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#scotch — Public Fediverse posts

Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #scotch, aggregated by home.social.

  1. How Liquor Giant Diageo Is Taking On Beer At The World Cup

    EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – JUNE 13: (L-R) Keegan-Michael Key and Gabrielle Union attend Rivals at the Game,…
    #EuropeSays #Britain #Europe #EU #Diageo #Buchanan's #Casamigos #diageo #DonJulio #FIFA #FIFAWorldCup #Scotch #Tequila #Whisky #worldcup
    europesays.com/britain/83790/

  2. Some new arrivals from Drammers Club / Drinqy. The recent online Kavalan Whisky tasting included a bottle of the No.1 Distillery Select. It hadn't arrived at the time, so it just shipped, and they offered free shipping on any other bottles added to the shipment, so I pulled the trigger on a few I'd been thinking about.

    Compass Box Whisky Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask, 'Drammers Club #87'. This was married in an ex-Cameronbridge Lowland Single Grain Cask.

    Tenmile Distillery Little Rest American Single Malt Whisky, Double Matured Cask Strength, Batch 002. Tenmile is doing some great things over in Wassaic, NY. And I'm always happy to support my friend Melissa.

    FEW Spirits Immortal Rye - Rye Whiskey with Eight Immortals Oolong Tea. You may notice this bottle is opened, as we had a gathering on Saturday - and this shipment happened to arrive earlier that day.

    I picked this up as my friend Marc is the distiller at our local Nashoba Valley Spirits, and creator of their own tea-infused bourbon and single malt whisky. So when I saw this I wanted to compare a tea-infused rye. I have to say, the tea influence is very faint here. It isn't a bad pour, but I don't think I'd guess there was tea if I didn't know. I prefer our local offerings.

    And then yesterday another box showed up from the UK with a very special rum. Black Tot Rum Rare Old Natural Cask Strength Demerara Rum, Aged 40 Years. This is Demerara Rum distilled in Guyana in 1975, and was the heart of the blended rum served by the Royal Navy until 1970. It will be interesting to compare this with The Last Consignment.

    #Whiskey #Whisky #Rum #Scotch #Rye #BlackTotRum #CompassBox #KavalanDistillery #TenmileDistillery #FEWSpirits

  3. Some new arrivals from Drammers Club / Drinqy. The recent online Kavalan Whisky tasting included a bottle of the No.1 Distillery Select. It hadn't arrived at the time, so it just shipped, and they offered free shipping on any other bottles added to the shipment, so I pulled the trigger on a few I'd been thinking about.

    Compass Box Whisky Glasgow Blend Single Marrying Cask, 'Drammers Club #87'. This was married in an ex-Cameronbridge Lowland Single Grain Cask.

    Tenmile Distillery Little Rest American Single Malt Whisky, Double Matured Cask Strength, Batch 002. Tenmile is doing some great things over in Wassaic, NY. And I'm always happy to support my friend Melissa.

    FEW Spirits Immortal Rye - Rye Whiskey with Eight Immortals Oolong Tea. You may notice this bottle is opened, as we had a gathering on Saturday - and this shipment happened to arrive earlier that day.

    I picked this up as my friend Marc is the distiller at our local Nashoba Valley Spirits, and creator of their own tea-infused bourbon and single malt whisky. So when I saw this I wanted to compare a tea-infused rye. I have to say, the tea influence is very faint here. It isn't a bad pour, but I don't think I'd guess there was tea if I didn't know. I prefer our local offerings.

    And then yesterday another box showed up from the UK with a very special rum. Black Tot Rum Rare Old Natural Cask Strength Demerara Rum, Aged 40 Years. This is Demerara Rum distilled in Guyana in 1975, and was the heart of the blended rum served by the Royal Navy until 1970. It will be interesting to compare this with The Last Consignment.

    #Whiskey #Whisky #Rum #Scotch #Rye #BlackTotRum #CompassBox #KavalanDistillery #TenmileDistillery #FEWSpirits

  4. Tonight was amazing. We hosted 20+ of our friends for Pappy's Pizza Party. So much whiskey, pizza, and ice cream.

    I have no patience for pretentiousness when it comes to whisky. So we thought, how should we take the piss out of the aura around Pappy Van Winkle, BTAC, and the like? The answer - pair it with pizza and ice cream!

