So, what are you drinking now?

Just having a dram of my Lagavulin Distillers Edition (1999/2015). I've added distilled water (only 1/2 teaspoon) to it and I'm amazed at how it really tones down the Sherry notes and brings the smoke and vegetal peat to the forefront. So good. I'm going to keep this bottle hidden at the back of my liquor cabinet to make sure it lasts.

@OdysseusUnbound, you are not at all sorry that you bought that Lagavulin DE, are you?

@Victor I too enjoyed the Bluecoat Barrel Aged - in terms of Barrel Gin, I would still lean towards the Smooth Ambler as the oak meshed a little bit better w the juniper.

Going to London in a few weeks and will be coming back w a Sipsmith VJOP (or a new gin altogether) to welcome the summer w

@Victor Not even remotely.

Friday night dinner at our place. The fish is on a bed of lemon and salt over a cedar plank, the ribs will go on the BBQ next, and my uncle and I are enjoying Benromach 10... and my nephew chose Lemon Hart 151.

@Nozinan nice to hear your LH151 arrived safely.

...and it did not disappoint.

@Astroke, I forgot that you were assisting @Nozinan in obtaining some LH151. I can only surmise that the LH151 which you were finding for @Nozinan also will not disappoint.

@Victor

To be more accurate, the 151 that my nephew tasted was from the bottle you brought me.

@Astroke alerted me to the fact that it was available in Nova Scotia and I managed with great difficulty to procure some, but it remains trapped in Halifax because my cousin told the post office what she was shipping and they told her she could not, and she is afraid to try again. @Astroke once again has come to the rescue by pointing me to another delivery option and I am currently working on that.

Luckily, a 750 cc bottle of Lemon Hart 151 goes a long way as 10 cc is a large serving, and I am sure that the bottle will last until I get the relief supplies over to Ontario.

The big irony is that from what I understand, this stuff is bottled in Canada... so why isn't it more readily available?

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! There are two days of the year when pouring a morning dram comes without the stigma of guilt; one is Father's Day.

For those who are interested in what the other is, it's any other f_ _ _ _ _ _ day I choose. lol

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

@paddockjudge

I'll wait until later if I have a dram but Happy father's day to you and all fathers out there... and I'll taste that AP goodness vicariously through you...

Took a few sips of a Canadian whisky to do my review (in progress) then poured the rest back into my sample bottle for the next tasting.

Rinsed out my Kentucky Bourbon glass, then poured a small dram of Booker's 2015-02 (63.7%) and the first sip was like a punch in the face! That is, if you can think of a punch in the face in a good way..

@Nozinan I definitely think a whisk(e)y punch in the face can be a good thing. Every time I have Laphroaig or Ardbeg, especially after drinking "milder" whiskies for awhile, I feel like I'm being punched in the mouth with a campfire....in the loveliest possible way. Not so with Lagavulin. But then, I can close my eyes at any given time, just think of Lagavulin and I can just about taste it. Just about....

I'm killing the last of my Grant's Family Reserve. Decent, but nothing special, even for a budget blend. Oh well, bottoms up!!

Had a few small drams of Talisker 10 tonight. Not sure if I like it better neat or with 1/2 teaspoon of water. I don't know how consistent their batches are, but this particular bottle is fantastic. It's similar, though not identical to, my Springbank 10. Briny, peppery, a bit smokier and peatier than Springbank, with less pronounced ginger. Great stuff.

Laphroaig 10, 43%. For consistency, I consider Laphroaig to be almost in its own class. This gifted half bottle still has good smoke. Yum! For some reason I especially like a peaty-smokey whisky in the heat of summer.

Happy Solstice! (Summer for the Northerners, Winter for the Southerners)

@Victor I only like drinking peated whiskies on days of the week ending in "y".

@OdysseusUnbound What about days beginning in T or Y like Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

@OdysseusUnbound Alors vous ne buvez jamais du whisky peated (I looked up "peated whisky" google translate)?

