So, what are you drinking now?

@Jonathan If you dare venture into some whisky groups on Facebook, you’ll find a ton of pretentiousness, both in scotch and in bourbon groups. Most of the time, I’m happy to scroll on by, but I left one of the very popular bourbon groups because of all the awful condescending nonsense that seemed to go along with every other post.

Had a dram of Wild Turkey 101 in Stanhope, PEI tonight.

@paddockjudge Petty things should be behind us, especially when the offended person was neither you nor me. Write to me or put it out there. I'm not the type to be be cowed into submission. In any case, I'm not a huge Macallan 18 fan, since I've never had it. A doubly broken leg has taught me some things. One is that people who put bottles over people are not good people---especially since this was a trade that just didn't happen, not a scam. Those of you who who wouldn't crack the sole bottle of whiskey (WP CS) in the house when Trump was elected, or understand why---and whose wife's immigration status was in danger--might not understand.One such person exists on this site, and he has been as unforgiving as he is knowledgeable about casks and yeasts. Aspy, anyone?

Tomorrow is the big Amrut day--and I will write about it.

@OdysseusUnbound I've been spared! I look through scotch reddit and watch some entertaining videos (like Ralphy and Horst), but i haven't encountered real scotch snobbery yet, even among people who dislike me. I won't look too hard for that :)

Just got home, let out the puppy. Gave her a peanut butter stuffed chew toy to keep her busy and settling down to one last patient chart. Can't believe it has been over three months since I last poured Little Book Chapter 2. I've been wanting to try it a few times to become more familiar so I can review it, but it's so long between tastes.

Tonight it is very tasty taken neat, and almost as good an accompaniment to charting as OGD114...

I have a few open bottles that I rarely drink because they are special to me in one way or the other. I mostly drink them when I have friends over to share them with. However, last night, I decided to have a dram from one of these bottles. Glenmorangie 15 Year Sauternes Wood Finish. This is a bottle that my wife and I picked up at the distillery in 2010 and was later signed by Dr. Bill Lumsden, master distiller. It has been open a long time and is down to the final third to quarter of the bottle, but it is still fantastic. 46% Non chill-filtered

Color: Deep autumnal gold

Nose is reminiscent of syrup pudding and madeira cake smothered in lemon curd and a dusting of spices.

Taste: Deep, rich and chewy with toasted oak tannins, intricately woven with honey and lemon toddies, cake mix and soft vanilla flavors.

Finish: Long and sweet, with sponge cake soaked in vanilla cream with a hint of eucalyptus.

Last night I had some 'farclas 105. Air exposure has certainly smoothed out some its rough edges. No sulphur that I could detect, not that I'm not particularly sensitive to sulphur unless it's "in my face." I suspect that this is what they call "clean sherry." I think the 105 a really good whisky. Perhaps an 89 or even a 90? (About the air exposure thing: is it worth it to pick up one of these inexpensive aerators or is that just a gimmick?) I wouldn't dream of putting water in this 105, but I had to when I first opened the bottle..

I didn't drink for a while because of pain meds, so at first I could barely tolerate 46% in baby sips. Now 50% or more is my preference. I haven't opened my bottles of Ooogie, Springbank CS, A'Bunadh. or Laffie CS because of the high abv.)

Speaking of 50%, I also had a dram of Port Charlotte Ten There's something about the peat(and pepper?) and also the wine influence that really distinguishes this whisky. It is complex and has been one of my favorites. I've tried a couple of Bruichladdich's X Barley series (X being Islay, Scottish,etc.) but the PC 10 really does it for me.

Legent: I am liking this---much better than the Isaac Bowman Port Rye I recently tried .This is a freshly opened bottle. I was afraid it would be too sweet. Not at all.The Beam rye comes through. The wine comes out in the finish and nose (flowery?)Thiscould be called the Jim Beam DE.I'm enjoying it.

Chivas Regal 12. The third in a triplet of reviews I decided to tackle tonight. I only had to be on call till 7, the puppy is now in bed, and no one is home, and no charting to do.

I'll post the three in a little while. I haven't taken a sip yet. I hope the saying "Third time the charm" is accurate...

Paul John Peated CS---great stuff .Will need to drink together with Amrut Peated CS snd compare....... and hopefully have more to say. Paul John is a class act, and I'm glad they are back in town. 55$ for cask strength peated whiskey?

@Jonathan - I rated a bottle of 105 88 points and have been thinking about getting another. I don't often reach for heavily sherried whisky but this is one of those that I think does a good job of it. Good price point as well.

