So, what are you drinking now?

Ardbegeddon II with the club a couple nights ago:

Not pictured: Perpetuum, which was the group's surprise favorite of the night (although I might have said something similar a few years ago at Ardbegeddon I).

My personal favorite this time around was Supernova 2019. Very uplifting & clean! If you had a stuffy nose, this would sort you.

@JayRain That's a hard question...depends on how you want to play, and how many expansions you use (as an example, if you have the Kingsport expansion, one player will have to spend all their time in Kingsport having the 'talking with old people encounters). We prefer larger groups, although the games can drag on that way. Four is pretty ideal. If you want to have a lot of fun, make people come in costume as the character they're playing, and have the fixings for period cocktails...

@MRick, HAha, good one!

@MadSingleMalt that is good to hear that Supernova 2019 continues the righteous Ardbeg Supernova tradition.

After Saturday night’s lineup, all I had to drink yesterday (Sunday) was a Jerry Thomas Manhattan.

Tonight, after dealing with my 2021 work budget all night, only a heavily peated dram will do. Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.190 (6 year - Oct. 2013) "Make moine a devil!" from a second-fill ex-Oloroso Sherry butt - 61.1% ABV.

My wife attended a Women Who Whiskey tasting tonight.

Started off with a Black Manhattan. This was so good! 2oz Maker’s Mark 46, 1oz Fast Penny Spirits (Seattle, WA) Amaricano amaro, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 1 dash Orange bitters, garnished with 2 black cherries and a dehydrated orange slice.

Maker’s Mark 101 - 50.5% ABV. Nose: Sweet, bold spice. Palate: Creamy spice, fruit and caramel. This was my favorite of the three that we tasted.

(Maker’s Mark’s mash bill; 70% corn, 16% soft red winter wheat & 14% malted barley.)

Next up was Maker’s Mark 46 Cask Strength. 54.8% ABV. I’ve never been a fan of Maker’s Mark 46. This was better than the standard version, but was my least favorite of the three that we tasted. It had that cherry cough syrup taste that I can’t stand. After 6 years in new oak, it spends 9 weeks with the addition of French oak staves.

Next up Maker’s Mark Wood Finishing Series SE4 x PR5 2020 Limited Release. This is a “blended” bourbon (3 different wood profiles). This expression is designed to be amped up vanilla, caramel, creamy and sweet. SE4 = French oak. PR5 = American oak.I liked this better than the 46 cask strength, but not as much as the 101.

Also had a sample of the Fast Penny Spirits Amaricano amaro.

After the tasting, I tried to make another Black Manhattan with the left over Fast Penny amaro, but it was not good! I used the 2Bar bourbon that I have in my cabinet, but it was too over the top. I will be picking up some Maker’s Mark 46 and some of the Fast Penny amaro to make the Black Manhattan’s that we had tonight. Good stuff! Even though I’m not a fan of Maker’s Mark 46, it made a great Black Manhattan!

I am enjoying Ardbeg wee beastie 5 yo. It is a wee beastie indeed. It is definitely not Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beast. It is less delicate and creamy. It is sweet, fruity and there is lots of choclate. It is surely great fun.

The teacher "got schooled" in rum tonight. I was fortunate to do a Zoom tasting with @cricklewood and taste some very interesting rums. I didn't make any notes but the ones we got through before I had to put my youngest to bed were (and he can correct me if the order is wrong):

• Plantation Multi Island
• Plantation Xaymaca
• Rhum Brielle Agricole Brut de fût
• Plantation Réunion 12 years

As I said, I have no real tasting notes, but I enjoyed all of these rums as well as talking with @cricklewood about something that's not work. The Brielle and Réunion were particularly interesting. They're a completely different style than anything I've ever had before. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a bottle of any of these rums. Maybe I'm too easy to please (unless we're talking about insufficiently aged, er, I mean elegant "base" Canadian corn whisky ).

I've now moved on to a sample of Glenallachie 12 Year Old. I got a sample from a friend over a year ago and he's getting antsy for me to review it. First impressions are quite good, but I've saved the second half of the sample for another day, when I don't have four rums in my system.

To celebrate my order placed from Dillon's distillery, and in anticipation of an upcoming review, I poured a small measure of Dillon's cask strength rye. A shame it comes in 200 cc bottles.

Bunnahabhain Toiteach A Dha. Been open a few months now and it has really improved and become more articulate, on the nose especially. Grimy, dirty, ashy and slightly medicinal peat (some mix of Bowmore and Port Charlotte springs to mind) but with more of the fruity notes coming through with it and a touch of creamy malt.

