30/10/2023 Miltonduff

Miltonduff-Glenlivet 1974/1990 (46%, Brae Dean Int. imported by Moon Import The Birds, Hogshead, C#1538, 600b, b#103): nose: the most pleasant mix of juicy Golden apple and old copper coins, followed by shiny brass buttons, polished to blinding levels. Further onward, we have brass doorknobs, and honey-glazed, pan-seared hazelnuts. That is not all, although we remain in waxy fields: rags, stained with drying furniture wax, or car polish, encaustic, and oily apple pips, followed by polished boots. We still have some brass, yet it slowly moves to the background, now. The second nose is more subdued, or integrated beyond recognition, to use a better phrase. The apples morph into indistinguishable citrus (and the foliage that goes with it), fruity, acidic, yet also vaguely bitter, and that is augmented with ink. Pink or purple ink. Mouth: the attack is very metallic, and a tad green (meaning: plant-like, not immature). In other words, this has a clear-if-gentle bitterness, and a freshness too. Were it a smidgeon stronger, one would call it peppermint; as it stands, it is merely eucalyptus oil, or unripe-citrus foliage. The second sip confirms the metal: tin caps on soda bottles, copper lids on jam jars (marmalade jars, more accurately). Soon, that is joined by candied citrus peel, in a bitter Seville-orange-marmalade way. Indeed, it is never unpleasant, but it is well bitter. The texture, by the way, is closer to oil than to wax, at this stage. Later on, freshly-lacquered wood rocks up, bold, peppery, waxy, and bitter. Finish: boom. At this ideal strength, it has an adequate bite, yet that does not overshadow lovely notes of citrus. This time, alongside foliage, we have shaddock pomelo, yuzu, oroblanco, and Kaffir lime. The palate's bitterness makes a comeback, after a couple of minutes, and materialises in the form of crushed quinine tablets, which is rather surprising. Might it be lime tonic? The following gulps increasingly put the emphasis on quinine, too. Oh! it might be Alka-Seltzer or Aspirin, but it is definitely crushed tablets of some kind, equally chalky as it is bitter, neither of which is meant in a derogatory fashion: it is also balanced just right. Comment: from shiny brass to citrus, to crushed quinine tablets. These Moon bottlings are legendary for good reasons, not only because they have the best-looking labels in whisky's History. As so many of them, this is a corker! 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)

25/10/2023 Dalaruan

Sadly, not the original Dalaruan. Sadly, and, perhaps, obviously.

Dalaruan (46%, The Lost Distillery Company Archivist’s Selection, B#1/i, b#298): nose: fortified-wine-cask influence in full effect, with cured game meat and wine sauce leading the conversation, even if they do not assail the nostrils. Pheasant breasts, smoked ham, boar sausage, roast venison, wild pigeon, and a sauce grand'veneur that veers towards barbecue sauce. Little fruit to speak of, beside old, dried-out raisins in said sauce. Dried dates, perhaps. Fig relish? Not quite! It has a whiff of peppermint, in the background, which promises a lively freshness. The second nose sees a dog in a rustic country-cottage kitchen, after a walk on the damp moor. In that kitchen is an open jar of fig jam, and logs for the stove. Mouth: peppermint is louder, here -- so loud, in fact, that it could also be liquorice allsorts, fresh and bitter simultaneously. We also find new rubber and charred game rind, as if new tractor tyres were made of venison biltong. Is that not original? The second sip is winier, and has the bitterness of grape pips, alongside Amontillado Sherry. It is rather numbing, in the medium term, akin to liquorice cough drops. That impression is made more pronounced by the syrupy texture. Finish: liquorice-y at first, it settles for woody-leafy notes seconds later: yucca-plant leaves, eucalyptus, vine leaves, yet also carnation stems and, well, still that liquorice that does not fade out. The alcohol seems to grow in power with each gulp (it feels a lot stronger than 46%) and brings back a bitter Sherry and musky game -- wild pigeon, served with lingonberry compote. Properly coats the mouth too! A never-ending finish, this is. 7/10

15/10/2023 Oktoberfest

JS, PS, and cavalier66 join me to celebrate the arrival of autumn, at last: temperatures plummeted to 4°C overnight, when they were in the mid-twenties not a week ago. Sadly, BA calls off: he has work to do.

PS and the cav brought nibbles: two kinds of biltong (beef and honey-cured bacon, courtesy of PS), bread, salmon and Comté cheese (cavalier66).

While they set the table and we build the line-up, I pour them Scapa 25yo 1975/2001 (50%, Douglas Laing The Old Malt Cask 50°, Sherry Cask, 540b), which they like much more than OB and SOB, a few weeks ago. They will be invited again.

