So, what are you drinking now?

@bwmccoy Wow! If we had SMWS events like that close to me, I'd definitely be a member. I've been eyeing membership for awhile but without events like that, it seemed membership was just a fee so you could get society bottlings.

@bwmccoy - Wow! What an amazing weekend! I like the way Charlie Maclean talks about whisky; seemingly pretentious yet not pretentious at all - I would love to attend a tasting with him.

@RianC @bwmccoy Yes, I went to an Ardbeg masterclass that he ran - amazing!

Kilkerran 12: There's something uniquely dry about this whisky, despite the light fruits. I don't always need fireworks. Sometimes a rich but gentle spirit--with no gimmicks-- does the trick. I'll likely crack open the Kilkerran 8 later. These Kilkerran bottles are flying off the shelves around here, even more than Springbank. Springbank and Hazelburn expressions of various age statements and strengths can still be found if one the will, time and expendable cash to drive for them.

Re-visited my bottle of Springbank 12 cask strength tonight. I need to find some more. It's over half way down and I am in full FORO mode.

@BlueNote which batch (%ABV) are you drinking. I agree I wonder sometimes why I chase after other bottles when this one is so good

A Talisker 10 after a fish and chip supper (a rare little treat these days). My cold is almost gone but my nose is not yet 100% so having it in a tumbler. I'm liking this much better than my last bottle - the mouthfeel's a bit thin and there's a little nip along with the pepper in the finish, but overall this is really drinkable and warming and the nose is gorgeous.

I feel that casual sipping or 'drinking for enjoyment' as opposed to 'for appreciation', as C. Maclean would say, is just what this was designed for - and it works, very well.

@RianC Interesting thought - drinking for "enjoyment" vs "appreciation"

Might almost be worth its own thread...

There is a wide spectrum of quality that runs from Lambertus (ok, maybe leave that) or Glenfiddich12 to something like Octomore or Uigeadail, or a springbank with multiple layers,

While I agree that for some you need to focus on the dram to fully appreciate every nuance, you should always be drinking for enjoyment.

I think any whisky will be more nuanced if you focus on it and not something else.

@Nozinan - ' Might almost be worth its own thread... ' Do it!

For me, drinking for enjoyment means simply drinking without giving too much care or attention to it. Sniff, taste and enjoy. Drinking for appreciation is when I'll sit down and dissect a whisky, take notes (mentally - sometimes written) and really focus on giving it time and being generally more mindful of what I'm doing.

I enjoy doing both but have found over the last few months that too much analysis can get a bit mundane, automatic and becomes a bit 'too much like effort', as the kids say. It's been nice of late to drink more casually and not pay it too much mind. I feel a tumbler or my Taylor D glass are better suited to this. There are some drams though, as you point out, that seem to demand appreciation - Laphroaig 10 CS being one of mine currently.

Apologies for thread hogging but I felt like adding some Caol Ila 12 to the Tali 10 for some JWB vibes. 2:1 Tali to CI. It's good but I feel less CI would be better, maybe 4:1. The lemon and herbal notes in the CI have swamped all the lovely sea-weedy toffee notes of the Tali.

@cricklewood - Thanks. Yes, I really liked the format that Charlie MacLean used for this tasting. I've done blind tastings before, but not quite like this. We were given minimal information (Age, Cask type, Date distilled and ABV). We were then asked to make notes about Appearance (color, legs, beading), Nose neat, Palate neat, Nose with water, Palate with water, Finish (Charlie called it "Development") and Personality. We were also asked to guess the region, then the distillery. We also wrote down a name for each cask (like the ones the Society gives each bottle) and we were asked to score each cask on a scale of 1 - 10. It might sound overwhelming or a lot of work, but it was actually very interactive and a lot of fun, in my opinion. I plan to incorporate much of this technique into next month's outturn preview tasting that I will be presenting. One of the things that Charlie said, (it may be obvious to others, but it was a "ah-ha" moment for me) was his definition of flavor. Flavor is more than just taste. While that is obviously part of it, Flavor is the combination of nose, taste (front palate, middle palate, sides of the tongue, back palate and finish), appearance, mouthfeel, etc. I thought that was a great way to describe it.

@TracerBullet - just curious, if you don't mind me asking, where, approximately, do you live? Also, I noticed in your profile that you are a Ham Radio Operator. So am I - WJ5N. :-)

@RianC and @talexander - Charlie Maclean was very nice, down-to-earth, not pretentious at all. Obviously, a wealth of knowledge, but very gracious with sharing his knowledge and took as much time as the attendees wanted to talk or ask questions after the event. I was very impressed.

