So, what are you drinking now?

@cricklewood, I have m hands full sippin' it on surface.

@paddockjudge - Luckily I've escaped any shooting pains in my legs and/or genitals but have had some seriously numb buttocks! Doc reckons I've pulled a muscle - is it a thing in Canada/US also when you speak to a Doc and they then ask you what you think they should tell you? There was an awkward silence before I muttered, 'er I don't know, that's why I rang you?!'

Still, advice was pretty much as you said, rest but try to keep moving and use the meds to help get mobile again. I made dinner last night, very slowly, and my Mrs needed ear plugs, but I feel much better for it today. Not golf ready (the acid test!) but will go for a walk round the block later see how it holds up. Fingers crossed.

Back on point though - gonna try to lay off the drugs today so may be able to have a medicinal nip or two later. The thought of some soothing Irish or some punchy Booker's is making me salivate . . . it's been nearly a week!

@cricklewood @madsinglemalt @talexander - all will be revealed shortly...stay tuned

@RianC Yeah a bit of good medicine will do the trick A friend gave me a bottle of 'medicine' when out last child was born too

@Hewie - About four months away from number two arriving (another boy, we found out recently) so I'll be needing lots of medicine then as well

Ended up having a JW Black to test the waters last night and it went down nicely so followed with a rather large pour of JD SB Rye. Almost out of the latter and while I doubt I'll rush to buy another, I will miss this bottle - very unusual.

It’s been a highly stressful week, so I’m winding down a bit while cooking dinner with this favourite.

Now moving on to Stagg Jr. 65.95% abv...Batch 9???? I’m not sure but this is excellent.

@OdysseusUnbound That is my least favourite of the three batches I own and currently have open. But I still like it.

I "had" a spare bottle of this but the person who bought it on my behalf last year in London seems to have "lost" it....

Tonight I did an unpeated Scotch line up semi-blind. I picked the bottles. My wife poured them, marked them, and then mixed it up for me. I was going for the “salty/brine/malt” style. So here is the line up

1. Old Pulteney 12yo 43% (last of the old style from 2018)
2. Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2009 (6yo) 50%
3. Clynelish 51.2% Game of Thrones
4. Springbank 10yo 46% (c. 2017)
5. Springbank 12yo CS 56.5% Batch 15
6. Springbank 12yo CS 56.2% Batch 17

Now, I don’t know about you, but I felt very confident that I was going to be able to correctly identify each of these whiskies. The only ones I thought I might mess up were the two Springbank 12yo CS batches.

After the first nosing I was certain I knew what was what. Then the tasting. At that point I thought I might have mixed up the Springbank 10yo and the Bruichladdich Islay Barley. But I stuck with my first impression and then locked in my vote. With the reveal I could not have been more wrong! I mess up almost everything. I was kind-a correct that what was the Bruichladdich turned out to be the Springbank 10yo. But what I thought was the Clynelish turned out to be the Old Pulteney (and vice versa). I cannot tell you how shocked I was. The Old Pulteney was very fruit and complex were the Clynelish was all one salty note. I am beyond shocked. The problem is that after all of these I always accuse my wife of mixing things up. But this has happened enough that I realize the fault is with me. It makes me think that once you have “convinced yourself” about a whisky you are susceptible to picking up on your own subconscious expectations. Shocking. I can’t recommend tasting blind enough. Here are my short thoughts on all 6 whiskies.

Old Pulteney 12yo 43% - sweet and fruity with strawberries, peaches and kiwi. There is salt and brine, but I am shocked at how good it is. I thought it was the odd malt out and didn’t fit with the others (remember I am thinking this Clynelish) = 86

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2009 (6yo) 50% - Thick malt, brine, sea salt with an interesting sour note (I am thinking this is Springbank 10yo). It is more complex than I expected, and also has a bigger finish than I expected (why didn’t I realize that it was because it was 50%) = 90

Clynelish 51.2% Game of Thrones – Salty pears is mostly what I got. I didn’t think it was all that complex or well balanced. I also didn’t think the finish was that big. (again, I believed it was Old Pulteney 12yo). = 83

Springbank 10yo 46% (c. 2017) = Big salt, brine and a sour farm note. Thick midrange malt. I liked the nose better than the Islay Barley. But this tied on the palate and finish. (This is the highest I have ever scored this bottle by a long shot) = 91

Springbank 12yo CS 56.5% Batch 15 = This started off with sweet malt and then had a ton of mineral sour horse farm with animal feed, oak, and mustard. Huge and wonderfully complex. It was really good, but Batch 17 was better at every turn. I mixed this up with Batch 17. I should have known. This bottle had been open for over a year and was down to the last half ounce. I still really liked it but thought it was a step behind batch 17. In reality, I prefer this when fresh to Batch 17. I think it was the long oxidization that brought it down a peg. = 93

Springbank 12yo CS 56.2% Batch 17 – I loved this whisky tonight. It had everything from Batch 15 but even more so. It was more sour, more mustard, more farm, and more intense. If you love that farmy mineral style then these CS batches are for you. Truly excellent. = 94

These Springbank 12 Cask Strength release are probably my favorite non peated whiskies. I am certain that they are not for everyone. It really has a unique style that is borderline offensive. But I love it. Now, I just want to get some peat in there . . . I know try Longrow (and I have), but it is just different. I want all of the Springbank 12yo CS with just a bit of peat. I will probably try mixing in a bit of Laphroaig, Ardbeg and Lagavulin and see what I can achieve. But that will be a different night.

