So, what are you drinking now?

@Victor my comparison with Glenlivet was purely a cost one. Aldi is never going to be selling a £500 whisky for £39, so price wise it is being sold alongside the likes of Glenlivet Founders Reserve, Glenfiddich 12, etc. And in my opinion it is superior to those ergo a good buy.

@Nozinan yes I do, I much prefer a 46% bottling or even cask strength with added water dependant on the mood. This is a very light drinking whisky, you can tell it is a 40% bottling but does have a nice taste and a really smooth and creamy finish

@andydkelly, I certainly understand your point, but saying that a whisky is better than Glenlivet Founders Reserve is not to say that that whisky is desirable. More desirable does not male it to desirable. I've tasted Founders Reserve, and to say "better than Glenlivet Founders Reserve" is merely to say, "better than God-awful". Parsimonious praise.

@Victor No. GL Founder's reserve is bland, uninspiring and not particularly good, but not terrible. it's below my diet coke or this threshold for sure. I would not waste liver cells on it.

However, there is no polymicrobial diabetic ulcer lurking in that one.

To say better than Lambertus, on the other hand, is to say better than , as you put it, god-awful.

@andydkelly You are killing me with old Scotch at the price of regular blend. Would you say that this 29 yo shows some old notes or years have only soften everything?

Tonight, 20 year Glen Grant (SMWS 9.113 - "Chilli lime popcorn") from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead.

Followed by Westland Distillery heavily plated whisky from Cask No. 448 Single Cask (former Buffalo Trace ex-bourbon cask), Cask Strength Release. Btl #251 half-bottle, hand filled.

Can’t seem to edit my previous post anymore, but obviously, I meant peated, not plated above... if I could edit it, it would be;

Westland Distillery (Seattle, WA) Single Cask #448 hand-filled at the distillery. Baird's Heavily Peated Distiller's Malt aged for 4 years in an ex-Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrel. 58.6% ABV

Last night, Glen Elgin 12 - the waxy, creaminess reminds me of a Dallas Dhu.

Tonight, Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength USA West Coast Tour 2017 Edition - lemon and ash on the nose that continues on the palette with a long lasting, explosive finish. So good!

Quite a few remarkable new-to-me whiskies with my club last night!

•Bunnahabhain 11 IB (unpeated single-cask, cask-strength, sherry cask from Signatory): Rich, lively, and delicious while never becoming too sweet. A big hit.

•High West Midwinter Night's Dram: The heel of a bottle shared by a club member. He said it had lost much of its pizzazz compared to when he first opened it months ago. I liked it more than your typical bourbon or rye, but it wasn't the big heavy syrupy kinda thing I expected.

•Hibiki 17: Super-silky mouthfeel and undeniable quality, but nothing in the flavors that really wowed me about it.

•Ardbeg Kelpie CR: Fierce, 100% high-pitched, fresh, big blast o'peat. I liked this a lot, but I can see how many wouldn't. Even the one small glass was tiring. Much more in the style of Ardbeg Ten than Ardbeg Oogie.

•Ardbeg Galileo: Seemed very mute and soft at first, but then it blossomed in the glass into a really nice, well-rounded, sophisticated peater. I'd always heard this was a disappointing Ardbeg, but I liked it a lot.

@bwmccoy Westland is a distillery I intend to follow since I had their core range peated expression. So I am very curious about a Single Cask. As for Baird's Heavily peated, I nerver heard of it, but it has 2 magic words for me "Heavily" and " Peated" so I am intrigued. Will you make us the pleasure of reviewing these two whiskeys?

On Tues Nov 14 I was lucky to be invited to a lunch and tasting by Woodman Wines & Spirits, who handle Inverhouse products in Canada (malt distilleries are Old Pulteney, Balblair, Knochdhu, Speyburn and Balmenach, which also produces gin). Gordon Stevenson and Malcom Waring presented the following, some of which will be new to Ontario. My notes are a bit sketchy and I don't include as much info as I should, but here's the rundown:

Catto's 12 year old: a premium version of the NAS blend, 30% of which is malt whisky. The five distilleries mentioned above are all in here (plus I am sure more, as well as the grain of course). Colour is a medium gold, and the nose shows barley sugar, vanilla and a slight peating (though no peated whiskies are used...hm). Green apple on the palate, with spice, malt and vanilla, with a saline minerality. A bit medicinal. More time in the glass means more caramel. The finish is oaky with sea salt and again, caramel. A marked improvement over the standard - you could mistake this for a single malt. I'd score it in the mid 80s.

