So, what are you drinking now?

@paddockjudge - excuse me sir, I’m here to apply for a library card ...

Rating some open bottles:

Balmenach SMWS 48.42 (10 year - Nov. 2002) "Grown-Up Ice Lollies" from a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 56.7% ABV. Rating:88. This one needs water to open up.

Miltonduff SMWS 72.31 (29 year - Dec. 1983) "Something Old, Something New" - Refill Hogshead ex-Bourbon - 48.3% ABV. Rating: 95. Didn't even attempt to try it with water. This one doesn't need anything.

Croftengea SMWS 122.23 (7 year - Feb. 11th, 2011) "Highly a-musing" from a second-fill ex-bourbon hogshead - 57.7% ABV. Rating: 92. Tried it with water, but prefer it without. Every time I try this one, I am surprised at how good this peated Highlander is. It holds its own against most Islay whiskies.

Laphroaig SMWS 29.226 (18 year - Mar. 1999) - "Seaside surprise" - Refill ex-Oloroso sherry butt - 56.8% ABV. Rating: 95. It is wonderful both with and without water, but surprisingly to me, I prefer it with just a few drops of water.

@bwmccoy, I'm sorry to say that none of the research material leaves the library, but you are welcome to visit and pour over (and over and over and...) the bounty of resources found on the shelves. Nobody gets carded at my place. Cheers!

@paddockjudge - I’m packing my bags now. Be warned... Once I arrive, I may never leave.

Balblair 2004. Sherry in abundance and most notable point being oily, oily, oily. Probably the thickest whisky I've tried... Quite nice, I think...

Enjoying a quiet evening and comparing a couple of 18 year old. A Bunnahabhain XVIII and a Glen Grant 18 sample from @talexander. Dark sugar and spice on the Bunnahabhain complemented by the delicate floral honey, orchard fruits on the Glen Grant.

Tonight is a Laphroaig 10yo nuance night (maybe nuisance?)

I am tasting 6 different Laphroaig's semi blind. I picked them. My wife poured them and numbered them. All are 15mL pours.

Laphroaig 10yo 40% (miniature from the distillery) Laphroaig 10yo 43% (sample from a good batch c.2012) Laphroaig 10yo 43% (sample from an average batch March 2014) Laphroaig 10yo 43% NEW bottle opened Nov. 2018 Laphroaig 10yo CS 008 (watered down to 43%) Laphroaig 10yo CS 010 (watered down to 43%)

– the goal is to analyze the nuances between the standard 10yo. I am curious to see if I can spot the 40% UK version blind. I am also curious to see if I can spot the two 10yo Cask Strength ones now that they have been watered down extremely close to 43%. I don't think I have ever tasted them specifically watered down next to the standard 43% we get in the US.

Ultimately, I am the most curious to list them in order of favorites (top to bottom) and give them all a score. My assumption is that they will all score in the mid 80's. We will see . . .

I am entertaining a friend visiting from Belgium. She wanted to drink American whiskeys. Last night we had Woodford Reserve and Eagle Rare 17yo, Spring 2015 release. They hit the spot. Tonight we had Ezra B. 12 yo Single Barrel, Van Winkle 12 yo Special Reserve "Lot B", W.L. Weller 12 yo, Sazerac 18 yo Fall 2011 release, and Thomas H. Handy Rye, 63.1% ABV 2016 release. She liked the Woodford, the Eagle Rare 17, and the Weller. She really liked the Sazerac 18. But the Thomas H. Handy Rye took her to some places she had never been.

@paddockjudge I too would like to apply for a library card!

Still on the road and thankfully have my last visit to one of our facilities tomorrow and can actually head home - ordered a "whisky buck" off their cocktail menu: Bulleit rye, ginger beer, lemon, and bitters -- I can't wait to go home tomorrow.

@Victor Having only heard and read about how great the 2016 release of the Thomas H. Handy Rye is, I can only imagine how sublime the experience was for your friend...sounds like a great evening of good company, good drinking.

Glendronach 12 with appetizers (melted Brie cheese in puff pastry bites) before dinner.

