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Things to do while isolated...

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@RianC
RianC replied

Good idea for a thread @tfahey1298!

We've not much of a garden, more of a back yard, but ive been collecting old twigs, dead plants and the like and chopping up the cut down hazelnut branches from last year. This relieves boredom (chance would be a fine thing, although I'm not complaining - my heart goes out to all those individuals who are totally self-isolated) and provides a surprising amount of kindling for the fire.

I also made a periscope for my three year old. Amazingly it works and his painting skills were not too shabby either! We also baked some scones which are just out the oven and smell amazing!

How are other folk passing the time?

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

Oops, just realised none of that is whisky related but we did have a wee tasting earlier in the week so there! laughing I've also been watching a bit called SteveMRE (or similar) on YouTube who eats old army rations!?! Sounds crazy but, a bit like Bob Ross, I go d it really relaxing and quite interesting. OK, yeah, we're only a week in ... blush

Mmmmmmm ...

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

Does it have to relate to whisky? Well, this selection of freshly baked oatmeal, oatmeal chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies should go with any whisky. Maybe I will test it later...

4 years ago 4Who liked this?

Jonathan replied

We're cooking as well. Tonight is green curry, and tomorrow is black vinegar chicken. A very dear friend gave us a bottle of black vinegar, and we are putting it to good use. I'm sipping Bulleit bourbon while sautéing. Except for loud noises (cops, copters, Nat Guard, Ambulances), there is little sign of life outside, and this is Baltimore. Occasionally, someone yells something from a chopper. And we have a neighbor with a great voice who sings for Lent. This could be worse.

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

Jonathan replied

@RianC That actually sounds like a wonderful day under any circumstances

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@Jonathan - Yeah all the family time has been quite nice so far - I'm thankful for it really! A singing neighbour? Sounds entertaining! They'd probably get an old boot thrown at them round here and told to get back inside smile

It's the longer term financial implications that are slightly concerning but, hey, we just gotta roll with the punches for a bit and see how things lie once the dust settles. Keeping occupied seems vital.

4 years ago 1Who liked this?

@PeterG7
PeterG7 replied

I think I'm going slighly stir crazy. The highlight of my day is perusing the LCBO scotch pages.

4 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

Did anybody tune in to the live Virtual Whisky Festival? I was going to but being live at 2 am in the morning here in NZ wasn't very appealing. I'll be replaying it via YouTube later with a few drams of my own. Looks like a nice way to spend a few hours

youtu.be/1HXoLCGm6e0

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@Hewie, August is a quiet month on Connosr. How are you doing?

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

@paddockjudge hey there. Thanks for checking in. I'm feeling rather bogged down with the business of life at the moment. NZ had gone 102 days without any community transmission of COVID. Not COVID free as some people returning to NZ from overseas were tersting positive but have been in mandatory managed isolation. As of yesterday we now have 4 unexplained cases in the community so we have increased our alert level (again) :sigh: On the whisky front I've been enjoying a bottle of Kilkerran CS I picked up. I'm finding I'm a bit over finishes and heavy cask influence and tending more towards whiskies where the true distillery character really shines through. This fits the bill nicely and is such a good buy in terms of quality to price ratio. I plan to pick up in the next couple of days a Deanston 12 as a friend keeps saying how much they enjoy it and again it's all ex-bourbon casks. I'm still waiting for the Longrow Red and Springbank 12 CS to reach our shores - I understand that the shipment didn't get dispatched from the distillery prior to their lockdown and so it's still waiting there. I've also just heard that Dave Brooms doco "Amber Light" is available here in NZ free to air so I'm planning to watch that this weekend wit some whisky friends with a few drams. Anyone seen it? Thoughts?

3 years ago 2Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@Hewie, I think all of us are in unfamiliar territory. With more time on my hands I have a sharper focus on detail, like obtaining check-bids for automotive repairs instead of just trusting my go-to-mechanic. ....I hope this doesn't catch up to me....not sure if you shop around much for automotive repairs with the unique regulation of, and high safety standards for, automobiles in NZ.

