So, what are you drinking now?

A couple of Motor City Marvels this evening. Wiser’s Seven Rebels a combination of Spices and Speyside (thank you @Bluenote, this bottle has blossomed into a spicy treat!) and Wiser’s 23 YO Cask Strength Blend, my favourite whisky, period.

To brighten the day and chase away black clouds filled with thunder and lightning, I dug deep in the stash and pulled out a bottle that reminds me of pleasing colours. A pic from a day with friendlier skies. Wiser’s Red Letter 2015 from the bond that keeps on giving, Bond No.0006075... haha, and the sun broke through the clouds for a moment just before the next front rolls in.

There is no Wiser man than you @paddockjudge.

@BlueNote He ha so many bottles of that distillery that if some were to evaporate he would be none the Wiser's...

@Nozinan Au Contraire mon ami, he’d still be a ton the Wiser’s.

Yesterday (Saturday), I made a couple of different Gin & Tonics. Both were made with Fever Tree Aromatic Tonic, but one was made with The Botanist for my wife. For mine, I used a local gin; Sea Bishop Spirits (Black Diamond, WA) - 47% ABV. Compared to Botanist, in a G&T, the Sea Bishop has a salty note to it, which I like.

After the G&T's, my wife and I were still in the mood for some Gin, so I poured us each a glass (neat) of Society gin; SMWS GN1.3, Makar (Glasgow) called "Coriander meander" from a 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 57.8% ABV.

After dinner, The Big Swirl SMWS 10 year old Blended Malt Batch 07 - Ex-Spanish oak casks + ex-bourbon casks matured for final 2 years in 1st-fill ex-sherry hogshead - 50% ABV. This was tasting really good last night. Not a sherry bomb, but still a beautiful dram. It's only drawback is that the finish is pretty short.

Tonight (Sunday), I finally finished off my bottle of Glendronach 12. Yippie!

Ending the night with Ardbeg Wee Beastie 5 year old.

In a attempt to complete my charting this afternoon, I checked my auxiliary cabinet, I poured myself 10 cc of Wild Turkey Rare Breed. With a few drops of water I am finding it quite dry and peppery today.

Last night, had a glass of Heaven's Door Tennessee Bourbon (Straight Bourbon Whiskey - 45% ABV) in order to rate it. I gave it an 86 because it is slightly better, in my opinion, than Maker's Mark Cask Strength, which I scored an 85.

Tonight I made my fourth attempt at Lemony Snicket’s bread recipe. The first time it was good but I burned my hand. The second time it was just as good. The third time I substituted half the flour with whole wheat successfully and tonight I used 5:1 white to rye flour. Success! Not sure the crumb is quite right to use for Montreal smoked meat but maybe if I let it wait until it cooled it could be used for sandwiches.

Toasting my Success with a little Dillon’s Rye. CS of course.

@Nozinan Mmmm, that looks good. Just needs a good slathering of cold butter.

@BlueNote SOFT butter

@Nozinan That’ll work. Salted?

@BlueNote we did not have salted butter available, but I ground some Himalayan pink salt on it in a fine powder, the way my ancestors must have done in the “old country”. I’m sure they got it from Costco too....

Last night, I had small pours of all 3 Heaven's Door whiskies in order to score the final two.

Heaven's Door Tennessee Bourbon - previously scored 86. Used it tonight as a barometer for the other two.

Heaven's Door Double Barrel Whiskey; score: 84. While there is nothing technically wrong with it, it is just not as good as the Tennessee bourbon.

Heaven's Door Straight Rye Whiskey; score:82. I want to like this one and the nose is pretty good, but there is an industrial note in the finish (paint thinner or solvent) that prevents me from scoring it any higher.

@Nozinan - That bread looks and sounds lovely! Any chance you could pm me the recipe, Doc?

@Nozinan Nice bit of improvisation, and a good rule of thumb: use whatcha got.

My wife and I attended a Women Who Whiskey virtual tasting with 5 expressions of Penderyn. While none have age statements, they are all about the same age; approximately 6 years. Generally, 3 - 4 years in ex-bourbon followed by 1 - 2 years for the finish.

Legend; This is a slightly lower ABV version of the flagship Medeira finish whiskey. Nose; Green apple. Palate: Apricot and Stone Fruit. This was my favorite of the night.

