So, what are you drinking now?

One of my best friends got married last night. It was a small, intimate wedding (20 people) and the groom and I were the only two scotch drinkers, despite the fact that his bride is the daughter of Scottish immigrants. My friend doesn’t do tasting notes or in-depth analyses; rather he buys whatever catches his fancy and decides “I like it” or “I don’t like it”. We shared a few drams throughout the night.

• Dalmore 12 (40% abv): this one surprised me. I haven’t had this in several years and I wasn’t impressed the last time I had it. This bottle was opened in front of me and it was good. Very good, in fact. Plenty of oranges, dark chocolate, cinnamon, sultanas, and some vanilla. Despite the low abv, it was rich and quite flavourful. Obviously the mood and the company made the whisky that much more enjoyable. I’m not going to “score” any of these whiskies as I wasn’t really thinking about that.
• Dalmore Cigar Malt Reserve (44% abv): I’m not sure if this really goes with cigars, as my friend doesn’t smoke, but this was an impressive whisky. Dalmore at a higher abv is excellent. It’s quite similar to the 12 Year but with more varied spices: ginger, cloves, allspice, and a touch of anise. The oranges, dark chocolate, and sherry notes are all present, and there’s also a rich walnut flavour on the finish. This is pricy in Ontario (such things are a non-issue for my buddy), but if I found it at a more reasonable price, I’d definitely take the plunge.
• The Balvenie 14 Year Caribbean Cask (43% abv) : after the Dalmore Cigar Malt, this one was a bit meek. Not unpleasant by any means, but not quite as rich. Vanilla, pineapple, honey, graham crackers, not much else to my palate.
• The Macallan Rare Cask (43% abv): This is one of my buddy’s favourite whiskies. And as much as I criticize the circus side-show that is Macallan’s marketing, this whisky shows what the distillery is capable of. This is an excellent whisky. There’s a ton of dark fruits (dates, figs, raisins, blackberries), spices (ginger, cinnamon, cloves), dark chocolate, espresso, a bit of tobacco, cherries, and some vanilla.

All in all, this was a wonderful night and it was epic to get to enjoy some whiskies with one of my best friends. How would I rank them in terms of my enjoyment?

1. Macallan Rare Cask
2. Dalmore Cigar Malt
3. Dalmore 12
4. Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask

@OdysseusUnbound Macallan Rare Cask is excellent - they still make some fine whiskies but they're an easy target.

@talexander Targetted mostly because of their outrageous prices. I agree, they still put out some exceptional whiskies, but unfortunately, they have left us commoners behind.

Another glass of Four Roses SiB while watching the Sky/HBO series Chernobyl. The whiskey is as gripping as the drama, whilst not being anywhere near as harrowing - thankfully! Seriously, if you have't seen it it is well worth your time, the attention to detail is frighteningly impressive. And, vice versa, if you haven't drank it . . .

@RianC It was very good, and like a horror movie! They play pretty fast and loose with the science and the facts though....

@talexander Very true about the facts. Fun watch though.

@talexander @TracerBullet - Yeah, totally gripping and horrifying at the same time. Watching it has prompted me to do a bit of digging but from what I can tell it seems fairly accurate?! But I am by no means well-informed. It's more the tone and feel of it that I find most believable - that sense of always looking over one's shoulder and not trusting one's government must have been an ordeal in itself. We're OK in the West though, right?

As for the science - I guess it has to be dumbed down to a certain extent and not being that up-to-speed with nuclear fission I'll happily take the 'For Dummies' explanations

@RianC I don't think the whole "skin melting off" thing was accurate...and the Emily Watson character didn't exist (she's a composite of a few scientists), though both Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgard's characters really existed. I read this one a while ago: livescience.com/65766-chernobyl-series-sci…

A sample of Two Brewers Peated Release 12. It starts with a chaos of funk, leafy vegetable, overripe oranges, rosemary herbs, vanilla sour cream, touches of baking spices, on a peaty wooden cedar platter. A lively, mouth feel with a back of the throat tickle bordering baking soda and vinegar. While this description sounds terrible it's quite the opposite, and very flavorful. With time in the glass, the flavours meld into a clean refined and sophisticated single malt. The rough edges disappear the dram borders on the edge of boredom - smooooth.

@victor - Congrats to the Nationals on their first National League pennant!

@bwmccoy thank you very much! Four game series sweep in which they never trailed in any of the games. How about that? I was happy for the Cardinals to see them put in a strong competitive effort in tonight's game. But, in answer to your request, the Nats did succeed in this series in totally dominating the red birds.

@Victor, @bwmccoy GO NATS!

Wild Turkey Rare Breed - I bought this after hearing about this for a long time from @OdysseusUnbound, worried that I would regret not getting any while it's still CS for $60 some odd dollars in Ontario.

I tasted from a sample courtesy @paddockjudge. Interestingly, the sample, prepared years before I bought my bottle, has the same ABV (but different bottling code - what is up with that?). 10 cc is all I could manage as I'm exhausted.

