So, what are you drinking now?

A tot of Jefferson's Reserve Very Old, Batch No. 177.

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A really classy bourbon.

@Nozinan yes it is the 12 CS Batch 11. I'd love to try a single cask Springbank but I have yet to come across one. They're all cask finishes over here if we are lucky enough to find one!

@maltmate302

some of the cask finishes are exceptional...the Claret wood for instance. But I suspect that one is no longer available to buy... it was a one off from ~2010-11.

Longrow red port casks, this really is one of my favorites. Big, complex and dry. Try it if you have the chance!

An old miniature of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 12 year old. Had many opportunities to buy it however, never pulled the trigger. Tonight's dram will either change my mind or confirm that it was the right decision not to purchase.

@maverickdrinker I really dislike that one - but I know a lot of people who love it.

@talexander This was not appealing to me. Seemed like the red grapes were over extracted and there was an astringent after taste. Glad it was a miniature bottle as this flavour profile is not in my wheelhouse...

Last night I polished off my last lingering dram of Springbank 1997 Madeira. Dang is that musty and funky and tasty! And the final dram out of the bottle had just TONS of waxy stuff floating in it.

Had Glengoyne 15 last night. Quite simple in my opinion.

Tonight I poured Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 for friends and myself after Superbowl. Rather fitting since Manning won is 200th game in style or should I say the defence won, but anyway ( Was going for Carolina Panthers). Peyton seemed to have a rehearsed way of replying after and was quite humble. Excellent Dram!

Had 3 drams of what I consider to be medium peated whisky.Amrut Peated CS, Amrut Fusion and a Talisker 10 to finish. Lovely stuff all the way!

@maltmate302

That sounds like a wonderful flight. how did the order go? I would think that with only some peated barley and with a lower ABV the Fusion might have been a contender to start.

@Nozinan that is the order I drank them in. These days I'm so familiar with the individual drams that there was very little logic in the order that I drank them , all I know is I wanted some Amrut Peated CS first.

@maltmate302 Absolutely nothing wrong with that logic!

I poured a dram of Bladnoch 12 YO 55% sherry cask last night. But I was so exhausted that after 2 sips I poured it into the "couldn't finish" vial I keep on my desk. It has a rubber stopper and looks like the vials evil people in hospitals draw poison from.

So tonight I decided to make a go of it.

I would rate it at least 5 points higher tonight than when I opened it in April. It's still ungassed. Still improving I feel so it remains that way.

Think I would have preferred a Tempest

Last night, to celebrate my birthday, my lovely wife took me out to dinner. At the restaurant, had a dram of Sullivans Cove French Oak Cask. This was my first taste of Sullivans Cove. It lived up to my expectations. Reminded me of Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique. Before I decided on what I wanted, the bar man let me sample both the French Oak Cask as well as the American Oak cask bottling. Both were great, but the French Oak was head and shoulders the better of the two. Loved it. Going to have to see if my son can bring me back a bottle on his way home from school in Sydney later this year.

After we got home, I opened the bottle that my wife gave me for my birthday present. Highland Park 15 year SMWS 4.203 "Romantic Tales, Songs and Whispers" from a 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel. Sampled it both with and w/o water. Tasting notes; nose neat - honey, marshmallows, spun sugar and spice. The palate neat - pencil shavings, tobacco, menthol and golden syrup. The reduced nose had tobacco tins and smoldering embers, coffee and mint-choc-chip. The reduced palate - chocolate mints, various nuts, wood sap, liquorice and coconut. Not your standard HP 15 (sweet, not much peat or smoke), but an excellent dram for sure.

Have a couple of long hours ahead of me writing a policy document for my party's health critic. No, I'm not getting paid for this. Thanks to @paddockjudge who suggested my accompanying dram...Amrut single (Bourbon) cask bottled at 60%.

Darn it, with the few drops of water added, I'm barely able to type a sentence...

What 3 whiskies would you recommend for someone (me) who is just entering this world? I'd like to start with something lighter and then increase the intensity. Thanks!

@chrisggg welcome to Connosr. An excellent place to start your whisky journey is by watching Ralf Mitchell on You Tube .He has nearly 600 reviews up already and he adds another 2 each week. He also recommends 3 whiskies for the newcomer, Highland Park 12, Old Pulteney 12 and something else I can't remember!. Most of the people on this site watch, or have watched, Ralfy's video's on a regular basis. He is very informative and entertaining and you'll find him at Ralfy.com or ralfystuff.com.Enjoy the journey!

Compass Box Hedonism. A very rounded whisky with an interesting palate! I think I will serve this to my mother when se comes to visit me!

