So, what are you drinking now?

@Astroke Why? Because of the fancy gentleman on the bottle? Or did I miss something????

@OdysseusUnbound That is a picture of Ambrose Burnside, a Union General during the American Civil War

@Astroke @OdysseusUnbound obviously the general drank a little too much bourbon, and based on the picture, got the 2 parts of his last name reversed.

@Nozinan, search "sideburns" and you will see pictures of General Burnside.

@Astroke Makes sense. My knowledge of American Civil War history is very limited.

@Victor Who knew?

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Oh...YOU knew

What I can't figure out is how a distillery in Portand Oregon, which is located more than 1,000 miles from the nearest US Civil War battlefield and more than 2,000 miles from the areas where Burnside actually commanded, would put his picture on their bottle of bourbon. Curious choice.

Finishing a couple of tail ends, Glenfiddich DE and Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask enjoyed both from first glass to last.

Got dregs of a Glenlivet French Oak to finish off tomorrow, clearing the decks for the ever so short English summer and will be opening a few bourbons.

Rare Breed, 101 & Eagle Rare are most likely I have others but can get my hands on those easily to replace.

Haven't been on in a while due to busy work and personal life. Good to see so many familiar names are still around. Hopefully, I can be a little more active on here again.

Tonight, Arran 13 year (May 2001) Oloroso Sherry Hogshead Cask Strength from Single Cask Nation, Cask #102. A perfectly balanced dram, not a sherry bomb. The sherry shines through without masking the underlying Arran character. So good.

Also, Tobermory 10 year (July 2005) heavily peated Cask Strength also from Single Cask Nation, Cask #10. Sweet peat, comparable to an Ardmore, more so than an Islay. I'm on my second bottle of this one. Love it.

I dipped into my Longrow CV for my one dram of the night last night. Its so good: "zippy" without being too beastly like young peaters can be, "full" without being too heavily flavored like older or crazy-casked whiskies can be, and just plain old delicious.

Although there's probably a "irreplaceable bottle" mental effect here, I think it might be my favorite open peater, which puts it over Laphroaig 18 & QC, Lagavulin 8, Longrow Red Port, and Port Charlotte Islay Barley.

I tried an experiment and it was, for the most part, a failure. I marked the last of my exams today (I'm a high school teacher, for those who don't know) so I celebrated with a dram of Lagavulin DE. So far, so good. Now as I'm trying to stretch this as long as I can, I limit myself to one dram. But I have a bright idea: I'll pour a bit of Islay Mist 8 into the same glass, thereby increasing the peaty, smokiness of the so-so bottle of Islay Mist. Or so I thought. After the Lagavulin, the Islay Mist tastes like a big glass of cheap grain whisky.

@Victor, perhaps Burnside had a nom de plume, like other posters from that region.

@paddockjudge Please don't make us go through that rigmarole again...

@Nozinan, I'm counting on you to lead us away from another conundrum.

@paddockjudge Then I will announce that I'm currently enjoying one of my favourite summer beverages. I started the first day of my 5 day vacation today and everything went well, spent some great time with the kids after school (last day!), and then had to go do an urgent visit to a new patient tonight. I'm rewarding myself with not one but two glasses of President's Choice Diet Tonic Water with freshly squeezed lime and lots, I mean LOTS of ice!

@Nozinan, that too is my favourite summer drink...just add tanqueray

Nic and Ray with a twist.

@paddockjudge Ever tried Bruichladdich Botanist Dry Gin? I've seen it a few times, but I'm not a big Gin connoisseur, so I usually just stick to the Tanq...

@OdysseusUnbound, Bruichladdich Botanist Dry Gin, I hope to try it some day.

Standard Tanqueray great for mixing,...Tanqueray No. 10 great for sipping.

@OdysseusUnbound , I buy exactly one bottle of gin per year, and this year it was The Botanist.

Not being a big gin guy myself, and with nothing to compare it to, I can't say a whole lot about it. But it's good. The best part is just knowing it that's made at Bruichladdich.

@paddockjudge and @Nozinan : You know, that guy got a lot of flack around here, but I miss him. Sure, he'd go off on unprovoked Chinese fluoride rants more often than I would have liked (i.e., more times than zero ), but he always had something juicy to say and his reviews were always worth a read. He reviewed interesting bottles too.

For whatever reason, the discussions here on Connosr rarely ascend above the level of polite banter, and he was a welcome (to me, at least) counterbalance to that.

@MadSingleMalt, that's what happens when you have a few Canucks around, lots of polite banter. We can talk about the weather until the bottle has run dry, but don't coax us out of our foxhole, we play for keeps.

It's July 1, Connosr standard time. Happy Canada Day!

In honour of the 150th anniversary of the birth of our home on native land, and the Scottish birthplace of our first Prime Minister, Sir John A., I am sipping a peaty Islay, about 15 cc of what was left from my pour for my last review, Caol Ila CS 10 YO G&M, as I prepare to post my next, 100th review, which will be an EPIC review.

I have to say that 5 days after I put it away in my "can't finish" bottle, it is even richer and more flavourful than ever!

Tonight, starting off with Glenlossie 14 year Cask Strength Single Barrel (SMWS 46.43) - "If I were a carpenter...". A lot of honey, but not too sweet. Thick mouthfeel. Toffee, nutty, woody spice.

While listening to the CFL, I am sipping some Jura Brooklin. I almost spit everything when the TV descriptor compare Nik Lewis to a ballerina. Lewis is a receiver which shape is closer to a scotch barrel than to a ballerina. I will probably go for Wiser's Legacy for the next round has a patriotic move for the 150 anniversary. I would have like to celebrate with Wiser's Dissertation but, as usual, the SAQ neglects to get it, like the Wiser's Union and a lot of other great Canadian whiskies.

Finishing the night with Bruichladdich Octomore 07.1 (5 year old) 208 ppm Scottish Barley. Absolute perfection!

@Nozinan Haha, love your celebration of John A. Macdonald's birthplace, I think I will use that today since my Canadian options are quite limited. Cheers!

I think it's official; my bottle of Islay Mist 8 is an off batch. I think they forgot to add Laphroaig to this one. While it's "only" 30 bucks, it's frustrating as hell. This was my go-to cheap, blended peated whisky, but this one has no taste other than "sweet". I'm stuck with a bottle that's 3/4 full. What to do with it???

@OdysseusUnbound

Try returning it to the LCBO. Some members have successfully returned opened bottles on the basis of poor quality.

@Nozinan Even if there's more than one drink taken out of it? Even without a receipt???