So, what are you drinking now?

@Timp - Thanks! This whisky was distilled in 1992, but drinks a decade older to me; barley sugars and creamy with the wine notes appearing in the long finish. Beautifully balanced and sublime.

@RianC - Thanks for the birthday wishes and raising a dram! Yes, I’ve had a couple of really nice days celebrating whisky wise. I hope I get to try Laffy Sherry Oak one of these days. It’s one I’m sure I would love!

@bwmccoy Happy Birthday. Looks like you had a great evening!

Saturday, (yes,I am late in posting this) my wife and I attended a (late) Burn’s Night celebration with Laphroaig at Little Havana’s in Baltimore. Simon Brooking, Scotch Ambassador for Beam Suntory was hosting. Bagpipes, haggis, swag and lots of Laphroaig; it was a fun time.

@TracerBullet - Thanks for the birthday wishes. Looks like you had a great time as well. Simon is an awesome host!

Tonight, a couple of Black Irish Coffee Manhattan cocktails (my version of @yaklord’s original recipe). 1oz Teeling Irish Whiskey, 1oz Jameson Cold Brew Coffee Infused Whiskey, 1oz Amaro, a dash of Coffee Bitters and a dash of Orange Bitters.

@bwmccoy happy birthday!

I'm off work today so having a healthy mid day pour of Glenmorangie 18 whilst enjoying some (finally) beautiful weather. The bottle has been opened for a couple months now and is really opening up nicely. Glenmorangie is consistently climbing up the ranks with every new one I try. The 10, 14 Quinta, and 18 are some darn fine whiskies.

@casualtorture careful! Or you may soon become like my sister who never met a Glenmorangie that she didn't like. She has 9 different types of Glenmo open and 3 other different types of Glenmo unopened in her house.

@Victor I think I’m being won over myself. The bottle of Lasanta I had was not good, and it’s the only blemish in the lineup. It had a weird, off putting note that I can’t place a finger on. Almost smoky but in a wet, chemical kind of way.

Everything else I’ve had, 10yo, 12yo Quinta, 14yo Quinta, and 18 have been superb at reasonable prices. Signet sounds right up my alley based on the notes I’ve read on it, and might be the next one I seek out.

@casualtorture I like the Glenmorangie range overall, as well. Quinta is one of my favorites of the standard range but strangely enough, I actually prefer the old 12 to the new 14. I also still have one bottle left of the very old Port Cask finish which was the precursor to the Quinta. I need to do a tasting of that one, the 12 and the 14 to see who wins.

Now if I could have any bottle from Glenmorangie, the Sonnalta PX (I still have two bottles left, shhhhh) or the Signet would be my choices.

@casualtorture @TracerBullet as I've mentioned 2 or 3 times on Connosr in the past I like Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX so much I have named 2 of my automobiles "Sonnalta" after it. Glenmorangie Signet is in its own category of flavour profile. Expensive, but delicious and quite a conversation piece.

As for La Santa, historically there have been a lot of sulphured batches. I've tasted about 3 that were horribly sulphured, and maybe a couple of others more recently that were not. My confidence would not be high in buying a bottle of La Santa, which is why I never have bought a bottle of La Santa.

The other obligatory homage I have to pay to Sonnalta PX is that in the many group tastings of ALL types of whiski i have presented, Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX has been THE most consistently well-liked of all the products tried, including A'bunadh, Pappy Van Winkle, George T. Stagg, William Larue Weller, Booker's, Uigeadail, Redbreast 12 Cask Strength, etc. etc. usually with 20 greats tasted at a sitting...yep Sonnalta PX, THE crowd favourite, CONSISTENTLY. Every single person has liked it, usually a very great deal.

That said, I have no idea where a bottle of Sonnalta PX could be found to buy at this point.

@Victor "That said, I have no idea where a bottle of Sonnalta PX could be found to buy at this point."

They can be had but for much more than I am willing to pay. Too bad Dr. Bill didn't turn this into a standard release although the quality may have suffered over time. I only wish I had grabbed a few more bottles when I had the chance!

Very interesting that the Sonnalta PX beat out so many other greats! Kind of neat to hear that!

@casualtorture - Thanks for the birthday wishes. I really appreciate it!

As to your comment about Glenmorangie Signet, while it is out of my normal price range, it is elegant whisky. I've been fortunate enough to try it on numerous occasions over the years. I love what the use of chocolate malt does to the palate. The chocolate note adds a layer of complexity to the standard Glenmo distillery style and of course Dr. Bill's cask selection used for Signet just adds to the overall experience, in my humble opinion. My wife really likes Signet as well.

Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 Bourbon Barrel, ABV 51.5%, floor malted, matured by the sea at the distillery. This is a solid Laphroaig without the sherry, port, wine, and brandy, finishing of the other Cairdeas releases. It show cases the Laphroaig distillate and reveals a nuanced fruity spirit profile. It is not the heavy hitter like the Cask Strength version, more elegant and balanced - solid Laphroaig peat and smoke.

@fiddich1980 That's the very tasty 200th anniversary edition. I still have one in the back of the cabinet. I'd better get it out. I'd hate to die with it still in there.

