So, what are you drinking now?

@Victor - To me, the mesquite produces a note that is much more woodsmoke (campfire) than traditional Scottish peat notes. Yes, I've had some peated Scotch whiskies that have a campfire note, but the mesquite smoke in the Del Bac reminds me of standing next to the campfire and then, you can still smell it in your hair and on your clothes the next day.

On Saturday night, I went over to my brother-in law's house. We had a dram of Talisker Distillers Edition (2022) - double matured in Amoroso seasoned American oak casks - 45.8% ABV.

Followed by Glen Scotia SMWS 93.177 (8 year - March 2013) "Crossing the event horizon" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 58.6% ABV.

Last night (Sunday), for hot tub happy hour, I made my wife and I Sazerac cocktails with Old Forester Kentucky Straight Rye Whisky 100 Proof, Absinthe rinse, simple syrup, Peychaud's bitters and an expressed lemon peel garnish.

Next I made a Smokey Peaks cocktail with Maker's Mark 46, Bainbridge Island Distillery barrel aged maple syrup and black walnut bitters. I topped the cocktail off with cinnamon bark smoke.

Later, I had a dram of Old Pulteney 12 Year Old - 40% ABV.

I then finished the night with a dram of Lagavulin 16 Year Old - 43% ABV

Having trouble motivating myself to do that last chart...you know, the new visit that needs to populate all the different fields, type in the past history, etc... Computer tech has added so much work to medicine...

Poured myself a tiny measure of North of 7 barrel 16 (Hazmat edition 74.5%), a 4-grain "bourbonne", to use the term coined by @paddockjudge. Hopefully that will kickstart me.

Last night, after answering @Victor 's question about this whiskey.

Whiskey Del Bac (Tuscon, AZ) Ode To Islay Heavily Mesquited American Single Malt finished in a mix of ex-rye, ex-bourbon & 2nd-use Whiskey Del Bac Dorado casks - 55% ABV.

Last night (Tuesday), Dry Fly Distilling 6 year Straight Triticale Whiskey finished with DOMA Coffee Roasting Company beans in the barrel - 45% ABV.

Followed by Copperworks Distilling Company Special Release 33 Pale Malt aged in a single ex-Fino Sherry cask for 30 months - 50% ABV.

Ending the night with Lagavulin 16 Year Old - 43% ABV.

Last night (Wednesday), Whiskey Del Bac (Tuscon, AZ) Dorado Mesquited American Single Malt (46% ABV).

Followed by Ardmore SMWS 66.223 (13 year - Nov. 2008) "Savoury combinations" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 59.7% ABV.

Had to work late tonight writing performance reviews. Now that I’m done, having one celebratory dram before going to bed.

Craigellachie SMWS 44.169 (20 year - Nov. 2002) "In the wooden box" - After 17 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead - 60.6% ABV.

My wife and I's Friday night happy hour consisted of a couple of Smoked Maple Old Fashioned cocktails. 2oz of Maker's Mark 46 bourbon, 1/4oz barrel aged maple syrup, 4 dashes of Angostura bitters and an expressed orange peel garnish. I then took my Smoke Top smoker to put a layer of apple wood smoke in the galss.

As it's International Irish Whiskey Day...

Greetings to you all. It has been a while since I posted anything for some time. I think the last time I posted anything was related to Armagnac. Well, to make up for lost time here is what I am drinking now. I won't go into what I think of it since this is my first pour. I can tell you this is my first go from anything from the Fettercairn Distillery. I can say that my first impressions are extremely positive, especially the nose.

It's good to be back, and I plan to post a bit more regularly.

Cheers.

@ajjarrett Welcome back.

I was thinking as I saw your post, whether you had cracked any of your bottles of Nadurra recently...

Thank you, @Nozinan, it is good to be back. Actually, I have one just next to me, but I haven't opened it yet. I was planning to keep those for my special IV when I get hospitalized for any reason. I guess I shouldn't wait until then because it might not happened.

