So, what are you drinking now?

@MRick I agree. I was there a few years ago. It’s a very industrial looking, unpretentious distillery, but man, they put out some great stuff. So hard to find these days.

Our youngest has had to be CV19 tested today - bless him, he's not looking too good!

An afternoon pour of Deanston 12 followed by a Glen Scotia 15 brought some much needed relief and cheer. Two excellent whiskys.

@RianC

Touch wood for your youngest.

Best wishes for a negative test result, and hope he get well soon.

topic of thread....water.

Oaxaca Old-Fashioned

This afternoon I had a zoom tasting with a duo I have dubbed the professor & the distiller. We went over 3 blind samples I sent them.

-Pierre Ferrand Renegade barrel #2 A blend of 7yr& 25yr old cognac's that have been finished in a chesnut barrel. Really unique an interesting wood profile.

-Shelter Point Single Barrel Rye KWM cask #343. Sourced rye from Alberta Distillers that was re-racked in ex-bourbon cask in BC for a a couple of years. Solid!

• Plantation Réunion 12yr old High Ester Rum from Isle de la Réunion finished 1 year in a Willet rye cask, an aromatic bomb!

Tonight I'm sipping on Talisker 8 while making broth for Tonkotsu style Ramen...attempting the whole thing in the pressure cooker as an experiment.

Just catching up on the thread

@bwmccoy the Joseph Magnus Cigar Blend sounds like something I should try, those are all the kinds of notes I would enjoy in a bourbon. I believe this a blend that was put together by Nancy Fraley she's a freelancer blender with a solid reputation.

@TracerBullet my condolences for your friends passing.

@RianC fingers crossed my friend.

@RianC My best healing thoughts coming your way for your lad.

@MRick and @BlueNote - Thanks. Yes, the Ben Nevis is a winner. My only regret is not buying more than the one bottle!

@cricklewood - as you probably know, bourbon is not my area of expertise, but I really liked that Joseph Magnus. The price is steep, but it is beautiful whisky.

Yesterday (Saturday), started off with a couple of Black Manhattan’s, made with Maker’s Mark 46, before dinner.

After dinner, a dram of Kilchoman USA Small Batch #3 (50% Port hogsheads, 47% bourbon barrels and 3% sherry casks) - 48.9% ABV.

Tonight, started off with a couple of Vieux Carre cocktails, made with Rittenhouse rye, before dinner.

After dinner, a dram of Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength 2020 Festive Season Edition (Santa hats on sheep). 58.6% ABV.

Last night was the breath before the plunge back into the madness we live here with 5 people doing online schooling in the same home. (I generally don't drink on weeknights when I'm not on holidays).

• Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado Sherry: I sipped a generous pour while preparing dinner. It's still delicious after being open for a month.
• St Lucia Distillers Chairman's Reserve "The Forgotten Casks" rum (40% abv): Richard Seale told me that he knows for a fact that St Lucia Distillers don't add any sugar or flavourings, and since he owns/operates one of their "competitors", I take him at his word. This is an easy sipping rum, with lots of butterscotch, some coffee notes, and some charred oak flavours.
• Appleton Estate 12 Year "Rare Casks" (43% abv): This is one of my go-to rums. It's still a lower proof offering, but it just hits the right spot for relaxed sipping. Oranges, cherries, green banana funkiness, allspice, caramel, raisins, and a bit of tobacco.

@OdysseusUnbound I’ve found that sherry generally holds up well after being opened. The exception is fino which deteriorates quickly.

@MRick Yeah, I've heard that. It's the reason I haven't taken the plunge on a bottle of Fino. I'm the only one here who drinks Sherry (my wife finds it awful). Maybe once Covid is under control and I can see my parents and siblings I'll get a bottle of Fino since we all drink pretty much anything (with the notable exception of my father who sticks to beer).

@OdysseusUnbound Maybe you should plan a trip to Toronto. I hear that they have lots of Fino at the LCBO and there might be a few bottles of whisky you could take back with you...

@OdysseusUnbound I always keep a bottle of dry oloroso sherry on hand, mostly for cooking, but it is quite a versatile wine. I have been amazed at how many long months my bottles have held up. And yes, oloroso sherry is generally dry unless someone artificially adds sweetness to it.

@Victor I really enjoy Oloroso, but my preferred brand (I've only tried 3) is Hidalgo Faraon and it's not regularly available in Ontario.

@ajjarrett - Thanks! All clear now although we had a big scare on the weekend. A visit to A&E at midnight, on a Saturday, mid-lockdown is always fun ... not!

I think my nerves are just about thawing

@RianC Glad to hear that everything turned out well. You've earned a large dram of stress reliever.

Yesterday, with @Maddie:

1) Milk & Honey Elements, Sherry, Tel Aviv, Israel, 46% ABV. This new bottle was tight. It will probably be a lot better with a few weeks air time and a chance to relax

2) Milk & Honey Cask Strength Single Cask # 2017-0197, Tel Aviv, Israel, 59% ABV. Nice one right away, but will likely also benefit when it has some time to relax

3) Pumpkin Seasonal Spirit (whiskey base with spices and pumpkin) 45% ABV from Great Lakes Distilling, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This stuff is a lot of fun, and actually quite enjoyable, a bit surprisingly

4) Buffalo Trace White Dog, Wheated (Bourbon) Mash, 57% ABV. This is the unaged spirit for the Weller and Van Winkle lines of wheated bourbon. This white dog is milder and smoother than the BT Mash Bill # 1 White Dog for standard rye-containing bourbon, which becomes standard Buffalo Trace bourbon, George T. Stagg, and others

5) Defiant Single Malt, 41% ABV from Blue Ridge Distilling in Bostic, North Carolina. I reviewed this same bottle 6 years ago and disliked it to the tune of a 68 point score. Air has been surprisingly kind to this bottle. Now I'd rate it 84. Will wonders never cease? One more testament to the extreme "moment in time" snapshot limited validity of every review ever posted. Those were two very different whiskies I sampled, the one in 2014 and the one I had yesterday. Same label, same bottle, different whiskeys

6) Corsair Rasputin Experimental Whiskey 43% ABV made from Russian Imperial Stout Beer and passed through hops vapour. I still love this bottle of my sister's. Very interesting and unusual stuff. Thank you distiller, owner, and Connosr member @DarekBell!!!