Thanks for the heads-up on Broom, I'll be looking into that.

I hope you get access to those "new" releases soon. I don't spend a lot of time, nor money, chasing Islay whiskies. Don't get me wrong, I like them, but not my preferred style. With the help of friends and family I have been able to get Cooper's Choice 2005 Islay 12 YO 56.5% (rumored to be a tea-spooned Laphroaig) and Samaroli "S Peaty Blended Malt 45% abv (distilled 1995, bottled 2016, a blend of Speyside, Orkney, and Islay distilleries). I'm looking forward to these and will be sharing them with friends who have a greater appreciation of smoke and peat. I'm more of a Talisker fan, a bit of a sweet tooth when it comes to whisky. Octomore 4.2 blew my mind. I'm a repeat offender with Ardbegs Oogie and Corry. @Nozinan has some delicious Caol Ilas which he has generously shared. Springbanks are well built whikies. The "K" distilleries don't get me as excited. I've had some bottles of the softer Laphroaigs and found them more to my liking, e.g. Laphroaigs Cairdeas 2015, Lore, 18 YO green, and the good fortune to have tried the 25 YO (thank you @Victor and @Maddie). When it comes to peat and smoke I'm not a punch-me-in-the-face kind of guy.

Good Hunting and Stay Safe!

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@paddockjudge "K" distilleries? Like Kilchoman? Kinninvie?

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Hewie
Hewie replied

@paddockjudge when I look at my open bottles they are mostly from Springbank (including Hazelburn, Longrow and Kilkerran too). They are also mostly peated to varying degrees (although not necessarily heavily peated). So today I picked up another 'cheaper' bottle of unpeated, 100% ex-bourbon cask, NCF, no added clour, 46.3% ABV whisky AKA Deanston 12. Looking forward to giving it a whirl tonight. I need to give Talisker another run - I don't think I've had any for at least a couple of years now. Maybe I should pick up a bottle of the 10 and see if it still hits the spot for me.

3 years ago 3Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@Hewie, Hazelburn mmm delicious, especially the Rundlet and Kilderkins releases. Seems to be a theme building here, I’m not peat or smoke averse, but I do gravitate towards the sweeter styles. I’ve enjoyed all the Deanston’s I’ve tried and often use their Virgin Oak in vattings.

The peaty and Smokey bruisers on my shelf get a good workout during the coldest days of winter. They are a necessity here in Northern Ontario.

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

I’m not sure if this is the right thread for this comment but here goes. I’m re-reading “Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert” and I was struck by this curious sentence:

“Air seeping slowly into the barrel reacts with ethanol to create acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate, those green apple notes (some liken them to nail polish) that denote long-aged whisky.”

What? Maybe I’m crazy, but nail polish and green apples smell NOTHING alike to my nose. Am I nuts?

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@OdysseusUnbound is that DDK? I would ignore it if you don’t agree.

One of the important hints I’ve learned, ironically from some “experts”, is to trust my own judgement more...

Remember Richard Gere in pretty woman who books seats at the opera or has strawberries with champagne because “it’s the best” but actually has no appreciation for what he likes? He would probably ask for a Johnny Walker Blue before a Benromach 10. But I would do just the opposite.

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

@Nozinan Yep. DdK. I just don’t understand how anyone can equate the aroma of green apples to that of nail polish. There not even remotely similar imho.

3 years ago 0

tfahey1298 replied

Re: acetaldehyde and ethyl acetatein whisky and the aromas created

I'm not disagreeing with either of your observations, but I would refer you to Dr. Don Livermore's Canadian Whisky Flavour Wheel. It shows ethyl acetate as the green apple component.

Ethyl acetate is also one of the chemical solvents used in manufacturing nail polish.

Acetaldehyde is one of the alcohols that become vapour just prior to ethanol. In beer brewing, acetaldehyde is not desired, as it gives fruit, green apple notes to the beer.

