Confinement forces us to observe social distancing and wear masks whenever we get up, yet we do manage to meet up for a shindig -- yay!
Because everyone will arrive at different times, and because, until the last moment, the event is touch and go, we (I) decide to not have a theme and to have little or no structure. Freestyle.
adc, JS, sonicvince, ruckus, STL, red71, Bishlouk, dom666, kruuk2, Gaija, Psycho and PSc all drop by for a time, and it is a pleasure to see people in the flesh, after six months of no social activity.
Newcomers STL and red71 struggle with some names a bit. They insist on calling ruckus Patrick, which amuses me immensely.
adc brings cheeses, JS brings a chocolate-and-whisky cake, ruckus brings a home-baked loaf of semolina bread, sonicvince brings bread sticks and an apple tart, red71 brings home-made tapenade and leftover prawn crackers, STL brings home-made sushi, Gaija brings houmous (hexual) and grissini we will never touch, PSc brings various crisps. Everyone brings whisky, which is all the better. We will not try everything, however.
Glen Grant 21yo b.1996 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, IF/AFF) (me): please see my notes from yesterday. It seems to have pouring honey on top of what I wrote down then, especially in the finish. Very elegant. 8/10
Littlemill 20yo 1991/2012 (50%, Douglas Laing The Old Malt Cask 50°, Refill Hogshead, C#DL8481, 121b) (sonicvince): ruckus and I wonder if it is the same sonicvince poured last year, but he quickly puts it right: it is not. That one was 19yo. Nose: juicy pineapple, sink funk and Virginia tobacco, a pinch of dust (might it be ash?), milky cereals and daffodils. Mouth: lively, fruity, it has lots of pineapple, tinned peaches and a sprinkle of herbs, although I cannot decide if it is sage or dried parsley. Finish: long and fruity, it has that sink funk note that comes from tropical fruits gone off (mango, papaya, jack fruit), a gentle dryness and a herbal touch too. Excellent. 9/10
tOMoH: "ruckus, have you finished your Littlemill?"
sonicvince: "You don't hear him. He only eats and drinks. We'll call him Patrick McCain!"
(sonicvince refers to an ad for chips from the early 1990s -- link to the only version I can find)
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| red71's home-made tapenade |
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| STL's sushi |
Glendronach 26yo 1974/2001 (47.5%, Douglas Laing The Old Malt Cask 50°, 198b) (ruckus): ruckus claims we have had this in the past and I did not think much of it. He adds it was ten or fifteen years ago. I cannot remember it at all, nor can I find evidence on the blog. Funny that the label mentions a 50% offering, yet it is below that. Nose: toilet deodorant -- in a good way! :-) Génépi, pine freshness, Gocce Pino, Suc des Vosges, mountain-flower honey, melon skins, pomelo peels, toothpaste and menthol. Mouth: similar waves of pine-y sweetness (Suc des Vosges) and minty toothpaste, this time accompanied by galia melon and prickle-pear honey. Finish: big, fruity, minty and a little drying, it retains the pine notes. Later on, it has pine nut, beech nut and green hazelnut too. Excellent. It seems that breathing in an open bottle for a decade did wonders on this one, we all agree. 8/10
Bishlouk notes that he has not tried many Old Malt Casks in his life. More ancient members of the group look at him in disbelief, since that was more or less the only independent bottler we drank, for a long time.
Dailuaine 28yo 1983/2012 (47.3%, Archives First Release, Hogshead, C#865, 265b) (Bishlouk): nose: walnut flesh, walnut stain, wood varnish. A few minutes in, we have mint and thuja bark too. It is rather splinter-y, in all honesty. Mouth: it is minty on the palate as well, yet fruitier than the nose, with pomelo peels and cedar buds. Finish: the wood is more clearly felt here, with toothpaste (both the minty taste and the mouthfeel it leaves behind) eucalyptus and a drop of chocolate. Good, but woody. 8/10
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| Cheese board #1 and #2 |
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| Cheese board #3 |
tOMoH: "Is your cheese board too close to your mouth?"
Pulteney 11yo 2006/2017 (55.8%, Cadenhead Small Batch, 2 x Bourbon Hogsheads, 570b) (red71): nose: musky and animal, this one has fox skin written all over it. Shortly thereafter, another pine wave floods me (there are days like this), before leather comes up, perhaps with a note of sea air. Mouth: sea-sprayed wood. This is really rather woody, despite the young-ish age, unexpectedly so. It is also very salty. Finish: long, big, it has a hefty dose of sea salt, brine, a lick of leather and orange peels. What a pile of salt! 7/10
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| Bishlouk's home-made mango sorbet |
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| Bishlouk's home-made raspberry sorbet |
Clynelish 23yo 1995/2019 (54.8%, Signatory Vintage for The Nectar of the Daily Drams, Refill Sherry Butt, C#11244, L19/472) (Gaija): nose: cola++ that attacks the nostrils a bit. Wood varnish, splinters, carbonyl and liquorice -- not in an aniseed way; more like toasted aromas. Mouth: perhaps a little monolithic, with dry sherry that desiccates the mouth. It is hot, earthy and root-y (coffee grounds, liquorice root, turmeric root). The second sip is noticeably sweeter, especially after the raspberry sorbet (great combination!) Finish: still drying, full of Oloroso/root-y markers. I find it a bit hard-hitting and still monolithic, but it is fair. Whoever thought of bringing sorbet had a genius idea, in any case. 7/10
Ballechin 12yo 2004/2017 (53.6%, OB specially selected by and bottled for Vinothek Massen, Tasttoe and Dims Dram, Sherry Cask, C#349, 237b, L17/235) (STL): nose: braised bacon, grenadine, caramelising in the sauce pan, barbecue grille and a distant whiff of sulphur (matchsticks). "Meat! Leather! Metal!" says red71, not realising his belt is too close to the fireplace. "It sounds very BDSM," replies dom666. Mouth: sweet, in a honey-glazed-cured-bacon sort of way, with spices added on top. Further sips become sweeter and sweeter. Finish: long, voluptuous, it has honey-glazed pork roast starting to caramelise, and the rind of which is turning into that dark, tarry, crackling layer. 7/10
tOMoH: "Who's that?"
dom666: "Me."
tOMoH: "Ah..."
