So what AREN'T you drinking now?

@Nozinan Their single malt was good, yes. Haven't tried their grain whisky yet.

@Nozinan Their website shows their offerings of spirit. Subjectively, I thought their double barreled single malt was full bodies and rich in flavour, bottled at 50%, aged for 6 years and finished for 83 days in Quail Gates Pinot Noir barrels. There standard 46% offering had smoke and salt on the finish. The triple distilled Montfort DL 141 grain was OK. It reminded me of Teeling single grain. The cask strength was sold out. I think KWM or ZYN have it on offer. Overall, their product is young given that they are a "new" distillery but, shows potential for very good flavour development with longer barrel aging. The column still they are planning will be for the production of gin. My wife enjoyed the Sunshine Liqueur sample which, was drunk rather quickly.They use JD barrels for aging their new make but, are planning on using barrels from 4R, HH, and JB. PM me if you decided to give them a try. I have a code for a 10% discount which would cover shipping cost.

Just because I'm sure everyone has been on the edge of their seat wondering about my missing English Whisky Co bottle, I want to report that I found it safe & sound last night.

It seems that I had gotten ahead of the curve a bit and put it into the club's traveling whisky suitcase weeks ago, in anticipation of opening it during our October club night. As I was prepping things last night, there it was, staring at me from the depths of said suitcase, making me feel like a durn fool.

Apologies to all the guests to my house over the past few weeks whom I was silently suspecting of being a whisky thief!

@MadSingleMalt PHEW! I was twisting and turning in some cold sweats, projecting your drama on my potential upcoming move here... now, I am serene again!

@RikS I tell you, The SWMC is the way to go...

Amrut Intermediate Sherry...I bought a bottle on my trip this week but I shipped it along with a couple others I just had to buy but had no room for in my suitcase. I just wish I had actually packed this with me so I could have a dram right about now.

Friends from Montreal brought smoked salmon from the Victoria Fish market yesterday. This morning on the way home from my son's basketball game we stopped at one of the only places that sells decent Montreal wood over bagels. I'm enjoying the fruits of my efforts now.

This would go really well with Bruichladdich 10 YO, or Bowmore Tempest, or maybe even Caol Ila CS. But it's 1130 am, darn it!

@Nozinan Ohhhh you're one of those guys? Not a drop of alcohol past the lips before 12pm? Because what happens then, the heaven's fall??

@talexander, you're like the little devil on his shoulder leading him into temptation.

@cricklewood Yeah, I get that a lot.

@talexander it’s not that, but i have to drive this afternoon and if i go to jail I won’t be able to sip anything from my collection. I’ve drammed in the morning before. Mind you, it’s more like “into the morning” with some hard core connosrs, some of which with whom you are very well axquainted.

Amrut ------ and --------

Two bottles I opened with my BIL and am saving for a modest tasting tomorrow. I took some tylenol and anti-inflammatories today and just didn't feel great (on call last night). But I poured the first for my niece (she said it was one of her favourite whiskies ever) and the other for my uncle, who had it with ice.

No one else gets to put ice (or ginger ale, @TAlexander) in this calaber of whisky. But I love my uncle more than any bottle of whisky and he gets the good stuff when he comes here, no matter what he does to it.

Tyrconnell 16 YO 46%

I was told to keep this after it was inadvertently left at my home at the EPIC tasting. In homage to this gift I hoped to do it as my first review of expressions arising from the tasting. I also was captivated by its excellent nose. But charting got in the way (@bluenote - I COULD have something powerful to power me through my work but I can't review something and chart at the same time - I've tried), then driving my daughter for a lesson, then putting them to bed... you get the picture. now it's too late.

Just as well, my liver is probably still recovering from Saturday.

@Nozinan Yes, you might accidentally put your review notes on the chart and your charting notes on connosr. But I suppose one of your patients could have some sort of nose problem or be at the end of a long finish.

@BlueNote More likely the latter...

@Nozinan I suppose Sunday went well. I hope you had fun, my heart was with you.

@Robert99 It did. I was extremely tired. I would say the Saturday went even better!

4 years ago my father died. We ended the mourning period with a toast to him with Canadian Club Premium served in a tumbler with ice the way he used to drink it. While I was out of the room my brother let my kids taste it. Possibly their first taste of whisky.

Since that I’ve always had a 200 cc bottle on hand (this is the second) and on the anniversary of his death I pour some into a tumbler with ice, put it next to his picture, and steal a sip or 2 like I did over 40 years ago.

Tonight I’m on-call so no sipping, but I prepared his drink the way he liked it and my daughter decided to taste it. She liked it, which worries me a little.

איך בענק נאָך דיר פּאַפּאַ

@Nozinan That's a very moving tribute, my friend. And I don't think we need to worry about our kids - I think both mine and yours are learning this can be one of the finer things in life, rather than a habit to get hammered on (which was what I was seeing in my family, as a child).

@talexander although, when they see us at our wild EPIC tastings...

@Nozinan what a nice way to celebrate his memory and to keep your children connected to it.

14 years in my case and I still think about him all the time.

As for your kids and whisky, I think the example you set is more important. My daughter recently remarked she'd never seen me drunk and I told her it was as it should be. I never cared for her to see me that way, she learned to appreciate good wine and spirits without going all out.

So many things on my to drink list. And I'm not on call all week!

But I came down with a cold Saturday and I still can't taste anything properly. Too bad because I have 4 reviews I really want to finish, and so much more to taste.

Guinness.

I'm on call. My wife is making a Guinness cake, recipe courtesy @Fiddich1980.

It calls for 250 cc of the beer. The cans come in 500 cc. So since I can't drink it, she doubled the batch...

@Nozinan damn, Ms. Nozinan don't play around!

@Nozinan FYI The Guinness Cake recipe. The flavour can be adjusted or altered by using dark Porter or another dark beer.

@fiddich1980 I can attest, I used a coffee & milk stout from a local brewery with much success.

@fiddich1980 Why mess with success?

@Nozinan Why not? I used a Dark Porter once and the flavour was deeper and richer. I have not been able to find the same Porter which was an Irish Dark Porter.

@fiddich1980 something tells me there will be many opportunities to experiment in the future.... and we will take them.

@fiddich1980 this recipe may need to be shared - it sounds like a winner! Dark beer and cake combo - what's not to like