I saw your recent profile pic of "Pimlico, Home of the Preakness." When you eventually get down to Baltimore, Pimplico is just half a dozen clicks away from my sister's whisky collection. Her late husband was such a horse race lover that she ritually laid his ashes upon the finish line at Pimlico. @Dramlette was asked to do the invocation.

In the meantime, I am toasting you with a very solid very inexpensive bourbon: Evan Williams Bottled In Bond!

Ardbeg 10yo. Standard bot. @46% abv. Code 13008322.

Freshly opened this was the most unattractive Ardbeg I've ever seen. Extremely pale (even by Ardbeg's standard), full of splinters and violently aggressive on the palate, tasting more like a five yo. malt than a 10 yo. Anyway, dumped it into a large decanter and pushed it to the very back of the cabinet. I thought that this was a Malt that was beyond saving...however, two months later it is superb, as smooth as silk and has developed the most wonderful zesty lemon / lime character on the nose, palate and finish. It is less peaty than I have ever seen from Ardbeg and somewhat reminiscent of Bunnahabhain (?). I'm still not convinced it is a 10yo. but is drinking so well that I don't care.

Cheers.

Celebrating Mothers Day with out of town family and some Green Spot and Black Grouse. :)

@Victor - Whiskey and laughter were meant for each other, just as whiskey and horse racing are a natural fit. It would only be fitting, when visiting you and your family, that I attend Pimlico; I hope that making a day of it would be possible.

My father owned several race horses, standard breds, during his lifetime. He enabled me to acquire knowledge of whisk(e)y and horses; it is not surprising that he owned and successfully raced a horse named MAKER'S MARK.

I very much enjoy the visits with you and @Dramlette. I too will raise a toast to you with an inexpensive and solid whisky; Corby's Lot No.40, which by the way is a component of your 'favourite' Canadian Whisky, Wiser's Legacy.

"The starter has called the horses...it's post time!"

Glenlivet 15. I've said it before and I'll say it again, this is my most underrated dram. Have a great night, guys.

Trying out Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select. Still pondering how I feel about it.

@teebone673 Agreed - very underrated!

@Oberon IMHO, way overpriced - and I find it too oaky.

@paddockjudge - ditto on the Corby's Lot No. 40. Just spent a lovely (but cool) long weekend on Michigan's Mackinac Island and treated myself to numerous visits to a bottle of Corby's Lot No. 40 malted rye whiskey. Oh so smooth and mild. What a treat. I highly recommend for those seeking a whiskey to fit a softer, milder moment.

Ardbeg Uigeadail...It's tasting much better since the bottle has been opened nearly 6 months ago.

I'm catching up with a few old bottles of bourbon and Canadian whisky I haven't tried in awhile:

1) Johnnie Drum Black Label, solid bourbon, very spicy, about an 85 pt whiskey; I like most of what comes out of KBD (Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, Ltd.)

2) Early Times 354 Bourbon, decent enough bourbon, and much better than the Early Times Whiskey, which is usually about the No 4 selling whisk(e)y in America. The true bourbon still rates low 80s for me. I don't know why anyone would choose to drink the Early Times Whiskey, other than for alcohol content.

3) Wiser's 18 yo Canadian, the one bottle among 250+ I have purchased I was most pissed off with; the nose is really quite lovely and now rates 23 or 24 from me; the taste is still cloyingly sweet and artificial/chemical. This is drinkable but I can't drink it without thinking, "This doesn't taste natural."

4) Wiser's Small Batch, another bottle I regretted buying. Nowadays it tastes more and more black licorice-y, along with the maple. This is still very hard for me to drink. Way too chemical tasting.

5) Canadian Club Reserve, 10 yo, is still ultra-sweet-fruity, and like the cherry syrup at an old-time soda-fountain. This would make a good cocktail whisky, I think. Neat it tastes too much like cherry cough syrup for my taste.

6) Hiram Walker's Old Rye Whisky, at this point this has no nose at all, and remains so non-descript on the palate that you would wonder that you were drinking a whisky, so little is the flavour. I had high hopes for Hiram Walker's Old Rye Whisky, but it is so bland I hesitate even to give it to my father-in-law.

Woodford reserve with coca cola from a glass bottle

@Victor, how does the Johnnie Drum Black compare to the Private Stock? I've become a huge fan of the Private Stock, been eyeing the Black for a while...

@Victor I hope you had a chance to try some Forty Creek Heart of Gold while you were in Toronto. I'm halfway through writing my exam questions for my students ( 2 of 4 lectures done) and I'm rewarding myself with a few sips of this stuff. This is is truly a dram that punches way above its ABV.

@PeatyZealot

Together or separate glasses?

