So, what are you drinking now?

@RianC That sounds like a good day in every way.

@casualtorture - just about topping 80 here but that's hot for May in the UK and I'm not built for anything much hotter than that

@BlueNote - yeah as days go lately that's hard to top. One does always have to suffer the slightly barbed comments and gentle huffings form my better half as chores still need to be done ... Will life for a man ever be different?

Drinking Aberlour A’Bunadh Batch 8..... This whisky is fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

Watching Mike Tyson highlights. Haha! Love it.

Has there ever been a bigger ‘freak of nature’ in combat sports?

I’ll answer that.... NO, there hasn’t.

Stay away from that Molson Ex @RianC!!

; )

@RianC quoting fahrenheit in the UK? Bravo! Very sporting.

I usually try to use UK spellings and degrees Celsius around here, because I am frequently addressing Canadians and Brits. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

@Victor - Very wise, good Sir! Oddly, perhaps, my Dad was always keen on imperial measurements and I was 'taught' at a young age how to convert °C to °F - I tend to do it automatically nowadays. And,I could be wrong here, but I'm sure at least some UK weather reports still give both measurments?

@CanadianNinja - Tyson scared me as a kid! Shame he wasn't as tough mentally as he's certainly been through the wringer - I personally lost a lot of respect when he bit Holyfield's ear. Raw talent and power though like nothing else I've seen.

I opened my just-purchased bottle of Pike Creek 10 Year. First impression:it’s actually really nice for casual sipping. Definitely on the sweet side of things but not totally without spice. The rum cask makes its presence known but it doesn’t dominate.

@RianC Haha, join the club, man. Some things in the new normal aren't gonna be any different than they were in the old normal.

@Victor @RianC The Brits have an interesting hybrid system: you drive 3 miles at 60 MPH to buy 200 grams of minced beef on a 21degree Celsius/70 degree Fahrenheit day. You maybe stop at the pub for a pint of beer or a 30ml shot of whisky. As I recall your petrol purchase is in litres. I can't remember if you buy a litre or a quart of milk.

As far as what I'm drinking at the moment, it's the GoT Clynelish which I am liking quite a lot. It's the only GoT edition that I've tried. I might take a punt on the Lagavulin or the Talisker next.

@BlueNote wonderful UK Commonwealth/US distinction phrase, "take a punt"! In your Commonwealth world it means to try something. In the US the only real reference to "punt" means exactly the opposite. To "punt" in American football is to give up the attempt and to surrender the ball to the other team. Americans in a bad situation will sometimes say things like this: "What did you do? Answer I had to punt. The situation was hopeless."

@Victor Haha, the same thing applies in the weird and wonderful CFL (Canadian Football League).

I was born in Scotland, raised in England with Welsh ancestors. Came to Canada when I was ten and pretty much lived in an English household. My father worked as an aeronautical engineer for a British company, so a lot of their friends were British. I became Canadian as quickly as I could in order to fit in. Lost the accent, lost the short pants and started playing baseball and football right away. Never quite got the hang of hockey or basketball.

@BlueNote which had the hold over you, environment or heredity? Did your Welsh genes make you prefer Rugby over World Football, or did your Anglo-Canadian environment make you more of a football fan?

@Victor Never had any interest in cauliflower ears and a busted nose. I much preferred our form of football. Although when we were over there in 2015 the World Cup of Rugby was on and I started to really get into it after the cousins explained the rules.

@casualtorture - I had pretty low expectations for the GoT bottles, so I was pleasantly surprised. Having said that, they are good not great. I was surprised that the Oban had some smoke in it. The Talisker is more briny and salty than smoky/peaty. The best of the 3 in my opinion is the Lagavulin. Sweet and Smoky with a long finish. All of these are good, daily drinkers that I’m enjoying. I’m glad I bought them, but probably wouldn’t buy them again.

Tonight, had a virtual happy hour with friends. I made a traditional Manhattan, but I used 3 different rye’s (Quarter Horse, Knob Creek 50% and Rittenhouse BiB 50%) in order to use up some remnants.

After dinner, Glen Ord SMWS 77.57 (9 year - Apr. 2009) "Down the old wax mines" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 59.1% ABV.

Finishing the night with Lagavulin 9 year "House Lannister" Game of Thrones Limited Edition bottling - 46% ABV.

@BlueNote I think that American and Canadian football derive primarily from Rugby. Right down to the "touchdown" and kick for point after the touchdown. The Americans and Canadians no longer need to touch the ball to the ground as they do in rugby, but they still call it a "touchdown". It is completely accepted as a name for the North American score without, I would guess, 1% of the viewers know whence the name "touchdown" originated.

