So, what are you drinking now?

@Nock the Balvanie Tun 1509, Batch # 3 was offered to us by a generous friend. Given a lot more money than I currently have I could easily see paying $ 400 for that bottle, but that is only for that bottle of Batch # 3. I'm sure that a decision to pay that kind of money would be considered justified only on a case by case, batch by batch basis. No doubt it would still be a bit of a crap shoot as to whether one would be getting adequate value for money to buy a batch of The Balvenie Tun 1509 blind.

All the Mortlach I have recently had has passed by me without sulphur objection, and as you know my sulphur meter is very sensitive. I have a bottle of the current OB Mortlach 12 yo on order, as does @Maddie, so you can taste ours one day. I will be horrified if my new bottle shows me sulphur I didn't taste in it in New Orleans. The bottle MAD now already has of 12 CS did not cause me any pause either. I have no doubts of the reports of others who have encountered sulphur problems with Mortlach to date; I have just thus far eluded them myself.

As to Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured Single Malt, our liquor store owner says he will try to order some for us, and is unsure whether there is any back stock available at his distributor's warehouses. We will find out before long.

A Sherry night last night...

I had the next to the last dram of Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique (56.9% ABV) Cask # W090220020 Bottle # 143 of 197.

Followed by Laphroaig SMWS 29.226 (18 year - Mar. 1999) - "Seaside surprise" - Refill ex-Oloroso sherry butt - 56.8% ABV

Tonight, a non-SMWS night

Glendronach 12 Year Old - Original Double Cask

Westland Distillery (Seattle, WA) Single Cask #3824 (Rum Cask Finish) Bottle #62 of 168

Nikka Yoichi Single Malt

Last night, my club had a "bring out yer Glens!" theme. A big table full of summery, boring, Glen-whatever malts. Our new official club bottles where the Glenlivet 18 and Glenfiddich 18, both fine if forgettable. The real fun came from the outpouring of other Glen-whatever bottles that folks trotted out for the occasion.

I agree with my friend who said it was fun to try all these, but that he also appreciated concentrating them all into a single night so we can move on to other things.

Nothing really stood out to me as especially different or better, and forgive me for not even mustering the will to list them all - but it was pretty much 80% of all the modern Glenlivets, Glenfiddiches, and Glenmorangies that you might be able to think of off the top of your head. Squint into my photo if you're really interested. The vote-winner was the Glenmo Allta, the one made with special yeast.

...and sorry I didn't really line up much of a glory shot for that photo.

And I'll add that we got to try the old Glenlivet 16 Nadurra next to the new NAS thing. The 16 was waaaaaaaaaaaay better.

Last night, after a local 'session' IPA (4.6% ABV), I had a glass of Armagnac that was left over from the Society tasting earlier this month. Cask A4.3 (from Domaine d'Espérance), called "A slice of Gascony", was distilled in 2004 in the Bas Armagnac region using the Baco grape and was aged in a Gascon Black Oak cask. 47.3% ABV.

After that, had a dram of "Red Diesel". Glen Scotia SMWS 93.106 (13 year - March 2005). After 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, it was transferred to a 1st-fill Port hogshead - 58.6% ABV.

@MadSingleMalt Thanks for the post. Much like those poorly rated whisky reviews, it is always worth while to get someone's perceptions on a theme whisky tasting - the good, the bad and the ugly.

@fiddich1980, all those Glen-whatevers were just so samey! Now I gotta admit, the Glenlivet 18 really struck as drastically better than the 12 when I tried them side-by-side. Likewise with the 16 Nadurra v. the NAS "First Fill" Nadurra. But it was a difference of degrees on a scale of "generic whisky." Overall, the overflowing table with just overflowing with good-quality sameness.

This, of course, is the bias of a guy who much appreciates ferocity over gentle smoothness in his whisky. Your mileage may vary.

@MadSingleMalt I have liked both Nadurras (16 and NAS), but I have found the Glenfiddich 18 the most helpful in achieving bold peaty flavours.

@MadSingleMalt You have my empathy. I wish I can pour you a dram. Thanks for taking "The Glens", for the team.

@fiddich1980, Lagavulin 12! Now you're speaking my language.

@MadSingleMalt

Wow - I was on call, and got distracted and didn’t finish my post. Which makes no sense. Unless you know that the year I was given a fiddich 18 I traded it and $3.50 for a Lagavulin 12....

@MadSingleMalt I've tried that Glenmo Allta. My sister owns a bottle of it. It uses a different yeast. That is its claim to fame. Not much of a claim to anything, as far as I am concerned. They can put out 20 different whiskies in the next 20 years with a different yeast each time and it will still be 20 new whiskies, and 20 "no big deals". No big deal, not because the whiskies could not be good, but no big deal because the whisky quality should be judged on what it tastes like, and not on the fact that it happens to be different. The world is full of experiments that didn't work. We don't need to celebrate each failed experiment. My rating for Allta? Maybe low 80s.

