So, what are you drinking now?

@Nozinan, orange ya gonna tell us how the bottle is developing?

@paddockjudge

Down to the last 6th of the bottle, and it is as good as it was at the beginning. Maybe better. Definitelty benefits from warming. Sipping it neat.

@Nozinan Naarangi is a gem.

Behind in my posting;

Tuesday - Talisker Select Reserve "House Greyjoy" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 45.8% ABV. Great nose and initial palate. Smoke and salt. It kind of falls apart mid-palate with almost no finish. This is the second dram from the bottle and I am seeing slight improvement now that the bottle has been open and exposed to some air. Hopefully, that continues.

Wednesday - Glendronach 12 Year Old - Original Double Cask. I’m trying to finish off this bottle. This whisky does absolutely nothing for me.

Tonight - head to head tasting of two rye’s; Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whisky Bottled in Bond, 50% ABV and a sample from @jordytropp; Old Forester Rye, also 50% ABV. Comparing the two noses; the Rittenhouse is spicy, herbal and earthy where the Old Forester is spice at first, but that quickly transitions to maraschino cherry. The palates are very similar to their respective noses. If the Rittenhouse is a color TV, the Old Forester is HD and 4K. As @Victor said, the Rittenhouse is a little rough around the edges. Compared to the Old Forester, I would have to agree. Thanks @jordytropp for the sample!

@bwmccoy I completely agree on that Glendronach 12. Honestly, I struggled through to the end of my bottle - yet so many really enjoy it.

@Hewie @bwmccoy - isn't taste a funny thing?! It's been a few years since I last had Glendronach 12 but I seem to remember it as a good example of a sherried whisky - and that's from someone who doesn't lean towards sherry casks, in the main.

@bwmccoy @Hewie Funny, Glendronach 12 is one of the few “Sherry bombs” I truly enjoy. It’s almost as if our tastes are all incredibly unique.

@bwmccoy I’ve had a 3/4 full bottle of Glendronach 12 sitting here for well over a year. I have no interest in it whatsoever. I think I’ll give it away.

Last night, some Longrow 7 Gaja Barolo on a Zoom with my club buddies.

@OdysseusUnbound yes, our tastes are individual. That's what makes the whole question of the usefulness of reviews quite an epistemological conundrum. For most people, 90% of reviews are giving a picture as clear as if looking out a car windshield which is covered in bird shit.

To find 2 or 3 or 4 individuals with taste very close to one's own is quite difficult, but an extreme boon. I need to know the reviewer's tastes in order to evaluate her/his reviews effectively. Nowadays it seems like more work than I want to go to to try to figure out other people's tastes. Now, years later, I am more interested in focusing on the unique olfactory and gustatory experience in the immediacy of the moment, and in the friends I am hopefully visiting with while doing it, than in describing those experiences in concepts expressed through words. It is still fun, if I am tasting the same whisky poured from the same bottle at the same time with my friends, to chat over observations and descriptions of the experiences had with the whisky. Whisky does remain at its best as a shared social experience. Of course, if one has no physical whisky social network, then solitary tasting, concepts, and words typed into the void of the internet, are a lot better than nothing.

First rainy day here for about a month and it's brought a wee chill with it too - perfect for a Talisker 10. I think this bottle might be getting saltier as it airs?!

@TracerBullet I thought you were in NoLa for a second! I stayed at Hotel Monteleone for a weekend (conference rate). The bar spins around slowly (literally), and if one drinks slowly, the spin is almost imperceptible--especially one gets to meet new people who are not sitting next to the bar. Great town (where a wing of family lives). I look forward making a Vieux Carré, following your recipe. The one I had at HM was not overly sweet.

@bwmccoy I liked that GOT Talisker a lot, but it wasn't as good as the best Talkiser 10 I have tasted. I with I could pick up another bottle of that (and that GOT Lag), but those days might be gone!

A half dram of Machir Bay: not too sweet and nicely smoky. The only other Kilchoman I have tried is Loch Gorm, which I like for other reasons (it's matured entirely in sherry casks). I need to taste the 100% Islay, but I couldn't find it around here easily if I wanted to. (Unless I rationalize a trip to a market 40 minutes from here to go with that bottle and can convince my wife that the trip is "essential" :)

@Jonathan I’m pretty sure you would like the 2019 100% Islay. And a road trip’s always fun.

@Nock @Victor This version of the Vieux Carré has bourbon instead of rye. It seems to me that would be quite sweet, no?

