#whiskyadvent2025 — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #whiskyadvent2025, aggregated by home.social.
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Merry Christmas! Last little bottle in the advent calendar is Douglas Laing's Old Particular Scallywag's Finest 75th Anniversary Edition 15 year old (cask 18193) finished in sherry, at 48.4% ABV.
Malt, cocoa, and candied fruit on the nose; raisiny and plummy on the palate with orange peel and ginger, with the ginger lingering into a long finish. Again, an appropriately Christmas-y dram.
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Penultimate dram in the calendar was consumed after my annual two-day cooking marathon as guests began to arrive for Christmas Eve. In the bottle was Edradour's Ballechin 18 Batch 1 Cask Strength at 50.9% ABV.
Nice smoky, iodine-y peat and almonds on the nose; citrus, peat, a bit of salt, and maybe some menthol on the palate; with honey and black pepper on the finish. Right up my alley.
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Closing in on Christmas, and day 23 opened on The Dalmore Cigar Malt, a NAS single malt matured in ex-bourbon, ex-Cabernet Sauvignon, and ex-Oloroso, at 44% ABV.
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Day 22 is another Irish whiskey, Redbreast's 18 year old single pot still whiskey at 46%, finished in oloroso sherry, cream sherry, and ruby port casks.
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Day 21 has now moved past the "busy from projects" portion of December and into my "busy prepping for Christmas Eve" portion. The tipple today is GlenAllachie's 12-year single malt finished in Sauternes casks at 48% ABV. I get orange peel, orchard fruits, a bit of cherry, grapes, and pineapple on the nose; honey, orange, and ripe stone fruits on the palate; and a peppery finish with a bit of oak.
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Day 20, and time for the annual defenestration of Hans Gruber to go with my wee dram today. Said dram is Wemyss Malts' Expressions of Gratitude bottling of a 21-year-old Bunnahabhain, a lovely Islay single malt at 46% ABV.
Dried fruits, dates, and a whiff of leather and faint peat on the nose; more of those dried fruits, a bit of cloves, black pepper, and smoke on the palate; a bit of malt and more black pepper in the finish. Very nice.
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Another repeat in drawer 19, Yellow Spot 12 Year Old Irish whiskey, which has been in 2 previous calendars. Jibes with my last taste: noseful of apricot and a bit of oak; malt and caramel sweet, dried fruit, winter spices, and almond on the palate; and a black pepper finish. Still on the sweet side for me.
Rain gave way briefly to a tiny bit of color, so I used it.
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Been a busy December, translating into a lot of quick photos this year. Nice dram tonight for a blend, Wemyss Malt's "A Quarter Passed", a 25 year old at 53.6% ABV. Lemon, apple, and berries on the nose; lemon, herbs, honey, toffee, cinnamon, and ginger on the palate; nice spicy finish with some faint oak. Tiny bit sweet, but well-rounded and tasty.
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Quick photo of day 17's dram, Chivas' Royal Salute 21-year-old blended Scotch whisky at 40% ABV. Honey and oak on the nose; orange, spices, and more oak on the palate; slightly tannic finish with maybe just a hint of smoke. Looking at the bottle cost, not really enough bang for the buck, as it were.
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The bottle in drawer 16 is a very familiar one: Oban 14, matured in ex-bourbon and bottled at 43% ABV. I gave all of my groomsmen flasks filled with this whisky when I got married 31 years ago, and Oban was the first distillery I ever visited when my wife & I made our first trip to Scotland 27-ish years ago, since it was literally across the street from our hotel in Oban.
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Day 15 is one from a Highland distillery I haven't heard of before, a Nc'Nean no age statement "organic single malt" at 46% ABV. Apparently matured in a combination of American whiskey and red wine barrels, and finished a bit in sherry casks.
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Taking advantage of today's snow with dram 14, Mortlach's 16-year-old expression. The Flora and Fauna bottling of Mortlach 16 was the bottle I brought home with me on my first trip to Scotland, and it remains a sentimental favorite. I don't think the distillery's version has quite the same punch, though.
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OK, Advent calendar, I'm sensing a pattern. Another from the same Irish distillery as yesterday: Midleton's Barry Crockett Legacy @ 46% ABV. Vanilla, oak, citrus, and apple on the nose; orange marmalade, cinnamon, and more vanilla on the palate; all of that lingers into the finish, which turns peppery.
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A second Irish whiskey snuck in for day 12: Midleton Very Rare 2024 at 40% ABV. Fresh apricots, honey, clove, and floral notes on the nose; sweet ripe peaches and pears with Christmas-y spice on the palate; a finish that gives way to oak and pepper.
Another night, another bookbinding project, sewing endpapers on the text blocks I did the other day and sewing up the signatures for another larger text block tonight, thus the photo.
