So, what are you drinking now?

Inspired by @cricklewood I am now sampling from my two bottles of blended bourbon.

First, Melrose Rare 12 Diamond, a gift from a friend, a bottle filled probably 50+ years ago and opened 13 years ago. This is 40% 12 yo straight bourbon and 60% grain neutral spirits.

Second, I am opening a NEW bottle of Kentucky Gentleman blended bourbon, which I bought almost 10 years ago. This is a Barton distillery product, Barton Distillery being a part of the Sazerac empire. This bottle currently costs $ 8.38 including the tax for 750 ml where I live. I got this one because I needed to round out a 12 bottle purchase in order to get the additional 8% off of those 8 Talisker 18 yos I bought for $ 50 each in 2011. The other 3 bottles were Elijah Craig 18 yo @ $32 each. Yes, those were the days! Just before the madness hit.

My favourite fun fact about Kentucky Gentleman is that Jim Murray rated this $ 8 product at 86 points, whereas he rated $ 3,100 Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old 85 points, and $ 4,500 Pappy Van Winkle 23 yo 78 points.

wine-searcher.com/find/…

wine-searcher.com/find/…

Newly purchased Alberta Premium Cask Strength. At 66% a bruiser. First impressions... spicy! Quite rich. Water opens it nicely. At this strength I will be taking small pours, but I am sure I will enjoy it and I’m glad I have a spare.

Started off tonight with a Manhattan that I am bottle aging with a charred oak stick from the Liquor Aging Kit. This is week 2 of up to 6 weeks of recommended aging. I’m happy to report this is coming along nicely; much better than when I tried it last week.

Later, finished off another leftover from a previous virtual tasting; Amrut Fusion batch number 85 (Feb. 2020). 50% ABV.

Finishing the night with Allt-A-Bhainne SMWS 108.14 (7 year - Nov 2011) "An enjoyable curiosity" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 66.2% ABV.

I am "warming up" on a cold February day, to Super Bowl LV. My objective is to use up a bottle of 2016 vintage Sauvignon Blanc. That white wine is best not kept around for 5 years.

Here's my newly created cocktail, without strict measures:

3 oz/90 ml Sauvignon Blanc, this one is from Freemark Abbey in Napa Valley, though I am a primarily a huge fan of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs

1 oz/30 ml of XO Brandy, in this case what I have on hand, which is E & J (Ernest & Julio Gallo, cost about $ 15 per 750 ml, in the USA)

A large dollop of frozen orange juice concentrate, for sweetness, and fruitiness

About 0.5 ounce/15 ml of fresh grapefruit juice, for BOTH sourness/acidity AND bitterness

Appox/ 15-20 Blueberries, frozen from fresh, to increase frutiness

VERDICT: Pretty good, much better than just drinking the wine

Friday night was a virtual tasting of Ardnamurchan with the Hon. Alex Bruce and Connal Mackenzie hosted by Whisky Galore here in NZ. We are fortuate here that I could actually gather with friends in person to share the online tasting together. The line up was: 1. Their inaugural release 09.20.01. A mix of peated and unpeated spirit from a combination of bourbon casks and sherry casks. Fantastic for 5 - 6 years old. Someone mentioned it's like the combination of Clyneleish and Talisker. I'm impressed. 2. Single cask sample of unpeated spirit aged in Champagne casks - lovely, quite sweet, quite a bit of oakiness 3. Single cask peated spirit from bourbon cask - my favourite 4. Single cask peated spirit from sherry cask- the crowd favourite. Quite a rich, dry, complex, almost austere whisky

Today I had:

• a Rum Manhattan made The Real McCoy 12 Year Old and Dolin Sweet Vermouth. I don’t have any rye or high rye bourbon here right now so a rum Manhattan was the order of the day. Real McCoy is a bit of an odd duck. I don’t love the nose (a bit too much acetone/nail polish aroma) but the palate and finish are amazing. I have a second bottle in the bunker because I feel like this is a top-shelf rum for upscale cocktails. It works neat, but is better from a rocks glass because of the more “estery” nose.
• St Lucia Distillers the Chairman’s Reserve The Forgotten Casks. This rum makes me forget that it’s only 80 proof. It’s got such a strong bass presence, redolent of molasses and iron (I know it sounds weird) and it just works for me. If someone says “rum”, this is the flavour profile that comes to mind. It isn’t overly sweet, and while I’m sure there’s some rum from a continuous still in the blend/bottle, it doesn’t have a ton of acetone/nail polish aromas that stand out in some other rums and blended whiskies. I’m probably going to pick up another bottle or two of this, despite the unfavourable high price:low proof ratio.
• Tamdhu 15. This bottle is almost gone and I’m glad I have a second. I think this will be my measuring stick for sherried whiskies for a long time to come. Rich, thick, and clean. What else could a man ask for in a sherried Speysider?

