What is the next bottle you purchase or open?

@Nozinan ...or a scrip

A great weekend!

My youngest brother's 50th Birthday and the wedding of a nephew. We had an amazing assortment of Canadian, Bourbon, and Single Malts: Talisker 18 YO, Whistlepig 10 YO Straight Rye 57%abv., Macallan 12 YO sherry cask, Laphroaig Lore, John J Bowman Bourbon single barrel 50% abv, and a plethora of my favourites. It's a blurr. I've been invited to so many BBQ's and socials that I can't keep count....and the Secretary of War is cool with all of it!!!

I am thinking... that my next bottle should be a Springbank 10. From what I read - please chip in here and advise - it has a profile that would compliment my cabinet, and I'm intrigued from what i read. I'm fairly well stocked on smoke (e.g. Benromach, Ledaig, HP), and peat (e.g Lagavulin, Oogie, An Oa, Caol Ila, Laphroaig 10 & QC), Sherry (e.g. Aberlour 12, A'bunadh) and a few odd ones for variety (e.g. OP, Quinta Ruban, Glenmorangie 10, Balvenie Rhum cask) etc... Yes, I suppose I'm a 'structured and put-into-mind-boxes' drinker :)

So, for a very open ended question: will I find something 'new and interesting' in the Springbank?

@RikS - Do it! Yes, it's a unique malt that has a bit of everything and a style of its own.

@RianC And... it seems to offer all that for a decent price-tag too. I see that Royal Mile, which is a small whisky store in London I like to support to keep'em alive in the competition with MoM and TWE has it for 'a mere' £42.

@RikS , I expect that you will be happy with a Springbank 10. I've managed to accumulate 300 bottles with only a solitary Hazelburn 8 yo representing the Springbank distillery...but I had some Springbank 10 a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious, and it made me question my bottle-buying moratorium.

@paddockjudge, sounds like you are enjoying your new bottles!

@paddockjudge I'm riting a novil, not a plai. So ther's no Scrip

@Victor Well, that certainly supports the notion that it's price-worthy!

@RikS, Springbank 10 is price-worthy over there in the UK. Springbank 10 is more expensive where I live than it is in most places, including most places in the US. That is probably a large part of the reason I have not yet purchased any.

Our bottle of Hazelburn 8 yo was rather pricey for an 8 yo, even in 2013. That one we got from Ontario with the help of @Pudge72, because it wasn't easily found here.

@Victor, enjoying the new bottles way too much! They were gathered with the intention of using them, not to have them collect dust. At this rate a reload will be required, soon.

Thanks again for your help in obtaining these bottles. Well worth the 28 hours of driving lol !!

...and I will bet that you are glad that you stayed that third night.

@Victor, staying the third night was indeed a good move...and you're probably glad we didn't stay a fourth night.

A fourth night would have been OK too.

A fourth night would have been logistically difficult but very enjoyable... at least for the company. My liver might not have endured a 4th night.

But had I known the sliver-tongued judge would have got us across the border without a penny of duty... I would have picked up that JD CS SB

@Nozinan, @Victor, a fourth night would have lightened my wallet (and jammed up my cabinet...that's a good thing, right?)

I’m picking up a bottle of Don Julio 1942 tequila on Thursday. Thanks to @Victor for pointing out that the one I bought in Mexico for $35 was not the one that those in the know rave about. I thought because it said 1942 somewhere on the box I was getting a super deal. This time I’m getting the real thing and it’s costing me $178 Can.

Picking up a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail on Friday per @Victor plus other reviews I have read here. I'm a creature of habit, so to speak, and I had always gone with my favorites and what I like - nothing wrong with that, but part of enjoying whiskey and now that I'd like to get more serious in my learning and enjoyment of it is to explore, explore, explore. I love Lagavulin 16 for its flavor and intensity, plus it has good memories for me that I attach it to. And I'll always love it but I need to step outside of the box I put myself in when it comes to my whiskey. So Ardbeg it is as a first of many steps and I know it will help evolve my palate. One (of many) things Connosr members have taught me as I read reviews and the discussions is to try, try, and try some more.

@archivist, nice! If you're still holding any Lagavulin 16, you should definitely try it and the Oogie side-by-side. They're fairly similar in flavors, and the direct comparison should really highlight the difference in sheer power delivered by the Oogie.

@archivist i believe you shall not be disappointed! Once you get into the ardbeg range, do keep am open mind towards the an oa too. Some people tend to like to dismiss it, but opening it up with a drop of water I find it rather marvellous. Me, I prefer it to the standard 10 and I too am a big fan of Lagavulin.

@archivist I've not yet met someone who likes peat in their whiskies who did not like Uigeadail. I hear there is batch variation and I've only tasted from 2 bottles to my knowledge but both were excellent.

@MadSingleMalt indeed I have a bit of Lag 16 left and am setting up for the weekend to try the Ardbeg and my beloved Lagavulin 16. Quite excited about it!

Freshly opened bottle of JP Wiser's Legacy L16 175, absolutely brilliant!

Is that one of the last batches?

I'm guessing Legacy is, if found as a dusty in another province, now a must-buy bottle.

@paddockjudge Glad to hear it: I just checked my bottle and it’s also L16175!

The theme for tonight's meeting of our Madison whisky club is summer scotches—no heavy peat or heavy sherry. Our new club bottle is a Longmorn 12 G&M IB. I've never had it, but I think it fits the bill despite some sherry that seems to be in the mix—especially at 43%.

And then just for fun, I'll be sharing from my bottles of Old Pulteney 12, Balblair 2003-2013, and another Longmorn, a 20-year CS Adelphi IB.

Kilkerran 12, and in the mood to make a h2h with springbank 10.

@MadSingleMalt - Let me know what whiskys are generally suggested for summer, please!

We're having a heat wave in the UK and I offer two gloriously pleasant swims in the sea this weekend as evidence (I've been in the sea before in the UK but literally run in, jump under, big sharp inhalation and back out again, quickly! Ha ha!) I'm finding even my usual summer staple Pulteney 12 isn't that appealing due to the oppressive heat.

I'll be complaining it's too wet and cold in about three weeks, mind.

@RianC, if Pulteney 12 is hitting you too heavy in the current heat, then I don't think I can name anything more likely to fit the bill. Though, I know that our new friend @mhock66 recently "non-reviewed" a few summery whiskies, some on ice—with various results:

connosr.com/crown-royal-whisky-review-1212…

connosr.com/crown-royal-whisky-review-1212…

connosr.com/dewars-white-label-whisky-revi…

@MadSingleMalt - I had an Ardmore Legacy on ice last week and it was OK. I was going to buy a Red Label today to mix with ginger ale but they'd sold out (of ginger ale)! I'm sitting looking at my 1792 bourbon but lifting my hand to pour is going to be a tremendous effort in itself . . .

Finally got around to picking up a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail and having a taste! Bottle has been opened a week now and we've been enjoying it quite a bit. The first dram was on its own. Delicious. Second dram we did a side by side tasting with my beloved Lagavuiln 16. My oh my, the Uigeadail is such a treat - it was like having hot, buttery toast that's slightly burnt and crispy...and the finish, dare I say, is even better than the Lag 16 - there was something about how it just continued to linger on and the bread-like/cereal flavor plus the smoke just kept going. My partner had this to say - she felt like with the Lag 16, one knows what to expect and what the whisky will say (or is supposed to say). But she loved the Uigeadail and commented that this whisky had/has something to say with each sip, something to teach her. This is a wonderful addition to my cabinet, thanks to @Victor, and to the many of you here that suggested it!