@casualtorture @Victor @TracerBullet

With all of the chatter about Glenmorangie, I might just have to allocate some money and get myself a bottle. I have yet to try any Glenmorangie expression.

At the moment, while I write this post, I am enjoying a small glass of the Darroze (yes, an Armagnac) 12yo blend. I am glad I started with higher proof and single domaine armagnacs (just two). I think I can appreciate the blends more, even something as young as a 12yo.

@BlueNote I noticed you said 'get it out', which I take to mean simply taking it out of the cabinet, but you didn't say that you will open the bottle. Hmmmm. I hope you aren't going 'anywhere' any time soon.

@fiddich1980 Is that the bottle that we tasted from at our last in-person tasting before Omicron took over? That particular expression is one of my favourite of Laphroaig.

@fiddich1980 et alii; I am always pleased to hear praise for the 2015 200th Anniversary Laphroaig Cairdeas. Why? Because I own two bottles of it and I have never yet had a sip of it.

@ajjarrett from what I've seen of your taste I will bet that you will very much enjoy the Glenmorangie distillery house style. I'd suggest starting with the Quinta Ruban, and the Glenmorangie Original (10 yo). .

@TracerBullet I believe that it would be somewhere between very difficult and impossible for Glenmorangie to replicate Sonnalta PX. Why? I think that Sonnalta PX was produced from a uniquely high quality group of casks, and that finding a large group of casks of that quality again would be very difficult.. Cask selection is everything in whiski. Glenmorangie knows that Sonnalta PX was well received. They also make large volumes of sherried malt whiskies all the time. Most of those are sold as Glenmorangie La Santa. I've tried one very good tasting batch of La Santa. The other four batches I've sampled I would never voluntarily purchase. Only the most exceptional casks will give a sherried malt whisky of the quality of Sonnalta PX. And by definition the most exceptional casks are...the exception. I am sure that Glenmorangie would make more if they could. I don't think that they can. But, no doubt, another special release product will one day be put out by them which will also be of similar very high quality. Sonnalta PX was the very first iteration of the Glenmorangie "Private Edition" which is parallel to the American term "small batch". The translation of "Private Edition" and "Small Batch"? "We can't get enough casks of this high of a quality to make large amounts of this stuff." They don't make more because they can't. .

@Nozinan Yes it is. I had two unopened bottles. I really wanted to try it but, never made the time to open one. @Cricklewood had high praise for this expression and offered to to take a bottle off my hands. I sold it to him at cost conditional, on receiving a sample. All the requirements of whisky consumption where met - shared, social, appreciated consumption.

Last night, another Black Irish Coffee Manhattan.

@fiddich1980 I am grateful for not only for being able to pickup that bottle but also getting to enjoy it with everyone before the dark times returned.

You already know my appreciation for it but it's just such a nice crystal clear version of Laphroaig, nuanced is correct. This year's Cairdeas seems to indicate it might be something close to this, time will tell

@Victor - "They don't make more because they can't. ."

Yes! And is why the first batches of a new release are usually (though not exclusively) the best.

Was hoping to have a dram or two this evening but my palate and sense of smell have taken a bit of a backwards step. Thought things were looking up last weekend but the lethargy, and my senses being shut down, seems to ebb and flow. A good day here, a bad one there. Bloody virus ...

Screw it, I'm pouring a Laphroaig 10 sherry Oak! Happy weekend all

@RianC cheers mate. Hope the Laphroaig kicks the taste buds into action again.

Opened my bottle of Glenlivet Illicit still tonight and thoroughly enjoyed the first dram. Pears all over it and bananas too exactly as @ajjarrett mentioned I think.

As the dram went down the pear note seemed to fade into that caramel tropical fruit note you mentioned. TBH I read your review again and I have nothing to add. It’s perfectly accurate. A fine review sir.

Nice dram so pleased. Cheers all.

@fiddich1980, I don't drink a lot of peated/smokey whisky, but I did drink multiple bottles of Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015 Bourbon Barrel, ABV 51.5%. A dreamy Laphroaig, and yes, amazing fruitiness. I was able to harvest about a dozen of these. I then proceeded to spread Laphroaig Love to Laphroaig-loving friends.

The sole survivor from 2015 Cairdeas harvest.

@Timp I did mention bananas (I even think I mentioned banana split, haha) in a post regarding the 12yo Glenlivet lllicit Still. A little sad story. I was going to a neighbor's home to do a whisky tasting and one of the bottles I brought with me was the Illicit Still. I got to the step to the front door and I must have bumped it just right but it broke. Compared with the other bottles I had in my bag, I am glad that was the one that broke. haha

@ajjarrett Haha. Not going anywhere soon as long as I behave myself. Re the Cairdeas, I should have specified: "get it out and share it with some fellow maltheads."

Cheers.

@ajjarrett I don't think Glenmorangie has anything comparable to the much missed Sonnalta PX, unless the pricey Signet is similar. My current favourite is the 14 year old Quinta Ruban. If you see the Sonnalta PX at a price you can live with, grab it. For me that would be anything under about $175 Can. (Edit):Now that I've re-read @Victor's post, I'd go to $200 for a bottle of the fondly remembered Sonnalta PX.