So, what are you drinking now?

@Victor Intermediate Sherry? Drinking history, are you? Wouldn't it be great if you somehow had a few backup bottles waiting for you in a warehouse in Canada, procured at a steal of a price?

I sampled some of the “custom” Booker’s blend provided by @Nozinan last night and I have to say...it was fantastic!!

@Nozinan why yes...yes it would.

@Nozinan - how was the M&H gin?

@BlueNote - I think we’d have a “Kraken” good time. Sorry. I couldn’t resist...

Last night, I again made the Gunpowder and Smoke cocktail from The 12 Bottle Bar book that @Victor suggested to me earlier this year, but this time I used my Smoke Top to add smoke to the chilled glass before I poured in the drink. You can see the smoke billowing out in the photo below. For the smoke, I used lapsong shusong tea since that is what was used to make the Gunpowder liqueur. The drink is 1 egg white, 2 oz dry gin (I used Hendrick’s since it’s Scottish), 1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 oz gunpowder liqueur with a spritz of Rittenhouse BiB sprayed over the top of the drink and lit on fire with a blow torch.

@bwmccoy I am not an expert on gin. I liked the flavours of the gin when I tried it in December. I only poured samples, I didn’t get a proper taste. Just literally the last drop.

I’ve tried all of the spirits that will be on offer but not in a long time (I reviewed the Classic a while back). I’m sure I will have more to say...

In anticipation of a Milk and Honey vertical tasting I’ve been preparing samples for 5 different expressions.

This is the last of three. I haven’t poured the samples yet, but as my Nephew and his GF came over for a socially distanced Turkey dinner, I took the opportunity to introduce him to this exceptional offering from a very new distillery.

Like other hot climate distilleries, 3.5 years in the cask means more than the same time in Scotland. This particular expression was matured in an ex-Islay cask.

Bourbon Cider Cocktail, with a decidedly zombie theme...

Rittenhouse 80 proof Rye, Sagamore Spirit (MGPI) 48.3% ABV Rye, Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye, Don Julio Anejo Tequila, and Don Julio 1942 Tequila (which is a 2.5 yo light bodied Anejo Tequila). I am drinking a sample of the Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye from my sister's stash. I didn't much like this bottle when it was first opened and wondered whether I had made a major blunder by buying 3 bottles of it, but it, like so many US straight ryes, does very well with air exposure. NOW, it tastes to me like a souped up version of 2009 era Jim Beam Yellow Label Rye, which is a good thing. It has a very edgy spice attack, which is rather elegant. Back in 2008-2009, when almost all of the US ryes cost $ 8.50- $ 10.00 for 750 ml where I live, and were sold at 40% ABV, the better barrels were still part of the mix. In those days $ 30 would buy me a bottle of Jim Beam Yellow Label Rye, Pikesville Supreme (3 yo) Rye, and Old Overholt Rye. Rittenhouse 80 proof cost a bit more, at about $16. Those and if you were lucky, the occasional bottle of Wild Turkey 101 Rye at $ 22 were all there was to buy. When the premium brands came out a couple of years later, the el-cheapos dropped massively in quality. My how things have changed. Then the market was small and cheap. Now the market is large and expensive.

Last night, my wife and I attended a small, socially distanced birthday celebration for a friend at a local restaurant that a mutual friend owns. We didn't start the party until after the restaurant closed and there were only a total of 8 people, including the owner. Each person attending brought some whisky from their personal collection to share.

We started off the evening by killing my bottle of Bruichladdich 1984 23 Year Old Golder Still (bottled 2007, purchased 2013). If your going to kill off a special bottle, it might as well be with friends.

Next up was a 29 year Clynelish from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottled in 2014. SMWS 26.105 "Bumblebees by the sea" distilled on Nov. 28th, 1984. Matured in a refill ex-sherry butt. 548 bottles. 57.6% ABV. Wow! They just don't make whisky like this anymore. Not a sherry bomb; rather the creamy, waxy spirit was able to shine through. Stunningly elegant!