Peat heads would no doubt enjoy this and it's a nice deviation from the usual Islay fayre.

More cocktails for the Haunted Walk: the Haunted Graveyard...it's functionally a Maple Old Fashioned with orange and smoked rosemary.

On Wednesday (yesterday) afternoon, attended a virtual tasting with Dr. Rachel Barrie, Master Blender for Brown Forman.

First up we tasted the new release of BenRiach Twelve. This is a marriage of Sherry, bourbon and port casks. The sherry is Pedro Ximenez which makes up 2/3 of the vatting, but it is not a sherry bomb at all. It is a very balanced dram. On the nose, barley sugar, honey, cocoa and fruit. On the palate, malt, almond, orange, hazelnut and mocha. 46% ABV. I thought it was a really nice, beautiful whisky.

Next up was GlenDronach Revival 15 year. 46% ABV. Of the 3 whiskies that we tasted, this is the only one that I have had before. It was an interesting transition from the sherry of BenRiach to this one. While still not quite a sherry bomb, in my opinion, it is much more sherry influenced than the BenRiach. The 15 year uses a combination of Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Spanish sherry casks from Andalucia, but there is more PX than Oloroso. This has more of a dry nuttiness to it than the BenRiach. It is also more savory. Nose is dark chocolate, orange bitters, walnut, raisin, dates and coffee. The palate is apricot, fig, muscovado sugar, manuka honey and again, dark chocolate. A really nice balance between the dry and the sweet.

Finished with Glenglassaugh Torfa which uses peated malt. They acquire their peated malt locally, but it is not peated at the distillery. Torfa means turf. It is bottled at 50% ABV. 35 ppm. Aged in Bourbon and sherry casks. Nose had apricot, smoke and soy (soy sauce), salty. Palate was tropical (pineapple), salted caramel and sweet peat smoke. This was very good, but the peat is more highland than Islay. No medicinal notes. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, but don't add water. It really flattens it out.

Later, I did some prep work for a private tasting that I will be conducting on Saturday night;

Braeval SMWS 113.24 (7 year - Oct. 2011) "Attack of the killer florists!" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 63.4% ABV.

Braeval SMWS 113.15 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "An apricot jamboree" from a refill ex-bourbon barrel - 61.6% ABV.

The Big Swirl SMWS 10 year old Blended Malt Batch 07 - Ex-Spanish oak casks + ex-bourbon casks matured for final 2 years in 1st-fill ex-sherry hogshead - 50% ABV.

Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.162 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "Big wave sofa". After 7 years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead transferred to a first fill oloroso hogshead - 61.4% ABV.

Thursday night the LCBO presented a virtual tasting of some of the Wiser's line-up, hosted by Don Livermore. I only had the 18 year-old, but the history lesson was interesting.

@YakLord Did Dr Don share the “cask makeup” of the 18? I’m fairly certain it’s all base corn whisky, but is it all first-fill ex-bourbon, refill casks, a mix ?

@OdysseusUnbound He certainly said it was 100% corn, but if he said anything about the cask mix, I missed it.

@YakLord I bet @paddockjudge knows. If I remember correctly, Wiser’s 15 is a different recipe than the 18. I think the 15 has some rye and maybe some virgin oak in the mix.

@OdysseusUnbound Yes, the 15 is not the same recipe at the 18, and has some rye in it.

@OdysseusUnbound, yes, the 15 YO has a dash of rye... less than 9.09%

@paddockjudge Technically, it could have more than 10% rye and still be Canadian whisky...

@Nozinan but if it’s more than 9.09% rye that’s less than 15 years old, they couldn’t use the 15 Year Age Statement. Unless I’m mistaken. I’m still not clear about cask selection/type for Wiser’s 15 vs Wiser’s 18.

@Nozinan, yes, that is true; however, it would no longer be considered 22 years old if it contained more than 9.09% of less-than-22-YO-rye.

@OdysseusUnbound Only if the rye were not 15 years old

@Nozinan @paddockjudge @OdysseusUnbound

I’m really confused with these Canada whiskey regulations. I thought Scotch was restrictive...

Earlier today, finished preparing for tomorrow’s tasting.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.302 (11 year - Sep. 2007) "Holy sweet smoke!" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.9% ABV.

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

Now, my wife and I are having a couple of Jerry Thomas Manhattan’s before dinner.

@bwmccoy, the Canadian Whisky regulations are actually easier for blenders than Scottish regs

Last night, Redbreast 12 CS - about a third left and this bottle is at the sweet spot. Doesn't need water but I added a good splash and it was perfect. Will have to replace this but prices are off-putting.