A nip of Ardbeg Perpetuum.

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A polarising bottling that I quite enjoy as it does not smack you in the face with peat giving the maritime quality a chance to shine more - minerality, brine, drying seaweed. You could say that the 10 Year Old will do the job and rightly so, but I find the Perpetuum's clean delivery has a bit more finesse and refinement that may not appeal to the palates of most Ardbeg diehards.

An Ardbeg for those who occasionally enjoy a little bit of Ardbeg, I think.

My uncle is over for dinner. Putting some lamb on the BBQ (can't stop a Canuck!) and we're enjoying some Bowmore Tempest V.

Why can't they make their regular bottlings this awesome?

Reached a little deeper into the shelf tonight and grabbed a Glen Grant (22yr Duncan Taylor NC2 range). I always seem to enjoy this one but tend to overlook it...

Thought I'd put a half dram of Solan in the mini glencairn. It was a surprise, but not a serendipitous one... Maybe it was the wheat beer I sipped before (my wife's), but there was little of the enjoyment I had from my first pour in Calgary. Won't change the score just yet, but I may need to sit down for a re-review...

I poured it out and cleansed my palate with Smith and Cross Navy Strength pot still Jamaican rum

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The Milsean does have a sweeter nose but I don't really get the "candied" palate that others describe - sweetness comes mainly from the malt and vanilla with an orange note. Fruity complexity.

The oak is certainly better integrated when compared to the Tusail. Too bad the finish is a little short in comparison.

A good effort and a worthy addition to the Private Edition series but certainly not earth shatteringly good.

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The oak, creamy quality, nutty intensity and long finish of the Tusail makes it the better choice with a cigar.

Both are clinical in delivery - clean and quite full bodied. I will likely get a few more bottles of the Milsean to add to the collection when it goes on sale.

@Nozinan My reply goes to the comment on Solan as well as "what to do with whisky you don't want. You may want to revisit Ralfy vlogs #85, 386(1) and 386(2) if you haven't already watched them. I have tried a couple of his suggestions (ex adding a charred stave) to my Glendower 8 YO blended malt, Last time I visited this one I found it to be a bit raw. The Oak stave helped it quite a bit, actually makes it enjoyable Also you might consider adding a bit of the Smith and Cross to the Solan to help out. I find that some Flor de Cana helps my blend a lot and I use a ratio of approx. 10 parts scotch to one part rum.. I use an Aberlour bottle with a larger neck to better handle the oak stave. KInd of a fun thing to do and gives me something to occupy myself on a cold winters night. Not much to lose on doctoring a $30-$35 bottle of scotch and tastes better than Coke!

@Jonesz

Thanks for the suggestions. I did rescue my Bladnoch 12 early on in the opening of it by mixing it with Laphroaig QC. But I've let it air with some favourable results.

With the Solan air has done the opposite, it seems (because of the tamper proof spout you can't gas it. I'll keep it the way it is though to let curious people try a non-Amrut Indian whisky, and also because my original review was on a clean palate, and the last 2 times I tried it my palate was not clean. After my re-review, we'll see.

Tonight im tastin` my new bottle of Canadian Shield,a nice surprise,here in quebec at -28°,grrrrrrr!!!!

It's cold outside,and we had company over for dinner, followed by dark chocolate flourless molten cakes. Settling down now with the last of my A'Bunadh batch 45. Still have batch 46 open, and turning 47 in 2-3 months, with a bottle waiting for that day.

Interestingly, the Milsean when left overnight in a lidded Glencairn really blossomed - now the "candied" character comes through in waves without being cloying while the fruity complexity becomes increasingly intense and rich making it's presence felt - strawberries dipped in custard with a mild drizzle of caramel sauce and a dusting of cocoa powder. The finish is improved too. It seems the malt benefits from time in glass.

An impressive release. Will certainly look to obtaining more bottles to keep.

Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection Rye Bourbon 115 from a fresh bottle and in a Society nosing glass.

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Awesome nose! A cornucopia of fruit, flowers, grass and scented wood smells. This has got to be one of the most attractive of noses I've ever experienced in a whisk(e)y - such heavenly sweet perfume. I am already satisfied yet I have not partaken of this amber ambrosia.

Sweet, herbaceous and balanced - medium bodied and elegant in delivery, harmonious oak. While not too intense it does have sufficient presence. The finish is lingering but not resounding. Would have benefited from more concentration - I think a higher proof bottling of this would have added more palate weight making it about the best rye I have ever had.

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Then again, I haven't had many ryes to know any better.