A huge thank you to Tanya and Ken for hosting the whisky miscreants of Jacksonville and providing two forms of pork (the other white meat)!! Aly and I were exhausted from our day in Orlando and were able to stay awake and enjoy some tasty beverages with our friends. 
     Ken, always hard at work brewing something, let us taste an apple cider aged in Palm Ridge Reserve barrels. It was an very nice cider. Keep in mind that I do not like ciders. This one tasted apple (cut and left out for a few hours) with citrus and oak. The flavor of the Palm Ridge came through in the nose and aftertaste. The cider itself was not overly sweet with a good flavor of apple. Since we were tasting it before bottling, it was not carbonated. I made the parallel to mojitos. Both taste so good that you can easily gulp them down. The danger is real with those kind of beverages. Good stuff!

*Bunnahababhain Ceobanach 46.3% ABV
     -smells band-aid, grassy
     -tasted medicinal, slight oak
     -with water smelled grassy like dandelion
     -tasted toasted bread, peppery oak
     -trailed bitter oak
​     This whisky retained its characteristic oily, rich flavor with a lighter element. 

*Tamnavulin-Glenlivet 46% ABV
     -smelled slightly moldy fungus wood with                     cinnamon
     -sweet oak and slightly floral as well
     -with water smelled cinnamon bun
     -tasted oak. leathery
     -trailed very quickly with a hint of floral
     This was a bottle from Byron that Todd brought out. Since it was bottled in the early eighties, it's a sure bet that paxarette was in the barrels for the aging. That explains the sweet aromas. Also at the time a number of distillers added Glenlivet to the name of the expression thinking it would help with sales. This was actually a Cadenhead whisky (Springbank).

*Glenlivet Nadurra 16 yr    56.2% ABV
         - smelled sweet cinnamon dessert
        -tasted strong pepper vanilla oak
       -with water smelled sweet floral
-tasted slight oak
-trailed quickly oak
I guess I expected more from a 16 year old whisky. There was not much here to make me choose it over a Glenlivet 12 yr.

     Well it would be tough to hide the fact that I have not posted anything in a few weeks - about 18 of 'em. Yeah that's  four months. It has been a busy summer. Apparently not for any of my tasting notes though. 
     Cindy and Doug were gracious enough to host our tribe of whisky carousers for an evening of fun and food. Thank you again! Sorry it is four months late. 
     There were excellent vittles  prepared and a few stories shared. The evening's conversations ranged from substitute teaching to travels (possibly travails) in Ireland and Scotland to Springbank Whisky School and Highland Games. The tasting for the night was Sherried Whiskies. Here is what I tasted:

Edradour Natural Cask Strength
     The tasting notes for this expression can be found in our 2016 Christmas gathering at Cindy and  Doug's.

     

*Glenfiddich Small Batch Reserve 18 yr  43% ABV

     -Smelled like grape cool-aid
     -tasted like fruit - went to pepper quickly!
     -with water smelled light fruit and vanilla
     -tasted light wood
     -went quickly to oak with very little bitter

*Springbank 21 yr  46% ABV
     -smelled sherry with grape
     -tasted sweet fruit and oak with pepper
     -with water smelled fruity, floral with cinnamon
     -tasted light wood with sweet that went quickly to light  oak
​     Paxarette! I think. 

      Well....two months later and I'm getting this posted. Can I fire myself from this? No. Everyone else would be doing the firing. I'll keep doing it. So here's what I tasted:

*Glenfiddich 12 yr 40% ABV
-See tasting notes from 8/9/2014 for notes.

*Balvenie 12yr Doublewood 43% ABV
     -smelled sweet pastry with caramel and cinnamon bun, grape juice/plum wine
     -tasted peppery candy 
     -with water smelled cake icing, sweet fruit like plums
     -tasted raisin bread, dough that went to peppery oak
     -trailed slight oak but not bitter
     Excellent with or without water! I know I have posted notes about this before but was not able to find them. So I was forced to roll up my sleeves, pour a dram and taste it again. Oh the sacrifices for the club......












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*Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt  43% ABV  
(Glenfiddich, Balvenie Doublewood 12, Kininvie)
     -See previous tasting notes


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*Glenfiddich 15yr Solera Reserve 40% ABV
     -smelled raisin bread and dessert, sherry
     -tasted vanilla, caramel with oak
     -with water smelled sweet caramel, floral
     -tasted oak with very light vanilla
     -goes to bitter oak quickly
     Water should be used sparingly with this one!


