Our annual Burns Night was at Drew and Rebecca's house with raunchy poetry, haggis, great food and some nice whisky. Todd was also not bitten by the dog, which is becoming tradition in itself. Bottles for the Living Cask were exchanged and we had ourselves a nice evening again. Thank you Rebecca and Drew for hosting!

*Longmorn 16yr  48% ABv
     -smelled caramel/toffee with oak
     -tasted toffee/shortbread and trailed pepper quick!
     -faint floral smell as well
     -with water smelled floral with slight oak
     -tasted syrupy, almost cough syrup
     -went quickly to bitter pepper
     -added more water - less bitter oak with a little sweet
     Water turned this bitter. 

*Laphroaig Triple Wood 48% ABV
     -smelled leathery oak like boots or a holster
     -after a few minutes there was slight cinnamon
     -tasted cinnamon at first with band aid/alcohol
     -trailed to oak, sweet aftertaste then to cherry syrup
     -with water smelled leather and cinnamon
     -tasted very peaty!! and trailed quickly
     Water doesn't ruin this. It killed the sweetness,

     Apologies for the delay in getting this one posted. Life just got in the way of the whisky. Well in this case the whiskey. 
     Todd and I actually tasted some of these at A Whiskey Affair in September 2015. I will refer you to those notes for those whiskies. Here is what was on the menu:

*Koval Single Barrel Bourbon  (51%corn/49% millet)
     See notes from A Whiskey Affair 2015

*Wathens Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon
     See notes from A Whiskey Affair 2015
     *Jim Overby added a note: smells of pipe tobacco. It did. 

*Defiant American Single Malt Whiskey   41% ABV
     -smelled slightly vanilla marshmellow, toasted
     -tasted peppery with slight wafer (not sweet)
     -with water smelled sweet citrusy
     -tasted peppery! with toasted bread
     Water did not ruin this exactly. I think I tasted the charred barrel
​     -

*Nikka Coffee Grain Whisky
  45% ABV
​[Grain whisky distilled in Coffee Stills. No coffee in it.]
     -smelled caramel and light bourbon
     -tasted slight oak with bitter end
     -with water smelled slight floral and caramel
     -tasted bitter oak and nothing else
     Unusual for a grain whisky to have oaky flavor and caramel. Not much else though which is more common.

*Compass Box Spice Tree Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 46% ABV
[Blend of Single Malts Only]
     -smelled sour citrus lemon
     -tasted peppery oak, floral
     -with water smelled Lemon Pledge
     -tasted sour vanilla oak
     -trailed peppery into a paper taste
​     Not as strange a flavor as acrylic paint (Pendleton) but still strange. 

*Talisker 10 yr  45.8% ABV
     [I've had this before at the distillery and here (thank you Todd) but never posted any notes.]
     -smelled a little bacon
     -tasted oak, peppery smokey
     -trailed oak, not bitter
     -with water smelled slight smoke
     -tasted a little peaty with vanilla