    So we ordered a number of pizzas from our favorite local joint, Blue Square Pizza, as well as several frozen pizzas from St. Louis and Chicago - Imo's, Giordano's & Lou Malnati's. We had salad which was mostly veggies from our local CSA, Small Farm.

    Dessert was ice cream from the BEST place around - Erikson's Ice Cream. And chocolate from Goodnow Farms.

    I put out some nice Glenmorangie, the Compass Box Whisky Hedonism 10th Anniversary, some Willett, Van Winkle from the 10 through the 23, the BTAC collection circa 2012, and a few others.

    Friends brought even more pizza, a chocolate cream pie, cookies, a Four Roses Single Barrel, several bottles of Weller, a Penelope, and more I'm probably forgetting. We had a lot of whisky.

    We ended up pulling out the Glenmorangie Milsean to compare with the Harrison Ford. The Middle West Spirits Pumpernickel Rye and Ported Pumpernickel for a few who hadn't yet tried them, same for the Copper & Cask Roxie and The Doctor Is In, and even more.

    And we killed the Pappy 23!

    Fantastic evening - good food, good whisky, and good friends.

    Whisky is for sharing, not for staring.

    #Whiskey #Whisky #Scotch #Bourbon #Rye #Glenmorangie #CompassBox #Willett #BTAC #PappyVanWinkle #BuffaloTraceAntiqueCollection #MiddleWestSpirits #CopperAndCask

  5. Tonight was amazing. We hosted 20+ of our friends for Pappy's Pizza Party. So much whiskey, pizza, and ice cream.

    I have no patience for pretentiousness when it comes to whisky. So we thought, how should we take the piss out of the aura around Pappy Van Winkle, BTAC, and the like? The answer - pair it with pizza and ice cream!

    So we ordered a number of pizzas from our favorite local joint, Blue Square Pizza, as well as several frozen pizzas from St. Louis and Chicago - Imo's, Giordano's & Lou Malnati's. We had salad which was mostly veggies from our local CSA, Small Farm.

    Dessert was ice cream from the BEST place around - Erikson's Ice Cream. And chocolate from Goodnow Farms.

    I put out some nice Glenmorangie, the Compass Box Whisky Hedonism 10th Anniversary, some Willett, Van Winkle from the 10 through the 23, the BTAC collection circa 2012, and a few others.

    Friends brought even more pizza, a chocolate cream pie, cookies, a Four Roses Single Barrel, several bottles of Weller, a Penelope, and more I'm probably forgetting. We had a lot of whisky.

    We ended up pulling out the Glenmorangie Milsean to compare with the Harrison Ford. The Middle West Spirits Pumpernickel Rye and Ported Pumpernickel for a few who hadn't yet tried them, same for the Copper & Cask Roxie and The Doctor Is In, and even more.

    And we killed the Pappy 23!

    Fantastic evening - good food, good whisky, and good friends.

    Whisky is for sharing, not for staring.

    #Whiskey #Whisky #Scotch #Bourbon #Rye #Glenmorangie #CompassBox #Willett #BTAC #PappyVanWinkle #BuffaloTraceAntiqueCollection #MiddleWestSpirits #CopperAndCask

  6. Spirit slowly turning into Scotch whisky in a bonded warehouse at Glenmorangie Distillery near Tain in Easter Ross. Glenmorangie's stills are the tallest in Scotland at 8m high. More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/tai

    #Scotland #GlenmorangleDistillery #Distillery #Scotch #Whisky

  7. Spirit slowly turning into Scotch whisky in a bonded warehouse at Glenmorangie Distillery near Tain in Easter Ross. Glenmorangie's stills are the tallest in Scotland at 8m high. More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/tai

    #Scotland #GlenmorangleDistillery #Distillery #Scotch #Whisky

  8. Picked up a few things tonight at Julio's Liquors. Tonight's Whisk(e)y Wednesday at Julio's Liquors was Fettercairn Whisky, and it's cracking stuff. We sampled the 12, 16, 24, and 28 - and a bonus The Dalmore 17 year that will hit the US shelves soon.

    Admission to the event included a bottle of the Fettercairn 12, but I couldn't resist picking up the 16 - and the one bottle of 24 left in the state. 😉

    The 28 was good, but a lower proof and chill-filtered, unlike the younger expressions. I felt that it lost a little of the bright, orchard fruit notes that I really liked in those. I put the 24 ahead of the 28 for my palate, so I did not pick up the 28.

