So, what are you drinking now?

Gibson's Finest Rare 18 yo in celebration of Canada Day. Cheers to all of our Canadian friends!

Sorry, no Canadian whiskey in my cabinet, so raising a dram in honor of Canada Day with a 10 year (17 Feb 2007) Dailuaine (SMWS 41.106) "Masterchef final" from a refill ex-bourbon barrel. Complex nose (Waxed hardwoods, popcorn and fresh donuts). Tingly and lively palette with tobacco leaf and sour gummy worms.

A toast to our friends north of the border.

Johnnie Black 1980s Bottling from waaaayyyy back in the cabinet.

@paddockjudge got love those mini glencairns!

Balvenie 12yo single barrel and bunnahbain 12yo. It’s cooled down just enough tonight to sit outside and enjoy the night air.

@nooch - awesome photo!

Tonight, had the last dram of Aultmore 14 year (Sep. 2001) SMWS 73.78 "Zingy, effervescent and intriguing" from a refill ex-sherry butt. Really enjoyed this bottle. Going to miss it.

Finished the night with Kilchoman Sauternes Cask Matured.

@paddockjudge - Would love to compare with a current bottling. Have you?

@RianC I once did a H2H of JW Red from the 70s vs on from the 10s (2010s). The former was drinkable, the latter was terrible.

I have 2 bottles of JW Swing about 30 years apart in bottling date, and I'm waiting for an opportunity to open them together. Problem is that's 1.5 L of Scotch...what will I do with it? I would need a few strong volunteers with a commitment to take some home...

@Nozinan - I'd be more than happy to help That's interesting and seems to back up the trend that older blended whiskys were generally superior. Were the profiles similar? I once compared an 80's Teacher's to a modern one and whilst the older was soooo much better you could tell they were 'related'.

I have such affection for Black label, had I the cash, i'd happily fork out for an 80's (or earlier) bottle to do a comparison with.

@RianC Let me know when you book your flight. I will gather the others...

@Nozinan - It would be an absolute pleasure my good man However, should I not be able to attend for any reason . . . please do post your findings!

@RianC in regards to older blended whisky being better, I've been reading Dave Brooms book: Whisky the manual. His key theme is that whisky should be drunk How you like it, and it has typically been a mixed drink rather than taken neat as afficionados would say today. Anyway, he also makes the point that single malt whisky is a relatively new thing and that prior to the 70's almost all whisky was blended. If you're not siphoning of the best for single malt (or even single cask) bottlings then maybe the blends would have a better quality of whisky in its makeup.

The OMA board has met. Tonight is the dreaded post-board teleconference. The only reasons I can stand to be on this call are:

1. I get an honourarium, half of which I assume will go to tax, and the other half that I allocate to my whisky-related budget for the year. So far, I've not managed to spend all of it (that's how painfully long and frequent they are).

2. I can spend most of my time on mute (listening to the Jays game or posting on Connosr.

3. The remainder of the Stagg Jr I reviewed last night...

oops...the Stagg Jr finished before the meeting...

Relief at last! It has been a solid week of 90F and high humidity. The temperature has dropped 15 degrees in the past hour. Torrential rains 10 miles from here. The sky is blue over my house and I'm rejoicing, celebrating with one of the finest single barrel bourbons on the market today, JOHN J.BOWMAN SINGLE BARREL 100 PROOF.

Cheers!

For the 4th of July celebration last night, I didn’t have any American Whisky open, so I went with one that had an American reference in its name; Girvan 31 year SMWS G7.10 (Lowland Grain) "The Texan tea party".

Tonight, Ardbeg 10 year (Lot # L67765 6/20/17 17006181 16:27).

I had a dram of Laphroaig Triple Wood while sitting on my back deck and enjoying the fact that it’s not eleventy billion degrees outside today. I’m impressed. Triple Wood is far more complex than I expected it to be. Or remember it. I can’t recall if this is the first time I’ve had it. I think it is. Either way, it’s lovely. Especially the nose. Think “layers”.

I’ve moved on to my Laphroaig Cairdeas Madeira Cask. It is quite different from the Triple Wood. The Cairdeas is light, bright, and very fruity. Strawberry jam, cherry nibs (red licorice), with some creamy, slightly nutty notes on the finish. Again, this does not feel like 51.6% ABV. It is incredibly (wait for it) SMOOOOOOOOOTH

This afternoon I did a joint intake of a new patient with the Nurse Practitioner who works in the area. Given that we finished late, to avoid rush hour traffic she came over to my place to chart, and her husband joined us for dinner.

I took the opportunity to get her to try my new Stagg Jr batch, and she liked it but was not as shocked and awed as her first taste of bourbon, Stagg Jr. at "only" 65%.

At the end of dinner they brought out this strawberry sake that he had brought and put in the freezer. It tasted a bit like a yoghurt drink.

After they left I had to go and finish charting (yes @bluenote, CHARTING), so I poured myself a small measure of Wiser's 19 YO seasoned oak to keep me company...

@OdysseusUnbound, No, no, no, please stop!! No más! No más! ....Not the "s" word!

The Mariner’s baseball game that I was watching was awful so instead I’m now watching The Rolling Stones concert from 2016 in Havana, Cuba while drinking Aultmore 18 year (Feb. 1997) SMWS 73.72 "A ray of sunshine" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead, followed by an Ardbeg 9 year (May 2007) SMWS 33.135 “Peat-reek and barbeque char” from a second-fill Oloroso Sherry Butt. Great music and great whisky; much better than bad baseball!

@paddockjudge At least it wasn’t silky smooth. @OdysseusUnbound You’ve been a very naughty boy. We might have to wash your mouth out with JW Red, or that Lambertus that @Nozinan loves so much.

@OdysseusUnbound I used to love that stuff. Recently, the price has been rising into Uigeadail range, so I haven't tasted recent batches.

Burns night is during the summer time here, so I planned to do a mid-winter Burns Supper for some friends I've been introducing to whisky (one of whom was actually born in Scotland). This was my first time making haggis from scratch, though I've eaten it many times. What a great fun night. I even attempted a recital of 'Address tae a haggis' in my best Scots brogue. Whiskies drunk were nothing special: Teachers whisky sour to start, Arran 10, Tobermory 10, and Delwhinnie 15. Here's the "great chieftan o the puddin'-race".

Spent a wonderful day at the lake with family. Sister-in-law and husband visiting from Thailand for six weeks. After a delicious BBQ steak dinner my nephew pulled this one out of thin air... did I mention he is my favourite nephew?!!

@paddockjudge Nice!

How does it compare to the 2015-01?

@Nozinan, it's a bit hotter and doesn't have the candy shop notes, it's fruitier, and a bit young for my liking...another year or two in oak perhaps.

Caol Ila 11 year SMWS 53.252 "Smoky incarnations" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead. Feis Ile 2018 bottling.

Out for a drink with my wife on our anniversary. As I looked through the drink list I couldn’t believe it when I saw Glenfiddich Snow Pheonix on the drinks list for $20. Near as I can tell it goes for $1300 in auctions these days. The waitress said she hadn’t had anyone order it before. I’m going out on a limb saying most dudes don’t know what they’re looking at when they look at a list. I’m also going out on a limb saying the liquor buyer doesn’t know what’s what either. Balvenie 12yo was categorized as an Islay. Either way - yeah me!!!!