28/04/2024 The Whisky Fair (Day 2 -- Part 3): afterparty at Villa Konthor

"When in Limburg, go to Villa Konthor," they said. After two days of festival, it sounds like a dodgy idea, but then, when else could we?

Villa Konthor, yesterday morning

But first, dinner at Gasthaus Burgkeller with some of our friends (EG and his missus, ST, PT, and others we do not yet know).

EG chooses the wine

JS's mullet with asparagus (tis the season)

My celeriac fritters with asparagus (tis the season)

From there, it is a short digestive stroll to our destination, where we find CD, PG, and other friends.

Irish Heavily Peated (59.1%, Villa Konthor, Bourbon Hogshead)

Nose: surprisingly farm-y and sulphur-y, full of agricultural lime in hessian sacks, and mud.
Mouth: hot, earthy, muddy. There is litle fruit to be found, here. The Heavily Peated label is not usurped.
Finish: scorched earth, caked mud on tractor tyres, crusty earth, ink and ash. It is very dry and earthy.
Comment: with a picture of a Kilbeggan van on the label, it is likely a Cooley. I prefer my Irish fruitier, but this was an interesting experience. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, PT)

Waitress: "What's your name?"
PG: "PG."

Waitress: "See? Do you understand my [bar-tab] system?"
tOMoH: "Hi -tech!"

We get to hear the story of Didi (designated driver),
who has his own Riesling

PG [telling yet another larger-than-life anecdote]: "Just another Tuesday for Shia LaBeouf."

BvG, GB, KB join the party. PT has left

Benriach 37yo 1968/2006 (48.6%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld, Refill Sherry Cask, C#2597, 262b) (I think, but I fail to take a picture to confirm the reference): deeply fruity, subtle and complex, yet juicy as fook too. 10/10 (Thanks for the dram, BvG)

Littlemill 26yo 1991/2017 (53.1%, Cadenhead Malts Festival May 2017, Barrel): yup. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, PG)

JS explains a MEGA t-shirt we saw in the hall to PG.

PG: "Again?"

Savoureur, Mrs. Savoureur, and Babelfisch42 join

It is about time to depart...

One farewell dram, then...

Irish 24yo 1991/2016 (48.2%, The  Whisky Agency selected and bottled for The Formosa Whisky Society 2nd Anniversary, Bourbon Barrel, C#12019, 180b): stupidly fruity for immediate pleasure, though it offers a strong complexity for the careful tasting experience. This one was featured in the Rarities for Charity tasting that Savoureur and pat gva did tonight. tOMoH could sadly not attend. This was possibly the most exciting bottle for him, in a line-up full of stars. What a treat to get to try it. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, Babelfisch42)

That kind of party...

28/04/2024 The Whisky Fair (Day 2 -- Part 2)

The day's story started here.

JS and I try our best to escape CD and PG's corner, resolute as we are to try other things and see other people (CD, if you read this, I think we should start seeing other people).

As we move to greet the owner of Whisky for Life, he takes the interruption to politely go back to his stand, leaving us with his interlocutor, whom I pour a dram. Meet Babelfisch42, who returns the favour.

Glen Keith 30yo (unknown ABV, Cask Sample)

Nose: peanut oil, flowers and cut fruits, dripping with juice.
Mouth: soft, fruity and flowery.
Finish: long, it combines jasmine and cut peaches. We even detect milk chocolate at the death.
Comment: a gorgeous Glen Keith that will soonish be bottled by East Village Whisky. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, Babelfisch42)

I pour him another, so he reciprocates.

Highland Park 32yo 1989/2022 (50.7%, East Village Whisky bottled for the 5th Anniversary of Whisky Maniac, Hogshead, 60b)

Nose: a soft, honeyed nose, the way I prefer my HPs.
Mouth: lavender, heather, honey, and hard-boiled violet sweets.
Finish: boiled sweets alright, and set heather honey.
Comment: a solid HP, even if I prefer it the Glen Keith. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, Babelfisch42)

Bumping into PT in the middle of the room, he greets us in the best possible way: "Do you fancy some Port Ellen?" Is the coke a patholic?

Port Ellen 24yo 1982/2007 (59.6%, The Whisky Fair, Sherry Butt, 509b)

Nose: peaty and smoky (no shit, Sherlock!) We have boiler rooms, tractor engines, hot metal and methedrine engine grease.
Mouth: powerful, with that characteristic Port Ellen touch of caster sugar and diesel smoke.
Finish: long, warming, comforting. Exhaust fumes and diesel smoke have rarely felt so good. Naturally, it has a few grains of smoky barley too.
Comment: hovering between 8 and 9. Let us be generous. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, PT)

EG's stand, at last. It would be wrong to not see the guy for five years, then neglect him when he is in the same room!

