So, what are you drinking now?

@paddockjudge Add me to the list of Whisky Scouts. I'm an Eagle Scout as well.

@Timp @Victor - Sounds teelightful fun! Ahem ...

I'm not at an experimental stage yet but I totally agree that it opens up a whole other world of geekery! Maybe one day.

My partner is getting there though but she tends to like fruit based teas. There's a very good company called Bird and Blend that she buys from that do some interesting styles. Their English Breakfast is the best I've had and, while not my preferred style, some of the fruit ones are very nice. They do a Butterfly Pea one that is excellent when chilled - we make 'mocktails' for the kids with it as it pours dark blue but changes colour when you add citrus.

@RianC nice one lol. Will check them out as always looking for alternatives to caffeine drinks to help the knackered ticker!

@YakLord Vanishing Point. Hmm, I'll have to check that one out.

Cheers.

@RianC We used to buy a lot of very expensive leaf teas and green teas. Still buy some pricey greens, but for black tea it's good old Yorkshire Gold 3 times a day steeped to within a hair of qualifying for builder's tea.

@TracerBullet @paddockjudge Do we get any merit badges for being Whisky Scouts?

@Timp - some of them are caffeinated but they have an interesting and fun mix of green, black and other assorted teas and blends.

@BlueNote - I used to live near a China Town years back and could get an amazing variety of teas - loved some of the smokey and roasted ones. I like green tea but I find that I only really drink it with sushi or simple fish dishes - or, if im being fancy, making a Moroccan style mint tea. If I'm thirsty, it's a classic English tea every time (brewed strong, with a see splash of milk).

In very hot and muggy weather I like Jasmine tea. I really got a taste for this in Vietnam as they would have it chilled on table tops everywhere you went. So refreshing and light.

@BlueNote I'd love to have that merit badge!

Last night, I started with half of the 2oz sample of EH Taylor Barrel Proof (65% ABV) that I recently purchased as part of a DIY cocktail kit, however, I drank it neat. This is the first EH Taylor that I have had and I really enjoyed it. It's big and bold, but yet balanced. While I'm not a big bourbon fan, this is something that I would be happy to drink.

Later, I finished the night by rating an opened, but unrated bottle;

Glenallachie SMWS 107.21 (8 year - May 2012) "Bounty on the galleon" - 1st-fill ex-sherry butt" - 63.3% ABV. Rating: 89.

@bwmccoy I have an EH Taylor Small Batch Bottled in Bond, on the bench. Can't wait to give it a go. It's a new one for me as well but I keep hearing good things.

@bwmccoy I think I had a sample of the Glenallachie from one of my society member friends. However, I tend to confuse Glenallachie with Craigellachie. Whichever it was it was very good.

Tullamore D.E.W. 10 yo Single Malt, 40% ABV. I had not thought of it before, but this one reminds me quite a lot of Bunnahabhain 12 yo.

Wiser's 23 YO CS Blend 64.3% abv, this may be the best whisky to come out of Windsor.

My wife doesn’t usually drink Monday thru Thursday, but today’s her birthday, so I made a couple of her favorite gin-based cocktails; Gunpowder and smoke.

1 large egg white

2oz dry gin (Botanist)

1/2oz fresh squeezed, strained lemon juice

1/2oz Gunpowder Liquer (Lapsang souchong tea, water, sugar and brandy)

Shake all ingredients vigorously for 15 seconds, add ice and shake vigorously for another 15 seconds. Pour into a martini glass, then mist 100 proof rye across the surface of the drink while igniting it with a flame. (See photo below).

After dinner (grilled halibut), I rated another unrated open bottle;

Ardmore SMWS 66.186 (11 year - Nov. 2008) "Bivouac breakfast" - Refill ex-bourbon barrel" - 58.1% ABV. Rating: 92.

My wife had a dram of Compass Box Menagerie (a sample we were given by a friend).

LCBO has another lottery. I put my name in for a Stagg Jr. Looking at my 3 opened batches, I realized I've poured this once in the last year. So I fixed that tonight...

F

@Nozinan Put in for a Stagg Jr. and an EH Taylor, but not counting on it.

I'll try that again ...

A trio of Springbanks, 10 and 15 OB and a 12 year old Cadenhead's Cage Sample @59.7%, fresh bourbon barrel.

10 - more peaty than the other two - creamy, lemony, biscuity malt and the usual SB rubbery, earthy and salty notes. Always a pleasure!

12 - You can smell the % but you cannae taste it! The peat shows on the palate here with a gorgeous vanilla cream note. Water - nose is much better. Similar to the 10 but with more dark spices and a touch more austere and a very drying finish. Damn good.

15 - the wine notes really come through on the nose. If I didn't know better, I'd be forgiven for thinking this was a bit off compared to the other two. Darker, more treacley, very rubbery and salty, and lots of over-ripe, funky fruits. Hmmm ... As ever, a total chameleon.

Hard to separate between the first two but the higher proof edges the mouthfeel. The 15 seems somewhat out of place here. My conclusion - these Springbanks work best with the bourbon casks but that little bit in the 10 does round it off very nicely.

