So, what are you drinking now?

Compass Box Great King Street Artist's Blend. Wife and kids in bed. Quietly celebrating a nice business deal finalized today. Cheers.

@Krau - Congrats!

Tonight, I'm having a 10 year Caol Ila from SMWS (53.157) "Paint your own picture", distilled Dec. 7th, 2000, followed by Bruichladdich PC8 and finishing up the night with Bruichladdich Octomore Orpheous. A peat trifecta!

I recently replenished my supply of the Ardbeg Big Three, and I'm enjoying the last few drams of my old bottles of the 10, the Corryvreckan, and the Uigeadail tonight. These three make me feel sorry for those who aren't whisky drinkers.

Blanton's Original 46.5% abv. and what a gorgeous 'drop'! This was hugely Vanillan when opened but in large glass has blossomed into something quite magical. Barrel # 271, bot. #297, 3-8-12, Warehouse H, Rick #10. This is so delicious!

Slainte!

Longrow CV My very first Campbelltown and I really love it already. Some character in this one, quite complex and it keeps evolving in the glass, great stuff!

Agree on the Longrow CV PeatyZealot. My bottle is down to the last third and it seems to be getting better all the time.

I just opened my anCnoc 12 last night and I find it quite different from anything I've had before. Straight out of the bottle it didn't grab me and several hours later a second dram was about the same. It seemed quite thin and left a bit of a tart apple taste on the finish. I did not add any water as it is 40%ABV. Any tips on this one would be welcome. I should say I had it right behind some Balvenie Signature 12 which is a more full bodied, sherry finished dram.

The Black Grouse....jury is still out just started but this one not going anywhere.

it was a japanese masterclass for me. 6 drams from Nikka. we had: From the Barrel Pure malt black pure malt white yochi 10 miyagiko 10 and Takesturu 12.

Aberlour 16, near the end of the bottle with a month of oxidation (Noticing some change, positive change though). I've noticed a longer finish with a slightly bitter (in a good way) dark chocolate note along with the noted spicy-fruity ending.

@BlueNote I recently discovered both the anCnoc 12, and 16 yr single malts, and truth be told I much prefer the more youthful expression.

The 12 yr anCnoc is not overly complex, but yet I really do enjoy the vanilla/citrus/malty flavour this whisky provides, and for roughly $40 (give or take a few $ either way) - I find this to be a very good value, and it rises to the top when compared to the 12 yr Glenlivet, 10 yr Glenmorangie, 12 yr Balvenie DBL Wood, 12 yr Aberlour, and 12 yr Dalmore.

@Volks Sounds freaking awesome. I have had the only 3 Japanese malts available to me so far, and they have been great. Hoping to pick up the Hibiki 12 YO blended over the weekend. Thanks for the reviews!

@Onibubba thats another good'n the Hibiki. im sure it will treat you very well

Tonight is a bit of mixing it up. A touch of 2012 Flaming Heart. A splash of 2012 Lagavulin DE. And to top it off, an Ardbeg Uggie/Beist mix I bottled a few weeks ago. Just...trying...to get...the portions...right. That's meant to be said in a William Shatner voice, BTW.

@rigmorole Your writing style is very "Hemingway-esque" in a way I must say. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

2FMichael. Thanks for your thoughts on the anCnoc 12. My buds might have been off last night. I'll stick with it.

Tonight I enjoyed my last dram of Uigeadail. Gotta go shopping tomorrow.

Posting with @SquigyAsh about Old Potrero 18th Century Style Whiskey was enough to make me reach for my open bottle of batch J. My palate is very clear on this Sunday morning...so...wow, this is mind-blowing, nose, palate, finish...all of it. This is one drink that you really need to be ready for...

@Victor Such a sexy little american whiskey. Too bad more people don't know more about it. Mind you that means more for you and me!

@SquidgyAsh, yes it does mean more for us I do hope. Old Potrero 18th Century is not for the faint of heart, though, and may require a bit of an internal adjustment from previous whisk(e)y settings for a lot of people. Big Flavours guys and gals are the primary audience here.

@Ash I am very happy to hear that you will apparently be able to obtain full bottles of Old Potrero in Australia. Let me know which batches you get to try. They do vary a good bit one from another, but they are all intense, and I do like them all.