Glen Cawdor d.1976 (57° GL, R. W. Duthie imported by Samaroli, 960b, b#305)

Nose: a strange combination of crushed cereals and split rocks. Cereals come out on top, roasted barley, then flour.
Mouth: acidic, cereal-y, almost unripe. It is also metallic, to a degree.
Finish: corn syrup, roasted barley, maybe maple syrup too?
Comment: puzzling dram. I really wanted to love this, based on the label. It is interesting, rather than good, proof that label-drinkers are deluded. I should know: I can be one myself. Sadly, I did not have time to analyse this probable Glen Garioch carefully, nor to try it with water. 7/10

Less than two hours to go, and we have not yet ventured into the tent, where GB and MRi are, amongst others. Clearly our next mission.

There, we bump into pat gva.

Macallan-Glenlivet d.1961 (103.6° Proof, Mitchell and Craig, b. ca. 1970s)

Nose: extremely meaty and musk-y. Cured meat, pearl onions, roast beef, pastrami, red onions, brine. It is also smoky, as JS points out.
Mouth: thick, it reminds one of an onion custard (I know, right?) poured on a game casserole. It is also rather acidic and drying.
Finish: there is a sweetness to it, now, thank fuck, but it remains a difficult number for this taster, with pickled onions, cured meat, and Saure Gurken.
Comment: tOMoH feels prestigious old Macallans are maybe wasted on him. He is willing to keep trying. For science, of course. 6/10 (Thanks for the dram, pat gva)

Knockdhu 10yo 2013/2023 (53.2%, The Whisky Agency for Bar Bam Bar and Bar Tenuto, Hogshead)

Nose: fresh, somewhere between plum and mint sauce.
Mouth: mellow, fresh, slightly bitter. It is mostly nectarines, doused in mint sauce.
Finish: minty, fresh, ripe with cut peaches and nectarines, topped with crushed mint leaves.
Comment: repetitive notes for a good whisky. Apparently the first Knockdhu by this bottler. 8/10

NH joins us and tries the remainders of

Fettercairn 28yo 1988/2017 (48.9%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams special edition for TastToe, 16/06009)

NH: "I can pinpoint a Fettercairn if it has pineapple, cream cheese, and dish soap."

Bowmore 12yo (43%, OB imported by Soffiantino, b.1980s)

Nose: marmalade, chipped slates, old blades.
Mouth: a soft smoke, pineapple, and cereals. JS finds it sparkly and spritzy.
Finish: ridiculously big for this ABV and time of the festival, long, with a tiny whiff of smoke.
Comment: what can one say about these old bottles? They are good. 8/10

Glen Keith 29yo 1994/2023 (54.1%, The Whisky Agency for the 15th Anniversary of The Whisky Agency, Bourbon Barrel, 125b)

Nose: boiled sweets, crystallised citrus.
Mouth: more candy than a trick-or-treater's bag! Gummibärchen, boiled sweets, Fraises Tagada... It is all borderline chemical. It walks a very tight rope.
Finish: a confectionary explosion. Boiled sweets, crystallised citrus segments, chewy Haribo sweets, fruit jellies.

Comment: unmistakably a Glen Keith. A Glen Keith day, eh? Our third today, easily the least impressive of them, but still a cracking drop. 8/10

Last order.

Tennessee Bourbon 2016/2023 (53.6%, The Whisky Agency for Korea, C#1)

Nose: sweet, it unrolls more confectionary.
Mouth: Gummibärchen, and a drying note, something that seems to be affecting me a lot, today.
Finish: Irn Bru. It is now a bit too chemical for me.
Comment: 7/10

NH [about the founder of whiskyfun.com]: "Sergey Valentinov."

Exhibitors are now packing away.

North of Ireland 24yo 1991/2015 (51.8%, The Whisky Agency & Acla da Fans Acla Selection, Bourbon Barrel, 218b)

Nose: cut peaches, apricots, and supreme mangoes.
Mouth: juicy, overripe. Mangoes and peaches galore. Time to roar the phwoar!
Finish: long and ridiculously fruity, of course.
Comment: what a way to finish the day! 9/10

Double-fisting across the finish line

There is more? NH pours one final dram blind.

Nose: a farminess that only aged Brora comes close to. Cow's backside, dung, manure, field mud, smoke, then, out of nowhere, Parmesan.