    Definitely worth checking out, IMHO. If you like the light, floral Highland style of Glenmorangie, you might like Fettercairn as well.

    I also picked up my pre-order of the new Loch & Key Whisk(e)y Society Proof and Wood Tumblin' Dice 'Dungeons & Donut' 13-year Barrel Proof Straight Rye Whiskey.

    Also, as a tip, do not sleep on the next L&K pick of Middle West Spirits pumpernickel rye when it comes in. You're welcome.

    #Whiskey #Whisky #Scotch #Rye #Fettercairn #TumblinDice

  9. Picked up a few things tonight at Julio's Liquors. Tonight's Whisk(e)y Wednesday at Julio's Liquors was Fettercairn Whisky, and it's cracking stuff. We sampled the 12, 16, 24, and 28 - and a bonus The Dalmore 17 year that will hit the US shelves soon.

    Admission to the event included a bottle of the Fettercairn 12, but I couldn't resist picking up the 16 - and the one bottle of 24 left in the state. 😉

    The 28 was good, but a lower proof and chill-filtered, unlike the younger expressions. I felt that it lost a little of the bright, orchard fruit notes that I really liked in those. I put the 24 ahead of the 28 for my palate, so I did not pick up the 28.

    Definitely worth checking out, IMHO. If you like the light, floral Highland style of Glenmorangie, you might like Fettercairn as well.

    I also picked up my pre-order of the new Loch & Key Whisk(e)y Society Proof and Wood Tumblin' Dice 'Dungeons & Donut' 13-year Barrel Proof Straight Rye Whiskey.

    Also, as a tip, do not sleep on the next L&K pick of Middle West Spirits pumpernickel rye when it comes in. You're welcome.

    #Whiskey #Whisky #Scotch #Rye #Fettercairn #TumblinDice

  10. Getting near to the end of the monster auction haul, we're getting into the odds and ends.

    - Indri Single Malt Whisky Trini

    - Amrut Malt Gurus Greedy Angels 10 year Peated Rum Finish, which is intriguing

    - Cotswolds Distillery Single Cask Collection New Vibrations

    - Inchdairine Distillery RyeLaw - technically a Single Grain Scotch, but a rye, which is very unusual

    - Wild Turkey Heritage Single Barrel 101 Proof

    And, for a change of pace, a rum:

    - Hampden Estate Rum Great House Distillery Edition 2024. This was the last one I needed to have the complete run from 2019 through 2025, so I'm all caught up.

    #Whiskey #Whisky #Rum #Scotch #EnglishWhisky #IndianWhisky #Bourbon #Indri #Amrut #CotswoldsDistillery #Inchdairine #HampdenEstate

  11. Getting near to the end of the monster auction haul, we're getting into the odds and ends.

    - Indri Single Malt Whisky Trini

    - Amrut Malt Gurus Greedy Angels 10 year Peated Rum Finish, which is intriguing

    - Cotswolds Distillery Single Cask Collection New Vibrations

    - Inchdairine Distillery RyeLaw - technically a Single Grain Scotch, but a rye, which is very unusual

    - Wild Turkey Heritage Single Barrel 101 Proof

    And, for a change of pace, a rum:

    - Hampden Estate Rum Great House Distillery Edition 2024. This was the last one I needed to have the complete run from 2019 through 2025, so I'm all caught up.

    #Whiskey #Whisky #Rum #Scotch #EnglishWhisky #IndianWhisky #Bourbon #Indri #Amrut #CotswoldsDistillery #Inchdairine #HampdenEstate

  12. I was remiss the last time I posted recent pickups and overlooked these two bottles, from the fantastic Single Cask Nation. Back in March, Joshua Hatton was the guest for Whiskey Wednesday at Julio's Liquors and we tried a whole line of excellent bottles.

    Trying to be a little more responsible, I limited myself to two - an 11 year old Fettercairn and a 21 year old Glen Grant.

    If you haven't checked out SCN, you should. They have some fantastic bottles.

