So, what are you drinking now?

@CanadianNinja up through about 2012 one had a chance to buy Parker's Heritage Collection releases off of a shelf for under $ 100. Those, along with Van Winkle and Buffalo Trace Antique Collection whiskeys, disappeared around the 3rd quarter of 2012 when the secondary market prices went vertical on all of these. Four Roses Limited Editions were in the same category, but they started maybe a little later to become next to impossible to find easily at dealer recommended retail prices.

@Victor, I bought my bottle of the PH Golden Anniversary here in Japan in.... 2015? For about 200$ US.

A quick search tells me the bottle goes for somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000$~4000$ now.

I can honestly say though, this is one bottle I don’t regret opening at all. A truly incredible whisky.

I’m not in much of a whisky mood tonight so my nightcap is a generous pour of Taylor Fladgate LBV 2014 Porto.

@CanadianNinja yes, indeed-- whiskey is for drinking!

Your bottle lingered in Japan for several years after its initial release. That was a lucky find!

Yes @Victor, up until about ....2017? the whisky boom had yet to come into full effect, at least in my area of the country anyway!

I was still finding some incredible bottles for shockingly low prices up until that point.

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing these days. : (

I just realized now that our cabinets have the date that we entered the bottle into our profile @Victor. Haha!

It seems I bought that bottle of Parker’s Heritage Golden Anniversary in 2013.

Funny, I thought it was a little later than that.... I definitely remember paying about 200$ US for it though. And it was worth it.

My wife outdid herself again with some sesame ginger chicken. It really didn’t go well with the young raddish kimchi but probiotics are a part of life....

After dinner we went outside and my brother and his wife brought the kids over to ride bikes. A radler is just the thing after coming in. 0.0% because my daughter is turning part of it into a slushie.

Forgot to post last night;

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

Talisker Select Reserve "House Greyjoy" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 45.8% ABV.

Tonight;

Glen Ord SMWS 77.57 (9 year - Apr. 2009) "Down the old wax mines" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.1% ABV.

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

Having a glass of Bunnahabhain Toiteach.

Think I’ll move on to some Laphroaig Quarter Cask next.

@CanadianNinja - How is the Bunna? It's been on sale here for a while ...

Absolutely fantastic @RianC.

The Toiteach is one of my favourite Bunnahabhain expressions. I highly recommend it.

On the nose, very peaty, iodine, smoke and seaweed. On the palate, peat, black pepper banana peel and ash.

@CanadianNinja - Thanks. Just so I am clear, the Toiteach is the same as the Toiteach A Dha (full title)?

Another new to me cocktail from The 12 Bottle Bar book @Victor recommended.

The Saratoga; 1 oz each of Cognac-style brandy, Rye whiskey and sweet vermouth with 2 dashes of aromatic bitters. Stir in a mixing class for 30 seconds and strain into a chilled martini glass. Supposed to garnish with 1/2 round slice of lemon, but no lemons to be found in the house...

This is very similar to a Manhattan, but the brandy makes it lighter and slightly sweeter. I like it! I will make this again.

No @RianC!

They are different expressions.

The Toiteach is far better in my opinion .

You want the one that looks like this @RianC!

@CanadianNinja - Thanks. Not sure if that version is still available (at a reasonable price) on these shores but I'll keep my eye out. It's the A Dah thats been on offer ...

Last night, after dinner,

Glendronach 12 Year Old - Original Double Cask. Still trying to kill off this bottle. Getting close.

Glenallachie SMWS 107.16 (7 year - Apr. 2011) "Truly a fairy tale" from 2nd-fill toasted oak butt - 67.0% ABV. This seems older than its age. Some nights, the ABV comes across as too hot, but maybe the air in the bottle is mellowing that aspect, because last night it tasted amazing!

@RianC, I had a glass of the Toiteach a Dha at a bar shortly after I bought my last bottle of the original Toiteach.

The a Dha has more of a sherry influence, but I definitely prefer the original.

To be fair, the original is a special whisky to me for other reasons, and I never enjoy whisky at a bar as much as I do at home. I would definitely buy a bottle of the Toiteach a Dha though.

Tonight, after a couple of beers, while playing on-line poker with my brother-in-law and some friends,

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

And finished off a sample of Octomore 9.3, 5 year, 133 ppm, 62.9% ABV.

