So, what are you drinking now?

@casualtorture my first assignment in the Army was at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The summer there is very long and very hot. After a year I got used to it and didn't want to leave. I was always amused by newcomer Northerners complaining about the heat...because they were conditioned to something different. They complained, and complained, and complained,...until one day they decided that they actually liked it better than Wisconsin, or wherever else cold from which they had come. What I saw was seemingly 10 converted Southerners for every 1 converted Northerner. It always takes a bit of time, though, to overcome any form of long term conditioning.

@casualtorture, it is Friday. It is very cold. I am inside where it is not cold, but could very easily become extremely cold. I am again drinking cask strength anything. When the good weather arrives, we Northerners make the most of it….that is often around Memorial Day weekend…until then, a cask strength remedy will have to do.

@paddockjudge

Great minds think alike…. Watching an episode of Reborn Rich with my wife, I enjoyed a 10 cc pour of Wiser’s 23 YO cask strength in a mini Glencairn. This stuff is fantastic.

If only distilleries would release this kind of stuff regularly. But they don’t. They get cocky. And we pay the price (literally and figuratively).

For happy hour, as most of you know, I have a couple of cocktails before dinner. After a long week at work, tonight (Friday), it was 3. I had 3 Old Forester Old Fashions made with Old Forester Rye (100 Proof). The first one I made with Old Forester Hummingbird (Rose & Citrus) bitters, but that wasn't doing for me. For the next 2, I used Old Forester Bohemian (Spiced Cherry & Chocolate) bitters. Much better.

Later, I finished off a couple of Caol Ila's that only had a "wee bit left in each bottle" (said out loud with a Scottish accent).

Caol Ila SMWS 53.395 (11 year - Nov. 2009) "Smoky explosion" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 56.4% ABV. Luckily, I have another bottle.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.373 (10 year - Nov. 2010) "The gourmand maltster" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.5% ABV. Unfortunately, no spare of this one which is too bad because it was the perfect example of liquid smoked malt.

@bwmccoy, yes, a long week indeed. It was a three-bagger for me too...C S double distilled 19 YO Canadian corn whisky...delicious.

Corby’s/Wiser’s will not release Legacy, diluted or undiluted. Shameful, the best juice in the distillery never bears its own name. The good stuff gets shipped to other bottlers who win countless awards for simply bottling the best juice at the Pike Creek warehouses.

To circumvent this ridiculous dilemma, I have blended my own cask strength version of this solid whisky, one which is appreciated in Connosr circles.

In a ratio of 2:1 double distilled corn whisky aged in new oak and pot still rye aged in new oak.

2 oz. 19 YO Paradigm single grain 67.9% abv.

1 oz. 18 YO Lot No. 40 Rye 56.1% abv. (obtained by @Nozinan for a bottle split with he, @cricklwood, and me).

…and a few drops of TWA Heads&Tails, Canada, Glen Grant 24 YO 1997 bourbon cask cs 47.6%abv.

Cheers!

@paddockjudge "The good stuff gets shipped to other bottlers who win countless awards for simply bottling the best juice at the Pike Creek warehouses." Despite the (few) good things Dr. Don Livermore (Corby's/Wisers) has done for Canadian Whisky in the last few years, the Canadian whisky industry STILL HAS IT'S HEAD BURIED IN THE SAND relative to Scotch and Bourbon in lifting the product above the "bottom shelf"!

@65glenfarclas This is where Canadian Whisky goes to be what it can be. I especially like the awards given for best Canadian Whisky they have received from spirits competitions.

www.foundnorthwhisky.com

Yesterday (Sunday), I had an Irish Coffee made with standard Jameson in order to use up the last 1oz and finish off that bottle. Making room in the whisky cabinet.

Tonight, I spent almost 2 hours slowly sipping on the last dram of a sample that @Victor sent home with me from my visit in early November. Thomas H. Handy Sazerac Rye 2012 Release 66.2% ABV. I was in the mood for something complex with a higher ABV and this was exactly what I was looking for. What a whiskey! Thanks again @Victor for sharing this one with me. I really appreciate it!

I enjoyed the dram from a new type of glass designed here in Seattle that a friend gave to me as a Christmas present. The creator of the glass calls it "The American Whiskey Glass", so I figured I would use it for this outstanding American whiskey. The glass has the heft of a rocks glass on the bottom, but the shape and opening size of a Glencairn on top. I'm going to need to compare this glass with the same whisky in several different whisk(e)y glasses, i.e., Glencairn, Tulip, etc. in order to see how it compares for nosing and palate. However, tonight was all about enjoying the whiskey.

Link to the glass makers website, if you want to see what it looks like. (FYI... I have no relationship with this company nor am I endorsing them in anyway). www.whiskeywhisdom.com

@bwmccoy I would be interested in hearing what unique properties the glass brings. I’ve done some comparisons before and it is a great exercise if one is in the right frame of mind.

