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.