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*Glenfiddich 21yr Reserva Rum Cask Finish 40% ABV
     -smelled very fruity
     -tasted caramel, raisin bread then quickly to oak
     -bitter rum oak cask
     -with water smelled sweet cinnamon and floral
     -tasted oak with no bitterness, slight rum
     -trailed quickly with no bitterness
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Aly and I saw this at Total Wine and just had to have it. How can you go wrong with Glenmorangie? (unless you're talking about Milsean)

Glenmorangie Bacalta 46% ABV
     -smelled cinnamon, raisin bread with wine and vanilla
     -tasted very wine! with strong oak
     -hint of grapejuice
     -with water smelled sweet fruit juice, plum wine
     -tasted oak with wine bitterness
     Water ruins the taste but opens this way up!

     Rebecca and Drew were once again gracious enough to open their home and host the Burns Night with all the lewdness and jokes that go along. We did taste some whisky. We did read some poetry. We did all that three months ago. What have I been doing? Sorry for the delay. 

*Robbie Burns  40% ABV   Bottled on the 70s
     -smelled grassy sweet, slight wood
     -tasted very light oak
     -with water smelled slight oak, floral
     -tasted oak-trailed quickly!

*Lock Dhu 40% ABV
     -smelled cinnamon cookie
     -tasted slight oak peppery with dough in the middle
     -with water smelled very floral with a tinge of sour
     -tasted oak and trailed quickly
     -water ruined this completely!

*Lagavulin Double Matured Ditiller's Edition 43% ABV   #4/504
     -smelled tar, seaweed and briny leather
     -tasted peaty, salty
     -with water smelled a little grassy with peat
     -tasted peaty with some oak then trailed peat
​

              We were graciously invited to Cindy and Doug’s house for our end of year party. Their home is a combination of gallery, cozy living space, historical design and cool place to hang out. The food was excellent once again thanks to everyone who prepared and cooked, including the cook yourself Korean BBQ thing that Todd brought. The soup was amazing Cindy! I had two bowls myself.
              Our gathering is never complete without the “Water of Life. “ Todd gathered a few, as usual, and we did taste a few, as usual. Here is what I tasted:

​*Edradour Natural Cask Strength 15yr 56.1% ABV
              -smelled raisin bread/fruit cake (I don’t mean the kind that come into the Arlington store either)
              -tasted peppery fruit, cherry
              -with water smelled light cherry
              -tasted bitter pepper
              -trailed quickly!
              No water next time. Todd brought this one so we could open it!

​*Glen Moray 15 yr 40% ABV
              -smelled light and doughy, fruity sweetness
              -tasted peppery grapes
              -with water smelled very light floral, caramel
              -tasted oak with no bitter, not very sweet
              Water took away the sweetness in this whisky.

​*St Augustine Port Finished Bourbon 51% ABV
              -smelled bourbon, sweet leather
              -tasted peppery oak with candy
              -with water smelled sweet oak
              -tasted slightly sour oak
              -trails oak
              Water removed any sweetness. 

     This year's A Whiskey Affair seemed slightly smaller in both attendance and vendors. That made for more room to taste and eat. The temperature was perfect. My tweed jacket was not stifling and we did not have to huddle around heaters. 
      My wife accompanied me this year. With Todd, we were three. Got our picture in Jacksonville Magazine again, too. Crazy people in kilts!
     Dick and Marti from Palm Ridge Reserve were also there. It's always nice to see them. I am sure they were happy to not see me in my Richard Simmons costume from our pre-Holloween visit. 
     

​*Johnny Walker Platinum 18 yr Blend  40%ABV
              -smelled grassy sweet with a touch of citrus
              -tasted slight oak
              -quickly went to pepper and oak
              -faded to nothing

​*Michter’s US1 Barrel Strength Rye  55.1% ABV
              -smelled sweet oak and rye
              -tasted peppery rye
              -went quickly to oak
              -trailed pepper

​*Hochstadter’s Rock and Rye Slow And Low 42% ABV
              -smelled very orange!
              -tasted orange and rye with no pepper
              -smelled like Pendleton with orange
              -trailed sweet citrus
              Surprisingly sweet for a rye.

​*Jack Daniels Sinatra 45% ABV  
              -smelled light oak
              -tasted peppery oak!
              -trailed quickly to bitter oak
              Definitely one to pour over ice or mix with something. What’s in a name though, right?