Not whisky, but for Saturday night's happy hour, I made my wife a couple of dirty martinis. For me, I had a couple of Gin & Tonics. The first one I made with the new gin my wife purchased for me a few weeks ago; Empress Elderflower Rose gin. While I like it neat, I didn't think it worked very well in a G&T. For the second one, I used the original Empress Indigo gin which was much better than the first one.

For last night's (Sunday) happy hour, I made my wife and I a couple of Jerry Thomas Manhattans using Old Forester Kentucky Straight Rye Whisky 100 Proof while we sat in the hot tub (I was also smoking a tri-tip roast in the smoker at the same time.) - Multitasking. :-)

On Monday night, I had a dram of Lagavulin 16 Year Old - 43% ABV.

Last night (Tuesday), I went to a dinner with our Board of Directors and our management team. I first had a cocktail called Strange Magic. It's basically a Black Manhattan, but with Chocolate bitters. Rittenhouse Rye, Amaro Montenegro, Carpano Antica and chocolate bitters. It was very good. It had a slight note of rose water which quickly transitioned to chocolate. I'm not familiar with the taste of Amaro Montenegro, so I'm curious if the rose water note was due to that. It's the only ingredient that I'm not familiar with.

The second cocktail was a dud. Based on the ingredients, it sounded so good, but it was one dimensional at best. It's called Bagpipes in Barbados. It's made up of Plantation pineapple rum, peated Scotch, amaretto, pineapple juice and lemon. All I could taste was pineapple juice. Nothing else.

After I got home, I wanted something to take my mind off the pineapple, so I had a dram of Lagavulin 16 Year Old - 43% ABV.

Last night, after getting home from work, Old Pulteney 12 Year Old - 40% ABV.

Later, after dinner, Dry Fly Distilling 6 year Straight Triticale Whiskey finished with DOMA Coffee Roasting Company beans in the barrel - 45% ABV.

Last night (Thursday) was my wife's Friday, so we enjoyed a couple of Vieux Carre cocktails made with Old Forrester 100 Proof Rye for happy hour.

@bwmccoy I remember many many years ago, I really enjoyed the 12yo Old Pulteney and bought a few bottles when it was on sale. One of these days I will have to go locate them. How was the dram?

@bwmccoy I will post a photo on the thread about buying bottles, but I actually purchased some Old Forester bourbon. I am trying to expand my drinking into areas I thought I would avoid, for the most part, but I took a chance. How was the Old Forester 100 Proof Rye? (You can reply to my questions (one of them was asked about the OP 12yo) in the same message. In other words, you don't have to do what I just did.

However, instead of taking up more thread space, I will attach a photo of what I am currently drinking. And yes, this is my first bottle of Arran, and I am overly impressed with the first pour. And before anyone asks, no, this won't become my new Nadurra 16yo.

@ajjarrett - I didn't buy my OP 12. I went to a Robert Burns event in 2023 and won a basket of 5 bottles of Scotch (Arran's Robert Burns Single Malt, Arran ex-bourbon, Arran Sherry Cask, Speyburn 18 and the OP 12). By the way, your Arran 18 looks amazing! Anyway, at the Robert Burns event, I was underwhelmed with the OP 12 that we had that night, so I wasn't excited about opening my bottle. However, a few weeks ago, I had some friends over and we always try to stump each other with blind tastings. I opened the bottle only to have something that they haven't had at my house before. I rated it an 84 when I first opened it, but I may have to reevaluate that score because the few times I have had it since, I've been pleasantly surprised. It's not a 90 or above, but I think this particular bottle is better than what I originally rated it. Would I buy a bottle, probably not. I think OP's standard releases can vary from batch to batch. Maybe I got lucky and got a good batch, but I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.

