So, what are you drinking now?

@RianC, much as I like spirits "spirity" is something of a dirty word to me when describing whisky. I'd have to taste that whisky to see how it could be both 'spirity' and 'good' at the same time.

@MadSingleMalt and @Victor Thank you for the kind sentiments. It is nice to be back.

@RianC I am curious to hear more. I am with @Victor that when I hear the word "spirity" it typically isn't used in a positive way. What do you mean? Are you saying that there isn't much cask influence, and that more of the pure distillate spirit is showing through? Or that it seems young and harsh with a few sharp edges?

Having a smash of Talisker 18 to celebrate @RianC 's birthday. Not the best example of Tali 18, but a good whisky nonetheless. L3238CM000 04908928.

Amrut Peated Cask Strength, 62.8% ABV. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Thank you for the generous samples, @Nozinan!

@paddockjudge, my first 200 ml bottle of Talisker 18 yo from a three-pack didn't wow me at first. It got to be great after it took a lot of air. Yours might benefit from air exposure too. That 200 ml bottle led me to by-pass my first opportunity to buy 4 x 750 ml of Talisker 18 @ $ 52 each, total. By the time I had a second opportunity to buy Talisker 18 under $ 50 (in 2011) I didn't pass up the opportunity. I bought 8 bottles, and with a few additional bottles of other whiskeys, got the case discount and my total price remained below $ 50 per bottle for the Talisker 18 yo. .

@Victor, This particular bottle bottle of Tali 18 was opened 6/23/'19. It is improving, but I'm afraid the bottle isn't big enough. I should have picked up three more! Thank you for ensuring that I had a bottle of this delicious whisky to bring home from Maryland.

My wish list is growing. I am also setting my sights on barrel proof single barrel WhistlePig, although the standard variety at 100 proof is something I can't ignore. The two bottles that came north with me have been depleted; that stuff didn't stand a chance at Chez Paddockjudge. I should have purchased all 6 barrels from the store in N Charles.

@paddockjudge hindsight is 20/20 about getting the bottles back into Canada "Duty Free".

But, your batting average is amazing.

@paddockjudge you've got a time machine? That Tali 18 was opened in the future - I'm guessing it was last year? I'm just back from a school gala where I helped man the sausage sizzle stall. It's embarrassing when the teacher gets the maths wrong and gives back the wrong change. I blame being too involved in conversations at the time!

@Hewie, we both got busted!

Yeah, I figure if I go into the future a year and open it, then it will be ready when I come back to the present time. lol I was listening to INXS and got distracted. Some great guitar work!

@Victor, you are absolutely correct. I don't get a lot of plate appearances, but I do get a lot of clutch hits. I'm always (on my best behaviour and) completely transparent when crossing the Canada/USA border. Protection Services have a tough job and they don't need a whisky-toting hombre being an annoyance. I've seen them make small quantities of cheap whisky become very expensive whisky for dishonest travellers....like I always say "price doesn't change the taste". I'm prepared to pay my fair share, until then, I'll just smile and wave.

At my aunt and uncle's tonight for dinner. He doesn't have a lot of bottles open (I think just 2) and I've been itching to open his A'Bunadh batch 38 (I gave him a few years ago) but I don't think he's drinking much anymore and I don't know how many more opportunities I'll have to share a scotch with him, so we went with the nearly finished bottle of Balvenie 14 YO Caribbean cask. Still as good as I remember it. Not stellar, just good. But the company hit it out of the park.

Tonight, Glentauchers SMWS 63.46 (10 year - Dec 6th, 2007) "A walk in the park" - Refill ex-bourbon barrel - 59.4% ABV

Followed by Ardmore SMWS 66.123 (12 year - Mar. 6, 2006) "A strong personality" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 57.3% ABV.

Both of these are normally very good whiskies, not great, but very good. However, tonight they both taste better than normal, especially the Glentauchers!

@Victor @Nock - By spirity here I meant that there is a slight sharpness to the nose that hints at its young age (c four years). The base spirit is definitely leading but the oak has been pretty active too. It's not what what I'd describe as 'nippy' or rough though. It's certainly not unpleasant either - 'youthful' may have been a better descriptor.

Reminds me of, say, Amrut Fusion in that it was clearly young juice, but there are also signs of some solid maturation too.

The casks are obviously of high quality too, and this was my first pour, so it will more than likely mellow out a bit.

@Hewie - You were 'seeing if they spotted the mistake'. A teacher is never off duty

Sipping some Stagg Jr. Batch 9, 65.95% abv. It’s great stuff. Very easy sipping despite the high proof.

