So, what are you drinking now?

Tonight, Glenlossie SMWS 46.77 (26 year - Nov 1992) "Garden centres and weddings" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.6% ABV.

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

@OdysseusUnbound - Eldorado 12 was one of the first sipping rums I tried and I liked it, although I remember it being very sweet when compared to, say, Pussers. In hindsight, I'm glad I never bought a bottle (came close a few times) but I'd happily try it again and same goes for the 15.

As we discussed on the rum thread, I just wish they'd state what was added, but am not overtly offended by the practice. I had the 12 with some ice cream and it worked really well as a desert combo!

Had a beer Moretti with lamb biryani for dinner (I know it's a cliche, especially in the UK, but beer + curry = ) and then tried a Rum66 on ice with a lime wedge. Not bad, and the hint of lime was nicej, but just became too dilute. Reminded me of a less sweet Sailor Jerrys.

Joined four other NZ'ers who also bought a bottle of the Longrow single cask in a zoom tasting last night. Consensus is that it is bloody lovely! Being aged in a quarter cask it comes across much older than it's years. Lovely brown sugar sweetness alongside the typical Longrow peat. Such a shame there were only 84 bottles produced but I guess if there was only a single QC then NZ was the perfect sized market to sell it in (even though they sold out very quickly).

@Hewie nice to be validated in your single cask purchase. 84 bottles is a tiny outturn, i imagine the madness that woukd occur if they did that here.

After a day of working on projects (put together a bench for my girlfriend and re-screened a window) & some cooking I'm finally kicking back with a dram. Shelter Point single cask rye for Kensington Wine Market. This is actually stock from Alberta Distillers limited so of the same fame as Whistlepig, Hochstaters and Mastersons.

Only the third or so pour from this bottle, I love the nose, loads of caramel, spice & slightly floral. The palate is a tad hot, really herbal and almost BBQ like. I think this may need to be put back in the cabinet for a few weeks till it mellows out a bit.

Cracked my new ECBP A120..... wow, it’s a strong batch. But a good one.

@cricklewood i suppose one can say that "shelter point" is a rather apt name for a rye to be consumed at home during a quarantine...

@cricklewood I agree, have not gone back to the Shelter Point Rye for a couple months. Actually enjoying the AP CS more. May tackle it again this week.

@Astroke I think a AP CS and Shelterpoint video H2H is called for...

A freshly opened bottle of Talisker 10. A great bargain in today's whisky world when you can find it for $38.

@MadSingleMalt $38 may be a bargain, but even with the exchange rate, $110 at the LCBO is not.

I have to admit though that a good bottle of Talisker 10 can be very good.

@Nozinan I adore Talisker 10, but $110 is just too steep for it. Oddly, it seems to be a bottle that's frequently on sale at the SAQ for about $70'ish. If it weren't for this COVID-19 situation, I'd be able to get my Talisker stash re-stocked. Many of my co-workers are from La belle province and visit their hometowns fairly often.

Coincidentally, also a Talisker 10. The weather has turned quite cool and gusty, and it always seems like a great whisky to chase the chills away. I've had this one open a good while now and it's just at the fill-level where quickening one's pace of consumption is prudent - it's lost a little of the peat but the brine and toffee notes are really singing.

Survived Monday, it was also the day to receive packages, masks, kitchen tools, books.

Winding down with a glass of Kilchoman Loch Gorm 2017. This one is at the halfway mark and it's opening up. The sherry elements are softening up and the peat is starting to turn a little grimy and industrial on the nose.

Still not quite as good as I remembered it in 2017 but it was also a different time.

Some Uigeadail and some black vinegar from a late whisky conn friend--that breaks my my heart and my wife Ling's heart. She's making noodles with it, and we will eat it soon. Good friends never forget!

