So, what are you drinking now?

I’m having a dram of Ardbeg Ten after an uneventful parent-teacher night. I’m thinking about getting some Private Preserve for this one. I feel it’s just hit optimum balance. Tons of ashy peat, some iodine-soaked bandages, lots of cereal sweetness and just enough salted lemon flavour for a clean, perfect finish.

@OdysseusUnbound I find private preserve is great to prevent "spoilage", but it does tend to close down some whiskies. You may need to wait 10 min after pouring to get the full value after spraying.

@nelom, what colour is the label of your 90?

@Nelom, Spoiler alert! Jessica also drinks Glenlivet, Bulleit and...I'll let you find the rest...check the shelf in her office. @Nozinan, tonight I had Highwood Ninety 20 YO white label.

@Nozinan I was curious to learn about Private Preserve. Saw some good reviews, but also found this: alexhealy.net/papers/experiment/… study claiming the results were very poor. At the moment, for bottles I have that are almost empty I use vacuum, bad idea?

@RikS Interesting article. There were lots of flaws in the scientific method (even for wine), and I don't think the experiment can be extrapolated to spirits.

I do find that private preserved whiskies often need 5-10 minutes in the glass to open up again, and I wonder if this was allowed to happen (note the reds continued to evolve in the glass...).

@Nozinan Burgundy

@paddockjudge Yeah, after posting that I watched another episode and then she had switched to Four Roses, Yellow Label. I'll be on the lookout for more.

@Nozinan thanks nozinan. Actually i always leave my glass for a while before i drink to let things calm a little. Dont know if thats scientific, but i have the impression that the nose changes quite a lot in those 10 min, not least the alco fumes seem to settle a bit?

Free day today and nothing better to do than playing with the camera :-)

Very cool @RikS, is that a painting behind the bottle?

@jeanluc No, it's actually a complete different photo of a moor. I did a shot of the bottle, and then merged it all together with photoshop, just playing around with 'product photography' on a sunny day with apparently too much time on my hands.

@RikS The scotch looks a little light for A'Bunadh. Reminds me of the whisky I was given at a fancy club once. That was batch 28. When I came home I looked at my batch 28 and it was many shades darker.

@RikS - great photo!

Tonight, Girvan 31 year SMWS G7.10 (Lowland Grain) "The Texan tea party" followed by Bruichladdich Octomore 07.1 (5 year old) 208 ppm Scottish Barley

Watching some more Jessica Jones while trying out a new bottle: Jim Beam Triticale Bourbon

It's pretty good, but nothing mindblowing, and like Josh Peters I find myself wondering what a proper triticale whisky would be like. I'm very much intrigued by the idea of a rye and wheat hybrid grain and what kind of whisky it might create when given centre stage.

Part of what knocks it down a few notches is the very thin mouthfeel. I won't go as far as saying it feels like water in the mouth, but it's close. I much prefer a thicker, oilier feeling to this, but the "bourbon with a twist" flavour makes up for it a bit.

(P.S. @paddockjudge In this episode she's having some Maker's Mark. )

I decided I wanted an average every day sort of dram. Highland Park Svein fits the bill. Dry fruity stone fruit nose with slight smoke. Last season's apples, with bits of pineapple, an peat - watery mouth feel. Short finish with peppery peat smoke.

The wife and I visited a friend last night and I tried the following 2 whiskies.

• Ardmore Legacy: a nice amount of peat and smoke, honey, and a note in the finish I can only describe as semi-sweet chocolate chips. That last note, to me, is often found in young whiskies. It’s not bad, but it’s one of those “tell-tale” notes that indicate youth. I also detect it in every McClelland single malt. I wouldn’t rule out buying a bottle of this. Very pleasant as a casual sipper.