Catching up

Thursday night in-store tasting at the SAQ had the following:

-Mortlach 12: decent nose, tannice cardboard on palate -Glengoyne 15: Good solid teen sherry forward dram, if Macalann and 'Dronach are become overpriced this is a good choice. -Highland Park Valnut: I didn't think I would ever miss Dark Origins but after tasting this I do. -Octomore 9.3: Interesting, the ashy side and billowing smoke is turned down, farmy and grain forward, mineral, I think using more refill casks and toning down the PPM's helped this one.

Yesterday game night with some ex-coworker's split a bottle of JD single barrel, sweet, round and creamy this one, I liked it, I'm 4 for 4 on these single casks, not a dud yet.

I’m now sipping some Lot 40 CS 12 Year (2017 release, 55% abv). It almost feels light after the Stagg Jr, but the herbal notes are quite strong after the dark cherry fruitiness of the Stagg

@OdysseusUnbound try vatting both Stagg & Lot 40 CS, I did on the suggestion of @Nozinan it was quite the experience (it was the 11 year old Lot 40 though) .

@cricklewood I’ve got an open 11 Year as well. Are we talking a 1:1 ratio?

I am sipping some Bulleit rye. It is nothing particularly special, but it seems to improve by time. I really start to enjoy it.

@OdysseusUnbound I did 2/1 Stagg to Lot play around with it but I felt like what I wanted was to bring just a bit of the spice and the freshness of the rye into the Stagg profile.

@cricklewood I suggested this? I can't believe it! I'm not even sure I've had those bottles open at the same time! Maybe at my age I'm beginning to forget...

I did mix Amrut Single cask bourbon cask 1:1 with Booker's 2015-01a while back. It was fantastic.

@Nozinan you didn't suggest it directly so much as inquire if I had mixed both because I mentioned them in a post. This led me to try the vatting to satisfactory results.

Tonight, Glendronach 12

Followed by Mortlach 25

Finished the night with Westland Distillery (Seattle, WA) Single Cask #3824 (Rum Cask Finish).

Springbank 14 CS Fino 1996 Cask #265

I'm trying to love this as much as @KRB80 did, but to me it's just "very good." It tastes somehow "brown" to me, and not in a great way. I told someone else it reminded me of the pall that spreads across the sky from Mordor in The Lord of the Rings. It's really not that dismal, but it's dark & shadowy whisky that I have to be in the mood for, and I've nearly disliked it on a couple occasions. In the right mood, though, it demands your respect and repays it in earth, salt, and weight.

In my little journal, I gave it score based more in merit than sheer enjoyment, and that score was...

88

@MadSingleMalt wish I still had some left. How long has it been open?

I’m at my in-laws’ place sipping some Wiser’s Lanny McDonald. I must say; I’m not as enthusiastic about this one as I was with the excellent Wendel Clark Edition Rye. I’m hoping this one improves with time and air.

Tonight, my wife and I met @jordytropp and his wife at a local restaurant that has half-priced scotch on Sunday nights. My wife and I shared two different flights. The first flight was called “Old Enough To Drink Themselves”. All whiskies were 21 years old.

Glen Elgin 21

Old Pulteney 21 (my favorite)

Linkwood 21

Glencadam 21 (my 2nd favorite)

The second flight was called “Quarter Century Club”. All whiskies were 25 years or older.

Tullibardine 25

Glenfarclas 25 (my 2nd favorite)

Mortlach 25

Glenturret 29 year (my favorite)

@jordytropp was nice enough to let me have a sip of his Highland Park flight

Gordon & MacPhail 8 year - my favorite

Magnus

The Light (17 year)

The Dark (17 year) - my 2nd favorite

A great night with great friends and some great whisky.

@KRB80, my Springbank 14 Fino has been open since my birthday in December—so going on three months now.

I haven't really been too thirsty for it, and I expect my interest will wane further as temps increase this spring. Despite its quality, I must admit to some disappointment over it—luckily, it's in high demand among my club buddies, so I'm trading quite a few samples for interesting things from their shelves.

Given all the Macallan 'excitement' I thought I'd pop (yes pop, the mini actually has a cork! Now that's classy ) open my Macallan Gold mini.

Quite a soft sherbety lemon nose with a little gingery prickle. Taste is quite sharp so I added a wee drop of water. More creamyness and a little hint of sherry coming out now on the nose. More mellow on the palette with the lemony malt standing out. Fairly short and quiet finish.

Not bad but I can see why those who loved those older bottlings felt a little let down by this release. High 70s at best.

@RianC But now you can jump off a cliff while you’re shirtless and your arms will turn into wings!