Mouth: hay and citrus peel.
Finish: smoky and flint-y in a Mezcal way.
Comment: tOMoH's agony seems to amuse NH very much. It is NH's very own Mezcardbeg, a blend of Mezcal and Ardbeg.

Clowning around

All day, I pour Lochside 21yo d.1981 (50%, Lombard Jewels of Scotland, Bourbon Cask, C#607) and Glenlochy 17yo 1977/1995 (61.8%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection imported by Preiss Imports, 95/250).

We survived Day 2. It looks like our Limburginity is lost too. How was it?

The good:

• Price -- with an entry fee of 15 EUR, we are back to the budget of Whisky Live! Verviers 2006. Of course, one pays for the drams inside, but so did one at Whisky Show Old & Rare, and the admission there was 80 or 90 GBP
• Price range -- from 350 EUR for a cl of Largiemeanoch (hidden under the counter) to drams at 2 EUR a pop, there is something for every budget
• Selection -- new releases, releases from previous editions, or antiques from decades ago. The offer is so vast that one could probably attend several weeks in a row and have a different experience each time
• Exclusivity -- of course, seeing German bottlers and bottlings at a festival in Germany is akin to seeing hens in a henhouse. They do not travel far and wide, however, and for visitors from across the Channel, it is exciting to see more than the odd (overpriced) bottling of The Whisky Agency, or Malts of Scotland, to state but two
• Social -- the whisky world is here. It is a convenient way to catch up with friends we have not seen in a long time. Not to mention everyone brings their A-game (well, their A-whiskies), and share generously
• Security -- yes, security, fire brigade, ambulance are all present. And one will not see them if one is not looking, so discreet they are. They are there just in case, and I doubt that happens often. An orderly affair it is

The room for improvement:

• Maps -- there are maps of the venue detailing which exhibitor is where, but they are few and far between. Some will not mind wandering about and getting lost, while the planners will be annoyed. Similarly...
• Drams list -- no anticipation, relief or disappointment. Exhibitors do not really publish what they are bringing, so no-one knows exactly what is going to be available ahead of schedule. Tough luck for the planners
• Queue management -- a calm and orderly affair all in all, but the queues on Day 1 would have benefitted immensely from having one person going up and down them for the first two hours, taking questions, and dispatching punters to the right queue
• Personal space -- not everyone there is slim. Combined with the fact rucksacks are allowed in the hall, some individuals occupy a lot of space. It affects everyone's freedom of movement, contributes to congestion, and occasionally causes accidents: I have seen bottles being knocked from shelves by backpacks, and the culprit totally unaware of the damage
• Water -- used to finding bottles at every stall, and watercoolers plodded around the hall, it was a shock to realise that, at The Whisky Fair, *some* stands have a 20cl jug, and exhibitors *may* pour one some water from their allocated bottle, if one asks. It explains the rucksacks: they contain bottles of water. Some even bring their CamelBak. Miraculously, drunkenness is under control. Germans know how to handle themselves with alcohol, it seems
• Food -- no food is served, here. There is a Bratwurst Hütte outside, and a handful of stands have a bowl of pretzels and crackers. For thousands of visitors, that means going hungry. Again, it does not seem to fuel drunkenness or bad behaviour; just something to be aware of
• Tables and chairs -- want to sit down to quietly enjoy that dram of Glentowabullin 1827? Perhaps take notes? Well, tough shit. All the space is taken up by stalls or gangways. There is a balcony where one can sit down, but it is a wee trek away. Sitting there for ten minutes requires a thirty-minute investment
• Spitoons -- tOMoH does not come to these events to waste whisky, and, considering one pays for their drams, others probably feel the same. Nevertheless, the option is not given to anyone to not finish a dram. Having grown accustomed to spitoons on each stall, it felt strange
• Bracelets -- going in and out is not encouraged, perhaps impossible. One does not receive a bracelet or a stamp upon stepping in. Perhaps those are given/applied if/when one wants to get out, which means less waste, in which case, great. One may purchase a bottle and want to stash it in their hotel room before coming back to the venue. That would require going out and back in

Verdict: great time. In Savoureur's words: "It is a great social event, and it happens to have some good whiskies too." Apparently, accommodation for next year is already booked. :-)

Remember this? We had a batch of it, a while ago.
There is a Terrence Hill bottling too, dubbed The Hero.

28/04/2024 The Whisky Fair (Day 2 -- Part 1)

Continued from here.

Even those Italian wines from last night were not enough to cause a massive hangover. Just a bit of haze that a breakfast will cure adequately.

