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.