09/03/2013 Whiskies for nancy boys

A visit to the Heimat usually means a tasting. This one is no exception. The reason we chose this theme is long to explain and quite irrelevant anyway. We wanted to focus on whiskies bottled between 40 and 43% ABV.

The suspects: dom666, Psycho, PSc and myself.

The menu:

Té Bheag (40%, Pràban na Linne, b. ca 2010) (brought by me): nose: marzipan, almond (dom666), lightly animal smell, copper (Psycho). It also bears a distant, smoked-kippers or rainbow-trout fragrance. Oxidation helps mocha emerge, as well as some tobacco. Mouth: raw dough, iodine and a little bit of cocoa milk. Finish: mellow and velvety as can be, with some white coffee in the back. Another excellent blend from Pràban na Linne.

Shopliftin' for a livin'

Glen Elgin 12yo (43%, OB) (brought by PSc): long time no see. P also brought a Deanston 17 and a Laphroaig 10, but we think this one is the most suitable, today. Nose: daffodils, cooked apples and bread left on the table for a few days (dryish bread, then). Mouth: butter, flower-stem juice. Gentle and refined, with subtle vanilla. Finish: it is an avalanche of vanilla, now. Butterscotch and brioche too. Lovely.

Enter food. A tasty selection of artisanal bread, pâtés, dry and blood sausages (who said Knockwurst?) and, most of al, cheeses. dom666 put the emphasis on alcohol-refined cheeses: Calvados Camembert, Marc Epoisse, and two harder ones I cannot remember. Gluttony descends upon us.

Allt-A-Bhainne 1991/2007 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, JG/BAB) (brought by me): nose: autumn leaves at first, then banoffee settles for good. Allt-A-Bhainnana, body butter, maybe a little thyme infusion in the back of the nose? Mouth: slightly spicy. Peppered butterscotch and a little milk chocolate. Finish: lots of banoffee, butterscotch and vanilla. Dram of the day for Psycho and yours, truly. 7/10

Not only the whiskies lead to dick jokes

Longmorn 18yo 1988/2006 (43%, Spirit Imports The Classic Cask for Astor Wines, 360b) (brought by dom666): nose: pine tree-bark bitterness, dry wood in the fireplace, waiting to be ignited, lovely forestry, pine underwood. Mouth: pine cone-infused milk, sweet and soft, with a vague bitterness on the front of the palate. Finish: milk chocolate with pine-tree bitterness in the back. I finally got over this one. It is still good, but I no longer regret not buying all four bottles when I had a chance. There is so much more to taste anyway. 8/10

Isle of Jura 10yo (43%, OB) (brought by Psycho): nose: orange skins and leather, with a touch of wood varnish. Mouth: peppery, with boiled oranges and coffee powder. Finish: orange skins and slightly milky chocolate. This one, we all agree, is better than anticipated. It is balanced and agreeable, and if it is probably due to the sequence, we still enjoy it quite a bit.

Booze, booze-refined cheese and priapism-stricken delicatessen

A short yet great tasting, relaxed and interesting, with just enough drams and food to be satisfied without being overly indulgent. Excellent times, as usual.