TENNENT'S!!! That is all. www.pelliclemag.com/home/2025/8/...

Seems that Dropworks rum will be launching some crowdfunding soon...

Another footnote! Just remembered this, also on the subject of cetacean digestion (and what it can expel from itself and in what quantities. Vital knowledge, I tell you. Vital)

That’s a new one to me: an automated phone call that said ‘I need to talk to you, add me on WhatsApp’ before hanging up. Blockety, blockety, block…

In other news, it seems that Sainsbury's don't stock cocktail sticks online, and a search redirects you to "Mint tooth pick flossers". The end times are here.

I just realised that I'd not updated my book website in a very long while, and with lots of cool things having since the last updated and even more to come, I thought I better get something written up:

Roses are red Cheggers plays pop

I wrote a thing about English whisky for our lovely education/inspiration section at @thewhiskyexchange.bsky.social.

Well, Mr Bezos. It seems you don’t know me as well as you thought…

Thursday night, 7 August 2025, 10pm: me, @drinkswhisky.bsky.social , Mac from Kanpai Planet and Pete from Woven coming up with a 4-bottle whisky shelf for newbies live on YouTube. Please come and heckle: www.youtube.com/live/-czMKi4...

Today’s experiment: machine washing caps. Only one borderline dissolved in the machine, so I count this as a success. No to see if they still go on my head once dry…

I’m at a Nerf Herder gig (first saw them 20-some years ago). It is full of ageing punks. Two Jedi just walked in. A lightsaber has been extended…

Oh, Brewdog, are you missing the days when the Portman Group used to have you on speed dial?

Mezzo Mix fans rejoice! I have created a new abomination of a beverage: Irn Bru and Cherry Pepsi Max. Like Mezzo Mix, it tastes of all the fake fruit you could ever want. Like chewing Juicy Fruit while drinking Panda cola. It is terrible. I love it. Tomorrow I’ll try Pepsi Max Lime…

Praise be! It’s the 112th anniversary of the first custard pie thrown in someone’s face in a motion picture

I’m playing the latest Doom while waiting for Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3+4 to download. It is 2002.

I am now aware of the concept of the Antilibrary, and my bookshelves are now things I am no longer ashamed of. The big pile of unread books I've not got shelves for? Less so... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilib...

If anyone is bored this evening, I'm nattering on YouTube with the folks from The Blether at 7.30pm. Well. Blethering, more accurately. As the name suggests. www.youtube.com/watch?v=urWD...

If anyone is wondering what petrichor smells like, come to the Place du Capitole in Toulouse right now.

Today's inspiration

I’ve broken one of my key rules for life and am on a RyanAir flight. I have never seen a group of people so confused by the concept of seat numbers and other people.

Been a while since I watched this. Not used to DVD quality…

Latest book acquisitions for me to put in a pile and not read… Excited to get in to @petebrownbeer.bsky.social’s new book – I’m a fan of Charles Spence, but haven’t dived into the sound side of things before. Testicles is @henrygjeffreys.bsky.social’s fault. Butter and L.A. Baby: in progress.

My current annoyance: adverts which boast that a product can remove ‘up to 100%’ of something – limescale, dandruff &c.

On day three of my staycation, I have finally made it into town to engage with culture. The Anthony McCall exhibition at Tate Modern is definitely worth a visit (before it closes at the end of the month). The Beak x Tate collab beer is also worth visiting for.

Tonight’s ’I really should drink some of these samples what I have in the cupboard’ is outside, as my flat’s too hot thanks to closing all the doors and windows due to a bird flying in and waking me up at 7am. An unnamed TWE Ben Nevis 1996, Glen Scotia Festival 2023 and Bowmore 27yo Timeless.

In case anyone hadn’t seen, I get a new big boss soon: www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2025/06/the-...

Faster is betterer.

Due to post-Grenfell apartment block regs (I live on the 6th of 7 floors which puts us just into the new range) I can’t smoke on my wooden balcony, so downstairs for a cigar and some drams. Testing my Aged & Ore knock-off Oak & Ember sample pots to get a test. They work, even if they do pong a bit.

Will you do me a favour and help me tell more people about @pelliclemag.com? We're an award-winning independent beer, wine, cider and food magazine and we need more support! www.pelliclemag.com

Just got sent a list of my IWSC scores – we taste blind, so this is the first time I’ve known what I tried. In my top 10, one whisky stood out. The rest were £300-£1000. This one is <£30: Black Bottle Captain’s Cask. I have of course bought a bottle. Now to try it again, unblind…

Well… 88bamboo.co/blogs/featur...

I wrote a thing about the Islay festival. I really quite like Islay. You might be able to tell... www.thewhiskyexchange.com/inspiration/...

I almost forgot: today's my 14th anniversary of starting work at @thewhiskyexchange.bsky.social. From my reading, that's the 'appropriate custodial term for a serious terrorism sentence'. My perl code back in my previous life was bad, but not that bad.

I’ve just realised that I’m about to start reading a non-genre-fiction book for the first time in ages – nothing but SF of varying hardnesses and non-fiction for maybe years… …and now the book has annoyed me by using the colour ‘ecru’ on the first page, which I had to look up.

My train has sat at Bishops Stortford for longer than expected due to ‘contamination’. I looked out of the window and saw the driver and a member of platform staff remove a huge empty rubble bag from the side of the train. On we go…

Article by Ruben from WhiskyNotes #whisky

I'm coming to Newcastle to drink whisky! I'm hosting a tasting at Neville Hall on Friday 9 May from 7pm – six (at least...) whiskies with me wittering about them. If you are nearby at an appropriate time, you should come and play. Still a few tickets left: www.trybooking.com/uk/events/la...

I've been informed that this map is the only map of Islay you need: www.google.com/maps/d/viewe...

Someone asked me for some advice for a trip to Islay. So I made a map.... www.google.com/maps/d/viewe... Any suggestions of things I've missed? And yes, I got bored of changing the colours of the pins...

I wrote a thing about sake. I'm quite pleased with it. Please tell me if I've got anything wrong... www.thewhiskyexchange.com/inspiration/...

I made chilli chutney and stuck some in a hot, sterilised jar to keep for a bit. The ‘button’ on the lid just popped down with a click loud enough to be heard across the room. It was significantly more satisfying than expected.

Lazyweb: please help – any advice for online Japanese language tuition? Duolingo is…well, Duolingo and I need a proper teacher, but am not that available irl, hence online. Any assistance is grateful received. Arigato gozaimasu.

Just remembered that the Islay Festival is coming soon, and with it another Laphroaig Cairdeas. Time to update my Cairdeas article (also known as 'the most recent thing I wrote on my blog – only 2.5 years old...): spiritedmatters.com/2022/08/laph...

So, this is not an April Fool. I suspect it won't be as big a thing as it might seem, eventually. Unless the USA get involved... Until it's all renegotiated next year, I look forward to all of the excellent special bottlings that Kyrö and Stauning will release :)

In other news, Raging Speedhorn released their new album on my birthday. This pleases me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJyG...

Right. Here's my single April Fools day endorsement. Unless I find something else amusing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=epIg... from @jameshoffmann.bsky.social

It’s sunny out. Time for things that remind me of sun: Keihan, rice with shredded chicken, egg and things, and chicken broth. I first had it on Amami Oshima 5 years ago during an amazing trip to Japan (reprobates on the trip in the other pic) and roll it out when the world looks nice out the window.