26/12/2021 Cutty Sark

This mini was rescued from a basement, during a recent trip to the States.

Cutty Sark Blended Scots Whisky (86 Proof, Berry Bros & Rudd imported by The Buckingham Corporation, b. ca early 1980s): nose: citrus, fragrant lichen and copper coins on their way to being eaten by verdigris. It has a strong smell of dust too, acrid and borderline incommoding. adc, who shares it with me, finds seaside gorse, but I do not agree, even if it has a vaguely-salty note akin to focaccia, as well as very dry hay, a dusting of desert dirt and, maybe, oily rags, dried into a parchment. Inexorably, the copper coins come back, though. The nose is rather deep, if not too complex -- that is to say: it hits the back of the sinuses, not just the nostrils. The second nose adds a pinch of milk-chocolate shavings to the mix. Mouth: despite the low ABV, the ancientness of the bottling and the low fill level, it is lively and a half on the tongue, with fierce ginger biscuits, crushed cloves and cinnamon-bark splinters. Perhaps crushed cardamom pods too. Behind the spices are strong salt, hot sawdust about to ignite, and the return of the copper coins. The second sip adds some sticky marmalade, close to a nigella-seed-augmented chutney, and even closer to a cast-iron pot. Boy! this is metallic alright. Finish: long, powerful, woody and dusty, with little of the saltiness surviving. All the same, it is a spectacularly-drying finish, this. There is some menthol, straw (adc), and heaps of hot, oxidised  metal -- more tin than brass, now, to be precise, although the verdigris remains; go figure! Further sips see a nuance of chocolate milk or chocolate custard with a drop of lemon juice, for good measure, but this is a pretty austere affair, on the whole. Appealing to a certain type of crowds, then. Fascinating old blend. 7/10 (Thanks DS and ME)

Happy birthday, MD, FH, JPH.

22/12/2021 Tomintoul

Tomintoul 16yo d.2004 (46%, OB, Sauternes Casks, 5094b): nose: The Gentle Dram in full effect, with confectionary sugar, manuka honey and chewy orange-flavoured sweets. All hints at mellow and easy-going, buttery shortcrust and shortbread. If we have fruit, it is of the candied variety, or hidden in a turnover -- perhaps apricot, though my suspicion is peach instead. Said turnover has a pinch of ground cinnamon and nuances of gingerbread. I would be tempted to detect custard, yet, really, it is more of a couque suisse than a custard tartlet. After tilting the glass, the back of the nose clearly picks up raisins and sweet crust, leaving no doubt as to the couque suisse. Mouth: unctuous, mellow, and quaffable, the palate is a direct continuation of the nose: here, we find the same manuka honey and the same candied peach, sticky in its pastry blanket. The cinnamon from the nose seems to have morphed into a bolder Bourbon-cask-wood tone, though it is very much balanced. A lick of timid chocolate, maybe. Raisins, caramelised by the oven, have released a rich, syrupy juice. The sugar becomes so strong it is close to pickle brine. Finish: one can feel the 46%, which work perfectly. An assertive Bourbon influence is clear, at this stage; toasted white oak, a drop of vanilla essence, and then, a juicy sweetness, probably added by the Sauternes finish. Repeated sipping increases the sweetness, dropping candied tangerine segments into mulled wine. Yup: emerging in the finish are a bay leaf, a cinnamon stick and a couple of cloves. Superb dram, even if I can see this turning sickly, when consumed in copious amounts. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SL)

