It's always five o'clock somewhere

There are so many grades and age statements for Redbreast. Seems like they are bigging up what's ultimately an Irish whiskey.
Use to like the Redbreast and at the time I use to drink it, it was pretty much the best, better than any Bushmills three barrels or the now insanely priced Midleton which is like the standard JW Blue very average.

Did a serious amount of whisky in hot toddies over the last two weeks. Good job my sinusitis has abatted somewhat. Not buying any whisky this month. I've still some left mind you. Which reminds me of an interview with the late, great Brit comedian Bob Monkhouse who not long before he died, boasted how he drank half a bottle of single malt every day and a bottle of Bordeaux the latter with meals of course. When I first read that interview, I was like what a great way to be, and it hasn't done him any harm. He died about two months later.

Frank Sinatra, allegedly did a bottle of Jack Daniels everyday and he was certainly buried with a bottle.

Would like to give a final verdict on that JW Blonde: dreadful stuff. Give it a wide berth. If all else fails, you'll just have to break out the JW Red and hope for the best.
 
Powers John’s Lane 12 year old is my favourite Irish pot still.

Powers Gold Label my favourite Irish blend.
 
Powers John’s Lane 12 year old is my favourite Irish pot still.

Powers Gold Label my favourite Irish blend.
Was going to get the Jameson's Black Barrel, but stuck with their IPA cask finish, which is pretty decent with soda water as an aperitif.

Was also going to get the Glenlivit Caribbean Reserve, but the reviews say it's got nothing on the Balvenie 14 year old Cuban Cask finish. It shouldn't as it's much cheaper. Instead got the Glenlivit Captain's Reserve, finished in Cognac casks, very rich and good after dinner drink as a replacement for said Cognac.
 
I recently cut back to one drink a night …. 9.5% alcohol:

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Drinking alcohol can also cause cirrhosis. That's risky business.
 
very glad for your sterling contributions to the discourse on the forum.
It was in response to the whisky man who didn't want to risk losing his sense of taste and smell because of coronavirus. It's not like his own profession is not without its own risks.
 
It was in response to the whisky man who didn't want to risk losing his sense of taste and smell because of coronavirus. It's not like his own profession is not without its own risks.
Like other professions, he probably doesn’t swallow.
 
It was in response to the whisky man who didn't want to risk losing his sense of taste and smell because of coronavirus. It's not like his own profession is not without its own risks.
Apparently, if you keep washing your nose out with saline solution it will keep the virus from rendering your sense of smell null and void.

Got some Bushmills in last week, The Original, The Red Bush and American cask and Rum cask finish. All reasonably priced at the €20.00 mark or less in the case of The Original. Didn't rate The Red Bush at all, very dark and treacly. Haven't tried the Rum finish yet, but the American cask one is good with a drop of water in it. The Original is consistently light, a bit too easy drinking neat or with ice, but fine as a mixer with soda or coke.

For after dinner stocked-up with Torres 30 years Jaime I and the Asbach 21 year old. Both superb at €80 mark each and if you want Cognac of that quality, you'll be paying €130-155 zone.
 
JW 18 year old Gold, not as good the old stuff from the mid-2000's. The Clynelish is gone from the blend for starters.

I did a Ralfy whisky review trick: had the remnants of a bottle of John Barr and poured it out and then added a quarter of dram of the JW in and the improvement is massive.

That's a real good hack if you've got very average or cheaper whiskies in, just a few wee drops of the good stuff and it's a massive improvement. Significantly.
 
Jesus that is so fucking stupid.

Honestly reads like she was trying to get his job.
Whilst a couple of the quotes were a bit cheeky and florid, nothing to try and destroy someone who has contributed so much to the world of whisky tasting.

When I go the whisky store here, it's a man's game, when ladies do come in, they're generally asking advice as they're buying a bottle of whisky for their dads.
 
Got a couple of bottles of this in and the Antiquary 21 year both around the €60 mark:

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Needs to aerate so in the meantime, give it some soda water as a JW Red and soda replacement.

The Antiquary 21 is probably the most cost effective ancient whisky on the market, albeit a blend.
 
The JW Celebratory Blend is pretty good now it's opened up with a bit of aeration.

Christmas Eve, I'll give one of the JW Blue Label special editions ago.
 
I got a bunch of Barossa Shiraz wines for Xmas and I’m starting with the Victoria Park, which is knocking me on my ear right now.
 
