So, what are you drinking now?

@cricklewood I was satisfied with a little of the Rhum Bielle and a little Plantation O.F.T.D (which lives up to its acronym). I've had a long week too, and though we continued talking for some time, I consumed no more spirits. Sometimes the connection is the most important thing.

@BlueNote @paddockjudge My favourite martini gin is Plymouth - alas, it rarely gets to the LCBO. If I order a martini at a bar / restaurant, I always ask for Plymouth (though rarely receive it), at which point I usually just go with Bombay. I find martinis only work with the London Dry style.

@talexander I haven't tried that one. I think it's available in B.C. I'll check it out.

Cheers.

Before dinner cocktail last night; Jerry Thomas Manhattan. I really love the added complexity that the orange liqueur brings to what would otherwise be a traditional Manhattan.

After dinner, Bruichladdich 1984 23 Year Old Golder Still.

And Glen Scotia SMWS 93.106 (13 year - March 2005) "Red diesel". After 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Port hogshead - 58.6% ABV.

Sipping some Pike Creek 10 Year Rum finish. I must say; this is really pleasant stuff. The rum finish is quite prominent. And I like rum.

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.

Been enjoying the peaty whisky of late but opted for Glen Scotia 15 last night. I'm liking this when I'm in the mood - needs a bit of time to show itself and there are no spiky or 'big' flavours, but what's there is in perfect balance and it's as malty and satisfying as can be.

@RianC That's one I need to try. It keeps getting dropped from my wish list in favour of something else, but sooner or later I will grab one.

Tonight, Balmenach SMWS 48.42 (10 year - Nov. 2002) "Grown-Up Ice Lollies" from a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 56.7% ABV. Tastes like Juicy Fruit chewing gum

@bwmccoy "Tastes like juicy fruit....." Is that a good thing?

@BlueNote - for me it is. I first experienced this “taste” in a Society bottle of Mannochmore appropriately named “Juicy Fruit”. The fact that I liked it surprised me. I’m not normally a fan of the sweeter side of tasting notes, but for some reason this one resonates with my palate.

My wife and I attended a Women Who Whiskey virtual tasting featuring Westland and Bruichladdich.

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie Scottish Barley - Green fruit, brown sugar and sweet malt. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Would make a great summer / hot weather dram.

Westland American Oak - graham cracker, dark chocolate and coffee notes.

Westland Sherry - slightly sweet with notes of dried fruit. My second favorite of the night.

Westland Peated - lightly peated to make it more approachable. An introduction to peat?

Port Charlotte 10 year - BBQ smokiness, rich and spicy with sweet malt notes. My favorite.

Was set to try and finally empty my bottle of Talisker 10 last night but was scuppered by heart burn ... Again! I then discovered my partner has been making liberal use of my bottle of Bulleit 10 for Old Fashioneds! I should have been more vigilant and words have been had. The most shocking aspect though is that I wasn't even offered one!

Edit - my legal team assure me that, should it go to court, the judge will be more than sympathetic to my cause

@bwmccoy Classic Laddie is one of my favourite summer drams. I’ve often referred to it as “summer in a glass”. That Port Charlotte sounds lovely too.

My wife was busy painting a WWE logo in our youngest son’s room this afternoon, so I sat out on the deck reading Under the Black Flag: the Romance and the Reality of Life Among Pirates. Of course, reading about pirates required rum. Fun fact: despite popular imagery, most pirates preferred cognac or brandy when they could get it. Anyhow, I had:

• Appleton 12 Year: this rum continues to hit the right notes for me. Fruity, oaky, not too sweet (quite drying on the finish, in fact), and with a certain tropical je ne sais quoi about it.
• Pusser’s British Navy Rum: don’t let the name fool you. This is not a Navy Strength rum. It’s the 42% abv version which, as far as I know, is the only one available in Ontario. Still, it’s quite pleasant. Lots of butterscotch, molasses and MacIntosh’s Toffee flavours. Pusser’s website says their rum has no additives whatsoever but it’s tough to believe with all this sweetness going on. Of course Dave Broom says in “Rum: the Manual” that rum gets dryer, not sweeter as it ages. It stands to reason that Pusser’s is younger than Appleton (and is sourced from different distilleries, etc.) and that may be the reason(s) for the sweeter profile, not added sugar.
• Gooderham & Worts 49 Wellington 19 Year Old: who wants oak? I do. It’s almost as though Dr Don heard me say that the G&W 17 Year Little Trinity from a few years ago was “good but a bit too subtle” and said (in his best Al Pacino impression) “Say hello to my little friend!!”. There’s a lot of oak here. New oak, old “wet” oak, along side marshmallow-and-icing-sugar-vanilla, coconut, and a whole lot more complexity that I will happily suss our over the next few weeks and months. This one is complex and my first impression is “WOW!!”

Had a beer while making supper, jumbled salad of butter lettuce, endive & roquette and a lamb moussaka I bought at the local bakery. The beer is a type of Gose, made with lime zest, sea salt & long peppercorn, super refreshing but don't let it get warm!

Moved on to a small pour of Plantation Xaymaca rum, I'm really digging this one, many reviewers dismissed this one but I think people were expecting a big funk bomb and this is on a different end of the spectrum. It's got plenty of that overripe fruit and borderline acidity but the Cognac finish seems to work well for this.

Going to progress to a rye flight after, Maison Sivo rye, Lot 40 CS, Shelter Point Rye and Alberta Premium CS.