Poured the last 15 cc of my Alberta Premium 25 YO sample from @Paddockjudge. Next to it, the last 10 cc of my sample of AP30. I'm reviewing them H2H2H with standard AP. Just nosing I can tell they are all very different. Dog-willing, I will have three reviews to post later tonight.

@Nozinan As far as “bottom-shelf-priced mixers”, Alberta Premium is by far my favourite Canadian. I bet you could fool a lot of people with that whisky. I believe I rated it 84/100...

While putting together a roster for a tasting I'm doing this weekend I cracked open a Gordon & Macphail Ardmore 1998-2018. I wanted to let the bottle breathe a bit before the tasting

This is surprisingly light on the smoke and heavy on the sherry.

Balmenach SMWS 48.42 (10 year - Nov. 2002) "Grown-Up Ice Lollies" from a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 56.7% ABV with a few drops of Speyside water

Followed by Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

@bwmccoy how was the Balmenach, what would you compare it to? I was looking up distilleries that still use worn tub condensers and Balmenach came up. I think most of its output is destined for blends.

@cricklewood - The Balmenach is a bit of a chameleon. Sometimes I get Juicy Fruit bubble gum, other times I don’t. I really like it when I do. Also, this is one of the few whiskies that I always add water to; it needs a bit of opening up. It’s “sweet, fruity and mellow” which is not my favorite flavor profile. As for what other distilleries that I would compare it to; I’ve only tasted Juicy Fruit bubble gum in one other whisky and that was a Society Mannochmore back in 2010, but I don’t have a lot of experience with either Mannochmore or Balmenach. The Balmenach is a quality dram, just not a style that I normally gravitate toward (it was a gift). I rated it an 88. Hope all of that helps.

Here are the Society tasting notes; Soothing, innocent and fresh at first nose, the panel was overcome with chamomile, agave syrup, lavender, cherry blossom and desiccated coconut. Freshness carried through to the palate with sweet butter pastry, real lemonade, fizzy green apple sweets and gooseberries. Slightly hot, yet very refreshing and thirst-quenching. A little water turned the dram into a variety of homemade summer ice-lollies: blackcurrant, pear, melon, eucalyptus and clementine – take your pick! Strawberry yoghurt, lemon sherbet, green grapes and croissants with lime jam to finish. A refreshing afternoon treat!

What's increasingly frustrating me is the fact that when I drink whisky, I get strawberries... mangos... green apples... porridge....

... but never ever when I eat strawberries, mangos, apples or my morning porridge do I get whisky!

@bwmccoy Absolutely, thanks for sharing your thoughts, it's a worthwhile exercise to spend time with a malt outside of your preferred style and dissect it, it's something we probably don't do enough. I'll keep an eye out if ever I get to try this malt.

@RikS wouldn't that be amazing!

@cricklewood - it’s a shame we live so far apart. Would be glad to share a sample in order to get your thoughts on it.

@RikS, @cricklewood, I get lots of whisky notes in my morning porridge

@paddockjudge is it bourbon soaked oats?

@bwmccoy I appreciate the offer, perhaps we'll get to raise a dram one of these days.

@cricklewood I very much doubt he taints the whisky by adding oats...

Well the latest release of Springbank 12 CS (BAtch 18) is definitely a different beast form the previous batches. I tried it alongside some of my Batch 6 tonight. The 50:50 sherry bourbon cask proportions (as opposed to the typical 70:30) really dialed the sherry right back. It was really more reminiscent of Kilkerran. Of course, this was the neck pour so I'll just have to keep checking back to see how it develops over time.

@Hewie, nice take on the newer 12 CS!

And for me, that shift toward more bourbon is great news. I'll have to come back that beast again soon - I'd kinda decided to shift my Springbank attention to the more bourbon-focused stuff like the standard 10, but that new recipe sounds like a winner for my tastes.

Last night, I had a dram from another open bottle that I rarely drink from. Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique Single Malt Single Cask Strength (56.9% ABV) Cask # W090220020 Bottle # 143 of 197. This has been open for 5+ years and is down to it’s final dram or so. While it has lost some of its luster over the years, it is still very good, but I will need to finish it off before too long.

@cricklewood, @ Nozinan, Cask Strength Lot 40 on Pancakes with maple syrup and side bacon, Octomore over porridge and yellow sugar, prunes in cognac, Elijah Craig Hazmat Batch on French Toast with ice cream...the list goes on....

@paddockjudge what kind of porridge? I'll bet it's not oatmeal...