So what AREN'T you drinking now?

@Hewie is it not "WE" poor teachers?

@Nozinan ha, I'm off duty ;)

@Hewie, @OdysseusUnbound, it is obvious to me that you boys were not making effective use of the antiseptic properties of BIG whisky. I expect you will rectify that, soon.

@paddockjudge I'll try to rectify that as soon as I am able

@paddockjudge Yes, anything CS or 60% ABV or higher. So Amrut, Stagg (Sr or Jr), Booker's, Lemon Hart 151...

There's a reason that hand wash stuff is ethanol at 60%...

@paddockjudge I may have to get a bottle of A’Bunadh. I believe Batch 58, which is what’s around me at this point is 61.2%. My Redbreast 12 CS is a measly 57.2 %

@OdysseusUnbound @Hewie - I'm just getting over a nasty chest infection that's lingered on and on. I also teach and it doesn't help that my room is freezing and my lad at nursery - I feel like I need a radiation suit!

Hope you're better soon, Gents!

In a sentence fragment, who can say whether a pronoun is an object or a subject? (And by the way, did you hear that tree falling in the woods?)

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Anywho, here's what I'm not drinking. Or rather, not buying: Caol Ila 12. My window shopping yesterday turned up prices in the $90+ range. WTF? One place that's typically chock-full of good prices had the Caol Ila 12, Lagavulin 16, and Lagavulin DE all on the same shelf at the exact same $90+ price. Get outta here!

Granted, I'm unlikely to ever buy another Caol Ila 12 anyway, as I consider it the second-weakest Islay standard (edging only Bowmore 12)—but come on! Who's buying Caol Ila 12 for $90+ when the likes of Ardbeg Ten is on the next shelf for $48?

In other Islay standard window shopping news, none of the stores I browsed yesterday had any more Laphroaig 10 CS, including the one where I stocked up for $50/bottle a couple months ago. That seems like a bad sign—usually, the 10 CS is available year-round in these parts.

@MadSingleMalt - you lost me at sentence fragment ;)

@MadSingleMalt - you lost me at sentence fragment ;)

I'll have to politely disagree with the Caol Ila assessment though. The bottle I had last xmas was so much better than expected and was gone pretty quickly.

A beautiful salty lemon note - even my partner quite enjoyed it and she pretty much dislikes all whisky.

I enjoyed it that much I've since bought two IBs and am looking to get another.

Batch variance, bad bottle or just different tastes could all play a part though? And yes, if Ardbeg was half the price I'd leave the CI and buy two Ardbegs for sure :)

@MadSingleMalt, you are glad you stocked up on Laphroaig 10 CS now, aren't you?

@RianC , yeah, Caol Ila's whisky is fine & the flavors are nice—most of the IBs I've had have been really good—but the standard 12 is just too watery. I always imagined that if I wrote a review of it, the title would be "FOR the Faint of Heart." And as you say, it's definitely not worth two Ardbeg Tens!

For what it delivers, Caol Ila 12 should be priced down in the Islay basement next to Laphroaig 10. If it was, I'd probably still buy it as an occasional budget pick.

@Victor, indeed! And in fact, I had a glass last night with that thought in mind.

So what am I not drinking now? Any decent whisky! The family is putting up the Christmas tree - an ideal time for a tasty dram. But it's too hot and I still have no sense of smell following a head cold so it's a cold lager for me today.

A beer day for me too. Working up a sweat outside on the property cleaning up after the rash of storms we've had here on the west coast. Just felt like beer was more appropriate than Scotch so I cracked a bottle of Timothy Taylor's Landlord Ale. Just the job.

@BlueNote sweating in Vancouver in December? I thought it'd be below 0C until March for y'all.

@BlueNote That ale has quite a following - a very nice drop. English ales are quite expensive here so I've taken to brewing my own. They are certainly not in the same league as the good real ales, but at least I can make them how I like. I'm not a fan of some of the over carbonated, over hopped, and over priced 'craft' beers that seem to be so popular now.

@Hewie I'm not a fan of hoppy beer. I like big malty dark beers as well as Belgians. I'm on an Oskar Blues Scotch Ale kick at the present. Similar to the Dirty Bastard by Founders.

@casualtorture sounds delicious. I'm working my way through my latest, a double stout - lovely coffee and licorice notes

@casualtorture - I like hopped ale but not the really citric dominant heavily hopped ones like a lot of the US styles.

If you ever see any Fuller's (London) ales I heartily recommend; especially the Bengal Lancer. Awesome beer (IPA) but in the old English IPA style so relatively lightly hopped.

Think you and @Hewie would like the London Porter they do as well. Dark, chocolate, licorice malt, almost stout like.