The line-up is ready

The soundtrack: A Cryo Chamber Collaboration - Azatoth

Bunnahabhain 43yo 1968/2012 (47%, The Whisky Agency, Refill Sherry Butt, 498b) (cavalier66): because Oktoberfest is a German celebration, and TWA is a German bottler, simply. This collection is colloquially known as Sea Life, though that name appears nowhere. Nose: artificial pineapple (PS), flour and artificial fruit salad (cavalier66), banana (cavalier66). There is some chalk, amongst the fruit, talcum powder, dusted onto fresh and chewy fruit sweets. Suddenly, it takes an unexpected turn and unveils muscle tape, the associated glue, especially, and car-door rubber joints. cavalier66 claims it is the inside of an anorak. It is he who is an anorak. The second nose brings baked plantain with a serving of warm custard. Mouth: bold, bitter, and quite acidic too (citric-powder capsules). |boiled ink, caster sugar with algae growing on it. The second sip has much more pronounced plastic: warm and faded Bakelite, bitter, though not too bitter. Finish: assertive and a half, we have more caster sugar and plastic-y notes -- Bakelite and rubber. It has memories of a certain sweetness, with stale Fruitella and Starburst/Sugus. I remember trying this around the time it came out, and liking it, but thinking it was not as impressive as its pedigree suggested. I still feel the same. 8/10

Fettercairn 28yo 1988/2017 (48.9%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams special edition for TastToe, 16/06009) (tOMoH): for Oktoberfesttercairn, natürlich. Nose: funky apricot, pickled onions (cavalier66 and PS), with vinegar becoming more and more obvious. Mouth: a sigh of relief is heard, as PS and cavalier66 realise just what a departure from the nose this is. Both find a subtle note of (good) baby sick, and a more-subdued drop of vinegar and pickled fruits. For me, it is preserved fruits instead, more acidic than sweet, mind. Finish: immensely sweet, now, though it retains some brine and pickled preserve. An unusual dram in pure Fettercairn tradition. It puzzles, but does not disappoint. Full notes here. 8/10

PS [about some factory]: "It smelled like leaving London."
tOMoH: "Worst smell in the world."

SC 73 10yo b.2023 (58.2%, SMWS The Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Wasted Degrees Table Beer Quarter Cask Finish) (tOMoH): Oktoberfest is a festival for drinking beer. This was aged in a table-beer cask. In fact, it is like drinking an IPA, and it turns out an early IPA was named October beer. Double whammy. Nose: a lot of hoppiness (PS), acidic greenness from a hoppy beer (PS). It develops a slight chalkiness, which could confirm the distillery. Mouth: acidic tropicality, IPA (cavalier66), sweet, softly chalky, it has crumbly mint sweets, or chalky fruit tablets. Finish: so beer-y! (PS) It has the bitterness of ale, after a while. PS and cavalier66 reckon it is worse with water -- unfocused flat beer. Full notes here. 8/10

Braes of Glenlivet 22yo 1989/2011 (60.2%, The Scottish Liqueur Centre for Càrn Mòr Celebration of the Cask, Bourbon Hogshead, C#1051, 267b) (JS): because Oktoberfest is a celebration. Nose: green apple and kiwi fruit (PS), stewed kiwis, compote of all fruits (cavalier66), who adds: apple, plum, apricot. Over time, a huge whiff of dunnage warehouse and clay floors invades the nostrils. Mouth: big and spicy, but also hugely fruity. It has a vague flintiness, perhaps, and a mixture of hazelnut paste and nail varnish. Finish: big, wide, softly bitter, with almond-and-hazelnut paste, and a drop of nut liqueur. Lovely Braes. We lament not having more opportunities to try the output of this overlooked distillery. Full notes here. 8/10

tOMoH: "Kiwi fruit? As opposed to kiwi bird?"

The soundtrack:

63.75 8yo d.2012 Ett Tropiskt Party I Svenskt Norrsken (61.3%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 238b) (PS): Oktoberfest is a party, a word which is in the name of this bottling. Also, it was bottled for the Global Gathering, some festival of sorts, just like Oktoberfest. Nose: lozenges, vanilla pods, some hay. If I did not know better (I do not), I would say gauze and mint muscle tape, or powerful cough lozenges, minty, fresh, and clearing. Green mango (cavalier66), and a gentle mint or crisp-apple paste. Mouth: big, it has smoked apple, soured apple, lots and lots of pepper (green and black), sprinkled on top of black- and blueberries. Finish: lovely chocolate paste-covered berries. 8/10

cavalier66 [about one of his forthcoming samples]: "It says: home of the finest samples..."
PS: "...and this!"