20/12/2021 Ardmore

Ardmore 1977/2003 (45%, Samaroli 35th Anniversary, C#7631, 738b) : nose: why, this has a very interesting mix of sliced strawberries, drying in the sun, and ash -- as in: ashtray. Fruit tree, burnt on a campfire overnight, and reduced to smoky ashes by the morning, smoked-strawberry sweets, hot twigs, perhaps smoked banana skins... It goes quiet, after a few minutes. Let us come back to the nose later. ZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzz... A bit of rest helps shy seafood pierce through, alongside the fresh-ish fruit; it is not Gaston Lagaffe's morue à la fraise (© Franquin), rather oysters or mussels with a strawberry coulis on top. Most amusing! The second nose seems more overtly berry-driven, deeper and darker, while the smoke appears to take a back seat. Mouth: it has an acidic attack, as if strawberry were a citrus. Strawberry it most definitely is, though, smoked strawberry, to be precise, which adds an acrid layer to complement the sweetness and acidity of the fruit. That smoke is potent indeed, unexpectedly so, with charred jams tarring up the bottom of the pan, itself licked by the flames of a fruit-tree fire in a dusty cottage. The reduction is felt, yet it does not feel weak in any way; 45% is perfectly fine. It may fare less well in different circumstances, as we saw the first time we had this. The texture seems thin and stripping to start with, but it thankfully turns sweet and sticky over a minute or so. Finish: the everlasting fight between strawberry and smoke continues, and it is hard to tell, at any moment, which of the two has the upper hand -- the fruit, or the smoke? It makes for a beguiling finish too. Seafood makes a timid comeback, still mussels or smoked oysters with a drop of lemon juice. The second sip has a more-pronounced smoke, even if it is not shouty, as well as jam made of darker, tarter berries: blackberries or blackcurrants. Let us call that smoked-berries jam. Efficient and a half. Oh! It keeps a spoonful of mussel cooking water or warm seawater until the end, discreet, sure, but adding complexity. 9/10

11/12/2021 Shyte Ur Bouquet

The email conversation in April 2019 went thus:

CD: "I hope that you guys are well!
I assume the title of this email [Bowmore Bouquet] peaked your interest?
I was asked if I want to participate in a bottle sharing of Bowmore Bouquet. I was asked if my friends would be interested, so naturally I'm reaching out to you."

Cavalier66: "I'd take a cl. Only q is whether I should take 2."

OB: "Assuming I have a sample what do I do with it? The only reasonable option I see is us three (four even as I assume JS probably wants this as much of not more than anyone else) doing a special Bowmore Bouquet tasting where we pull out or little bottles and drink their content. It feels weird not to share, and at the same time I'm not sure I would actually like to share."

A couple of days later, it was confirmed.

CD: "My friend went to Italy and opened the Bouquet. He said before that if for some reason the bottle is a fake (he just had it recently so knows what the real deal tastes like), though he had it professionally checked out, he wouldn’t accept any money from us. So he took a huge, personal financial risk [...]"

Ze real deal.

We then started discussing how we would despatch the samples .

CD "If you have someone going to Limburg, we can give them the samples there. Otherwise I will hang on to them and can give them to you when I am in London in June."

tOMoH: "Any of you going to Limburg, by any chance? A handful of samples to bring back, if you are and don't mind."

CB: "Only got hand luggage but should be able to bring sample bottles, just send me a list."

tOMoH: "CB has volunteered. How does he recognise your guy?"

CD: "My guy knows  CB well, so I'll ask him to give him your samples (2x2cl+ 1x 1cl) at the show. The reason that he knows him well is that the guy hanging on to the samples at the moment is EG."

tOMoH: "Brilliant! It turns out you know the bloke to get the samples from: Dodgy EG. He has 2x 2cl + 1x 1cl of Bowmore Bouquet for us."

OB: "EG has the samples? So I guess now I'm looking forward to drinking his urine rather than the Bowmore Bouquet. I haven't had either yet so I guess it'll be an eye opener in any case."

Cavalier66: "As I am expecting some cat urine aromas in the Bowmore, and as he will have undoubtedly drunk it such that many of the volatile compounds will be excreted in the urine, and as he is undeniably feline, we may have some difficulty in knowing whether we are indeed drinking EG’s Italian wee rather the untainted Bouquet."

OB: "I reckon the former is probably more exclusive that the latter, so I'm getting more and more excited by the minute!"

JS: "I didn't get the joke about cat urine - then I stumbled randomly upon your tasting notes here, whilst doing "research":  https://www.whiskybase.com/whiskies/whisky/7697/bowmore-1968-sv

Is cat wee widely accepted as a 60s Bowmore marker?  I never noticed it in the midst of all the passionfruit."

Cavalier66: "When your taste buds are as refined as mine...

It's usually a sauvignon blanc hallmark. But I found it in that Bowmore."

CB: "Samples are back in the UK safe and sound for you! I have to be honest, I didn’t fully read your email [...] before the trip though, very precious cargo indeed!"

tOMoH: "CB has confirmed the samples are safe in the UK. He was a bit impressed [...]"

