So, what are you drinking now?

Caol Ila 17 YO CS “unprepared”, 10 cc pour from my slowly dwindling decanted bottle. I wanted a little dram tonight of something nice, and I haven’t had any since December 29. Still a 90 point whisky almost 3 years after opening.

Glad I have another. Wish I had 3.

I'm trying to catch up on my sample reviews, but I had an exhausting day so I only had one whisky, but it's a superb one; Glendronach Single Cask 18 Year Old Tawny Port Finish, bottled at 53.6 % abv. Review to follow soon.

A vatting of two single grain whiskies, both aged at Pike Creek. Enjoying a 2:1 ratio of Wiser's Red Letter 2015 (15 YO) and Corby's Lot No. 40 12 YO Cask Strength. This is my favourite Canadian whisky.

@paddockjudge

Your own blend is your favourite Canadian whisky?

@nosebleed is sampling some ECBP 70.1%

Ouch! Just saw my post about Caol Ila 17 YO "unprepared". I have to assure everyone this is extremely prepared, and very well prepared at that. What it isn't, according to the bottle, is peated.

@Nozinan I thought this was a new expression I haven't heard of. "unprepared" sounds like most 17yr olds

Had a long day, followed by some technology related issues. Needles to say I needed a dram. I had the last pour from my bottle of Lot 40CS 12yr old. That bottle has been open a good while and it's contents had traveled to 3 different states and to another continent. It led a good life and the last drop was solid as ever.

I then cracked open a bottle of Wiser's Dissertation, man that stuff is just so rich!

Shared some of my whisk(e)y with my brother, his wife and their son-in-law. We each selected different whiskies from the 10 that I brought. I had;

Westland SMWS 133.1 (5 year - October 2011) - "Speakeasy sneaky peeky" Virgin oak barrell/Heavy char - 57.0% ABV

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

I don’t get to visit my family often due to the distance between us, but it’s great to catch up over a dram or two.

Wasn't really feeling it last night but it was Friday so I 'forced down' a Talisker 18. It was a little sharper than usual and with more rotting fruit notes but still enjoyable.

Had a Caol Ila 12 earlier while making dinner, which was as pleasant as ever, and am now having a Hazelburn 13 Oloroso. I've had this tucked away for a few months and I'm liking what the air has done to it. Lots of classic figgy, leathery sherry notes but with some salty funk and a more malty flavour in the development - almost like Bacchus Belgian cherry beer. Very nice!

Last night, I caught up with my wife at a little show our friend's band was playing. She had a glass of whisky waiting for me, and she challenged me to guess what it was on the first taste.

Sniff sip gulp - it was Laphroaig 10. Correctamundo.

But the more difficult question: How much did you have to tip to get four fingers of Laphroaig??? I swear, the tumbler was almost overflowing. I love when bartenders do that.

My wife is throwing another party. The nominal excuse is my 50th, again, because her family wasn’t here for it, but I think she just wants to showcase her sister’s food.

She wanted a mojito so I made one (I whipped up a quick simple syrup) with Flor de Caña 7 YO (LCBO 40% version, not Nicaragua 35% version).

My sister in law wanted a Marguerita so I looked up a recipe and cracked the bottle of Aha Toro tequila (añejo) my wife brought back from Mexico many years ago (I can’t bear to open the medical with the worm... ugh). We compared it to the tequila plus grocery store marguerita mix. The store version won hands down.

Apparently I make good mojitos. This bottle was 80% full before the party...

In 2017 my wife came back from Iceland with this crowberry liqueur. We finally had a chance to open it. 21% ABV.

It’s a screw cap. Hardly any nose. Very sweet. Actually much better with ice than neat. Way too sweet neat.

On the plus side, the empty bottle will be great for blending exercises or bottle shares...

They wanted to see the collection, so I took them down and poured a few small glasses of Amrut Naarangi for them to try.

As I have to get up early I sat this one out...

