What are you having yourself?

[jcskinner]

Having some 'Old Canada' which really is old. The bottle dates to the Seventies, and the whiskey inside is likely seven years old or so.
The brand has long since been discontinued (the Acadian distillery shut in the mid 1980s) but you can still find the odd bottle in Germany.
It's pretty good stuff - toffee, bourbon notes, apply finish, but a strange cognac quality to it too. Not particularly balanced but quite unique. I like.

[JohnM]

I'm having Laphroaig 15 and some old Jameson Liqueur pure pot still. A real tang off the latter. I like it a lot. I like both of them.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

I've not been sippin regularly over the past month and felt like I've been virtually absent from the auld cratur ... okay it has not been torture or anything but I felt I've been ignoring it .... bold boy I hear you say.

Anyway tonight I had a RedBreast 15yo which is as always superb ... sorry but I just don't tire of this whiskey.

Next up I had a 1970's Powers ... and it really stands up to the RB 15 ... yes I'm really enjoying this older version of an Irish institution.

But now I'm on a dram of Blackbush from the 60's and I must say it is cracking. I had opened this about 6 weeks ago and though it was lovely but gothing nothing imparicuar from it. However tonight I'm getting a lovely rich smell from the sherry but it is not the modern day christmas cake style it is more fruit and rgape rather than dried mixed fruit i.e. raisin etc.

Taste is even more revealing ... there is a lovely richnesss to it with ... mouth filling rich and heavy mixed fruit flavours with allspice and liquroice ... uuummm lovely

[jcskinner]

Connemara cask strength tonight, with a wee drop of water.
Opens it up into pear and woodsmoke notes. Very pleasant altogether. I do think this is as far down the peaty road as I'm comfortable with. Some of the Islay peat monsters seem a bit antiseptic and one note to me sometimes.
But Connemara doesn't overdo the smoke, and throws in some welcome fruit and sweetness too.
Very pleasant dram.

[varizoltan]

just gone through the aldi range, it is not too bad, but i think it is a good idea to finish with a connemara sherry finish

[jcskinner]

Now on a 14 yo single cask, cask strength Glenfarclas. It's bourbon finished, so not the strong sherry influence you get off the distillery bottling.
It's sort of like tasting it naked. It's a little herby, mint and green tea, but with butterscotch wood influence and a bit of peat too.
It's a Cadenheads bottling. Very nice too, and a good strength at 59 proof.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Had the Lidl Single Malt Irish Whiskey earlier but because of prevailing conditions had to move on to something more powerful ...


Laphroaig Cask Strength ... now I can taste some thing

[TheWhiskeyBro]

Enjoying a ration of my Rebreast 15 (I guess i'll have to call it first batch from now on)... hmmmmm

[varizoltan]

my bottle of redbreast 15 dried last week, i may open 1 of 27

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Just poured a large Johnny Walker Green and quenched the bottle

Really notice the talisker in this all Malt blend from JW or as the industry they call it a vatting to make it sound better . No matter what you call it it's a very good whisky.

[varizoltan]

Just poured a large Johnny Walker Green and quenched the bottle

Really notice the talisker in this all Malt blend from JW or as the industry they call it a vatting to make it sound better . No matter what you call it it's a very good whisky.

ohh talisker, so maybe that is why i hate it

[Tsolias]

ohh talisker, so maybe that is why i hate it

Oh no zoltan!! It's one of my favorites! (the Talisker I mean, not the JWGL )

In house, these days I enjoy a bottle of Redbreast 15yo, along with Springbank 1997.

Yesterday we had our annual Hellenic Malt Whisky Society "Xmas Gathering". We opened the following (all member offers)

1. "Christmas Malt" - 10y.o. single Speyside, Gordon&McPhail, 40%
2. Bushmills 1608 - 400th Anniversary, NAS blended, distilled with crystal malt, 46%
3. Bruichladdich XVII - 46%
4. Yamazaki sherry cask - NAS, single cask, 48%
5. "Breath of Speyside" - 16y.o., single cask, C/S, Adelphi, ??%

The Bushmills 1608 was the one I purchased from the distillery in March and it impressed everyone.

[PureDrop]

After an autumn of mainly Irish whiskeys, the recent home tasting reverted to a theme of "hot and heavy" - we officially sampled ...