This is "What I am drinking last Saturday". For the online Fèis Ìle Ardbeg Day 2020, I got together with a buddy that I went to Islay with in 2018. Here was our lineup:

How many of us spend time taste testing gin neat? Well, I have been in a gin mood of late. My wife has had over another couple every weekend (appropriately social distancing in our back yard) for 3 weeks in a row. And I have been serving a gin-based cocktails (gin-gin mule, negroni, and the martini). So, we have been going through the gin lately.

I like to have a “house” spirit for all cocktails. I already have my house bourbon (Virgin 7yo 101 Proof by Heaven Hill), our house blended scotch (Grant’s Family Reserve), the house rye (George Dickle), and the house vodka (Tito’s). What about a house gin?

So, this leads to today’s blind gin tasting. My wife poured them all and served them up straight and blind. She ended up nosing and tasting with me at the end. And we mostly agreed.

Here is what I found:

The Botanist 22 46% - We both really wanted to like this one. She has loved Bruichladdich since we visited – it is now her favorite Islay distillery over Lagavulin – but neither of us loved this gin. It was more sweet-citrus than juniper, or other botanical flavors. It wasn’t bad, but just not what either of us wanted in a gin. = 85

Plymouth Navy Strength 57% - The best part of this was the power of the ABV on the finish. That said, it had almost no nose. It was almost like a vodka on the nose. Still, it had some spice and power on the finish. That is what pushed up the score. = 86

Tanqueray 47.3% - This had strong juniper notes with hints of cardamom. It was my first blind glass and I wrote down “a good standard gin.” I stand by that. My wife liked it slightly better than the next one. = 87

Beefeater 47% (New) - This is a freshly opened bottle. So, extremely similar to the Tanqueray. Honestly, you won’t go wrong with either. I slightly preferred this on the finish. It had a hair more sweetness and orange peel than the Tanqueray. My wife thought there was more of a difference than I did. She said, I could see how they could be used in different cocktails. I found them almost interchangeable. Yes, this has a hair more orange peel and citrus. = 87.5

Battle Standard 142 57% - Now this is a revelation. I have seen it on the shelves for a while now, but I just picked it up on a whim (because it was on sale). Oh my goodness! This is a cardamom bomb. HUGE cardamom flavors dominate. It was so different from everything else. And then the power? Oh my goodness. For everyone in the big flavors club (I am looking at you @Victor) this is a must try gin. It is crazy delightful . . . and at 57%. Oh, did I mention that you must enjoy cardamom? = 91

Beefeater 47% (late 70’s?) - this is a special gin. We found it in an old box in my wife’s late-aunt’s house. The tax strip indicates that this was sold prior to 1982. And there is an award advertised for 1976. So somewhere between 1977 and 1982. My wife thinks the box would have been packed in 1978 or 1979. When we found the 1 Liter bottle is was ¾ full. Oh, my. This gin blind was special. It had tons of layers of complexity. It was very subtle, but super earthy and complex. I really thought it was going to be the Botanist. My wife also agreed (before the reveal) that this was by far the best gin in the line-up. = 93

After the reveal my wife said that she wanted Tanqueray for our house gin. Then she said, “Be very careful with that old Beefeater bottle of gin. That is special. Don’t go making any cocktails with that one.” Yes mam! I completely agree.

@Nock, it has been a while since I did any in-depth gin consulting....I was at one time a specialist. That Beefeater relic is bringing back memories, or is that flashbacks?

@paddockjudge Give us your top 5 straight martini gins.....please.

Thank you @Nock - great reading. Here in NZ, as in most other places, the market is being swamped with gins from local 'craft distilleries'. Some of what I have tried has been excellent but they are typically not cheap and often try to have some interesting hook e.g. using locally sourced native botanicals, aged in local wine barrels etc. My wife bought a bottle of Haymans London Dry Gin in a rush before lockdown. It is so delicate (soft) that it is completely lost in any mixed drink.

@BlueNote, hahahaha, back then not likely, I can't recall the LCBO stocking 5 varieties of gin...Beefeater, Gilby's, Bombay, and Tanqueray.

@Nock, tasting gin neat? Sure I've been doing that for a number of years now. @Maddie did her first group gin tasting about 9 years ago. Of the common ones I love Beefeater, Tanqueray, and Citadelle. Tanqueray No.Ten is an exquisite sipper.

I wanted to like The Botanist gin. Two or three samples later, I just don't.

As you know, barrel aged gins are often delicious. You had some Corsair barrel-aged gin with me. I've had a couple of other barrel-aged brands whose names escape me. All were delicious.

