So, what are you drinking now?

Very interesting @Victor.

Yes, to say the area has changed since then would be quite the understatement....

Today, Gangnam-gu is full of high-end brand shops and posh department stores.

It is also one of the central areas for bars, clubs etc.

I’m treating myself to some Weller 12. I had my last class of the semester with the most challenging group of students I’ve ever had.

@OdysseusUnbound - Is it the last class of the semester because exams are starting or because you expect to be on strike?

@Nozinan Last class of the semester. We’re a long way from a strike. The government negotiates with us last. We’re the Francophone teachers; the lowest on the totem pole.

I’ve now moved on to a pour of Bulleit. I’m not in the mood for “focused” sipping; just a casual drink.

@OdysseusUnbound What age group? I taught 1st-6th grade in a Chinese elementary school and that was the most challenging thing I've ever done. Investments is way easier than kids!

@casualtorture Grade 10, so 15 year olds with the attention span of a ferret on a triple espresso.

@OdysseusUnbound perfect description there - I know exactly what you mean

@Hewie -were planning to watch the final episode of season 5 tonight. May need to break out some Orkney malt (Highland Park), so the dram will be a little closer to Shetland than Linkwood. But yes, the Linkwood did go well with the show.

@bwmccoy we were quite sad when we finished the series - couldn't quite find something to replace it with. Watched Hinterland which is set in Wales but it's quite brooding. Still good too though. Enjoy with your HP

A well deserved glass no doubt @OdysseusUnbound!

First serious dram in awhile, got sick during the holidays so I abstained and then I was never quite in the mood after that. Had the occasional tiny nip but I did have some fantastic mead and beers though.

The last dram of my bottle of Lagavulin 8 200th anniversary. This was my second bottle and I enjoyed it even more than my first. It had a lot of the DNA of the 12 but was another facet of this singular distillery. I put off this final dram as long as I could.

Glad to be back among you.

Having a couple of Heinekens in my hotel room watching ‘A Prayer Before Dawn’.

Absolutely fantastic movie. Nothing like the book, but still, a fantastic movie.

I can honestly say, this film has the most authentically choreographed fight scenes I’ve ever seen. The training scenes as well, THAT is what it’s like to train Muay Thai. Really enjoying this film....

At a bar now, having a glass of Maker’s Mark 46.

You know, I rarely drink this. But every single time I do, I remember how good it is and how much I like it....

@Hewie - per IMDB, season 6 should be starting in the coming weeks and there is a 7th season scheduled for 2021. :-)

Finished off the 5th season tonight by finishing off my bottle of Highland Park 17 year (Sep. 2002) After 15 years in an ex-bourbon barrel, finished in a Refill Jamaican rum barrel - 57.1% ABV.

Wouldn’t you know it, the last dram is the best one. This tasted great tonight. Previously, the rum cask finish overshadowed the HP character, peat and smoke. Not tonight. I didn’t get hardly any rum influence tonight. The peat and smoke really shined.

Sipping some Laphroaig Cairdeas Fino Cask. It’s been open about 2 weeks and it hasn’t changed a whole lot yet. Lovely stuff.

A member who shall remain nameless called me a hippy because I told him I was having mead with my dinner

Regardless of my status as a hippy/hipster/medieval savage it was a good pairing with my supper. "Beez de lait" from Desrochers, this one subs some of the water used to make the mead with whey from a local cheese maker, it's also dry hopped. It tasted like a whitbier, but more phenolic and resiny with a lovely acidity.

I'm having Benromach Cask strength Batch 1 to redeem myself. The peat and leather is rather pronounced this time around

I’m drinking coffee now because it seems that Korea has a national holiday from today to the 27th in celebration of the lunar New Year.... I DID NOT KNOW THAT.... : (

I leave on Sunday. I was planning to pick up some whisky today or tomorrow...don’t think that’s going to be possible anymore boys!

I might cry.....

@CanadianNinja There's always travel retail. no whisky sold in Korea is currently made in Korea anyway...

Besides some convenient stores and cafes, the country (well, Seoul anyway) seems like it has completely shut down.

I’ve never seen anything like this....

I know @Nozinan, it’s just that I always like to get a bottle from whatever country I’ve visited, whether it is produced in that country or simply bottled there.

I had already chosen what I was going to get.

The airport may be my only option....

What’s even worse though....even the bars seem to be on holiday!!!

@CanadianNinja Oh my! Bars closed? In KOREA?

What was the bottle you chose? Though it seems less likely I'll be going, I'd want to look out for it...

@Nozinan, I know, RIGHT!?

It’s nuts. I have seriously never seen anything like this...

I was planning to pick up a bottle of Imperial 17 yo.

@CanadianNinja Looks promising though that 40% ABV is scary and the 450 cc seems small. Likely more affordable that way.

But if it says Scotch it may be bottled FOR the Korean market but it was bottled in Scotland.

I may have to wait 10 years and pick up a Korean-made whisky.

@Nozinan, it seems that the shop may be open tomorrow.... I’m hoping this is so because I’m really interested in giving this a try!

@Nozinan, another bottle which I was considering is the Windsor 17 yo.

Last night, a dram of Miltonduff SMWS 72.75 (10 year - Feb. 2008) "The flower of youth" from a refill ex-bourbon barrel - 61.3% ABV. I love this distillery. Great stuff!

Had a small nip of Wisers Dissertation while making dinner (salmon, shiitake and udon miso) to prep for a mouth watering feast of peat to come. A Laph 10 CS next before I open the sample of Octomore 8.2 that's been calling to me like aquatic sirens since it arrived ... can't wait!

I'm having a dram of Peat Monster (2019). I wanted to pick up a Caol Ila 12 OB. at my local liquor store after having had CI CS Peated and Unpeated expressions recently. No luck. They are not stocking it because they are have difficulty selling it. The whisky guy at my local place likes Caol Ila a lot and made an observation about CI OB 12 prices and the recent tariffs. He and the person who buys whisky for the store (which is not small) has heard that the next tariff will be 100%, not 25%. For now, they both said, distributers and retail outlet were absorbing the 25%, mostly. I don't have the "receipts" for that 100% tariff claim, so lets hope it's gossip or exaggeration

Back to what I got: This Peat Monster (65% CI and 35% Laphroaig) is fine for my CI fix, esp. at 46% abv. I've recently had some different batches of Laphraoig CS, so I didn't expect a tongue lashing from this blended malt. The Caol Ila really shines and the Laphroaig adds some deep peat grounding. I wish Compass Box provided more info about the ages and wood management info that went into this blend. (And what is that 1% French Oak Highland Special Sauce doing?) I disagree with Scotchnoob, who claims that the Laphroaig is dominant. The Laffy is there for sure, especially on the finish, but Caol Il is holding its own. Orchard fruits and ash all day, from nose to finish. Smoked honey?? ]

Next up, Port Charlotte at a 6$ increase, because because because tariffs :)

@Jonathan In any case, the new Peat Monster is what I have wanted a good peaty blended malt to be for a while. I haven't yet had Big Peat.

Glenallachie SMWS 107.16 (7 year - Apr. 2011) "Truly a fairy tale" from a 2nd-fill toasted oak butt - 67.0% ABV. This is a manly dram. Definite sherry influence, but wouldn’t describe it as a sherry bomb. Whatever it is; it’s good stuff!

Also, Caol Ila SMWS 53.298 (11 year - September 2007) "Tokaji and tug boats" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 60.0% ABV. Sweet, wet campfire ash. This description is why this is my favorite distillery. Love it!