But, of course, sightseeing first.
This is Djermany, and Djermany sleeps in, on a Sunday.
The few places that do open do so late.

An apt reminder of why we are here?

Even the new town has interesting buildings

Food at last, at Café Kolorit

tOMoH's Nummer 6 - Das Gesunde
The orange juice is mindboggling

JS's Nummer 7 - Säckerfrühstück

We arrive at the festival later start, today, on account of the difficulty to find a place that serves breakfast, and the time it takes them to do so (it comes with this concept of fresh food prepared on the spot, I think). At least, that means no queueing.

We somehow end up at Sansibar/Dully again. Breakfast dram?

Littlemill 26yo 1991/2017 (53.1%, Cadenhead Malts Festival May 2017, Barrel)

Nose: fresh and grassy, but a bit mute. Tired bottle, perhaps? It has lost all of its punchy fruit (we have had this before), and shows more flowers, today.
Mouth: dry, grassy, and very fruity, after all. Cut hay mingles with cut peaches and nectarines.
Finish: creamy, fruity, and it has that trademark crushed-Aspirin bitterness too.
Comment: breakfast dram indeed. What a start. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, PG)

vs.

Daftmill 2010/2022 (60.1%, OB Single Cask bottled exclusively for Japan, C#090/210, 222b, b#115)

Nose: grass after a rainy week. Spinach, followed by dried oregano and pine notes.
Mouth: strong (JS), mint paste, some splinters, ginger shavings, and stone dust. It does not come across as overly austere, but it is desiccating.
Finish: sweeter here, with heated dried apricots and pulverised stones.
Comment: clean, strong, this is good, but less approachable than the Littlemill. 8/10

JS: "We start with two 'mills..."
tOMoH: "Yeah, it is a little daft, but..."

Secret Highland 14yo 2008/2022 (44%, Acla da Fans Anniversary Series for the 10th Anniversary of Acla Selection imported by Sansibar Whisky, Sherry Butt, C#452, 120b)

Nose: is it suggestion, or does this really smell like a fox's skin? Musk, animal scents, a fox after a run, perhaps a drop of brine or wine vinegar, unless it is pearl onions.
Mouth: fox's hair indeed. This is musky alright, with caramelised wheat puffs.
Finish: lots of caramel, honey puffs, and a clear note of cereal.
Comment: the finish is my favourite part. Well, actually, the label is my favourite part. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, PG)

Let us leave these dangerous people for now.

Isle of Jura 30yo 1992/2023 #12 (50%, Maltbarn The 26, Bourbon Cask, 34b)

Nose: super fresh, pine paste, pot-pourri dunked in water, and citrus-y mint paste.
Mouth: slightly drying, it has some pepper and sawdust, more mint paste and pine goodies.
Finish: minty-fruity, here are heated nectarines, crushed mint leaves...
Comment: blah blah blah. This is amazeballs. Perhaps even better than the Whisky Fair we had yesterday. 9/10

Clynelish 27yo 1996/2023 #13 (49.3%, Maltbarn The 26, Bourbon Cask, 30b)

Nose: waxy, yellow-and-a-half, it has forsythia, daffodils, buttercup broth, pollen, and honey made from those flowers.
Mouth: balanced, with a great blend of wax and yellow flowers. It is a little drying in the long run, then turns juicy again.
Finish: it sparkles, shoots powdered peppery peaches,  nectarines, ripe plums, and rounds it all off with a touch of pine.
Comment: those miserable notes cannot do justice to this future legend. 9/10

Glen Keith 26yo 1997/2023 #11 (50.4%, Maltbarn The 26, Bourbon Cask, 38b)

Nose: a bit closed. Dusty dried tobacco, and, maybe, distant chamomile.
Mouth: drying again (is it me?), a bit funky for a second, which plays as introduction for a fountain of minty fruits.
Finish: ha! ha! Another fruity number alright. Cut basil on peaches, fresh tarragon on nectarines, jasmine and sweet white-citrus segments.
Comment: flying high. 8/10

Vallein Tercinier 32yo 1990/2023 Lot 90 Cognac Fin Bois (54.2%, Maltbarn, B#213, 151b)

Nose: pressed sultanas, through and through. Tilting the glass brings Indian food to the fore: mint sauce, samosas, saag bhaji.
Mouth: juicy sultanas, raisins, dried apricots, prunes. It dries the gob in the long run, but it is mostly fruity.
Finish: long and flinty, overflowing with golden sultanas doused in Golden Syrup.
Comment: just excellent. Sadly sold out. 9/10