I wonder how the makers of the Kentucky bourbon glass feel about a definitive American whiskey glass.

I’m starting to wonder if glassware is the next wood finish…

@bwmccoy I am of course delighted that you greatly enjoyed your 2012 Thomas H. Handy Rye. I used to say for about 6 years that Thomas H Handy Sazerac Rye was favourite "generally available" whiski. Well, nowadays it is not so available, unless one is willing to spend $ 700 for 750 ml of it. This is the price of the whiski boom-- the most desirable examples become scarce and expensive collectibles. When you were visiting me we had limited time, so there were of course many things I would have enjoyed sharing with you which we didn't get to. After you flew home, @Nock spent the night at my house and I opened a bottle of the whiski which is my all-time favourite whiski which I have ever owned, Abraham Bowman 10 yo Single Barrel Rye 69.4% ABV. I haven't opened a bottle of this one for 8 years. I was "scared to death" about the possibility of some kind of Old Bottle Effect, since the bottle has been unopened in my home for 11 years. It did not disappoint. I consider it a 98 point whiskey, and I believe that @Nock does too, Someday I hope to give you a taste of that one.

I started my "whiski journey" with bourbon, because that was what was available to me, known within my cultural milieu, and reasonable to buy and explore. In 2007 I could buy 6 VERY decent bottles of bourbon for under $ 100. 20 years ago both my sister and I, both of whom have spent somewhere like $30+K on whiski couldn't have imagined spending more than about $ 20 for a bottle of whiskey. I much preferred American Ryes to bourbons when I first started exploring them, because I like fruity, spicy, and dry in whiski, just as I like it in wine. When I got into malt whiskies I found much to like as well. I have for about 6 years considered most of my top favourite whiskis, worldwide, to most often be "the best ryes and the best malts". 2010 Wiser's Legacy and 2018 Lot 40 Cask Strength rank right up there with the best American Ryes, and there are some wonderful European Ryes as well, though I have very little experience with them.

As first and foremost a "more is MORE" kind of guy my highest preference is for the BIG FLAVOURS. So, with Scottish malt I gravitate to the peaty-smoky-briny group, usually from Islay.

What to do with the Smorgasbord of whiski choice? Do I order red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, or something vegetarian tonight? I enjoy them all. And each is unique.

I find engaging the choice of deciding on a whiski to drink to be an extremely challenging one these days, because my experience has taught me that there are treasures available in many many different directions. There are choices not only to select one or many whiskis to ENJOY, but the also-attractive option of selecting one or many from which to gather more information, with enjoyment being the secondary consideration. It always seems a bit sad to have to choose one with which to keep company and have to ignore for the time being so many beautiful others. .

@bwmccoy one of the things which I greatly admire about YOU is that you are quite open-minded in your exploration and appreciation of whiski, other spirits, and other alcoholic drinks. Thanks again for stopping by last November!

@Victor - First of all, THANK YOU for your kind words, your hospitality on my two visits to your home and your generosity with the samples that you have given me on both of those visits. My only regret from my most recent visit was the lack of time that we were able to spend together. While we made an impressive dent in the whiskies that @Nock brought, I did feel rushed since I had to leave at a certain time in order to make my flight on time. One of these days, I hope we can have a relaxed, unrestricted time to hang out and explore more whiskies together!

Yesterday (Tuesday) was my birthday. After everyone went to bed last night, I sat down with a couple of really nice drams to celebrate the occasion (while watching an episode of "Rebus", a British television detective drama series based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin). I'm getting too old to afford drams from my birthyear or ones that are the same age as me, so I have to go with the best quality drams in my cabinet (at least ones that are open at the moment because it's not a milestone birthday that warrants opening up one of my special bottles).

Macallan Speymalt from Gordon & Macphail. 21 year (Distilled 1990, Bottled 2011). 43% ABV.

Bowmore SMWS 3.336 (17 year - Feb. 2004) "Sublime maritime" - 2nd-fill ex-Bourbon hogshead - 57.4% ABV.

@bwmccoy Happy Birthday!

@Victor - Thank you!

Last night (Wednesday), before dinner, I had a Society grain whisky. Strathclyde SMWS G10.37 (16 year - July 2005) "A jolly good dash". After 11 years in an ex-bourbon barrel, transferred into a 2nd-fill heavy toasted and medium charred hogshead - 57.7% ABV. If tasted blind, I would think this was a French oak cask.

Later, Glenburgie SMWS 71.87 (10 year - May 2011) "Cowboys at dinner" - After 8 years in an Oloroso butt, transferred into a heavy charred 1st-fill puncheon - 58.2% ABV.

@bwmccoy a belated Many Happy Returns. I hope you had a good night.