If that wasn't special enough, next was a 22 year Macallan. SMWS 24.136 "A sweet seduction" distilled June 27th, 1996, bottled 2018. This is one of a 3 bottle set called "Jazz Trio". Each bottle had a jazz themed label; one with a piano, one with drums and one with the upright base. The whiskies were originally matured for 20 years in a single oloroso Sherry puncheon before being separated for a secondary maturation period of 2 years. Of the 3 casks used for finishing, one was a first-fill oloroso hogshead, the second was a first-fill Pedro Ximinez hogshead and the 3rd was a second-fill ex-Bourbon barrel The one we had last night was the ex-bourbon finish. 218 bottles. 58.3% ABV. Wow! What a beautifully complex whisky. Mid-palate it was like drinking sherry wine, but was unapologetically whisky before and after. Muscovado sugar sweetness with a very long satisfying finish. This is what all Macallan's should taste like.

How do you top that? I'm not sure that you do, but Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1 held its own. Distilled 1990, bottled 2013, aged 23 years. 49.2% ABV. Every time I nosed this, I got something different, but one time, it was like nosing a glass of fine red wine. This was Jim McEwans last version of Black Art before he retired. I'd say he went out in style!

Sticking with wine influenced whisky; Aberlour A'bunadh. 59.8% ABV. Spanish Oloroso Sherry Butt cask. Unfortunately, I don't know which batch is was, but it was outstanding. If I had tasted this blind, I would have swore that it was an older Macallan. Sherry bomb, but not over done. Perfectly balanced. Best A'bunadh that I've had. Based on an Internet search, maybe this is batch #39? Not sure.

Next up was Compass Box Rogues' Banquet. This was a very good whisky, but the palate didn't really stand out. That was probably due to the previous whiskies, but one standout of this whisky was the nose. It was like the whiff of perfume when a woman walks past you. Beautiful!

Next up was a 13 year (January 2006) Longmorn. SMWS 7.233 "A syrupy sweet tale of romance" from a first-fill sherry butt. Who said romance was dead? Not with this one because I love it! It tasted much older than its 13 years and was not hot, even at 62.3% ABV. A sherry monster – yes, but with all the delicacy and subtleties of a velvet glove. Considering the competition tonight, this one not only held its own, but was one of the favorites for everyone.

Taking a quick departure from Scotch, Uncle Nearest 1820 single barrel bourbon. In order to be a candidate for Uncle Nearest 1820, the whiskey must be aged a minimum of 11 years, with a cask strength above 108 proof. This particular release (US-43) was aged 11 years and came in at 58.4% ABV (116.8% Proof). The corn was present taking center stage, but there was enough complexity of other flavors around it to keep it balanced and made for an outstanding whiskey.

Back to Scotch, but transitioning to smoke, a 20 year Caol Ila. SMWS 53.207 "Cod wrapped in Parma ham" distilled July 13th, 1993 was matured in a Refill ex-Sherry Butt. 572 bottles. 58.7% ABV. Singed heather, sandalwood and tobacco. The peat was present, but subdued. Could not really detect the sherry cask influence so I'm assuming it had been refilled many times before aging this spirit. It was an awesome dram from my favorite distillery!

Finished the night with real treat for me; a 20 year old sherry and peat Bowmore! SMWS 3.307 "A journey into joy" was distilled September 1997 and bottled in 2018 for the Feis Ile festival. This was matured in a refill Oloroso butt with an ABV of 55.9%. Notes of brandy butter, mixed / smoked nuts, cardamom, nutmeg, dark chocolate, orange, toffee and leather with a very long finish that lasted long after we departed the party.

What a special night with special friends.

Wiser's 18 before Thanksgiving Dinner, then a glass of Bowmore 12 courtesy of my neighbour...

Got together with a friend (couple) last evening to celebrate our anniversaries. Theirs was the 11th and mine the 10th. Started off by trying the new Glenmorangie 'A Tale of Cake'. Interesting dram created by Dr. Bill. On the nose there is pineapple and pear but in the background the nose is definitely Glenmorangie. On the palate it is creamy with honey and citrus notes and the finish is medium in length with the honey carrying through to a spiciness at the end. I was not sure how this one would go when I picked it up, but it is not bad. Next we tried the Kilchoman Red Wine cask and ended the evening with a Distiller's Edition Lagavulin.

Behind in my posting.

Sunday night; Jerry Thomas Manhattan’s made with Rittenhouse rye BiB.

Last night (Monday); rated the last two open unrated bottles.

