So, what are you drinking now?

Friday night on the couch with an old friend. Tonight it is ginger snap cookies on the garage workbench

@Hewie Well played sir.. I'm jealous...

Molasses burning on the fire

@Hewie - Looks like a great night in!

@Hewie, OOOOHHHHH, the 57.1% sherry version! I've been looking for that myself.

I’m opening my Elmer T Lee based on some sage advice from the finer bourbon minds of Connosr. Let’s see what this is all about.

For a pre-dinner cocktail, I made two different versions of the “Stateside Manhattan” that I made a couple of days ago.

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

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. I made this one for my wife and again, it had a lot of apple brandy notes on the palate.

For me, I used the other Westland single cask that I have open. Cask #3824 is their standard 5 malt mash bill, aged for 55 months in a new American oak cask before being finished in an ex-rum cask for 3 months. 54.7% ABV.

It’s amazing the difference between the two. No apples or rum notes in mine, it is a much more traditional tasting Manhattan. The rum adds the slightest extra sweetness on the palate.

@Hewie sounds like a lovely Friday evening, would love to get more impressions from the sherry KK8. I managed to score a bottle and it should arrive next week as long as someone doesn't drop the box violently.

Played a couple of trivia games over Zoom with some friends and co-workers, while enjoying a couple of drams of Port Charlotte 10 and Benriach Cask Strength batch 1.

@cricklewood The Kilkerran 8 cask strength re-charred Oloroso 57.1% - I've only had 3? drams from this bottle so far. Last night I had one after a couple of glasses of Springbank 12 CS and dare I say it made it seem much softer and rounder. This is a brute of a whisky. In a word it is rich! Big dark stewed fruit notes, Christmas cake spices (esp. cloves), something meaty. The char runs throughout alongside the vegetal earthy peat. Long smokey finish with a lingering typical J A Mitchell foosty, funky aftertaste. Big and thick, mouth filling. Last night it seemed softer with some chocolate notes and old leather. Feels much more mature than it's age. I'm going to enjoy spending more time with this one.

Mortlach SMWS 76.144 (13 year - October 2005) "I caught the darkness..." - After 11 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill charred red wine barrique cask - 60.0% ABV.

Followed by Caol Ila SMWS 53.304 (11 year - Sep 2007) "Rose petals on a rock pool" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.5% ABV.

@Hewie - you've got me drooling over my morning coffee here

A case of introspection between dots and waves from @cricklewood. Which way would WOOD wager?

Another night, another couple of Stateside Manhattan’s for my wife and I made with Westland Cask # 2549; 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.

Finished the night with a glass of Glenlossie SMWS 46.77 (26 year - Nov 1992) "Garden centres and weddings"from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.6% ABV.

Having a bit of a catch up on the virtual Lockdown Whisky Festival from last night. I really enjoyed chatting to Stewart Buchanan at Dramfest so I'm having a BenRiach Peated Portwood 12 year old Single Cask as I watch

Last night, Benromach 10 - is it me or is this getting even leatherier? Don't think my taste buds were 100% but that old school sherry vibe is always enjoyable. Quite peaty too.

Now, Kenyan coffee after our allotted hour of exercise taking the clan for a walk, well buggy push.

It's a gorgeous Spring day here and despite pining for the golf course its a blessing to be able to have more time to enjoy and appreciate the simple beauty in nature. Our cherry tree is almost in full bloom and I think I could stare at it all day ...

Another impromptu round of trivia over zoom. I decided to crack open a bottle I had been saving. Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2017, this was the one year I really enjoyed, 8yrs old full Oloroso matured. First impressions were nice, not a sweet sherry, more of a savoury, herbal vibe, it will need time.

@OdysseusUnbound I hope you are enjoying. Not so long ago, it was super easy to find. That's the first bourbon I ever purchased for anything other than mixed drinks. It's really tasty.

@cricklewood I'm interrested in learning how this develops. I liked the one that I had.I found the peat more difficult to find than the other sherried flavors. (That's not a always a negative.)

Miltonduff SMWS 72.31 (29 year - Dec. 1983) "Something Old, Something New" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 48.3% ABV.

Having a small glass of Teacher’s with my painkillers.... Mixing painkillers and alcohol, always a great idea, right!??