Tonight, a dram of Glenmorangie Dornoch - 43% ABV. Not sure why my wife fell in love with this one when we purchased it at the distillery in 2016. It’s not bad, but nothing special, especially at 90 GBP! However, when the wife says “I really like it, let’s buy it”, who am I to argue?...

@bwmccoy a wife who whiskies is such a blessing!

@Victor Much preferable to the cry of “how many unopened bottles do you have?”

@MRick Luckily, when I bring home whisky, most of it is for other people (with my bottles hidden in the total), and so I get mostly eye rolling...

@Nozinan You, sir, are a master strategist!

@bwmccoy She must be obeyed!

@MRick That and "How many more do you need"?

Late this afternoon my daughter got an email accepting her into an arts programme at my old high school (same name, new building next door, but that's another story...). She really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY wanted to get in.

So next year she will attend my old high school, in the same programme that I was in (I was in music, she was in film). If that doesn't scream LEGACY, I don't know what does. So I'm toasting her success with a small pour of Wiser's of the same name.

Didn’t post last night, but had 2 drams of High West A Midwinter Nights Dram; Act 7 Scene 6 - 49.3% ABV.

Tonight, we’re having cold (for us) weather with back-to-back snow storms starting tomorrow meaning it is whisky weather. Before dinner and a dram of M&H Elements Sherry Cask and a dram of Ben Nevis SMWS 78.41 (19 year - Dec. 1997) - "A real sherry monster" - Refill ex-Oloroso sherry butt - 57.1% ABV.

After dinner, finished off a couple of leftover samples from a recent Amrut tasting. Peated Single Malt. 46% ABV, followed by Peated Single Malt Cask Strength. 62.8% ABV.

@Nozinan MUSIC???? You never told me you are a musician! You commiserated with me over the plight of Ontario teachers, since you were (are?) one, but you never told me you're a musician !!

Our beloved Minister of (mis)Education made a controversial and puzzling announcement today so I needed a drink when I got home. I opened my bottle of Knob Creek 9 Year and was reminded of why I really dig this bourbon. It's got the classic Beam signature, but is actually quite dry and relatively tannic for a moderately-priced bourbon. No heavy sweetness here but also old enough, er I mean mature enough to avoid heavy spirit/acetone aromas. After the KC, I had some WT 101. The Turkey is definitely sweeter and more vanilla-forward but is still not cloying. I've got some work to do, but I'll definitely have something else later. The next big question is Which bourbon do I buy next? I'm in a very bourbon mood lately. I was thinking about taking the plunge on either Woodford Reserve Double Oak or Michter's Small Batch Bourbon, since I've not tried either one. That said, Maker's 46 is in the same price bracket and I'd like to have another one of those on the go. Decisions, decisions.

The wife is having a virtual Happy Hour with co-workers tonight so I am having a variation on the Boulevardier. Kitchen renovations are in a holding pattern so I figured I could use a drink. (I usually don’t drink during the week unless it’s a holiday)

For my final dram of the evening, I settled on some North of 7 “Not Bourbon” single cask (74.5% abv). I took it down to approximately 53%-55% abv and it just shines beautifully at this strength. It’s bourbon-esque but it’s definitely not like any bourbon I’ve had. This has much more chocolate and mocha than most bourbons I’ve tried. Then again, I’m far from being an expert on bourbon.

@OdysseusUnbound, I call it bourbonne

@BlueNote, I'm like a punching bag for @Nozinan, taking one for the team....over and over and over again...

@paddockjudge Thanks for agreeing to do an impromptu H2H with me. We tried small pours of each of the 2019 and 2020 releases of Alberta Premium Cask Strength.

There are huge differences between the the 2. I say this because my simple palate was able do discern very subtle differences. So subtle that I would not be able to identify which was which blind.

This is reassuring as I had heard from others that this might be a disappointing batch. In terms of stockpiling, I don’t need to have as much FORO because practically the 2 batches are interchangeable.

@paddockjudge if it wasn’t as good as it is, would you say it’s bour-pas-bonne ? (That’s a bad French joke for those who aren’t from Northern Ontario).

Last night had small drams of Springbank 18 and Longrow 18..

Cheers..

@paddockjudge You’re Chuvalo and he’s Ali?

@Timp that’s a twosome made in heaven.

@Nozinan what was the Judge’s verdict?

@MRick You would have to ask @paddockjudge that. My suspicion he would rule "guilty" of stealing the best in class award...

@paddockjudge What did you think of the relative merits of batch 2 vs batch 1 of Alberta Premium Cask Strength?

@MRick I see you are a very literal person. Cheers!