    #Whisky #Whiskey #Scotch #SingleCaskNation #Fettercairn #GlenGrant

  13. I was remiss the last time I posted recent pickups and overlooked these two bottles, from the fantastic Single Cask Nation. Back in March, Joshua Hatton was the guest for Whiskey Wednesday at Julio's Liquors and we tried a whole line of excellent bottles.

    Trying to be a little more responsible, I limited myself to two - an 11 year old Fettercairn and a 21 year old Glen Grant.

    If you haven't checked out SCN, you should. They have some fantastic bottles.

    #Whisky #Whiskey #Scotch #SingleCaskNation #Fettercairn #GlenGrant

  14. Bowmore Distillery, in the heart of the village of Bowmore beside Loch Indaal on the Isle of Islay. It has its own maltings, so the pagodas are not just for show. More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/isl

    #Scotland #BowmoreDistillery #IsleOfIslay #Islay #Bowmore #Scotch #Whisky

  15. Into the daylight. After years in the cool quiet darkness of the bonded warehouse, a cask of what has become Scotch whisky heads off for bottling at Ardbeg Distillery on the Isle of Islay. More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/isl

    #Scotland #Ardbeg #Distillery #Islay #Scotch #Whisky

  16. Into the daylight. After years in the cool quiet darkness of the bonded warehouse, a cask of what has become Scotch whisky heads off for bottling at Ardbeg Distillery on the Isle of Islay. More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/isl

    #Scotland #Ardbeg #Distillery #Islay #Scotch #Whisky

  17. Glenlivet Distillery in Moray, producers of "The Glenlivet" and offering everything you could want from a distillery visit, including an amazing location. #scotch #whisky More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/bal

    #Scotland #GlenlivetDistillery #Glenlivet #Distillery #Moray

  18. Glenlivet Distillery in Moray, producers of "The Glenlivet" and offering everything you could want from a distillery visit, including an amazing location. #scotch #whisky More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/bal

    #Scotland #GlenlivetDistillery #Glenlivet #Distillery #Moray

  19. Spring break. Snow. Shoveling.

    So I grabbed Pete’s Beast PX Batch Strength (54.1%). Big sherry, big peat… but at $95 CAD, is it worth it?

    Full review: youtu.be/IiBHdb0_qC4

    #WhiskyReview #whiskyneighbour #PeatedWhisky #Scotch #Snow

  20. Glen Garioch Distillery, which can be found in back streets on the northern edge of Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire, looks and feels (and smells) exactly as a distillery should. More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/old

    #Scotland #GlenGarioch #Distillery #Oldmeldrum #Aberdeenshire #Scotch #Whisky

  21. Glen Garioch Distillery, which can be found in back streets on the northern edge of Oldmeldrum in Aberdeenshire, looks and feels (and smells) exactly as a distillery should. More pics and info: undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/old

    #Scotland #GlenGarioch #Distillery #Oldmeldrum #Aberdeenshire #Scotch #Whisky

  22. Saturday night was a very special night, for several reasons. As some of you know, this past year was a tough one as my father was diagnosed early on with terminal lung cancer, and subsequently suffered a few health crises which had him in the ICU a couple of times. For most of the past year, Jess & my lives were occupied with helping him, and visiting him regularly in New York. We were happy to do it, but it did mean a pause in our usual get togethers with friends, which we missed.

    On December 10th, 2025, my father succumbed to his cancer. As you might expect, the subsequent weeks have been full of grief, and paperwork. Even death has bureaucracy.

    December 10th was also the day that the Compass Box Whisky Confluence auction at Bonhams Skinner, to benefit The Wolfsonian-FIU, ended. I'd been watching the auction, but uncertain about bidding - despite being a longtime Compass Box fanatic. However, after my father passed early that morning, I decided that I needed something good to go with the day - and that was going to be winning Confluence, which I did. You only live once, as was painfully clear that day.

    My birthday is at the end of December, and we had planned a small gathering with friends to celebrate - but Jess & I both came home from my father's services in NY under the weather, and not really in a celebratory mood, so we cancelled that.

    Instead, yesterday we had a gathering which was partly a delayed birthday celebration, partly a toast to my father's memory, and partly an exploration of a truly unique whisky. But, more than anything, it was a gathering of good friends for the first time in quite a while - and boy did I need that more than I realized.

    Thank you Jess, Jer, Shamala, Marc, Lizzy, Lisa, Carol, Friski and Betsy for making the evening wonderful.