Balblair 2005: this is an 11 year old, matured in ex-bourbon casks, then I believe refilled into casks that had been de-charred / re-charred (don't quote me on that, my notes aren't clear). They mentioned that Balblair bottlings are exclusively vintages, are non-coloured and non-chill-filtered (which I didn't realize, but I don't drink a lot of Balblair. That may change.) A light straw colour, with a nose of barley sugar, sea salt, lemon pith and light honey, plus some Highland peat in the background. Vanilla, lemon curd, oak tannins and light honey on the palate as well. The long finish is spicy, herbal and mouth drying. Gets even better the longer you leave it in the glass! Very very good, I'd score this in the low 90s.

AnCnoc 12 year old: mostly ex-bourbon, with some European oak as well. They told us the distillery only has two stills, and they share the same worm tub. Neat! Light gold in colour, with a floral nose of malt and citrus. Honey and vanilla on the palate, with sea salt and some mild spice. Light caramel as well. Oaky finish shows buttered pastry. I've had this before, it's a gentle, light aperitif and shows good balance. Flattens out with time though, but still very good - low 90s.

AnCnoc Rascan Ltd Ed 46% Peated (NAS). Light straw colour, with earthy peat on the nose; musty and very floral. Less peat on the palate, with lemon, green apple and dried apricots. The herbal finish features mint and, well, more peat. It's a nice crisp malt but a bit imbalanced....mid 80s for me.

Old Pulteney 12 Year Old. Mostly first-fill American oak (they fill at 69% ABV across the board). This I've had before. Medium caramel colour with a nose of strawberries & cream (which Malcolm says reflects the smell of the dry yeast they use), creme caramel, sea salt, sage, oak and banana peel (one person guessed that this note comes from Jack Daniels barrels and Malcolm said they were right! They also use barrels from Maker's Mark and Buffalo Trace). Briny on the palate as well, with vanilla pods, chili spice, light toffee and more strawberries. Lots of umami notes. The medium length finish shows oak and thicker caramel. I remember liking this more before - it's nice but a bit flat. I'd score it in the mid 80s.

Old Pulteney Navigator 46% NAS. Apparently these come from lower in the warehouses (they have two dunnage and three racked warehouses, and often move casks between the two I believe) Medium straw colour, with a nose of orange peel, salted caramel and medium dark chocolate. More caramel on the palate, with a creamy mouthfeel. Briny. The long spicy finish is a bit one-note. This one has a great nose but the rest is fairly standard single malt scotch, to be perfectly honest. Mid 80s for me. Not sure why we tasted the 12 before this one, seems to make sense for it to be the other way around.

Old Pulteney 25 Year Old 46% - this replaces the award-winning 21 Year Old, which is now discontinued (so if you like it (as I did) grab it while you can). The colour is medium-to-dark caramel, with leather, brine and papaya - very fruity. The palate is - WOW. Great balance of brine and oak, with cloves as well. Creamy mouthfeel. A peppery finish also shows oak and savoury herbs. Amazing stuff - the palate is really incredible (I was a bit gobsmacked and didn't really note enough descriptors). Mid-to-high 90s.

Old Pulteney 1983 46% - so brand spankin' new it was just bottled two weeks ago (so 33-34 years old I guess)! Matured in American oak then re-racked into Spanish oak. A dark copper colour, the nose is...um...holy fuck. Big umami with berries, red apple skins and a nice layer of sea salt in the background. More brine on the palate with spice, cloves, gentle caramel and lots of big fruit notes. Big oak and wood smoke on the finish. Extraordinary stuff! Also mid-to-high 90s. Where the 25 excelled on the palate, this excels on the nose.

I told the folks at Woodman that for me, the 25 just inches ahead of the 1983 but really they are both unbelievable, and overall the products are high quality. By the way, lunch was roasted butternut squash soup, red wine braised beef short rib and triple chocolate cake for dessert (don't worry, it was after the tasting). It took place at the Royal Canadian Military Institute, which has all sorts of Canadian military memorabilia, including the Red Baron's chair!

Tonight I poured a small measure of Laphroaig 10 YO CS (inspired by a recent sample pour). I must say with 1-2 drops of water it opens a lot more than when I reviewed it several months ago. Very enjoyable.