@Victor - thanks for 'taking one for the team'...That is some nasty juice you revisited, although the bottles of Wiser's 18 YO in my cabinet are from 2010 and that was an exceptional year...Dr. Don made some great batches that year.

@CanadianNinja, I consider the Johnnie Drum Private Stock to be a little better and certainly more sophisticated than is the Black Label, and, given the choice that is the one I would buy. But I don't hesitate to enjoy the Black Label also. The Black Label is usually quite solid, with plenty of flavour. So my advise is to try the Black Label, but not at the expense of your supply of the Private Stock.

@Nozinan, even 15 minutes conversation alone with John Hall didn't get me a taste of Forty Creek Heart of Gold May 3 in Toronto. I wanted some. Nobody I ran into had any that weekend. I own a bottle which I will pick up in Canada next month. Yes, I've been waiting a long time to taste it. I have to say that I agree with you that Forty Creek in general gets a lot more flavour out of 40% abv than does just about any other distillery I've ever encountered. Using some new wood no doubt has a lot to do with that.

@paddockjudge, yes, I have tasted Wiser's 18 from someone else's bottle which I liked better than that from my own bottle, so I'm sure that some batches are better than others. My father-in-law informed me yesterday that he is running low on the three bottles I gave him 8 weeks ago. I think he is getting the CC Reserve 10 and the Wiser's Small Batch next...and maybe one or two more.

@Victor, just picked up the Johnny Drum Black on my way home tonight my friend! As I wrote earlier, I've been eyeing this one for a while. Since I enjoy the Private Stock so much, I look forward to cracking this one open. I picked it up here in Japan for about $25 US. The Private Stock goes for about $35 US here. Both are reasonably priced in my opinion.

@CanadianNinja, I see. Your Japanese prices for bourbon are pretty close to the best US prices, and better than prices in a lot of places in the US. I hope that you like your Johnnie Drum Black Label.

@Victor I didn't even know mr. Hall ( also the name of a favourite high school teacher of mine) was at SOT. I should have spent more time at the FC stand. But because there wasn't anything there I needed to try I almost forgot it was there.

Sorry you didn't get to try the Heart of Gold, but I'm relieved that you have a bottle that will eventually find its way to you. It's worth trying.

Highwood 25 yr-old Calgary Stampede 100th Anniversary and Highwood Ninety 20 yr-old. Both are delightful examples of gently aged corn whisky...absolutely delicious.

A 10 cc pour of FC John's Private Cask number one. Very different from my usual style of whisky, and a very nice reward for working hard today.

Enjoying a couple of drams of GlenDronach 15 Revival tonight. Haven't had any in nearly a year. I was down to two drams in my (gassed) old bottle, and I was determined to hang onto my low supply until I found a replacement bottle on the store shelves. It's not one worth ordering; I knew it would turn up eventually. And it did, this week, at the local store. So I'm finishing up the remnants of the old bottle.

Wow, either this has this benefited from bottle time or it's much better than I remember. I don't recall such a warm honey-and-banana nose, nor such a sweet, musty palate. I'll save a good taste from this bottle and do a little comparison tasting with the new bottle this weekend.

Rittenhouse Straight Rye 50% ABV. Freshly opened this Whiskey has a lot to offer and, I suspect, much more in reserve! New to Australia (this week) and screw-capped it is quite dark and has the most exquisite mouth-feel that is silky, drips sweet cherries without being cloying and has the most amazing biscuity finish...and it is freshly opened! I really like the finish, it's not explosive but is gently persistent and smacks of quality!

...more later.

Last Sunday (Mother's Day in the states), my wife gave birth to our son, Kilton Patrick. With all of the adjustments, haven't had a chance to properly welcome our son to world with a dram in his honor. Tonight, had some family over to celebrate.

First up, an 18 year Cragganmore (SMWS 37.51 - “The saloon of a classic yacht”) from a first-fill Sherry butt. The nose is so sufficient that you don't need to drink it, but you are not disappointed if you do. Absolutely amazing dram!

Next a 23 year Bunnahabhain (A.D. Rattray Cask Collection) from Bourbon hogshead cask # 5846. Distilled October 23rd, 1989. Bottled November 7th, 2012. Citrus fruit flavor, hint of smoke, with a little vanilla on the back end.

In Kilton's honor, opened up a bottle of 18 year Laphroaig (SMWS 29.146 - "Bright and Uplifting"). This is a very light, but "what you would expect" Laphroaig without water. With water, completely different. Sweet, peppermint and smoke. Amazing how different it is with water.

Finished the night with Bruichalddich Octomore 4.1

@bwmccoy

Well CONGRATULATIONS! What a mother's day gift!

Welcome to fatherhood. Every day is better than the one before it. I wish you and your wife (and your son) total health and happiness.