Highlight of the festival

Inchgower 23yo 1997/2022 (59.9%, C. Dully Selection, Hogshead, C#8788, 164b)

Nose: dusty crates, a whiff of horse's hair, then more and more soot. Water brings out more wood.
Mouth: salty and actually rather sweet, with what seems like a nice PX influence. It is rockier with time (as in: more mineral).
Finish: long, bold, it is a lot sweeter than expected, with pressed sultanas, dried dates, and a butt of salt poured on the whole.
Comment: perhaps not as chameleonesque as CD promised (in this distracting setting, it is hard to be sure), but a good dram. Wonder what that hoggie used to contain. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, CD)

St Magdalene 23yo 1982/2006 (50%, Douglas Laing The Old Malt Cask 50°, Refill Hogshead, C#DL2718, 329b)

Nose: nothing smells like a Maggie. This mix of minerals, cut flowers, and horse's hair makes them both appealing and challenging.
Mouth: juicy, water-gorged grass, soon followed by some timid fruits that become more and more boisterous (smoked apricots, no less).
Finish: yeah, this is now very smoky (this side of Islay, obviously), in a good way. We note ripe orchard fruits and apricot jam in amongst gunpowder and pulverised stone.
Comment: full of win. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, RoyalScotsman)

Read on here.

27/04/2024 The Whisky Fair (Day 1 -- Part 3): the afterparty

"Join us for dinner," pat gva said. And JS and I went. We struggle a little to find the place, seeing as the address given is the side street, rather than the square the entrance is on, and the sign reads a different name. We are not the only ones to be a bit lost.

We find some amusement on the way, though.
Ducks with boots, flip-flops, and other fashion accessories.
WITH BOOOOOOTS!

We make it in the end, and join friends, old and new, across three tables.

GB chooses the wine at our table (surely, pat gva and SV do so at the other tables -- we will never know). Very good Italians: Duemani Cabernet Franc 2014, then a Ginestra Barrolo 2017 served blind by the waiter, before we finish with Marjan Simčič Merlot 2017], courtesy of EG.

We also share plates of antipasti, which are tasty, if hardly enough for the famished soul we are.

tOMoH does not have the heart to order spaghetti with tomato sauce (the only other thing on the chalk board), but when the next table ends up with too many pizzas (not sure where they came from), GB and he dive on them. An eating competition between those two would be an interesting thing to watch.

Total carnage. Only empty dishes are left behind.

Anyway, we also have spirits. A few I do not take notes for, or even try (a Bunnahabhain comes to mind), others I do, including GC's pre-war Cognac, and pat gva's Calvados.

Bunnahabhain 40yo 1970/2010 (40.5%, Malts of Scotland 40 Years Thomas Ewers, Bourbon Hogshead, C#MoS4066, 299b, b#147)

Did I mention it is pre-First World War?
Cognac Mauxion Sélection Bons Bois Lot 1900 Gene's Dram (48.2%, OB) (Thanks for the dram, GC)

pat gva pours his pre-war Calvados

Tormore 1992/2021 (45%, Malts of Scotland Rare Casks, Bourbon Hogshead, C#MoS21010261b, b#243)

Comment: creamy, buttery and very fruity, this is an excellent expression from this distillery. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, BvG)

MRi calls for everyone's attention, and proposes a toast to Diego Sandrin, who recently shuffled off this mortal coil. For that, MRi brought...

Mortlach 15yo 1971/1986 (86 U.S. Proof, R.W. Duthie selected by Darrell Corti especially for Corti Brothers imported by Pellegrini Imports)

Nose: pre-war levels of jams and metallic fruits. Totally beguiling.
Mouth: mellow, fruity, with a lick of metal I will associate with OBE.
Finish: überfruity on the finish too.
Comments: how not to be moved by a dram like this? MRi tells tOMoH he and Sandrin unearthed the stash of those bottles that appeared out of nowhere in the early 2010s, and it was important that the toast be with one of them. Fitting tribute indeed. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, MRi)

Littlemill 23yo 1990/2014 (55.2%, Creative Whisky Company The Tony Koehl Series, C#36, 176b)

Comment: an explosion of tropical fruits. Better than I remembered it, even. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, BvG)

MRi: "EG is leaving, because his wife says: 'At 1:00, I fuck. If you're there, great. If not, I still fuck.'"

"tOMoH, may we touch you?"

Terrible notes for a great night out. Excellent wines, superb spirits (a combination that will prove less good an idea in the morning), hilarious moments, and new friends by the bucket.

We survived Day 1.