So, what are you drinking now?

Swapped some samples today with a friend and ended up with 1/4 bottle of Glendronach Cask Strength, batch 4. I decided to go H2H with it and my decanted last dram of A'Bunadh batch 49 (sigh). Well they are nothing alike, GD b4 is not a sherry bomb at all, but absolutely delicious, especially with a drop of water. The A'Bunadh b49 is a sherry bomb and incredible as most already know.

@Astroke maybe most know, but I am still waiting to taste that 49. 9 months to go. Then the 50 the next year...

@Nozinan I have the 53 in the bunker, I should get another batch instead of always looking for something better in cask strength sherry bombs.

Ardbeg Uigeadail L10 151, the batch I reviewed in 2011. connosr.com/ardbeg-uigeadail-whisky-review… This bottle is from the same-day bottling batch as the reviewed bottle, but was sent to me by a Connosr friend 2,000 miles away from me. This bottle has always tasted different to me than the first reviewed bottle, and it also tastes different from the third bottle from the comments section of the L10 151 bottling, from the same shelf locally. This bottle is now open for 4 years and still has plenty of zing. The most interesting observation today is that the sherry influence seems much more noticeable now than it did in the past with this same bottle. Still vivid. Still delicious. I do not get tired of Ardbeg Uigedail. They are almost always good, and this is a great bottling.

Previous tastings today included: 1) Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye-I still find much to dislike among a couple of quite virtuous flavours, i.e. my bottle remains "sour, citric, and bitter" 2) Russell's Reserve 6 yo Rye (Wild Turkey)- tastes very good indeed, albeit in the low-proof category at 45% abv, 3) Rittenhouse Rye, 40% abv, nice and spicy, albeit dilute, 4) Melrose Rare 12 yo blended American whiskey-- this will win no prizes, but it is still drinkable, from this bottle opened in 1969, and 5) McClelland's Islay Single Malt, everyone's bogeyman 5 yo Bowmore- not a malt to impress the emperor, but I can still enjoy it. I ain't afraid of no young Bowmores!

@Victor Is it possible that your palate has hanged more than the Uigeadail?

I'm not afraid of young Bowmores either, I just prefer my Islays with a bit more strength. As a physician I am taught to treat anaemia, not enjoy it...

@Nozinan, oh yes, I very much enjoy anaemia, shingles, hematuria, ...and I especally like melena and smegma.

@Nozinan, oh, my palate changed....? Couldn't figure out what you were getting at. No, my palate hasn't changed much in the last 10 years except to become more tolerant of most flavours and extremely hypersensitive to and intolerant of sulphur.

I will tolerate a lot more black licorice/anise, sour citrus, and intense bitterness than I used to. Soapy and chemical-tasting remain totally anathema for me in whisky.

@Victor Interesting you mention soapiness. I've found that recent batches of Forty Creek Barrel Select have been tainted by a lingering soapy/perfumy note on the finish. Disappointing, really.

@OdysseusUnbound, sorry to hear that about Forty Creek Barrel Select. Three years ago I asked John Hall how much of Forty Creek's total production went to Barrel Select. He told me "70%". I hope that the badly handled batch was small.

Soapy? Yeah, that is a deal-breaker. I just will not deal with soapy.

@Victor One of my classmates could never keep a straight face when it came to the mention of smegma. In his religion it almost never comes up.

As for melaena... I once saw a TV show in which one of the characters had this name...unfortunate. Also in an episode of Buffy the vampire slayer: Verruca - must have put a crimp on her social life.

@Victor I'm not sure, but the bottles in question were bought in Sudbury, Ontario, Barrie, Ontario and Shediac, New Brunswick. It's disappointing for me since Barrel Select was one of my go-to inexpensive sipping whiskies. But luckily Alberta Premium Dark Horse is only $3 more and is an even better sipping whisky imho.

@Nozinan, I always thought that Melena and Syphilis would make beautiful names for a girl. For a boy? Tougher, but I lean toward Typhus. Very masculine.

@OdysseusUnbound, I consider (a very good batch of) Forty Creek Barrel Select to be an underrated and very decent whisky. I had a bottle of Barrel Select the intense flavours of which I greatly loved, until a lot more air exposure made it obvious that that batch also had enormous amounts of sulphur in it. I hope for the best for coming batches of Barrel Select.

Dark Horse is OK, despite the additives. That is a difficult thing for me to say. What I want to know is where is the 50% ABV Alberta Premium already?

