What are you drinking tonight? (Fall '07)

[HipFlask]

Some George T Stagg neat in a glass. Since this way my first taste I was prepared to add water or ice to drink it at a reasonable proof. However, I never felt the nned.

My wife bought me a bottle for my birthday which was yesterday. One heck of gift. Excellant whiskey. I get none of the barnyard oder that some here have described. Quite the opposite I get vanilla and pumpkin spice. Hopefully there will be some Thomas Handy under tree this year.

[Old Lamplighter]

ERSB followed by Wathen's and finalized with WTRB

[bongoman]

40ml of WTRB in a Glencairn glass.

[HighTower]

WTAS, again.
I can't put it down!

Scott

[bigtoys]

As the snow came down here in the northern Chicago 'burbs last night, too, I felt it was time to open the bunkered Pappy 23. Pappy 15 and a few other favorites look on from the corner of the bar.



After battling the wax, I was finally able to enjoy it in a snifter. Looking forward to the next bottling that I think will be next spring.

[mml]

Hi guys, I'm new here. It's blowing up a gale here in Delaware, but I'm snug inside with the dog at my feet. Tonight I learned via IM that a Canadian friend has brought another bottle of Alberta Premium in to the US for me, so my first glass was 2 ozs of that.

The AP seems a bit too characterless—its acetone nose aside—tonight, so the next glass is going to be 25% Old Overholt, 25% OGD BIB, 50% Alberta Premium, and we'll see how it goes.

Cheers!

[Gillman]

Sounds like an excellent vatting.

Coincidentally, I used Alberta Premium in a vatting earlier tonight also. I started with a combination of Pappy 15, Weller 107 and Rutledge FRSB (in diminishing amounts, maybe 3:2:1) and added a dash of a 64% ABV absinthe, plus a flat teaspoon of brown sugar, and bitters, to make a Sazerac cocktail.

It was good but it needed something to smooth it out and the Alberta Premium worked very well for this purpose. (I had added ice first but it still needed adjustment). The ratio I used was 3:1 the straight whiskeys to the Canadian one.

While all-rye derived, Alberta Premium is made largely from a neutral-oriented high proof distillate in which the rye taste will mostly have been rectified out. True, some 10% (perhaps more) of the blend is a flavorsome low-proof all-rye whisky, but I find its influence in the final blend quite restrained. Adding bourbon or U.S. rye can improve it quite a bit for those looking for a more typically straight whisky palate. However, I used the Canadian whisky in the cocktail in the opposite way: to lighten and better integrate ("display" in Scots blending terminology) the straights. It is remarkable how this simple addition brought the drink into the correct balance (for me).

I do like though occasionally the Alberta Premium on its own. Its older versions can be quite good too since they take a lot of character from the wood. I used the regular Alberta Premium in the Sazerac. There was enough wood in there already.

Of course many Sazeracs wouldn't need it. I would think e.g., one made with a sweetish, well-balanced, bourbon or say Russel's Reserve rye would be fine on its own. I have such whiskeys but prefer to reserve them for neat drinking.

Gary

[mml]

Thanks, Gary. This *is* turning out delicious. One of the things I almost always pick up distinctly from AP is cocoa, especially in the finish. This combo tasted something like a softened OGD (the OGD, with its barrel and spice, dominates, but it is 'softer' probably in part due to the lower proof of the blend) with that AP cocoa finish intact. If anything, the cocoa lingers longer on the palate.

It was immediately very palatable and I said to myself, "I will have to make this again!"

[Gillman]

Interesting, thanks. I know what you mean about the cocoa, I think that is an effect from the particular kind of barrel aging used by the distillery and which is evident even in the regular Alberta Premium. I would think the distillery probably uses a combination of reused and some new charred wood barrels.

This is the main thing I find with Canadian whisky, that it sometimes gets a lot of character from the barrels. Apart from the barrels, it will get character from the percentage of low-proof, "straight" whiskies used in the blend.

I would think the OGD tasted softer in the blend not just because of lowering of proof but also (which is the "display" factor) that the heavy spice of the OGD and Overholt are being lessened due to the AP being relatively neutral as compared to those.


Gary

[TBoner]

Gary, I know where you're coming from on the RR Rye and neat sipping, but trust me, you need to make a Sazerac with it. Spectacular.

As for me, I'm not drinking yet. I'm taking a break from installing a new hot water heater to let my hands thaw.

Now, I'm pretty warm, so back to it...