So what AREN'T you drinking now?

@paddockjudge i like the Glengoyne 21 and I really, really like the Glengoyne 25.

@paddockjudge I’m sticking to cans of soda from now on....

@paddockjudge old Portuguese cork sniffer. That just sounds funny haha

@MRick, I see I’m preaching to the choir... can I get an AMEN for Glengoyne 21!?!!!

The 25 YO is a brilliant whisky. At half the price I’m all over the 21 YO and afraid to get $tuck on the 25 YO.

@casualtorture, if you haven’t already, take a look at the Corksoakers...........

bing.com/videos/search/…

Closing the loop on this nasty broken cork episode. Here is something you don’t see every day, a measuring cup with 700+ ml of Mac Cask Strength in it. All fragments of the disintegrating cork have successfully been removed. My wife, who does not like the smell of whisky, commented on the delicious bouquet filling the room. It is now back in the bottle, synthetic stopper, and sealed.

@paddockjudge A soaked cork is a happy cork. They get dried out and shrivelled up if they are not regularly soaked.

@paddockjudge - well everyone knows that ... You have a problem? You call the Portuguese cork sniffers.

@RianC, I’m not sure of the message that your statement is conveying. I did not call the Portugese “cork sniffers”. I made reference to an earlier, informative statement on the thread, posted by another Connosr member who stated

_ “ ... for their premium bottles they use corks which are individually pre-sniffed by the Portugese cork importer to ensure that they are free of the fungi that produces TCA - the cause of corked wine.” _

My entire response was

_ “ ah yes, the old Portugese cork sniffers. I prefer to have my cork soaked.” _

This was followed by a link to a skit on SNL “Corksoakers”

@RianC, would you care to elaborate?

@paddockjudge - ha! It was just my silly sense of humour, well an attempt at ...

Trying to be all Month Python, you dig?

@RianC, thank goodness haha. I thought for a moment I had offended all of the non-Cork Sniffing Portugese community.

I don't drink Bruichladdich Infinity tonight. I recall it as brilliant whisky. I don't drink Octomore 2.1 as well. The only animals in the room are Sam the cat and Ardbeg wee beastie. I guess I stay sober tonight. I get the idea that I even liked Ardbeg Blasda better than the wee beastie. Who remembers Ardbeg Blasda? Is it a blast from the past? Please enlighten me.

@NamBeist If all I had was Wee Beastie on a cold winter night I could be content. Not forever, but for a night or two...

@Nozinan I still prefer the company of my cat....

@paddockjudge yes, the excellent 21 is much better priced but the 25 is much cheaper compared to Macallan 25 which is around $2500 CDN, when it can be found.

Last night, nothing! Was supposed to have a Zoom hook up with @cricklewood but felt sick as a dog all day so it was nil by mouth instead of plenty!

Stomach still feels wobbly, shall we say, and I hate cancelling things so feel bad today. Just to rub salt in, my hip pain has also ramped up over the holidays, which is typical - all my life I seem to have gotten ill over xmas, even my Mum laughed about it yesterday. Hopefully a quick reschedule and we can get some kind of epic tasting happening soon ...

Currently I'm not drinking anything. I finally decided (after being shamed by my brother-in-law and a good friend) to re-inventory my whisk(e)y collection. Years ago, I was using a program that I quite liked and had a nice up-to-date inventory but then the program took a dump and I lost everything. Since drinking whisky is more fun than inventorying it, I went years without updating the list. So as a few years passed, new bottles came in and a few left and I mostly had little idea of what I had. The breaking point was my friend and I digging through some bottles looking for something fun to open and him commenting that he would really like to try a Talisker 18 as he had heard how good it was. I replied that would be a nice bottle and I wish I had one. I pulled another bottle from my shelf and there was a Talisker 18 that I had forgotten I had. So that's where the shame came from. I have spent evenings this week pulling everything out and getting it all in a spreadsheet. I still have lost a lot of information from the crash like purchase dates and prices but at least I will know what I have. I'm hoping to be done by Friday, but this is proving to be a bit more time consuming than I originally thought.

