28/02/2025 Mystery sample #2

The second (in random order) in a series of samples received as part of recent purchases.

Nose: juicy plums, oily mahogany, and elegant drinks cabinets. We also find stains of melted milk chocolate on a beige leather sofa, and pressed dried dates. Despite the light colour, those notes suggest a beautiful Sherry maturation, with even gum drops and a dash of tame coffee. The second nose seems earthier, with pan-fried mushrooms and clay floors, spring humus and amchoor powder. The fruits and chocolate collide to give us oily pralines, but that is subdued. Mouth: here, it is suede, soft and velvety, yet accompanied by a subtle strength. Indeed, underneath that veneer of suede, we see cured plums, oily mahogany, and teak, and the pale bitterness that comes with the latter two. The second sip has decaying cubes of Galia melon, as well as a pine-flavoured gel (even if it is far from Gocce Pino levels) or liqueur. It has a faintly-bitter lick of green-citrus peel too, once more pretty subdued, and lime-filled milk-chocolate-glazed PiM's. Finish: Fino-like, perhaps? No, it is less dry. Fruity and mineral, it is also sweeter and darker than a Fino, in the finish. Amontillado, maybe? Irrespective, the finish has off-dry green grapes (Thurgau or Müller, to say something), yet also fresh pasta filled with Ricotta, alongside pressed prunes, sultanas, and white-wine-soaked nectarines. Repeated sipping brings about a strong sense of gulping lime-flavoured PiM's again, something that ends up in the spotlight, hogging all the attention. Green grapes come back towards the death ((Dry) Chenin Blanc), hand in hand with blanched hazelnuts and a delicate cigar (Petit Corona Blond). This is a delicious sipper.

Tomatin 12yo (43%, OB, Bourbon & Sherry Casks, b. ca. 2025) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)

24/02/2025 Caol Ila

Caol Ila 14yo b.2022 (53%, OB Four Corners of Scotland Collection bottled for the distillery shop & malts.com, Refill and Freshly Charred Hogsheads, 3000b): final souvenir from Islay. Nose: a quintessential Caol Ila, in which fishing nets are frolicking with caster sugar, lukewarm kippers on toast are mingling with scrambled eggs, and honey-glazed cockles are swimming with smoked whelks. Mind you, it also has an ashy cast-iron grille and matte-dark-green modelling paint (Humbrol #149). Deeper nosing unveils plasticine left out to harden, and, of course, lemon peels -- or citron or calamansi, since it is neither too bitter, nor overtly acidic. Finally, we spot lukewarm Styrofoam (think: packing peanuts). The second nose rolls out more citrus (lemon-scented washing-up liquid comes to mind, even), salt water and seafood of various sorts (oysters). At the last minute, all that is matched, if not eclipsed, by smoked apricots. Yum! Mouth: on the palate too, it is an archetypal Caol Ila, with fishing nets and crisp citrus, seafood, and a drop of petrol, all augmented with a generous sprinkle of caster sugar. Chewing puts the emphasis on the petrol, and twists it to bring it close to tarry sands. One can picture the rainbow-like colouring petrol makes in a puddle of water. This is bold and assertive without losing a certain balance, without turning vulgar. The second sip is warm, with embers and burning charcoal that sea water fails to extinguish. That generates a lot of smoke, in turn used to smoke mussels and preserved lemons. It is frankly lemon-y, at this point. Finish: the petrol, here, converges with ink, and, if it is not a 1965 Ardbeg, it is not the first time a Caol Ila hits similar notes to the third smokehouse on the road to Kildalton. This is long, teeming with sea water, squid ink, smoked whelks, fishing nets boiled in sea water, and caster sugar heated in a copper or cast-iron pot, but not caramelised. Tarry sands rock up via retro-nasal olfaction, and the death brings the same feeling to the gob as smoking a citrus-y cigar. The second gulp is perhaps even bolder. It brings about burnt wood, extinguished with either marsh water extracted from a peat bog, or vase water. In any case, it works really well. This time, it is smoky cigarette ash that closes the proceedings. I reckon Gaija would love this. 8/10