As for the Old Forrester 100 Proof, I used to buy Rittenhouse Rye Bottled in Bond, but I got a very bad batch one time. It was so bad when I went back to the liquor store to get a replacement, they had pulled all of the bottles of Rittenhouse off the shelf. While both Rittenhouse and Old Forrester are ok to drink neat, I don't. Both of them are for cocktails. I switched to Old Forrester 100 proof after the issue with Rittenhouse. I wanted another 50% ABV Rye for my cocktails. I also did a head-to-head tasting between Rittenhouse (not the bad batch) and the Old Forrester. I like the Old Forrester a little bit better than the Rittenhouse, so that's what I keep buying for my cocktails. Also, the local liquor store sells the 1-liter bottle of the Old Forrester for a good price, so that's a bonus as well.

I hope my rambling on both the OP and the OF helps. Sorry if I got too wordy.

@bwmccoy Your ramblings are perfectly fine. I enjoyed reading them. Of course, what adds to your ramblings is that I am drinking a quality malt while I read.

Cheers.

Last night (Friday), my wife and I took our son and our nephew to a WHL (minor league) hockey game. After the game, we took my nephew home and hung out with his family for a while. My brother-in-law and I had the following drams.

Glen Deveron / Macduff SMWS 6.71 (14 year - Mar. 2009) "Twin notes of a family favourite" - 1st-fill Spanish oak Oloroso butt - 54.5% ABV.

Strathmill SMWS 100.34 (11 year - Mar. 2010) "Oh, to be in a bodega again..." - After 8 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Oloroso hogshead - 56.7% ABV.

Ardmore SMWS 66.229 (15 year - July 2007) "Tarred and re-feathered" - Matured for 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before being transferred to a first fill American oak Pedro Ximénez hogshead - 59.4% ABV.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.454 (11 year - March 2012) "Friends and a fall bonfire on a Pacific beach" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon hogshead - 58.5% ABV.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.391 (9 year - March 2012) "Dark secrets" - After six years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, finished 3 years in a 2nd-fill ex-Oloroso hogshead - 56.2% ABV.

Glen Scotia SMWS 93.177 (8 year - March 2013) "Crossing the event horizon" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 58.6% ABV.

Talisker Distillers Edition (2022) - double matured in Amoroso seasoned American oak casks - 45.8% ABV.

Lagavulin 11-year Offerman Edition - Charred Oak Casks - 46% ABV.

Tonight for happy hour, I made my wife a couple of dirty martini's. I had a Vesper cocktail using Empress 1908 Indigo gin. That didn't work. Should have used the Botanist instead.

I owe a big thank you to @bwmccoy for keeping this 14 year old thread thriving!

Thank you Sir!

To be honest, 14 years ago I was testing this connosr chat thing and just typed the first thing that popped into my head.

I appreciate ALL the back and forth everyone here has contributed. I wish I could have a dram of every whisky mentioned.

@Wodha - Wow! Thank you for your kind, humbling words. THANK YOU for creating this thread. It’s always great to see you on here!

Tonight, my wife and I went out to celebrate our 19th wedding anniversary. After dinner, I ordered a dram of High West Campfire.

As you all know, or at least those who follow the thread about buying bottles, I posted a photo with two bottles of the Old Forester Single Barrel Barrel Proof. While this post isn't flattering, I will post a photo to prove I did open and pour a wee dram. I am not much of a bourbon drinker, but I do like the C922 ECBP. I even have a few bottles of that. I gambled with the Old Forester SBBP, and my initial neck pour was, "oh god, why did I get this?" At first the nose was curiously complex. I then got a huge flowery, almost strong bouquet scent, and I should have spelled it "B-U-C-K-E-T." I wasn't prepared for that. I started to get some cinnamon and oak, along with vanillas sweet, but the BUCKET aroma was too strong and distracting. I then took a sip and holy moly, it was as if my 'taste buds were just raped' (MASH reference, and yes, it was a Hawkeye quote). My first impressions are quite negative, and I am reluctant to get into it any time soon. It appears I will be gifting that second bottle.

Time to get some sassafras hard candy in my mouth. Yay!

I might wait until tomorrow before I get into something I know I will enjoy. For now, I am happy with a sassafras drop and water.

