what are you drinking tonight?

[Gavva]

Okay. Thanks for the offer!

 

[DamageInc]

I know it should age a while longer but I really wanted to try it. Nice and elegant wine.

 

[mrmuffin]

Finishing this bottle of Hancock's Reserve my brother gifted me for graduation. Nice and balanced

 

[MarcelNL]

 

[Corradobrit1]

More like what I won’t be drinking tonight…and buying again. Local liquor shops are selling these at 4-5x MSRP. I bought it because of FOMO and stupidity, and the damned collecting strand in my DNA. I’ve resolved to only go for these BTAC and Pappys when the big liquor chains offer their yearly raffles. That’s it.

View attachment 294031

Lucky dog

 

[Corradobrit1]

This is the special Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8 that I had squirrelled away the past 5 years. Finally cracked it open on the occasion of my 60th last week. Definitely the most valuable whisky in my collection and well worth the wait.

I visited the distillery in 2014 and saw both the Tun 1401 and its much bigger and younger brother, the Tun 1509 in Warehouse 24. The barrels selected by Malt Master, Sir David Stewart, are listed on the label, all aged between 21 and 35 odd years and married for at least 6 months in the Tun's prior to bottling. The 9 batches of 1401 are legendary with Batch 5 considered the best by a small margin. Slainte

 

[ethompson]

Hanky Panky

 

[Gavva]

This is the special Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8 that I had squirrelled away the past 5 years. Finally cracked it open on the occasion of my 60th last week. Definitely the most valuable whisky in my collection and well worth the wait.

I visited the distillery in 2014 and saw both the Tun 1401 and its much bigger and younger brother, the Tun 1509 in Warehouse 24. The barrels selected by Malt Master, Sir David Stewart, are listed on the label, all aged between 21 and 35 odd years and married for at least 6 months in the Tun's prior to bottling. The 9 batches of 1401 are legendary with Batch 5 considered the best by a small margin. Slainte

View attachment 296218

Quick research says 5 consistently but 8 right up there among the best.Must have been a great sip… about a hundred dollars per sip, hahaha

 

[ethompson]

this is incredible

 

[nhb22]

 

[ACHiPo]

This is the special Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8 that I had squirrelled away the past 5 years. Finally cracked it open on the occasion of my 60th last week. Definitely the most valuable whisky in my collection and well worth the wait.

I visited the distillery in 2014 and saw both the Tun 1401 and its much bigger and younger brother, the Tun 1509 in Warehouse 24. The barrels selected by Malt Master, Sir David Stewart, are listed on the label, all aged between 21 and 35 odd years and married for at least 6 months in the Tun's prior to bottling. The 9 batches of 1401 are legendary with Batch 5 considered the best by a small margin. Slainte

View attachment 296218

Corradobrit1,
Congratulations on your 60th! I passed that milestone last August. It was the first “zero” birthday that I really felt old. It was cold comfort that my older brother turned 70 two days later. The 1953 Armagnac was warm comfort, however!

Enjoy!

 

[chefwp]

Assuming we get thru the day (we will!), the wife and I will have another 'Drynuary' under our belts. So the real question is, what am I drinking tomorrow to break this fast!?

 

[DamageInc]

Delightful

 

[MarcelNL]

simple, but well executed

 

[ethompson]

Gin, lemon, homemade pistachio orgeat, orange bitters

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Gin, lemon, homemade pistachio orgeat, orange bitters
View attachment 297990

Seems you earned it today. Enjoy.

 

[More_Gyutos]

Gin, lemon, homemade pistachio orgeat, orange bitters
View attachment 297990

This is so up my wife’s alley. How does one make that orgeat?

 

[ethompson]

This is so up my wife’s alley. How does one make that orgeat?