7) Balcones Single Malt, 51.6% ABV, from Waco, Texas

8) Maker's Mark Cask Strength, 55.8% ABV, a newly opened bottle. I like this bottle of @Maddie's better than I liked @Nock's bottle of Maker's Mark Cask Strength, but I am not enough a fan of the flavour profile to want a bottle of this for myself

9) 2010 Release J. P. Wiser's Legacy, 45% ABV. Heaven, absolute Heaven

10) Lorenzo IngA Grappa di Gavi di Gavi, 40% ABV.

11) Lo Chardonnay di Nonino Grappa 41% ABV. One more grappa

12) G & M 1998 Mortlach Cask Strength 12 years old, 57.5% ABV...sooooooo much better than my bottle of OB Mortlach 12 yo

13) Clear Creek Distillery, formerly in Portland Oregon, now in Hood River, Oregon, Douglas Fir Eau de Vie, 47.73% ABV Wonderful! This creates its own category

@Victor Nice line up. Having gathered a few Milk and Honey expressions myself, those 2attracted my attention. I think it would be great to sit down with you and your sister and taste those 2 expressions next to the newmake, standard release, a young malt and a distillery cask bottling. And I'd throw in aged and unaged gin...

@Nozinan I look forward to it.

@Victor - When I opened my bottle of M&H Elements Sherry, it had an industrial, rubber note to it. I was very disappointed, but even just a week later, when I revisited it, that was completely gone, thankfully. It’s a much better whisky with even just a little air exposure.

Tonight, a couple of drams of Bushmills SMWS 51.15 (16 year - May 2002) "Boiled sweets and cut flowers" - First-fill barrel - 56.4%. First glass with a few drops of water. Second dram was without water. There’s a little more of an alcohol note with water, surprisingly. I previously rated this an 89. I made need to raise that a little. It is tasting really good tonight, especially without water. It has more depth and complexity than most Irish whiskies.

@bwmccoy that is reassuring to hear about the M & H Elements Sherry. Thank you!

Tonight with 3 friends:

1) Oban 14 OB 43% An average batch

2) Fortaleza Blanco Tequila 46% ABV; very nice, and great to have one of the higher ABV products available

3) Glenlivet Nadurra Peated Finish 61.5% ABV I had trepidation, but I liked it quite a lot

4) Lagavulin 8 48% ABV. Completely OK stuff

5) Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batch # 012, 60.1% ABV. I wanted to wear my Laphroaig headband while drinking this, but misplaced it. Maybe next time.

6) Aberlour A'bunadh Batch # 68, 61.5% ABV. Another enjoyable batch

7) Ardbeg Galileo, 49% ABV

8) Willett 4 yo Family Estate Batch Rye; excellent, as always

9) 50/50 blend of Jack Daniels Single Barrel and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. Yes, it works.

10) Smoke Wagon Uncut Unfiltered Bourbon, 57.43% ABV. This is one of the new blended bourbon products, in this case from 6 to 12 yo barrels of MGPI bourbon. Very very nice

11) Kinmen kaoliang unaged sorghum spirit, 58% ABV

12) Another kaoliang. This one is from Beijing and I cannot read the label 52% ABV

13) Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal, 46% ABV. So good; I'll be sorry when this bottle is gone

14) Mezcal Artesanal Mezcalosfera 48.29% ABV. I paid $ 160 for this bottle of mezcal. Tonight it tasted like it was worth it. It seems to have relaxed since @bwmccoy had a taste

15) Yamazaki 12 yo, 43% ABV. It is a nice whisky, but it is hard to believe this stuff now costs four times what I paid for it in 2011

@Victor - I had to go back and look at my pictures to see which Mezcal that was, but you’re correct, that wasn’t my favorite that we tasted that day. :-)

Tonight, killed off my bottle of Woodinville Whiskey Company Straight Bourbon Whiskey finished in Madeira casks - 53.27% ABV.

@bwmccoy yes I remember that as though it were yesterday.

@Victor How was the Ardbeg Galileo, 49% ABV?

@TracerBullet I have always liked Ardbeg Galileo. It was a big-time controversial whisky when it was released. One tasting panel named it best whisky in the world. Some people rated it 100 points out of 100 points. Others didn't like it. One said that it didn't quite make it to "good" according to his taste.

Here was my review:

connosr.com/ardbeg-1999-galileo-12-year-ol…

Drive the 40 minutes down here and you are welcome to taste it for yourself.

@Victor reading that review from 8 years ago, I was amazed at the regular Oogie price you mentioned of $64. If only they stayed that way. I think last time I bought an oogie it was $89.99.

@casualtorture - I’d buy it at $90! Here it is $110 + tax = $135 out the door!

@Victor I think that qualifies for the epic tasting thread.

@bwmccoy Me too, in fact I’d probably buy a case at $90. With tax it’s over $150 here.