The Daddy wrote:

Lineup: Talisker x Parley Laphroaig QC Ancnoc 18 Then we’ll see, maybe Glenlivet Nadurra to finish.

That sounds like a great lineup, definitely do the Glenlivet as well. Cheers!

Gonna swap out the Nadurra for this

Check you two out with your fancy whisky. I'd really struggle to justify spending that amount on a bottle - not that I'm jealous of course.

Although, coming to the end of dry January I might treat myself.

Distilled with kelp, water mint, sea buckthorn, and bottled at 60% abv? I'd give that a go, sounds great.

Aye, Old No.7 is a mixer and nothing more, but give their banana-bomb distillate some age and attention and I'm completely sold. That Single Barrel Barrel Strength is one of my favourite new whiskeys in years, whodathunkit?

The other American whiskeys I picked up are pretty good as well. New Riff's single barrels have been getting rave reviews but the bottle shop didn't have one so I went for their bottled in bond straight bourbon. A high-rye mash bill adds some nice spice to the vanilla and cherry, and the more I drink the more I'm falling for it's charms (got a nice 750ml American bottle as well). Be prepared for that craft bourbon price-point though. 

Woodford Double Oaked is miles better than the standard Woodford, a vanilla and oak warm hug in a glass. Will probably buy another when I finish this one, although it does feel like it's maybe a tenner over priced. Maybe. But hey, only a tenner over priced is not bad for bourbon these days.

You'll definitely like this if you like regular Woodford, Davy. I'd honestly sip it every night if it was mid-£40's rather than mid to high-£50's. It's not a complex bourbon, but it's so cozy and comforting.

stormyskiesahead wrote:

Distilled with kelp, water mint, sea buckthorn, and bottled at 60% abv? I'd give that a go, sounds great.

Makes an absolutely banging negroni. Flavoursome with an extra slap.

I had my secret Santa dirty martini in a can tonight. Cheers.

poprock wrote:

I had my secret Santa dirty martini in a can tonight. Cheers.

Hope you drank it out of the Wipeout mug.

I was at a whisky festival yesterday. I have no memory of anything I tried (or getting home for that matter) but I've woken up to find a bottle of Ardnamurchan Sherry Cask that I guess I picked up at the end. Scared to look at my bank balance.

Just bought a bottle of the 2022 Fèis Ìle Big Peat Beach BBQ Edition. Never had any of the Big Peat bottles before, so looking forward to this one

It's great that you can personalize the bottle with a picture, too

Paul the sparky wrote:

It's great that you can personalize the bottle with a picture, too

I wish I was that good looking

Big Peat's a tasty one.

Finally braved the Sherry Cask Ardnamurchan I picked up at the festival last weekend (my liver has just about recovered from the 30+ drams I went through). What a delight at 50% - sweet and slightly peaty in good balance, a proper crowd-pleasing whisky.

After that New Riff I thought I'd try a couple more American whiskeys from interesting smaller/craft distilleries. 

First up, Redwood Empire Lost Monarch, a 60/40 blend of their own straight bourbon and straight rye whiskeys. These guys are pretty cool and have a great rep, hailing from Sonoma County, California, they're focussed on sustainability - and partnered with Trees for the Future, they plant a new tree for every bottle of whiskey the distillery sells. This is really unusual in a good way with some light fruity notes I wasn't expecting - hints of granny smith's, orange zest, and err strawberry Fruitella. Srsly. Very nice though. 



Then we have High West Prairie Bourbon. These guys are Utah's first distillery since the 1870's and 10% of the profits from this particular bottle go towards the American Prairie Reserve project in Montana. A blend rather than their own distillate, this is a mix of 3 to 13 year old bourbons reportedly including a couple from Four Roses and one of them their high rye recipe, I can believe it - there's some good black cherry and dark chocolate notes here with a nice dose of rye spice. Decent stuff, but it comes across a bit young and as far as high-rye bourbons go it's a good few steps down from the New Riff and not a patch on a Four Roses Single Barrel for the same price. 

I do love that bottle though, with its sloped bottom and full of tiny air bubbles. Turns out all these guy's bottles are made for them by a glass maker in Mexico who originally didn't want the gig as he was concerned about the "flawed" finish they requested. Legend has it the bottles are all hand blown, and maybe the early ones were but I can see the seams on this one so there's definitely some industrialisation going on. But hey, it's a good story. 



It's been many a year since I've tried this many American whiskeys and we're only just into February. I've gotta say, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself.

Love that idea, the blend sounds great as well.