Last night, I took a break from whisky and had a glass of Armagnac. 1997 vintage from J. Goudoulin (SMWS A3.3) "University Bonfire" from a Gascon Black Oak cask from the Bos Armagnac region using a combination of Ugni blanc and Baco 22A grapes. 51.7% ABV. Notes: Citrus fruit, baked bananas and toffee caramel.

@bwmccoy In Columbia, MD so between DC and Baltimore. K3TTL is my callsign.

@TracerBullet - Thanks! FYI... Not sure what all is involved for you to get there, but the Society hosts tastings frequently in DC, usually at Jack Rose or their new sister restaurant, Imperial. Most Society tastings are open to both members and non-members.

@Hewie It’s the 54.8% batch which I believe is the most recent one. Got it earlier this year. Lovely stuff.

Last night, started off with a 17 year Highland Park, Rum cask finish. 54.4% ABV

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

Glenfarclas 10 :my SO loves it

Corryvreckan: buttery , of course peaty, but also an organically integrated wine influence, and also the spice from French oak. I hope this one will be available under 100$ when the tariffs hit. Elegant.

@bwmccoy Glen Scotia is becoming a bit of a darling. How did you like it?

Warmed up the palate with some Springbank 10 before moving on to a sample of Longrow 14 Sherry Cask (57.8%ABV). As always the SB10 was good but the Longrow was ecstasy. Initially very much like an old oily rag, funky, the smell of black powder smoke - quite a bit of sulfur. Smells like Rotorua - a city in NZ with bubbling geothermal mud pools (hydrogen sulfide gas). Forest floor leaf mulch. Old leather. The funk subsides to leave more typical fruit and spice notes. Brown sugar sweetness, raisins and all those other 'fruit cake mix' fruits and spices, some spicy prickle. A long sweet and spicy finish. Hard to believe this is from a refill sherry cask. Man this is good - but not for the sulfur adverse. I think I'm in love! Shame it's only a sample bottle.

After a rough week, I’ve decided to open my bottle of Booker’s. It’s big, it’s bold, and it doesn’t hide its proof. It’s more floral on the nose than I expected it to be, and there’s plenty of barrel char on the palate. With a touch of water, there’s definitely some woodsmoke present on the finish. First impressions: high quality stuff, though I’m not sure it’s worth its price ($108) relative to Rare Breed ($65) for my palate. But this is a first dram and I’m interested to see how this develops with time.

@Hewie I suppose it must be evidence I truly now belong to the illustrious group of whisky aficionados, since when I read "old oily rag, funky, the smell of black powder smoke - quite a bit of sulfur. Smells like Rotorua - a city in NZ with bubbling geothermal mud pools (hydrogen sulfide gas). Forest floor leaf mulch. Old leather." I think to myself... hmmm, I'd like to try that....

...cause anyone else, whom I'd describe as an 'otherwise normal' person, would most likely run far far away from either embibing or consuming something of such description.

Monkey On Their Back.

Will Houston answer the call? Can they get the monkey off their back? The Nationals in four????

Enjoying a wee pour of Wendel Clark 11 YO Pot Still Bourbon Barrel Aged while waiting for game 3 to begin. @ Victor, you will like this one.

@BlueNote - The Society has released a number of Glen Scotia's this year and the ones that I have tried have all been very good, if not excellent. The 14 year that I had a couple of nights ago is not my favorite, but I still scored it a 91.

Tasting notes for the 14 year; oily rags, ship's engine room, tar and oak, balanced by puff candy, maple syrup and salted caramel fudge.

@bwmccoy Thanks for that. I think I'll get on to my Society member friend and see what he's looking at these days

Cheers.

@paddockjudge The brooms are out. Go Expos.

@RikS That's exactly what I was thinking when I read @Hewie's description.

Doing a H2H2H of B518, C918 and the newish A519 tonight while I still have some of the B518 left.

Yay

Having another dram of Booker’s while watching Ken Burns’ The Civil War.

Sorry @paddockjudge. As @Victor knows, I’m rooting for the Nats (Expos), but my first MLB game was the Astros way back in the late 70’s at the Astrodome. Not to mention I want a 7 game series because it’s a long time to Spring Training.

Tonight, 15 year (Feb. 2004) Bowmore from a 2nd-fill ex-bourbon hogshead.

@bwmccoy, that's f _ _ king hilarious!

My first game was at Parc Jarry in 1970. We traveled in my Uncle's Oldsmobile 442, that alone would have been worth the trip. I got to see Hank Aaron, in the flesh. I was a bit too young for whisky hen, but made up for it later.