So, what are you drinking now?

@Nozinan - Ha! Most likely . . .

Thank you and thanks to all for the likes and well wishes!

@RianC Congratulations, I am happy to hear both mother and baby are doing well.

@RianC excellent to hear! Big congratulations.

@RianC Congratulations!!! Now .. boy or girl?

@RianC Congratulations, brother !

@cricklewood @fiddich1980 @OdysseusUnbound @Victor - Thanks brothers!

It's a big bouncing wee laddie at 9 lb 13 oz. I'm gonna put my other lad to bed soon then enjoy the peace and quiet while I crack open a Springbank 15! I'm sure another pour of the Laffy 10 CS might be on the menu as well ...

@Jonathan - Not had the Mortlach 12 but had the F&F 15 (16?) which was excellent. The AnCnoc 12 really surprised me though and was very flavourful, especially for something at 40%. If they were the same price I'd go for the Mortlach though as it's about £20 more than the other over here. @Victor might be able to offer a more informed opinion on it though?

This Springbank 15 is immediately complex on the first sniff. Not exactly how I remember but there's putty, clay, salty peat, mellow sherry, damp earth, garage workshop, umami, sweet and sourness and some garden herbs right off the bat. I'm loathed to say it but is there a better word to describe this house style other than 'funk'? Well, this is like Stevie Wonder and Chic 'got it on' in Parliament and birthed the Islay brothers (see what I did there?) . . . I'm tired

@Rian, congratulations!

A word of friendly advice, until the kids are out of the house, stock clear glass bottles only. This will allow you to keep an eye on the fill level, and the whisky colour. I don't know why kids think their fathers enjoy a lot of water in their whisky.

@RianC Congratulations!!!

@Nock Do the half full Bowmore bottles taste closer to the one that I'm fairly sure we both tasted from? If so, I'm willing to make the effort to try the experiment. Since I have you "on the line," do you know how much sherried whisky is used in the Ardbeg Uigeadail (also second fill, I'm guessing from my last bottle?) Awareness of the importance cask management and selection has come to me relative slowly on my whisky journey.

I'm having Springbank 10 now. It tastes great --dare I say transcendent?--out of the bottle. I really like the Kilkerran (had the 8CS and 10), and will likely get another bottle of the 8CS again, but I prefer the Springbank 12 CS to the 8CS. The Springbank is dear and not easy to find. I stupidly turned down an offer to have a bottle reserved at $100. If only the cashier had called a little later than 9am on a Saturday, I would have gone for it.. Well, it's always good to have a white whale to hunt.

Having a Corry: I should add water but can’t bring myself to experiment with it. Maybe I’m used to peat, but I’m getting orange, and so many flavors that an amped up 10 can’t offer. (I also love the 10 for what it is: would love it at CS!). Less salinity in the Corry than comparable peated CS whisky. Just too good!

What casks are they using in the Corry ? There are definitely some wine casks but what kind—Burgundy ?

I wish they would disclose that info.

@Jonathan I believe I remember reading something about ex-bourbon, ex-burgundy and maybe some virgin French Limousin oak....

Edit: this blog entry from The Whisky Exchange mentions French ex-burgundy casks blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2009/08/…

@paddockjudge - Thanks mate! Ha ha that's a timely warning indeed. I seem to remember adopting a similar practice when I was younger ... and was always gobsmacked how they knew?!

Karma's a bitch

@OdysseusUnbound - ' The fact remains that, at an RRP of £70, it’s a full twenty quid more expensive than both the Committee bottling and the 18 year-old Beist it replaces – and no doubt there will be plenty of people queuing up to have a moan about that '

That was 2009! Given I like to keep a keen eye on pricing, shall we say, it's worth noting that Corry is now about £63 and Oogy £53 - both of which have come down in price since I got mad into whisky. That the 18 was cheaper is the bit that I find most interesting. No moaning here

Amrut Naarangi, 50% ABV. @Nozinan, thank you, thank you, thank you, for egging me on to try this one, by your example and by your enthusiasm for it. I can only dream about what this would taste like at 57% ABV. Amrut, would you please starting bottling some of this at Cask Strength?

Today is the one year anniversary of my epic tasting with @victor at is home. Thanks again @victor for your hospitality and all of the great bourbon, rye, tequila and mezcal. This was the first (and only time so far) that I had met @Victor in person and it was an absolutely amazing time. What an honor and treat to spend that time together.

Tonight, I am in Chicago at a work conference. At dinner with my co-workers, had a Manhattan made with Maker’s Mark 46.

@Victor This is very tasty and meets the criteria you mentioned for Bottled-in-Bond. The price in US dollar $27.00 converted from Canadian.

@bwmccoy, yes, I've remembered the anniversary of our tasting all day. Everything flowed so very well for that couple of days. I was so very pleased to finally meet you after having wanted to do so for several years. You are a prince.

And I am very glad that you enjoyed our booze.

Yes I do very much wish to travel the 3,000 miles to visit your beautiful home and beautiful area in the not too distant future.

@fiddich1980 I am quite happy to hear that you got a good price on your Beam Bonded. My enjoyment of any whisk(e)y is increased by having obtained it for a small price.

@Victor - Thank you for your kind words. The feeling is mutual! It was so great to meet you in person after all of these years!

Tonight, after dinner, several co-workers and I went to Drumbar, a whisky bar here in Chicago. Had the following drams;

7 year (June 2010) Caol Ila (SMWS 53.246 - “Blowtorch blast”) from an ex-bourbon hogshead. 58.8% ABV. So good!