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Funny enough, I was discussing Johnnie Walker Blue with a coworker today at an office holiday gathering, and what do I find in drawer 11? Johnnie Walker Blue. Smoke, dried fruit, and honey on the nose; cocoa, peat, and candied orange peel on the palate; some spice and vanilla in the finish. Better than I remembered, but I'm still not sold on the bang-for-buck.
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Day 10 is busy again, so another quick shot of today's dram, which is Jameson's 18 year (yup, they snuck in an Irish whiskey again). It's… well, it's Jameson. I get some hazelnut, apricot, and spice on the nose; tropical fruit on the palate (I always taste banana) with vanilla and nutmeg; and oak, more vanilla, and honey on the finish. Better than their base bottle, but not enough to justify the price, IMO.
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Day 9's wee bottle was Glenfiddich's 23 year old, 40% ABV Grand Cru, which has shown up in two previous calendars. Matured in ex-bourbon American oak, European oak, and French Champagne cuvée casks. Apples, pears, and caramel on the nose; honey, ginger, and shortbread on the palate; more pear and the oak on the finish. Bourbon-y but with wine and oak.
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Day 8 marks the 5th appearance of this whisky in an advent calendar for me: Glenfiddich's Gran Reserva 21 year old single malt at 40% ABV. Tastes just as I remember: fruitcake in a glass with an oaken finish.
Yet Another Busy Night (a wake, the FrizzLit Moby Dick Book Club, other projects), so this is just the dram framed up on top of last night's project, a map from Edgar Rice Burroughs I'm redrawing to use as endpapers for bookbinding.
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Day 8 marks the 5th appearance of this whisky in an advent calendar for me: Glenfiddich's Gran Reserva 21 year old single malt at 40% ABV. Tastes just as I remember: fruitcake in a glass with an oaken finish.
Yet Another Busy Night (a wake, the FrizzLit Moby Dick Book Club, other projects), so this is just the dram framed up on top of last night's project, a map from Edgar Rice Burroughs I'm redrawing to use as endpapers for bookbinding.
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Day 8 marks the 5th appearance of this whisky in an advent calendar for me: Glenfiddich's Gran Reserva 21 year old single malt at 40% ABV. Tastes just as I remember: fruitcake in a glass with an oaken finish.
Yet Another Busy Night (a wake, the FrizzLit Moby Dick Book Club, other projects), so this is just the dram framed up on top of last night's project, a map from Edgar Rice Burroughs I'm redrawing to use as endpapers for bookbinding.
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Day 8 marks the 5th appearance of this whisky in an advent calendar for me: Glenfiddich's Gran Reserva 21 year old single malt at 40% ABV. Tastes just as I remember: fruitcake in a glass with an oaken finish.
Yet Another Busy Night (a wake, the FrizzLit Moby Dick Book Club, other projects), so this is just the dram framed up on top of last night's project, a map from Edgar Rice Burroughs I'm redrawing to use as endpapers for bookbinding.
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Day 8 marks the 5th appearance of this whisky in an advent calendar for me: Glenfiddich's Gran Reserva 21 year old single malt at 40% ABV. Tastes just as I remember: fruitcake in a glass with an oaken finish.
Yet Another Busy Night (a wake, the FrizzLit Moby Dick Book Club, other projects), so this is just the dram framed up on top of last night's project, a map from Edgar Rice Burroughs I'm redrawing to use as endpapers for bookbinding.
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Day 7's drawer contained a bit of Glenfiddich's 18 year old expression at 40% ABV, which I've had before.
Apples, pears, and some funky oak on the nose; sherry notes of dried fruit and orange peel on the palate; with a warm finish where the oak comes back out again.
I am again busy with other projects tonight, thus the quick shot from above the tasting glass.
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Day 5 is the Caol Ila Distillers Edition 2022, a no age statement Islay single malt finished in Moscatel barrels and bottled at 43%ABV.
Peat, sea air, and dried fruit on the nose; sweetness and more dried fruit (apricot) on the palate yielding to peat smoke, salt, and pepper; the smoke sticks around into the finish, with some toffee.
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Inside the #4 drawer of the Whisky Advent calendar was Douglas Laing's bottling of a 30-year-old lowland Cameronbridge single grain at 49.6% ABV, which spent 30 years in a refill hogshead starting the year I finished my undergrad.
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Day 3 of Whisky Advent is a Bunnahabhain Islay single malt, 18 years old, 46.3% ABV. Sherry-finished and unpeated.
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The whisky Advent calendar this year has nice little drawers instead of tear-open doors, and today's opened on a bottle of Bruichladdich Re/Define 18 year old Islay single malt at 50% ABV.
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On the first day of Chri… no, wait. It's the most wonderful ti… hmm. Well, it is the first day of Advent, which means peeking into drawer 1 on this year's Whisky Advent calendar. Inside is an 18-year-old sherry finish Aberlour at 43% ABV. I actually have about a half-bottle left of Aberlour's 16-year-old expression "in inventory" right now, so I'm not expecting any surprises.
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