2Bar Spirits (Seattle, WA) Straight Bourbon Whiskey - 50% ABV. Rating 84.

Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.190 (6 year - Oct. 2013) "Make moine a devil!" from a second-fill ex-Oloroso Sherry butt - 61.1% ABV. Rating 94.

Last night, Ardbeg An Oa

Tonight, had the next to last dram of Balvenie Portwood 21

Also, while playing on-line poker with my brother-in-law and friends, killed off my bottle of Inchmoan SMWS 135.14 (13 year - Mar. 2005) "Tripping the light fantastic" - After maturing in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a first-fill charred red wine barrique - 55.4% ABV.

@bwmccoy Ah the Balvenie Portwood 21. Another one of those that I have been eyeing for years but am reluctant to pull the trigger on due to cost. Do you feel it is worth the price of admission?

Knob Creek Cask Strength Rye, 59.8% ABV, 9 years old. This is from my sister's bottle opened 18 months ago. I was severely disappointed when the bottle was first opened and I tasted it, because I had purchased 3 bottles of it for myself and it just did not get there for me at all. 18 months later, after the rye has had much time to open and expand I am liking it quite a lot. This tastes to me very much like the 40% ABV Jim Beam Yellow Label Rye circa 2008, only ratcheted up to 60% ABV. I liked that $ 10 Beam Yellow Label in 2009, and only wished for a thicker texture. For near 60% ABV this KC CS Rye remains only medium in texture/body, but it makes a great everyday drinker. It remains mostly medium-pitched with a few high notes. Don't expect those bass notes from oak which are the mark of older American whiskeys.

I have always found Beam to be hit and miss with rye whiskey. Beam Yellow Label was very nice until they started segregating barrels for Knob Creek Rye. From Beam's (Ri) 1 I have had both untastable water and sublimity, depending upon batch. From Yellow Label Rye, spicy beauty and in later releases unfathomable murkiness. From Green Label "Pre-Prohibition Style" Rye just weird spiciness with nothing else present. The current Knob Creek standard Rye is the inheritor of the better barrels of what would have been Yellow Label Rye. It works. I still haven't had the opportunity to have tasted Booker's 13 yo Rye, 68.1% ABV, which was released in 2016. I balked at the $ 300 initial asking price, and even more at the $ 500 I saw it at a store a few months later. Should I have bought all they had in Albuquerque at $ 500 each in 2016, because current average world asking price is $ 2,447? Probably not, because even if it is up with the very best ryes available, that makes it worth about $ 300 a bottle to me for drinking purposes, not more.

wine-searcher.com/find/…

With October being a 31 day month I am taking noon on the 16th to be ' Hump Hour' of 'Hump Day'. Good time for sampling spirits, especially on a Friday.

So I have continued with some Alberta Premium 30 yo 100% Rye Whisky from Calgary. Nice, but I still much prefer the Alberta Premium 25 yo.

Next, Don Julio Anejo tequila. This bottle has been open at least 7 years, and I like it better than in its earliest days open. Very nice. Don Julio is a solid brand in the tequila industry.

Then, Jose Cuervo Reserva de la Familia Extra-Anejo tequila. Be still my heart! Haven't had this in a while and it is delivering in spades. It makes me start to wonder where I'll get another bottle when this one is gone...and I just recently opened this one

El Tesoro de Don Felipe Anejo tequila. Tasting great right now, very peppery

Exotico Reposado tequila. This bottle never lived up to the promise of the store sample on account of which I bought it, but it is improving with air exposure and is currently just tolerable as a sipper. I'm sure it would be a very good mixer

Old Charter 8 yo Bourbon. I stuck myself with a "handle" of this stuff in about 2011. I can't believe that I have managed to drink/serve to others about a liter of this. An example of a "lesser" product out of the Buffalo Trace Distillery. This one at its best was about an 80 point whiskey. Right now 70 points would be about right

HuuuummmP Daaaaaaayy!!!

www.youtube.com/watch

Swedish Berries, Swedish Fish, Swedish Furniture, and Swedish Whisky (Mackmyra Brukswhisky).

