My sergeant gave me a bottle of Ardbeg Blaaack (enough a’s? Too many?) Committee Edition, which I’m very excited to try!
Was also gifted a Bowmore 15 by my FiL; always delicious. The bottle, that is… I’m unsure about how my FiL tastes and happy to keep it that way, thankyouverymuch.
Ordered this for a treat. Ordered this for Christmas and it’s been delayed.
I thought I’d run out, and then found a bottle of Glenfarclas 21 Year Old that I’d forgotten about(!) Not my usual choice, as it’s not a punchy peaty whisky, but it was excellent, subtle, honey-ish. Now on a Kilchoman, Machir Bay, so back to in-your-face Atlantic storms of peat. I visited Kilchoman two years after they opened, when they couldn’t sell their product as whisky because it was too young. Now it’s like they’ve been around forever amongst the giants of Islay.
Mmm @OhBollox, the Green Spot is a great bottle! And haha @SpiceTheCat, I remember when Kilchoman first came on the scene too - now looking forward to when Ardnahoe finally releases something!
I already liked Gibsons a lot, and then The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix made them super-cool. I brined my own cocktail onions in apple cider vinegar with habaneros (“Fire Cider”) and used The Botanist with Boissiere vermouth. Really delicious, although the Fire Cider needs to be reined in a bit next time.
I’ve got Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum 12 Year that I’ve tasted neat, but I wasn’t drawn to it. I also have Ten to One Caribbean Dark Rum which I have yet to try. I haven’t quite connected to rum outside of coquito. 
As for whisk(e)y, I have stocked my bar with Paul John Nirvana from Goa, Deanston 12 Year, Highland Park 12 Year (a whisky I’ve never quite responded to, despite all the hype), and Green Spot Irish, which I quite like.
Has anyone ever noticed that the Crown Royal pouch would make a nice dice bag?
Makes a great golf tee bag, too.
Your very good health, my friends.
Wishing you the best!
I actually have a post going up tomorrow about post-COVID gaming and my plans. We’re not out of the woods yet but it is nice to actually see a light in the distance.
Good: Kilchoman Machir Bay, again.
Good: Bowmore 12yr old, again.
Mm, that’s a bit bland: Slyrs, Bavarian single malt. On a par with being offered a whisky and your host fishes out a bottle of Famous Grouse. Not bad, just… not interesting.
Fuck no that’s awful: Kilchoman Sanaig. Peaty Islay malt from Oloroso sherry casks is such a staggeringly awful combination that I can’t believe it left the distillery. It’s only still in the cupboard because I can’t bring myself to pour a single malt down the sink.
Had the Machir Bay years past but haven’t found it this year - will have to keep an eye out, as I’d heard good things from others as well.
The other Kilchoman sounds godawful.
I do recommend Machir Bay - it has the proper Islay peatiness but with finesse, and is a nice contrast to Lagavulin/Laphroaig/Ardbeg…
The Sanaig… yes, it’s a shame, especially as I was seriously looking forward to it. I looked so disappointed Mrs StC felt sorry for me. Two flavours that I like separately but just do not play well together. Pineapple on pizza, whisky style.
It’s funny, cause the Ardbeg Uigadeal (sp?) works well, although it’s not heavily sherried.
Newly arrived, because I’m not got to get vaccinated until July at this rate and I need a drink.
Just opened the Bruichladdich and it is very much not what I expected. Dry, raisiny, long, subtle, and with very restrained peat. Does all the stuff about local barley and terroir hold up? Honestly, I don’t know, but that’s a surprisingly nuanced whisky from a distillery I regard as tending towards a certain brash shoutiness. Well, I’m now going to top up my glass, put my feet up next to the cats and play Invisible Inc until bedtime. Cheers.
I love The Balvenie Doublewood. I bet the Triple Cask is going to be really marvelous. 
More supplies. Continuing the whole Islay is the Centre of the Whisky Universe theme, clearly.
Port Charlotte is Bruichladdich‘s range for the whisky equivalent of Scoville rating fanatics. It is madly peaty on the nose, but actually not as iodine-y as an Ardbeg or Laphroaig. Incredibly dry on the palate; either I’ve finally got COVID and can’t taste anything, or my tastebuds have shut down in self-defence, or there’s nothing after the big start. I suspect it’s the latter - it does one thing spectacularly but don’t expect any nuance afterwards. It’s … fine. I’d rather have the Bruichladdich Islay Barley over this, but perfectly drinkable. Although my eyeballs hurt for some reason.
The Kilchoman Machir Bay is a special edition for my suppliers at whisky.de, where the cask balance is 80% bourbon, 20% sherry. ISTR that Machir Bay is usually mostly bourbon with much less sherry, but could be wrong and can’t see through the peat haze to check. So long as it’s nothing like the Sanaig, that’ll be fine.
@doublebullout the Triple Cask was indeed delectable 
I’ve never been impressed with Bruichladdich’s offerings imho. As you said, they always have a great nose and then fall flat afterwards. I’m always left feeling like I should have just spent my money on a tried and true like Ardbeg 10 or the Corryvrecken…
Picked up three bottles myself today - Ardbeg 10, as it’s my usual goto; the Ardbeg Wee Beastie, which I remember being unimpressed by initially but will give another shot, especially as it was on sale; and a Blade and Bow bourbon which came recommended by my guy at the store and is rated decently online.
Rum was mentioned further up the thread. I listened to a podcast that said pirates actually drank grog. It’s 1 part rum, 4 parts water, brown sugar, lime juice. I thought it sounded like shit but was intrigued. Has anyone tried it? Or am I going to have to go buy some rum?
Sounds like too much water to me, but the recipe makes historical sense. Well, other than brown sugar.