After dinner, Glen Ord SMWS 77.47 (10 year - Aug. 7th, 2007) "Delicatessens and old libraries" finished in a 2nd-fill fine grain French oak hogshead after maturing in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.2% ABV.

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

@paddockjudge For me it's Sunday afternoons that are the best for quiet whisky contemplation and writing....

@talexander For me it's after the kids have gone to bed and before I have to go to bed. Unfortunately there is often too small a gap these days...

@talexander Sunday afternoon is the time during which my sister holds almost all of her whisky tastings. It is relaxed, and it is an easy time for people to travel.

@Nozinan Yeah, at 14 years old, Maggie and I basically hit the sack at the same time...except on weekends when I go to bed before she does! (She's a night owl and will stay up until 2am or so if she doesn't have to get up for school in the morning)

I will also agree that Sunday afternoon is a good time (for me) for whisky contemplation. My wife is almost always ready for a nap. I just need to make sure to not be too buzzy when she gets up.

The results my little Laphroaig 10yo vertical last night:

1 Laphroaig 10yo 43% NEW bottle opened in December = 90 – this goes to show that for me that a peated whisky (non-sherried) is best when fresh. This had a wonderful balance of peat, earth, sweet smoke and only a hint of the medicinal iodine in the background.

2 Laphroaig 10yo 43% opened in March 2014; rebottled in 2015 = 89 – this goes to show me that a miniature can retain its integrity for a number of years before it begins to fall off. This one seemed more powerful than the new bottle (shocking) but it wasn’t as sweet.

3 Laphroaig 10yo CS 58% b. 010 watered to 43% = 87 – I actually guess this one, but I was shocked by what they water did to it. Just like the other watered down cask strength bottle the water really brings out the medicinal quality.

4 Laphroaig 10yo 40% mini = 86 – I missed this one on the nose. But I caught it on the palate. This one had way more liquorish and anis than any of the other batches. For me I learned that a fresh miniature at 40% can hold up to a 43% on the nose. I had it scored really high on the nose (almost even with the NEW bottle) . . . but on the palate the 40% gave itself away. Still, I enjoy the liquorish and anis notes over the dominating medicinal iodine.

5 Laphroaig 10yo 43% opened in 2011; rebottled in 2012 = 85 – I missed my guess on this one also. This was from a sample bottle I rebottled in 2012. It was really good then. However, after 7 years it really lost something in the nose. I thought this was the 40% version on the nose. It was weak and vapid. There were only hints of smoke, peat, earth, and iodine. However, it came to life on the palate, and exploded on the finish. This reaffirms my experience that a miniature will lose its “nose” over time. In this case it took 7 years. But the finish was still fantastic and long.

6 Laphroaig 10yo CS 59.9% batch 008 watered to 43% = 83 – I was shocked by this one. This might be my favorite Cask Strength batch yet. However, the water really brought out a ton of the medicinal iodine notes which dominated both the nose and palate. It was easily last place for me. After the reveal I had to taste it at full strength against the winning fresh bottle. No question this is amazing without water.

My takeaway:

• A miniature rebottle can maintain the integrity of a whisky for several years. But be careful, you can eventually lose the nose. This has happened to me with several miniature bottles of Ardbeg and Laphroaig that I rebottled. This experience just reaffirms that. Note to self – must drink many miniatures before too long.

• Adding water to Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength will only disappoint me. For batch 008 and 010 it only brought out more of the medicinal iodine notes. I am not a fan. Without water the 008 was very sweet with almost no medicinal iodine notes.

• The 40% Laphroaig 10yo did better than I expected. However, the US is spoiled by getting it at 43%. It is SO much better. Just 3% of ABV really packs a ton of flavor. Anyone who sees the Laphroaig 10yo at 43% on the shelf should not look down on it. Rather, purchase it with renewed vigor at thank the stars and internal whisky chicanery that the USA gets it at 43% (any other countries getting it at 43%?)

