10/11/2012 Novembrrr

November is here, it is cold, we need an excuse to drink some peat, yet leave it open enough to also have other things. 'B' is a theme that has been explored many times, but never have we had a tasting in which the bottling names had to have a 'B' and a 'R'.The suspects: Fixou, idealrichard, JS and myself.

The menu

The menu:

Bruichladdich The Organic (46%, OB) (brought by idealrichard): nose: pill cabinet, which is unexpected for an organic dram. Peach pits, dried apricots, unripe apricots, even. Mouth: creamy alright. Crème brûlée, Greek yoghurt (Fixou). Finish: the sweet creaminess of chocolate milk and a little acidity, reminiscent of grape seeds. Good aperitive dram. Not too complex or impressive, but does the trick.

Two different 33s

Tullibardine 33yo 1972/2006 (43.1%, Dewar Rattray Cask Collection, C#2597, 141b) (brought by JS): nose: flowers, bakery, banane flambée, kiwi, oil lamp. Mouth: flower stems, flower juice. Finish: cola, a fleeting impression of clogged sink and a lot of fruit. This remains an extraordinary dram and consistently convinces non-believers of this distillery's quality. 9/10

25.61 20yo b.2012 (51.3%, SMWS Society Cask) (Rosebank brought by idealrichard): nose: waves of bakery aromas. Mouth: peppery -- one can feel the Watts, here. Finish: hiking boots (it is delicate), vanilla, grape-seed oil, ice cream, fudge, woollen socks worn once. Beautiful, this. 8/10

Bruichladdich 18yo (46%, OB) (brought by idealrichard): idealrichard tells us he cannot decide whether he likes this one or not. It is a wine finish and that is probably why: the oddness does not suit everyone. Nose: a bit winey, loads of rhubarb as well, which is good to me. Mouth: winey again, with balls. It is strange and spiky. Finish: more wine, sweet and unusual. This is not something I would drink too much of, yet one dram is interesting.

Springbank 18yo (46%, OB, b.2009) (brought by me): this one has been sitting untouched for over six months, when we tried it with Fixou at our first tasting together (not recorded on this blog). Nose: moved towards leather, but it still has some cardboard, and a little shaving foam has now also emerged. Dark cherries too, which is obviously enjoyable. Mouth: thin milk and animal notes kept under control. Finish: long and rich. Mocha? Milk chocolate. 7/10

idealrichard: -I can't remember what it reminds me of...
me:              -Opulence?

The shit.

Ardbeg 1978/1999 (43%, OB) (brought by me): nose: distant peat, some barley (really?), brine, oysters and a bit of leather. This is all extremely well integrated and put together, with a hint of pleasant acidity -- Fixou talks about basalmic vinegar (© Fixou 2012) again, as with the Laphroaig 30 a few tastings ago. Mouth: delicate peat again, as well as that high-end vinegar. Finish: beautiful and elegant, with pastry, then peated barley comes up again. Lovely dram indeed! Long and mellow, noble and elegant. 9/10

Fixou, 'It feels the same as when you solve a Rubik's Cube.'

125.36 20yo 1989 A tapestry of tropical tastes (51.7%, SMWS Society Single Cask, ex-Bourbon Barrel, 279b) (brought by Fixou): this one is not in theme, but there is very little left, I like it a lot and it should not come after the next one, lest it would be wasted. Fixou poured it at the beginning of the tasting to let it breathe. Nose: lots of fruit again, melted butter, pineapple, grapefruit, guava, mango and even lychee. Mouth: papaya and pineapple juice, a bit of ginger too. Finish: it is a debauchery of fruit -- passion fruit, banana, mango, guava, kiwi. Long and coating. 8/10

33.124 7yo 2005/2012 An engineer’s lunch-box (59.7%, SMWS Society Single Cask, ex-Sherry Butt, 602b) (another Ardbeg brought by Fixou): nose: 'a dirty, young Ardbeg,' says Fixou. Farmyard, earth, mud to a point I have not experienced before. Mouth: lots of pepper, ember and ash -- a young Ardbeg indeed. Finish: very long, with earth, some ashes and hot embers on the tongue that fade out to unveil strawberries. Yep.

Excellent tasting and great times, as usual. We were all less cold as a result. :-)