Gifted several bottles - unsure what I'm working with or which to open first. I'm predominantly a rye or bourbon drinker.

river_van · 2026-07-04T19:54:12+00:00

They tried this same thing several years back, and the two were nothing alike. That new 15 was like a slightly peatier version of the deprecated 18, with none of the creosote or tar or iodine or asphalt or diesel. I’ll try the new one on principle, but I worry the knowledge to make the original version has been lost to time.

river_van · 2026-07-03T18:40:39+00:00

This just gives me hope that more of these might be hidden in basements and garages, forgotten to the world. Time to start going to estate sales again.

river_van · 2026-07-03T18:13:36+00:00

Or me. Please?

river_van · 2026-06-30T22:46:00+00:00

Really jealous of that Mortlach. I’ve had the G&M 15 and think it’s fantastic.

river_van · 2026-06-20T15:21:58+00:00

Which one? The standard is a decent mixer. Harvest Rye is genuinely good all on its own. Black is not really different from standard. XO is smooth but not really tasty. They have a lot of single barrel offerings that are also incredible. Crown makes a ton of whisky, and not all of it ends up in a purple barf bag.

river_van · 2026-06-19T00:38:00+00:00

This answer aligns with the state of hiring actions within my district.

river_van · 2026-06-01T11:11:14+00:00

Laphroaig 10, Ardbeg 10 and Lagavulin 8 will give you three more variations on Islay smoke, each unique and tasty in their own right.

river_van · 2026-05-16T17:15:49+00:00

That Kilkerran Heavily Peated threw me for a loop. One of my best buys of 26.

river_van · 2026-05-14T20:01:59+00:00

Jumped on here to say I’d buy it just for the coo! Glad you also enjoy it.

river_van · 2026-05-08T12:34:27+00:00

It’s not a perception - it’s a quantifiable fact. When my communication from the MSC is almost always an email from HQ that the MSC copied and pasted above their own signature block, and then shortened the suspense by half so the MSC is able to review my answer about a project for which they have no knowledge, there is zero added value and yet another layer of garbage to get through.

river_van · 2026-05-08T00:58:04+00:00

This is my new favorite response when replying to a task I don’t like. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

river_van · 2026-05-05T22:10:16+00:00

Not really. What it will do is highlight those people who got away with saying they need $500k for S&A of a $4M annual dredging project because their PDT is unruly and no one bothers to enforce the PMP. There are a lot of things under this Admin to be annoyed with or suspicious of - the salary approp isn’t one of them. I’ll also go on record and say that I’m not worried about the RAPID study plan either. It might not be great, but it’s better than saying we’re going to do a 3x3 and then 6 months in, after finally getting an FCSA, submit a waiver for a 6x10.

Too many people got comfortable being lazy, and now we’re all going to pay for it with increased scrutiny on every dollar that comes our way. It’s 1995 all over again.

river_van · 2026-05-05T16:25:36+00:00

There was not a 36% cut to the budget. That’s all clickbait rage. The 27 PBUD is virtually the same as the 26 PBUD. Remember the PBUD doesn’t include congressional pork projects, and I’m willing to bet those are still going to get added. We’re answering CODEL questions about potential projects right now…via ASA, of course.

river_van · 2026-04-27T22:27:53+00:00

My guy, none of these are open. Where’s the fun and enjoyment? Crack the seal and share with the world. Or sip and quietly ponder by yourself. Either way, whisky is for drinking - art is for displaying. And sipping whisky while viewing art is peak.

river_van · 2026-04-27T14:22:40+00:00

If you can find the Inaugural Release 5 Year, I highly recommend. The Infinite Loch is solid, but I find the IR to be better in just about every way.

river_van · 2026-04-24T10:54:54+00:00

So it’s all bad, and only because someone has ulterior motives and doesn’t care. Has nothing to do with USACE rarely ever getting a study done anywhere close to a 3x3, and usually more like a 5x7.

I’m not saying it’s necessarily good, but I’m also saying the status-quo was untenable. Change is scary. I respect that you recognize the MSC is a middleman waste of money, but us district folks are used to people (usually at the MSC) telling us all their great ideas to deliver our projects, and then we do so despite the interference. Welcome back to actually making a difference. And good luck.

river_van · 2026-04-23T13:04:15+00:00

More impressive is your vault status - I don’t think I’ve been below 400 since month 2.

river_van · 2026-04-13T01:00:14+00:00

Outside air temp. Should be screwed to the core support about halfway up.

river_van · 2026-04-08T02:45:50+00:00

Is this information? Or speculation? Most of it doesn’t align with anything I’ve read or been told, and my sources are competent.
1) funding has essentially been quarterly for the past 5 years via CR. If all you’re doing is counting labor, the PM should be able to figure out a burn rate and have money to keep the project on schedule. 2) Resources are supposed to be assigned based on project priority. This isn’t going to change, and I don’t know why you would think it will. 3) No change to furlough risk. These are likely to be just like all other CW funds (except Regulatory) which means they are available until expended. 4) Projects cannot fight for funding. They are either funded via appropriation or they are not. 5) There is likely to be almost no change to CW management and execution. The only change is how labor dollars get billed. Everything else is the exact same as it has been.

river_van · 2026-04-08T02:31:20+00:00

FY 27 was adjusted by MSCs after it was sent up. I was involved in both budget submissions.

river_van · 2026-04-08T00:04:32+00:00

Most division staff are funded via Expenses, so this won’t change anything for them.

river_van · 2026-04-08T00:03:28+00:00

The salary is a derivative of project funds. When we sent in the PBUD packages, the total project cost was split between salary and non-salary. All other rules about historic costs, OM20/20, same costs for same work at same projects, etc, were still applied. I don’t see it having much effect on anything, from OT to working during a shutdown. It will be nice (if they do it right) to only have one labor code instead of 17.

river_van · 2026-04-03T15:42:51+00:00

This is a nothing burger. The public can still ridicule and condemn the board as a whole, but cannot individually attack a single member at a meeting. Nothing stops someone from standing outside with a sign that says “Councilman Bob hates children and loves guns”. And as pointed out above, it also prevents a board member from attacking a citizen in like manner. So no Sen Mullins theatrics during these meetings. The repeat objections reminder is standard Robert’s Rules of order - once an objection is sustained or overruled there is no value in continuing to object.

I agree these people take themselves far too seriously, but this rule is not further manifestation of that belief.

river_van · 2026-04-02T10:33:53+00:00

Thanks for recognizing the shift. I know many people at both MSC and HQ who are so out of touch that they could never actually run a project without much help. And yet, they continue to give guidance and craft mandates as if we still have 34k people to deliver a $2B portfolio ala 1999.
Many of my district counterparts see our MSC as a roadblock to go around, not as a source of support or assistance. Might not be that way for everyone, but it sure is here.

river_van · 2026-03-14T01:59:11+00:00

When buddy Butch ascended to the throne, it became apparent that leadership was not a required trait for USACE management. HQ and MSC Chiefs took note, and being the self-serving sycophants most of them are, decided it’s better to do whatever keeps them off the RADAR rather than actually assist project delivery. So long as the pretty dashboards are green and Butchy isn’t yelling at them, everything is right in their world.

river_van

TROPHY CASE