First impressions, neat it is no shrinking violet. Sweet yet dry. Very bold. I like it. Water makes it creamier and more soft. I like it better neat.

I'll have to open my bottle to compare, and soon, in case I get FOMO on FORO.

Tonight, toasting the Washington Nationals on advancing to their first World Series with the most appropriately named whisky in my cabinet;

"Highly a-musing", a peated Croftengea from the Loch Lomond distillery. SMWS 122.23 (7 year - Feb. 11th, 2011) from a second-fill ex-bourbon hogshead - 57.7% ABV.

@paddockjudge @Victor - With the Nationals making the World Series, my Seattle Mariners have the dubious honor of being the only current MLB team to never make it to the World Series. Unfortunately, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Looking forward to an evening with Kilchoman today! :)

@bwmccoy I am now rooting for the Mariners. The Seahawks are looking very good this season.

@Nozinan You must have jinxed it. The price is up to $65 today.

@RikS I’ve spent many an evening with her. You’ll love her. She’s a very tasty girl.

@BlueNote maybe kilchoMAN wasn't the best name now that you put it like that

I'll try to share some notes tomorrow, including a nice expression released Today!

A few drams over a few days:

Bowmore 15: bah-bah-boom. it seems to have hit the sweet spot after some months with air. The Bowmore peat has subsided, the fruit and sherry influence amplified. I guess I don't like Bowmore peat? This tastes great now. I wasn't expecting to like this one so much after the air time. High 80s.

Port Charlotte 10:kind of great with a peaty punch at the start and the wine toward the end. Too much going on for a "blurb."

Caol Ila 11 G and M: I wasn't sure if I would buy this again because of the relatively low level level of peat compared to Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin. and even Kilchoman. That Caol Ila bottle went relatively fast and has some complexity. I'll have to replace it and exercise more restraint. Rich, oily, white fruits, It tastes particularly good after a small dram of the 17 Unpeated.

Talisker 10: not my favorite batch, but the fruit and vanilla are more present than they are with with the NAS expressions.I need to start learning to be more attentive to bottle codes.My last bottle of the 10 was great.

I'm doing my best to buy better stuff and then drink less. Springbank CS, Laphroaig CS (at 60$), and Caol Ila 11 CS, also Corry at an insanely low price ...

Sitting down with a couple of recently opened, cask strength, single cask bottles from local distilleries.

Westland Distillery (Seattle, WA) Cask # 2549 Single cask release, cask strength (4 years 2 months) - 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon (Heaven Hills) cask - 60.1% ABV. Most Westland releases use a 5-grain mash bill. This release is made from one of the 5 grains; Washington State Select Pale Malt.

Nose: Pear, lemon, herbs and banana. Palate: Spice cake, vanilla custard, ripe apple.

Copperworks Distilling Company (Seattle, WA) American Single Malt Whiskey Single Cask No. 97 Release No. 16. Aged 38 months in a new French oak cask - 58.9% ABV.

Nose: Fruit skins (apple, grape) and nutmeg. Palate: Very bourbon like; dark cherry, stewed fruit and figs. Finish: Long and dry, with maple and white pepper.

@Jonathan Good time to load up on the Corry if the price is that good.

I had about 25 ml left in a bottle of Lag 16. Decided to add about the same amount of 8 year old Lag. Man, did that tune up the fairly weak 16. I guess it ended up being a pretty good 12 year old.

@BlueNote well, silly me i left my notes from yesterday at home and now I'm abroad for a week. Not that I expect anyone to await my humble notes with baited breath... but, they'll come, eventually. Was a nice evening though together with the son of the owner of the distillery.

1. Kilchoman 100% islay
2. Kilchoman Machir Bay
3. Kilchoman Sanaig
4. Kilchoman Loch Gorm
5. Kilchoman 2010 (vintage, released yesterday in fact)
6. Kilchoman STR wine cask.

@RikS Nice. This is a distillery that, in my opinion, can do no wrong these days. Look forward to your impressions.

Kilchomonstrosity

My mother-in-law was at our place as we’re planning my father-in-law’s celebration of life. She’s a gin and tonic drinker and I didn’t feel like having whisky so I had a small pour of Bruichladdich Botanist Islay Gin, neat. It was very good, quite interesting, but I’m not sure I want to drink gin neat on a regular basis. It will make for great cocktails though.

@OdysseusUnbound It's really good - makes a great martini (though my favourite gin for martinis is Plymouth)

@talexander I was thinking The Botanist has a great assortment of flavours: a little sweet, some tart citrus notes, a touch of bitterness, all that’s missing is some salty umami goodness. A dirty martini with a good dose of olive brine? Yes please. But make it in the anti-Bond style; gin, not vodka, stirred, not shaken.

I’m having an after-dinner nightcap of Tyrconnell 15 Madeira Cask. Lovely stuff. I’m really developing an affinity for some of these lighter malts. It’s still plenty flavourful, but it isn’t an over the top bruiser. Lucky for me, this isn’t hockey. I don’t have to pick one team cheer for 100% of the time. Good whisk(e)y is good whisk(e)y.