    Before we could dive into the whisky, we had to put something in on stomachs - so we had an assortment of my father's favorites, in his honor. There was an antipasto salad, some veggies and cheese, meatballs and sauce (for subs or over pasta), pickle soup (the Cafe Polonia recipe), kielbasa and sauerkraut, pierogi, a texas sheet cake, rice pudding, cupcakes, and some fine Läderach chocolates.

    Properly fueled, we attacked the mission of the evening.

    We'd assembled a lineup of whiskies for the evening - of course, there was the Confluence, but we also pulled some expressions from the component distilleries. Obviously, these were not *the* components used to make Confluence, but it was just a fun way to try a few things.

    We'd lined up Mackmyra, a Gordon & MacPhail Miltonduff, a G&M Macallan, a Highland Park 25, a Flora & Fauna Teaninich, and a Glen Moray (which was peated, it was what we had). We also had a couple of whiskies from Nashoba Valley Distillery, right here in town - Papa's Bourbon and the Stimulus Twenty 20 year old American Single Malt. Thanks to Marc Follit, our good friend, neighbor, and distiller at Nashoba, for bringing those.

    Oh, yes, and there is also the Black Tot Rum Last Consignment. It seemed like another special bottle to open - after the whiskies.

    We started off with the Confluence, so that we'd have clear palates - the better to taste it with. Whisky reviewer extraordinaire, Friski Whiski, agreed to write up a joint review with input from the whole crew, and we spent quite a bit of time on that. A most enjoyable time it was, too. We avoided reading the official tasting notes before creating our own, and were pleased to see that our notes ended up aligning fairly well with the official ones once we were done.

    Friski posted the review on his page (facebook.com/friski.whiski/pos), but here it is:
    ---START---
    Dram of a lifetime on 1/10/26

    Compass Box
    Confluence
    Blended Malt Whisky
    Age: NAS
    Abv: 48.9%
    No. of bottles: 1

    Components:
    The Mackmyra Distillery
    Swedish Single Malt
    Cherry Wine Fresh Seasoned American Oak
    9%

    The Mackmyra Distillery
    Swedish Single Malt
    Oloroso First Fill Sherry Seasoned American Oak
    9%

    The Mackmyra Distillery
    Swedish Single Malt
    American First Fill & Virgin Oak Casks
    9%

    The Mackmyra Distillery
    Swedish Single Malt
    Swedish Virgin Oak & First Fill Casks
    3%

    Teaninich Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Sherry Butt
    12%

    Miltonduff Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Bourbon Barrel
    12%

    Highland Park Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    Recharred Hogshead
    3%

    The Macallan Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Bourbon Barrel
    14%

    Glen Moray Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Bourbon Barrel
    15%

    Glen Moray Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Bourbon Barrel
    15%

    Availability: 1 of 1 bottle. Bonhams auction house event "Art & Alchemy of Spirits: Presenting Compass Box to Benefit the Wolfsonian".

    Crowd source notes: MegaZone, Jess Terry, Jer Johnson, Shamala Rao, Marc Follit, Lizzy Nicolai, Lisa Mulvehill, Carol Ann, Betsey Hendricks, and Friski Whiski.

    Color: Medium honey and golden syrup

    Neat (without water)
    Nose: Soft and crisp. Honey, green apple, marzipan, cooked caramelized pineapple, confectioner’s sugar, lemon citrus, orange peel, with hints of cardamom and anise.

    Texture: Warm. Creamy, buttery, slightly drying through the finish and pleasantly astringent.

    Palate: Apple blossom honey, honey comb, marzipan, caramel, and birchwood. Swedish Kanelbulle (which is a classic Scandinavian cinnamon bun, spiced with cardamom in the dough, less gooey and use a lighter cinnamon application).

    Finish: A roller coaster ride of white pepper, fresh green olive oil, saline, toasted almonds, fine Corinthian leather, oak, grapefruit pith, and oleo saccharum.

    Unleash the serpent (with water)
    Nose: An orchard house of fruit moved to the forefront. Pear, apple frangipane, sliced almonds, sweet cracked malt and fresh cream. Birchbeer float with vanilla bean ice cream. Lakrits, lemon blossoms where floral and citrus combine into a confluence of marriage.

