So, what are you drinking now?

I had some Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Now that it’s been opened a day or three, it’s opened up to what I know and love: mossy, damp oak, fresh tobacco, dark chocolate, ashy, rich toffee, etc. Following it with my rapidly dwindling Glenfiddich 15 Solera. Kind of a lightweight after the Laphroaig.

@OdysseusUnbound interesting sequence. Though personally I would avoid fiddich (not @fiddich1980 except during quarantine), I probably would leave the pear for the end. Plus, with quarter cask, you could end on a good note.

Sadly, I won’t be drinking much of anything. We did open a bottle of sweet sparking kosher Italian wine for the Seder (My wife likes that stuff) and one of my children may have emptied my glass thinking it was juice but they won’t admit it...

But the cabinet is sealed. There will be no whisky emanating from it until a week tomorrow at the earliest.

So please have something good and post it. I’m drinking vicariously through you...

Nothing but a small glass of cider tonight while cooking dinner (broiled miso marinated salmon, peas, sauerkraut and rice), the cider was lovely a bottle from 2018, fresh, zippy and the brett funk had subsided to a pleasant background note.

Last night I ran through the mystery samples set with @paddockjudge and had a nip of Alberta Premium Cask strength, this bottle is now down past the 1/2 mark and open since the fall and it's just lovely.

Finished things off with a small dram of Kilchoman Loch Gorm.

@cricklewood - I also had a glass of cider last night with Chinese style pork belly. Tons of garlic and star anise, amongst the usual five spice gang, and boiled eggs that go almost black as it all cooks. Delicious but very fatty, the cider cut through it a treat.

@OdysseusUnbound - Opened a Quarter Cask with my Mum at xmas and was not disappointed in any way. Possibly the best value (UK) peater going at £25-30?

Last night, I finished off my bottle of Caol Ila SMWS 53.304 (11 year - Sep 2007) "Rose petals on a rock pool" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.5% ABV. I'm quickly going through my open peated bottles. Time to open some new ones!

@bwmccoy I just ordered a bottle of the G & M 15 year old Linkwood, largely because of your unbounded enthusiasm. I see they also do a 15 year old Mortlach. Have you tried it?

These days, being pretty much confined to quarters and with nothing much else to do, I have reorganized all my records and CDs, tidied up the garage, split and stacked a bunch of firewood, helped my wife in the garden (I’m in if it requires chainsaw pruning), and taken a deep dive into the forgotten depths of the bunker. Today’s forgotten gem, plucked from the back of the secondary cabinet, is the Kilkerran 12. Currently enjoying it with some Steely Dan. It’s so good that I’ve added one to my online order. This self isolation has its positive side. But we are dealing with a deadly invader here and we all need to stay home and stay safe until we have beaten the bugger. There are lots of ways to fill the time.

@BlueNote, FWIW, I have not yet met a Linkwood that I did not like. Some of the best-tasting barley out there. Linkwood is on my short list of favourite Scottish distilleries.

Thanks @Victor I'm already thinking I should have ordered two. The only other one I’ve had was a 22 year old from an IB, can’t remember which one, but it was excellent.

@BlueNote, p m

@BlueNote - I really hope you like the G & M Linkwood as much as I do. I’m always nervous when someone buys something on my recommendation. However, it does have two things going for it; it’s a Linkwood and it’s from G & M. Seriously, as @Victor said, never had a Linkwood that I didn’t like. Also, G & M always seem to be top shelf quality. I haven’t had the G& M Mortlach, but I’ve had some great Mortlach’s from SMWS, so I don’t think that you would be disappointed. By the way, I love your combining Scotch with Steely Dan; great combo!

Tonight, since @Nozinan isn’t drinking this week and since Bladnoch is one of his favorite distilleries, in his honor, I’m having the last dram from my bottle of Bladnoch SMWS 50.56 (23 year - July 1990) ‘Oh I do like to be beside the seaside!’ from a refill ex-bourbon barrel - 60.3% ABV. (I suggest we create a new hashtag #DrinkingForNozian.) I’m really going to miss this bottle. It blew me away every time I drank it.

Before dinner, made my wife and I Manhattan’s using two different single cask Westland whiskies because I finished off the bottle of one and need more whiskey to complete the recipe;

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. Killed this bottle.

Westland Distillery Single Cask #3824 (Rum Cask Finish).

After dinner, opened up my Talisker Select Reserve "House Greyjoy" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 45.8% ABV. The nose is amazing: big maritime notes, salt and smoke. The initial palate is promising as well; sweet peat and smoke, but mid-palate it completely falls apart with no finish. It’s not bad; just disappointing after such a great nose and initial palate. It will be fine for a daily drinker, but wouldn’t buy it again.

Last night: Kilkerran Work in Progress #4 (the beige one). A perfect whisky here on the doorstep of spring: light, zippy, and fresh. And so much more oomph than the current standard 12.

It's the second-to-last WIP bottle from my hoard, the very last being everyone's favorite #7 Cask Strength, which I'm happy to still have staring down at me from the shelf.

@bwmccoy I like the idea of drinking for @Nozinan. I will pour a dram of my Cadenhead 10 year old BenRiach-Glenlivet bottled at a hefty 58.9%ABV. I’m sure he’d like it.

Last night, Balmenach SMWS 48.42 (10 year - Nov. 2002) "Grown-Up Ice Lollies" from a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 56.7% ABV. This is liquid Juicy Fruit chewing gum in a glass. I don’t normally like sweeter Speyside whiskies, but I really like this one. It is great both with and without water; different between the two, but still great. The Juicy Fruit notes are more pronounced with water.

