So, what are you drinking now?

@TracerBullet you are apparently a man who knows his way around cocktails. I was never much for cocktails, but my late wife and sister were, so I got more experience of them than I would have on my own initiative. When my wife, sister, and my wife's three sisters all decided to go to Tales of the Cocktail in 2017 I decided I better join the party or I would be missing a seminal event. That turned out to be correct.

Cocktails are still rarely my first choice, but many of them are quite enjoyable indeed. It is, as we say in dentistry, a matter of "the skill of the operator". In the hands of a master, a cocktail can be a masterpiece. I am very happy to have enjoyed a few 'masterpiece cocktails'.

@RikS oh, Luksusowa Vodka gets a lot of love if you know where to look for it. Take a look at the visitor ratings on vodkaphiles.com. 4.45/5.00 Very high indeed, for a big brand, with many ratings, at a very reasonable price. There is no necessary correlation between price and quality. I consider Luksusowa to be sip-able, which is something which I would do with very few vodkas. I am overwhelmingly a fan of potato vodka. Chopin (potato version) is another one I like a lot.

I do like Russian Standard and the better versions of Stoli quite a bit too. Belvedere always finished bitter to me. I don't care for that.

@Victor Not sure that I know my way around them 'well', but I am trying to learn. I got into it primarily because of my brother-in-law. When visiting, he would make cocktails, mainly for the ladies, and we would have Whisky (pick a type...). My wife "encouraged" me to learn to make some of her favorite cocktails and that's pretty much all she wrote! I do enjoy a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned. And I am always trying new (to me) cocktails so I know what I like and have a better idea of what I am recommending to friends.

@Victor My wife is a vodka drinker and Luksusowa is one of her go-to vodkas. The other is Beattie’s, a local “craft” potato (and sweet potato) vodka producer. And I agree that gin is just vodka in fancy clothing.

@TracerBullet I don’t doubt the received wisdom on shaken vs stirred Martinis, it’s just that my palate isn’t fine-tuned enough where those spirits are concerned to make a big deal about the difference. Now if someone tried to prepare an Old Fashioned in a Boston Shaker, I might be singing a different tune.

@OdysseusUnbound "Now if someone tried to prepare an Old Fashioned in a Boston Shaker, I might be singing a different tune." Agreed!! And I bet if you had a gin (only) martini, one shaken and one stirred side-by-side, you would taste a difference. Would it be enough that you'd care? Who knows!

Thanks @Victor. That was a great article you shared with a lot of truth and much crossover to any group of enthusiasts. So-called wine experts are always confident of their opinions, no matter how divorced from reality they might be". Thanks for sharing. I used to work with someone who spent time in the NZ wine industry and he always said "the golden tongue is in your mouth" i.e. drink what you enjoy and don't let others tell you what you should or shouldn't enjoy.

@TracerBullet I believe what you describe is a “Churchill Martini” right? I believe the story is that Churchill said something like this:

The only way to make a martini is with ice-cold gin, and a bow in the direction of France.

After all this gin talk, I was in the mood for a Martini, so I made one with Broker’s gin and only a bit more vermouth than Churchill would have used.

I’m having a Vieux Carré, and I feel as though the sweet vermouth is a bit too prominent, like a drummer who’s drowning out the guitar and vocals in the band. I may cut it back to 3/4 oz to the 1oz (each) of rye and Cognac.

@OdysseusUnbound what rye are you using?

@Victor Woodford Rye. 45.something % abv. A little on the lighter side. Do you think Rittenhouse or Pikesville would do a better job?

I can't speak to the Woodford, but I think that Rittenhouse would be a good choice. Or splurge and make a really great one with 2018 Lot 40 CS. Now that's first rate rye!

@Victor Lot 40 CS NAS is really only suitable as a mixer, if my experience is reliable.

I am referring to the 11 yo from 2018.

@Victor He who pays the piper calls the tune, I guess, but I would be loath to put a non-renewable resource such as Lot 40 CS (version 1 or 2) into a cocktail. Maybe Lot40, which is much more plentiful...

But I happen to like the nuances you get with nosing and sipping neat. I'm sure that depending on the spirit there are different nuances in flavour in cocktails too, but I don't think I would appreciate 30 cc of Lot 40 CS 2018 as much in a cocktail as I would on its own. And it would last longer on its own too.

Decided to begin a side by side tasting.

I’m having a glass of Aberlour Casg Annamh Batch 0001 and Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 8.

I have been sitting on this Batch 8 of A’Bunadh for years! I was planning to open it for Ferguson v Nurmagomedov.... but that fight isn’t happening anymore so... here we go!

I’m going to come back to these after some oxidation, but upon first opening...

Aberlour Casg Annamh Batch 0001 48%ABV On the nose, very fruity, sherry and rich toffee, orange peel and honey. On the palate, graham crackers, cocoa and toffee.

Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 8 60.2% ABV On the nose, raspberry jam, fig, strong sherry, chocolate and oak. On the palate, honey, dark chocolate, leather, ginger and dark cherries.

The A’Bunadh is far better upon initial opening. This is the best Aberlour I’ve ever tasted....

I am definitely enjoying the Casg Annamh as well though.

I will revisit these again in a few weeks.

It's the morning after World Whisky Day. Last night I did some 'tidying up'. I finished off this fantastic bottle of Springbank 10 bottled in 2014. Finished off open samples I had of Longrow 14 Sherry Cask and Octomore 7.2. Our restrictions have lowered here in NZ so I could have physically met with friends but instead I stayed home and watched some of "The Last Kingdom". I'll catch up with friends for dinner next weekend!