@TracerBullet I hear you! It took many fun hours to create, enhance and maintain my database. It has been a long time since I backed it up, I even have a new computer (on a MacBook you just put them next to each other to transfer data). You've inspired me to do a back-up.

If I'm being honest with myself, I spend much more time reading about whisky and taking part in things like Connosr, and managing my collection (watching it grow) than I actually spend drinking it.

Being so obsessive with my record-keeping (I calculate volumes in/out -...I know!) I wonder if I'm missing out on some of the enjoyment of the spirit itself. Will there come a time when I won't have a dram because the record-keeping around it will be too onerous?

@Nozinan Yes do a backup!! Sounds like it would do you a lot of damage if you lost your whisky data! Just make sure to take the time to enjoy a dram now and then. Much more enjoyable way to pursue that database!

@TracerBullet if I found a bottle of Talisker 18 I had forgotten, I wouldn’t be feeling shame, I’d be doing cart wheels.

@MRick Me too. Haven't had it for years. @TracerBullet "That's gold Jerry, gold!"

@MRick Oh, I was doing cartwheels, just felt stupid because I had forgotten that I had it!

@Nozinan It's just another form of charting.

Arrived back from hospice to find a little box of samples very kindly sent by @Timp. Thanks again, mate! I won't be drinking for at least a few weeks but I couldn't help having a little sniff of them last night.

There are some absolute beauties in there too! Such as, ralfy's Meteorite, sherried Port Charlotte - my word this smells amazing! Dirty, nutty, smokey goodness, oh my! Made my mouth gush water. A SB 12 from Cadenhead 's Cage. Two bourbon barrels. Again, lovely - is that fruity tennis balls im smelling?!

Also, A G&M Caol Ila 12 1st fill sherry - my first whiff of a totally sherried CI, this could be interesting. Edradour 10 first fill 2 bourbon barrels - bright and characterful! This distillery is definitely not one for those who like sanitised flavours. Lastly, a hand-filled Deanston 10 from an Amontillado cask. One of my favourite malts was the Ledaig Amontillado. This has that nutty thing going on as well but instead of a peaty backbone, there's a bouquet of fruit and musk. Mmm!

Well these all smell amazing. I tortured myself last night while watching The Frozen Ground, with Cage and Cusack based on a true serial killer up in Alaska. Meh. Seen better but some amazing views - could have done more with the cinematography I felt. Sorry, I'll save that talk for Connosr@themovies ha!

Cheers

@RianC, not a true story, but the Alaska serial killer film I like is Insomnia, with Al Pacino and Robin Williams.

@Victor - Yes I remember that being a good film. Cage can be brilliant but I dont think a straight role suits him. Similarly with Cuscack, I wasn't getting any menace from him at all but he's enjoyable usually as the kooky off-beat character.

@RianC Cheers mate and glad you had a little snifter, and happy you like what you smell. Hope the tasting is fun. Cheers. Tim.

I was all set to watch the Canadian Leader's debate with a glass of Forty Creek Heart of Gold. That's the bottle I opened to celebrate Jagmeet Singh becoming leader of the party.

But I was so busy I got to the debate just as it started and didn't have time to get to my cabinet. So I watched the debate sober....

@Nozinan Watching a political debate sober? That’s a brave move.

@OdysseusUnbound That so called debate was enough to drive anyone to drink. What an awkward format. Nothing gave me any cause to change my vote, but I thought Annamie Paul deported herself well as did Blanchette and Jagmeet. If Trudeau had told me how he had my back one more time I would have flipped to the Jays game. And O’Toole; what’s with the hand pyramid before every answer? Is it just me, or does he bear a remarkable resemblance to Elmer Fudd? We voted in the advance poll today. Now I am celebrating with a dram of 20 year old Tobermory from the Old Malt Cask, and Mrs Blue Note is enjoying a small dram of Glenfarclas 15 before she switches to white wine.

Oh, yeah; and how about our Leyla, the darling of the US Open tennis tournament?