CB finally came to a tasting in July 2019. Cavalier66 and OB spent the rest of the year washing their hair. Then the pandemic happened, time passed, and we could not meet for months.

Cavalier66: "OB and I were hypothesising you’d drunk them all though. If not, we should drink them together for the full Bowmorgy effect."

It was September 2020 when I finally gave Cavalier66 his sample, while visiting the post office, passing Bowmore Bouquet on the pavement like a hustler passes crack to a junkie. OB had to wait until June 2021 before I could give him his, by which point, Cavalier66 had lost the hope of living to see another month, and had drunk his sample. It was the biggest disappointment of his life, he said. An uneventful whisky. Was it a spoiled sample? The consequences of his contracting COVID-19, several months earlier? A lack of taste? Or was it simply not all that in the first place?

Well, today, we find out. We need a starter or two, though.

The soundtrack: Barramundi - Dreamtime Planet - The Second Barramundi Sampler

Shyte Whisky (40%, Adelphi) (tOMoH): nose: nuts (the dried fruit), nuts and bolts, whiffs of old coins, caramel on Biscotte (Melba toast), smoked orange rinds, sugar-dusted cinnamon biscuits. It has some caramel too, toffee, a whisper of wood. OB finds a floral note he is less keen on. Mouth: cardboardy toffee, in which the toffee is stronger than the cardboard. It has the texture of a good blend, which is to say: chewy, a bit dusty, caramel-y. Old furniture wax and nut oil. Very pleasant. Finish: it is rather short, toffee-like, but efficient. A ladle of gravy, perhaps? Or bread sauce? In the long run, it turns full-on caramel and toffee, flirting with fudge, even. It remains an utterly pleasant dram that will not change the world, but is well worth the price of admission (which is pretty low). 7/10

OB: "We'll see if the Bouquet can top the first dram."

The soundtrack: The Spirit Of Wandjina - The Third Barramundi Sampler

OB [sniffing the second dram]: "I don't want to spoil it for you, but I think this is a step up from the previous one."

Glenury Royal 37yo 1973/2011 (43%, The Whisky Agency selected & exclusively bottled for The Nectar, ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 146b) (OB): nose: what an explosion! Fragrant flowers and lovely fruit. We have a mix of tulip and lilac competing with peach, guava, dragon fruit, persimmon and kumquat. This is amazingly fruity -- much more so than I expected. Unripe pineapple and coconut (OB) that morph into celery stalks over time (OB again), very fresh and slightly humid. Papaya, carambola, nougat... Phoar! Mouth: it is a tad shy, at this modest ABV. A pinch of ashes sprinkled over cut fruits. This time, we see blood orange, roasted guava, and grilled pomelo, including its charred peel. The texture is that of creamy coconut milk, and it has an odd bitterness, which might just be acrid smoke. It is probably close to (softly) sooty, in the long run, adding a level of complexity to this already superb palate. Finish: long and assertive, it has, again, this mix of refined smoke and lovely fruits. They feel more acidic, now, though not quite lime-like -- more pomelo again. Grilled quince, pan-fried papaya slices... I am a bit lost for words. This is a great, great dram. 9/10

We move on to the main piece. OB, the snake that he is, brought something to try alongside the supposed king of kings.

OB: "You can clearly see that the other one is going to be better, because it is darker."

