So, what are you drinking now?

Drinks at a mate's place today.

Love the Campbeltown Loch 21 Year Old, very Springbank - quirky and fun, good clean quality spirit and excellent use of wood. My pick of the lot.

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Dropped by to check out the new SMWS 'Kaleidoscope' Bar in London

Generous pours (or did they just see I was taking a photo?)

Kavalan Solist. Amazing Single Malt from Taiwan. Do not let the location fool you. Kavalan is some of the best in the world.

It doesn't hurt my in-laws live in Taiwan. We're even talking of retiring there. I may be your tour guide at the distillery someday.

Poured myself some Old Grand-dad BiB and settling down to watch Hudson Hawk. I've never seen it, but I know it is widely disliked, so I figured I should at least have a delicious drink by my side to offset a potential trainwreck of a movie.

OGD BiB is such a treat, it's too bad I can't usually get it around here, it would for sure have a permanent spot on my shelf.

Daughter having a birthday sleepover in the basement so I am relegated to the dining room table. Thought I would treat myself to a Bowmore Devil's Cask III. So good and was/is one of the better SM bargain's in Canada.

Happy Ardbeg Day 2017!

Having a taste of the new Kelpie - reminds me of a mellow Perpetuum with the signature Ardbeg bite toned down and a herbal edge. Malty sweetness dominates and quite a lengthy finish.

@Wodha Kavalan makes great stuff. Tad expensive though. I had the solist sherry straight from the cask in Hong Kong. Great stuff. Your wife is Taiwanese? 你好！我的事郑州人。

@sengjc nice, hope to see a Kelpie review soon!

@casualtorture 我的妻子是台湾人我在大学以后在台北生活了五年

@sengjc It sounds good but not stellar. Will it worth the extra bucks? Is It a glorified 10 or it's better than that?

@Robert99

I have to say that you have hit the nail on the head - it's good and delicious, somewhat unique flavour spectrum with the herbal edge, but I would not consider it a remarkably exceptional bottling. Maybe it's my beginner palate but I find it a bit like the Glenmorangie Private Editions of late.

At the moment, it is priced at more than double (almost triple) of the 10YO where I am at. From a "worth" point, I am afraid that this will be a pass for me unless the price drops or this goes on sale.

Interesting to note that I actually got the committee release versions that are bottled at (supposedly) cask strength for less than the general release bottlings, perhaps because the committee release is obtained directly via the distributor.

Sitting down to watch The Departed with the last of my bottle of Pendleton 1910. For a 100% rye, this stuff is very sweet and simple. It's not bad, but it's not a bottle I'll be replacing either.

As for the movie, I haven't seen it since it was in theaters back in 2006. I remember it being good, so here's to my memory holding up.

@sengjc Thanks for your answer. You are still lucky to be able to get any Commitee Release, in Quebec, I will never be able to get anything via a distributor as SAQ has a strict monopoly. This is also the reason why we don't have anything from SMWS.

Finished off the remnants of two bottles tonight - Macallan Amber and Lagavulin 16.

@Wodha wow thats a long time.

@nooch Thoughts on the NAS Macallan?

Tonight calls for something special. Longrow red 11yrs port. Magnificent whisky!

@OdysseusUnbound I likely wouldn't have bought except that it was gifted to me, but, that said, it was pretty smooth stuff. I haven't yet had a Macallan I disliked. I currently also have a bottle of Macallan edition no. 1, which is fantastic. I've heard edition no. 2 is even better, but it's too steep in Canada. I might wait until I can pick some up in the states. I'm not an anti NAS crusader necessarily, I just don't like overpaying for scotch if I can help it.

@nooch I'm only an anti-NAS crusader on the pricing and transparency issues. I really like Laphroaig's QC, but not enough to pay near the same price as the Ten, which I prefer. Would I be kicked out of the group if I admit that I've never had a Macallan? They've always seemed expensive for "what you're getting" if you know what I mean. Most 12 Year Old single malts range from $60-$80 (here in Ontario) and Macallan starts at about $100.

@OdysseusUnbound You can be excused if you've never had a Macallan but not if you would never have a Macallan if offered a good one.

I will agree that the current batch of NAS pole dancer series is overpriced and undergood (if that's a word), but I recently tasted an older 12 and 18 that made me wish I had some in my cabinet, and the Mac CS is a stunner, and is decanted but available for you to try should you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods.

Drinking a Four Roses blend made from my private selection bottles. It is very good and has the strongest cola taste I've encountered in a bourbon.

@OdysseusUnbound your best bet to get a decently priced bottle is from the US. You avoid duty if your trip is 48 hours. I was in Fort Lauderdale last March and came across a 1.5 L Macallan 12yo Sherry Cask for $125. My heart grew 3 sizes that day. Oftentimes, even with the exchange, pricing becomes significantly more reasonable on anything under the vaunted 18yo - which I haven't yet had.

I have a few malts I have wanted to try that remain out of reach due to cost, Yamazaki 18 and Macallan 18 among them. Port Ellen is also on that list They all cost so damn much though! I'm heading to Speyside in August for a guy's trip related to my Dad's 70th and the Macallan 18 is included in the distillery tour so I'll check that box. The hotel I'm staying at carries the Yamazaki. I'll check that box too. The Port Ellen will be available at $100 a glass. Might have to pass on that because ouch. Plus, it's good to have something to long for, I think.

@sengjc , for what it's worth, I don't think any of those Ardbeg "Committee Releases" ever claimed to be cask strength.

@Ol_Jas

Indeed yes, you are right.

I've been on a real beer trip lately. Tonight I'm having an omnipollo noa mudcake stout, 11% ABV and hopefully chock full of thick chocolaty goodness!

@Alexsweden Stouts are great ! I love a good stout, dark ale, or red ale. Sadly, here in Ontario, most of the readily available beer is either cheap garbage (e.g. Molson Canadian, Coors Light, Budweiser) or IPA. Everyone is on the "craft beer" train, which translates to IPAs, IPAs and more IPAs. And I, for one, am not a fan of overly hopped, bitter, one-dimensional hipster nonsense (the term I facetiously use when refering to IPAs).

@OdysseusUnbound , remind me: Do you like heavily peated whisky?

I ask because I often equate the taste for peaty whisky with the taste for hoppy beer. It seems often (definitely not always), people who like that intense sharp peaty flavor also like that intense sharp hoppy flavor.

To be fair, I have at times met hop fans who don't like (or know about) peaty whisky, but I don't think I've ever met a peat fan who didn't like hoppy beer.