Caol Ila 30yo 1974/2005 (46%, Signatory Vintage Unfiltered Hand Bottled selected by La Maison du Whisky, Hogshead, C#12623, 419b) (Signatory Vintage) (cavalier66): this one is only here because the next one, another Caol, is in theme, and cavalier66 thought it was a good idea to try them side by side. Nose: farm-y, earthy, smoky, it reeks of ploughed fields. Over the space of minutes, fruits come out -- roasted apples, roasted pears. Coming back to it after nosing the following two, it has distinct cheese rind (Chaumes, camembert)... or bad breath. And some ash. Mouth: fresh, fruity, here are smoked pineapple and roasted citrus. Phwoar! This is good. The back of the palate picks up a pinch of bitter ash. Finish: big, long, citrus-y, and ashy. There is certainly some smoke, but it plays in the background. This is perfectly balanced. 9/10

vs.

Caol Ila 1976/2014 (55.2%, Malts of Scotland Angel's Choice, Bourbon Hogshead, C#MoS14020, 125b) (cavalier66): our one-trick-pony-rider brought another offering from another German bottler. Given the desirability of the content, he is forgiven. Nose: putrefied fruits (PS), Bakelite, "like when you eat an old telephone" (cavalier66), empty jelly capsules for medicine, telephone cables, plastic-doll heads. Mouth: vase water, stagnant water. It does have ash too, but it is at the bottom of a pond invaded by algae. If it has any fruit, it is mouldy blue-green. Finish: more plastic, melted phone cables, melted plastic-doll heads, and a drop of lemon juice on top. Strange. It is interesting more than good, yet very interesting indeed to discover another facet of this usually-reliable distillery. cavalier66 wonders if the sample has gone off; it is a possibility, of course. 6/10

vs.

Port Ellen 32yo 1982/2014 (57.9%, Malts of Scotland, Bourbon Hogshead, C#MoS14021, 145b) (cavalier66): a side by side by side, then, and another bottling from the same German bottler -- this time from the colloquially-known-though-unnamed Diamond collection, because the full bottle has a diamond on the label. Who is complaining about the repeat theme connection? Nose: lemon sponge cake (PS), lemon curd (PS), coal (cavalier66), lemon doughnut, lemon drizzle cake. It smells fluffy, then softly smoky, with citrus-infused mud. Further on, burnt wood appears (hazel twigs), and suede pouches. The second nose is barbecued to bits. Mouth: sweet for a PE (cavalier66). It has some stagnant water too (we are trying it in a different glass, so it is not cross-contamination), amidst an avalanche of citrus-laced mud. It is also fairly hot, with cracked green pepper. Finish: vase water, citrus-laced mud, barbecued bacon, mud patties, and age-old hemp fabric. Nice. It is remarkably closer to the second Caol Ila than to anything else, today, prompting cavalier66 to wonder if they have both gone off in the sample containers. 7/10

PS [looks at his phone]: "Fuckin' hell!"
all: "?"
PS: "Sorry. A friend of mine just sent me something."
tOMoH: "Is it a dick pic? It's a dick pic, isn't it?"
PS: "What?"
tOMoH: "It is a dick pic!"

PS: "I'm gonna smell this Port Ellen. It falls between two stools. There you go. You're welcome."

The soundtrack:

3.261 14yo d.2001 Record shop at the races (55.7%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 234b) (PS): PS tells us that, for a century-and-a-half, Oktoberfest included a horse race. This bottling refers to races. Educational, and a good excuse to have a Bowmore, if we needed one. Nose: wonderfully tropical, teeming with maracuja, smoky peach slices, muddy jackfruit, or fruity mud, depending on how one looks at it. It has a faint herbaceousness, almost tarragon-y. cavalier66 finds cat's urine ("that is good," he says -- you are on your own, mate!) It turns muddier and earthier with time and breathing. Mouth: surprisingly inky, it is also powerful and fruitier as time goes by. Hot maracuja, gochujang, smoked paprika. Finish: tar, fruit, and mud. Said mud is roasted and smoked, but the whole is tarry above all. PS finds Parma Violet and flowers; I do not. It is apple compote, according to cavalier66. The interplay of fruit and mud is very satisfying in any case. In other circumstances, I could go higher. For today... 8/10

Port Charlotte 6yo 2001/2007 PC6 Cuairt-Beatha (61.6%, OB, Bourbon/Madeira Oak Casks, 18,000b, b#10999, 07/0188) (PS): because of Pork Charlotte (those Oktoberfest sausages are Schweinfleisch), or Port Charloktoberfest. cavalier66 thought PS was going to tell us that the last time he went to Oktoberfest, it was with a lass called Charlotte. PS replies that it is PC6 for the six beers of Oktoberfest, known as the Big Six. Nose: super farm-y, with loads of mud in farm paths, caked on tractor-tyre treads, and manure-sprayed hay bales. It has a whisper of ethylene too. We then find strawberries, entirely coated in mud, then pak choy and ink, before moving back to muddy bacon. Later on, pork roast rocks up, with a mild horseradish sauce on the side. Mouth: huge, of course. Spicy, it has a generous sprinkle of red-chilli powder, and much mud, vaguely vegetal. Cured apricot appears in the distance. Finish: this is like drinking liquid mud. Ink comes into play as well. It hits a good balance; much better that some of the fierce SMWS ones of yore. In any case, even at over 60%, I could see myself sip this for a while. In the long run, we see cream sherry coat the tongue. Lovely. 7/10

Good times, as usual. I am exhausted, though.