Caol Ila 30yo 1984/2014 (52.8%, The Ultimate Whisky Company The Ultimate Rare Reserve, Hogshead, C#6261, 228b, b#42): leftover from a tasting last November. Nose: although clearly from the same stable, this is much sweeter and fruitier. Kumquat, peach, nectarine, as well as sherbet. We have a drop of citrus-scented washing-up liquid in a (yellow) plastic basin full of warm salt water. That may read strange, yet it works a treat. Behind all that is billowing cigarette smoke (light tobacco), blended with strawberry chewing gum. It creates a secondary-schoolyard atmosphere that triggers a mix of emotions. That tobacco, for example, is usually a turn-off for tOMoH, but it works, here. The second nose seems drier and focusses more on tobacco smoke (fag, rather than cigar or pipe), yet it recoups some fruit shortly thereafter -- fresh strawberries, now. Mouth: much mellower, it also feels less smoky and maritime than its sibling. Instead, we find sweetness: cherry-filled waffles (not turnovers, that do not have the same dough at all), golden choux dough, and enough sea water to help one remember we are not in Speyside (nor in Kansas, Dorothy). Chewing pours fine salt on a hot tin tray (unlike a Clynelish, which pours cats on a hot tin roof), and adds hot strawberry coulis and a dash of melted dark chocolate. Only in the background does one notice smoked seafood -- Gaston Lagaffe's famous cod in a strawberry sauce comes to mind, and it is appealing, today. The second sip doubles down on seafood and strawberry, and, if it tastes closer to cockles than to cod, it quite clearly strays towards the latter with time, firm, juicy and fishy. It develops a chalky quality, in time, without losing the fruit. Smoked Dextro Energy tablets. There. Finish: the closest it comes to the fourteen-year-old, this delivers burnt wood extinguished with murky water. At first, it is hard to tell if said water is from a vase, tainted by mud and floating algae, or salt water heavy with sand. After a minute, it no longer matters, owing to the arrival of baked nectarines, the juices of which are collected from a metallic baking tray. They are sprinkled with both salt and sugar, much to one's satisfaction. The second gulp has soluble fruit-flavoured energy tablets for a couple of seconds, until boggy clay hits like a ton of bricks, and opens the way for sherbet in vase water. Excellent dram. 9/10 (Thanks for the sample, cavalier66)

22/02/2025 Clones

BA and PS call off on the day, but OB and JS join me all the same in commemoration of the 22nd February 1997, when Dolly the sheep became the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.

...and t-shirts were made

The soundtrack: DJ Gert - Boccaccio Life Vol. 3 (CD2)

The soundtrack: Various - Dance Opera Empire 4

JS presents: Dollybardine.

Tullibardine 33yo 1972/2006 (43.1%, Dewar Rattray Cask Collection, C#2597, 141b): nose: it still delivers! All sorts of fruits -- carambola, wine-soaked orange segments, cured pineapple, cranberries, lychee, pomegranate seeds, and a lick of pine cone. OB finds it sour -- the pomegranate, surely. Some wood comes out at second nose. Mouth: soft, it is clearly woody, and just as fruity. Cured strawberries, wine-soaked orange segments, pomegranate seeds, red grapefruits. OB nails it with Fraise Tagada. Phwoar! We start with this? Finish: long, elegant, sparkly, it has ginger beer, decaying wood (a little bitterness, then), and sour apples. Full notes here.  9/10

tOMoH presents Dalaruan. Not the original, of course (the distillery closed a century ago, after a century of existence), but the Lost Distillery Company's, who cloned the original's flavour profile.

Dalaruan (46%, The Lost Distillery Company Archivist’s Selection, B#1/i, b#298): nose: meaty and gamy to the point I would not be surprised to learn it contains Mortlach. Pickled pearl onions too. It becomes more cardboard-y over time. Mouth: stewed fruits here, lingonberries and apples, yet it retains some of the meat and pickled-onion brine. 'Briny' is the word. Further sips are drier: a pinch of chalk sprinkled on steaks. Finish: long, it sticks to the gums, and is more acidic and fruitier here than it is meaty. Cranberries and lingonberries, rather than game. Full notes here. 7/10

The soundtrack: Noir Désir - 666.667 Club (this one is from 1996, but I listened to it a lot in 1997)

OB tells us that, in the film Attack of the Clones, we learn that the clones in question all come from Django Fett, whose son is Bobalvenie Fett. He actually wanted to make it a triplet and offer BowmoreBalvenie Fettercairn, but could not find a Fettercairn and threw the towel.

The Balvenie Tun 1401 (49.2%, OB Tun 1401 imported by Acla da Fans, 11 x Traditional Whisky Casks + 2 x Sherry Hogsheads, C#15914+5033+14824+7051+15342+15336+5823+13453+442+6440+5173, B#7): nose: so elegant! Full of prunes, polished dashboards, dried figs, shoe polish, as well as Tableau sticker-removal spray, and seared mushrooms. That is right: there is something a little earthy to this that tickles liquorice-root shavings. That, blueberry jellies and cashew paste. The second sniff has fragrant trees (thuja? Maple?) and marshmallow. Mouth: a masterclass of Sherry maturation. Dried fruits (dates loudest, on the palate), earth (button mushrooms) and rubber (faint bicycle inner-tubes). That rubber turns mildly drying at second sip, but it is, again, balanced, with dark honeys and maple syrups dusted with ashes. Finish: assertive softness, total control, extreme elegance. This is a little sweet, in a dark-honey style. Dark cough drops, grated candy necklace. It all dies with a minimum amount of mulled-wine spices (not the wine itself) and tar-black maple syrup. Excellent. Even though it is not necessarily my style of predilection, it is clearly extremely well made. 9/10

tOMoH presents a 1997 distillation, the year Dolly was created. Does it matter that we had it the same day as the Tullibardine, in the past? Answers on a postcard.