@TracerBullet - I had my first bottle of Portwood 21 back in 2011 and fell in love with it. Due to cost, I didn’t get my second bottle until 2017 which I didn’t open until this March, so it was 8 - 9 years between them and it lived up to my memory, which to me makes it worth the cost. Is it overpriced? I think so, by a little. At least, it is outside my normal price per bottle range. Is it worth it? I think so. I love port finished whisky and what I like about this one is the Balvenie character still shines through. The port is perfectly balanced in my opinion. My only complaint is the 43% ABV. Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful whisky at this ABV, but I would love to try it at 46 or 50%. Hope that helps.

@Victor - you mentioning the Don Julio and Jose Cuervo reminded me of the awesome day we had together when you shared those and many other amazing spirits with me. What a great day! Hope we can do it again one of these days!

Right now, my wife and I are having Jerry Thomas Manhattan’s before dinner (grilled Filet Mignon steak).

I’m finishing the last of my current bottle of Laphroaig 10 Year (43%). I’ve enjoyed it, as I always enjoy Laphroaig, but I have to say that this bottle has been slightly below average for what I’m used to from Laphroaig 10. It’s usually a 90 point bottle for me, whereas this one is probably an 87 or 88. Still pretty darned good, but not a batch to seek out or stock up on.

@Victor, HAHAHA, we need that camel at our next session!

@Victor, it took a bit of restraint to not buy a bottle of the Booker's 13 YO Rye in Albuquerque back in 2016...however, the decision for us to nab, as you so aptly put it, "the three last remaining bottles of Elijah Craig barrel proof in the state of New Mexico" was an easy one.

I'll be doing a Heaven Hill virtual tasting with my son next month:

Official Bottling

Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (sampled at full proof from the barrel)

Cask Samples

Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey at full proof

Experimental Mashbill – 51% Malt Whiskey at full proof

Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey at full proof

It will be interesting to see how Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey at full proof compares to Pikesville.... looking forward to the EC 18 YO at full proof!

We will have Rittenhouse and Pikesville on hand for comparison as well as ECBP (thank you my friend) and Elijah Craig 12 YO.

The tasting is pricey, especially for two kits...the shared experience with my son, priceless...

I’m now having a rum Old Fashioned made with Appleton 12, Regan’s Orange Bitters, Angostura bitters, and raw sugar simple syrup, served in a rocks tumbler that I was using for Laphroaig 10. Lovely.

@bwmccoy, as always, thank you very much for the kind words.

@paddockjudge that Heaven Hill tasting looks 'absolutely' fabulous!

It is an interesting question what Heaven Hill does to differentiate the styles of their Rittenhouse and Pikesville ryes from one another, and what their Elijah Craig Rye will taste like. I think it will be more like Rittenhouse, which is a more mainstream US Straight Rye style. "Long-aged" for me starts at 10 years old for a straight rye. 12 yo barrel proof rye = highly @Victor desirable. 10 years ago when older US ryes were still available, e.g. Rittenhouse 21 yo, 50% ABV, it was extremely difficult to find any at barrel strength. Then, if you wanted old barrel strength rye, you had to find one of the rare Willett Family Estate Bottles. It will be wonderful for a huge producer like Heaven Hill to mainstream a barrel strength rye hopefully with an age statement above 8 years. Some day Heaven Hill will likely bring back their 21 yo Rye, but I bet it costs $ 400/750 ml when they do.

Enjoying some connemara with good friends. The company makes the whisky stellar!

No whisky today...continuing my spooky Halloween cocktails for The Haunted Walk. Today it was the 'Herbert West, Re-Animator', which is functionally a Corpse Reviver #2 made with mezcal instead of gin...and it's really, really nice.

About last night...

Attended a friend's birthday party, but I feel like I was the recipient of the birthday gifts;

28 year Bunnahabhain (Distilled 1988, Bottled by Samaroli in 2016) Cask # 636. 43% ABV. Unpeated. A beautiful representation of this distillery. Exactly what you would expect from a Samaroli bottling.

25 year Strathmill (Distilled 1991, bottled by The Classic Cask in 2016) Cask #143. 46% ABV. Ex-bourbon barrel. Sweet honey, vanilla, fruity and oak notes.

24 year Port Dundas single grain scotch whisky "Muckety-Muck" from Orphan Barrel Whiskey Company. 45% ABV. Caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, baked sugar, crisp fruit and lightly toasted oak. The nose was amazing. The palate was a little flat, but still tasty.