@RianC - ... little bit of sherry in the 10 rounds it off ...

I'm not pished, honest

@RianC Ralfy would be proud.

Kilchoman Machir Bay, 46% ABV, 2012 release, OB Springbank 10 yo, 46% ABV, and OB Springbank 14.7 yo Bourbon Wood, 55.8% ABV, 9,000 bottles. .

All three of these have seemed to have gotten better and better with the bottles long opened.

@RianC I really enjoyed my Springbank 15 (I have a backup) but I also think Springbank works best in bourbon casks. The 10 is just such a wonderful dram.

@OdysseusUnbound - This 15 is nearly two years open and I felt it may have flattened out a touch. Some days I've loved it with a passion, other days I've struggled to finish a pour! My plan was to give my Mum the last few drams but, as she lives in the one town in England that seems to be growing covid for fun (no, not Wuhan ), I still can't get to see her. This was an enjoyable little tasting though so every cloud ...

The 10 is such a great whisky for its age and price. I've said before, I really wonder how long that will last. It's getting harder and harder to find over here too.

And thanks again to @Timp for the sample. If im ever able to get back up to the land of thistles I'll be making a trip to the Cadenheads shop for sure.

Wild Turkey 101 Rye, a bottle bought in 2014 and bottled probably in 2013. Yes, this is the whiskey I remember fondly, the "if I could have only one bottle of whiski, period, with just a little money to spend, this would be the one" whiski. Wild Turkey ran short of aged rye whiskey in 2013 due to burgeoning demand. They answered this by putting out Wild Turkey Rye 81 proof, and suspending production of the Wild Turkey 101 Rye for the next 3 years. I haven't tasted the more recently released Wild Turkey 101 Rye, but it is not a promising sign that my friend @Nock didn't like what he tasted of the new batches.

Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Pot Still Rum, Navy Strength. This second bottle of S & C of mine has been greatly inferior to the first, particularly in the mouth. I am observing this bottle to see whether air exposure is helping the flavours. The answer so far is "yes", but this bottle has a long way to go to be close to the standard of the other bottles of this same product which I have tasted.

On Friday night, my wife and I had a couple of Black Manhattan's (Makers Mark 46).

Last night (Saturday), we had a friend over for dinner. Before and during dinner (grilled / pecan wood smoked Picanha steak, filet mignon and Portobello mushroom with roasted goat cheese), we shared some beers that my friend brought over. After dinner / dessert, we had the following;

Finished off the bottle of Clynelish SMWS 26.151 (26 year - October 1993) "Fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers". Refill ex-bourbon barrel - 47.3% ABV.

Teaninich SMWS 59.51 (30 year - November 1983) "A refined cocktail" - Refill hogshead - 51.5% ABV.

BenRiach SMWS 12.43 (28 year - Nov.1991) "Desire lines" - 2nd-fill ex-sherry butt - 54.8% ABV

Also finished off the bottle of Glenlossie SMWS 46.100 (27 year - November 1992) "Heart of Gold". After 25 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Spanish oak ex-Pedro Ximenez hogshead - 53.2% ABV

Ended the night with Ben Nevis 6 year (Dec. 2013). Full maturation in a 1st Fill Amontillado Gorda. 67.6% ABV. Single Cask Nation bottling.

Tonight, my wife and I had a couple of the usual Black Manhattan’s (made with Makers Mark 46).

After dinner, opened a couple of bottles;

Bladnoch Adela 15 year Oloroso Cask Matured - 46.7% ABV. Stunning whisky!

Glenfarclas 17 Year Old. One of my wife’s favorites, but was lacking after the Bladnoch.

The reason I opened these bottles is my wife asked me to put together samples of Speyside, Highland, Lowland and Islay whiskies for a co-worker. In addition to the Bladnoch (Lowland) and Glenfarclas (Speyside), I picked Glenmorangie 10 year Original for Highland and Ardbeg An Oa for Islay.

I don’t normally make mixed drinks on weeknights, but today was a Monday! I was in the mood for a traditional Manhattan. I first used 2 parts Rittenhouse Rye BiB, 1 part sweet vermouth and 3 dashes Angostura bitters. It was good, but for the 2nd Manhattan, I used Old Grandad 114. Wow! What a difference. This one is really hitting the spot!

@bwmccoy That Bladnoch is on my wish list. Pretty spendy though.

@BlueNote - I was fortunate. I got, what I felt like was a pretty good deal on the Bladnoch Adela 15. My friend who has a restaurant, turned it into a bottle shop during the pandemic. He is now returning it to a restaurant and had a “garage sale”. Before the garage sale, the price was $160 USD, but after a 20% mark down for the sale, I paid $128 USD out the door, including all taxes.

Last night, after getting home from attending my son’s Kindergarten “graduation ceremony”,

Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2010 - 50% ABV

and finished with a peated English dram;

St George's Distillery English Whisky Company SMWS 137.7 (7 year - Feb 2012) "How to kill your dragon" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 65.5% ABV.