I've been sitting on bottles from Whisky Auctioneer for over six months as the shipping cost per bottle drops significantly as the number of bottles increases. I recently pulled the trigger on shipping and by last week everything had arrived - just in time for me to get sick. I finally opened it all tonight.

I picked up a number of Glenmorangie. The Maltman's Special Reserve 18 year. MH Private Europe 21 Year Cask 9. 1993 Swamp Oak Single Cask. 1991 Mount Everest bottling. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 125.27 & 125.75. Crom 16 year Westport Warlords & Warriors Edition Thulsa's Choice. And Wilson & Morgan 18 year Westport.

Compass Box also got some love. I picked up Hedonism Maximus - the market release as I already have the LWDW bottling. Two additional bottlings of the standard Hedonism from 2018 & 2019. Canto Cask 17 & 124 - that brings me up to 8 of the 16. The Nectar 10th Anniversary release (I have the 15th). The "Double Single" original Craigellachie Hotel release from 2004. The Peat Monster 2008 bottling. And D is for Demi John.

And then a smattering of others. A Clase Azul Mezcal San Luis Potosi. Amrut Single Malt Rye - the first ever Indian Single Malt Rye. Three Clan Denny Single Grain bottlings - Garnheath 43 year, Invergordon 47 year, and Dumbarton 48 year. Wild Turkey 13 year Distiller's Reserve. Ardbeg Smoketrails Manzanilla Edition - a second bottle as I've shared my first at a few tastings and it is getting low. And, last but not least, a non-auction bottle from Julio's Liquors, Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Rye "Si" for the Loch & Key Whisk(e)y Society.

There were four other bottles, but those are for others.

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The latest round of acquisitions - local and auctions.

A bunch of Glenmorangie (including that The Scotch Malt Whisky Society UK bottling), a couple of Clase Azul, the Compass Box Bern's #1 I'm really looking forward to comparing with the #2 we've already tried, some rum from last night's Maison Ferrand tasting at Julio's Liquors (the Long Pond and Canerock) and a new bottle of Hampden Rum Fire as the last one gave it's all, a Wild Turkey U.S. 12 year European release I was hearing good things about, and the Loch & Key Whisk(e)y Society Catoctin Creek "Leaky Binders" barrel select rye.

#Whiskey #Whisky #Glenmorangie #CompassBox #Scotch #Rum #ClaseAzul #HampdenEstate #WildTurkey #CatoctinCreek #SMWS #Canerock #Tequila #LongPond #Rye #Bourbon

We had just a couple of good friends over for an un-themed, let's just play it by ear tasting, and it was a great night.

We started off strong by cracking the Glenmorangie Pride 1981 & 1974. Both fantastic, of course. It might be sacrilege, but I think the 1981 benefits from a couple of drops of water.

We continued on with the Glenmo with the 30 year Malaga finish. This suffered from the classic Glenmo problem of weak corks. It snapped in half with the lightest pull. Fortunately, after past experiences, I acquired a few tools and was able to extract the other half without it crumbling.

We stayed with Glenmo for the next dram as well, with the Tuiga 25 year. Very nice and light.

Switching it up we moved to a a North British Distillery Clan Denny 50 year Single Grain. Not complex, but elegant in its simplicity. Very enjoyable.

Jumping the pond we next enjoyed a Parkers Heritage 10 year Bourbon from heavy char barrels. This definitely benefits from a little water. Lots of flavor here. This beats Pappy any day of the weak, IMHO.

The conversation had turned back to grain whiskies and one of my friends mentioned he noticed the bottle of Haig Club in my cabinet. I picked this up many years ago for like $25 and never got around to opening it, so we did tonight. It is not at all complex, but pleasant and an easy drinker. I could see it being nice with a rock on a warm day, or in a highball. I sent it home with friends since they liked it, and the blue glass bottle.

Jumping around the globe we cracked a bottle of Amrut Greedy Angels 8 year, from India. It was quite nice, with layers of flavor. But the two of us who have had the 10 year agreed the 10 has more depth and complexity.

We crossed the pond again to crack the WhistlePig Boss Hog VIII Lapulapu's Pacific that I picked up last night, breaking my streak of only owning the odd numbers. (I also won IV & VI in an auction yesterday, so that leaves only II.) I had this on a cruise last fall and it is as good as I remember, with the rum cask notes coming through. But we all still felt VII was still the favorite Boss Hog.

The rum cask switched to conversation to rum, and one of my friends ran home to grab the rum they brought home from their recent honeymoon (they're literally two houses over), Leyenda. Low proof, but very easy to drink. I could see this being very dangerous as it would be easy to put away a lot. Which they did on their honeymoon.

I kept us on rum after that by pulling out the Kō Hana Rum I'd brought home from Hawaii last year. It was even better than I remembered. We ran through all five that I have. The Koho is very pleasant to sip, just a nice rum. But the Koa really adds some layers and depth, so good. The Kea white rum has a very, very vegetal nose, but is surprisingly mild on the palate. We all agreed it would be dangerous in a cocktail, or just with a splash of pineapple juice. The Kila does not drink like a 61% ABV rum, it is so easy to sip. But it does open up more with a little water. The Kokoleka, rum with cacao & honey, oh, damn, that's dessert in a glass. We poured the most of that one, and I wish I'd bought more since they can't ship to MA. Very good.

Then we leapt back to Scotland with a Springbank 15 that was a big change in pace. Lots a flavor, and nice depth.

And then it was time for something completely different from down under. I was recently given a bottle of Mr Black Amaro finish coffee liqueur, with the only request being to try it and report back. So I poured both the standard Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur and the Amaro for side-by-side. Mr Black is my favorite coffee liqueur, very nice to sip straight but it also makes a hell of a Caucasian (White Russian, some of you get the reference). The Amaro is also great. I was concerned it might be too bitter, but it absolutely wasn't. I got a lot of citrus, and the nose was pure Terry Chocolate Orange to me. Just a bit different, and still an enjoyable dram.

We wrapped things up with another major shift. At some point my friends had said they liked having a good sipping tequila on hand, and I remembered I screwed up a while ago and bought a second Clase Azul Gold, and opened it before I caught my mistake. So we pulled that down and gave that a try to wrap up the night. They liked it, so I sent the bottle home with them as I don't really need two open bottles.

And that was it for the night. Damn good times.

Oh, and we started with dinner from Fugakyu Cafe and desserts from Harvard Sweet Boutique, which you may notice in some of the photos. Both are highly recommended.

This is how I like to enjoy a few drams, with good friends.

#Whiskey #Whisky #Glenmorangie #NorthBritish #ClanDenny #ParkersHeritage #HaigClub #Amrut #WhistlePig #Rum #Leyenda #KoHana #Springbank #MrBlack #Scotch #Rye #Bourbon #ClaseAzul #Tequila