So, what are you drinking now?

For Father’s Day the whole family staked our spots on our deck and back yard and we had a BBQ. The logistics of getting everyone food without breaking the 2 m rule was tough, but we had moderate success.

We decided on something lighter today, so i poured everyone some of the Classic Laddie.

@Nozinan You seem to have taken in wisdom by the teaspoon. Good for you. But maybe we can keep it to whisky here? There's a reason why we have doctors. I think that this site is about whisky.

Glad you have a kid.

youtu.be/lcKE5Onufzk

That's Wayne Kramer from the MC5 (from Detroit). Credit.

@Nozinan poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/…

For I have known them all already, known them all: Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons, I have measured out my life with coffee spoons; I know the voices dying with a dying fall Beneath the music from a farther room. So how should I presume?

I should clarify. Not everyone got Bruichladdich Classic Laddie. Only the three fathers were drinking whisky at my family's gathering tonight.

Thank you @Jonathan!

@Jonathan

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Last night, my wife and I had a virtual semi-blind tasting with another couple. By semi-blind, I mean that each couple provided 3 Society samples to the other couple without revealing any information other than the flavor profile that the sample came from. (The Society designates all of their whisky into one of 12 flavor profiles.) All of the samples were from different profiles, so 6 of the 12 flavor profiles were represented.

Glenlossie SMWS 46.77 (26 year - Nov 1992) "Garden centres and weddings" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.6% ABV from the "Sweet, fruity and mellow" profile.

Braeval SMWS 113.15 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "An apricot jamboree" - Refill ex-bourbon barrel - 61.6% ABV from the "Light and delicate" profile.

Blair Athol SMWS 68.34 (10 year - June 2009) "Roasty-Toasty-Tasty" - Re-charred hogshead - 59.6% ABV from the Deep, rich and dried fruit" profile.

Tobermory SMWS 42.47 (10 year - June 2008) "Oblivious to genius" - First-fill barrel - 60.1% ABV from the "Oily and coastal" profile.

Copperworks Distilling Company SMWS Cask sample (46 months - Mar. 2016) - New oak (18 month air seasoned staves) heavy toast, medium char (#2) - 60.2% ABV from the "Spicy and sweet" profile. (This will be bottled and released by the Society later this year.)

Caol Ila SMWS 53.320 (12 year - Sep. 2007) "Raiders of the flossed ark" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 58.2% ABV from the "Peated" profile.

A fun evening sitting on the patio sharing drams (virtually) with friends.

Grilled cedar plank salmon for dinner, so that called for coastal malts;

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.

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

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

Last night, a decent number of Longrows and their brethren for our club's second annual (and COVID-delayed) "Springbank Spring Break."

Good drams all around, except for the Kilkerran Heavily Peated which I still found as nasty at the heel as it was at the neck. The star, though, was the private Springbank bottling that a newer club member brought from her family's personal stash!

I’m sipping some Foursquare Premise 10 Year Rum. I think the sulphur is starting to clear up. There are still white glue and rubber aromas on the nose, but they’re far less prominent than before. There is hope.

@MadSingleMalt Nice lineup. Good to get the heads up on the Kilkerran Peated. I had a hard look at that one recently. Glad I passed.

Another night, another bottle kill; Balmenach SMWS 48.42 (10 year - Nov. 2002) "Grown-Up Ice Lollies" from a first-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 56.7% ABV.

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

Ardbeg Corryvreckan, L13 240. I had some in a dessert glass style copita. This inferior batch of Corryvreckan has mellowed now that the bottle is open 4.6 years. Better now than at any time previously. Next I tried this same whisky out of a Norlan glass. Wow! The edginess is smoothed out a lot, and a sweetness which just wasn't there to be perceived before has appeared. I am telling you all, the Norlan glass is a fabulous tool for special purposes. It smoothes out roughness in whiskies, and changes them. I am beginning to compile a mental list of whiskies best drunk out of a Norlan glass. Anything overly aggressive is improved in a Norlan, whether a cheapie bottom-shelfer or a poorly behaved batch of an expensive whisky.

When I first tried my Norlan glasses I thought they would remain useless and superfluous. Now I would not want to be without them. And they make beautiful little beer tumblers, too.

Finally got the opportunity to re-pour and finish the last of my Laimrig IV. This one was a winner from start to finish.

@BlueNote, hurry up and plan your trip to Toronto so I can open another bottle of this stuff!

@Nozinan You're making me salivate.

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

@bwmccoy Similar to the 14, or something completely different?

@BlueNote - I haven’t had the standard Oban 14 is so long, I’m not sure I can answer your question accurately. I will say that I was surprised at the hint of smoke that I got when I first opened the bottle. Don’t remember that from the standard 14. On the nose, I get some fruit (apple orchard, stewed apples or apples and cinnamon), some wine cask influence and salt. On the palate, wine notes and light, sweet smoke initially, followed by a briny, coastal / maritime finish. Maybe more Distillers Edition than standard 14 year? It’s good, but not great. I’m happy that I got a bottle, but I wouldn’t buy it again. Hope that helps.

Getting ready for a virtual Bank tasting with a few online friends tonight. I don't own enough Glencairns so these small wine sampling glasses will have to do (shape is a bit distorted in the photo). Feeling pretty fortunate to try some of these (especially the 2 cage samples).