    Texture: Creamy, buttery, woody without the tannic astringency.
    Palate: Baked apple dumplings, roasted butternut squash, demerara sugar, sweet cream, and candied meyer lemon.

    Finish: Earthy notes get amplified. Warm spiced sweet potato pie with a pastry crust, sea spray, salted caramel, walnut skins, and toffee with subtle hints of a gentle smoke.

    Tasting notes glass used: Open Up Chef and Sommelier 5.5oz glass.
    The morning after glass: Sweet cracked malt, dust, vanilla, and caramel

    Pairings...
    Season: Any

    Music: Lovefool by The Cardigans

    Food: Rosemary pork loin with homemade applesauce

    Media: Best enjoyed with great company and good conversation.

    Overall: From first nose to final sip, several of us ended up in a journey from an apple orchard to our grandmother's seaside cottage while various desserts were being cooked. Fantastic debut from Angela D'Orazio at Compass Box! We really look forward to her future creations.
    ---END---

    As you can see, we loved it. This is a fantastic whisky, IMHO, and I'm thrilled that we were able to try it. Whisky is for sharing, not for staring. It would have been a crying shame for this to sit on someone's shelf, never to be tasted. You can tell we enjoyed it - we went through about 1/3 of the bottle compiling those tasting notes. ;-)

    Afterwards we did taste through the other whiskies - which were good, but kind of paled a bit after Confluence. The Mackmyra was well-loved as well, and you can see the influence in Confluence. The other standout for the group was the Flora & Fauna Teaninich - really good. Enough so that we're going to be looking for more Teaninich at auctions to try in the future.

    Really, everything was good - and, more importantly, we had a lot of laughs and great conversation trying them.

    After we ran the line of whisky, we did open the Last Consignment - and I figured out why it comes with two extra corks! The cork in the bottle is fully seated and covered in wax - so you have to pull it like a wine bottle, and it isn't really designed to go back in. So you use one of the supplied corks to reseal the bottle. Mystery solved!

    It is a very rich, unctuous rum that those who tried enjoyed. It is also liquid history, and it was special just to be trying it. The previous evening I'd also read through the little booklet that is included, going through the history of the rum and rituals in the Royal Navy, and that was quite interesting.

    The molasses note is front and center, but there are tropical fruits, spices, chocolate, leather, a bit of funk (there has to be some Jamaican rum in there)... a really thought-provoking sip.

    As the evening ran down, and some of the crew left for home, we decided to keep the evening going with a few additional drams. So I grabbed some Glenmorangie. We hit Year of the Snake first - I'd opened this, but some of the others had not had a chance. This is still a standout dram - a blend of ex-Bourbon and Amontillado finishing casks.

    They we opened the Rare Cask 21 year Mizunara finish. As expected, this is a very fine whisky, but the Snake was still in the lead by consensus.

    And we last turned to the new 25 year, The Altus. This is mostly aged in designer bourbon casks, but is seasoned with a little whisky finished in Malmsey Madeira casks. A very juicy, fruit-forward dram, this ended up coming in second place, bumping the Mizunara to 3rd. Still, they're all fantastic.

    That pretty much wrapped up the night. It was an amazing time start to finish - fantastic drams, but even better friends.

    Next Saturday we're doing a larger gathering - this time for Raising Glasses rums. Should be fun!

    #Whiskey #Whiskey #Rum #CompassBox #BlackTot #Mackmyra #Miltonduff #Teaninich #Macallan #HighlandPark #GlenMoray #NashobaValleyWinery #Glenmorangie #Scotch #Bourbon

  23. Saturday night was a very special night, for several reasons. As some of you know, this past year was a tough one as my father was diagnosed early on with terminal lung cancer, and subsequently suffered a few health crises which had him in the ICU a couple of times. For most of the past year, Jess & my lives were occupied with helping him, and visiting him regularly in New York. We were happy to do it, but it did mean a pause in our usual get togethers with friends, which we missed.

    On December 10th, 2025, my father succumbed to his cancer. As you might expect, the subsequent weeks have been full of grief, and paperwork. Even death has bureaucracy.

    December 10th was also the day that the Compass Box Whisky Confluence auction at Bonhams Skinner, to benefit The Wolfsonian-FIU, ended. I'd been watching the auction, but uncertain about bidding - despite being a longtime Compass Box fanatic. However, after my father passed early that morning, I decided that I needed something good to go with the day - and that was going to be winning Confluence, which I did. You only live once, as was painfully clear that day.