Last night I had a dram of a new bottle of Glenfarclas 15. A good batch this one and went down very well after a couple of frenetic weeks at work. When a bottle of Glenfarclas is good, it’s very good in my limited experience.

Cheers

@Timp - Thank you for the birthday wishes. Glenfarclas is a favorite in my house as well, especially with my wife. We don't get the 15 in the states, we get the 17 year instead. It is one of my wife's favorites!

Tomorrow (Monday) night, @jordytropp and I will hosting another monthly Society blind tasting. In preparation, on Thursday night, I tasted through the first 3 of 6 drams that we will be pouring. On Friday night, I tasted through the last 3. Since it's a blind tasting, I will post the details after the event on Monday night.

Last night (Saturday), I was over at my brother-in-law's house. We had the following drams.

We finished off my bottle of grain whisky. Strathclyde SMWS G10.37 (16 year - July 2005) "A jolly good dash" - 2nd-fill ex-Bourbon hogshead (heavy toast/medium char) - 57.7% ABV.

Next, we finished off a sample of a single cask Old Pulteney. The bottle that the sample came from was hand-filled at the distillery last year. Old Pulteney 14-year single cask (ex-sherry). Cask # 1467. Bottle # 182. Cask filled Nov. 22nd, 2007. Bottled Sept. 17th, 2022. (61.9% ABV).

Blair Athol SMWS 68.71 (12 year - Feb. 2009) "Rather scrumptious" - After 10 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Oloroso hogshead - 58.6% ABV.

We also finished of my bottle of Bowmore SMWS 3.336 (17 year - Feb. 2004) "Sublime maritime" - 2nd-fill ex-Bourbon hogshead - 57.4% ABV.

Glen Scotia SMWS 93.177 (8 year - March 2013) "Crossing the event horizon" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 58.6% ABV.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.391 (9 year - March 2012) "Dark secrets" - After six years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, finished 3 years in a 2nd-fill ex-Oloroso hogshead - 56.2% ABV.

Last night (Sunday), went over to a friend's house for dinner and drams.

Started off with a Sazerac cocktail made with Sazerac Rye.

Compared a couple of Nikka whiskies from their "Discovery Series" both made with Aromatic Yeast. They were both bottled in 2022 and apparently the pair retails for just under $600 USD. They were both very nice, but not worth that much money, in my opinion. The first was a Single Malt Miyagikyo (47% ABV) and the other was Single Malt Yoichi (48% ABV). My wife preferred the Miyagikyo and I preferred the Yoichi.

Whiskey Del Bac (Tuscon, AZ) American Single Malt "Classic" (Batch C '19-5) - 45% ABV.

Next, compared a couple of Hirsch whiskies; The Horizon straight Bourbon whiskey (46% ABV) and a special Cask Strength offering (63.5% ABV). This one is their Kentucky straight Bourbon finished in Cognac casks. I found The Horizon to be a fine, but somewhat lack luster offering, but the Cask Strength offering was very good. Not $200 USD good, but much better than The Horizon, in my opinion.

Next up was 3 different Old Pulteney's; 15 year (46%), 18 year (46%) and Huddart (46%). Huddart starts in ex-bourbon casks, but is finished in ex-peated malt casks. The peat influence is very minimal. It's there, but you have to look for it. The 18 was my favorite, but my wife preferred the 15.

Balblair 18 (46%) - A very nice whisky, but it kind of got lost in the crowd. Not all that memorable when tasted among others, but probably fine on its own.

Talisker 18 (45.8%) - Hello old friend. It's been too long since we last hung out together. Such a good whisky!

Finished the night with Octomore 11.3 (61.7% ABV.) 194 PPM, Aged 5 years in first-fill American oak casks from Jim Beam. This was by far my favorite of the night!

Tonight (Monday), @jordytropp and I poured the following at the Society's February Outturn Preview tasting.

Glen Garioch SMWS 19.57 (18 year - Feb. 2003) "Maverick" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 58.7% ABV.

Braeval SMWS 113.53 (11 year - Jan. 2010) "A bit of a bibelot" - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 62.6% ABV.

Speyburn SMWS 88.28 (12 year - Feb. 2009) "Big, complex and impressive!" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 54.3% ABV.

Tormore SMWS 105.40 (8 year - Jun. 2012) "The sweet kiss of complexity" - After 5 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred into a 2nd-fill Heavy Toast, Medium Char hogshead - 66.2% ABV.

Blair Athol SMWS 68.76 (15 year - Aug. 2006) "Pleasantly pleasing, simply sublime" - After 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred into a 1st-fill Spanish oak ex-Oloroso hogshead - 52.8% ABV.

Caol Ila SMWS 53.401 (10 year - Apr. 2011) "Islay karate" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 57.4% ABV.

