So, what are you drinking now?

Vacation began 38 minutes ago. Thank you Beam Suntory!

@paddockjudge And the race is on. But you did get a head start on my dram. My Booker’s 2015 blend. Inspired by you.

Jerry Thomas Manhattan’s for my wife and I before dinner.

Finished the night with a peated, wine-finished highland dram; 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

Tonight we had some friends over. It was really hot and we had to stay outside because of social distancing reasons. The husband likes whisky but it was too hot and humid to have a dram. So I made them and my wife some Mojitos using Flor de Caña 12 YO rum. For the second round I made one for myself as well. Not bad. I wonder now whether I should have tried Smith and Cross or Plantation O.F.T.D., but it's probably for the best as they had to drive home...

Last night (Saturday), my wife and I had @jordytropp and his wife over for dinner and drams.

Heaven's Door Tennessee Bourbon

Heaven's Door Double Barrel Whiskey

Heaven's Door Straight Rye Whiskey

Westland Distillery Cask # 2542 Single cask release, cask strength (6 year-Distilled 2012) 27 months in Coopers Reserve New American Oak followed by 45 months in an ex-Pedro Ximénez Hogshead - 50.8% ABV

Compass Box Spaniard

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

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.

Octomore 6.3 - 5 year 258ppm 64% ABV

Octomore Masterclass 8.3 - 8 year 167ppm 58.4% ABV.

Finished the night with Kilchoman Sanaig.

Today (Sunday), had to go to a local distillery (2 bar - Seattle, WA) to pick up some samples for a tasting on Tuesday night. While there, the owner poured a couple of items that haven’t been released yet.

Their standard bourbon finished in Syrah wine cask. Perfectly balanced. Beautiful whiskey! I would buy a bottle of this!

Amaretto liqueur. This will be finished in casks that previously held bourbon from both 2 bar as well as a distillery in British Columbia, Canada. A little sweet, but will be interested to see how this mellows after the double barrel aging.

@bwmccoy thanks for a wonderful evening! That Westland you shared really was a perfect pairing with our steaks. Still thinking about it!

When I posted about Saturday night’s tasting with @jordytropp and his wife, I forgot to mention that we started the night with Vieux Carre cocktails made with Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 Proof Bottled in Bond.

Last night, I had the next to last dram of Glenlossie SMWS 46.77 (26 year - Nov 1992) "Garden centres and weddings" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.6% ABV. Such a beautiful Speyside whisky.

I finished the night with a sample of Longrow Peated Campbeltown Single Malt that @jordytropp gave me on Saturday night. This is sweet peat! No (or very little) smoke. It’s all peat. Really enjoyed it. It’s light enough to be perfect for a warm summer evening. By the way, the Kilchoman Sanaig that I had late Saturday night was also a sample from @jordytropp. Thanks again @jordytropp for both samples! I really appreciate it!

@bwmccoy Love that Longrow. It's affordable, always available and very tasty.

My wife attended a Women Who Whiskey virtual tasting tonight while I sat slightly off camera drinking along with her.

We tasted 3 expressions from a local Seattle distillery; 2 Bar

First up was their Moonshine. 40% ABV. The mash bill is 80% corn, 20% malted barley. This was a big “no” for me. Paint thinner with some cereal notes on the nose and palate. Out of the 2oz sample, we only drank about 1/4oz. The owner stated the moonshine is great in a cocktail. He suggested 2oz ginger beer, 1oz moonshine, a dash of bitters and a lime. My wife and I will try this at some point in the coming days to see if it makes the moonshine palatable.

As bad as the experience with moonshine was, I wasn’t hopeful for the rest. However, I would soon be completely surprised.

Next up was their bourbon. 50% ABV. Aged approximately 3 years in 30 gallon, “half-sized” casks. The mash bill is 6 grain, which is all locally sourced in Washington state and Idaho (corn, 2-row malted barley, chocolate malt, C-120 malt, C-150 malt and wheat). They did not provide percentages, but did say the corn was on the lower end of what is required. The nose and palate were outstanding; Butterscotch, chocolate and honey. I would / will buy a bottle of this.

Finished with their barrel strength bourbon. 65% ABV. This one wasn’t bad, but not nearly as good as their standard bourbon. It had more wood, a licorice note, but also something astringent / industrial.

Before dinner, finished off the last dram of Maker’s Mark Cask Strength.

Later, I finished off the sample of Kilchoman Sanaig that @jordytropp left me on Saturday night. This tasted especially good tonight. Thanks again @jordytropp

Finished the night with Ardbeg 5 year Wee Beastie. This tasted pretty darn good as well!

Sitting around the pool with the kids and sipping some WT101..... on the rocks. Yeah, that’s right.

At home after dinner, I’m revisiting Alberta Premium 20 Year Old.....again. I still don’t care for this...

@OdysseusUnbound, I’m guessing it would make a greater Rye n Ginger.