I’m having a generous pour of plain ol’ Jameson and re-watching season 3 of Letterkenny. I think either

• I’ve hit upon a particularly good bottle or
• My palate can now appreciate less expensive whiskies.
• A combination of both those points

This bottle is particularly rich, with lots of vanilla fudge, green apple and a fairly short finish. I’d probably rate it in the low 80s, at least I would tonight...

Had a small sip of Arran 14, decided I wanted sherry so switched to Glenfarclas 15. Finished off with a small dram of Laph QC. All good. Watched the concluding episode of Ken Burns' Vietnam War. That brought us down in a hurry.

@OdysseusUnbound You may have hit upon a particularly good bottle - I have noticed some batch variation in quality, though not in essential style. Or, as I often say, it's context - mediocre whisky might taste better if you're watching a show with characters who would like mediocre whisky?? Anyway, overall I do think Jameson has gotten much better over the years. And other expressions can be very good - Black Bottle is quite complex, and I've heard their other new expressions are very good. My #1 Irish Whiskey of all time is still 1989 Jameson Vintage Reserve.

@BlueNote I really have to see that. Going back many years, his miniseries doc on The Civil War was outstanding.

@BlueNote, @talexander, Ken Burns is certainly amazing as a documentary film maker. His US Civil War series is shattering. I haven't seen the Vietnam War one yet. That war is still a little close to home for me, because I was almost drafted to go there and I also remember the period news reports very well. My personal favourite is Burns' series on the US Prohibition. It is both very entertaining and very educational. @Dramlette has had dealings with him a few times in her job. He is a very nice guy.

@OdysseusUnbound, sure, you can get a very good bottle of standard Jameson...or you can get a not-so-good bottle of standard Jameson. Over the years they have been all over the place with respect to quality.

@Victor I started watching Prohibition but something came up and I didn't finish - I will have to make time for it.

Even the titles of the three episodes of Ken Burns' Prohibition are entertaining: 1) A Nation of Drunkards, 2) A Nation of Scofflaws, and 3) A Nation of Hypocrites.

@talexander His 10 part series on Jazz was outstanding too.

@Victor I don't think he gets enough credit as one of the great filmmakers of out time. He is certainly one of the best documentary filmmakers of all time. When he tackles a subject his viewers are the recipients of a thorough education in that subject. We now know, for instance, the extent to which Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard Milhous Nixon were lying pieces of shit.

@BlueNote, if you haven't seen Prohibition I expect that it will make you chuckle mightily. It is narrated with a good bit of irony.

@Victor I’m not done Ken Burns Civil War yet, but I really enjoy what I’ve viewed so far. His series on The Roosevelts was terrific. I find Theodore Roosevelt particularly fascinating. Not quite as fascinating as I find Iosef Djugashvili, aka Joseph Stalin (it’s bordering on obsession) but fascinating nonetheless.

@BlueNote Yes, I saw Jazz as well.

Macallan Edition No. 2 ....Nose is pretty good but everything else is underwhelming. I, unfortunately, still have half the bottle left.

@KRB80 Agreed.

Jose Cuervo Reserva de La Familia Extra-Anejo Tequila, purchased today. I am very happy with our new bottle. The nose is intense and complex; the palate is very rich. Big big flavours here. Happy Victor. 95 point tequila. 24-24-23-24.

@KRB80 Good to know. I was just about ready to pop $150 for this one.

@BlueNote It's incredibly overpriced, as are most Macallans, imo. If you lived closer by, I would let you have my bottle.

@Robert99 - actually, the Westland whiskey that I referenced in my previous posts are the same whiskey. I was trying to edit / update the post, but couldn’t so I added the second post. Having said that, yes, I will be glad to review it. I also owe a review of my heavily peated Tobermory 10 year. I will try to get these done this week (I have a 4-day weekend coming up for the Thanksgiving holiday).

As for the Baird’s heavily peated malt that Westland used, I was not familiar with it either, but I did find this, if your interested;

bairds-malt.co.uk/Bairds-Malt/Products/…

Last night, Glen Moray 13 year (Apr 2003) SMWS 35.179 "Formula flavour" from a Chenin Blanc Cask.

Royal Brackla 18 year (Sep 1997) SMWS 55.40 "Playful mouth-tingles" finished in a Pedro Ximenez hogshead.