Linkwood 15. A classic, quality dram.

Bruichladdich Black Art 6.1 (26 year - 1990). 46.9% ABV. Amazing, complex whisky!

15 year (April 2002) Croftengea (lightly peated whisky from the Loch Lomond distillery) SMWS 122.22 - “Smoulder and solder” from a 2nd-fill Sherry barrel. 54.7% ABV. Wet campfire ash. Lovely!

I had a lot of fun educating my co-workers to the joys of single malt whisky.

Just having a well-earned pour of Four Roses Single Barrel. Lovely nose - all the usual suspects but it's how those notes come together in a bourbon that interests me. This is quite custardy and I'm reminded of that full yet gentle profile of the Small Batch. There's a bit of nail polish remover as opposed to glue (which bourbon usually gives me) but it is 50% and fresh open so ... Easy to sip at though and I'm liking the slightly herbal and drying finish. Good first impressions.

@bwmccoy - Some good 'uns there! I like the look of that bar too.

Now is it just me or does anyone else think that a bar without people smoking in it is still a bit weird? Don't get me wrong, I quit a while back and don't miss all my clothes reeking of smoke the next day (not that I'm out drinking much these days ha!) but, I don't know, every-time I do go in a bar or pub these days they always seem a bit too sanitised.

@OdysseusUnbound I very much appreciated that article, especially the bit about not living in the (whisky) past. I've been convinced that Corry has some wine influence and this article suggests Burgundy. I'd love to see a rundown of what goes into the Oogie and Corry. The mystery is nice, but rhetoric of chaotic abysses and whirlpools can only take a drinker/reader so far...especially if there's a tasty bottle to open.

My work conference ended at noon today, so I met up with a Scotch Malt Whisky Society employee who lives here in Chicago. We met for lunch, then went back to his office for an epic whisky tasting. (Not as epic as my tasting with @Victor last year, but still epic!)

29 year (6/19/89) Linkwood (SMWS 39.180 - “Smokers on a new carpet”) from a refill hogshead, heavy toast, medium char).

26 year (11/15/92) Glen Grant (SMWS 9.166 - “Nectar-sweet, honeyed fruits”) from a 1st-fill ex-bourbon cask.

30 year (4/18/88) Glen Grant (SMWS 9.150 - “Thyme well spent”). After spending the majority of maturation in an ex-Oloroso sherry butt , this whisky was finished in an ex-Pedro Ximenez butt. Perfect balance between the Oloroso and the PX.

23 year (11/17/94) Glen Moray (SMWS 35.224 - “Fata Morgana”) from a 1st-fill toasted hogshead.

11 year (8/8/2007) Inchmurrin (Loch Lomond distillery) SMWS 112.48 - “A piece of paradise” from a 2nd-fill ex-bourbon hogshead.

20 year (10/23/1997) Ardmore (SMWS 66.138 - “Deep, rich and burnt fruit”) from a refill, ex-bourbon hogshead.

22 year (6/9/1995) Springbank (SMWS 27.111 - “A coal bucket of Marshmallows”) from a refill ex-sherry hogshead.

20 year (5/13/1998) Laphroaig (SMWS 29.263 - “Exquisitely playful”) from a 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel.

7 year (3/11/11j Laphroaig (SMWS 29.256 - “Firemen in fishnets”) from a refill ex-bourbon barrel.

7 year (6/1/2010) Caol Ila (SMWS 53.244 - “Vanilla chimney stacks”) from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead.

11 year (2/17/2006) Ardmore (SMWS 66.108 - “Caramelized smokiness”). After spending the majority of it’s maturation in an ex-bourbon hogshead, it was finished in a 1st-fill ex-Moscatel hogshead.

We finished the tasting with a non-Society single cask Highland Park “Gotham city”, cask #3297 from an ex-sherry cask. This was by far the best Highland Park that I’ve had in a very long time. All Highland Park should be like this!

Thank you, Ben (@singlemaltalliance on Instagram) for a great afternoon of whisky and conversation.

Wil secure another bottle tomorrow.

Benromach 10 43%. It's fine, but I'm unlikely to buy another. Its main value will be in doing a side-by-side comparison with the 100 Proof version.

A good deal for the $35 that I think I paid for it on clearance at Binny's a few years ago.

@MadSingleMalt - I've always liked the 10 and plan to open another soon but I am curious to see if I enjoy it as much as I remember.

@RianC

...and now I'm drinking the Benromach 10 100 Proof right on the heels of the regular 10. The big guy is bigger & bolder as to be expected, but also fresher and more lively. It makes the regular ten look like a sour mess in comparison.

Quickie scores:

Regular 10: 78

100 100 Proof: 85

@bwmccoy that black arts 6.1 is really something. I've had it twice and it is very well put together.

@RianC, you'll have a lot of fun with that Four Roses SB, it develops nicely as the level drops. I loved the herbal and fruity characteristics of this bourbon it sets it apart. I found it does have a slight acetone/acetic edge but it was well balanced.

If you can still get peaches or apricots in your neck of the woods. Try making a pie with some of the Four roses splashed in. It's delicious

@RianC @MadSingleMalt

I consider the Ben 10 and the 10/100 to be very different expressions.

I have been very happy with the 43% expression. I’ve never tried them H2H but one day I will, and I think they would both be welcome in my cabinet.