Myth; This is a Red Wine STR (Shave, Toast, Rechar) cask finish. Almost no nose; very subtle, non-descript sponge cask. Palate; Toffee and Marsala wine. This was my 4th favorite.

Sherrywood; While this is the same age, instead of being a "finish", it is a marriage of fully matured ex-bourbon casks and fully matured ex-sherry casks, but I don't know what the percentage of each is, however it was very light in color. The nose is traditional sherry (nutty), but also some rubber. The palate was rubbery and woody. This was my least favorite.

Portwood; The nose is cocoa powder. The palate was Marsala wine and Manuka honey. This was my 3rd favorite.

Peated; The barley is not peated. The spirit is matured in Laphroaig ex-quarter casks. The nose is green apple, Asian pear with light smoke and peat. The palate was peat and bandage (Elastoplast). This was my 2nd favorite.

Been having to take more pain meds than usual lately but today has been OK so I can finally enjoy a few whiskies!

I decided to indulge myself and warmed up with a Glenfarclas 25 and then moved to Flaming Heart (I'm in such a chipper mood I even reviewed it!). The 'farclas is much improved after decanting and I'm warming to it. It needs a dash of water, and time, to allow the sharper and edgier notes to come through. The FH is just ... Wow!

@RianC There really are no bad Glenfarclas's, but wouldn't you love this baby at 46%. I had a taste of the 25 at cask strength a couple of years ago and it was stunningly good. Right now I have the 15 at cask strength. I love the regular 15, but this takes it to another level. Vive la force du fut!

First Friday night dinner at my house with our expanded social bubble. This week my mother joined our group of (now) 10 plus pets. I got to hug her for the first time since mid-March.

I served my brother and myself Cadenhead's Linkwood 11, and he enjoyed it. I did not. Because all but 5 cc of my pour got spilled on the dining room table (covered, thankfully). So after dinner, though my brother declined, I poured myself a consolation dram of A'Bunadh batch 49. A very good batch.

Finished last night by opening a Nikka from the Barrel. Seemed a bit 'hot' compared to the other malts I'd indulged prior but love the toffee and wood notes. Everything is familiar yet a little different at the same time. Should have opened with this one...

Yesterday, I was organizing my whisky cabinet and I found a half-filled sample bottle of Westland Peated, so I finished it off last night. It’s ok, but I’m not a huge fan of Westland’s core range. I prefer their single cask offerings.

Finished the night with a dram of Ardbeg 5 Wee Beastie. This one has really blossomed since opening.

Forgot to mention, the Friday night tradition of Jerry Thomas Manhattan’s for my wife and I before dinner.

@bwmccoy Good news on the Wee Beastie. Had a dram of the G&M Linkwood tonight. Still loving that one.

Yesterday, after working on projects around the house all day, I had a glass of Maker's Mark Cask Strength in a rocks glass with a cube of ice in it, while sitting in the hot tub.

After dinner, I wasn't in the mood for a whisky, so I made a Gin & Tonic with Fever Tree Premium Indian Tonic Water and a barrel aged Gin from Dry Fly in Spokane, WA. I'm not a huge fan of this Gin, so I thought using it in a G&T was a good way to use it.

On Sunday night, before dinner, made my wife and I Gin & Tonics using a mix of Fever Tree Aromatic and Premium Indian Tonic. My wife's was made with The Botanist and mine was made with a barrel aged Gin from Dry Fly distilling in Spokane, WA.

After dinner, Bruichladdich 1984 23 Year Old Golder Still

Last night (Monday), my wife and I went over to a friend's house for dinner and drams.

Started off with a Vieux Carre cocktail made with Bulleit Rye. This is the first time that I've had this cocktail and I see why @Victor and others raved about it. It reminded me of a slightly sweeter version of a Manhattan. I'm going to have to add this to my cocktail making repertoire.

Paul John Classic Select Cask Batch 01 (July 29, 2019) - 55.2% ABV. This was my first time having Paul John and it tasted like liquid barley and honeycomb. Really nice.

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Sonoma - Cutrer Finish (Kentucky straight bourbon finished in Pinot Noir Barrels) - 45.2% ABV. The nose reminded me of walking through a field of grass. There was also a note of an IPA beer (mainly the oils or resin from the hop plant). The palate was divine. The wine finish was perfectly balanced with the bourbon. One of the most unique (in a good way) bourbons that I have ever tasted.