Another side story: When I was at the Laphroaig distillery a year ago my wife and I ended up with a private tour. It was March so there were few people around. Our tour guide was new and still very enthusiastic about Laphroaig. I asked her why the USA got the 10yo at 43%. She had not heard this was the case. She vowed to run the question as high up the ladder as possible until she got an answer. By the end of the tour we were standing around chatting with several of the employees (again almost no one else was there) having wee tastes of Laphroaig 30yo, 32yo, 25yo and the 27yo. Finally the “answer” came back down the line. The official answer from the distillery as to why the USA gets 43% compared with almost everywhere else is . . . wait for it . . . “That is how we have always done it. And we aren’t changing a thing.”

Please Laphroaig don’t go a changing.

@Nock That's a lot of Laphroaig! Do you still have peat smoke in your mouth??

@Nock Canada gets it at 43%.

@talexander always! It has been well over 15 years of a peat love affair. There are times when I think I am out growing it . . . but then she pulls me back in.

@fiddich1980 good news! I knew that Canada received the 700mL bottles and so I was sure. Do you get Macallan 12yo at 43% also? Or is that at 40%?

@Nock We can only dream about Macallan 12 Sherry Cask in Canada. When it was available in the distant past and came at 40%. I managed to luck into a Macallan 12 Sherry Cask at 40% last year. It was a a store return. Generally, the Highland Park 12 in North America is 43% the UK gets it at 40%. I think the situation with Balvenie 12 at 40% in Canada and the UK. Only, the United States gets it at 43%.

@Nock - great post!

I’ll have to say though that Laphroaig may not be about to change but I’ll not be buying another 10 while it’s at 40%. Their stubbornness is admirable but they would do well getting with the times a bit more in my humble opinion.

@Nock, it is so very good to have you active again on Connosr. Great post my friend!

@Nock, old pal, there is always an audience on Connosr for your obsession with Islay malts. Thanks for posting your experiences!

@Victor, truer words were never spoken. I'm not a peat head, far from it, but the Laphroaig session post by @Nock is the type of detail seldom available, anywhere. I could read @Nock's posts all day long.

Noontime drams I had to get in for my friend before she flew back to Belgium:

1) Pappy Van Winkle 15 yo, 2010 release, 53.5% ABV; the most sought-after US whiskey in existence never gets old. @bwmccoy this is still that bottle with the original $ 69.99 price sticker on it

2) William Larue Weller, 67.3% ABV, 2015 release. She needed to try the high-test wheated bourbon, after tasting the Van Winkle. She loved it.

3) George T. Stagg, 71.4% ABV, 2012 release. After the Eagle Rare 17yo Saturday, the Handy and Sazerac 18 yesterday, and the William Larue Weller today, she needed to complete the set by having some Stagg. Turns out she much prefers Handy and Weller to Stagg. I think she likes both ER17 and Saz 18 better than Stagg too.

4) Bon Vivant Gin, from Belgium, which she had given me. A friend of hers makes it over there. She loves this one in drinks, but doesn't care for it neat, because of a funky wet sock note she doesn't like.

5) Tanqueray No. 10 Dry Gin. Her first taste of Tanq 10, and she is an instant enthusiast! I cautioned her that it is so busy that it is better as a sipper than in cocktails.

6) Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured Malt, Batch # 2, 57.1% ABV. She asked to try this one, because we had talked about it, and I think she had heard about it elsewhere. She was not disappointed.

7) Amrut Naarangi, 50% ABV. Orange rind with your sherried malt? Yes, please! This is great stuff and my friend liked it very much. @Nozinan I am very happy that I bought three bottles of Naarangi.

@Victor - reading both of your tasting details with your friend brought back memories of our tasting in September. What a great time that was for me! Wish we could do it more often! Thanks again for sharing your most excellent Bourbons, Ryes, Tequilas, Mezcals, etc. I hope that I can return the favor someday!

@bwmccoy I hope so too!

@Victor I am very happy that I bought 3 bottles as well. Less happy that bottle number 1 is about 2/3 gone, but grateful I was able to share it with friends who could really appreciate it.

What batch is yours? The one in Calgary was batch 3.