If I understand my chemistry, these compounds are derived during the fermentation process, and some transfer into the new make spirit via distillation. As the whisky ages, the interaction with the compounds in the wood via oxidation as the cask "breathes" the chemical reactions that occur create numerous esters of acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate. It is these esters that then produce the various aromas and flavours in the finished whisky.

I agree that everyone's experience of a particular whisky is unique, and each to his own when describing how a whisky smells and tastes.

But chemically, acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate do generate aromas like green apple and nail polish.

3 years ago 2Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

@tfahey1298 What you say makes sense...yet today (and most days, actually) I ate a green apple and my wife put on some nailpolish before we went out. Regardless of the chemical similarities, I can’t imagine confusing one aroma for another. Nail polish is aggressive and unpleasant. And it’s an aroma that’s incredibly prominent in Alberta Premium 20 Year Old, for example. And it’s in no way similar (to my nose) to green apples. Sharpie markers? Maybe. But not green apples.

3 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

With my son, a tasting this afternoon of some of the whiskies I selected for his Covid-cancelled wedding reception. These are from the open bar offerings. The young lad has not tried all of them and today was the perfect opportunity to give ‘em a go.

Glenlivet Archive 21 YO

Balblair 1991 27 YO

Glenfarclas 15 YO... the cork disintegrated. The entire bottle was passed through a coffee basket filter to remove the cork shrapnel.

Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 YO

Balvenie Doublewood 17 YO

Glengoyne 21 YO

Amrut Intermediate Sherry

Talisker 15 YO

Lagavulin 9 YO (Game of Thrones)

The young lad selected Glengoyne 21 as his favourite with Balblair 27 YO his second choice. Glengoyne and Amrut were my top two picks.

3 years ago 6Who liked this?

@fiddich1980
fiddich1980 replied

@paddockjudge WOW that's a drop dead image and it is making me thirsty! ...now I can't get The Door's "Alabama Song" (The Whisky Bar) song out of my head.

Even better, there is an agreement(Glengoyne 21) between Father and Son!thumbsup thumbsup

3 years ago 2Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@fiddich1980, HAHAH a Whisky Earworm!

The father-son agreement may become an expensive alliance.

Turn up the volume, I love The Doors!

3 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor replied

I saw the Doors in 1968, and I also saw Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, that most bizarre Bertolt Brecht/Kurt Weill opera from which the aria Alabama Song/Whisky Bar originates. Hypnotic stuff.

3 years ago 4Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@paddockjudge You're making me want to hear some Roadhouse Blues.

Great selection for the ill fated wedding. I had a sample of the Talisker 15 a while ago. Right up there with the best Taliskers I've had. I've had the Balblair 90 and it was good, a bit too much sherry for me. I hear the 91 was better.

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@BlueNote, Balblair “3rd Release” 27YO 1991. I haven’t tried the 1st and 2nd Releases, but this one is a recent favourite of mine. It has a good balance between bourbon and Sherry casks.... less Sherry than Glenlivet 21 and perhaps a bit more oak. I do enjoy the Glenlivet Archive 21.

3 years ago 2Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

Things to do while isolated on a pissing down, west coast Thanksgiving Sunday? I decided to clean all my records. Got about 6 done, thought about the other 1500 still to do and decided f**k it, I'll have a dram of Arran The Bothy Quarter Cask and listen to a CD from the Nick Drake Fruit Tree box set. I do regret selling off about 1200 vinyl records back when CDs first came on the scene. I'm not going down the same rabbit hole with the CD collection now that streaming is the music delivery system of choice.

Happy Thanksgiving to all Canuck connosrs.

3 years ago 2Who liked this?

@ajjarrett
ajjarrett replied

@paddockjudge This is a line-up that would make me reconsider getting married. ^_^ Or at least delay the wedding for.

Oh, I see, "Wedding reception."

3 years ago 1Who liked this?

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@RianC@Nozinan@CanadianNinja

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