Bowmore 18yo 1966/1984 (53° GL, RW Duthie imported by S. Samaroli Bouquet, 720b): this Bowmore is widely regarded as the best whisky ever bottled. We are a little excited, even if we try to manage our expectations. Nose: well, it is an immediate outburst of tropical fruits, veiled in smoke. Dragon fruit, white peach, lychee, carambola, crushed persimmon, buttery mango, slightly-smoked maracuja. It has a dash of coconut milk too, enticing and inviting. This nose reeks of balance and elegance, while remaining lively and fresh. After ten-fifteen minutes, it gains a tiny wood-polish tone, perhaps even some rubber. That being said, the fresh fruits soon come back with a vengeance and overtake it all again. JS is reminded of the Bicentenary bottlings: petrolic and gas-influenced. She is right too, though we are well above the Bicentenary, to be clear. Upon further nosing, the slap of mango remains amazing. Mouth: oh! boy, it is a symphony. It is notably stronger than those vintages usually are (the strength of youth, no doubt -- this is about half the age of its siblings we have tried). It has fruit, of course (more on them in a jiffy), yet what almost surprises me is the amount of rubber and tar that is well distinguishable. They morph into pomelo and pink-grapefruit peel: chewy, a bit bitter, yet still fruity. Each sip brings a renewed vigour, certainly imprinted by the ABV. Oh! The fruit. Imagine mango, carambola, jackfruit, snake fruit, canary melon, dragon fruit, but also strawberry, blueberry, lemon wedges, all sprayed with crude oil. Finish: caramba! It goes on forever. A thin veneer of inky rubber hardly conceals waves of fruit: pink grapefruit and pomelo are the stars, here, and they shine for their peel, which means bitterness. The second sip is fruitier and does away with the bitterness, to an extent: it becomes sweeter, without turning sweet. The rubber resurfaces, but much more subdued, and it is eventually joined by old copper coins. To cut a long story short (ahem): it is a winner. An exceptional dram, no doubt about it. 15/10 (Thanks for the opportunity and the logistics, Ix, CD, EG, CB, JS)

OB: "The nose blows that of the next one out of the water. It's really intriguing: how can a darker whisky be less good?"

Bowmore d.1956 (43%, OB, Sherry Casks) (OB): he brought the goods, our OB, did he not? Nose: coastal, it has sea breeze and sea spray, but it is also woody, displaying wood varnish and lacquer. Not a minute later, white tropical fruit happens: lychee and white peach, perhaps carambola too, all coated in posh furniture oil. Quite plainly, it is akin to sitting in a leather armchair, while receiving a shoeshine and eating fresh fruits. Much later on, behind squashed raspberries, we have fishing nets and crab traps. The second nose unveils some earth, then powerful ink. It is remarkable how this has evolved, over the space of one hour. Is that plasticine? Modelling clay? Something of that ilk. Mouth: thin smoked, leather, an empty pipe and, once again, fishing gear. There is a note of burnt wood too, quite subtle. And then fruits, of a darker type, now: prunes, figs, dried and fresh, dried apricots, soaked in red wine. Fear not: it has fresh tropical fruit too, mainly mango, augmented with blood orange. OB finds a soapy note that neither JS nor I detect. The texture is thick as fruit nectar, peach or mango. Finish: very long, cordial-like, it has more prunes, squashed raspberries and elderberry, maybe. It is now more aged and dignified than coastal, more chesterfield sofa than trawler The second sip becomes jammy: apricot jam and strawberry jelly. Lovely. Later on, that mutates into dark-cherry jam on crusty bread -- rhaaaa! 13/10

We talk about the eternal chase for that initial impression -- the revelation of trying a 1960s Bowmore for the first time.

tOMoH & OB: "It is like shooting up heroin. We were taught that users always try to reproduce the first flash."
tOMoH: "Many things are like that. Strangely enough, not sex. The first time is almost universally disappointing."
OB: "I'm not married, so I'm not qualified to talk about that."

Soundtrack: Best Of Techno - Volume One

I feel compelled to add something special to this already grand line-up...

Bowmore 40yo 1955/1995 (42%, OB, Bourbon Hogshead re-racked into Sherry Butt, 306b, b#176) (tOMoH): nose: surprisingly enough, this seems the most concentrated of all three. Pineapple, maracuja, grapefruit... It simply will not stop. Mouth: high-fruit-content fruit juice, plain and simple. It is pure maracuja juice on entrance, and it remains fruity in subsequent sips, perhaps with the addition of citrus pith or peel, though the resulting bitterness is much less pronounced than in the Samaroli. Finish: noble and elegant. It is not boisterous, and one might regret the low ABV, especially when compared to the Bouquet. Until one realises that, fifteen minutes later, it still clings to the walls of the mouth with no sign of fatigue, sending fruits dancing all the way to the end. My full notes are here. For tonight, suffice to say it is both exciting and impressive to see it fare so comfortably in this glorious company. Winner. 17/10

£100,000s' worth of whisky, at today's rate

OB: "The 1955 has slowly overtaken the Bouquet, I think. Samaroli was clearly first, initially..."

tOMoH: "Probably because of the higher ABV. It's more immediate. The 1955 says: 'Yeah, once you've tired of the others, I'll still be here.' In a festival setting, results may have been different.