I'm having some of the St. George Baller (abv 47%). I didn't like the neck pour. After a few days, the plum flavor and vanilla have really come out. This is meant for Japanese highballs, but I prefer it neat.

My step-father (since I was 12) passed last night. He was German and loved Eiswein. He hated peat, so I wanted something with some sweetness to remember him by.

I’m prepping Easter dinner and so far I’ve had:

• Foursquare Premise Rum 10 Year Old, Bourbon & Sherry casks, 46% abv: this has a bit of an odd nose, maybe because I’m not used to rum and the bottle is freshly opened. Estery, kind of like white glue, and some rubber notes. The palate and finish are terrific though. This is definitely a whisky drinker’s rum.
• Elmer T Lee Single Barrel, 45% abv: I’m really glad I opened this one. This is a lovely bourbon. Rich, flavours of deep cherry nibs, cinnamon, a touch of chocolate. Yummy.

@OdysseusUnbound

Rum! Now that’s something I could get into during Passover. Except I’m on call so I had a Heineken 0.0.

I had to go and pronounce someone and so my wife took the opportunity to order Korean takeout and I stopped in a market to get some kimchi. The almost beer tasted good with that. Even if I wasn’t on call though, my palate is shot for spirits.

I’m finishing up with some A’Bunadh batch 58 before tucking in to turkey dinner, which I will pair with some Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

@Jonathan sorry to hear of your loss

Yesterday (Sunday), I opened both the recently purchased Rittenhouse rye and the Maker’s Mark Cask Strength in order to make two different and new to me cocktails.

First up, a cocktail called “An old pal” (pictured); 1 oz Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond, 3/4 oz Dolin dry vermouth and 3/4 oz Campari with a lemon twist. Lemon zest on the nose. Sweet initial palate followed by a grapefruit peel bitterness in the finish. Interesting.

Next up, a variation of a sidecar. 2 oz bourbon (I used Maker’s Mark cask strength), 3/4 oz triple sec (I used Grand Marnier) and 3/4 oz lemon juice with a lemon twist. Mostly bourbon on the nose, but the lemon juice and Grand Marnier shine on the palate. Very tart finish.

I also tried both the Rittenhouse and Maker’s Mark neat, but they were very small sips, so I will save judgement until I study them both a little more thoroughly. I’m happy with both, but I can see what @Victor was saying about the Rittenhouse being a little rough around the edges.

@bwmccoy I'm not one for cocktails but that one looks mighty inviting...

@bwmccoy I've never made one at home, but my favourite cocktail (and @Nock's too) is the Vieux Carre. It is a rye and brandy cocktail. Let me know when you one day try one. Delicious.

My favourite home rye drink is diet Dr. Pepper, 2 oz rye, ice, and a large slice of sweet orange muddled into the mix. Rittenhouse should do well here too.

@Victor Are cognac and American rye normally used in a Vieux Carré? Or would any brandy work? How about a 100% rye such as Lot 40?

@bwmccoy The Old Pal is nice, but my sweet tooth leans more toward a Boulevardier, which is the same except sweet vermouth is used in place of the dry. But then, I also like the drier more bitter version that is the original; the Negroni.

@OdysseusUnbound, the Vieux Carre cocktail originated at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans. Here is their recipe:

saveur.com/article/Recipes/…

I have had this cocktail at the Monteleone and it blew me away.

Because I have never made it at home, I do not speak from experience as to best choices for the cognacs/brandies or the rye whisk(e)ys.

I expect that it is like anything else, meaning, that a certain amount of trial and error would be involved in finding the best combinations. I would not hesitate to experiment with any brandy and any rye, assuming that the rye has a good spicy kick to it and is hopefully at least 50% ABV. Standard Lot 40 might work, though.

@Victor Interesting. It’s also not an inexpensive cocktail to make at home. And Peychaud’s Bitters aren’t available near me. Perhaps I’ll wait until my wife and I visit “Nawlens” to get one.

@Victor It always amazes me how many variations on cocktail recipes there are. I have been making the Vieux Carre for quite awhile and my recipe is a bit different. Thanks for posting the link to the Hotel Monteleone’s Vieux Carre. I will have to give it a try this evening. I do wish they would list the type of sweet vermouth they are using. It will make a big difference in the cocktail. This happened to me years ago when learning to make cocktails. I started with the Manhattan and could not figure out why mine always turned out OK. I was using Martini & Rossi Rosso and switched to Carpano Antica. Huge difference! The type of aromatic bitters also makes a difference. Bottom line is, brand of rye, cognac and sweet vermouth should all be included to truly replicate this cocktail. I'll try my hand at this one and see how it goes...

@TracerBullet no doubt you are correct that each one of the specific ingredients in a cocktail can make a very big difference in how the final product turns out. Yes, I too would like to have had exact listing of brands used in that Saveur quoted recipe for the Vieux Carre made at the Monteleone Hotel.

About to watch the film Get Out and have a Wiser's Dissertation for company. Air really is helping this one, lots of sweet and dark spice, touch of menthol and the most gorgeous hard dark toffee thing going on the palate. You can tell an expert handled the oak here - I might even go as far as saying the oak leads the way, but it works.

I had opted for JDSBBP but after some Spanish style pork, chorizo and beans with lots of pimenton, felt my taste buds were a bit out of whack for it. Rye,I find, can handle any pre-palate congestion ...