In all seriousness, I’ve been completely debilitated the past few days due to pain from disk degeneration in my lower back. The pain has been unbearable.... It’s an ongoing problem that if been dealing with over the last year or so. I’m really not interested in going through with surgery, I personally know a couple of people whose surgery just made them worse.

Anyone else deal with anything like this?

@Jonathan. I'll keep you in the loop on the Loch Gorm, I am finding it rather easy to sip and yes the peat isn't as edgy as what you find in Machir Bay.

The video tasting last night (organized by @cricklewood )

• Kilkerran 15 Year Single Cask: this seemed to be well-liked by everyone. I really enjoyed it too (my 2nd favourite...only 1 point separates it from my favourite), but I need clarification on the abv %, not sure if it was 53.5% or 57.5%. And as Pam and @talexander as my witnesses, I finally identified a blind sample correctly, sort of. I had “Kilkerran or Caol Ila” in my notes.
• Naked Grouse: this one was just ok for me. Decent neat, kind of “bleh” with water added. It felt a little disjointed as the nose was quite fruity and the palate was all hazelnuts and chocolate to me. I didn’t know the sample was a blended malt and I guessed Glenrothes, so I guess that’s kind of correct??
• Scarabus Islay: this one was my favourite. Smoky and ashy with lots of dark chocolate and cherries on the palate. I guessed it was a young Port Charlotte and that it was bottled at around 50% abv. It’s bottled at 46% abv, but it does feel a little hot, which maybe lends a little credence to the notion that this mystery malt is young’ish. I’d guess this is 7-8 years old. @cricklewood thinks this is either a peated Bunnahabhain or a Caol Ila. While we don’t really know, I’d be shocked if this was Caol Ila. Bunnahabhain makes more sense to my “taste memory” but I guess we’ll never know.
• Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 58: after finishing the samples, I poured about 25ml of A’Bunadh and I have to say it tastes better when sipped in good company. Oh, and time is improving it too. It’s a bit less oak-forward and I’m now getting some fresh pipe tobacco on the last part of the flavour development-beginning of the finish.
• Jim Beam White Label: I left the video call since night 2 of Wrestlemania was starting and my 9 year old was insistent that I not miss a second of it. I felt that good ol’ JB White was an appropriate accompaniment to a night of rassling

@CanadianNinja I recently had a reverse shoulder replacement. I feel your pain!

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of opening a new bottle of whisky. Last night’s tasting of Scarabus put me in the mood for something peaty, so I opened a bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask. I don’t want to rush to judgment since I’m sipping from a rocks tumbler, but this doesn’t feel as “tarry” or dark as previous bottles.

I just had to Google that @Jonathan! I’d never heard of a reverse shoulder replacement....

That sounds horrible my friend, please take care. I suffered a dislocated shoulder which led to a torn labrum a while back and the recovery was not fun to say the least.

The pain I’ve been in recently though has been close to the worst pain I’ve ever experienced. Getting old SUCKS!!

Last night, @jordytropp and I were supposed to be conducting the April Outturn Preview tasting for the Society. Obviously, it was cancelled weeks ago, but it didn’t really bother me until last night. I miss working with @jordytropp and seeing all of the regular attendees who have become friends over time. I decided to drown my disappointment in the last half of a sample that @jordytropp gave me a couple of weeks a go.

Balcones SMWS 140.3 "Nik nak woody whack" 4 year (September 2014) from a 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel. 59.1% ABV. The nose has a soft industrial note, followed by wood resin and putty. There is also some Eucalyptus and menthol notes as well. The palate is spicy, but like the nose, soft. There is a jammy note as well as a smoke (grilled meat) note in the finish which I assume is from the barrel char, but I don't know what level of char, if any, was used for this cask.

Thanks again @jordytropp for the sample!

@CanadianNinja Number one, you should never mix alcohol with pain pills. Have you seen an orthopedic doctor yet? You might be a candidate for epidural injections. I have had spine issues for the past 17 years and numerous spine surgeries. An orthpedic doctor might send you to a pain management doctor for injections. There is no point in trying to tough it out. You need to seek medical help.

Girvan SMWS G7.15 (34 year - May 1984) "Mind-altering hugs" - After 32 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a new oak hogshead, heavy toast/medium char for the final 2 years - 57.2% ABV.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.305 (10 year - Sep. 2008) "Totally tropical smoke" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead" - 59.8% ABV.