Arran 17yo 1997/2014 (51.6%, The Whisky Agency & Acla da Fans Acla Selection specially selected for Whisky-Schiff Zürich 2014, Refill Sherry Cask, 120b): "much more whisky than the previous," says OB. Nose: citrus-y and rich at the same time, it has cosmetic powder, today. The second nose develops cigarette smoke, which is a surprise. Mouth: crystallised orange segments. It is chewy and a tad chalky in further sips, and very-softly bitter too. Finish: a gulp of milk coffee, lukewarm and diluted, totally tolerable for this non-coffee drinker. We also have warm metal (zinc pipes) cosying up to warm custard. Full notes here. 8/10

The soundtrack: Speedy J - Public Energy #1

OB presents Dolly... Parton - Jo-Linkwood. Wow.

Linkwood 23yo 1998/2021 (53.3%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength Exclusively bottled for TyndrumWhisy.com, Refill Sherry Hogshead, C#13808, B#21/214, 267b, 211030): nose: spicy, it has sumac and ground cloves. That morphs a few minutes in to develop dried rasp- or strawberry slices, wrapped in a veil of smoke. Said smoke is the result of burning oak bark. There is a spoonful of pine needles in this nose too. Subsequent sniffs have a plastic element, blended with dark-fruit jellies. Water tones down the spices and allows berries to shine brighter -- fresh berries too, now. Mouth: it starts out mellow and pleasant, then grows in spicy intensity, with sumac and crushed dried cherry stems. Strawberries of the dried kind appear here too, and, if one searches with intent, so does a soft sulphury note (OB). Juicy and lively, the second sip has darker-berry sweets, jellies, cough drops or other, a little bitter, perhaps, and delicious all round. Water makes this mellower, believe it or not, fruitier. Gone are the sulphur and the bitterness of cherry stems. It is all fruit jellies and jams. Finish: tree bark introduces dried raspberry slices and dried wild strawberries. Darker berries show up upon repeated quaffing, and it is gradually juicier, on the blackcurrant tip. Water cranks up the dark berries, juicy, if still a little bitter. That never becomes a distraction. Blueberries, myrtles, blackberries. This is a terrific swimmer. 8/10

tOMoH and JS present a grain from the Clone Denny range. Groan. Ha! Ha!

Port Dundas 21yo 1992/2013 (55.7%, Hunter Hamilton The Clan Denny, Refill Hogshead, C#HH9452): nose: very grassy and metallic. Welcome to Port Dundas. It also has rubber boots. Mouth: very rubbery (in a good way), it showcases ancient bike inner-tubes, old plumbing joints (rubber seals), old corn cobs, and oilskins faded by years in the sun. Finish: caramelised corn coated in syrup of sorts. It is less grassy and metallic here and deserves a perhaps-generous score. Full notes here. 8/10

tOMoH: "What did you think of the Port Dundas?"
JS: "It was nice."
OB: "Not sherried enough."

Soundtrack: Richie Hawtin - Pete Namlook - From Within III

tOMoH presents (with a little help from JS) a Baaaaah!-clones (for Balcones, see?)

140.17 3yo d.2019 Bowled over by cinnamon cola (62.8%, SMWS Society Cask, #3 Char New Oak Barrique, 217b): nose: "cinnamon cola is right" (OB). I find Werther's Original and maple toffee. It slowly reveal melted toffee ice cream and a lick of pine bark. Perhaps it is the memory of Clementine's Ozark Cabin ice cream. Mouth: a lot of cinnamon (OB). Almost drying, with crushed cassia bark, a clove or two, and Dr. Pepper. It is desiccating at second sip, like biting a stick of chalk. Finish: root beer, followed by warm chocolate custard and melted Mokatine. Wonderful finish. 8/10

OB: "The ABV is not crazy. [Looks at the bottle] Oh! Right."

To round off this superb tasting, we have a drop of Clynelish 12yo d.1973 (56.9%, OB exclusively bottled from original cask for Whiskyteca Edward & Edward, b#198) (or Clone-lish, as OB rightly points out). It slays. Funnily enough (because completely coincidental), we had it a year ago, almost to the day.