@RianC th heartburn will destroy the best dramming intentions, hope you recover well. Sneaky old fashions using Bulleit 10, looks like someone knows something you don't

@OdysseusUnbound I haven't had any Appleton in a long while but the 12 has been put on my radar by a fellow connosr as well. I might just have to sink for a bottle soon.

Seems like you're really digging the G&W Wellington, I passed on getting one but it's been on the back of my mind. I agree the first edition was a bit dull but I personally loved last year's 11 souls a lot, I wonder if I'll dig the big oak on this one?

@cricklewood I kept meaning to get an 11 Souls and just never did. Little Trinity grew on me, and the last 1/3 was much better than the rest, but even then it was an 88 or 89 point whisky for me. I’m already predicting 49 Wellington will be at least 92/100 for me, maybe higher.

@bwmccoy I’m just down to the last couple of drams on my bottle of The Laddie Ten Second Limited Edition. I really wish there was a third edition, but I think I’ll give that Laddie Scottish Barley a try. It’s comparatively quite cheap and sounds pretty good. I’m with you on the Port Charlotte 10, got a couple in the bunker.

@RianC Ha, good luck brother, they always side with the wife.

@OdysseusUnbound That’s two votes for the Classic Laddie. I’m in.

Springbank 14 YO Bourbon wood (first and refill) 55.8%. The last 10 cc of a sample from @Victor, to celebrate my big score of Lysol wipes after a long drought. This tells me that bourbon barrels and Springbank go well together, which bodes well for my recently acquired 12 YO CS which apparently has more bourbon wood influence than earlier batches.

Small dram of Corryvreckan. I have decided that I like the Corry better than the Uigeadial. The flavors in the oogie are relatively predictable, but the Corry has the very strong citrus notes. Those Uigeadail flavors come from sherry casks, and I've heard that the older expressions are better, but at that price point, one shouldn't have to nerd out on research. I have A'Bunadh for sherried malt. The Corryvreckan is really an amazing whisky. Also, I usually have to add water to the Uigeadail, but the Corry --at 57%--doesn't need water. Aside from some Caol Ila IBs and a batch or two of Laphroaig CS(I've tried many) --and maybe a couple of Cairdeas releases--this is as good as it gets when it comes to peated malts. Except for something rare like Supernova, which I have not yet tried.

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

Keeping with the Springbank theme, I enjoyed the 14 YO and I tried a little 15 YO after, and tonight I went backwards, pouring small amount of the 12YO CS.

Quite spicy.

Last night was Friday, so that meant Jerry Thomas Manhattan’s for my wife and I before dinner.

After dinner, I made a “Gunsmoke Liqueur” from scratch that will be used in a cocktail from the 12 Bottle Bar book. The liqueur is made of 1 cup lapsang souchong tea, 2 cups of sugar and 1/2 cup brandy. Considering how much sugar is in there, it isn’t overly sweet. The smoky tea and brandy really balance it out. Can’t wait to make the cocktail that this goes in. Hopefully, later today.

After cleaning up that mess, had a dram of Glen Scotia SMWS 93.106 (13 year - March 2005) "Red diesel". After 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Port hogshead - 58.6% ABV.

Then finished the night with a dram of Lagavulin 9 year "House Lannister" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 46% ABV.

Just made for the first time the “Gunpowder and Smoke” cocktail out of the 12 Bottle Bar book that @Victor suggested. While it doesn’t have as much smoke as I would like, I will definitely make this one again. The gin is not covered up like in other gin cocktails that I have made from this book. Rather, the gin, citrus and gunpowder liqueur are very balanced.

The drink is 2oz dry gin (I used 1oz Botanist and 1oz Hendricks because I ran out of Botanist). 1 egg white, 1/2oz freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice and 1/2oz gunpowder liqueur (see previous post for recipe). Shake the egg white, gin, lemon juice and liqueur vigorously for 15 seconds. Fill shaker 3/4 full with ice. Shake again vigorously for another 15 seconds. Strain into a coupe or martini glass and then with a cocktail spritzer, spray 50% ABV Rye (I used Rittenhouse BiB) over the cocktail igniting it with a blowtorch (see photo below). An excellent cocktail and fun to make.

Ardbeg 5 Wee Beastie: I really hope that this is part of the standard range. Nose and taste are incredibly sharp. The finish is medium for such a young peated whisky, but lovely. I think that the 10 is more balanced, but I like the mix of bourbon and sherry in the Wee Beastie. I'll order a 10 to do a head to head. I think that my favorite regularly available Ardbeg is the Corryreckan, but that's not exactly a weekly or monthly drinker.

Last night I tried the A'Bunadh #65. I really liked it. It's not soaked in sherry. I put in a teaspoon of water. It just works.

Last night, my brother-in-law was over for dinner. Afterwards, we had the following;

Bruichladdich 1984 23 Year Old Golder Still

Glenallachie SMWS 107.16 (7 year - Apr. 2011) "Truly a fairy tale" from a 2nd-fill toasted oak butt - 67.0% ABV.

Finished off my bottle of Glen Scotia SMWS 93.112 (14 year - Feb. 2004) "Sweet and grubby" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.7% ABV.

Also finished off my bottle of Glen Scotia SMWS 93.106 (13 year - March 2005) "Red diesel". After 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Port hogshead - 58.6% ABV.