@RianC I love a good porter! Especially as the days get cold. And I agree I think the US style IPAs are a palate wrecking mouthfull of bitter. Usually if I'm drinking lighter beers its a hefeweizen or Belgian white/wheat ale.

@casualtorture - Always been a stout fan but beginning to really appreciate the Porter style.

If I'm in a hot place then a lighter beer/lager can be just what I need but generally I'm not a fan of wheated beers or lagers - I live in the 'West Country' of England and it's famous for its ciders so I tend to indulge that particular itch when the hot weather comes ;)

Funny how tastes change though isn't it? Wasn't that long ago any 'real ale' was off putting to me and whisky was something I'd only have with copious amounts of ice . . .

@RianC Tastes also change when you meet knowledgeable people who help convince you to try new things. Despite living in Canada my whole life, I had never tried much in the way of Canadian "sipping" whisky (Dissertation, Lot 40, Dark Horse) before I started visiting this site. Forty Creek was the only one. Connosr has been a real education for me, and my life is richer for it. (though my wallet seems to be poorer)

@OdysseusUnbound - Very true! I was saying to Victor recently that this site has been a source of very useful information for a few years now, particularly re. American spirits.

I'm hoping to venture into Canadian whiskies soon and Lot 40 is first on my list thanks to reviews and feedback on here!

It's a pleasure to be contributing and chatting to the good folk of Connosr

@OdysseusUnbound Isn't that the truth! I can "blame" Connosr for probably the accumulation of 80-90% of my collection, and another 10-15% of the blame goes to Ralfy. If it hadn't been for those 2 sources, my "hobby" would have faded out a long time ago...

That said, I'm quite happy with the friends I've made along the way...people I would never have met otherwise, including Copper Cliff (and Canada's) Best Father Ever.

@OdysseusUnbound My experience with Canadian whisky was almost non existing before I became a member of Connosr. Like many Canadians, I even didn't know that there was such a think as a "Sipping Canadian Whisky", "Sipping" and "Canadian whisky" were oxymoron to me. It is true though that in Quebec we only had access to the mass production stuff that were produce for cocktails. It is only recently that the SAQ starts to offer a few of the more palatable Canadian Rye. @paddockjudge has a personal vatting of the best Canadian Rye that has the best nose I encountered period. I have never nosed an American bourbon or whisky, a Scotch, an Irish whisky or a World whisky better than that vatting. Paddockjudge is our Canadian Whisky Ambassador in residence.

@RianC Lot 40 is a great choice but if you can get Wiser's Dissertation, you should favor this one., at least I would. Personally, I find Lot 40 to be too perfumed. I am amazed at the first glasses then it is too much. I find the same exotic notes in Dissertation but with a better balance. I look forward to taste lot 40 CS to see if the higher ABV will give it a better balance; I think it will and if it is the case, my amazement will probably last for the whole bottle and maybe for many more to come.

@Robert99 I don’t get “perfume” with Lot 40, but I guess that just shows how different palates can be. My brother-in-law tried this at my place awhile back as his first “sipper” (i.e. non-mixer, non-shooter) whisky and he liked it, though he found it a bit too “woody” (his word) during the 2nd glass. Then again, my brother, who loves Lot 40 thinks I’m hallucinating when I say I get lots of red apple notes alongside the cinnamon,nutmeg, cloves and black pepper, so maybe I’m crazy.

Edit: if money is not a factor, and I could only have one, I would also prefer the balance of Dissertation (which I scored 90 or 91) to Lot 40 (which I scored 88 or 89)

@Robert99, those are kind words, thank you. The vatting of great Alberta rye was a labour of love. I learned a lot about Alberta Distillers Ltd. product by sampling many variants of their whiskies head to head. I hope some day soon I'll be able to gather another all-star stable of Alberta thoroughbreds to recreate this particular vatting.

For those who might be interested, here is a list of the great Alberta rye labels that were used to create the vatting @Robert99 makes reference to, in order of volume largest to smallest:

Masterson's Straight 10 YO Rye Batch #003 45% abv.

Cooper's Lock Stock & Barrel 13 YO 50.65% abv.

Alberta Premium 25 YO Rye 40% abv.

Jefferson's Straight Rye 10 YO 47% abv.

WhistlePig The Boss Hog 13 YO Straight Rye 60.6%

Alberta Premium 30 YO Rye 40% abv.

@paddockjudge Don't you think that those who likes floral Scotch but find them to light should try top shelves Rye? I am sure many would be charmed.

As for the kind words, they are well deserved.

@paddockjudge I love those unabashedly seventies Alberta Premium bottles. They would go well with gold shag rugs and harvest gold appliances. I think I'm getting the munchies.