So, what are you drinking now?

@fiddich1980 - Shelf turds ? I'd be happy with any of them!

Speaking of which, a bottle of that Pure Malt Black will be making it's way to me tomorrow. I might also get a Nikka WFTB as well . . .

@OdysseusUnbound I'll have to try the Stagg Jr. soon. I see bottles around, I remember that the early batches had a rough start, so I was wary to buy. Should I find a bottle, I 'm sure someone here can help me figure out if it's a good one. Rare Breed has been my go to lately. I've never tasted a bad one.

The "harshness" thing I mentioned probably has to do with marketing and my perception. I always think of Mac 12 as "smooth"(if sometimes boring), whereas high proof bourbon often has that "kick in the butt" reputation.

@Jonathan The flavour of Stagg Jr is big and bold for sure, but the nose is warm, rich and inviting. Absolutely no harsh, acetone, spirit-driven aromas. I also have an unopened Batch 11, bottled at 127.9 Proof, so it will be interesting to compare the batches once I open it. I may bottle a sample of the Batch 9 for a head to head at a later date...

@RianC I haven't had the Tali 18 in ages! Prices around here went through the roof. The bottle I had was superb, and I haven't yet heard of a bad bottle of the 18.

In terms of Rye: since I live near Pikesville (where I guess the rye is no longer distilled?) I owe it to myself to check it out. Willett seems to be mostly over for now, in terms of what's accessible around here. I saw a bottle of the 4yr. Willett old behind the cashier of a "discount " liquor store, a few bottles away from JW Blue and the Tali 30. And Whistlepig has priced itself out of the market for the store that used to get custom bottles. The high abv Pikesville looks like a nice choice, and I'm a fan of Rittenhouse (which I'm told it is, plus the abv and age).

Last night, Miltonduff SMWS 72.31 (29 year - Dec. 1983) "Something Old, Something New" - Refill Hogshead ex-Bourbon - 48.3% ABV. I love whisky from the early 1980’s. They just don’t make whisky like this anymore.

Laphroaig SMWS 29.226 (18 year - Mar. 1999) - "Seaside surprise" - Refill ex-Oloroso sherry butt - 56.8% ABV. For me, Peat + Sherry = Whisky Perfection.

A Red Stripe and a JD MD ed. no.4 while making some herby BBQ chicken. Going down nicely . . .

@RianC nice set-up! JD and BBQ are a perfect pairing. Is the little duck pond thing where you keep the beers on ice?

@cricklewood - If only . . . the little one gets very protective of his 'water-den' space ha! Cheers!

We don't have a large garden but Jade and her Mum do try and make the most of it (I can't even pretend to have anything to do with it!). And yeah, JD and BBQ work so well it's uncanny.

Alberta Premium 30 yo, as I watch the Montreal Expos play the Kansas City Royals. Actually it is the Washington Nationals, wearing the 1969 powder blue/bleu uniforms of their predecessor team, Les Expos. Vlad Guerrero Sr. is on hand today in DC.

washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/…

Check out the Montreal menus in the link 'Canada plans' within the link. Poutine is being served at Nats' Park today, and Montreal meats, of course.

@Victor - Wish I could be with you watching Expos (Nats) baseball. That would be fun! I’m sitting on my patio, eating a sandwich, drinking a beer and listening to the Twins, Rangers game.

@bwmccoy yes, that would be great, and it would be nice if Expos fans @Nozinan and @paddockjudge were here with us too.

5 Ks for Scherzer for the first 8 batters.

This is the first time the Nationals have worn the Expos uniforms.

I’ve enjoyed a few healthy pours of Crown Royal Northern Harvest while sitting by my in-laws’ pool this afternoon. This bottle is almost gone, and it’s been a good one. Plenty of red apple and spices today...I have to say, this being the first week of summer vacation, I’m sure just about any whisky would have tasted glorious.

A few more drams, after the Alberta Premium 30:

1) Highwood Centennial Limited Edition. I bought this bottle 8 years ago and it is still 70% full. Not terrible, but little positive draw either.

2) Sazerac's Royal Canadian Small Batch, the quintessence of blended Canadian whisky, even though it was blended in the US.

3) WhistlePig 10 yo, 50% ABV. Always good.

4) Tsingtao Beer, nice Chinese beer from a legacy German colonial brewery.

5) Filliers' Oude Graanjenever, 50% ABV, 8 jaar oud. This stuff is great! I'd rate it 90 in the company of whisky.

@bwmccoy I love the sound of that Miltonduff. I just laid to rest the final dram of a very tasty IB 22 year old Miltonduff bottled by the Distiller's Art.

Having a Lot 40 CS 12 year old. I spent last 24 hours tasting Bakers 7, Barbancourt 8yr, and Nikka Pure Malt Black. These were fresh opened so, I'm reserving judgement.

Tonight’s a peat night.

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

Caol Ila SMWS 53.281 (11 year - Sep. 2007) "A day at the seaside" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 60.1% ABV

Caol Ila SMWS 53.241 (6 year - April 2011) - "Dense smoke over a tarry deck" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 60.3.% ABV

@fiddich1980 - Early days, yes, but how did you find the Pure Malt Black? I've been looking but there aren't any recent reviews out there that I can see . . .