    My birthday is at the end of December, and we had planned a small gathering with friends to celebrate - but Jess & I both came home from my father's services in NY under the weather, and not really in a celebratory mood, so we cancelled that.

    Instead, yesterday we had a gathering which was partly a delayed birthday celebration, partly a toast to my father's memory, and partly an exploration of a truly unique whisky. But, more than anything, it was a gathering of good friends for the first time in quite a while - and boy did I need that more than I realized.

    Thank you Jess, Jer, Shamala, Marc, Lizzy, Lisa, Carol, Friski and Betsy for making the evening wonderful.

    Before we could dive into the whisky, we had to put something in on stomachs - so we had an assortment of my father's favorites, in his honor. There was an antipasto salad, some veggies and cheese, meatballs and sauce (for subs or over pasta), pickle soup (the Cafe Polonia recipe), kielbasa and sauerkraut, pierogi, a texas sheet cake, rice pudding, cupcakes, and some fine Läderach chocolates.

    Properly fueled, we attacked the mission of the evening.

    We'd assembled a lineup of whiskies for the evening - of course, there was the Confluence, but we also pulled some expressions from the component distilleries. Obviously, these were not *the* components used to make Confluence, but it was just a fun way to try a few things.

    We'd lined up Mackmyra, a Gordon & MacPhail Miltonduff, a G&M Macallan, a Highland Park 25, a Flora & Fauna Teaninich, and a Glen Moray (which was peated, it was what we had). We also had a couple of whiskies from Nashoba Valley Distillery, right here in town - Papa's Bourbon and the Stimulus Twenty 20 year old American Single Malt. Thanks to Marc Follit, our good friend, neighbor, and distiller at Nashoba, for bringing those.

    Oh, yes, and there is also the Black Tot Rum Last Consignment. It seemed like another special bottle to open - after the whiskies.

    We started off with the Confluence, so that we'd have clear palates - the better to taste it with. Whisky reviewer extraordinaire, Friski Whiski, agreed to write up a joint review with input from the whole crew, and we spent quite a bit of time on that. A most enjoyable time it was, too. We avoided reading the official tasting notes before creating our own, and were pleased to see that our notes ended up aligning fairly well with the official ones once we were done.

    Friski posted the review on his page (facebook.com/friski.whiski/pos), but here it is:
    ---START---
    Dram of a lifetime on 1/10/26

    Compass Box
    Confluence
    Blended Malt Whisky
    Age: NAS
    Abv: 48.9%
    No. of bottles: 1

    Components:
    The Mackmyra Distillery
    Swedish Single Malt
    Cherry Wine Fresh Seasoned American Oak
    9%

    The Mackmyra Distillery
    Swedish Single Malt
    Oloroso First Fill Sherry Seasoned American Oak
    9%

    The Mackmyra Distillery
    Swedish Single Malt
    American First Fill & Virgin Oak Casks
    9%

    The Mackmyra Distillery
    Swedish Single Malt
    Swedish Virgin Oak & First Fill Casks
    3%

    Teaninich Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Sherry Butt
    12%

    Miltonduff Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Bourbon Barrel
    12%

    Highland Park Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    Recharred Hogshead
    3%

    The Macallan Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Bourbon Barrel
    14%

    Glen Moray Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Bourbon Barrel
    15%

    Glen Moray Distillery
    Scottish Single Malt
    First Fill Bourbon Barrel
    15%

    Availability: 1 of 1 bottle. Bonhams auction house event "Art & Alchemy of Spirits: Presenting Compass Box to Benefit the Wolfsonian".

    Crowd source notes: MegaZone, Jess Terry, Jer Johnson, Shamala Rao, Marc Follit, Lizzy Nicolai, Lisa Mulvehill, Carol Ann, Betsey Hendricks, and Friski Whiski.

    Color: Medium honey and golden syrup

    Neat (without water)
    Nose: Soft and crisp. Honey, green apple, marzipan, cooked caramelized pineapple, confectioner’s sugar, lemon citrus, orange peel, with hints of cardamom and anise.

    Texture: Warm. Creamy, buttery, slightly drying through the finish and pleasantly astringent.