@paddockjudge My wife, who rarely (i.e. never) comments on my whisky, said of AP 20 from across the room, “Are you drinking nail polish? Because it smells like you’re drinking my nail polish.” I’m almost convinced that AP accidentally bottled whatever it is they use to clean and disinfect the stills and sold it to me. It’s bad. It’s really bad, and I think it’s actually gotten worse with time. I’ve read reviews that called it “mediocre”, a few reviews that called it “ok”, and of course at least one well-known Canadian whisky reviewer who predictably called it “elegance in a bottle” (I disagree most vehemently) and “possibly the greatest Alberta Premium ever”. No. Just no. At least not my bottle. I’m not even sure it’s worthy of good ginger ale. I’ll save my Schweppes for something better, like the cheaper (and better tasting) standard Alberta Premium.

@paddockjudge I think for a review of AP 20 rye and ginger you'd have to ask @Talexa....

Kilchoman Sanaig, followed by Edradour 12Y Caledonia tonight. The Islay peat first made the highland malt taste like candy.

With our club last night, all the recent Bruichladdich Islay Barleys that we could muster. They were all remarkably similar to each other, and way different from the basic Classic Laddie: heavier and oiler.

The 2009 was the vote-winner of the night.

Started the night with a new to me cocktail; “Between The Sheets“. Equal parts Cognac, Dry Gin, Grand Marnier and fresh squeezed lemon juice. Pretty refreshing, but next time would cut back a little on the lemon juice.

Heaven's Door Tennessee Bourbon

Heaven's Door Double Barrel Whiskey

Heaven's Door Straight Rye Whiskey

Finished the night with 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.

@bwmccoy - Every cocktail you show looks mouth-watering and professionally done! Fair play

It looks so good that I'm now obliged to make one for Jade as she also very much likes the sound of those ingredients, which we also happen to have in! Personally, I'm in a whisky mood and have my eye on the Glen Scotia 15 once the kids are inbed!

I'd be embarrassed to show some of the sloppy efforts I've been known to produce, but I'm at least informed they taste nice (usually)

Celebrating a trifecta:

• The Canadiens won their game

• The Raptors won their game

• In a surprising upset, the Jays came from behind and rocked the Rays 12-4.

A wee pour of Shelter Point Canadian CS rye. And a BIG shout out to @paddockjudge for introducing me to it when it was still available (and on sale!) last year.

@RianC - thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it. Most of my recent cocktails have come out of the book “The 12 Bottle Bar” that @victor recommended. Most of the recipes are easy to follow (or in my case hard to mess up). I’ve been having fun trying new to me cocktails using different spirits that I‘m not as familiar with.

Tonight, we had friends over for outdoor socially distanced dinner and drinks.

Started off with a Vieux Carre, followed by a Jerry Thomas Manhattan both made with Rittenhouse Bottle in Bond rye.

The friends that we had over are not really into whisky, but they wanted to try some single malts. I poured them;

Balvenie 21 Year Old Port Wood Finish

Bruichladdich 1984 23 Year Old Golder Still

We finished the night by killing off my bottle of Glenlossie SMWS 46.77 (26 year - Nov 1992) "Garden centres and weddings" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.6% ABV.

They liked all 3, but their favorite was the Glenlossie.

@Nozinan And the Canucks up 2 games to 0 on the St. Louis Blues, aka the reigning Stanley Cup champs.

Tonight’s new to me cocktail is The Metropolitan. This is Cognac’s version of a Manhattan. 2oz Remy Martin VSOP Cognac, 1oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, 1/2 teaspoon Grand Marnier orange liqueur, dash of Angostura aromatic bitters, garnished with a lemon twist and a Luxardo cherry.

@bwmccoy that cocktail is some visual art!

@Victor - Thank you! This cocktail was also from The 12 Bottle Bar book. Wish it would have been as good as the picture. It wasn’t bad, but it was so close to a Manhattan, why bother? Of the two Cognac cocktails, I preferred the Between The Sheets one.

@bwmccoy trial and error, that's how we get to know what we like.

Are you now a solid fan of the Vieux Carre? That remains my favourite cocktail, and @Nock's.

@Victor - absolutely! It is in my wife and I’s top 2 with the Jerry Thomas Manhattan. Probably would put the Jerry Thomas slightly above the Vieux Carre, but they are close.

A peated, wine-finished highland dram; 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.

Fred’s spirit.

This is the aged distilled grape spirit that my brother in law brought back from XinJiang province in 2018. I had tasted it from the cask on our trip there in 2016.

A friend and former work colleague was over for brunch (social distancing necessitated that I bake 2 rye breads, one for each family). We had some wine but were talking about different spirits (I gave her a belated birthday gift of rums and Lot 40 CS 2018 rye). When we got to cognac, I took the opportunity to let her taste a little of this rarest of rare brandies.

@odysseusunbound, you’ll be happy to know that one of your Lot40 CSs made it to a good home.

Tonight, my wife and I created our own cocktail; “The Bug Zapper” because the color reminds us of the bulbs in our bug zapper. 2oz Empress 1908 Gin, 1/2oz St. Germain (Elderflower liqueur), 1/2 tablespoon Grand Marnier, 2 dashes of Angostura Orange Bitters. Stir with ice, strain into a coupe or martini glass. Garnish with lemon twist and blueberries.