The Macallan Jazz Trio from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. A single Macallan Sherry puncheon cask aged for 20 years was split up into three different casks for an addition maturation of 2 years. One finish was an Oloroso hogshead, the second was a Pedro Ximenez hogshead and the third was an ex-bourbon barrel.

SMWS 24.134 "A dark allurement" 22 years finished in a 1st-fill Oloroso hogshead. Dense with a hugely syrupy texture full of salted almonds. 56.7% ABV. 225 bottles.

SMWS 24.135 "An opulent temptation" 22 years finished in a first-fill Pedro Ximinez hogshead. Raspberry jam, dark chocolate-covered prunes and black pepper. 56.9% ABV. 241 bottles.

SMWS 24.136 "A sweet seduction" 22 years finished in a second-fill ex-Bourbon barrel. Elements of muscovado sugar sweetness.58.3% ABV. 218 bottles.

Peter Dawson blended Scotch whisky, bottled in 1928! Chewy, meaty, savory with some black liquorice in the finish. Liquid history.

22 year Cragganmore SMWS 37.58 "In a Perfumed Garden" from an ex-bourbon cask. 52.6% ABV.

25 year Caperdonich SMWS 38.22 "Love letters on linen paper" from a refill ex-bourbon barrel. Distilled June 17th, 1992. 51% ABV. 270 bottles. Summer evening floral scents; pears and white chocolate. The palate had notes of exotic fruits, citrus peel and hints of medicinal spice.

16 year Glenglassaugh SMWS 21.21, distilled March 1985, bottled September 2001. Matured in American Oak Hogsheads. This bottle is a fairly unusual release as the distillery was closed at this point. 57% ABV.

25 year Pittyvaich (distillery bottling) distilled 1989. 49.9% ABV. Bottle # 5431 of 5922. The distillery closed in 1993.

20 year Teaninich SMWS 59.26, distilled November 1983, bottled June 2004. "Sweet, Buttery and Malty." 58.9% ABV.

25 year Glen Moray SMWS 35.202 "Christmas spice and honeyed Stradivarius". Distilled October 25th, 1991 and matured in an ex-bourbon cask before being transferred and finished in a 1st-fill Pedro Ximenez hogshead. The nose is honeysuckle at dusk, cigars and eucalyptus. The palate is spice and honey.

Bushmills Millennium Malt distilled in 1975! This was from a private cask and was bottle #10 of only 40 bottles! 43% ABV. Wow! This Irish malt held its own with all of the Scotch that I was drinking and was a very special whiskey. Another treat!

28 year Linkwood SMWS 39.160 "Will brighten your day!". Distilled October 16th, 1989, matured in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead. 48.4% ABV. Even at this age, it had a pale straw-color. The nose had a crispy sweet citric freshness that developed into a rhubarb-strawberry compote with fresh mint. A wonderful waxy lemony, zesty texture on the palate with an exotic fruit cocktail and a very long finish. The name is very appropriate. It definitely will brighten your day or night or whenever you drink it!

24 year Highland Park SMWS 4.211 "Sun, Sand, Surf and Serenity". Distilled May 31st, 1991, matured in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead. 52.2% ABV. 208 bottles. Barbequed langoustines, scallops wrapped in pancetta and perfumed smoke.

Finished the night with a 27 year Laphroaig SMWS 29.234 "Smoked and salted toffee apples". Distilled November 9th, 1989 and matured in a refill ex-Oloroso sherry butt, but the cask must have been reused many times because the sherry influence is very subtle; not a sherry bomb. 54.9% ABV. 368 bottles. Salted toffee, fudge and sea spray with soft smoke, ginger, clove and dark chocolate in the finish. A truly elegant Laphroaig.

A great night celebrating a friend's birthday.

We went to my mother-in-law’s for dinner and I had a small pour of WT 101 followed by some Forty Creek Copper Pot. Wrong order, Joe, wrong order. The FC tasted thin and harsh after the WT. Oh well, live and learn.

@YakLord Just recently purchased Arkham Horror the base game.

What do you recommend as the ideal player set (solo vs 2 vs 3, etc.). Any other best practices that I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance...jayson

@paddockjudge better a camel at a tasting than a pink elephant! Although that hump would doubtless hold a lot of Legacy.