@Victor agree on the Alberta Premium. Would love to get a 10 year 50% AP for $45 cad.

@Astroke, did you read those comments of @paddockjudge's from a couple of years ago on vatting Alberta Premium and Alberta Springs 10 yo? I asked him to try a few combinations out, because I have always been impressed by how dry and dusty AS10 is compared to AP6's typical (slightly overdone) sweetness. He did so and found several combinations which he liked generally more than either of the two alone. I have not yet replicated those experiments myself because even though I did eventually (about 3 years ago) buy myself a bottle of Alberta Springs, I have been holding off on opening it.

Of course, 10 years of aging would be a desirable trait to go along with our 50% abv Alberta Premium. 15 yo AP 50% ABV would be even better...quite a premium whisky.

I'm conducting an experiment. This bottle of Islay Mist 8 I keep at my in-laws has been a bit of a chameleon, but I think I figured it out. Chilling the bottle (heresy to some) seems to tone down some sweet flavours and let the peated Laphroaig goodness to come through. And it does this without watering down the whisky. Success !!!

@Victor I can attest to that, Hochstadter's family reserve 16 year rye is the finest 100% Rye I have ever tried and it is not close. I look forward to a H2H with Lot 40 Cask strength this Fall, an epic side by side if ever there was one.

@Victor , I ain't afraid of no young Bowmores, either.

—Unless they're in a McClelland's label.

@Astroke, my money is on the Alberta juice.

So here I am at LAX having some lunch at a bar and behind the bartender I spot a rye I knew I'd heard of but wasn't familiar with: Templeton Rye

I like rye, and I like to try new ryes, so instead of dessert I ordered a glass and some water on the side. Initial impressions are favourable. You can tell it's a rye for sure, but it's a bit thin so I figure it's probably 40% ABV, but yeah, I'm liking it.

I look up the price at Astor Wines in NYC (going there in about a month) and it's pretty cheap. Because of that I figure it's probably an NDP, but that hasn't stopped me in the past. I'm curious about it so I Google some... Huh... The Whisky Jug rates it a 0?

Oh... Yeah... NOW I remember why I'd heard of it. These are the guys who were sued a while back for misleading consumers. Apparently they add (added? Not sure if they've stopped) additives to their MGP sourced rye and didn't bother telling anyone about that or indeed that it was sourced at all. In fact, they had an entirely bogus story about a prohibition-era recipe and the whole shebang. Tsk.

A pity. I wouldn't have minded adding a bottle to my cabinet, but those are not the behaviours I want to support with my wallet.

@Nelom I assure you, the NDP does not participate in or condone such nefarious activity.

Jack Layton and Ed Broadbent have been publicly outed as Scotch fans...

I'm having a nip of the Laphroaig 10 my buddy gifted me. It seems I forget how much I love this whisky. It's been open since about Christmas 2016 so about 8-9 months. Perhaps it's an exceptional batch, perhaps it's emotion or the fact that I got this as a gift, but it's a great dram. Sweetness, smokiness, some bitterness, just great.

@OdysseusUnbound, and just think, you get to drink your Laphroaig 10 at 43% ABV, not the 40% ABV stuff they drink in the UK. Now, next visualization experiment, "Visualize the LCBO starting to carry Laphroaig 10 CASK STRENTH." You will love it, every damned last release of it. They are all wonderful. @MadSingleMalt is not wrong in making a case for Laphroaig 10 CS as the best whisky available, especially at its (US) price point. Available outside Canada, anyway.

@Victor Are they going to carry the C/S Laphroaig 10? Because it isn't on their website yet....

No, you are going to have to will them into it. You and your Laphroaig-loving Ontario friends.

On wine-searcher.com, Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength averages $ 74 in the USA, $ 75 worldwide, and $ 190 in the UK. There are no listings at all in Canada. Whisky distribution can be very odd indeed.

...until August 31 you can get your Laphraoig 10 CS 2 km up the road from me for $ 65.39 total.

@Victor I'd gladly pay that, but it's a heck of a drive for me

@Victor @OdysseusUnbound I called the LCBO. They said they could not get an allocation from Laphroaig unless it was offered. I called the Laphroaig agent. They said they could not allocate any to Canada unless they got a request...

@Nozinan, that does not seem to be on the up and up.

@Victor Meaning I'm lying or they're (LCBO) stupid?