So, what are you drinking now?

Cairdeas 51.8 abv.: needs a minute or two with coaster or scotch tube top for aromas. The fino is seriously dry (I prefer that). I was surprised to taste the almond. The finish feels muted , but I like this austere, barely sweet Laphroaig. To give the only analogy that comes to mind: this reminded me of "flat" analytical sounds that some head-fi gear might give you, i have had one small dram--but I'd like some austerity turned into some fun: the CS Triple Wood for eample, , look forward ti it. But I'm the the one who loved pin/kport Laphroiag

Decent New Zealand dram. Taste very much like a bourbon

@Hewie - Thanks, mate! The Tali 18 will be popped this evening so I'll let you know

Yeah it's been a bit hard-core but I've done the hard part now. One more 3am start tomorrow (for work) and I was leading in the clubhouse so it looks like I'll have made the cut for our Champs Sunday too!

If I wasn't so damn thirsty I'd pop it right now

@Jonathan I am looking forward to the new Cairdeas triple wood, I think this particular flavor profile turned up to 11 should be interesting

Last night, Teaninich SMWS 59.56 (10 year - Feb. 2008) "Gardener's question time" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 56.2% ABV.

@cricklewood will the triple wood Cairdeas make it to Canada?

@Tom92 - Is that a malt or a mash? And if the latter what's in, do you know?

Hey you and @Hewie must be happy the way the cricket's going? Think they'll catch that Aussie score? Either way, team of the tournament so far.

@Tom92 interesting - like where does it fall in bourbon? more vanilla/sweet or more spicy, earthy like rye? not that i could purchase this in the states i don't think, but just curious!

@RianC congrats on making the cut! sounds like a dram for later is in order...

Last night poured myself a bit of Jameson's Black Barrel when I got home from work...the bottle is going fairly fast and I'll have to replace it by summer's end. After dinner, we had a bit of Laphroiag 10...finishing this bottle soon and I'm think of buying the Quarter Cask instead...what I should be doing is paring down and drink/finish what we have, but sometimes I just can't help it if more bottles end up in my shopping cart.

@archivist - Thank you! I finished second in the end so go out in the last group tomorrow. Exciting . . .

@Hewie - About half way through a pour of Tali 18 and it's making me grin like a naughty schoolboy! Early days but it does seem slightly different - that said, the sweetness balancing with the warm spices and complex peat notes is still dreamy

@bwmccoy - Are you still not drinking in the week? If not, I bet they tasted extra good?!

I always feel I enjoy it more after a few days off.

@RianC - My goal when I started not drinking during the week was to cut back a little. I did that (and lost 5 pounds in the process). With warmer weather, I’ve started drinking a little bit during the week (a beer when I get home from work), but it is still reduced from what I was previously drinking.

You are absolutely right about the additional benefits to the palate when cutting back. The drams seemed much more flavorful and I appreciated them so much more!

@Tom92 I've not yet tried any of this range - must remedy that at some stage. Hope all is going well for you (did you see my PM a while ago?).

Tasted Fino Cardias again: did I call this austere?I'm getting a sherried Laphroaig . The peat is always there,, but as with the Triple Wood,the fruit is there , and the wine flowers come out gently in the the finish. I'll have to do a h2h with Laph 10 , QC, Laph CS, and Laph 10 CS., Because the fruit tend to tame down the more industrial Laphroaig effect, I might begin that tasting from the Fino. This Fino is a delicious tbottle that I feel will evolved if I can keep it around long enough. Oh, Lag DE would also make for a nice comparison! So would the new Caredeas (/cs 3Wood)!

@RianC A MasterBlend of 70% single malt, and 30% grain whisky produced from unmalted barley in the Willowbank Distillery. Aged for 6 years in American Bourbon barrels, before finishing for 10 in French Oak NZ wine barrels. Bottles at 40%, I think it would be something special at cask strength

@archivist I found it hitting just above the sweet vanilla notes. Which surprised me when I saw 10years in red wine cask, but semi balances out in my mind knowing 30% grain

Tonight the opportunity for a dram has presented itself.

@nosebleed has a lot of heels. Probably because we’ve opened a lot of bottles, including minis, over the years and not come back to them.

Tonight we finished off his Bruichladdich Organic 46%, 200cc ( there were about 29 cc left, has status unknown). Batch 11/022, they printing looks like it might have been bottled in Feb 2011. Opened I would guess at least 5 years.

Tasted pretty good. I will have to open it’s sister bottle I still have in Toronto and see how it is.

And now, a long awaited H2H between Amrut Intermediate Sherry batch 20 and a sample of Amrut Single (Sherry) Cask (2014 lcbo release) I sent with @nosebleed After opening my bottle in October.

All in the name of science, of course....

Not drinking it yet, but I hope to have some Barrell Bourbon soon. This Fred Minnick link testifies to what I think is one of the two biggest and most important relatively new developments within the realm of American whiskey, Independent top quality craft blending:

forbes.com/sites/fredminnick/…

As the article states, the name Barrell is just a tweaked spelling of the primary concept that this company's whiskey is undiluted, straight from the barrel at barrel strength.