@Hewie, I too stayed home and had a few with Uhtred

It is the MAY TWO-FOUR LONG WEEKEND in Canada. I’m settling in with 2 x 12 YO Macallan Sherry Cask...... thank you @Victor.....@fiddich1980, my son will be thanking you

@paddockjudge Haven't seen the original 12 Sherry cask out here on the wet coast for years. Enjoy and have a great, safe, and isolated weekend.

@BlueNote I see that wine-searcher.com lists 2 stores in Calgary as the only listings they have for Macallan 12 Sherry Oak in stock for ALL of Canada. All 26 stores in my alcoholic beverage controlled county in Maryland have it in stock today. Last I checked, to the tune of several hundred bottles. My guess is that a boatload of the stuff was put into our distributor's system years ago and it is slowly being worked off. I am doubtful that it will or can be replaced once it is all sold in our local market. I read online that Macallan discontinued the 12 yo Sherry Oak in 2013. Can anyone confirm whether it has been permanently discontinued and if so the timing of the discontinuation? Like @paddockjudge and his son, I am a fan of the better batches of this one, and have several in storage for the future.

@Victor A search on Whiskybase.com indicates that the Macallan 12 Sherry Oak is still being produced. There seems to be bottling in 2018 and 2019. The two Alberta stores listing them are CC and KWM(on pre-order June ETA) However, the debate regarding Macallan's quality remains. The argument being, that the shift from Golden Promise barley to the higher yielding Optic has resulted in the decline the taste of Macallan. The Macallan 12 in your possession may represent a time capsule of Macallan's glory days.

Starting off celebrating World Whisk(e)y Day with a pre-dinner Manhattan for my wife and I. Rittenhouse Rye BiB 2:1 Campano Antica sweet vermouth, a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters and a Luxardo cherry.

@fiddich1980 thank you for the information. I've tasted several batches of Macallan 12 yo Sherry Oak over the years, and did not like them equally. I found one batch within the last few years that I like a lot and bought several bottles.

Oban Bay Reserve "The Night's Watch" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 43% ABV.

And Lagavulin 9 year "House Lannister" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 46% ABV.

@Victor, @BlueNote, the listing of Macallan Sherry Oak 12 YO at stores in Alberta are either recent returns or mistaken identity and are the dreaded Double Oak 12.

@fiddich1980, thanks for the info. I was not aware of the Mac 12 Sherry availability... so much for quarantine frugality....

Catching up on the last two days. Had a zoom session with a friend in Japan, he's a fellow Québécois who's been living there for the better part of 20 years.

Revisited Amrut Intermediate sherry a bottle that's been open for a year or more and still tremendous. Also dipped into Port Charlotte MC01, this was really nice after the Amrut. Loads of coffee, dates and balanced peat.

Yesterday I cracked open a bottle of this lovely Benriach 1999 single cask. 13yrs in a bourbon barrel, rich creamy, slightly tropical fruit.

I am far from a Macallan expert/follower/enthusiast, but on occasion it is the dram I want. I am not sure what is currently going on with Macallan (other than transitioning to a new epic-modern distillery), but I feel like every year demonstrates a slight decline.

What I do know is that @fiddich1980 is correct that Macallan shifted from exclusive Golden Promise Barley to occasional use in 1994. This is according to the late Michael Jackson who writing in 2004 said that Macallan was using between 20% - 30% Golden Promise Barley in their grist. I have no idea if that has changed in 16 years . . . but I would imagine it has. My guess is that Macallan is far less forth coming about their barley use than they once were.

So, using basic math, if you were drinking (or have) bottles of Macallan 12yo purchased around or before 2006 you have the old classic 100% Golden Promise Barley.

The next big change was from using sherry matured casks to using sherry seasoned casks. I am not sure when this happened. However, the label on the new black box says, “sherry seasoned casks,” where the older red box (change from red to black c. 2017) simply said, “select sherry oak casks from Jerez Spain.”

My understanding is that Macallan has pulled much of its stock of the 12yo from the rest of the world to focus more on the US and Asian markets. This is according to Horst at Whisky.com in 2015. At the time he also claimed that all batches of the 12 year old were vatted from 50 casks. Then, a panel of 4 or 5 people would test it against a reference sample. It would then be modified with other select casks (1st fill sherry or 2nd fill sherry) to more accurately match the reference sample.

So, @Victor, it isn’t that it has been discontinued, rather, it is that many places are receiving far less of it (if any at all). Unless you were referring to change in bottle design from the red box to black which happened in 2017. There was also a change in the bottle design at that time.

I don’t think Macallan has ever been as popular as it is right now. And that typically means that a company will stretch the product thinner to meet demand. Thus, I would expect bottles from 5 and 10 years ago to have higher quality liquid in them. But that might be my own bias against Macallan slipping out. The only thing I am certain about Macallan is that it keeps changing. And now with the new distillery up and running we will see another change from them in 2031 or so. If you like it and can find it . . . buy it up. Macallan 12yo will only keep changing.

@Nock I’m always curious about “sherry casks”, since sherry transport casks were banned in the early 1980s when Spain decided that Sherry had to be bottled in Spain before export. To my knowledge, sherry casks remain in the Solera system until they are no longer usable. This article also explains the use of paxarette which may have been responsible for some of the much vaunted “sherry cask” expressions of the past. So maybe the “good old days” weren’t as pure as some of us want to believe.