500g blanched & peeled pistachio, preferably Sicilian
800g water
950g white sugar
1 tsp orange blossom water
1.5 oz Cointreau

Lightly crush the pistachios either by hand or a quick few pulses in a food processor. Whisk together the sugar and water over heat until just dissolved then add pistachios and take off the heat. Cover and let sit overnight, at least 8 hours, in the fridge. Strain through a few layers cheesecloth and give the cloth a tight squeeze to get out all the liquid at the end. Add the orange blossom water and Cointreau then refrigerate thereafter. It’ll separate and need to be shaken before use. Extra can be frozen but it’ll hold for a month or so in the fridge. Makes a lot but feel free to scale down

 

[ethompson]

500g blanched & peeled pistachio, preferably Sicilian
800g water
950g white sugar
1 tsp orange blossom water
1.5 oz Cointreau

Lightly crush the pistachios either by hand or a quick few pulses in a food processor. Whisk together the sugar and water over heat until just dissolved then add pistachios and take off the heat. Cover and let sit overnight, at least 8 hours, in the fridge. Strain through a few layers cheesecloth and give the cloth a tight squeeze to get out all the liquid at the end. Add the orange blossom water and Cointreau then refrigerate thereafter. It’ll separate and need to be shaken before use. Extra can be frozen but it’ll hold for a month or so in the fridge. Makes a lot but feel free to scale down

Works for any nut. Deeply toasted hazelnuts combined with darker rums (and even a splash of spiced rum!) makes for an insanely good winter mai-tai. Pecan orgeat + bourbon + lemon + orange liquor makes a fantastic mai tai derivative too. Walnut orgeat in a Japanese cocktail is awesome. Can swap out the orange liqueur for vodka, rum, or another complimentary liquor if you like.

 

[Seemore]

 

[DamageInc]

Even more delightful

 

[Greasylake]

 Visited The Head Cage in Saigon. It's rare to find a bar inside the city that's actually quiet, and this place was a nice change of pace. It's tucked away down a side street along some railroad tracks and we actually got a little lost trying to find it. They also had a corgi employed as a greeter and apparently several iguanas which were hiding.

 

[Koop]

Redbreast 12 - Irish whiskey doesn't get much better than this!

 

[DamageInc]

Mmmm bitey

 

[ethompson]

Courtesy of a good friend

 

[MarcelNL]

for a second you had me thinking it was a Geuze....lucky for you it's a Lambic (a blend).
(I've tasted pretty much 3 Geuze in my life that were palatable, all of them were at least 10 years old)
Care to share tasting notes? (my beer supplier has a huge collection Lambic, but I don't really dare go there)

 

[ethompson]

for a second you had me thinking it was a Geuze....lucky for you it's a Lambic (a blend).
(I've tasted pretty much 3 Geuze in my life that were palatable, all of them were at least 10 years old)
Care to share tasting notes? (my beer supplier has a huge collection Lambic, but I don't really dare go there)

This is 2016 - so not quite a decade. I tend to not prefer very aged beers or wines truthfully.

Golden orange color, bright white head that lasts and lasts. Strong lacing. It vinous both in aroma and acidity. Reminds me of a funky dry Gewürztraminer on the nose and with the acid on the palate, but definitely has the Belgian yeast in the aroma too. It's definitely yeasty and ferment forward, but with some tropical fruit and baking spice notes too. I love it!

 

[DamageInc]

This didn't taste very good on first day, so put it in the fridge with a stopper. Three days later, totally changed flavor, now quite good.
Oxygen will really make a difference and it's not always obvious good or bad.

 

[MarcelNL]

I found a new favorite by chance....we'll see how available it is;

 

[Seemore]

This is the special Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 8 that I had squirrelled away the past 5 years. Finally cracked it open on the occasion of my 60th last week. Definitely the most valuable whisky in my collection and well worth the wait.

I visited the distillery in 2014 and saw both the Tun 1401 and its much bigger and younger brother, the Tun 1509 in Warehouse 24. The barrels selected by Malt Master, Sir David Stewart, are listed on the label, all aged between 21 and 35 odd years and married for at least 6 months in the Tun's prior to bottling. The 9 batches of 1401 are legendary with Batch 5 considered the best by a small margin. Slainte

View attachment 296218

Happy birthday better late than never.