Still at the Highlander Pub in Ottawa. About to make a mistake on ordering a peated whisky second, thus ending what should have been a 4-5 whisky review binge and a drunken stumble through our nation’s capital.

The Peat barrier. An often issue that no one in reviewer circles want to bring up. Why? Because we’ve all gone past it and not come back.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then I’ll take a step back. Which is hard because I’m sitting.

The Peat Barrier is when you are drinking whisky and have a peated one. A little peat and you can bounce back. An Ardbeg or an Octomore? That’s a bigger barrier. At that point you have to consider not reviewing after you have drank it. The smoke and peat will mar even the ballsiest Speyside or saltiest Islands. So you’re stuck having something more and more…