Bottle Kill Night

Finished off the last of a sample that @Victor gave me in November. Abraham Bowman Bourbon. 17 years old (Distilled 12/14/94, Bottled May 11th, 2012). 73.75% ABV. Best. Bourbon. Ever! (in my humble opinion). Thanks again @Victor!

Also, had the last dram of Glen Grant SMWS 9.224 (14 year - May 2007) “Harvest hayride happiness” - 1st-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 61.7% ABV. This was last year's (2022) Burns Night Bottle.

Finished the night with the last dram of Teaninich SMWS 59.65 (13 year - Feb. 2008) "Red oak" - After 10 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill ex-red wine barrique - 55.7% ABV.

Tonight (Thursday), Whiskey Del Bac (Tuscon, AZ) American Single Malt "Classic" (Batch C '19-5) - 45% ABV.

Followed by Glenfarclas SMWS 1.257 (8 year - Dec. 2012) "Lip-smacking, and summery" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 63.1% ABV.

For last night's (Friday) happy hour, I made two variations of an Old Pal cocktail. Both were made using Old Forester 100 Proof Rye (1 oz), Dolin Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz) and a lemon twist each. One was made with Campari (3/4 oz) and the other was made using Luxardo Rosso Bitter (3/4 oz). I was recently given the Luxardo. When tasted neat, it reminded me of a lighter version of Campari. My wife hates Campari, so I thought the Luxardo Rosso Bitter would be a good substitute. I was wrong. While I'm not a huge fan of Campari either, in the Old Pal cocktail, it tasted much better than the one with the Luxardo.

For tonight's (Saturday) happy hour, I made a new to me cocktail. I received a bottle of Whiskey Del Bac (Tuscon, AZ) American Single Malt "Classic" (Batch C '19-5) - 45% ABV as aChristmas present from a friend. It's fine to drink neat, but not my favorite. I went to Del Bac's website and found a recipe for their version of a Rob Roy cocktail called the Rob Arroyo. 1.5 oz Whiskey Del Bac Classic, 1/2 oz Carpano Antica Formula (Sweet Vermouth), 3 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters and a dehydrated orange slice garnish. So good, I had three of them.

@bwmccoy wow, three of them. That IS good!

Love, love, love orange flavours in spirits drinks. Sweet, sour, bitter, all of the flavours of the oranges.

@Victor - I agree with you on orange flavors in cocktails. That's why I like the Jerry Thomas Manhattan so much. In fact, with your post in mind, I had a couple of Jerry Thomas Manhattan's for happy hour yesterday (Sunday).

Later last night, I had a couple of Society drams while watching one of the Rebus series episodes (The show Rebus is based on the Ian Rankin novels.)

Blair Athol SMWS 68.70 (12 year - Aug. 2008) "Intriguing idiosyncratic" - After 9 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred into a 1st-fill custom toasted American and European oak barrique - 59.5% ABV. This one tasted better than it has previously. Must be getting near the end of the bottle. :-)

Finished with Caol Ila SMWS 53.398 (11 year - Sep. 2010) "Death of the T-1000" - Refill ex-Bourbon hogshead - 58.2% ABV. This one always tastes amazing!

A Fruit Bomb:

Tonight, rated an open bottle; Whiskey Del Bac (Tuscon, AZ) American Single Malt "Classic" (Batch C '19-5) - 45% ABV. Rating: 84.

Next, I had a dram of Westland Distillery (Seattle, WA) Cask # 6140 Single cask release, cask strength 7 year (4 year New American Oak + 3 year Pineau des Charentes brandy cask) 50.5% ABV.

Blair Athol SMWS 68.71 (12 year - Feb. 2009) "Rather scrumptious" - After 10 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Oloroso hogshead - 58.6% ABV.

Strathmill SMWS 100.34 (11 year - March 2010) "Oh, to be in a bodega again..." - After 8 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Oloroso hogshead - 56.7% ABV.

Tonight, Linkwood SMWS 39.225 (10 year - Feb. 2011) "Easy over" - 2nd fill ex-Bourbon barrel - 60.6% ABV

Followed by Glenburgie SMWS 71.87 (10 year - May 2011) "Cowboys at dinner" - After 8 years in an Oloroso butt, transferred into a heavy charred 1st-fill puncheon - 58.2% ABV.

Tonight, my brother-in-law came over for dinner and drams.

Macallan Speymalt from Gordon & Macphail. 21 year (Distilled 1990, Bottled 2011). 43% ABV

Caol Ila SMWS 53.401 (10 year - Apr. 2011) "Islay karate" - Refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 57.4% ABV

Caol Ila SMWS 53.398 (11 year - Sep. 2010) "Death of the T-1000" - Refill ex-Bourbon hogshead - 58.2% ABV