The Balvenie 21yo PortWood (40%, OB, American Oak + Finished in Portuguese Oak Port Pipes, L3+P 4130 2402) (kruuk2): we all fear for this one. A 40% Speysider to follow a cask-strength Ballechin? The bottle is almost empty, so I cannot postpone trying it (again). Nose: lovely peachy nose, fruity and enticing. Tinned peaches and pineapple slices. Mouth: soft, velvety, choc-full of ripe-peach flesh. Finish: the peaches turn slightly rancio-y, at this point, which appeals to me very much. Short notes in unfavourable circumstances, but, if we all have varied preferences, we all agree it has not suffered much from being almost empty for all those years. Better than my memory of the 1989 vintage bottling from the same distillery. 8/10
Nikka Super (43%, OB imported by La Maison du Whisky) (dom666): dom666 explains he bought this blend out of curiosity, because it was cheap as chips. Nose: a little neutral alcohol and sugared water, perhaps barley water. Mouth: sugared water, barley water -- this has very little to say. Finish: more sugared/barley water with a touch of spices. Well, it is not disgusting. 5/10
Gaija: "Ah! There are bottles that are more interesting visually, then..."
Rosebank 12yo 1991/2004 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Bourbon Barrel, C#4710, 322b, b#49, 04/0638) (kruuk2): I recognise it as being one of two peaty Rosebanks, and the one floating Rosebank we had at a legendary tasting by Psycho's pool (before this blog existed). Another bottle that has been almost empty for ten years or more. Nose: pine branches, cedar needles, Suc des Vosges (again!) and a drop of vanilla custard. Mouth: fresh, custard-y in texture, it has more pine freshness and a citrus-y side, with pomelo and grapefruit pith. Finish: acidic and a little bitter, it displays tea leaves, grapefruit pith and pomelo segments. This is not at all as I remembered it, but excellent nonetheless. 8/10
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| sonicvince's breadsticks |
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| ruckus's home-made semolina bread |
adc: "No, with his hands."
ruckus: "With my feet."
Bishlouk: "As long as it's not with your dick..."
Gaija: "From a smell perspective, it's not that far..."
All: "???"
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| sonicvince's apple pie |
Craigellachie 25yo 1994/2019 (56.1%, Elixir Distillers The Single Malts Of Scotland, Hogshead, C#1063, 195b) (Gaija): nose: powerful AF, it takes a couple of sniffs to get over the high ABV. Once past it, however, it has spearmint and cut flowers. In the long run, it takes on a note of faint leather, then... pine cones (it's a pine-y day!) Mouth: liqueur, hazelnut polish and a hefty spiciness; ginger and lemongrass argue with spearmint and apple blossom, and then, out of nowhere, some milk chocolate appears. Finish: big and boisterous, yet also fresh and minty, it has apple mint, lemon mint and Madeira biscuits soaked in Bourbon. Cracking dram that would definitely require more time. 8/10
Longrow 14yo 2004/2018 (56.9%, Duty Paid Sample, Fresh Sherry Butt, Warehouse 15, Rotation 185, 1b) (Bishlouk): nose: the trademark farmyard, with tractor tyres, diesel, forgotten in a jerry-can for ages, paint, chipping off the tractor's mudguard, but also beef jerky and sweet biscuits -- apple biscuits, if that makes sense. Mouth: spicy and muscular, it has ploughed fields and scorched earth in similar measures, a dash of red wine, as well as something sweet -- probably dried apple slices, cane sugar and crushed biscuits. Finish: crumbly earth, dried fields, beaten down by sun rays. It retains a distinctly wine-y side too, dry and tannic... and a bit sickly, to be honest. Rancio and dusty staves, charred ribs or crispy bacon streaks. I like the nose. The rest feels less well integrated. 7/10
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| JS's chocolate-and-whisky cake. I suggest it could replace the traditional cake from now on. I meet resistance... |
Blind pour from a hip flask: nose: a fruity/floral nose, with a peachy, marzipan-y mix to die for. In the far back, incandescent Virginia tobacco lingers. Mouth: minty paste, spread on baked peaches, velvety, mellow. It reminds me of Cotton-Candy grapes, soft and fluffy, dunked in green-hazelnut paste. Finish: short but fresh, minty and custard-y, not particularly complex, yet well efficient. After a few pathetic attempts, I narrow it down to the distillery. The exact expression comes as a surprise. Auchentoshan Select (40%, OB, b. early 2000) 7/10
Even this late, this humble dram holds itself together. All those years of drinking exclusive stuff, all those drams today, and a supermarket whisky that used to be 23 EUR a bottle still manages to seduce and surprise everyone.
Enough for today. Others have other whiskies, but it is late. Over and out.
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