So, what are you drinking now?

@KRB80 , enjoy that Longrow CV while it lasts! Mine is going fast too.

I know I'm repeating myself from elsewhere, but the Peated is totally good and worth buying, but rather "narrow" relative to the old CV. That old CV was really good.

And I hope I'm repeating myself here as I applaud the Springbank folks for rebranding their NAS Longrow when they changed the recipe from the old CV to the new Peated. I don't know if that's really why they did it, but I can only imagine it would've been easy to keep on chugging with the old CV label while they silently changed the recipe over time. But they didn't.

@hewie, the Rock Oyster could still be worth a buy for you, depending on what you want out of it. Is your price fair? It's a fine-quality little NAS vatted malt that will trip many of the same triggers as the Six Isles. Medium peat levels, nice & clean. It's just not a world-beater and it's not as salty as the branding suggests.

I paid $60 on behalf of my club. I don't regret the purchase, but I also will not be rebuying at that price. To me, it's a $40 whisky.

In contrast, I paid $34 for the Six Isles, and I liked it around the $60 level. So yeah, the old switcheroo!

Dalmore 12 yo . It is a nice dram. It used to be a great one once. It reminds me somehow of Nikka from the Barrel. But Nikka is the one I prefer. Dalmore is okay

Kilkerran 12 yo. Smoky lemons with a touch of honey. It is huge. It is a natural whisky. Because it is a dram from Campbell Town, Springbank 10 yo is on my mind. Why do I always feel the need to compare? They are both in my cabinet. All I have to do is enjoy the Campbell experience.

@NamBeist, @BlueNote, @KRB80, @Hewie, and I all seem to have Campeltowners on the mind lately! I think it's a great summer style for those of us who prefer Scottish-style malts (especially peaters) over bourbons and the like.

I've tagged you all on this post because I'd like your input on something. Later this month, I will blind-pour four Campbeltowners for my whisky club. (We normally open one new bottle every month, but this month I'm doing this blind-pour thing, and we'll vote on which one will become the new club bottle.) Each bottle will be wrapped in foil and labeled somehow to distinguish them. I could just label them A, B, C, and D, but that's no fun—instead, I want clever little nicknames. And bonus points for being funny either before or after the whisky's identity is revealed. Got any ideas?

Here's the lineup:

•Glen Scotia 12. This whisky's nickname must most definitely be a riff on "disco cow," because I think that's the funniest little joke in modern whisky. I'm thinking "Travolta," but maybe something along the lines of "Washington" (as in DC) or "DC comics"? Actually, I'm going with "Travolta" unless I hear something really great.

•Springbank 10. No great ideas here...maybe a riff on "modern classic"? Maybe "Springbank" > "SB" > "Sackville Bagginses"? The club includes some fellow Tolkien nerds who'd lap that up.

•Kilkerran 12. I got no great ideas here, either. Something about "kill Karen"? Maybe "Smalls," as in "you're killing me, Smalls"? (I hope I'm not the only person who remembers The Sandlot.) Maybe something inspired by the "Glengyle" name? Maybe "Devo," as in "Whip It," as in "WIP"? These are a stretch. I got nuthin'.

•Campbeltown Loch blend. This is the wildcard of the bunch. For whatever reason, my mind gets stuck on "CLB" like that old "OPP" song from the 90s. "You down with CLB? Yeah you know me!" I know, super dumb. Who can do better?

@MadSingleMalt How about Canadian city names?

Halifax for the INova) Glen "Scotia"

Oil Springs, (Ontario) for the Spring bank (it does have a bit of oiliness in the mouthfeel)

Any thoughts as to the others?

@MadSingleMalt I have a suggestion for the Glen Scotia 12 yo. Just call it Glen Campbell. Springbank 10 can be called Dusty Springfield.

@NamBeist and Kill Bill and Campbell's soup?

Are you guys just messing with me? :)

I don't get any of these references.

@MadSingleMalt Just giving you potential code names. Kill Bill is KILkerran. Campbell's soup is Campbeltown Loch

Kilkerran --> "Kill Karen" ...Walking Dead reference?

walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/…

Springbank 12 CS, Batch 11, 53.8%...while still a fantastic dram, this one doesn't hold up to Batch 7, imo. Seems like there is more of a fresh sherry influence and less of a malt-forward, barnyard thing going on that I loved about my last bottle. But time will tell; I expect it to change a bunch over the course of the bottle's lifespan. This is only my second pour from it.

@KRB80 It will grow, like all other Springbanks seem to, with time...

@Nozinan Indeed. That is my exact experience with every other Springbank bottle I have ever owned. Cheers.