    Palate: Apple blossom honey, honey comb, marzipan, caramel, and birchwood. Swedish Kanelbulle (which is a classic Scandinavian cinnamon bun, spiced with cardamom in the dough, less gooey and use a lighter cinnamon application).

    Finish: A roller coaster ride of white pepper, fresh green olive oil, saline, toasted almonds, fine Corinthian leather, oak, grapefruit pith, and oleo saccharum.

    Unleash the serpent (with water)
    Nose: An orchard house of fruit moved to the forefront. Pear, apple frangipane, sliced almonds, sweet cracked malt and fresh cream. Birchbeer float with vanilla bean ice cream. Lakrits, lemon blossoms where floral and citrus combine into a confluence of marriage.

    Texture: Creamy, buttery, woody without the tannic astringency.
    Palate: Baked apple dumplings, roasted butternut squash, demerara sugar, sweet cream, and candied meyer lemon.

    Finish: Earthy notes get amplified. Warm spiced sweet potato pie with a pastry crust, sea spray, salted caramel, walnut skins, and toffee with subtle hints of a gentle smoke.

    Tasting notes glass used: Open Up Chef and Sommelier 5.5oz glass.
    The morning after glass: Sweet cracked malt, dust, vanilla, and caramel

    Pairings...
    Season: Any

    Music: Lovefool by The Cardigans

    Food: Rosemary pork loin with homemade applesauce

    Media: Best enjoyed with great company and good conversation.

    Overall: From first nose to final sip, several of us ended up in a journey from an apple orchard to our grandmother's seaside cottage while various desserts were being cooked. Fantastic debut from Angela D'Orazio at Compass Box! We really look forward to her future creations.
    ---END---

    As you can see, we loved it. This is a fantastic whisky, IMHO, and I'm thrilled that we were able to try it. Whisky is for sharing, not for staring. It would have been a crying shame for this to sit on someone's shelf, never to be tasted. You can tell we enjoyed it - we went through about 1/3 of the bottle compiling those tasting notes. ;-)

    Afterwards we did taste through the other whiskies - which were good, but kind of paled a bit after Confluence. The Mackmyra was well-loved as well, and you can see the influence in Confluence. The other standout for the group was the Flora & Fauna Teaninich - really good. Enough so that we're going to be looking for more Teaninich at auctions to try in the future.

    Really, everything was good - and, more importantly, we had a lot of laughs and great conversation trying them.

    After we ran the line of whisky, we did open the Last Consignment - and I figured out why it comes with two extra corks! The cork in the bottle is fully seated and covered in wax - so you have to pull it like a wine bottle, and it isn't really designed to go back in. So you use one of the supplied corks to reseal the bottle. Mystery solved!

    It is a very rich, unctuous rum that those who tried enjoyed. It is also liquid history, and it was special just to be trying it. The previous evening I'd also read through the little booklet that is included, going through the history of the rum and rituals in the Royal Navy, and that was quite interesting.

    The molasses note is front and center, but there are tropical fruits, spices, chocolate, leather, a bit of funk (there has to be some Jamaican rum in there)... a really thought-provoking sip.

    As the evening ran down, and some of the crew left for home, we decided to keep the evening going with a few additional drams. So I grabbed some Glenmorangie. We hit Year of the Snake first - I'd opened this, but some of the others had not had a chance. This is still a standout dram - a blend of ex-Bourbon and Amontillado finishing casks.

    They we opened the Rare Cask 21 year Mizunara finish. As expected, this is a very fine whisky, but the Snake was still in the lead by consensus.

    And we last turned to the new 25 year, The Altus. This is mostly aged in designer bourbon casks, but is seasoned with a little whisky finished in Malmsey Madeira casks. A very juicy, fruit-forward dram, this ended up coming in second place, bumping the Mizunara to 3rd. Still, they're all fantastic.

    That pretty much wrapped up the night. It was an amazing time start to finish - fantastic drams, but even better friends.

    Next Saturday we're doing a larger gathering - this time for Raising Glasses rums. Should be fun!

    #Whiskey #Whiskey #Rum #CompassBox #BlackTot #Mackmyra #Miltonduff #Teaninich #Macallan #HighlandPark #GlenMoray #NashobaValleyWinery #Glenmorangie #Scotch #Bourbon