This Craigellachie makes a very good first impression despite my current cold. The nose offers burnt caramel, sour cherries, and a dusty hessian note. There's a little meatiness lurking in the background too. The palate is viscous with strawberry jam, Xmas cake & rich oak spice. The PX casks are 👌🏻

Signatory strikes again! £50 for 15 year old Craigellachie 😯 Hoping the PX cask finish complements the usual savoury, meaty profile the distillate usually possesses. Looking forward to cracking this one soon.

A wee night cap of 17 YO Ledaig. Smoked bacon, treacle & a coastal iodine note (à la Laphroaig) dominate the nose, although Tobermory do get their malt from Port Ellen... The palate is beautifully complex with sweet & savoury flavours of burnt ends, brine & Manuka honey. Nice with a little water.

Why thank you Booths, don't mind if I do! Another reminder that they really are the best supermarket in the UK.

My 1st time trying Longmorn & it's a fruit-filled delight! The nose offers buckets of elderflower & vanilla plus a myriad of overripe fruit (pineapple, banana, pear & honeydew melon) Cask strength at just 43.5% it still delivers on the palate - oily, effervescent & that same big, bold fruit salad 🍍

The Legacy this is not. I must admit, I've not had many Ardmores but this version is a true gem. Unavailable as a 70cl bottle, Bartel's offers it only as a 25ml sample. Sweet peat smoke & marine iodine on the nose whilst the palate offers a silky mouthfeel with smoky bacon & salted caramel. 8.5/10.

Farage was given £5m by the crypto billionaire living in Thailand shortly before announcing he would stand in the 2024 UK general election. Donation not declared. Farage, the champion of Brexit and crypto, funded by foreign money, often missing in parliamentary votes and debates.

I’m not sure why we still have a monarch. It seems like a medieval anachronism to me; a demonstration of inherited status and the the pinnacle of an entrenched aristocracy. And I’m really not sure why our monarch has gone to the US to stand next to another man with too much power, land and money.

Bottle killing this tonight. Spoken highly of by Roy at Aqvavitae & others, it definitely deserves its status as an easy-sipping Springtime/Summer dram. Buckets of vanilla & pear on the nose. Palate delivers a slightly spirit-driven experience but with plenty of honey sweetness & egg custard. 7/10.

And I BELIEVE this is very, very different from what most people of faith, & those of no religious beliefs, want & hope for in their lives. Most of us want safety for our families, a reasonable standard of living, a place to call home. We do not want war. 5/5

With all that’s going on in the world right now, I feel it’s really important to draw a distinction between ‘religion’ and ‘faith’. I’m not religious, but I have a humanist worldview which prioritises rational thought, empathy and kindness. I know many people of faith who hold similar values. 1/5

This Longmorn 17 year old caught my eye on the Bartels site the other day and Whisky Wednesday's glowing review convinced me to take a punt on it. Another great delivery from Bartels plus a free sample of that Ardmore cask strength. Looking forward to trying both...

Fantastic prompt delivery from Bartels Whisky (shame they're not on Bluesky) and even a wee dram of their cask strength indy Dalmore (now you don't see those very often!) If it's a good 'un, I may be a repeat customer... Happy Friday all! 🍻

Single cask, cask strength 17 year old Ledaig for £70 - don't mind if I do! www.bartelswhisky.com/product/leda...

The yanks are certainly better at producing delicious whiskey than they are competent governments & this small batch bourbon is testament to that. There's a smoky quality to the nose (think honey glazed ham) plus baking spices. The palate offers caramelised peanuts, rye spice & spearmint. Lovely.

Sad to see the end of this bottle. Just £18, it's by far the best value whisky I have ever bought, especially given it's all malt. Discovered at the Independent Spirits Festival in Leith, it's pure fudge & butterscotch on both nose and palate. Would love to know the malts in this blend. 8/10.

Opting for a rum tonight from an undisclosed Nicaraguan distillery (likely Flor de Caña). At 66.6% it's as fiery as the devil & noses a lot like a Foursquare rum - caramel, cooked peaches & vanilla sponge. On the palate, a drop of water enhances the tropical fruit & vanilla flavours. Mouth feel is 👌🏻

Another day, another bottle kill. A delicious Jamaican rum which showcases all the the tropical fruit, dunder funk & toffee flavours the island is famed for. At 43%, the palate is a little thin, but it still makes for a great easy sipper. 7/10.

I opened this bottle 3 years ago today & it opened my eyes to just how good American whisky could be. The distinct JD aromas & flavours have not abated in all that time. A glorious caramel-soaked banana split drizzled with roasted peanuts w/ just enough rye spice to balance out the sweetness. 9/10.

Neck pour of the ex-Sauternes cask Edradour. Nose is giving overripe honeydew melon, porridge & cinnamon apple pie. The sweet notes continue on the palate - juicy raisins, brioche & a little elderflower. At >60% a drop of water tempers the alcohol & enhances it considerably. A true fruit bomb 🍑🍋🥭🍎

Home after a few post-work drinks and enjoying a night cap from an 80s bottling of Johnnie Walker Black Label. A little grain acetone on first nosing & sip but there's a decent malty backbone offering toffee pudding, honey & gentle peat. If it's good enough for Deckard, it's good enough for me!

