Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@paddockjudge Wife approval somewhat more restrained. But, hey, when it comes to whisky I value your approval more than hers...sshh.

@BlueNote Glenfarclas 15 is indeed a special bottling. I feel like that one has more first fill Sherry casks. The 21 is more of a curio than anything else. Various sources have stated that 21 + year old Farclas shows a mature distillery character without too much active cask “interference”. Time will tell.

@OdysseusUnbound Good thing you have a 21 then!

@OdysseusUnbound I'm sure you'll enjoy it. The one and only bottle I had was very good. I haven't met a 'Farclas I didn't like.

Got a bottle of local whiskey and a little tour while we were there. Big Machine distillery in Lynnville Tennessee (pop. 287).

This mash bill is 74% local white corn, 14% wheat, and 12% malted barley. You can definitely taste the white corn in the new make, which they bottle and sell as 'moonshine' at 140 proof.

Whiskey

A few new ones recently. The Clynelish 14, Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or, and the Cadenheads Tomatin 12 54.1% bourbon cask from my lovely wife and the North Star Spirits Supersonic Mach 3 55% as a treat to myself!

Why? The whisky’s from my wife are for my upcoming birthday. I chose them because I haven’t had a Clynelish 14 for a year or so and am always intrigued by this distillery ( it’s still as good as always ) . The Glenmorangie as this edition is one I like a lot and the Tomatin as it had a really nice write up on Malt-review and I am always on the look out for whisky’s stacked full of fruit. The Mach 3 was recommended by @Rianc and he is right, it is lovely and well worth £33.

The other smaller bottles are a generous selection from @Rianc. Cheers mate. They are Glenlivet 12 Illicit still, Ledaig 10, Wild Turkey 101, Talisker 18, JW Celebratory Blend, Baron de Sigognac bas Armagnac 20 yrs and Montelobos Joven Mezcal. Lovely!

@Timp - nice buys! And very happy you like the North Star bottle - mine's getting better with every pour but one still gets a little nervous when someone takes the lounge on the back of their word.

Hope you like the samples too! Blimey, they arrived swiftly ... You should try your anejo tequila alongside the mezcal ... a very interesting comparison.

@RianC haha I know what you mean but I trust your judgement. Your right! ..

Will definitely try the two together as you suggest and let you know what I think.

I just purchased a Dalmore Cigar Malt (44% abv). It’s not the most popular distillery among enthusiasts (for reasons that don’t need to be re-hashed here) but this particular expression is the favourite of one of my oldest and dearest friends. The last time I saw him, we shared a heel of Cigar Malt as he’d saved 2 drams in his bottle; one for each of us. I’m not sure when he’ll be coming to my neck of the woods again, but I’d like to repay the favour if possible. He’s the opposite of an enthusiasts; he doesn’t “do” tasting notes. He knows if he likes it or not.

@OdysseusUnbound I have a soft spot for Dalmore Cigar Malt. I was enjoying it with friends I was taking night school classes with at gatherings following each final exam. Then Cigar Malt disappeared. Dalmore appeared to have discontinued it. When it returned, it was stupid expensive. I have only picked up one bottle since it’s return when I found it priced incorrectly. (I should have grabbed two)

It’s not my favorite but part of the enjoyment is the memories of those evenings enjoying it with friends. I’m sure your friend will greatly appreciate sharing a dram with you the next time you get together.

@OdysseusUnbound I'm like your friend; I don't do tasting notes. I either really like it, quite like it, find it drinkable but not great, don't much like it, or hate it. But I still consider myself an enthusiast. Otherwise I wouldn't have 86 bottles stashed in various locations around the house and garage (much to my wife's chagrin).

Cragganmore 12. I saw this in a bottle shop at the weekend and grabbed it. Had a couple of very slow drams tonight and although it’s an easy sipper or could even be described in a rush as generically bland, it has some interesting notes given enough time and contemplation. Not bad on a summers evening.

Why? Well, only had one bottle of this before and that was many years ago so thought it would be worth another try. I knew it would be fairly nice and easy and sometimes thats all you need. It has proved to be so. Cheers.

These two arrived today with a little bonus dram of Glenallchie 13, nice! The samples are from @Timp, cheers mate! Very excited to try them but especially the Glendronach from 2014 - one of few bottles I regret not buying when I could so it will be nice to see what the fuss was about.

The first CS HP passed me by and I got an email about this one. Decent price, well-presented and a chance to try an undiluted 'naked' Highland Park was too good to pass up. Also gets good reviews and has more 'sherry' influence than batch 1. Why not!?

The Nevis was just to bump the order and get free delivery but, again, at £43, it's an accessible way to try a young, bourbon matured BN and from a trusted IB.

Cheers!