You want something different and delicious in gin? Try Barr Hill gin from Vermont, made with honey. You can easily taste it, but it is very discreet.

I’m not an expert on gin, and have had a G&T only once, upon which I decided I liked the tonic better on its own...

However, I’ve occasionally been happy to taste gins and have been introduced to a few by my Connosr friends, especially @Robert99.

In Israel I tasted unaged and aged gin at the Milk and Honey distillery, possibly the only one that uses Zaatar as a botanical, and was quite impressed.

When the pandemic is over I hope to visit Dillon’s distillery, and in recognition of their support of my clinical group (they donated litres of sanitizer they produced) and of many others, I plan to buy some of their gins and bitters.

Had a real treat earlier today (Saturday). I went over to a friends house for some drams, food and catching up (at a safe distance, of course).

Imperial 11 year (Distilled Winter 1989, Bottled Winter 2001) from Provenance bottlers, 43% ABV. A recently opened bottled that had been sitting around for almost 19 years! The nose was very unique; earthy, but the palate was sweet. What a contrast.

Glendronach 24 year (1993) Single Cask from a Sherry Butt (Bottled 2018), 57.9% ABV. A perfect example of what a sherry whisky can and should be.

Mortlach SMWS 76.143 (31 year - Sep. 22nd, 1987) "Wherefore art thou rancio?". Matured for 28 years in a bourbon hogshead before transfer to a 2nd fill Moscatel barrique. 56.2% ABV. Beautiful. Love the Moscatel finish. Perfectly balanced.

Macallan SMWS 24.138 (29 year - Sep. 25th, 1989) "The Emperor's old clothes" from a refill ex-bourbon barrel. 51.2% ABV. I'm not a fan of Macallan's Fine Oak series. Fortunately, this is nothing like that. Oily, fatty and fruity. Stunning.

Macallan SMWS 24.139 (30 year - May 12th, 1989) "Beauty beyond skin deep" from a refill ex-sherry butt. 46.9% ABV. Even after 30 years in a sherry cask, the wood didn't dominate. Earthy, wood spice and treacle. A very special dram.

Dailuaine SMWS 41.118 (30 year - Sep. 28th, 1988) "Memory Lane". Matured for 27 years in a bourbon hogshead before transfer to a first fill American oak PX hogshead. 49.2% ABV. Dark fruit, waxy, aged rum and chocolate. Beautiful!

Sitting outside in the sun and drinking some unbelievable whisky with some great friends. What an afternoon!

After I got home, I made new to me cocktails for my wife and I out of the 12 Bottle Bar book. The Pegu Club is 1.5oz dry gin (Botanist), 1/2oz orange liqueur (Grand Marnier), 3/4oz strained, freshly squeezed lime juice and 2 dashes of aromatic bitters (Angostura) shaken with ice, strained into a martini glass. This was good, but the lime juice was over powering. If I make it again, I would dial that back a bit. It reminded me a little of a Margarita. The gin flavor was masked which I didn't care for.

After dinner, had one final dram;

Miltonduff SMWS 72.31 (29 year - Dec. 1983) "Something Old, Something New" from a refill Hogshead ex-Bourbon - 48.3% ABV. Only one dram left in the bottle after tonight. I'm really going to miss this one. Leather, varnished wood, nuts and spices; ginger, cardamom and paprika.

Haven't posted in a while, I've had a heavy heart over many things going on, had a much needed impromptu Saturday Zoom session with the inimitable @paddockjudge & @Nozinan

A taste of what was sampled by some or all of the participants (necessities of distance obliges creativity)

-Macallan 12 yr sherry -Naked Grouse -Rhum Bielle Agricole Cask Strength 2010. A lovely expression of this style of rhum (turns our we all had some of this through sample swaps) -Plantation multi island XO single cask -Smith & Cross rum (my first taste, oh boy!) - Bruichladdich Classic Laddie 50% ABV

After that I had to cut out early for obligations, so I know not what was consumed.

Last night, some CB Flaming Heart 2018. Been open a few months now but, surprisingly, I've hardly touched it. I think it's because I like it so much it seems a waste to drink it when I'm not at my best re. tasting. Anyways, a stunning malt - lots of bright sweetness on the arrival but then the herbal, peaty notes from the Caol Ila come through for one of the best finishes I've come across. I think that Glaser fella may actually be a wizard