12/10/2023 Benriach

The BenRiach 32yo 1978/2011 (48%, OB Limited Release specially selected and bottled for Asta Morris, Sherry Hogshead, C#7037, 79b): nose: ha! ha! This has an unbeatable mix of classy wood scents and autumn-ish fruits. We have oiled birch shelves, propolis, and furniture wax, flirting with stewed apples, poached peaches, and physalis. It becomes fresher with time, emitting a minty-gingery paste, mild and healing. Next are more-bitter herbs (oregano or tarragon), and crusty bread, before nail varnish appears. Say! this is is not half good, is it? (For our American readers, 'not half' means 'entirely', rather than 'not even half'.) From the nail varnish, we hop back onto the propolis/physalis train. As I tilt the glass, a whisper of smoke comes into view too. The second nose offers a discreet aroma of sugar-glazed, frangipane-and-orange tartlets, which is mouth-watering. In fact, that orange-y undertone grows in confidence. Later on, it is as if all that were joined by flattening cola. Also, the smoke from earlier becomes more discernible. Mouth: in line with the nose, we have stewed, or baked apples, baked physalis, whose skin has burst in the oven, a hefty dose of nail varnish and/or wood polish, hardening furniture wax, and more wood bitterness than I expected: woodworm-eaten cabinets, roasted apple pips, even a spray of hair lacquer. It is also pleasantly warm and tingling; there is definitely no weakness here, in terms of alcohol. The second sip is more boldly bitter (without going overboard), and we see the candied peel of Seville orange, mixed with bay leaves, if not a lick of metal in a warm-butter-knife fashion. Finish: warming and comforting, it is far less fruity than other bottlings from similar vintages, instead focussing on the woody tones -- woodworm-ridden cabinets, ginger peel, crushed cassia bark and roasted apple pips, as well as laurel and bay leaves. Furniture polish is present in a more-timid guise, but physalis is all but absent. Further gulps bring back some fruit, closer to bitter marmalade than any of the initial autumn ones. We also see lichen-covered pear-tree bark, on the other hand, which rounds this off superbly. Perhaps it has mouldy slices of dried apple and stale caster sugar, rubbing shoulders with vintage (but clean) moka pots. How interesting! 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, CD -- I think)

03/10/2023 Franzi

Franzi b.2023 (15%, Nork, L15723): a croissant liqueur, no less. Or a cream liqueur, as is also written on the label. Note that the lass on said label sports Princess-Leia buns shaped like croissants. Lolle. I got this as a freebie in an order from Deutschlandia, where this was made. Kurios. Just pouring it, one can tell it will be different from our usual: it is thick as a crème pâtissière, so high on the curdometer that one may well turn diabetic just looking at it. Wish me luck! Nose: eggy as fook, with a dash of lemon juice. This is lemon curd indeed. It also has a considerable amount of unsalted farm butter, creamy and greasy, as well as a generous shovelful of sugar. Still, egg white seems to dominate easily. The second nose sees a deluge of egg white, and it is a bit much really. A little too egg-centric for a whisky enthusiast. It flirts with stale strawberry milkshake, at one point. Mouth: fairly pleasant on the tongue, it is now closer to meringue in the making (not solidified yet), melted butter, margarine, and lukewarm egg white. It very much tastes like a dessert topping (cue: custard), but it is far from sickly: the alcohol, with its mere 15%, is virtually absent, which makes this easier to quaff than, say, Bols' Advocaat, Bailey's, and even Arran Gold -- to me, at least. A nuance of melted milk chocolate in the background too. The second sip is full-on crème pâtissière, veering towards pouring custard. Finish: creamy and three quarters, of course. It is less eggy, now, thank Cthulhu, more cream than curd. If there is butter, it is so fresh and light we may as well call it cream. The mouth is entirely coated in a cream that has been augmented with vanilla sugar. In a way, it is akin to sipping melted vanilla ice cream, or lukewarm milkshake. Once again, one would be hard pressed to find any alcohol in this who is not a six-year-old who has never tasted some. I had low expectations of this, and they were met. It is actually alright, but the nose stops it reaching middle score. To be poured onto ice cream. 4/10 (Thanks for the sample, Dein Whisky)