• Stalk and Barrel Blue Label: vanilla. Marshmallows. Caramel popcorn. Vanilla. Vanilla. Sugar. This one was overwhelmingly sweet. Not bad per se, but not great as a neat sipper. I had to add ice to cut down some of the cloying vanilla/marshmallow (did I mention vanilla?) sweetness. I can imagine this working in a cocktail like a Boulevardier where the cloying vanilla sweetness is offset by the bitterness of the Campari. I’m not rushing out to buy this one.

@Nelom - I don’t know if you can get it in Canada, but Dry Fly distilling in Spokane, WA produces a really nice Triticale whiskey. (Sorry, I just read the Josh Peters article and see he referenced Dry Fly.) Dry Fly is 45% ABV, so it doesn’t meet his 51% level, but it doesn’t have a watery mouthfeel.

dryflydistilling.com/dryfly-product/…

Last night, I had a dram of Kilchoman Sauternes Cask Matured.

@OdysseusUnbound Maybe you should try Ardmore Traditional Cask. I know someone who has a long opened bottle that he's be happy to empty...

@OdysseusUnbound - Good to know about the Ardmore Legacy. I have two unopened bottles and will be popping the cork on one very soon. Often found for £20 here which for a single malt is excellent value given most blends are £15

Taken the last 1/6th or so of a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 into the basement to settle in for the night watching the Masters. Come on Rory lad!

@bwmccoy Thanks for the tip. It's not available here, but I keep a little list of whiskies to be on the lookout for when I'm travelling. I'll add it to that and we'll see if I ever find myself near Spokane.

The drought is over!!!

My daughter unsealed my cabinet this evening and it's time for my first dram in over a week. Something to enjoy while I prepare samples for a swap tomorrow.

I was at the funeral for my next door neighbour today. At the house later I discovered his younger daughter is expecting her first child in October. It got me thinking about the legacies we leave for those who come after. So I poured a nice measure of Wiser's Legacy.

@Nelom - I noticed in the Josh Peters article that the Jim Beam Triticale is 51% corn in the mash. I believe the Dry Fly is 100% triticale which probably accounts for the difference in mouthfeel, even though they are both 45% ABV.

I’ve been saving a limited edition (250 bottles) of the standard Dry Fly Triticale and this discussion made me decide it was time to open it. It is the standard Dry Fly Triticale, but it instead of their normal new oak barrels, this batch was aged for 4 years in a former Tawny Port barrel. It is sweet and rich; all Tawny Port up front, with the Triticale showing up mid-palette with the Port returning for the finish. A luxurious dram probably best drank after dinner or in lieu of dessert.

After an amazing round of Indian food paired with a bottle of Greek wine my friend and I retired back to her pad to drink tea, watch Korean dramas and share a couple of drams of Octomore 7.4 virgin oak.

I've had this a few times and I would say this is the most civilized Octomore I've tried, pulled pork, green peppercorns and a lot of odd spices and sweetness from the oak.

@bwmccoy I think that port finished triticale won some awards

@cricklewood Which Korean drama goes well with Octomore? The Tower?

@Nozinan I will have to admit that I am a total novice to the world of Korean TV shows, I do know a little about the culture but I have watched too few and none with any consistency.

I just watch whatever she's watching and ask a bunch of questions as we go along, yesterday we watched more comedy oriented stuff "hello my twenties" and "the sound of your heart". I take it the tower is in reference to the smoke in Octomore

@bwmccoy Sounds nice. I've been looking into Dry Fly a little bit since your post, and it sounds like they make some good stuff. They're on the list now, so I'll for sure be checking them out if (when, really) I get over to Washington. I noticed on their site they're sold all over the U.S., but I'm not too keen on buying any bottle blind these days. So a visit to the distillery and some samples sounds like a worthwhile endeavor to me.

HEY, @Astroke, HAPPY MONDAY!!

@paddockjudge More whisky (and chocolate) porn?

Get a thread!

I'm trying not to lose my mind while packing, had a dram of whistlepig 10 single barrel from a store pick. This bottle is down to its last third and it's really just killer. Lots of body, the oak is right in front but supporting all the spicy and herbal notes, sweet but not cloying.