So, what are you drinking now?

Yamazaki 12, Lophroaig 18. I knew the Laphroaig 18 would be great, but this Yamazaki is a real barn burner for $50.

@Pudge72 - I strongly recommend having more than one bottle on the go - this beauty blooms and only gets better after being opened for a number of months. I was initially disappointed with this offering; however, I have now become enamoured of this little gem...an affordable alternative to Masterson's and a ten spot cheaper than Legacy.

Good Knight, pj

Just got Glenfarclas 12 Yr for my 25th birthday. Very yummy!

@HughesDePayens - Happy 25th! Hope you had a great birthday.

@indynoir - I totally agree. I'm impressed each time I try the Yamazaki 12. It reminds me of a great Speyside whisky, but is so much bigger.

Tonight, It's PC8 for me. Great stuff!

Drinking a little Old Weller Antique 107, not complex, more of a mixing bourbon.

@bwmccoy Thanks! It was awesome.

My parents wanted to get me a 25 year scotch, but they soon realized the price of it and settled for 12! XD

@GotOak91, you may have gotten a bottle of Old Weller Antique from an off batch...I have some on hand that would curl your hair. In fact, my main bottle of OWA was so intense in flavour that it was one of only 2 or 3 bottles that I have ever gotten that I had to adjust to, and grow into. It is an unfortunate fact that product from big distilleries is not always very uniform.

@Wodha: Littlemill 16yo. @ 46% by Hart Bros. and it is a rather enjoyable 'drop'. Light, zesty and with plenty of wood character (wine cask?) and a pronounced wild honey nose and palate make this an easy drinking style from a Distillery that 'is no more'. The finish is long and nicely integrated for such a light / medium Whisky.

Would I buy it again? Perhaps not! But I'm glad I had the chance to see this expression. I went out to this Liquor Barn to buy a Hart Bros. Rosebank but someone had bought the lot.

@Victor This is true, it could have been from a bad batch. And yes it is quite unfortunate that sometimes macro-distilleries don't produce consistent quality spirits.

@A'bunadhman I have a spare HB Rosebank if you're interested.. I picked up the Littlemill 16 as well although I'm yet to open it. I suspect it's the same one you opened, looking forward to it, closed distillery and all that!

@GotOak91, it is absolutely true for each of us that our direct experience is 100% of what matters to us.

That said, I've found that it is well to take note of differences between the experiences of many and a radically different experience of my own. Specifically, I have often found that if many people feel very strongly that they like a whisky, that there is often something more there for me to experience if I cannot get close to liking that whisky or sharing that common experience. I may have had an outlier sample...either an old oxidised sample, a bad bottle or batch, or some other factor influencing the experience which I have had.

For me there is no getting away from a bad bottle, and even if there is counterbalancing positive experience with that same named whisky at a later date, there is always an uncertainty factor introduced relative to that bottle and consistency of quality if I were to consider purchasing it again in the future. The human mind likes simplicity, and it loves to see a given named whisk(e)y as "very good" or "not very good". The realities are that often a whisk(e)y is great one year, and much less great the next year.

Laphroaig 18

Wonderful stuff, better than I anticipated

@PeatyZealot I had the 18 tonight as well...purchased recently and was so pleasantly surprised I went out and purchased the Quarter Cask tonight. I've come to enjoy the Laphroaig 10 over time but honestly it was one of the last pulled out of the cabinent...the 18 and QC on the other hand have made me a big Laphroig fan. Anyway, had both tonight along with Ancnoc 16 on a Ralfy recommendation...and that was another surprise to the upside.

@Victor: +1, Absolutely! It will take some very good bottles of Glenfiddich 12yo. to dispel my wariness of their Whisky, even though I've got a liter of the 12yo. open (ex. Osaka Duty Free) and it is rather good; it still makes me nervous!

@indynoir Haha nice, I did it in reverse, first tried the QC and loved it, so I was convinced it was going to be a good buy. Even though I was hunting for the Talisker and Caol Ila 18, I wound up with this one and its not a disapointment at all. Even better than I expected. Only criticism: Laphroaig, the brown dye has to go, it has no purpose in a fine whisky like this.

Sitting down at the Society Vaults in Edinburgh with some sexy cask strengths to come!

@SquidgyAsh lucky you!) last time I've been to Scotland I was too young to appreciate a good dram) and now rather sooner than later I'll come there again for a whisky-trip)) anyways, enjoy your journey!

@SquidgyAsh - so jealous! :-) Seriously, very happy for you. Hope you have as great a time as my wife and I did when we were there. Great place! Highly recommend you have Lunch or Dinner, if you have time, at their other facility in Edinburgh (28 Queen Street). The food was amazing and the staff perfectly paired some of the Society bottlings with our food selections. A very memorable experience. Cheers!

Starting the night with Oban 14

After dinner and dessert (Clam Linguini and Tiramisu), Lagavulin 16. As the actor, Brian Cox calls it, the cognac of whisky. tv.esquire.com/videos/…

I had to drive to Highland Park, Illinois today, so one guess as to how that influenced my choices for tonight.

Started out with HP 12 (world's greatest bang-for-the-buck Scotch), and followed with a 1991 Signatory IB, which I find milder than my next dram, the great HP 18.

Think I'll have one more to close out the night. Sherry? Peat? A coin toss at this point. HP puts you in the mood for most anything.

Finishing the night with PC8.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Yesterday,I enjoyed a wonderful tasting with Victor, Dramlette and Dramlene. I received a crash course in the creme de la creme of of American whiskey: drams of nearly every Van Winkle I have heard of, every member of the BTAC collection (except for Stagg, which I tried a couple of nights ago), Parker's Heritage Collection 18, Old Potrero 18th Century Rye, Ancient Ancient Reserve...I'm only cutting the list short because I need to leave the computer now, but it was actually longer. Many thanks to Victor, Dramlette and Dramlene, who were so much fun and shared such a wonderful tasting with me!

Also: Arran Sauternes, OGD 114, Balvenie 15, Isle of Skye 12

Enjoying a large sample of Kilchoman Machir Bay, courtesy of @jonathan, while I await a bottle of it becoming availabe for me to buy locally. Just as good as I remembered it...and a tip of the Glencairn to @BlissInABarrel, and @jonathan, of course.

Lagavulin 12 2011 finally! I'm in heaven:)

@Wodha: I am thoroughly enjoying a Glenfarclas 105 side by side with an a'bunadh #44 and though this is not the tasting finale, I lined them up to see how they are shaping up, what they say to a little rain water and how they are mellowing out. Not a lot in it - both excellent at this stage though the G/F really started to impress when there was not much left: And, I tried to keep all things equal, identical glasses, 3 small teaspoons of rain, everything spotless but the a'bunadh has been open longer than the G/F; it surprises me as I thought the a'bunadh would be the star at this stage, not so...

Of course, I'll do this again, in a month or so but I have to say that I was mightily impressed with the development and flavor of the Glenfarclas; this may swing to the a'bunadh in time -They are both fine Whiskies!

@Victor Awesome I'm glad you like the Kilchoman Machir Bay my admiral (wife) and I love it and have several bottles in my cabinet. Funny I can't get Octomore here and you can't get Kilchoman there. These state liquor commissions are hosed up. :)

BenRiach 25 21 year Rosebank (SMWS 25.63) 40 year Longmorn (SMWS 7.55) 25 year Port Ellen (Old Malt Cask bottling)

Glenfarclas 12yr old. Wow this was a blast from my past, just as I remembered it. Great whisky for a relaxing evening. :)