The other big not talked about development within the American whiskey-sphere is that there are quite a few, maybe 6 to 10 intermediate sized new distilleries coming on-line soon. While these are not as big as the 10 or so big legacy producers, they are much much larger than the many hundreds of US whiskey microdistillers out there. In other words, in a few short years there will be a good 50 to 100% increase in the number of US producers whose volume of production will be sufficiently large to have a world-wide distribution. A much wider selection of bourbon and US rye is on its way to the world-wide whisk(e)y-appreciating public.

Last night, Aultmore SMWS 73.107 (20 year - May 1998) "Cherry chocolate and chutney" - 1st-fill Oloroso hogshead for 2 years after 18 years in ex-bourbon hogshead - 55.3% ABV. This is such a beautiful, perfectly balanced whisky. Lovely dram!

I’m sitting poolside at my in-laws’ sipping some Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye. It doesn’t taste as “Juicy Fruit” fruity today. It’s tasting more typical “rye and spice and everything nice”, today.

Amrut Naarangi, 50% ABV., as I watch the Washington Nationals play the Detroit Tigers. Ace Max Scherzer is pitching for Washington against his old team, for only the second time. Today Max pitched for 8 innings, gave up 1 run, and struck out 14 of the 24 outs registered. In the two games, Scherzer pitched 17 innings, struck out 34, and gave up 0 walks. As long as Max stays healthy he will undoubtedly become second only to Cy Young in total career strikeouts, no later than the end of next season.

I am loving the Naarangi, as always. As of now this bitter/sour orange sherry taste profile is in its own category, with no peers. Naarangi is a real crowd pleaser at a group tasting. This bottle is going quickly, mostly because I have treated a couple of groups to it. Glad I have 2 more bottles.

Erratum: bad info.Max Scherzer is not close to career high strikeout levels.

@Victor

I’ve noticed this about Naarangi as well. It seems to have a high evaporation rate.

@Victor Bartell bourbon have been doing very interesting work since their beginnings without too many gimmicks. I think their blending chops and their sourcing set them apart from many other outfits.

There's a couple of interesting episode of the bourbon pursuit podcasts where they interview the founder and their head blender.

You make an interesting point about the medium size outfits, some are already making waves like New Riff, a bold statement to start with a bottled in Bond bourbon as their first release. Others have yet to put out their first bourbons but will surely have an impact like Castle & Key for example.

Last night, I finished off my bottle of Highland Park 13 year (Dec. 2004) "Stones of Stenness" from Single Cask Nation - 2nd fill ex-Pedro Ximenez sherry hogshead - 57.4% ABV. I tried to make it last as long as I could, but it was too good not too drink!

@Victor I will be very curious to hear your take on Barrell Bourbon. I see it on the shelves in Nashville when I visit family there. I was only able to sample from two different batches. I was not inspired to buy. Obviously, there is heavy batch variation. It seems that they are often blending Older George Dickel with whatever else they can get their hands on.

What am I drinking? My own Blended Malt. I swear this blending stuff is easy. I will tell you what I did. I put one once of each of the following into a bottle:

• Aberlour A’Bundah 61.1% batch 58
• Ardbeg Corryvreckan 57.1% 22/10/2018
• Ardbeg An Oa 46.6% 24/10/2017
• Clynelish 51.2% Game of Thrones Ltd. 2018
• Cragganmore 12yo 40%
• Glenlivet Nadura 16yo 55.7% bottled 8/14; Batch 0814D
• Glenmorangie 10yo 43% 19/10/2018
• Highland Park Vulknut 46.8%
• Lagavulin 12yo CS 56.5% bottled in 2017
• Laphroaig 10yo 43%
• Longrow Peated 46%
• Macallan Classic Cut 58.4% 2017
• Old Pulteney 12yo 43%

Just over 375mL this fits into my travel (plastic) bottle. The ABV comes out to 49.99% (slightly more than an ounce of A'Bundah and slightly less than an ounce of the Laphroaig)

How does it taste? Like an amazing peaty blend with both light stone fruits, citrus, and some sherry influence. Slightly more rounded then I typically like. But that is the whole point of a blend isn't it? I swear that this tastes like some Blend Malt that a company would slap a silly label on, make up a story for, and sell for between $80-$120. I certainly prefer it to Big Peat, The Peat Monster, Kiln Embers, or the Big Smoke. They would call my Blended Malt richly peaty (which it is) and I would get suckered in to buy it. Well there you go! I got myself.

I made this up to take with me to the beach this week. I always like to have a peaty dram and a rye when we stay at the beach.

@Nock, your blended malt sounds great. Of course if you like it it is very likely that I will like it.

I haven't had my sample(s) yet of Barrell Bourbon. You are giving me pause, because your tastes are so close to mine. Your not buying Barrell Bourbon doesn't mean that it is bad, of course, just that it is not making your cut to buy under current circumstances. That cut is a high bar for me for sure, too, because I have so much stock. Yes, I may have to taste Barrell Bourbon before I buy, if I buy.

I was tickled that I found some Lemon Hart 151 rum in Baltimore and that my sister bought a bottle. High test? That stuff is high test. 10 ml goes a very long way. A shot of it might kill you. An atom bomb of flavour, and of alcohol.

@Victor I really (but rarely) enjoy Lemon Hart 151.

Thank you for the sample in 2015

Thank you for the bottle in 2017 (still open, still great).