Happy Birthday!!

@RianC Happy B-Day!

@RianC

Happy Birthday! お誕生日おめでとうございます！ I think this calls for a celebratory dram of Domaine de Monturon 17yo armagnac.

BIG thanks for all the birthday wishes! Much appreciated.

In all honesty, it's been a bit rubbish, for a variety of reasons but I did get a couple of nice bottles (tequila and whisky) that I shall open when the mood is a bit better.

@paddockjudge @Victor - I always celebrated on the 28th as a kid but now tend to opt for the nearest weekend. As it happens, no-one else seemed to remember ha! And yes, two more years to the big 11

@Nozinan HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a good friend and a great person!

Happy birthday to @Nozinan ! Is there a batch of A’Bunadh on the agenda for tonight? Only time will tell !

Happy Birthday @Nozinan , have a great day!

First, for the second year in a row, a belated April 24 birthday greeting to @Nambeist! I wish you an excellent and enjoyable experience going forward into your new year! My one remaining bottle of Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist 18 yo remains unopened, as do my 2 remaining bottles of Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX, so I am toasting you with 2012 Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye. I know that you like that one a lot too.

Now, on to today, April 26, Happy Birthday, @Nozinan ! I wanted to hit it right at midnight local NA eastern time zone, but sleepiness forced me to go to bed around 2300 hrs last night. For the toast to you? Two items, which, being retired, I am fully at liberty and leisure to consume right now at 0718 hrs: Milk & Honey STR Cask, and Aberlour A'bunadh. I own an unopened bottle of A'bunadh Batch # 53, marking your 53 completed years, but I am instead toasting your new 54th year moving forward beginning today, with Aberlour A'bunadh Batch # 54. L'Chaim!. Thank you for your friendship.

@Nozinan @Victor

Happy Birthday, Nozinan! I wish you a beautiful day.

@Victor Thank you for your Birthday wishes to me. They are very much appreciated.

Thank you all for your wishes! It is always humbling turning the dial one more year towards the finish line. I am thankful to have friends near and far who are thinking of me.

@OdysseusUnbound, @Victor, there is indeed an unopened A'Bunadh 53 in my cabinet. I am now eligible to open it. I don't usually do it right on my birthday but this year it's tempting. It depends on how I feel after dinner which I am hoping will include spicy Korean food if Covid has not claimed my favourite restaurant's ability to prepare takeaway congbul...

I still have a tiny bit of the 49 and about a third of the 50 to finish off. But having three batches open has possibilities for a H2H2H. And who knows, at the rate I am drinking, maybe I can do a H2H2H2H when I open the 54. And when will I ever have room in my cabinet to open a Glenfarclas 105?

I salute you all, my Connosr family, with or without a dram in my hand!

@Nozinan don't forget to drink that sample of A'bunadh Batch # 26...perhaps on the 26th?

@NamBeist, a belated Happy Birthday! A toast to you, two days past your anniversary, with 1997 Glen Grant 24 YO, bottled by The Whisky Agency for Heads & Tails, Canada, natural cask strength 47.6% abv. Lots of light fruit, honey, and a firm oak influence.

Cheers!

@paddockjudge thank you very much!

@Nozinan Happy birthday to you my connosr friend. You are one of the true stalwarts who keep this site interesting and compelling. Cheers and best wishes.

Thanks @BlueNote

I ended up cracking the ABunadh batch 53, then my brother came over and I poured him some too.

I had received a package from @paddockjudge a few days ago and I opened it tonight with him on FaceTime.

This is what was in the box (well-secured of course). Perfect size for someone who wants to explore a little Armagnac without committing to a single large bottle. I had tried to get my mitts on one of these when I saw it (it may have been on sale) but I was unable to get one in Toronto. When I told some of my connosr friends I would be interested in one if it could be found outside or Toronto I was led to believe they were no longer available.

Nice surprise.

Thank you again..

Yes, we hoodwinked @Nozinan, had him believe there were no Armagnac Delord 10-20-30 200ml packs available...@fiddich1980 and @cricklewood aided in the diversion. Good fun.

@Victor I wish you a happy Birthday. I toast to you with a dram of Port Charlotte 10 yo Heavily Peated.

@Victor, Happy Birthday, my friend. Wishing you good health and happiness. Tonight I will honour your anniversary with a wee sip of Bowman.

Cheers

@paddockjudge excellent! Will that be Abraham, JJ, or Isaac? Have you gotten into that bottle of Van Winkle yet?

@Victor A very Happy Birthday to one of my oldest (as in longest-serving) whiski mentors! I'm still waking up so thoughts of dramming just yet but there are so many options...I will have to narrow it down.

A very happy birthday to my whisky Sherpa and friend @Victor !!

I have not opened a new bottle in quite awhile…it seems like this would be a great time to do so. Decisions, decisions…

All the best to you, with hopes that you have an enjoyable celebration, and continued good health and happiness!

The Booker’s is raising its sliding cover open in a bid to get picked…hmmm. :)

It's @Victor 's birthday !! Well happy birthday to you, my good man. I suppose that calls for some bourbon tonight, or perhaps a very barley-forward malt whiski. I do have an unopened Deanston 12 in my cabinet. Hmmm...

Happy birthday @Victor , may have to have a THH pour tonight and toast your birthday.

Happy Birthday @Victor. I know you like ‘em big, bold and strong, so I will toast you with a dram of SMOS 8 year old Caol Ila at 61.5%. You lead us all.

@Nozinan a belated happy birthday to you, hope it was a good one and @Victor many happy returns to you too. Will raise a Springbank 18 in honour to you both tonight. Cheers.

A belated happy birthday from me too, @Victor

Many happy returns and I shall raise a glass of something fitting to you tomorrow!

@Victor, The Bowman is Abraham 17 YO 73.75% abv., the second highest proof of any bourbon (or near-bourbon) I have tried to date and possibly my favourite bourbon. Thank you for the sample.

I have not yet opened the bottle of Van Winkle; however, the day is drawing near. I will blow the minds of my son and his twenty-something YO friends with the VW Unobtanium.

Dearly beloved friends, @NamBeist, @paddockjudge, @Nozinan, @Pudge72, @OdysseusUnbound, @Astroke, @BlueNote, @Timp, and @RianC , thank you each for your warm birthday greetings and well wishes.

I am going to indulge in a trifecta of tastings in celebration tonight featuring:

1) Abraham Bowman 17 yo 73.5% ABV bourbon; yes @paddockjudge I was planning on it before I read your post. A most excellent choice.

2) Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured Single Malt Whisky, 57.1% ABV, and

3) Laphroaig 25 yo Cask Strength, 2012 release, 45.1% ABV.

Which is more impressive, soixante-neuf completed, or beginning one's 70th year?

As to where the lunacy will ever end, @paddockjudge, have your son pull up this screen when you pour him a drink:

wine-searcher.com/find/…

These prices are almost impossible for the mind to fathom. For 10 year old whiskey.

@Victor, the price at which some of these "rare" whiskies are being offered is ludicrous, truly laughable. The last time I touched a bottle of Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade 10 YO (stubby) on a store shelf, the price was $57CDN. I passed, instead choosing the $75CDN bottle of Hancock's President's Reserve....yeah, I know.

@Victor Laphroaig 25! Nice! And Happy Birthday!

@Victor Happy Birthday!