@Nock - Very engaging post, thanks for sharing! Interesting that the Pulteney 12 somewhat overachieved - it's always been a firm favourite and staple of mine. Wish we got it at 43% though . . .

Year or two back I remember drinking it and a Springbank 10 side by side. The SB definitely had the edge, but not hugely, and I was surprised how well the OP stood up against it. I also hear that the juice in the new style bottles is still decent as well.

Last night had a good size pour of Cotswolds and then an Arran 10 JmcT Ed - both excellent choices for warmer weather.

The former is definitely changing in the bottle and, while it's not my chosen or 'go-to' style, I can't help but be impressed by it's quality for such a young whisky. It's lost some of the bitter/sour grain notes and they've been replaced by a lovely kind of traditional lemonade nose and flavour.

The Arran is just a delight. Tropical fruits, salty air, creamy malt and clear musty dunnage notes. Great neat but really opens up on the fruits with water.

Been a while since I've had a decent bourbon. High abv def helps, great dram

@Tom92 That appears to be Stagg Jr. batch #5 which was released in 2015. Well done!

Last night, Linkwood 15 from Gordon and MacPhail.

Nose: pronounced Sherry aromas along with hints of ripe summer berries.

Palate: mixed spice flavors and a touch of charred oak.

This one never disappoints. Great dram!

Some Cadenhead's rum and a Guinness West Indies Porter whilst doing some baking with the family. Lovely combination of bitter and sweet but at 6% and 50% respectively I'm taking it nice and easy.

@RianC your Saturday evening rules .... my not quite chilled bottle of corona can’t compete ...

@conorrob - ha ha! Don't know about evening, I can feel my eyelids getting heavy already ;) A chilled Corona would have gone lovely with dinner - a whole bass and a bream with Greek salad. The Guinness wasn't quite the ticket . . .

Below are the fruits of our afternoons labour. Worryingly, I feel I may be eating more than I should later on!

@Nock I believe those Springbanks are slightly peated. If I recall correctly, they’re somewhere in the 10-12 ppm range.

@OdysseusUnbound @Nock

I agree, the springbank line is no stranger to peat.

@Nock Springbank is definitely peated. For me it shows itself as a tobacco note, and those vegetal, forest floor type elements. If you have something non-peated after it becomes much more apparent. Hazelburn is their supposed un-peated line but many even report a little peat in that too.

Oh yeah, we did it again! Shared four entertaining whiskies with my son-in-law during a Little Book II deconstruction. This exercise is so much fun that we'll probably do it again. CC 40 YO, WhistlePig Single Barrel, and Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye are the component parts of Little Book II. We primed our pallets with Talisker 57 North.

Started with Miltonduff SMWS 72.31 (29 year - Dec. 1983) "Something Old, Something New" - Refill Hogshead ex-Bourbon - 48.3% ABV

Finished with Highland Park 13 year (Dec. 2004) "Stones of Stenness" from Single Cask Nation - 2nd fill ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry hogshead - 57.4% ABV

On Sunday night (last night), Bladnoch SMWS 50.56 (23 year - July 1990) ‘Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!’ - Refill barrel - 60.3% ABV.

Today in the states is Memorial Day. A day we honor and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country like my Uncle, James W. McCoy, Jr., who lost his life when his ship was sunk near the Marshall Islands during World War II. His name, along with 34,000 others, is etched on the walls of The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl Crater in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Tonight, in his honor and all others who have died while serving our country, I raise a dram of Caol Ila SMWS 53.241 (6 year - April 2011) - "Dense smoke over a tarry deck" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 60.3.% ABV

Last night I had a JD SB Rye - This one really does benefit from time in the glass, the sweet char really starts to emerge.

Then had a Booker's - As it gets to the last quarter I think I'm 'getting' what this bourbon is all about. It's so rich and intense that it works best as a night cap. Probably sounds obvious to many but I feel this just has to be had at the end of the night. It's almost like a sweetened herbal tonic (with some added pep!).

I'm currently sipping some Booker's poured onto the last couple of sips of the Port Charlotte 10 HP I've just reviewed while re-watching S1 of Boardwalk Empire - I'd forgotten how good it was and how visceral and emotive it could be.

As for the whisk(e)y - it works really well. The nose is sublime!

Today, in honour of the birthday of my friends @Talexander and @paddockjudge, I poured a small dram of Wiser’s Legacy, because the legacy they have left me (and they are probably the two most responsible) is an appreciation of Canadian Whisky.

My kids prepared the perfect birthday meal, BBQ chicken wings and burgers. The charcuterie was excellent, featuring home made sopressata salami. The cheese board was loaded with a nice selection including my favourite, 30 month parmigiano reggiano. We sipped a bourbon barrel-aged cab sav and put a king-sized dent in that bottle of Wiser's Legacy L16288. An absolutely majestic whisky. #BRING BACK LEGACY

@paddockjudge a meal fit for a king. And home made salami - if that is it pictured there it looks amazing. I too love charcuterie with whisky - the perfect match in many cases. But what is that appaloosa looking cheese?

@Hewie, Yes, that is the homemade salami in the picture... delicious! The cold and dry winter months of January and February in Northern Ontario are perfect for hanging and drying/curing meat in the cellar. Once fully matured the salumi can then be vacuum packaged and stored in the fridge to be enjoyed throughout the year.

That is Marble(d) cheese, this particular variety a mild cheese is for the unadventurous.