I first heard Glen-speak, referring to "The Glens" as an implicitly non-descript group, from my peat-head buddy @Nock half a dozen years ago. It amused me then and it amuses me now, mostly because of the huge cognitive dissonance between the taste of Big Flavours Lovers who take a somewhat dismissive attitude toward what are to others the distilling pillars of Scottish malt whisky.

@MadSingleMalt ha ha I love it - the Glen-whatevers. On Facebook I would "Like" your posts with a laughing face so here you go

Last night I did another in depth study of nuance. I happened to have several different Laphroaig Quarter Cask samples, so I put a bunch of Laphroaig’s head-to-head. The general consensus among Laphroaig fans (according to the distillery) is that the 2017 Cairdeas release of the Cask Strength Quarter Cask was not great. My theory has always been that it simply was a bad batch. So I watered down 15mL of the QCCS to see how it fit with three other batches of the Quarter Cask. I started off with the standard 10yo (43%) as a reference point. The other 5 whiskies were all at 48% and tasted Blind (my wife mixed them up for me). Here is the short summary of my experience in ascending order of enjoyment.

Laphroaig 10yo 43% c. 2018 – I opened this bottle in early December (2018) at it has about ¼ left. This particular batch is not great. Far too much iodine for my taste. I don’t mind a touch of iodine . . . but this bottle has gotten out of hand. In my tasting notes from January and March I noted the strong presence of iodine but thought it was well integrated. I have always thought it tasted a little thin on the palate. Clearly, this peated bottle has evolved in a way I don’t enjoy. In the past I scored it an 89 and 87. Tonight = 83

Laphroaig Quarter Cask 48% o.3/29/11 – This was my least favorite of the QC samples I had on hand. Obviously, it has been around for a while. I have carefully decanted it over the years and I am down to my last ounce now. My scores for it in 2011, 2012 and 2013 show a slow decline from 89, 88, 87 and then 84. The last time I tasted it in 2018 I gave it an 87. In the line up tonight I thought the nose was muted and the finish was a bit flat. It probably has just been around too long. I liked it only slightly less than the 2014 sample. = 85

Laphroaig Quarter Cask 48% o. 4/20/2014 – I guessed that this sample was the watered down QCCS (wrong). It seemed muted on the nose and watered down on the finish. However, it did have a nice big peaty finish with some deep rich dark peat. I will note that my old scores for this bottle in 2014 and 2015 were higher than the 2011 batch. I scored it on three occasions: 90, 88, and 89. Tonight it has slipped a bit. = 87

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2017 57.2% Quarter Cask Cask Strength 5years (5-11yo) in first fill bourbon barrels; then quarter casks for 6 months (watered down to 48%) – This one totally threw me. Clearly adding a bit of water really helped it for my enjoyment. I think at full Cask strength it just came across a little young. Tonight, at about 48% (and blind) it fit right with most of the other QC batches. The nose was a bit more smoky than the other QC batches. It also had less iodine that most of the others, and it had some nice deep peat and bass notes. = 89

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2018 Fino 51.8% (watered down to 48%) – The revel on this shocked me. It started off as my first blind sample after the 10yo, and I really enjoyed it. I would never have guessed any Fino Sherry cask involvement. There was a ton of thick peat, but also got some nice pipe tobacco. I figured it was a good batch of the QC . . . shocked I tell you. Glad I have another back up bottle. = 91

Laphroaig Quarter Cask 48% b.o.7/18/2019 - Again shocked beyond the belief about this one. I just tasted it in a blind 6 dram lineup about two weeks ago, and it came in dead last with a score of 85!! Tonight I was in love. It quickly emerged as my clear favorite winning all three categories of nose, palate, and finish. It was the most unique whisky of the night. There was a ton of midrange funk that I attributed to wine influence. It had an edge of sulfur but also some animal farm. There was virtually no iodine and a ton of big dark peat. It probably had the biggest finish of the night. I was sure it was the Fino cask. Nope. Just a recent QC batch that I just scored 85 two weeks ago. Is this an example of a peated whisky needing about a month to get to full power? I don’t know, but it certainly was different from the other QC batches tonight. = 92

My take away is that as always so much of how much you enjoy a whisking can depend on your mood, what else you are tasting that night, and how dialed in you are to a particular whisky. For some reasons this winning batch of QC really spoke to me. Clearly, I need to throw it into another Blind tasting. I’ll let my wife pick out 5 other peaty whiskies and we will see how it scores for a third time.

@Nock - love all of the details and really appreciate you taking the time to share them with us!

Last night, I rated two open bottles;

Longmorn SMWS 7.221 (16 year - Jun. 2002) "Hop Scotch" - Finished in a 1st-fill IPA barrel - 50.3% ABV. I am blown away by how bright and floral this one is. I was concerned that an IPA cask wouldn’t mesh with the Longmorn house style, but it works in this case quite well. There is the slightest hint of hops in the finish, but if anything, the hop influence adds to the overall floral notes throughout. By far, the best IPA cask finished whisky I’ve had. Score: 89.

