So, what are you drinking now?

@Nozinan Yes, I know. He's becoming a bit of a parody of himself. Although he's not doing those 25 minute snore fests he was doing a while ago.

@Nozinan I’m a big Ralfy fan, but I admit that I often skip to the malt mark. If it’s unusually high or low, then I’ll watch.

Four of us went to the whisky room after dessert was digested:me, @nosebleed, the niece and nephew.

I wanted to showcase something Canadian, and after looking at the choices they settled on Wiser's Dissertation. Spicy, fruity, Canadian.

@BlueNote I reviewed to the video. To be fair, he said that what he was tasting was NOT smooth and would never be...

@BlueNote I reviewed to the video. To be fair, he said that what he was tasting was NOT smooth and would never be...

@Nozinan I'm just saying, he used the word smooth as a descriptor, albeit in the negative.

Some others I had Saturday and forgot to mention included Catoctin Creek 46% ABV 100% rye Roundstone Rye, Catoctin Creek Watershed Gin, and Jack Daniels Rye.

The Catoctin Creek products are good, but expensive. I do not like Jack Daniels Rye. "Lincoln County Process" Tennessee whiskey treatment in this case, viz. sugar maple charcoal filtration prior to barreling, = YUK. Lincoln County Process is a bad idea with rye whiskey.

@Victor now you're just bragging...

I’m enjoying some Redbreast 12 CS and I have to say @Nozinan was right. This one is improved with a bit of water. It’s really nice and friendly neat: you wouldn’t think it’s over 57% ABV, but a touch of water makes the flavours much clearer. We’re talking about 5 ml of water to my generous 40ml (approx) pour. Such nice stuff. Lots of sticky toffee, a bit of dark fruit, oranges, ginger. Just delightful.

@OdysseusUnbound Can we expect one of your reviews to pop up sometime soon?

@Nozinan Yessir. I wanted to do one on Glenfarclas 12, but I don’t feel it would be fair. After some extensive research, I’ve found a few possible culprits that might explain my “off” bottle, none of which would be entirely Glenfarclas’ fault. And I’m still waiting for them to reply to my email.

@OdysseusUnbound I would be interested in hearing the results of that research.... It might make for an interesting thread : "what makes whisky suck that isn't the distillery's fault?"

Tonight my brother in law decided to explore some more in my cabinet. We started with a little FC Heart of Gold, and then we cracked on of my 2 bottles of Wiser's Legacy. Sipping on this now I have had an AHA moment. I now "get" Canadian whisky.

This is like a liberating moment. I realizer I can now appreciate (though I remain a novice) this style in a way that I couldn't before. I think it was the effort I put into the Union 52 and repeated tasting of Dissertation to see if I wanted to squirrel some away.

Of course, like with all things, I come in at the end, when the good stuff is being discontinued (Legacy). At least the style remains more affordable than US or Scottish whiskies.

@Nozinan Maybe I will. Your expertise might be helpful. A lot of it I found when researching wine discussions/problems (though there was one similar incident with a Loch Dru that was finished in Chenin Blanc casks a few years back), but the problems and explanations from the wine discussions hit the nail squarely on the head. Stay tuned.

@OdysseusUnbound, did you get a "corked" bottle, Laddie? I once had a very disappointing bottle (2007 release) Wiser's Red Letter 150th Anniversary. All of the other bottles I had sampled from this batch were absolute "stunners", but this one particular jug (with and undersized cork) was a poor example of an otherwise magnificent creation.

@Nozinan , if the people who predict an upswing in the fortunes of Canadian whisky are to be believed, then I doubt you're "coming in at the end."

@paddockjudge That’s one of the possible explanations.

@MadSingleMalt. The end of Legacy, and the end of cheap prices...

We continued on with some Wiser's Last Barrels which tasted as good or better than any time I've had it before, but we agreed we enjoyed Legacy and Dissertation more. Then I poured some Benromach 10 because he bought a bottle on sale in Clagary and he wanted to know if he would enjoy it. I don't think it's in his wheelhouse so I expect I know what may be under his X-mas tree for me this December.

@Nosebleed came back early from watching the Raptors crush the Pistons in pre-season play. So we treated ourselves to some Redbreast 12 YO CS (1/3 of a dram each) - fabulous tonight - followed by letting him try the last Wiser's in my cabinet, Union 52.

Rye Five, h2h2h2h2h Thomas H Handy Rye 2014, Pikesville 6YO Rye, Lot No 40 Malted Rye 2012, Rittenhouse 100 Rye, Lot No 40 12 YO Cask Strength Rye.

@paddockjudge

OH.....MY.....

@paddockjudge

Wait....Thomas Handy 2014... isn't that the bottle I bought?

@Nozinan, yes it is!

@paddockjudge I was wondering where that went to after the move...

@Nozinan, it is the sample of Thomas H handy you gifted to me at the Winter 2015 BTAC Session at @talexander's...a 50 ml sample, not a 4 oz. sampler.

@paddockjudge somehow I suspected as much.

Actually I know very well what happened to that bottle of Handy. My wife refused to allow the moving of empty bottles. I had decanted the last 240 cc into a smaller bottle and have only opened it twice (to my knowledge) since the day of the 4 oz samples....well, one 4 oz sample.

So the beer store got the bottle. I got a photo of it.

@Nozinan Merry Christmas! @paddockjudge What's the verdict?

@Robert99, I'm caught on a carousel of aromatic bliss (the five glasses are on a lazy-susan). This could take a couple of days.

@paddockjudge I bet you would be able to do another of your amazing vatting with these.