December Days in Photos: Day 8: Me time

[nanila]

[Me peering over my glasses and grinning whilst holding a beautiful whisky cocktail.]

(I know I'm going off-piste with the schedule I set. My excuse for skipping ahead to this one is that I've been single-parenting for a few days now. That always makes me prize me-time, especially when I have the energy to do something with it other than slowly sink into the sofa and try not to fall asleep with a glass of wine in my hand while Masterchef/Bake Off/Nigella plays on the telly.)

ayebydan asked what I do with my "me-time". In a normal week, I get one night in London. Occasionally I will go out to dinner or to see a film. As I usually work until at least 7 PM and try to be in the office before 7:30 AM the next day, I mostly opt to go to my friends' house and hang out with them in the evening, melting into the sofa in front of the fire before going to bed by 10 PM. I treasure that one night of uninterrupted sleep.

This post, however, is about one of the rare occasions when I have the luxury of using "me-time" to go out and do something I enjoy. Last month, I spent two nights in London. On the first, I went with said friends to a whisky tasting, something I did much more regularly before moving to the countryside and having children, because I loooove whisky. The photo above is from the pre-tasting gathering at the venue, where they serve a delicious whisky cocktail made with one of the whiskies from the distiller (or in this case, blender, as this was Compass Box) that isn't in the tasting. The photos below show my progress through the tasting and, I think, reflect my thorough enjoyment of it.


Ingredients for the cocktail being assembled.


My untouched tasting platter. Mmm.


Tasting notes for whiskies #1 and #2. I don't think I ended up making any comments about the Eleuthera as I was too busy reminiscing with my friends about how this was the whisky we drank ten years previously when we were hanging around at the Seven Dials in Covent Garden after midnight. As you do.

This and the subsequent photos amuse me when viewed as a set. Note the tidy writing on comments on Hedonism (#1).


Whiskies #3, #4 and #5. Note the giddiness setting in, with the "Happy cat is happy" drawing and the hearts and stars around the Spice Tree (#4), which is one of my favourite whiskies ever.


Whiskies #6 and #7. My comments have gone a bit wonky. On the last whisky (Hedonism Quindecimus), I have written the following gems.
Nose: "YES SMELL FOREVER"
Palate: "Those round cigar-shaped Viennese biscuits"
Finish: "I might cry."