Picked up the High West Rendezvous Rye. I seem to have “joined” a bottle club and have been receiving offers off and on to get bottles under MSRP. I’ve read about this but have not tried it so I figured, why not?!

@TracerBullet - Fancied that one for a while but have so many ryes I've yet to get through it's not at the top of my list. Hear good things though - do let us know how you find it.

@Timp The lawyer played by Tom Wilkinson in the film Denial drinks only Cragganmore 12.

@MRick. Nice fact. Didn’t know that. My wife is a lawyer but luckily leaves my whisky alone!!

@TracerBullet I am a big fan of Rendezvous Rye, I think the recipe has changed over the years and some of the recent bottles include thier own in-house Rye. I still have some of their older Barrel Select bottles that were bottled at 107 proof. Look forward to your thoughts as I can find these newer bottles out west.

I just picked up a Blanton’s Gold that I “won” in the latest LCBO lottery. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever “won” anything.

@OdysseusUnbound Congratulations!

I just got home from a trip to Kentucky (8 hours in the car). I picked up way too many bottles but had a great time and finished the Bluegrass region of the bourbon trail. Here are some of the bottles I picked up.

@TracerBullet - nice looking haul! I think the only two available in the UK are the Rabbit and Buffalo Trace. I've had the latter but not the former. Do please let us know how it is if and when you may get around to opening!

Cheers!

@RianC The Buffalo Trace was the daily offering at the Buffalo Trace Distillery at MSRP so I picked it up. I have tried many in the picture when visiting the distilleries but a few were not available to taste. Here is the second group:

A likely FOMO purchase and will probably show up out west for much cheaper but I am a fan of the 21 year 46% so lets see how 28 years goes.

@Astroke, I picked up one at the LCBO. Immediately opened it upon arriving at home. It is much richer than the 21 YO. I wouldn't be surprised if they are from the same bond.

Vanilla and cinnamon fighting for dominance on the nose. Ever so slight spirity note clinging to dusty corn with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. This is the same juice as the 21 YO with 7 more years of oak. Wood spices mimicking rye spice. Richer than the 21 YO, much richer.

@TracerBullet - I'm drooling now . Bourbon always looks so appealing ... Especially the Four Roses.

Just got an email about a Tyndrum whisky Old Pulteney exclusive and jumped on it at the sale price, although £90 for a 14 year old is pushing it, never mind £120! I've always wanted to try Old Pulteney like this, single ex bourbon cask, cask strength and with a 'craft' presentation. Should be good ...

www.tyndrumwhisky.com

Link seems to just go the website but I'm sure y'all can find it with minimal difficulty should you so choose.

@RianC sure, treat yourself to some Old Pulteney. I consider my experience with Old Pulteney starting 12 years ago to be some of my most defining experience with Scottish malt. It's a wonderful distillery, beloved by many of us. And if you ever see a dusty of the old Old Pulteney 17 yo, buy it!. Not every bottle of Old Pulteney is going to be great, but many of them will.

Here's a brief run-down of my experience with Old Pulteney. First c. 2009 a friend lets me try some of his OB 12 yo on several occasions. I like it very much and buy a bottle of it a year or two later. My own bottle is wonderful and beloved by nearly 100% of those 20 or 30 who tasted from it. My sister then bought a bottle of the 12 yo which she still has and is not equal to the first two bottles from which I tasted. Different batch. Second, on a whisky cruise in 2011 I tasted OP 21 yo and thought it was the highlight of the 28 products I tasted. Great whisky, and the same one, almost certainly the same batch, that Jim Murray named World Whisky of the Year a year later. I loved it and extolled its virtues before he reported on it. Third, OP17 yo: first taste I had was so briny that I found it unpleasant, so I was initially put off. But that was just one sample When a friend gave me a bottle of OP17 as a gift it was, and is, down to the last 60 ml left, fabulous! A year or two after Jim Murray named OP21 finest whisky in the world he said that it was just that one year batch, and that the 17 yo was their flagship outstanding product. Fourth, my sister bought a bottle of Old Pulteney Navigator. At first I was unimpressed with it, and considered it a dud, but a lot of air time made it into a masterpiece later on and I really wish there were more of it around.

These were just OB bottlings, none near cask strength.

Bottom line: Old Pulteney products are one of the great pillars of Scottish malt. Why do I think so? Their distinctive high brine, very cereal-y, low to moderate peat malt is a distinctive treat.

If you can find them, read @BlueNote's caveats on the current Old Pulteney standard line.

@RianC I need to post about the trip and the distillery visits. Been catching up on work but hope I have time soon.

Four Roses was a nice visit but we hit the bottling plant not the distillery because the former was much closer to where we were at the time. They had plenty of inventory as well (you can see the trouble I got myself into!)