Dalmore SMWS 13.75 (11 year - May 2007) "Briny dancer" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 59.1% ABV. As previously mentioned, I’m not a huge Dalmore fan. While I like this one more than their standard releases, it just doesn’t do a lot for me. It is a very drinkable; there is nothing technically wrong with it. Of course, having said that, it tasted better last night than any time that I have had it before. Who knows, maybe it will continue to improve over time. Score: 85.

I usually give each club meeting some sort of silly moniker or quip or theme. For the Glen-whatever night, when the two official new club bottles were the Glenlivet 18 and Glenfiddich 18, the joke was "The good news? You're gonna fall in love with two 18-year-olds. The bad news? They're both named Glen."

We nominated our candidate for the upcoming election. So as I try to catch up on my charting, at least somewhat, I've poured (appropriately with my left hand) a modest pour (neither Conservative nor Liberal) of Forty Creek Heart of Gold, the bottle I opened to celebrate the election of our leader, whose slogan was Love and Courage.

Rating two more open bottles;

Glen Scotia SMWS 93.112 (14 year - Feb. 2004) "Sweet and grubby" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.7% ABV. Rating: 91.

Glen Scotia SMWS 93.106 (13 year - March 2005) "Red diesel". After 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Port hogshead - 58.6% ABV. Rating: 92.

@bwmccoy, a couple of 90+ Glen Scotias! Impressive.

If I were to be throwing money at any non-budget new bottles right now, I think at least one of them would be a Glen Scotia - probably the OB 15.

Coming to the last pours of my Powers 12 - this has got much better as the bottle has gone down (I think I even decanted it once or twice). I rated this 86 if memory serves, this pour would be easily 88. What was quite a sharp nip of alcohol has softened into a more floral high note - still a bit of a bite but more spicy than nippy, if that makes sense?

@MadSingleMalt - I've never had the opportunity to try an OB Glen Scotia, but I would like to in order to see how they compare to the Society bottlings. The last few Glen Scotia casks that the Society has released have been excellent! I affectionally call the Society Glen Scotia's "a poor man's Springbank" because I still get that Campbeltown funk that I love in Springbank, but unfortunately, the high cost of Springbank casks have made the bottles that the Society released in the recent past out of reach for my budget.

Rated the last two open, unrated bottles in my cabinet.

Glenallachie SMWS 107.16 (7 year - Apr. 2011) "Truly a fairy tale" - 2nd-fill toasted oak butt - 67.0% ABV. Can't believe the age. Drinks much older. Don't notice the high ABV. The is excellent whisky! Rating: 92.

Laphroaig SMWS 29.263 (20 year - May 1998) "Exquisitely playful" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 54.9% ABV. The signature Laphroaig flavors are there, but more refined. It is exquisite. Rating: 94.

@bwmccoy @MadSingleMalt I've go the Glen Scotia 15 open now. It's good but it doesn't wow me. It's got some nice sherry influence and a bit of light funk but it just seems like a poor cousin of Springbank. I bought this after having a mini 3 pack with the double cask, 15, and Victoriana. The 15 was my pick of the 3. It has improved with some airtime but I won't be replacing it.

Glen Scotia is just such an odd little duckling, and I mean that in a good fun way.

I've had a few of their OBs, going back to the pre-Disco Cow days. Nothing stellar, but odd little interesting bottles. They've gone through so many ownership changes and rebranding that it's hard to keep up with their stuff, but the current generation sounds like a step up from the old stuff.

It's Friday and I have the next week and a day off work - yippee! It's quite warm here today and I've been cooking a sweet and savoury Chinese pork belly dish and wanted something sweet to go with it so opened my bottle of Smith and Cross rum.

I'm glad I did - the most beautiful butterscotch and caramel pennies nose on any rum (or spirit for that matter) that I've ever had; along with a little creamy vanilla, soft char and a kind of herbal/vegetal note that sits in the background. This must be the famous Jamaican 'funk' I've heard about?! Well, whatever, it's damn good rum and not too sweet!

@RianC - Now having a Cadenhead's rum. It's nice but it seems relatively thin and uneventful and with more alcoholic nip in comparison to the S&C, which is surprising me as it's a fine rum . . .

After last weekend, wrapping out and putting my dining room back in order. I'm having a dram of Springbank 18, Jackson Browne's "The Load Out", sets the mood nicely.

Sipping some Woodford Reserve. This is pretty nice stuff. Only my second dram, but I like it. I believe it’s only called “Distiller’s Select” here in Canada. The low Proof kind of frightened me, but it’s fine as an easy sipper. No complaints.

@OdysseusUnbound My first bourbon with crushed ice. It got me started on the bourbon exploration.