A Dram for the End Times. Or, When Life Gives You a Pandemic, Drink Whisk(e)y

Miscellaneous Blather
#1

As suggested by @js619, this is a thread for discussing your vital whisk(e)y supplies to see you through the quarantine.

On the go, I have;
.
Aberlour, the Casg Annamh expression. Lovely malt.
Laphraoig 10 year old. Keeping this one for when the virus hits and I need the full peaty iodine blast to clear the sinuses and/or disinfect small wounds.

Unopened.

Edradour 10 year old, the rum cask finish expression. Looking forward to this one.
Speyside Distillery, Trutinā. A present and I know nothing about it, except that it’s cask strength, 59.1%.

What will carry you through the crisis in a mellow and hazy frame of mind?

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#2

Ah, I also keep an open bottle of Laphroaig 10 year old in my liquor cabinet! Very peaty, indeed! :+1:

Alas, I am a philistine and I enjoy using it in a cocktail with ginger ale, the peaty flavor still comes through.

I’m not on the enthusiast end of the bell curve, my go to Scotch is Johnnie Walker Black Label, my go to rum is Mount Gay Eclipse. I drink Gosling’s Black Seal Rum in Dark ’n Stormy cocktails.

Those will be what I’ll rely on to carry me through. :sunglasses:

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#3

H/T to @SpiceTheCat for starting this when I was fully embracing being the idea guy.

Fully a peaty scotch guy here, with open bottles of my go to, Ardbeg 10, Ardbeg Corryvrecken, and Laphroaig 10 on hand. The Corryvrecken is fantastic for fans of peaty scotch; bottled at cask strength, it’s abv really packs a punch. However, at about $90 a bottle, so does it’s price point, leading to the Ardbeg 10 being the usual drink.

I also have a Glenfiddich 21 finished in a rum cask that my mother-in-law gifted me following the promotional test; very tasty for when one wants a change from the peat. There’s also a bottle of Macallan 18, which is way too sherried for my tastes but seems to impress some when I break it out.

We’ve also got two bottles of mezcal, three different vodkas in the freezer for the wife, and some bourbons as well. Maker’s 46, Woodford Reserve, and something else that escapes memory are on hand.

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#4

Laphroaig 10, checking in.

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#5

We are a discerning lot. At least we’re guaranteed to be able to taste the Islay malts. The Laphroaig does have the unfortunate side effect of keeping Mrs StC at the far end of the sofa, alas. We do have enough gin and tonic on hand to keep her going though. I seem to remember that a Chinese research group is looking at chloroquine as a possible antiviral, in which case G&Ts will be the way to go.

Widening the scope to rum, the crisis is so bad that my go-to rum, Don Papa, was out of stock. Fortunately there was some Diplomatico to be had, so I’ll be able to cope.

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#6

Rum I’m doing okay on. Rumbu, Red Leg, and Kraken.

I’ve also got some Laphroaig Quarter Cask hidden somewhere in case of emergencies. This qualifies

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#7

Love the quarter cask!

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#8

I have a good enough palette to distinguish the differences in foods and drinks, but it isn’t sophisticated enough to adequately identify and describe the differences. I could tell you a better red wine in a taste test, but I couldn’t tell you it is because it has a hint plum, or whatever. All this preface is to say that I can’t tell you exactly why I prefer the drinks I do.

I’m currently slowly working my way through a Lagavulin 16 and a Tullamore Dew 12. I don’t drink often and when I do I don’t drink a lot, so these are for my infrequent sipping pleasure.

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#9

Hah, this is scary. I’ve just got two bottles of Scotch on hand at the moment, and they are … Laphroaig 10 and Lagavulin 16.

Scotch isn’t really my drink, though. Got lots and lots of bourbon, rye, rum, and gin. And wine. What’s going to mostly get me through this dark passage are Woodford Reserve and Tanqueray.

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#10

What I’m really shedding a tear for is my local has closed for the duration.

They brew nothing but good beer there, and regularly try new ones, and it’s ten minutes stroll from my house. Because it’s where they brew it, they’ve decided to dodge any difficulties and close the taproom, which is fair enough, but now I don’t have 6-10 beers I like at hand. This just became less fun.