@BlueNote - Ha very true! When milk was delivered ( I did my stint as a milk boy on the float once upon a time) back in the day it was all pints but now most milk is sold in litre offerings. The inconsistencies are most probably due to folk having hang ups from the old era and old habits dying hard. We are also now free to go back should we choose to ...

I'm generally OK switching between the two until it comes to fluid Oz - I have absolutely no idea

@RianC Guaranteed pure milk company limited. I remember the truck and the driver and the glass bottles. We used to buy plastic tags that fit into the neck of the bottle and they used to collect the tags and drop off whatever bottles corresponded to the tags we left out. Once they switched to cartons we kept a bottle and used it to put the tags in, but it eventually disappeared (and later so did the truck...)

I remember my mother getting me to chase the truck down the street once to buy a tub of sour cream. They had the BEST sour cream...

@bwmccoy it sounds like you are enjoying the GoT Lagavulin 9. Is it at all like the 8 year old? I’ve got it on my maybe list.

@BlueNote - it’s been a while since I’ve had either the 8 or 12 year Lagavulin, but if my memory serves me correctly, those two were similar; both displaying a lemon citrus note. I’m assuming that note was present in those expressions due to the lack of wine / sherry casks. I do not get the lemon citrus notes in the 9 year.

It’s also been a while since I had the standard Lagavulin 16, but for me the 9 year is closer to the 16 than the 8 or the 12 because the 9 does have some wine / sherry influence. To me, the 16 sherry notes make that whisky seem “rich”, where the wine influence in the 9 comes across more sweet than rich. There is also a savoriness to the 9 year old.

I have been enjoying it, but I don’t want to over sell it either. If expectations are too high, there is definitely room for disappointment.

I hope some of this makes sense and is helpful.

Day at the beach with the clan today - so nice to feel the open space. Tide must have been high as it's the first time I've ever been able to wade in the water on the Bristol channel/Severn Mouth.

Back home and downing Pacifico beer while BBQing more bavette steaks, pork skewers and chicory. Life's good!

Alberta Premium 30 yo. This is from 2011. The way things are going maybe we'll see another release of Alberta Premium 30 yo within a few years. Maybe even Cask Strength.

And then some Balvenie 10 yo Founders Reserve, from about 2009.

@Victor, how about a rouge? Canadian football has olde rules.

Just opened a bottle of Bulleit 10 to toast the birthday boys!

Regular Bulleit got me into bourbon and I've not had any for a while but the nose is instantly familiar. It's kinda muted but what's there is lovely - Very floral with that glue/solvent note seeming as if it's really meshed in with some quality honey and toffee. Sweet on the palate and considerably less oaky than I'd have guessed. First impressions are that I'll like this one a lot.

Cheers, Gents!

@bwmccoy Very helpful indeed. I’m liking the 8 a lot so I might just stick with that as my go to Lagavulin. A friend has the full GoT lineup (except for the pricey Mortlach) so I’ll see if I can bum a taste. I saw them all lined up at his house and was surprised to see that they were pretty much all exactly the same colour which would seem to indicate that there were certain criteria to be met by each producer. That was a bit of a red flag for me, nonetheless, I am enjoying the Clynelish which is far more interesting than the standard 14. It reminds me of a couple of distillery only samples I tasted at the distillery a few years ago.

I’m honouring @talexander ‘s birthday with a dram of Redbreast 15. I’ll have to dig out something to honour @paddockjudge later.

I’m now having a small pour of Alberta Premium 20 Year Old. This bottle has been supremely disappointing thus far, but it’s probably been over a month since I’ve revisited it, so I’m having a small 20 ml pour.

The Alberta Premium is still disappointing but not as bad as before. There is hope for it yet. After tasting a bit of the sample @Nozinan gave me of the AP CS, I can only conclude that I bought the wrong bottle. The Cask Strength is fantastic rye whisky. I’m going to have to finish up that sample soon and do a proper review. It’s easily the best Canadian whisky I’ve tasted this year.

Last night, while playing on-line poker with my brother-in-law and some friends;

Girvan SMWS G7.15 (34 year - May 1984) "Mind-altering hugs" - After 32 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a new oak hogshead, heavy toast/medium char for the final 2 years - 57.2% ABV.

Glen Scotia SMWS 93.106 (13 year - March 2005) "Red diesel". After 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, transferred to a 1st-fill Port hogshead - 58.6% ABV.

Tonight, Glen Scotia SMWS 93.112 (14 year - Feb. 2004) "Sweet and grubby" from a refill ex-bourbon hogshead - 53.7% ABV.

Forgot to post here but I made my first ever Dirty Martini this week using Tanqueray Export gin and Martini Bianco. I erred on the shy side with the brine but really enjoyed it, as did Jade. This is one I'll be definitely be adding to the rota but feel I need to up the brine on the next.

Meant to ask, for any Martini lovers, what's your recipe for a good one?