     This monthly gathering saw a few more of us than August. Maybe I should take minutes instead of racking my brain to remember who was there. I will be Sargeant at Arms, Club Taster, Secretary and story teller. My motion was just seconded by me.
     Todd had gathered a local whiskey from St Augustine Distillery and some old favorites. I took notes on just a few. I also took some pictures of the bottles right after I stepped in front of Greg, who had just arranged them into a nice composition (sorry Greg!). 
     There was an Edradour Natural Cask Strength NAS 56.1% ABV on the table as well. We have apparently tasted this before (Notes from 8/9/14) but not this bottle. Under fear of death, from Todd, we refrained from opening and looked at it intently. 
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SURPRISE OF THE WEEK  (Is it?)
​*Johnny Walker Green Label  15yr  43% ABV
              -smelled peaty with sweet floral
              -tasted peaty and goes to toasted bread then pepper and oak
              -with water smelled lemony floral
              -tasted gritty/chalky with sweet floral pepper
              -trails quickly
              We’ve tasted this before and I now have a bottle since it is not being produced- No wait. They are producing this again. I learned that "Johnny Walker Green Label is back." The website stated such. That would explain why prices did not go up significantly and though a little rarer in stores, I continued to see it on the shelves in small numbers. Still a good drinking whisky, though not something to go out of your way for. 

​*Clynelish 14 yr  46% ABV
              -smells toffee, vanilla with sugary caramel
              -tastes slightly floral with peppery oak
              -with water smells sweet caramel with tinge of floral
              -tastes peppery (soapy)
              -goes to oak and trails quickly!
              Water is not a good thing in this.

​*St Augustine Distillery Company Double Cask Bourbon 46.9% ABV
              51% Corn with Malted Barley and Wheat
              16 months in small casks and then transferred to larger for remainder
              -smells of corn and wheat
              -tastes sweet corn with tinge of vanilla and oak
              -with water smells sweeter corn and wheat
              -tastes caramelized dessert sweet
              -trails smoothly with touch of pepper and caramel
              Very smooth whisky with little burn!

     After our summer travels and a break from club meetings, we gathered at Todd and Donna's house to swap stories and pay dues and taste some whisky.  Here is what we tasted:
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​*Bruichladdich Islay Barley Rockside Farm Unpeated   50% ABV
              -smells sweet vanilla, earthy
              -tastes charred wood, warm bread
              -with water smells vanilla, hard candy sweet
              -tastes grassy with slight smoke
              -trails peppery

*Middleton Very Rare Irish Blend 2013  40% ABV
              -smells butterscotch
              -tastes very light floral with cherry cough syrup
              -trails oak
              -with water smells even sweeter like fudge
              -tasted floral, grassy, dandelion
              -trails oak with almost no aftertaste
              I swear I taste sherry in this!

​*Springbank 21 yr   46% ABV
              -smells sherry and oak with smoke
              -tastes peat with sweet black licorice
              -with water smells caramel, cinnamon bun
              -tastes slightly sour oak with sweetness
              -trails oak

​*Caol Ila Stitchell Reserve  59.6% ABV
              -smells a little soapy with floral and oak
              -tates smoky oak
              -with water very peppery!
              -slight sweet taste with oak
              -trails peppery oak quickly!

​*Bowmore Bourbon Cask   40% ABV
              -smells peat, wood and grassy field
              -tastes slight peat with oak
              -with water smells smoky, slight wood
              -tastes light wood with pepper aftertaste

     We stopped at Bowmore, of course, and made our way to the tasting room overlooking the bay. The visitor center is nestled in to the complex in such a way that it seems bigger on the inside than it appears from the street. Only when you step out onto the balcony and look left do you realize the rest of the distillery sprawls its way along the shore. 
     The standout whisky, and one of the more expensive ones, it turns out, was The Devil's Cask. Aged in bourbon, Olorosso and Pedro Ximenez casks it is hard not to like this one. Here is what I tasted:

*Bowmore The Devil's Cask 56.7% ABV (Bourbon, Olorosso and PX casks)
     -smelled salty, sherry sweet
     -very, very light peat scent
     -tasted peaty with licorice pepper
     -trailed oak
     -with water smelled caramel and cinnamon bun
     -tasted cherry soda
     -trailed peppery oak with smoke
     First time I have ever tasted a whisky that was like soda.