@OdysseusUnbound I do not know if that bourbon version of a Vieux Carre would be too sweet. Made with bourbon I would consider it an entirely different drink, and no longer a Vieux Carre. For me the sharp edginess of the rye is central to the idea of the Vieux Carre. Cognac is smooth. Bourbon is often smooth. Too much smooth, not enough edge .

Why not just try a few of these and see what you think? If you want to know, it is the only way to find out.

In terms of quality, I think that Machir Bay is better than the (beloved) Caol Ila IB botlings that I have. I'm almost tempted to pick up another Diageo Caol Ila, but for that price at the local place, I can get another Uigeadail. I liked the last one from this batch and, for me, Uigeadail (when it's a good batch) is a good full course meal of a whisk.

In terms of the non-peat influences, Machir Bay has the white fruits (even tropical) and more subtle sherried flavors. Plus the smoke.

I'm deciding between Uigeadail and what looks to be a new expression of A'Bunadh. I fear that my wife likes A'Bunadh too much and will try to do some unholy mixed drink. She doesn't like "stinky" whiskies, so I might be best off with the Corryvrecken!

@Victor Whisky reviews serve a number of purposes, none of which are particularly helpful in predicting what another person will taste.

But they ARE useful:

1. With some you can learn a bit of history about the expression or distillery.

2. With some you can taste vicariously - good for when you're on-call.

3. With some you can compare your impressions with those of people you know. And eventually, even if you don't taste the same way or like the same things, you can predict whether you might like a whisky based on what they write.

4. Very helpful for ruling OUT whiskies that are not worth buying, for instance if they are sulfured or are Lambertus.

And while I agree that the most fun is gained in enjoying a dram with a friend or 6, whether in leisure or at a tasting, there is also enjoyment in sitting alone and devoting one's attention to a dram and analyzing all of its parts. And a sense of accomplishment when you put together a series of reviews.

I finished my bottle of Gen Scotia 15 whisky doing a bit of painting this afternoon - a very relaxing endeavour. Tonight revisited my bottle of Hazelburn 14 Oloroso - not one that I'm in live with though I'm appreciating it a little more now. Then onto a Longrow Red 11 (NZ) Pinot Noir - beauty and the beast. Guess which one is in the photo

@Hewie - hazelburn?

@RianC try again

@Hewie - Hazelburn ... no, wait, no, yes, Hazelburn!

@Jonathan Nope, in Maryland right between DC and Baltimore! I can't take credit for the Hotel Monteleone recipe, that honor goes to @Victor. I have yet to make it to NOLA myself, but it is on the list!

@Hewie @RianC @OdysseusUnbound @BlueNote - I have to tread lightly. The Glendronach 12 is my wife’s bottle, but she hasn’t been drinking from it lately. It’s been down to the last few drams for a long time and I’m slowly trying to finish it off and blaming it on evaporation. :-) It’s not necessarily a bad whisky. To me, it’s just boring. This is especially frustrating when compared to how great their 15 year, 18 year and other releases are.

@Jonathan - Don’t get me wrong. I like the Talisker GoT release; not great, but enjoyable. It was just such a huge contrast between the amazing nose and initial palate compared to the mid-palate falling apart and the almost non-existent finish. I probably wouldn’t buy another bottle of it, but I don’t regret buying it. I also have the GoT Lag 9 year (which I’ve heard good things about) and the GoT Oban Nights Watch, but I haven’t opened either of those bottles yet.

Last night, before dinner, I made my wife and I my variation of “perfect” Manhattans. For whiskey, I used equal parts Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond and Maker’s Mark Cask Strength bourbon. For vermouth, I used equal parts Dolin dry and Compano Antica (sweet). Angostura bitters and a Luxardo maraschino cherry. They were really good, but was missing some complexity. Next time, I’m going traditional; all rye and all Campano Antica.

After dinner, a dram of Balvenie 21 year Portwood.

@bwmccoy I have not had the Balvenie 21 year Portwood. Very jealous!

@TracerBullet - it is a beautiful whisky. Perfectly balanced. The port enhances the Balvenie house style. It’s a bit spendy and I wish it was a higher ABV, but it’s wonderful. (This one was an Anniversary gift from my wife a couple of years ago, but we didn’t open it until this year - our 15th wedding anniversary.)

@Hewie I actually liked that one a lot (the Hazelburn 14). It took me a while to taste the famous Springbank funk, but it was really complex and substantial. I have never tried any other Hazelburn.