Peter Scot Malt Whisky (India)
Campletown Loch 30yo - to clear the palate
Celtic Nations (if I remember correctly)
Glendronach 15
Glenfarclas 105
Bruichladdich 1998 Sherry Ed (Oloroso) 46%
Bruichladdich PEAT
Bunnahabhainn 1997 Heavily Peated (Signatory)
Bowmore 15
Caol Isla Distillers Ed 1996 (moscatel finish)
Talisker Distillers Ed 1993?
Lagavulin Distillers Ed 1980
Bowmore 16yo Port Matured Cask Str. 1991 53.1%
Port Charlotte PC7 61%
Ardbeg Very Young
Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Laphroaig "Triple Wood"
Ardbeg Supernova

A few people wandered off the set path to lighter more floral whiskeys such as Rosebank. I may also have got one or two of the above list wrong!
A long but very enjoyable night. The Lagavulin Distillers Edition, distilled 1980 and bottled 1999 was a clear favourite of more than a few attendees. Unctious is the most appropriate term to use. A glorioius bronze colour - very syrupy (benylyn comes to mind), lots of sherry and peat. A faint whiff of damp. If tasted blind, I'd say it was a Bowmore. Revisiting it now as I write. Wonderful stuff!
/M

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Sounds like a great night Michael fair play to you.

Can you expand on the Laphroaig Triple wood if you get a chance or even can if there is any left. This is one I've been eyeing but have put off, for of all reasons, as it is a litre and wont fit on my shelf

[PureDrop]

The consensus on the night was to stick to the Quarter Cask. I don't recall anyone preferring it to the standard Quarter Cask. For some unfathomable reason, my own recollection is a little hazy. I'll get back to it another night and update you here!
/M

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

For some unfathomable reason, my own recollection is a little hazy. I'll get back to it another night and update you here!
/M

I'm baffled myself


Just finished the deggs of a Talisker and it has lost most of it's sparkle but still has plenty of the talisker flavour just with out the pepper.

On to Tyrconnell Madeira now and I thought it maybe a bit bland after the Talisker as you sometimes think an Irish would be after a scotch but no it still stands up very very well. Deffinitely my favourite Tyrconnell and possibly cooley full stop.

Only for the sweetness if I was given both blind and because of the flatness of hte talisker I'd nearly think the Tyrconnell was the talisker

Just goes to show what a few extra % will do for a whiskey.

Luckily I stocked up on the original release as the later version was not as good according to the bible thumping Jim Murray.

[Whiskey Pilgrim]

Hic Hic Kaixo Chico's,
Just got a bottle of Bushmills 1608 for 50 euros in a UK duty free,going to pop it in the new year,,slainte

[Whiskey Pilgrim]

Urte berri on,kaixo chico's,
I just a a lovely Bowmore 12yr at Ny eve......slainte !!

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Last night had a Balblair 1979 washed down by a couple German weisbiers and then topped off with a Laphroaig 18yo....

... Heaven ....


Not sure whiskey wise tonight ... I have a selection of beers to chose from but I have a Chamay Red & Blue which are 7% & 9% respectively so may stay away from the harder stuff ...

[TheWhiskeyBro]

Oooh you traitor you... IWS obviously the emphasis is now on Chaser rather than Whiskey

[shanel23]

Had a few glasses of Johnnie Walker Blue last night - very nice but wouldn't be up to paying the premium it sells for - give me a MVR any day

[brettie vedder]

doing a bit of bowmore legend tonight. it doesnt do much for me after having the likes of talisker, highland park and laphroaig. still a good everyday whisky though

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Bushmills Sherry Cask at Cask Strength 53.7%.

This is still the best Bushmills I've ever had even after tasting 2 different but wonderful Millennium 1975 Bush's (Thanks Ken ) . There is something about this in Cask strength form that I adore. Strong and Powerful but not over powering and the sherry is not dominant either. It's a 15 or 16yo from 1989 and I rue that it is not available anymore especially at the €70 mark which I paid for it in 2005.

I would love if Bushmills released a similar batch of these Cask strength botttlings

Just one large one left in the bottle which I will savour over the week-end

[jcskinner]

That is a really splendid whiskey. I have one bottle of it left.
I echo your call for more sherried single cask Bush.
Not quite the same, but I'm making do with a Knappogue 95 tonight. Still Bush whiskey, and still tasty!

[Luke Gough]

I have one bottle each (Bourbon, Sherry and Rum) of the Bushmills Single Cask bottlings - instant classics, all of them!