So, what are you drinking now?

In honor of International Irish Whiskey Day, having a dram of Bushmills SMWS 51.15 (16 year - May 2002) "Boiled sweets and cut flowers" - First-fill barrel - 56.4%

Finished the night with Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength Festive Season Edition (Santa hats on sheep). 58.6% ABV.

Sipping some Woodford Double Oaked before logging onto Google Meet for parent-teacher interviews. I’m consistently surprised by how much I like this bourbon.

@OdysseusUnbound Now I know why my kids' teachers are so relaxed and chipper when we do interviews...

I'm trying to taste some samples I've been given. Yesterday I poured 5 cc of a Dailuaine OMC sample from @Astroke, and tonight, as I continue charting, a 10 cc pour of a very dark and rich Kavalan Solist olorosso cask sample courtesy @Fiddich1980.

@bwmccoy I'm hoping they'll follow that one up with a Machir Bay Cask Strength Easter Bunny Edition.

@BlueNote - I think you are on to something!

Tonight, started with Penderyn Legend.

Next up, Westland Cask # 2631 Single cask release, cask strength (5 year 6 months-Distilled 2014) - 1st Fill Oloroso Hogshead - 57.9% ABV.

Finishing the night with Allt-A-Bhainne SMWS 108.14 (7 year - Nov 2011) "An enjoyable curiosity" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 66.2% ABV

Last night, my wife and I had a couple of Black Manhattan’s before dinner made with Maker’s Mark 46, Amaro, orange bitters and Angostura bitters.

A little Johnnie Walker Red with some ruby ale, quite a nice one actually.

I received the water jug today as a late surprise birthday gift - hopefully in the not too distant future I'll actually have some space to display it along with some older (empty, hic!) bottles

@RianC I love that Hobgoblin ruby ale. We used to get it here, but I haven't seen it for a while.

@RianC, you’ve crossed the line with your fancy water jug. Proceed with caution!

.... or an intervention may follow... you wouldn’t want that, would you? A horde of Connosr members carrying fancy spirits, their own glasses, and walking with a well lubricated swagger, up to the front door of your domicile....

We’re watching you.

@paddockjudge - Bring it

@RianC, challenge accepted!

Rolo Hot Chocolate with Merlyn Welsh Cream Liquor and Marshmallows...

@YakLord That is beyond decadent. I’m salivating all over my Dark Side of the Moon T shirt.

@RianC The Colonials are coming. Lock up your women and whisky. On second thought, your women are safe, but your whisky.......!

@paddockjudge @RianC @BlueNote - You better hope they don’t open the border any time soon or a bunch of us yanks will be on the way as well!

Tonight, before dinner, my wife and I had Jerry Thomas Manhattan’s with Rittenhouse Rye BiB, sweet vermouth, Grand Marnier and angostura bitters.

With dinner, celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary, opened a 2014 Oregon Willamette Valley Pinot Noir with food from our favorite local Italian restaurant.

@YakLord That bottle looks like Bruichladdich Black Art.

Last night had some Tamdhu and Glendronach 15 as I'm still trying to see which I prefer, and thus will buy more of.

I think the 'dronach edges it. It has more spice, bite and grip than the Tamdhu and is a bit more of a rough and ready kind of sherried whisky. Reminds me a little of Ben Nevis actually. Tamdhu is sweeter, but not overly so, and more graceful and refined in comparison - the yin to the 'dronach's yang, if you will.

In spite of my preference, I reckon I'll end up finishing the Tamdhu the fastest as it's easier to get on with and gentler in its delivery. I know that will make sense here

@bwmccoy Love those Oregon Pinots. The sooner the border is open, the sooner we can get down to visit the Oregon in-laws and get into some. They have a thing in Hood River in the summer called First Friday. On the first Friday of every month all the restaurants have super happy hour food and drink specials and all the wineries open up at night for tasting and buying. Lots of great winery only bottlings to taste and buy. Can't wait for life to get back to whatever it will be that passes for normal.

Last night, pre-dinner Black Manhattan’s with Maker’s Mark 46.

After dinner, Kilchoman Machir Bay Cask Strength Festive Season Edition. 58.6% ABV.

@BlueNote It was very tasty... And yes, @MRick the bottle does look like the Black Art bottle...

Last night some Redbreast 12 CS B1 2018. About a quarter left, and it's been open over a year, and this is perhaps getting better. No water needed and full of creamy and buttery notes, just lovely whiskey. I have a sample of the 2019 B1 sitting on the shelf so I'll do a h2h later this week.

@bwmccoy That Machir Bay must be refilling itself.

@BlueNote - Unfortunately not. The bottle is less than 1/3 left. At this rate, it won’t be around much longer. :-)

Behind in my posting. On Monday night, Westland Cask # 2631 Single cask release, cask strength (5 year 6 months-Distilled 2014) - 1st Fill Oloroso Hogshead - 57.9% ABV. Tried it with a little water. It was just as good as without water, but that’s because it wasn’t much different either way.

Last night, a dram of Allt-A-Bhainne SMWS 108.14 (7 year - Nov 2011) "An enjoyable curiosity" - 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel - 66.2% ABV. This is a peated Speyside whisky and it is appropriately named. It tastes different every time I drink it. I guess it could also be named “An enjoyable Chameleon”.

Last night, spent a lot of time with a dram of Ben Nevis SMWS 78.41 (19 year - Dec. 1997) - "A real sherry monster" - Refill ex-Oloroso sherry butt - 57.1% ABV in preparation for writing a review. @OdysseusUnbound asked a couple of weeks ago if I had reviewed it. I hadn't, but it's done now.

Started off tonight with a pre-made, second batch of a traditional Manhattan (Rittenhouse Rye BiB, sweet vermouth and Angostura bitters) that I'm bottle aging with a charred oak stick. This batch has been aging for 2 weeks out of a recommended 6 weeks. I checked on it a week or so ago and it wasn't that great. Tonight it was much better. I really like how this is progressing.

While playing on-line poker with my brother-in-law and friends;

Westland Distillery Cask # 2631 Single cask release, cask strength (5 year 6 months-Distilled 2014) - 1st Fill Oloroso Hogshead - 57.9% ABV.

Kilchoman Small Batch #3 (Port hogsheads, bourbon barrels and sherry casks) - 48.9% ABV

The end of a long week, and the start of a 4 day weekend for me.

I BBQed tuna and steaks, so I poured some Ardbeg Wee Beastie into a mini Glencairn. It was a nice before and after dinner dram.

Got together with a friend last night for his wife’s birthday. We compared the standard Bowmore 12 with the Bowmore Enigma 12. Very similar but as expected, the sherry influence in the Enigma adds a sweetness the the standard 12 is missing and IMO rounds out the Bowmore nicely. We then tried the Kilchoman Festive Machir Bay (Santa Hats on sheep). I will need to try that one again before I pass judgment. Next was the Kilchoman Red Wine Cask - one of my favorites. Mix dinner, presents and cake in there and it was a great evening!

My final pour (bar a sample) from the 80's JW Black I've been raving about. Had some weird, waxy looking sediment at the bottom that I had to carefully decent, but it's fine.

Man, I will miss this one. The richness, for a blend, is very impressive and that smokey note is simply bliss in a glass.

We are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this Saturday remotely with the rest of the family. Here are some of what we will be tasting this evening.