So, what are you drinking now?

Having a glass of Bladnoch 19 yo, cask #2618.

On the nose, very spicy, lots of vanilla. On the palate, hazelnuts, cashews....more spice!

Great stuff.

I’m having something smoky and warming tonight: a cup of Lapsang Souchong tea. I’m taking a break from whisky for a few days to “reset” my palate.

Side note: I’m really craving rye these days...I may have to pick up a bottle of Knob Creek Rye or even the KC CS Rye if I can order one.

Small pour (~15 cc) of a sample of Benrinnes Signatory bottling, courtesy @fiddich1980. Second half will be used for a review later on.

Hey Fiddich, do you remember the age of the whisky? I didn't write it down.

Having a small pour of a mystery whisky I sent samples of (it's the dots for those concerned) and wanted to revisit it.

Chasing it with my final pour of an 11 yr old 2001 Benriach single cask from a bourbon barrel. Sad to see it go but what a beauty this was.

@OdysseusUnbound when is it not time for rye?

I am partial to KC rye also, it's really a lovely pour and one that often gets overlooked.

@cricklewood @OdysseusUnbound - right, that's Knob Creek the on the list now ...

Braeval SMWS 113.24 (7 year - Oct. 2011) "Attack of the killer florists!" from a 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 63.4% ABV.

Followed by Glen Scotia SMWS 93.112 (14 year - Feb. 2004) "Sweet and grubby" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.7% ABV.

@bwmccoy while the SMWS titles can sometimes get a little OTT I have to say I love "sweet and grubby" I can see how that would work for a Glen Scotia.

@Nozinan 21 year old. Distilled 1974 and bottled 1995.

I just had a tiny sample from one provided by @cricklewood and now I’m moving on to a different one...

Pre-dinner was about 15ml each of 2 out of 3 samples provided by @cricklewood and now I’m having a more generous pour of plain ol’ Jim Beam White Label. Sipping this from a Highland Glass, I have to say it’s actually quite lovely. Plenty of waxy barrel char, much more floral than I remember, yet still retaining a touch of low-end earthiness. Ok, it’s no Booker’s, but it’s better than I remember. Of course this might just be a bottle from one of the better batches.

@cricklewood - “Sweet and grubby” is a very accurate description of what’s in the bottle! :-)

Here’s a portion of the official tasting notes; The nose was puff candy, maple syrup, honey, rum and raisin – but also oak shavings, salted liquorice and something of a trawler’s engine room. The palate is a fine balance of deep, sweet and acceptably grubby – salted caramel fudge, clover honey, muscovado on pear, oily rags and mussels cooked with chilli.

Gordon & MacPhail Glenturret 18 year old single cask. In troubled times take the time, to breathe, absorb, and appreciate, the life moments that surrounds us. The good, the bad, the living, and the temporary.

@bwmccoy sounds like a winner!

Balmenach SMWS 48.42 (10 year - Nov. 2002) "Grown-Up Ice Lollies" from a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 56.7% ABV.

Springbank 12 CS 57.1 abv: I like this "low" sherry(30%) version a lot. I get the funk, the sherry, the vanilla, peat and pepper. BUT I'm also getting cantaloupe. The finish itself is a three course meal.

To the folks on the site still invested in high school cliques, let's hear for Chinua Achebe. (Am I the blackest member on this site?) Mosquito [...] had asked Ear to marry him, whereupon Ear fell on the floor in uncontrollable laughter. "How much longer do you think you will live?" she asked. "You are already a skeleton." Mosquito went away humiliated, and any time he passed her way he told Ear that he was still alive.”

@Jonathan I don’t think that’s the same SB 12 as me, but I do enjoy lower sherry/higher ex-bourbon Springbank’s. I’m not sure about high school cliques, but I do enjoy Achebe’s writing.

I found a variation of a Manhattan recipe that I wanted to try. Westland’s Instagram account the other day referenced a “Stateside” Manhattan. Stateside meaning all ingredients are from the states. The recipe calls for the standard Westland release which I do not have so I used one of the single cask bottles that I have open; Cask # 2549 is a single malt varietal (Washington select pale malt) Single cask release, cask strength (4 years 2 months) from a 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon (Heaven Hills) cask - 60.1% ABV.

The recipe is 2oz Westland whiskey, 1oz sweet vermouth, 2 dashes of aromatic bitters and a cocktail cherry (I used a Luxardo maraschino cherry).

This is definitely different than my usual Manhattan recipe, but I like it. My wife thought it had an apple brandy note. I will make this again, but with the rum cask finished Westland single cask that I have opened. Maybe tomorrow night.

Springbank 12 CS 57.1 youtube.com/watch/…

Please iisten and give a buck if you have it . Gary plays with and managed Captain Beefhart, jeff Buckley, Nona Hendryx--the list goes on. I'll post one more. facebook.com/gary.lucas.5836/videos/…

www.youtube.com/watch

Please throw a dollar into Gary's tip jar. gary@garylucas.com (paypal) I'll start a whisky music threat. Serge has one idea right when it comes to music and whisky.

Last night, while watching "Scotch! The Story of Whisky" hosted by David Hayman;

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.

Also, finished off my bottle of Caol Ila SMWS 53.298 (11 year - September 2007) "Tokaji and tug boats" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 60.0% ABV.

Currently sipping a tiny pour of the only sample provided by @cricklewood that I haven’t tasted yet.

@OdysseusUnbound dots, cubes or waves?

@cricklewood Cubes. I am about to try a small pour of cubes. I hear it is very good....

@cricklewood Cubes. Spoiler alert: I like cubes...

I'm holding off on the bottle of St. George whisky that I have been saving for my wife's birthday(4/8). Her birthday is on the first day of Passover. I need to find out whether i can have four cups of whisky instead of wine. We're doing skype with the family, so I might just buy some Manischewevitz for the Haroset. My wife loves food symbolism, so she's all about the different tastes, smells, and messages in "the" Haggadah. (We are currently deciding which one to choose. There's a really beautiful one with drawings from Israeli artists--it's different every year--but my family in NY and MA might not be able to get the copy I bought.)

I should add that my family taught me about whisky in the first place: Wisers (not Legacy though), Bowmore, the Glens. My grandfather (Papa) grew up in a house where the kids were taught to drink little bits of whisky, especially rye. His dad made some kind of spirit in the bathtub. I need to get the details when the fam meets on Passover, over Skype/Meet. My uncle, mother, and cousins are nuts for rye. I like rye too. I wish I'd kept some of those Willett bottles.

Anyhoo, this is what I am watching while I don't open this botttle: www.youtube.com/watch

Tonight, Royal Brackla SMWS 55.53 (12 year - Aug. 2006) "The Old Curiosity Shop" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.3% ABV before I added a few drops of Speyside water.

Followed by Dailuaine SMWS 41.121 (14 year - Aug, 2004) "There will be blood orange" - After 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, finished in a medium charred, fine grain 2nd-fill French oak barrique - 58.9% ABV.