Now, some Carlos 1 Spanish brandy. Not an aperitif, I know, but what the hell! Not too sweet with lots of prunes and vanilla and a little spice at the tail. Would love to try brandy at a higher proof ...

Behind in my posting;

On Saturday afternoon / evening, I conducted a socially-distanced, private, in-home Society tasting for 5 people. (My brother-in-law is on the board of a non-profit that holds an auction / fundraiser once a year. For the past several years, the Society has provided a membership for the auction and my brother-in-law completes the package with a Society bottle. This year, he asked if we could add a private tasting to the package for the winner of this auction item. I thought it was a great idea and was happy that I could support his nonprofit in this way. While this wasn't an official Society event, it was great to lead a tasting again. It had been almost 9 months since I last conducted a tasting.)

I poured the following;

Braeval SMWS 113.24 (7 year - Oct. 2011) "Attack of the killer florists!" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 63.4% ABV

along side

Braeval SMWS 113.15 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "An apricot jamboree" from a refill ex-bourbon barrel - 61.6% ABV

My idea with these two was to show how the same distillery, both from an ex-bourbon cask and almost the same age can be so different; cask 113.24 is sweet and floral, where 113.15 is fruity and dry. The other thing I had them do was add water to each so they could see the change a few drops of water could make. Of these two, everyone's favorite was 113.15.

Next, I transitioned to sherry with the Society's 10 year old Blended Malt Batch 07; "The Big Swirl"; ex-Spanish oak casks + ex-bourbon casks matured for final 2 years in 1st-fill ex-sherry hogshead - 50% ABV.

along side

Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.162 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "Big wave sofa". After 7 years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead transferred to a first fill oloroso hogshead - 61.4% ABV.

The Big Swirl is a lighter sherry influence where 10.162, even with only a 2 year finish in sherry is much bolder. I also wanted to show them a blended malt (as opposed to a blend) and explain the difference between the two. Of these two drams, one of the attendees who doesn't like Scotch did like The Big Swirl. She thought the Bunnahabhain had an industrial quality to it on the nose. However, after adding water, she started liking the Bunnahabhain more, but still not as much as The Big Swirl. In fact, I think everyone preferred The Big Swirl over the Bunnahabhain.

Finished with 2 peated Islay’s;

Caol Ila SMWS 53.302 (11 year - Sep. 2007) "Holy sweet smoke!" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.9% ABV

along side

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

My idea was to introduce peat from an ex-bourbon cask and then transition to a heavily peated, heavily sherry influenced dram. Also, I could contrast the difference between two very different examples of Bunnahabhain (10.162 tasted in the previous group of two drams). I knew before the event that one of the attendees did not like peat, but surprisingly she liked the heavily peated, heavily sherried Bunnahabhain. However, the Caol Ila was the preferred of the two for the rest of the attendees. Overall, I think everyone had a great time. None of the attendees were familiar with Society whiskies, so it was a lot of fun to show how the Society drams are different than most whisky that you pick up at the liquor store or in a bar; namely single cask, cask strength, not chill filtered and no coloring added.

After the tasting, I went over to my brother-in-law's house and we had a few drams from some, but not all of the bottles that I took to the event;

Braeval SMWS 113.15 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "An apricot jamboree" from a refill ex-bourbon barrel - 61.6% ABV.

Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.162 (9 year - Oct. 2008) "Big wave sofa". After 7 years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead transferred to a first fill oloroso hogshead - 61.4% ABV.

We killed off my bottle of Caol Ila SMWS 53.302 (11 year - Sep. 2007) "Holy sweet smoke!" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.9% ABV. I am really going to miss this one. So good!

Then we finished the night with Bunnahabhain SMWS 10.190 (6 year - Oct. 2013) "Make moine a devil!" from a second-fill ex-Oloroso Sherry butt - 61.1% ABV. This one was so good, we had to have a second glass of it before calling it a night.

Last night (Monday), my wife and I had Jerry Thomas Manhattan's made with Rittenhouse Bottled in Bond Rye.

Tonight, a couple of Seattle drams;

Copperworks Distilling pre-release bottling of SMWS 143.1 “Sea buckthorn tea time” 3 year (specifically 46 months - March 14th, 2016) - New oak barrel (18 month air seasoned staves) heavy toast, medium char (#2) - 60% ABV.

Westland Distillery Cask # 2542 Single cask release, (6 year-Distilled 2012) 27 months in Coopers Reserve New American Oak followed by 45 months in an ex-Pedro Ximénez Hogshead - 50.8% ABV.