So, what are you drinking now?

Amrut IS batch 5 - This leaves me with one dram. Still a powerful sherry monster.

Tomatin 15 Tempranillo. This is a bottle I liked very much from the start. Jim Murray noted some sulphur in passing, but liked it anyway. I didn't notice the sulphur for a long while, but with the bottle long open it has become much more obvious to me. Now I add 3% straight Oloroso sherry to help right it. It helps, but the sulphur is still a serious problem.

Also having some Old Charter 8 yo bourbon, and some Town Branch Bourbon. The Old Charter 8 yo was never a star, but at this point is drinkable, just. The Town Branch bourbon got better with some air in the bottle. It is also OK at this point, and a little more enjoyable than the Old Charter 8 yo. I make it a point to check on these old bottles once in a while.

Rozelieures Single Malt French Whisky. Peated Collection. 46% ABV. Quite good actually. Subtle peat. Another step toward my tasting every single whisky on Earth.

An interesting single cask bottling of a 10 year old single malt at cask strength by the French distillery, Armorik. Bottled exclusively for Australia, this has been matured in an ex-sauternes cask.

Impressive nose: sweet and winey with flowers, apricot and honey, a little smoke - very vibrant and fresh. Explosive palate with a profile that mirrors the nose - juicy and fruity with a nice spice underlay. The peat is quite mild which a tad disappointing as it appears to be drowned by all the intense sweet honey and fruit.

For me, my benchmark of this 'style' would be the bottling of Port Charlotte that was matured in a sauternes cask of similar age by independent bottlers: Rest and Be Thankful, probably from the Jim McEwen era. I recall this had more peat which helps to balance the sweetness and harmonise the profile most effectively.

I just poured myself a vatting of springbank 10 and Bunnahabhain mòine. A little extra kick of peat to the interesting springbank 10. A so-so result...

Balblair 1990, 25 years. A more velvety mouth feel I have not had. Zero alcohol burn at 46%, I mean 0 burn.

Tonight, at the main event, pre-ceremony they had Macallan 12, but at the reception I saw a hidden bottle of Macallan 18...that was my go-to dram of the night. It was all the 12 is and more. Very impressive.

@Nozinan, did you catch the distillation year of the Mac 18?

@paddockjudge would it have been on the bottle? I didn't ask, sorry. I'm fairly confident it was put to bed in casks before the the turn of the century...

@Nozinan, I've not seen a date on every bottle. I don't know the reason for some bottles having dates and others not. The date does appear on the cardboard sleeve, good luck finding that carton at the bar.

You were drinking mac 18 distilled in another millennium ;)

I moved on to A'bunadh 55 but nothing seemed to work last night

@Alexsweden I would expect that A'Bunadh taken after a Peated dram could be underwhelming.

Sitting by the woodburner enjoying a Glenmorangie 'The Quinta Ruban'. The first port finished whisky I've tasted and its fabulous.

@Nickh , I'm sure the woodburner helps. (Oh how I miss mine!)

That Quinta Ruban is no slouch. My whisky club has had an open bottle since October, which is pretty long for us, but as it nears its end it's really getting good. The nose especially was super fresh and alive last time we opened it.

Having the last of the Laphroaig Select Cask with this.

@sengjc very much in approval!

Big shock on reno estimates today. Even my wife who has no limits (except when it comes to my purchasing whisky) was taken aback.

Anyway, we'll let things digest, and to help it along I'm trying for a relaxing evening now that everyone is in bed.

Amrut cask strength batch 15 is my companion tonight.

Drove my ex around all day looking for furniture for her new apartment. Had an EC12 and then a Makers 46.

Peat night Caol Ila 12, Lagavulin 8 and Ardbeg 10, think my palate was in overload by the Ardbeg.

Had a mini tasting last night. Islay tasting set. My first taste of smoke. Not sure what to expect. Caol Ila 12 then Lagavulin 16. The Caol Ila didn't please. The Lagavulin was a fascinating dram, very complex, with sweetness coming through the smoke. One to come back to for sure!

@Nickh , you're exploring peated whiskies for the first time? Super fun! Keep us posted.

@Ol_Jas yes indeed! i ordered a tasting set of 5. Will do. It's a brave new world!

Celebrating the arrival of Wiser's Union 52 with a little Wiser's Last Barrels.

Drinking a Gibson's Olympic 16 Year Old - distilled in 1960, bottled in 1976 to celebrate the Canadian olympics in Montreal. Elegant, clean, and complex - lots of oak and aged corn whisky influence, along with decent spices. A terrific Sunday dram. The closest modern bottling I can think of which is similar in profile is Wiser's Union 52

A dram of Swedish BOX whisky's first regular malt "dalvvè". A fairly solid expression from the impressive distillery located up north

Sipping some Pendleton 1910 while watching River on Netflix. It's a bit of an unusual show, but I quite like it.

Got back late from the Sun Ra Arkestra concert last night. Broke open a bottle of 'Nikka from the barrel' before retiring. Perfect end to a great night.

Just catching up on some whisky websites and Twitter/Instagram feeds while sipping some Gooderham & Worts Four Grain. Hot damn, I'd kinda forgotten how much I like this whisky. It really is something special. Looking forward to trying Little Trinity this fall.

@Nelom You can try it this spring if you come to SOT and do the Wiser's masterclass. It would be a good way of prioritizing which of the likely expensive special releases you want to actively go for.