@Nozinan Mmm partial to a mojito myself. They were obviously well received

@Hewie I went through 2 cups (~ 500 cc) of simple syrup!

@Nozinan I like that mojitos typically aren't a sweet mixed drink like many other popular ones can tend towards - so I'm guessing that that volume of simple syrup made a fair few well enjoyed drinks.

@Hewie Quite a few...

Tonight, after we got home from my niece’s wedding, had a couple of Society Glen Scotia’s;

SMWS 93.112 (14 year - Feb. 2004) from an ex-bourbon cask.

SMWS 93.106 (13 year - Mar. 2005) that was finished in an ex-Port cask after spending the majority of time in an ex-bourbon cask.

The Society has been on a roll with excellent bottlings of Glen Scotia recently. Great stuff!

My second crack at my bottle of Springbank 12 CS (Batch 18) 50:50 bourbon - sherry cask mix. More like the 10 YO at full strength with a lot less of the typical 12CS sherry influence. Once I'm past that minor disappointment it's actually pretty damn good with plenty of peat and old garage floor intermingling with malty sweetness and creamy vanilla.

@Nozinan, yes indeed, my own blend is my favourite whisky for both Canadian and Scotch...I haven't put much effort into bourbon blending as it is a formidable task, but I do dabble.

@Hewie: "More like the 10 YO at full strength with a lot less of the typical 12CS sherry influence."

Sold!

I'm cutting back on my drammage lately, but last night I took a tour through my shelf:

Kilkerran WIP #1. Almost gone, sadly. Its intrinsic value puts it somewhere in the mid-80s for anyone who likes 'em clean & zippy, but its sentimental value is near a 100 for me.

Springbank 10 100 Proof. Almost gone! Still a 90s whisky for me. It's like the Kilkerran x2. I love this stuff like crazy.

Amrut Peated 46%. A friend gave me the heel of his bottle after I mentioned that it's one of the last remaining big peated whiskies that I'd never had. Very dry peat, watery mouthfeel. 80 (tops) for me. I really want to try to CS version.

Ardbeg Ten. Just a quick comparison dram of Old Faithful before...

Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2011. I opened this bottle the same day I bought it - I can't tell you how long it's been since I did that! I'm like a carefree newbie again. It's a much fuller experience than the Ardbeg Ten. Richer and broader and meatier - maybe like if you dashed some Laphroaig 10 CS into a dram of Ardbeg Ten. Good stuff! Upper 80s.

I’m at my in-laws’ for a Summer Slam party. My youngest (8) is a big WWE fan so we’re ponying up the cash for the Pay-Per-View. I’m sipping some Bruichladdich Classic Laddie Scottish right now and will probably kill my heel of Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2008 tonight. That PC disappeared quickly. It won’t be the last PC I’ll own, that’s for sure.

Port Charlotte 10 "Heavily Peated" 2018. Marshmellow Embers. Delicious and highly quaffable.

Dang - everyone's drinking Port Charlotte this weekend!

Went to a friends house for dinner last evening. He shared Cardhu Gold Reserve Game of Thrones House Targaryen, Talisker 18 and Laphroaig PX cask. The Cardhu is a very mild dram - relatively unremarkable IMHO, but enjoyable. The Talisker 18 was excellent. I have an unopened bottle of this in my cellar. I think I need to open it! The PX cask was a treat for a couple of reasons. Just the nose took us back to our trip to Islay. I could have inhaled that aroma all evening. The scotch itself was typical Laphroaig but the PX finish rounds out some of the rough edges. My wife is not a Laphroaig girl but she did say she liked the PX cask better than a Laphroaig 10.

Tonight I'm enjoying a pour of my favourite Scotch. It is not readily available at retail. A vatting of three cask strength single malts; Laphroaig 25 YO CS, Glenlivet Nadurra 16 YO CS, and Macallan CS in the ratio of 1:3:6 with 10% water added. Toffee, fruit, smoke, peat, this beauty has it all...and clean casks, what a rare occurrence these days.