Last night (Monday), Copperworks Distilling Company Special Release 33 Pale Malt aged in a single ex-Fino Sherry cask for 30 months - 50% ABV.

Tonight, Whiskey Del Bac (Tuscon, AZ) Dorado Mesquited American Single Malt - 375ml (46% ABV).

Whiskey Del Bac (Tuscon, AZ) Ode To Islay Heavily Mesquited American Single Malt finished in a mix of ex-rye, ex-bourbon & 2nd-use Whiskey Del Bac Dorado casks - 55% ABV.

Ardmore SMWS 66.223 (13 year - Nov. 2008) "Savoury combinations" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 59.7% ABV.

@ajjarrett I am sorry that you are not conveniently located to gift the Old Forester to me.

First pours can be notoriously deceptive. I had a first, second, and third similar reaction the first times I tasted Old Weller Antique 107. Then later it became a great favorite of mine. If intensity is the issue, just let it sit a few months and see what happens then. Once you open them these bottles often change a lot. I can't say that you will ever like that Old Forester, but it is almost impossible to know with any certainty whether or not it may evolve in a way that you do like. I have to say that I have been pleasantly very surprised by open bottle positive flavour evolution quite a few times. If the bottle were mine I'd just sit on it indefinitely before reaching any strong conclusions about it.

Last night (Wednesday), I took my employees out for a team outing (karaoke - their choice, not mine ). At the venue, I had a cherry sazerac cocktail consisting of cherry infused Redemption rye, absinthe rinse and bitters. I was worried that the cherry infused rye would be an issue, but that was the least of my concerns. The absinthe was all that I could taste. I even had one of my whisky knowledgeable co-workers try it and they agreed. It just wasn't well made. I switched to an IPA beer after that.

Tonight, my company took all of our employees to a Seattle Kraken (NHL Hockey) game, which happen to be my first NHL game. Unfortunately, we lost. Prior to the game, the company hosted a happy hour. I had three Manhattan cocktails. The first one was made with Westland Kraken American Single Malt whisky. Apparently, they weren't supposed to use the Westland, so the next two were made with McAfee Benchmark Old No. 8 Brand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (40% ABV.) which is made by Buffalo Trace.

Later, a co-worker and I had a dram of the Westland Kraken Single Malt.

Haven’t had a dram since New Year’s Eve for various reasons so had a very small dram of Benromach Contrasts Organic 2023 tonight.

Interesting whisky and aware that my palate might be a bit off but it had a note that very much reminded me of a Rittenhouse Rye I had years ago. Amazing how these flavour memories are retained.

It was freshly opened but had a lovely dry edge to it and a very fruity nose.

It will be fun to see how the bottle airs out and if those notes remain. Cheers all.

Last night (Friday), my family and my brother-in-law's family met up at a family friendly Irish Pub to celebrate St. Patrick's Day a couple of days early. I had a couple of Irish beers with dinner while listening to live traditional Irish music and even a bag piper. Fun times.

After dinner, we went over to my brother-in-law's house where we had the following drams.

Since I don't have any Irish whiskey in my cabinet, we opened a bottle of the next best thing that I own. Dry Fly Distilling (Spokane, WA) O'Danaghers 5 year Single Pot Still Single Cask Celtic-style Whiskey - 45% ABV. I bought this without trying it. It's OK, but even my picky brother-in-law thought it was ok. I wouldn't buy it again, but I'm not pouring it down the drain either.

Old Pulteney 12 Year Old - 40% ABV

Glenburgie SMWS 71.98 (12 year - Feb. 2011) "Wood-panelled library" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 60.1% ABV.

A 13-year Caol Ila from Gordon & MacPhail's Discovery series - 43% ABV.

Ardmore SMWS 66.223 (13 year - Nov. 2008) "Savoury combinations" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 59.7% ABV.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.451 (11 year - Mar. 2012) "Particle accelerator" - After 7 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Spanish oak ex-Oloroso hogshead - 55.8% ABV.