#11

Oh, that looks like a great place, I’d love to try their stouts. I’m more about porters and stouts, malts more than hops and bitterness.

I didn’t realize that they brewed “American Brown Ale”/“US Brown Ale” in the UK! Makes me feel like the brewing industry in the U.S. has well recovered from the devastation that Prohibition brought to it. :sunglasses:

Turns out that Wikipedia, like myself, does not know what “welfare meats” are. My expectation is that the animals are raised and slaughtered in more humane conditions? :thinking:

Diamond Dogs: The finest artisan hotdogs, made in Yorkshire from farm assured welfare meats in natural casings and smoked over English fruitwoods

#12

Exactly. While the US usage would be a foodstuff akin to the infamous federal cheese, over here it means the animals are well looked after and farmed ethically in a way that typically supersedes terms like free range.

Last time I was in they had a 10.5% hazelnut dessert stout, which was delicious.

#13

I had an Aunt Ethel (she was really my grandmother’s cousin) who lived in Arkansas, was retired on Social Security, and qualified for government cheese. She lived down the street from my grandparents. In my younger years, when visiting her, I had government cheese and enjoyed it, it was good. :+1:

https://youtu.be/Xv2VIEY9-A8?t=160

I did take a look into my liquor cabinet to verify my current situation with Black Bush, given that St. Patrick’s Day is this Tuesday. While I’m not relying on Irish whiskey to see me through the current pandemic, I do keep some Bushmills in stock for when in the mood. :sunglasses:

#14

I don’t really have a lot to add to this thread as far as types of whiskey go (I’m not a connoisseur like all of you), but we went yesterday to stock up just in case. :slight_smile: Three bottles of Canadian Club as well as a Smirnoff Apple vodka (and placed our order for a case of cherry Smirnoff since you have to special order by case, which is 12).

We’re set for booze for a while. :slight_smile:

#15

Well, it looks like I might have a problem. Or at least my liver is about to. The current inventory of the Good Stuff cabinet is:

Macallan Rare Cask Batch #2 (very fine stuff)
Macallan Edition No.3
Macallan Amber
Macallan Director’s Edition
Glenmorangie 19yr Special Reserve
Glenmorangie 18yr Extremely Rare
Glenmorangie 12yr The Lasanta
Glenfiddich 15yr Solera Reserve
Glenfiddich Project XX
Glenlivit 14yr Cognac Cask Selection
Glenlivit Founder’s Reserve
Balvenie 12yr Doublewood
Muirhead’s 12yr Silver Seal
Dalwhinnie 15yr
Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye
Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Bourbon
I need to get drinking.

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#16

You could whack me in the mouth with a bottle of Macallan and I would thank you sincerely.

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#17

I haven’t been drinking much thanks to grad school (so close to finishing), but I have
I have a little bit of Glenlivet 12yr and a bottle of Tullamore Dew finished in rum casks I picked on a lark months ago. I don’t think I would get that again.

We are better on our stock of tequila and vodka since that’s what my wife prefers. We will need to make some Moscow Mules this weekend before the limes go bad.

Depending on how long this goes I may need to brave shopping on the way back from work to pick up some Green Spot. (Telework is really limited, and after half a week they seem to want to have key folks in the office full time. My wife was… not pleased to hear that)

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#18

Here in Colorado, the governor announced that all liquor stores would be shutting down. So, as anyone who doesn’t work in a governor’s office might guess, massive crowds of people immediately began flooding into every liquor store across the state. Then, the governor says, my bad, never mind, not closing ‘em down after all. It was like the prohibition through the 21st amendment all in one day. Weed shops all operating normally as they are considered essential businesses, as far as I’ve heard :wink:

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#19

As it’s Christmas Day, the hysteria continues, and New Year’s is right around the corner with the tantalizing promise of sanity, I thought it apropos to resurrect this thread and check in.

Add another fan of peaty Islay scotch, particularly Laphroaig 10. I finished off my only bottle during The Masked Ages. Bought a bottle of The Botanist gin yesterday for martinis and Gibsons. It is distilled by Bruichladdich on Islay. I’m expecting great things.

Any updates?

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#20

I’ve been enjoying nitro brewed ales this holiday season. I particularly love the creaminess of the head. My favorite this far has been Southern Farm’s creme brûlée imperial milk stout.

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