Charting, and nosing and sniffing Benromach 10. I am impressed each time I reach for this hope flavourful it is. I'm so happy there are some quality flavourful malts out there at 43%. I'm very seriously thinking of picking up a spare before the LCBO runs out or jacks up the price.

oops. Missed that boat. 1 left in all of Ontario.

Good thing I still have a couple of the 10/100

@Nozinan For the price ($45 at a couple spots around here), the Benromach 10 can't be beat. Very well-crafted whisky, that.

On to my final pour from my last bottle of Longrow CV. This is the filthiest looking dram I recall ever seeing.

@KRB80 so it has scotch silt. how does it taste?

@KRB80 Springbank: It's a grow-er, not a show-er.

@Nozinan It was definitely less vibrant. The flavors were dulled and veiled by an earthiness...obviously not a good earthiness, imo.

@MadSingleMalt Indeed. Ha!

About half an hour ago I sat down with a pour of Elijah Craig Small Batch 12 YO. It went NAS a while back, so the other day when I saw some on the shelf at the LCBO in Courtice, I decided to snag one. In a way I don't know exactly why... I've had it in the past and didn't love it, too oaky, but I thought I'd give it another try before they're completely gone.

And the verdict? Hmm... Still not a super fan. I'll have no problem finishing the bottle, but I'll not mourn its loss.

@Nelom I bought one in Feb. 2016 because I knew they were dropping the age statement, then it sat around while I noted that there were plenty left. But now I think the supply is NAS. My bottle remains closed.

I was underwhelmed with the sample I had. It's ok, and as I said in my review, I can see situations where I would not want a CS bruiser and it might come in handy, but I don't tend to open fresh bottles on those occasions.

Recently my palate seems to have discovered goodness in spirits bottled at 43%, and so I wonder if I'm learning to appreciate the subtleties of lower proof whiskies (while still enjoying the CS ones), and I hope this means that when I do open it (with people who are out of 12 YO and miss it and who will appreciate it more than I do) I will like it more than I did before.

Glenmorangie Lasanta. Visiting my aunt and uncle's for a BBQ and this is what he had open. It seems to have opened nicely.

Port Charlotte "PC7"

It had been waiting patiently in my stash for quite a few years. And not that I was really "waiting for a special occasion," but I finally just decided that the other night would be the special occasion. :) Mostly, I saw my open bottle of Port Charlotte Islay Barley getting down to its last couple glasses, and figured it was the right time to do the H2H2H2H with the PC7 and the Islay Barley, along with the An Turas Mor and the Scottish Barley that I had in my sample pile, poured off from yesteryear's bottles.

The results?

•PC7 is easily the best from that lineup. EASILY. Bigger, fuller, broader, and just tastier. It's very good, and I can see why people hoarded it and its kindred back when they were current, but it's nothing crazy that anyone needs to seek out on the secondary market as long as the usual heavy-hitters remain widely available from the likes of Ardbeg and Laphroaig.

•An Turas Mor and Islay Barley are pretty similar. Zippy, fresh, and clean.

•Scottish Barley is "the last one picked for the team," so to speak. Dull and kinda "bleh" in comparison. I can't ever see buying another bottle of this.

Next up: A blind H2H with PC7 v. Octomore 6.1. That'll be my chance to finally test my often-espoused-but-never-verified theory that your basic X.1 Octomore isn't noticeably peatier than your standard Islay heavyweights. The PC7 is the best apples-to-apples comparison I can muster.

@Nozinan I wonder if the Lasanta has improved. My experience with it a few years ago was that it was quite awful. But I was also drinking some Sonalta PX at the time which was excellent, a benchmark for sherry finished whiskies and it may have been an unfair comparison. I'll give the Lasanta another try if you think it is a good one.

@BlueNote, I encountered a very good bottle of Lasanta about 3 years ago, owned by my brother-in-law. Prior to that I had had only several different really really bad Lasantas. Would I trust to buy a bottle of it now? I don't know. I would be nervous buying it blind, but I would be very eager to taste from a current batch, and if is OK, then I would be happy with a bottle.

@BlueNote @Victor

I would say it was good, but not something I'd expect to find in my cabinet.

@Victor @Nozinan I don't think I'll bother. There are too many other tried and true good ones around that price point. G'Farclas 12, G'Dronach 12 for instance.

I have to say: I've been hard on Macallan in the past, but this one is incredibly good. Enjoying it with one of my oldest and dearest friends. Macallan Sienna. Well played, Macallan; well played.

My buddy also fed me some Macallan Rare Cask. Just wow. Great stuff.