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Today was beautiful, for this time of year anyway. Sunny, highs in the mid to upper 40s, no more than a light wind. So my wife and I dropped the kids at my parents house and went skiing. That part of snow I don't mind one bit.

My whisky vocabulary sucks. And I find general whisky vocabulary to be a little bullshit/subjective. That's why I try to say as little as possible and summarize it to whether I like it or not. That said, I think Lagavulin 16 is herbal, salty smoke with some iodine/hospital. It's quite balanced due to age. If you get Laphroaig, I think it's like eating bacon in a hospital.

I just wanted to provide an update on two scotches that have drastically changed my opinion of themselves in polar opposite ways as I delved deeper into the bottle. Port Charlotte 10yo Heavily Peated This Islay whisky has quite a bit of floral and fruity peat to it. It's smooth and complex, beyond its years, very much like the Bruichladdich offerings. But as I get deeper into the bottle, I find myself grabbing for other Islay whiskies instead. It lacks the character and the boldness of the other great heavily peated Islay offerings like Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Lagavulin. It doesn't have the campfire or iodine notes that distinguish each of the other distilleries. I certainly still think it's a good dram but I would buy it more often if it was near the $50 mark instead of $70. I understand that they are somewhat of a craft distillery and their lower volumes and more time intensive methods have intrinsic value and are worth the addition cost. I very respect what Bruichladdich are doing and they are still one of my favorite distilleries but I really think that their subtle, rich, complex whiskies are better unpeated. On the first couple of tastings, I would have given it somewhere in the high 80s, but now I give it an 82. Yoichi 15yo This bottle started out quite unremarkable. It had very little flavor and a strong alcohol punch even though it's bottled at 45%. As my palate settled down and the flavors opened up after the bottle had been opened, things became more and more interesting. It is quite Japanese in character; Very subtle but extremely complex. It is comparable to many 20 or 25 yo. It's obvious that care had been taken to both engineer the flavor and produce the whisky. It has strong oak notes with floral and nutty flavors. It might be worth noting that I made the purchase in Japan before it was available in the US purely based on perceived scarcity. After opening, I was disappointed with the investment. But if you ask me again now, I'd say it's just about worth the $120. I would liken it to a good Springbank. Initially, I would have given it no more than low 80s but now I would give it a solid 90. It is the best scotch that I have open right now; On par with the Uigeadail. Summary: Yoichi 15 - great, Port Charlotte 10 - not so great.

Obviously, legal weed would be good for the economy in numerous ways. Only downside, they might have to start enforcing minimum speed limit laws.

Bobby Bare Jr. An amazing talent.

Cheers from Mayberry to the Cincinnati crew with an FFF treat from Mike Sr.!

That's two too many gingers in one room for my liking

The listening is getting serious.

Yeah, I always remember Lt. Hiccups being blurry but Jim was pretty sharp the last time I saw him.

Head-Case meet has turned into Hotel-Fi as the room at UC sucked and was too far from parking. So we are in my hotel room. Easier with people dropping out.

Carnitas.

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