@SquidgyAsh, Dramlette just walked into the door, so I gave her a dram of the 18th Century. Upon tasting, she commented, "Don't you know (that) God is real?" She is very spiritual, you know.

@Victor Hahaha I love it! God is indeed real and he lives in whisky! Currently I'm killing the last of my Glenlivet Nadurra. I'd heard so many awesome things about this whisky and I've tried so very hard to enjoy this whisky, but it's just not for me sadly. However on other news less then 3 weeks to go before I'm in Scotland!!

@PeatyZealot I had my first bottle of Longrow CV recently and loved it. Easy drinking and oh so tasty.

@Victor Well I'll be damned. It's a good thing we're all hanging out talking about this stuff. So I can buy Bulliet Rye for less than half the cost of Templeton and enjoy the same excellent beverage? It's a ruse!

From Wikipedia:

Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana, LLC (LDI) is a distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. The company was founded in 1847 and currently produces a range of distilled beverages.[1]

One primary product of LDI is a 95% rye whiskey, which is bottled under various brand names, including Bulleit, Templeton, Filibuster, High West, James E. Pepper, Redemption, and Smooth Ambler.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…

@SquidgyAsh, that's the Old Potrero talkin', sayin' that Dramlette "...walked into the door" instead of Dramlette "...walked in the door."

That would be so difficult going to Scotland and having to decide what you are bringing back...with customs "and all".

@Victor It is my friend! I've already got 7 bottles waiting for me over there, however for the most part I've said customs be damned! I've got 3000 pounds to play with and mind you I have a few "I'm going to get one of these" whiskies, i.e older Talisker, Glenfarclas 1981 Family Cask, Brora, and a few others I must have, but other then that I'm planning on just playing! Blending my own whisky, quite a few self bottles, if I can some older Ardbegs, etc plus on the way home we stop off in Singapore for the Auld Alliance where whiskies from the 1920's await!

@Wodha, those LDI ryes are not exactly the same as one another, though I do believe that you can usually identify that distillery by taste. And you can pick out an LDI young (3, 4, or 5 yo) Willett Family Estate Rye whiskey by taste also. Even though there are strong familial similarities I would much rather drink a Willett, Bulleit or Templeton, than, say, a Redemption Rye. And I understand from Chuck Cowdery's blog that the new (LDI) George Dickel Rye is supposed to have used the Lincoln County Process for that expression, which I haven't yet tasted. That should produce quite a bit different taste. I also would think that the yeast strains are likely to be different for each of these expressions. Think of the 20-plus bourbons made at the Buffalo Trace distillery. There appear to be only a couple of mashbills used. The rest is primarily the differences in taste produced by the different strains of yeast.

For a long time I wasn't crazy about the LDI ryes, but they do seem to get fruitier and fruiter with oxidation, and I do love that big fruitiness of which they are capable. Also, I did finally get a bottle of Templeton Rye last year, after wanting it for about 2 years.

@Victor Thank you for the details. I get in rye moods. I've recently been making a point of buying different bottles instead of always getting my favorite, Templeton. I'm quite happy with the Bulleit 95 Rye for half the price. The wife and I are remodeling our house for the remainder of the year and she's more aware of my whisky spending than normal. 2014 should see my return to the top shelf bottles as my man cave will be fully functional and ready for stocking.

@Wodha

Yes I really love it too, just added my review of it. It took a few drams to get to the bottom of it, but it was quite worth the 'effort'

Had a tasting tonight and it was really awesome!

The list:

Compass Box Asyla Tullibardine Burgundy Tomatin 12 Whisky Agency Speyside Redbreast 12 Cask Strength AD Ratray Mortlach 17 Cask Strength AD Ratray Bowmore 21 first fill Sherry Cask Strength

Amazing night and from now on that demonic Bowmore 21 is my all time favourite Scotch so far by far.

Last night I opened and tasted a bottle of Aberlour 12 NCF. I'm now pretty sure that it is double cask matured, although the bottle doesn't specify. Along with the sherry, there are also some nice vanilla and spice notes. It's really delicious stuff, especially after sitting for twenty minutes..

Glenmorangie Finealta.