We are very much in First-World-Problem territory, here, are we not?"

I text Cavalier66 who, as we saw, had a sample too, drank it and was disappointed.

tOMoH: "You're an idiot."
tOMoH: "Or at least, you have no taste."
tOMoH: "Or your sample was spoiled."
Cavalier66: "My sample was spoiled for sure.."
Cavalier66: "But extremely happy yours wasn't."
JS: "...he says with regret and resentment."

I am whiskied out. Drained. But life does not suck, right now.

08/12/2021 Jura

Jura 30yo 1990/2020 (46.4%, Thompson Bros. for The Whisky Find, Refill Hogshead, C#5317, 163b): nose: in no particular order, we have cedar wood, brine, nail polish, metal filings and dusty modelling wax. Behind all that, and a little later, delicate fruits appear too, tangerine segments, apple slices turning brown on a plate, as well as some sort of nut paste -- probably macadamia, rather than almond. The fresh fruit, however, seems to grow bolder, with the tangerine turning into a paste that feels almost like Turkish delights, in terms of intensity. In fact, that means nothing other than orange-blossom water, punctuated by a sprinkle of ash. The second nose is more openly waxy, with all sorts of wax sculptures, warmed by the summer sun, though some wood remains, upon which dark-grape juice has dripped. Mouth: boldly astringent, the palate sees vinegar, at first, then wood (cherry wood, to be precise), before bitter unripe fruits show up -- green hazelnuts and green apples. That bitterness is quite something! Behind it is a more timid fruity character, blending peach juice and nutty dry apricot. So timid, in fact, that it does not show up until the second sip. The fruit soon morphs into plasticine too, with vague tones of apple-flavoured chewing gum. Yes: it is rather waxy in the mouth too. Finish: acidic and strongly bitter, the finish retains the unripe apple, green grapes and hazelnut. This time, it is confident enough to add green-grape pips for shits and giggles. The whole thing is wide, warming and long, and that spells bad news if that flavour is not one's thing. Luckily, I like it. Even the welcome drop of milk chocolate (or chocolate milk, at that rate) comes loaded with hazelnuts and bitter almonds. Here too, a chewy, waxy aspect ends up in control, partly modelling clay, partly almond paste, entirely mouth-coating. That said, in the long run, it slowly but surely turns a little more abrasive, as if the chewy paste was made of sandpaper. That suggests the return of ash, albeit in tiny amounts. 8/10

07/12/2021 Saint Nicaol, one day late

Caol Ila 13yo 2007/2020 (50.9%, CWC The Electric Coo Series, ex-Ruby Port Hogshead): nose: a balanced marriage of peat and fortified wine. At first nosing, it seems as though the wine has the upper hand, though that may soon change... and, indeed, it sort of does: twenty minutes in, the nose has transformed into a muddy farmyard, with muck and mud happily mingling, hams, hung in the loft to dry, hay bales and barbecue sauce. The wine-y touch has not entirely disappeared, though, and, if we have lard, it is wine-marinated lard. Cured ham and pastrami slowly emerge, herbaceous and comforting. Later on, the nose becomes dryer and more coastal, those two aspects not being mutually exclusive. It showcases sea breeze and drying fishing nets, letting the distillery markers transpire at last. The second nose reveals roasted coffee beans and sun-baked rubber -- think: old tyres. Mouth: big, smoky and wine-y, this has barbecue written all over it, with wine-marinated meat slowly roasting on the grill, and attended by a bloke drinking copious amounts of heady red wine. The palate is also savagely earthy (again: red wine), tannic, drying, and not unlike tarmac. That earthiness very much takes the lead from the second sip on, and this taster is glad that red chilli pepper grows in intensity, so as to balance said earthiness a little, lest it becomes borderline too invasive. Finish: assertive, not cocky, it is unexpectedly petrolic, here, though more in a rubber or tyre sort of way than diesel or engine oil. Retronasal olfaction gives more smoke (burnt-rubber smoke, of course), scorched earth and a bonfire made of fishing nets, oilskins and a fisherman's rubber boots. This uncompromising finish is not for the faint of heart. The bold burnt rubber is a bit much and will probably only work in small doses for anyone who is not a NASCAR fan. The ex-Bourbon cask selected by Mark Watt was more to my taste (this one was selected by David Stirk). 7/10