@Victor - Tsingtao beer is indeed lovely!

@RianC The Background:

My rational for buying a picking up the Nikka Pure Malt Black.The reviews I've read indicated a "peat and smoke element" profile in the nose and palate. The Nikka Pure Malt Red reviews mention a Sherry element. I don't remember what the "White" version referenced. It may have been a combination of the Red and Black. The rumors on the non-age stated Nikka Whiskies indicated addition of Ben Nevis a Scottish distillery which Nikka owns. I don't have access to Ben Nevis.

My Opinion So Far:

Nose: Smoke Peat Raisin Fruit(apple) Sweet Alcohol Nip Taste: Honey, Toffee, Apple, Vanilla, Peat, malty, floral Finish: Peaty, Smoky, Tart

Conclusion:

I was reaching for my sample from my HP 12 "Old Label" at 43% for comparison. Honestly, the only differences between the two were minor. Nikka had a more refined notes over the dirty notes of the HP. The forms were very similar. Overall, a decent drink but, nothing I would be hunting. I prefer the Nikka Taketsuru which developed and evolved complexity and nuances, over time.

(E&O)

@fiddich1980 - Thank you - that's interesting to note. I know Ralfy rated a bottle 91 but that was years ago. I asked the other day how it was now and he replied saying that he hasn't tasted it in a while so . . .

I'm not expecting an amazing whisky but it's nice to try new things and the peated element intrigued me. I think the White is very peaty with the Black being somewhere in the middle. You're definitely right about Ben Nevis being in it. We'll never know but I suspect a reasonable amount is added given what the MD at BN said about their product going overseas . . .

@Victor, @bwmccoy, three of my favourite things: whisky, baseball and baseball.

@paddockjudge who was number 47?

@paddockjudge the Nats' current manager Davey Martinez was an Expo player, as was our TV announcer, F.P. Santangelo, who is the cheekiest and wittiest baseball commentator I have ever encountered. .

@Victor It wasn't Davey Martinez. I was at games. It was:

"Le voltigeur de centre, the centre fielder, DAVE MarTINez"

@Victor I bet you the original voice of the Blue Jays was cheekier...

@Victor - Tom Cheek was the original play by play announcer for the Jays...

@Nozinan, #47 is Gio Gonzalez, left-hander, a 21 game winner in 2012 (he also hit home runs, as a pitcher, in three consecutive seasons). Gonzalez had the best curve-ball in Major League Baseball! He is currently on the Milwaukee Brewers roster.

@paddockjudge But in 2012 there were no Expos...so why is it on your Expos cap?

@Nozinan, that is the $1 BILLION QUESTION! Forbes valuation for Tampa Bay (Devil)Rays is $1,000,000,000.

"Build it and they will come." Shoeless Joe by William Patrick Kinsella (Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner). Kinsella was a Canadian....and that is why I still wear an EXPOS cap....Expos uniforms were worn in Washington yesterday...the dream is alive!

Answer to your query, I custom ordered the hat in 2014.

Just had my first try of Springbank 10! This is one complex whisky from nose to finish My g-d, if it weren't same the price for Uigeadail and Lag 16 DE, I it would always have this on my shelf. This whisky demands s long resting and nosing period (during which I must have looked ridiculous, nosiing around). The flavor and finish bring those nuanced flavors that I have often seen in whisky reviews but seldom tasted. It's all just...too much. A moment.

. Strange thing about it too: at 46% I don't taste alcohol, must less than 'farces 10. My mother (like the rest of our family who don't have afib) loves scotch.(My great grandfather was a distiller and distributer of several spirits, some of them concocted in bathtubs Back then in Brooklyn, the kids were allowed to drink (and didn't get drunk). For my grandfather (the patriarch), it was Dewars and Crown Royal before it it it was the "Glenlivit and 'fiddich. I wish he could have tasted something like this be fore he passed.

I know what I'm bringing for Thanksgiving--if my mom can't still drink whisky (he taught me!) I'll bring one a Springbank anyway for the "kids.," the 30-50 somethings who attend. This bottle will blow some minds.

This is my Proust's Madeleine: so many tastes and memories--a kind of synesthesia: aromas and flavors that intertwine with memories. (I manage to keep vision synesthesia out of the picture. I have thick enough glasses as it is and nearly go blind when the sun is blazing. After hitting a cone (or two) on the way to the Stones show, I ordered some new sunglasses.

I try to keep my impressions on whisky "objective,"-- looking at a whisky as someone else would see it. I can't do that with this one. I wish I had the foresight to by the 11 Sauternes CS that was there when it was there.. That was a fluke and the store owner said I'd probably never see it again. I'll have to look into the 15, though it's rather expensive.Is it so much better than the 10?

The only vague comparison I could make with this newly opened bottle would be a good bottle of Talisker, but this still a different beast. Maybe an 18 year Tali or Highland Park would-be a better comparison.

I need to learn what they are doing to make this whisky because the aromas and flavors are not coming from peat, and where is the spicy mango coming from? How can wood and barley work this voodoo?