So here's out Port line up! #BlindDrams

Dram 5; Palate/ Finish: Following on from the nose, Turkish Delight, spices and Port on the palate. Plenty of tannins like the previous two drams. Water helps to temper the spiciness. 3/5. #BlindDrams

Dram 5; Nose/ Appearance: Light gold. Rosewater and quite perfumed. Parma violets and potpourri. #BlindDrams

Dram 4; Palate/ Finish: Lots of red fruit tannins, probably an ex-red wine cask. Reminds me of Rioja, lots of plummy jam and quite bitter. High ABV again but a little water sweetens it. 3/5 #BlindDrams

Dram 4; Nose/ Appearance: Deep red. Musty, red wine nose, almost bordering on balsamic vinegar. Cranberry sauce and old library books. #BlindDrams

Woops, forgot to include my score for Dram 3 - 3/5. Best of the drams so far! #BlindDrams

Dram 3; Palate/ Finish: Sweet, almost like Vimto-like with plenty of spice and red fruits. Quite high ABV (58%ish) so benefits from a little water. Less grain-like than on the nose. Like Dram 2, drying on the finish. #BlindDrams

Dram 3; Nose/ Appearance: Rose gold. A single grain I think. Cherries and mixed spice on the nose, suggesting possibly sherry or port cask? #BlindDrams

Dram 2; Palate : Quite hot at first with cranberries, a little black pepper & plenty of tannins. The tartness is softened with a drop of water but still quite drying on the finish. 2/5. #BlindDrams

Dram 2; Appearance/ Nose: Two shades darker than Dram 1. More wine-like on the nose than Dram 1 and ever so slightly butyric. A bit perfumed too with stewed winter fruits, clove and cinnamon - mulled wine basically.

Dram 1; Palate: Quite young on first taste. With water, the fruit (apples, melons, peaches) become more pronounced with a fairly thin, spirity mouthfeel. Reminds me of the 16YO Cadenheads Dailuaine but much younger. Possibly a Dailuaine or Glen Elgin? Drying finish. 2/5.

Dram 1; Appearance/ Nose: Chardnonnay wine. Fruit salad with vanilla cream on the nose hinting at an ex-bourbon cask. Fresh & floral too. #BlindDrams

Drams poured and ready to rock! #BlindDrams

"We called London a war zone and moved to Dubai by mistake"

Some interesting auction picks I'm looking forward to trying. The ex-Sauternes cask Edradour & the Taiwanese bottling of Auchroisk really piqued my interest. The bourbon I'll probably put up against Jack Daniel's SBBP to see if the yanks really do keep the best bottles for themselves...

Bilal Fawaz was trafficked as a child & doesn't have a UK passport. He is now British & Commonwealth Boxing Champion. Sort out his status so he can box abroad & represent his adopted country!

Wow. What a fight. An absolute testament to all the hardworking people who come to this country looking to contribute & better themselves. Fantastic words from Eddie Hearn too. Bilal Fawaz, you're a true Brit in my eyes.

Revisiting this bruiser. It noses beautifully despite the 64.5% offering brioche, baked apple & sweet peat. At full strength, it's just a wee bit too hot. On the palate. A little water added and the fruit reveals itself, - pear, more apple & peach, all baked together with cinnamon in a crumble. 😋

One more peaty nightcap in front of the fire before bed. Laphroaig CS batch 15. It has an ashier, more mineralic peat profile compared to the Ardnahoe & the flavours are more coastal - brine, kippers & bonfire on the beach; some sherry sweetness too. Over half left so will score when nearer the end.

Ardnahoe. The perfect fireside dram. Smoked bacon, savoury peat and the same vegetal/ beef tomato note I always get on this Society bottling. A warming whisky for cold nights. 8.5/10.

We pride ourselves on being a democracy and yet there’s a medieval theocratic anachronism in the heart of parliament: 26 bishops with automatic seats in the House of Lords. (The only other country in the world with clerics automatically entering a government is… Iran).

Nearing the end of this bottle, I can see why Glentauchers is such a firm fan favourite, particularly with those fond of bold, fruity flavours. There's pear, raspberry, banana, hazelnut & sweet vanilla on the nose. The palate offers peaches & cream, oak spice & soft, red fruit tannins. Lovely! 8/10.

Sampling another of TWB's Apollo series & my first Glencadam! (Thanks @whiskytip.bsky.social for the tip off) There's apple, pine needles & lemon drizzle cake on both nose & palate; menthol too although a drop of water tempers this & the 62% ABV. Serge got peat strangely; I did not shorturl.at/UR0QG

Auchroisk. A distillery not usually associated with spell-binding single malts but this is a belter. The PX casks have imparted a complex array of flavours. The nose offers cranberries, balsamic vinegar & sultanas, whilst there's soy sauce, dark chocolate & intense oak spice on the palate. Just wow😮

This is a fantastic book for anyone who enjoys a good dose of humour & pathos with their whisky. Written in 2003 during the Iraq war, Banks regularly despairs at Bush's "War on Terror" but I can only imagine what he'd make of the current US administration were he alive today. Horrified, I'm sure.

Likely no more than 5 years old, the Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 2 definitely punches above it's weight. 60% of the liquid has been aged (finished?) in ex-PX casks & offers dark fruits, winter spices & a great mouth feel. The overwhelming note I get on both nose and palate is raspeberry yoghurt 😋

For anyone who's not seen Alex Garland's brilliant Civil War, now is, sadly, a very apt time to check it out. Whisky has never been a better distraction & much needed anaethetic, from the world than it is now. This cask strength Laphroaig, aka Williamson, offers ashy peat, smoked mackerel & brine.

In the midst of a cold and can't smell or taste very much so this Loch Lomond peated single grain, with its elemental & punchy citrus, salty and iodine peat flavours, is about the only dram it's worth drinking this week! Unbelievable value too.

I understand the pressures on the BBC, but Radio 4's coverage of the Minneapolis shooting is an example of "bad balance". It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder". The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.