Tullibardine The Murray Chateauneuf-du-Pape finish - 46%. Distilled 2005, bottled 2018. The nose was red fruits and spice. The palate was barley, cherry and a hint of chocolate.

During dinner (Flat Iron steak, shrimp and zucchini - all grilled along with roasted fingerling potatoes), Westland Distillery cask # 2542 Single cask release, cask strength (6 year-Distilled 2012, bottled Dec. 2018) 27 months in Coopers Reserve New American Oak followed by 45 months in an ex-Pedro Ximénez Hogshead - 50.8% ABV. The nose was raisin, cherry and maple. The palate was Oatmeal raisin cookie, nutmeg, black pepper and blackberry.

Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.162 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "Big wave sofa". After 7 years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead transferred to a first fill oloroso hogshead - 61.4% ABV. Notes of Almond, fig and cinnamon.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.302 (11 year - Sep. 2007) "Holy sweet smoke!" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.9% ABV. Notes of BBQ, black olives and burnt honey. This was everyone's overall favorite of the night (at least until the last dram below).

Inchmoan SMWS 135.14 (13 year - Mar. 2005) "Tripping the light fantastic" - After maturing in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transfered to a first-fill charred red wine barrique - 55.4% ABV. Notes of fruit, peat, salt and smoke. Everyone agreed that we should have had this one before the Caol Ila.

During dessert (vanilla ice cream with fresh blueberries, Scottish shortbread along with Glenfarclas fudge, Tobermory fudge and Laphroaig fudge), Bowmore 15 year.

After dinner, our hosts opened a bottled of Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1 (23 year; Distilled 1990, bottled 2013) - 49.2% ABV. This was the last Black Art bottling by Jim McEwan before his retirement. This was so good, we literally sat around nosing it for 15 - 20 minutes before taking our first sip. Amazing whisky!

A great night with friends!

@bwmccoy That's a seriously great night.

Tonight, my wife and I attended a Women Who Whiskey virtual tasting with Freeland Spirits, Portland, Oregon.

Started off with the Flagship Gin (45%) Great nose; muted / subtle juniper, herbs, spices, citrus and floral. Palate; Fresh spice, crisp cucumber and pepper. This is nice, but not great. I would not seek this one out to purchase a bottle.

Next up, their Navy Strength, London Dry Gin (57%). Now we're talking. Nose reminded me of a dirty martini, dry vermouth, green olive with some lemon peel and juniper. The palate is juniper forward, with mulled spices and citrus. I would buy this one.

Next was "their" bourbon, but it is sourced, not produced by them. The mash bill is 70% corn, 20% rye and 10% malted barley. This is batch #7 and it is 46% ABV. It is a vatting of 4 year old and 12 year old bourbon that is finished in Oregon Pinot Noir wine barrels from Elk Cove winery in Oregon. The nose was toffee, pecan and clove. The palate was caramel, berry, vanilla, cocoa powder and spice. This was surprisingly good. Not sure I would buy a bottle, but it was very enjoyable.

Finished the tasting with their canned Gin & Tonic cocktail. They use a rose infused tonic from Portland syrups. I did not care for this at all. Didn't taste like a G&T to me at all. The tonic completely covered up the gin.

Finishing the night with a dram of Braeval SMWS 113.15 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "An apricot jamboree" from a refill ex-bourbon barrel - 61.6% ABV

Rating a couple of recently opened bottles;

Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.162 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "Big wave sofa". After 7 years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead transferred to a first fill oloroso hogshead - 61.4% ABV. Tried this both without and with water. Really different between the two, but like them equally. More sherry notes, slightly sweeter with water. Rating: 89.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.302 (11 year - Sep. 2007) "Holy sweet smoke!" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.9% ABV. This is so good. Quintessential Caol Ila. Tried it without and with water. Not a huge change; More tame and maybe a little sweeter. Both are good, but prefer without water. Rating: 92.

I’m sipping some Gibson’s Finest 8 Year Old Bold (46% abv). The bottle is almost gone, and while it didn’t change my perception of whisky, it’s much better than I expected. It’s one of the few whiskies I’ve ever had that I prefer with a small amount of water added, not because of the proof but because water adds a bit of a barrel char note that I often find (and enjoy) in Wild Turkey.