@bwmccoy Just what I wanted to know. Thanks.

@Hewie That is quite a selection of Springbanks, all at cask strength from the looks of it. Somebody did very well to get hold of all of them. Slainte!

While watching Ford v Ferrari, Glenallachie SMWS 107.16 (7 year - Apr. 2011) "Truly a fairy tale" from a 2nd-fill toasted oak butt - 67.0% ABV. You know the movie is good when one dram lasts the entire 2.5 hour movie! The dram is darn good as well!

Yesterday at my sister's house I presented a tasting for a family group of 7 persons:

1) Old Elk Wheat Whiskey, 95% wheat, 5% barley-malt, 5 yo, for the taste of wheat, and to tell the story of how former 25 year MGPI Master Distiller Greg Metze gave me the bottle of this great whiskey which a year later is just now at the very beginning of being sold commercially

2) Miller Genuine Draft Bottled Beer, for the fine nuances of barley. No pasteurization, no or little hops, no other junk added in = clear beautiful barley flavour

3) Old Pulteney Navigator, for salt with your barley cereal. Navigator has gotten a lot better in the long opened bottle

4) Hakushu 12 yo, for barley expressed as grass. The group really noticed the peat and smoke

5) TryBox Corn New Make Spirit, from Heaven Hill, for the taste of corn. This is unaged spirit which would become Evan Williams bourbon, at undiluted 62.5% ABV strength. For whatever reason corn is strong here, and the rye spirit does not overshadow it. Amazingly, this stuff was extremely popular with the group. I did not expect that

6) Mellow Corn BIB Whiskey, from Heaven Hill, for corn with wood influence.

7) Glenfarclas 15 yo. for sherry influence on malts. I am showing them the archetypes now.

8) Kavalan Solist Sherry CS, 57.1% ABV for same as # 7.

9) Aberlour A'bunadh, Batch # 54, for same as # 7.

10) Isle of Arran Amarone Finish, for a different wine finish as contrast

11) Kilchoman Machir Bay, to introduce late intermediate peating levels

12) Ardbeg Corryvreckan, L13 240 to introduce the high-test peat/smoke/brine

13) Van Winkle 12 yo wheated bourbon, after a substantial break

14) Pappy Van Winkle 15 yo wheated bourbon, after having a noobie look it up for current average world selling prices. They need to know that the 15 ml they have in their glass would cost them $ 70 in a bar. Today's price? $ 1,699 average worldwide, $ 1,797 average in the USA

15) Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye 2009

16) Old Potrero 18th Century Style 100% malted Rye, Batch H

17) Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal

18) Tanteo Jalapeno infused tequila. (That will blow out your taste buds. It is best last.)

Good times!!!

There are some distinct advantages to being a member of your family @Victor.

I need to get started on my business tax return and the best way to procrastinate is to start "research for my Canada Day review of a Canadian whisky.

More to follow...

@BlueNote - for one day a couple of years ago, I got a glimpse of what it must be like to be in @Victor ‘s family. I was a guest in his home and he treated me to a bourbon, rye, tequila, mezcal and a couple of other things tasting much like the one he described above. It was an absolute treat and a honor to spend time with @Victor after many years only knowing each other virtually.

We’re at the cottage until Thursday or Friday. Today I had:

• a variation on a Hemingway Daiquiri. I don’t have any Maraschino Liqueur so I just went 3 oz white rum (El Dorado 3 Year. Dosed? Sure, but I like their rums anyway), 0.5 oz (each) of simple syrup, lime juice, and grapefruit juice, shaken in a cocktail shaker and served in a rocks glass over ice. The grapefruit juice adds a nice hint of bitterness to the cocktail. I will definitely have this again. FWIW, I’m fairly certain Papa Hemingway just drank large glasses of rum with a lime “shell” thrown in, but authenticity isn’t that important to me.
• Rum “Manhattan”: made with 3 oz Appleton 8 Year, 1 oz Martini Rosso, and 3 dashes Angostura Bitters, stirred and served on the rocks in a tumbler. I really dig Appleton rums. Not too sweet, and pleasantly complex.
• Bearface 7 Year Triple Oak: this is nice, easy, session whisky, or as I call it...”breakfast whisky”. I had 2 generous pours.

Well that was fun. Six cask strength Springbanks: four special releases and two 'cage samples'. Bourbon wood 14Y 55.8%, Rum wood 15Y 51.0%, Cage fresh rum cask 13Y 55.9%, Burgundy 12 53.5%, Sherry wood 17Y 52.3%, and a Cage fresh sherry butt 16Y 51.7%. All samples generously provided for five of us to join in with a zoom tasting together. The rum casks were the least exciting of the bunch. Top pick from us all was the burgundy - a fantastically complex whisky. On the nose red berries, deep umami notes, subdued peat, old wood, and hot stones. Palate showed lots of red berries and darker fruits, oak spices, some minerals and quite creamy. The finish was long with oak spices and raspberries alongside dunnage notes. Man I would love a bottle of this! Second pick from us all was the bourbon wood - lovely vanilla, custard, creme brulee with spices and pepper. It felt quite clean alongside the sherry casks! The sherry was wonderfully funky and dirty.