Zhenjiang ( you know who you are)

Way behind on my posting;

Sunday night - started off with a Manhattan (Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 2:1 Carpano Antica sweet vermouth and 2 dashes Angostura bitters). After a Mother’s Day dinner for my wife (grilled steak and prawns with a bottle of 2010 Washington State Syrah) finished the night with Oban Bay Reserve "The Night's Watch" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 43% ABV and Talisker Select Reserve "House Greyjoy" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 45.8% ABV.

Last night (Monday) - 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.

Tonight, finished off my bottle of 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.

Tonight I had:

• a martini before dinner made with Tanqueray, Absolut Vodka, and dry vermouth. Stirred, not shaken.
• A Wild Turkey 101 Old Fashioned. This bourbon works so well in so many ways.
• Laphroaig 10. I just opened a new bottle. I need to see if I’m running low on this particular expression. I admit that it’s been inconsistent in the last 18 months or so, but I’m such a Laphroaig homer that even the sub-par batches are nice to my palate.

@OdysseusUnbound You had a martini made with Gin AND Vodka? How does that work?

@BlueNote I tried to replicate the original James Bond Vesper Martini recipe, but unfortunately Kina Lillet no longer exists. I just used dry vermouth. But it was 2 oz gin, 1 oz vodka, and about 3/4 oz vermouth. Lemon twist, no olive.

In my post last night, I forgot to mention that on Monday night, before the Society Mortlach, I had 2 drams of Balvenie 21 year Portwood.

Tonight, 2 bottle kills.

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.

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

Really going to miss both of these bottles.

Another night enjoying some Bunnahabhain Toiteach.

Check your PM @Victor.

@OdysseusUnbound Sounds tasty. Shaken of course?

Balvenie 10 yo Founders Reserve and Johnnie Walker Gold 18 yo Centenary Edition. These are some old friends I am revisiting. Balvenie Founders Reserve is so popular among those who know it that this "young" 11 years discontinued $ 45 bottle now sells for an average world (asking) price of $ 240. By contrast, the nice 18 year age-stated JW Gold was bought for about $ 65 and now, 8 years later, can still be bought for an average of $ 89.

Oh, and here's a nice article about wine "experts" which applies equally well to taste in whisky:

wine-searcher.com/m/2020/…

@BlueNote I generally stir my Martinis, but honestly my palate isn’t keen enough to tell the difference. If my mixing glass is dirty, I’ll use my shaker and shake my Martinis.

@OdysseusUnbound As I understand it, you are supposed to stir the gin martini so you don't 'bruise' the gin. Vodka martini's are shaken to get them as cold as possible so they don't taste like lighter fluid.

@TracerBullet "lighter fluid"? That sounds like some $ 6 vodka!

I am not a vodka promoter, but some of them are actually pretty good. My favourite everyday vodka (though I rarely drink vodka) is Luksusowa, a Polish potato vodka. Sobieski is nice, as is Tito's. And yes, I am willing to admit that I do like Grey Goose. How many drinks of all of these have I had in the last 10 years? Maybe 5, combining them all. I like to joke about how little my late wife and I consumed hard spirits in our home until about 2008 that we had the same unopened bottle of Stolichnaya Vodka at the back of our freezer for 10 years.

And the much loved gin is just vodka with botanicals to make it taste like something.

@Victor Agreed. There are vodka's and there are Vodka's. Shaking gin with ice introduces air into the mix that is supposed to change the gins flavor, called bruising. Shaking also cools the drink/spirit more than stirring. Colder vodka will dull the alcohol taste.

@Victor How funny... I drink Vodka sometimes - Chopin, Belvedere, Grey Goose, Beluga, Cristal, the 'standard Russians' of Stoli etc, Russian Standard, as well as some of the Polish... but one I ALWAYS really liked is LUKSOSOWA (and I don't care that it's not premium but just a very standards one - 'cause I simply like it!).

And YOU, Sir, are the first one that's ever mentioned it in such an equally appreciative fashion. That's a fun coincidence!