So, what are you drinking now?

@Victor Condolences on your loss, may the grieving routinely transition to fond memories

@Nozinan - Thanks! Good to be back. The Kilchoman lineup was very good. There wasn't one that I didn't like, just some that I liked more than others.

@Victor - I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of your Father-in-law. Please know that you and @dramlette are in our thoughts and prayers.

@bwmccoy, that Kilchoman tour sounds great! I hope it comes here.

We give deep thanks to all who wished condolences on the passing of @Dramlette's father. We are leaving for the funeral at noon today.

I'm raising a glass to my kind and generous friend who has left this world bound for a better place

@Victor You and @Dramlette have our deepest condolences - you are both in our thoughts.

Thank you very much, @talexander. The funeral went very well yesterday. The seriousness was broken and many of us even had to keep from laughing out loud when one of @Dramlette's brothers muffed a scriptural reading a bit. He referred to finding in God, "a rock of refuse...". I haven't been able to get the visual image out of my head...

We have a funeral doubleheader on tap today, since @Dramlette's closest work friend of 25 years passed away on Friday. We all spend a limited amount of time down here. @Dramlette is doing well. She is something of a hospice and "transition" specialist.

@bwmccoy I just got my second bottle of Machir Bay. This one came with 2 Glencairns. NAS or not, I love this stuff. I have had a taste of the 100% Islay that a friend brought back from his distillery visit. I will be all over that one on my next visit to Islay in the spring. Nice to have you back, Cheers.

@Victor Sincere condolences to you and @Dramlette. These things sometimes come in bunches. I lost three good friends over the course of a year back in 2011. One heart attack, one an aggressive strain of late onset leukemia, and one, a friend since childhood, the sad victim of his own alcoholism. Take good care of yourselves and your loved ones.

A recent buy from Calgary included Hazelburn 10 which I had a small taste of last night. Too soon to pass judgement, but first impression is cautiously good. It does not have the body of the Springbank 10, but that may be the result of the triple distillation. It certainly went down easy. I'll give it some air and check it out again in a couple of weeks.

@Victor Oh how awful - that's too much to bear. Again, please pass her our condolences.

@BlueNote , have you ever heard whether their triple-distillation of the Hazelburn means that it has a higher entry proof when they first barrel it? And if so, does that mean the eventual 46% bottlings ultimately have more water in them than standard Springbanks?

@MadSingleMalt Yo inspired me on another thread to pour a little Redbreast 12 CS. I'm enjoying it in a Kentucky bourbon glass. The nose is very rich and syrupy with a hint of bourbon and with a little water it has opened up nicely.

I'm a single parent this week (girl's trip) and between managing renos, unpacking and looking after the kids this dram will likely need to be sipped all week...

Just did a side by side with Octomore 7.1 and 7.3. I gotta say, 7.3 by a nose. A bit more complex. More fruit on the nose beneath the peat. Both are great.

@BlueNote - Thanks! I am so jealous of your up coming trip to Islay. I will be living vicariously through you. I know you will have a great time.

Tonight, had the last dram of a long opened bottle. Glenrothes 29 year (distilled July 1980) Cask Strength, Single Barrel (SMWS 30.61 - “A Sensitive, intimate experience”). Still so good after all of these years.

@MadSingleMalt Mmm, not sure about that. I'll have to do a little research.

Not to be a bummer, but I'm breaking my booze-free September vow and raising a glass of Lot no 40 in honour of a high school friend who passed away this past weekend in a car accident on the 401. He was only 37 and leaves behind a wife and two young daughters (7 years old and 2 years old). Take care, folks.

@OdysseusUnbound It's fine to share some sad things, and it reminds us all about how uncertain life can be.

I'll dedicate my first dram of Deanston 10 YO PX finish query CS to the memories of those who left us suddenly and way too early.

My impression of this Deanston is "not bad., a little young".

I would say they realized at 8 years that it was in tired casks, so they re-casked in ex-PX (specially selected ones) casks to try to make it sellable, and bottled at high proof to add richness. Hence the relatively decent price for a possibly CS malt.

But, @paddockjudge says there are no tired casks, so it's probably that they detected something wasn't right and they moved it over.

Not bad though.

@Nozinan "No tired casks"? Oh yes there are - chug a bottle of Catto's and then tell me there are no tired casks.

@talexander, casks don't get tired.

@talexander It's not for me to say... who am I to argue with the person who is responsible for my possession of 2 of my 3 oldest spirits?

@talexander ...they just need more time.

@paddockjudge so they are "slow", not tired. Like me in my old age?

@paddockjudge Ha - unless they've already been refilled and emptied 4 or 5 times...

@Nozinan I think the proper term is "exhausted" - it suits the casks....and us.

@paddockjudge Yes, they do.

@talexander yes they get tired or yes they need more time?

I vote - BOTH

Hmm, there I am bringing in politics again... voting...

@Nozinan I don't think the equation is that simple. I think once a cask has been used too many times, you would never be able to get the full flavours out, no matter how many millennia you mature the spirit for.