Putting the finishing touches on the year and thought I’d pause to raise a toast to everyone who helped make 2011 a good one for Clutch and I. We visited some lovely places, drank some astonishingly good whisky, met some wonderful people and had the opportunity to taste and write about some incredible drams.

Not every experience was a good one in 2011, of course. Every year has its ups and downs. Not every person we met was delightful, and not every dram was to our liking, but the positive far more than outweighed the negative and you don’t want to read about two blokes having a miserable time anyway, so we’ll gloss over that stuff.

Besides, look back over the blog and you’ll see how lucky we’ve been – and what unique experiences and opportunities that a love of whisky has brought to us over the past year.

So I just wanted to wish you – and particularly Clutch and family now tucked away in their brand new home way up in the north of Scotland – a very merry Christmas.

This is a Dalmore 1995 – it’s sweet, a little nutty with marzipan and dried fruits – with a medium to long finish of sherry trifle. The perfect Christmas dram, actually. To your health – and to a wonderful and prosperous 2012.

Sláinte.

Photo by practicalowl

Hi – Compliments of the season and all that.

We’ve been having a bit of a hiatus from the online whisky tastings for a little while. I’ve been travelling rather a lot these last six months, and Clutch has been altogether too wrapped up in the whole new dadhood thing.

Plus, when we have been getting together, it’s simply been a case of a casual, unscheduled malt or two for a bit of a catch-up as and when. Tastings – even online ones – take a bit of organising. Something neither of us have had much opportunity for recently.

But even though we’re going to be in different parts of the country, we thought it would be a shame to let Hogmanay (that’s New Year to you) go past without getting online with the whiskies we picked up for Christmas, share a few stories and hear what you’ve been enjoying over this festive season.

Twhisky: 10PM GMT 1/1/2010
Of course, we realise you’re busy tonight, and will be spending much of tomorrow taking it easy – so we’ve scheduled a late one tomorrow, the first day of the new decade, for a Twhisky tasting – 10pm GMT.

We’ve chosen the later time mostly with respect for our American friends for whom it will still only be the middle of the afternoon, but it also gives those of us in the UK time zone a chance to get a good meal in, sit back and relax – and warm ourselves for a nightcap.

I’m at home in Birmingham, and Clutch is snowed in, up in the heart of Speyside – so we’ll be toasting each other’s health at a distance, and the magic of the internet will make that possible. We’d love you to join in on a seasonal dram with us.

We have a few special malts that we’re going to be tasting, but mostly we want to hear from you. How have you been spending your holiday, what did you get for Christmas – and most importantly, what’s the nose, palate and finish like on it?

To join in, follow us on Twitter here. Look forward to chatting then. In the meantime, have a happy and safe New Year’s.