I got a bunch of Barossa Shiraz wines for Xmas and I’m starting with the Victoria Park, which is knocking me on my ear right now.
South Australian wine reputation suffers here from being the supermarket wine of choice for young reds, 14.5% wines in the €2.50-5.50 range, bottled last month. Always a warning.

Great Australian wines, but you need to seek out the quality against the mainstream. Fantastic wines from the Barossa valley and also the Adelaide Hills. Back in the late 80s and early 90s it was all New World wines and then suddenly, they seem to lose the cache. USA wines for export totally lost the plot. Even the glamour of Francis Ford Coppola couldn't save it.

For really unsophisticated red wine drinking nothing beats the Brits. You can get fantastic champagne, Pol Roger, the full bifters, followed by Yellow Tail over the meal.

My mum was at my brothers on Christmas Day, he had some drops, apparently all the rage in the UK, to put in your red wine to stop you getting a hangover. Wrong on many levels. Red wine is a food enhancer and if you're drinking good stuff with food there should be no issue of being groggy the next day.

Ended up getting Bordeaux's in over Christmas. Original intention was South African wines, but the website I normally use wasn't quite working and I couldn't be bothered going to the store in Schevingen. Good French wine is always a winner.
 
^
South Aus wines are excellent at all price levels, but you should try some others as well. Margaret River and the South West put out some real stunners. My old mate is not the honch at Millbrook winery. Not a cheap drop but fantastic.
 
^
South Aus wines are excellent at all price levels, but you should try some others as well. Margaret River and the South West put out some real stunners. My old mate is not the honch at Millbrook winery. Not a cheap drop but fantastic.
Margaret River wines too are generally extremely good.
I thought it was Robert Mondavi.
He popularized the Napa valley and using the grape variety on the labels. Think the time he was in his prime, American wines were going somewhere. Now there export stuff is so derivative of the grape variety to be bland and laced with too much sugar. No thanks.
 
Those JW Ghost & Rare and Legendary Eight are superlative. Too good, I feel guilty every time I have a dram as there's less in the bottle. Half a bottle of the Legendary Eight and 3/4 of the Ghost & Rare left. Big step up from the standard JW Blue.
 
Found a Westmalle Tripel with a best before in 2013. Smells and tastes like a super sweet rum without the alcohol.
 
This is worth a go if you're looking for serious ageing potential in beer:


Some of the older bottlings from the late 1990's go for hundreds of pounds now.

Got my rations delivered for the impending quarantine, I'm working on the basis it will be a month long as it works it way through the household:

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The Amrut should be good stuff:
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Edit: By heck that Amrut is good. Had a bedtime dram last night. Very approachable, light gingery yet complex. Think those upmarket JW's have helped get my palate back for whiskies.
 
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Violating my no beer, I'm fat rule. Couldn't resist.

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At my favourite pub in the city...country really.
 
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Violating my no beer, I'm fat rule. Couldn't resist.

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At my favourite pub in the city...country really.
Seems rather quiet. Somehow I imagined you in a bar of neon lights and off duty hookers.


This seems just a bit excessive

It's been deleted. But I did see it was $60,000, 72 year old Macallan. Likely never to be drunk, just admired in display cases and sold on as an investment.
 
Seems rather quiet. Somehow I imagined you in a bar of neon lights and off duty hookers.

Restrictions just lifted here last week to allow for indoor dining and even then it's 50 percent capacity. They don't open the pub part upstairs until happy hour due to poor business.

I did ask the bartender girl about it but I try not to talk about poor business as most of the hospitality industry are depressed as it is.

And I am always volunteered to be custodians and check on my parents with my brother citing his kid's pre school as a high risk so it has been years since much debauchery.
 
Restrictions just lifted here last week to allow for indoor dining and even then it's 50 percent capacity. They don't open the pub part upstairs until happy hour due to poor business.

I did ask the bartender girl about it but I try not to talk about poor business as most of the hospitality industry are depressed as it is.

And I am always volunteered to be custodians and check on my parents with my brother citing his kid's pre school as a high risk so it has been years since much debauchery.
The nightclubs said they're were opening here on Saturday night, with or without government approval. One place in Tilburg has been fined, the other places appear to have got away with it.

I intend my concert going and restaurant dining to go supernova in the next few months. I'm finished with it all. Never again.
 

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