Pas Lundi

Pas Mardi

Pas Mercredi

Pas Jeudi...

Pas Vendredi

Pas Samedi

Pas Dimanche....

@Nozinan Je n'ai pas l'habitude de consommé mon whisky tourbé (peat = tourbe) en français. Si je consomme du vin ou du cognac, ça se fait en français lors des journées qui finissent en "i" ou "e".

In fact, if I'm drinking peated whisky, there's a good chance I'm speaking in a really bad Scottish accent (I'm really just trying to imitate Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting)

@newreverie Yesterday and Today end in "y"....and after a night of drinking, I almost always promise that I won't drink "Tomorrow".

I felt like trying something new today, and decided to open up the bottle of W.L. Weller Special Reserve that I bought back in January. It's quite pleasant, although I don't see myself making it a mainstay in my cabinet, which is too bad considering the price. Then again, I won't mind finishing the bottle either.

I'm sipping it while watching episode two of season four of History channel's Alone. I love this show, and this season they've decided to change this up a bit, but so far so good. The Weller is making it even better.

We're having lots of friends over and have had beer wine and spirits all day long. Whisk-wise we've had Glendronach 12 and Ballechin 10 so far. Amrut peated CS is the given finale!

Finishing off a bottle of Benriach 18yo Albariza. Limited edition run - great peated speysider. Smoky, medicinal, fruity. Great stuff.

Last night I had a health dram from my all-Islay solera bottle. I haven't touched it in a while—maybe only since I finally captured all the Islay distilleries in it.

I have to make room in that bottle for a couple open ones that might other disappear before I get a chance to immortalize them: Lagavulin 8, Laphroaig 18, Port Charlotte Islay Barley.

Having another pour of W.L. Weller Special Reserve tonight, while reading Bourbon Curious by Fred Minnick. I only started this book the other day and am currently on page 41, but I think it's reasonably safe to say I recommend it. Minnick is an engaging writer, and has so far served up a nice mix of information. For example, did you know that back in the 1850s, brothels were a major whisky retailer in the U.S.? Old Crow even had ads featuring prostitutes! A fact which was naturally seized upon by the temperance movement.

Anyway, back to the book and my pour. Enjoy your Saturday evening everyone! (or Sunday morning, as the case may be for those east of me)

Just had 2 "very healthy" drams of Knob Creek Small Batch 100 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Really interesting stuff. A friend gave me some as he feels he's always "mooching" my scotch. I told him scotch is always better with friends but he insisted I try his Bourbon. I was happy to oblige. The initial hit on the nose was white glue as opposed to the acetone/alcohol I usually get from Bourbon. It turned quickly to vanilla, toffee, dill pickle (I'm assuming from the rye/yeast combo), and herbal notes. The mouthfeel (not taste) was reminiscent of a sherried whisky; very rich and thick. The long-ish finish had nutty notes, kind of walnut-esque. This Bourbon was very surprising in a most pleasing way. I may have to buy a bottle as I just killed my Dark Horse before dinner.

Finishing my Four Roses Single Barrel as I watch an episode of Ken Burns The Civil War. Bourbon feels appropriate, but now I have no bourbon.

News I've been expecting for a while.... finally, sadly, the guillotine dropped.

One of my favourite all time players, Jason Grilli, dropped from the Jays roster. He is 40. He was having a bad year. He stopped getting chances to prove himself. And he was let go.

Watching this guy put his heart and soul into each inning he pitched, he was an excellent role model, not only to his young team-mates, but to young baseball fans everywhere.

Watching a video of his young sons throw out the first pitch to him on father's day after which he hugged them and kissed his oldest on television...you could see the love he has for them.

www.youtube.com/watch

To a classy guy who supported Canada's only major league baseball team, I raise a glass of a blend of three Canadian whiskies.

@OdysseusUnbound You should have been drinking Burnside Bourbon if your watching the Civil War

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