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i_hope_that
For many of us, the holidays can be kind of rough. If you're searching for a network of understanding friends, this ultra-nurturing community encourages you to express your heartfelt wishes and offer other members encouragement and acceptance. Not for the terminally snarky or emotionally-challenged, this is a good-spirited place to lend comfort and support.

diygifts
Feeling crafty? If you've got a few last folks on your holiday gift list, this is a great place to seed your creativity and generosity. You'll also discover wonderful DIY tips to decorate your home and entertain guests. Offering a no-frills-no-skills attitude that welcomes the cash-challenged and arts-phobic, you're sure to get ideas and make friends in the process.

cooking_club
A fun and friendly community dedicated to those who love to cook, whether you're a meat-and-potatoes type, an aspiring gourmand, and/or a vegan. In search of a brilliant dish to use up those weekly leftovers? Post your ingredients and you'll be whipping up a feast by dinner. You can also share favorite recipes. For Type A chefs, you can spice up your culinary repertoire with exciting cooking challenges.

I bought this one around this time last year as a birthday present to myself, but it had to be shipped to a friend's UK address and I didn't have it in my hands until July of this year. I waited until my birthday of this year (Dec 10) to finally try it out:

Ardbeg Lord of the Isles (46%)

Nose: toffee, cream, smoky, sweet, heathery floral late in the nose, fruity

Palate: caramel/toffee, smoky, a little tobacco, a little earthy, some salt, lightly oily, smooth, nutty, fruity

Finish: sweet, sooty smoke, full and long, faintly salty

adding water...

Nose: fruity sweet, some smoke, some dark chocolate

Palate: sweet, toffee, smoky, a little salt, fruity

Finish: creamy, smoky, sweet, salt, nice and long

A great one from Ardbeg. Rich and full and tasty. Definitely one to relax to and savor. I lucked out and got it from Ardbeg's online shop when it was about USD$300, and as great as it is I'm not sure if it's quite worth $300. That said, I certainly don't regret having it! :) Unfortunately, it's out of stock and going for around $400 in auctions these days - there are certainly better ways to spend that kind of money on whisky.

stepstomarrow
When granddaughter, Jada, was born with leukemia, a donor-match was located and Jada made a miraculous recovery. In honor of her grandaughter's health, Jeanna has decided to walk across the country (in the dead of winter) to raise awareness and build support for the bone marrow registry (all that's required is a cheek swab). Follow Jeanna's remarkable journey as she travels the United States by foot.

Talisker 57' North (57%)

Nose: sweet, cereal, constrained, whiff of hot pepper

Palate: definitely tastes like a Talisker, cerealy, spicy, faint hot pepper, oily, lightly smoky

Finish: smoky, cerealy

adding water...

Nose: definite hot pepper, sweet, cerealy, oily

Palate: hot pepper, cereal, black pepper, oily, touch of sweetness

Finish: light smoke, cereal, sweet, touch of banana

Oddly, this one isn't salty like the Talisker 10-year. At any rate, I loved this one! I saw it at a duty-free shop a couple of years ago in Schipol Airport, Amsterdam, but I had to sprint to catch my flight. A local friend happened to have a bottle and was gracious enough to share! If you like Talisker, you'll love the 57' North!


Bladnoch 1985 (Scott's Selection, 12-year, 60%)

Nose: lemon, cereal, olive oil, whiff of alcohol, hay, perfumey

Palate: oily, cerealy, faint citrus, some alcohol, faint herbal bitter, rich

Finish: hay, oil, faintly bitter, faintly citrus

adding water...

Nose: sweet, lemon, hay, flowery

Palate: sweet, lemon, hay, oil, spice

Finish: lemon, oil

A marvelous Bladnoch, and I'm glad Joe Howell from Federal Wine & Spirits in Boston recommended it!

Arran Madeira finish (8 years in oak casks, 10 months in madeira casks, 50%)

Nose: sweet, orange marmalade, toffee, nutty - very fragrant nose on this one

Palate: very sharp alcohol, sweet orange, toffee, nutty, vanilla, bit of wood

Finish: orange, nutty, wood, medium length

Definitely enjoy this one with tiny sips. It's not a casual, social sipping whisky, but rather one with which to sit down and pay attention. The nose is marvelous, but the palate - while very tasty - doesn't quite live up to it.


Balvenie 17 Madeira finish (43%)

Nose: peachy/melony, but drier than I'm accustomed to from madeira finishes. faint wood, faint caramel, nutty, toffee

Palate: light, semi-sweet, peachy, melony, nutty, very smooth, faintly buttery

Finish, peachy, melony, a touch of dried apricot, nutty, faintly woody, medium length

I like this one a lot more after having a full dram of it, rather than the quick sample I had a while back. Rather nice, but not worth the $115 MSRP. Luckily, my roommate got it on sale for $75, and it's about worth that.

My local giant grocery store with an enormous attached liquor department seems to have their Glenrothes 1991 mislabeled (and under-priced appropriately) as the Select Reserve. I have had the Select Reserve and didn't care for it but I have read that it is a poor representation of the distillery. Can anybody give me some insight on the issue? Is the 1991 any better than the SR?

taste_buds
Holidays provide a built-in excuse for indulgent entertaining. This all-purpose foodie community covers everything from homemade hangover cures to dinner party menus. Need quick advice? Get five-minute snack suggestions, low-fat ingredient substitutes, and even measurement conversions. Delicious recipes garnished with humorous advice. Yum.

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.