14/02/2025 Cocktail Night at StilL 630

In Missouri once more. PC and JS join me for an evening at one of the most interesting distilleries of the past ten years, in tOMoH's opinion. Certainly outside of Scotland.

StilL 630 24mo 2015/2025 X-86 (50%, OB Experimental, #3 Char Barrel, C#15-768, b#100): nose: roasted or charred apples, and punchy, oily apple-tree staves (why not?) Breathing allows fermented apples to emerge, in the long run. Mouth: it is very woody here too, with limited smoke and an abundance of apple pips. We also spot cut orchard-tree branches. Finish: sweeter than expected, it prolongs the smoked-apple-tree-wood vibe. There are review cards on the table, via which one is supposed to leave feedback to help the producers decide whether to make this again. It is whacky enough to be repeated, even though it is not fully successful. In small doses, maybe. 6/10

We try their cocktails, since that is the idea of the evening -- Fly to the Angels (made with their Expedition Rum) and an Old Fashioned (made with their S.S. Sorghum whiskey). Both good, with a strong preference for Fly to the Angels, simply because it is more original. We fail to take pictures.

I do not always drink whiskey. But when I do...

We swiftly move to whiskey, though.

The serious stuff

StilL 630 1yo b.2024 Still 2nd Shift (45%, OB Brewery Collab Series XI, New Oak Barrels, B#2): one year and seven months. At that age, every month counts! Nose: fruity! Fruits leap at you as if it were an IPA, with orange peels, carambola, and cucumber. Later on, we detect pickle, and a pickled citrus. Mouth: beer, Irn Bru... Is it rye? No, it is hoppy as a Jupiler; just one that would have more fruits soaked in it. JS detects ganja ("there is definitely a 1953 Glenfarclas thing going on"), while PC calls it hoppy. Finish: long, wide, and fruity again, we have more citrus peels, cured orange rinds, and a lick of chocolate. Perhaps it has a touch of wood, once JS suggests it. 7/10

StilL 630 6yo b.2024 Double Barrel RallyPoint (64.2%, OB Rare Release Barrel, 63mo in a 53-gallon Barrel + finished 12mo in 3 x 15-gallon Barrels, B#XI, b#95): nose: surprisingly un-rye-like (which is to say: no Irn Bru). Indeed, it has creamy wood, hazelnuts (skins on), and nut liqueur. Mahogany comes out at second sniff, then cured-grapefruit zest. Mouth: oh! Super dry and woody, desiccating. It has a lick of wood varnish, but it is a little plank-ish, close to chewing on wood chips. Repeated sipping increases that feeling. It is really bitter and drying. Finish: big, woody, full of wood shavings (some kind of darkish wood; it is unclear which). The second gulp is even woodier and drier. 6/10

StilL 630 5yo 2019/2025 Missouri Straight Bourbon (45%, OB, B#I): five years and eight months, although it is starting to be less relevant, at that age. Nose: much more traditional a nose, and very pleasant it is too. Maple syrup, marzipan, vanilla and Bourbon-cask staves, supplemented with billows of smoked orchard-tree wood. Mouth: it is a tad drying too, displaying dried orange peels, much less flavourful than in the previous dram, and cucumber peels. Indeed, it is lightly bitter too. Finish: toffee, cream soda, and crushed nut shells. Lovely. 7/10

Chilling with the PC

Enough for tonight. We could go on, but we have other things on our to-do list. I will shamefully have a headache of dehydration tomorrow; I will blame the cocktails, especially the one with rum in it, yet it could also be the hefty pours and the pace at which we downed them.

In any case, excellent place to visit on a Friday night.

And it comes to be
That the soothing light
At the end of your tunnel
Is just a freight train
Coming your way

10/02/2025 Mystery sample #1

The first in a series of samples received as part of recent purchases.

Nose: this starts well, with a refined Sherry influence -- drinks cabinets, a gentlemen's club's billiard room, wood-panelled rooms and rancio. Interestingly, that turns tertiary within seconds, with mushrooms growing on damp potting soil, the clay floor of a dark cellar, bits of wood in a dank shed, but also fleeting marzipan and a drop of nut liqueur -- and that liqueur goes from almond to walnut in less time than it takes to tell (and I felt like being numb like, felt like, mesmerised -- for those who know). Shaking the glass some more reveals a chicken casserole in which red wine was added to the broth, and, finally, a weathered Teflon baking tray. The second nose is more vegetative, giving marsh gas, cabbage cooking water, and boiled Brussels sprouts. Oh! it retains a vague fruitiness, in a liqueur way, but it is less elegant than initially. Mouth: it is a rocky number, with pebbles and gravel splashed with a sweet fortified red wine, augmented with a dash of mercurochrome. It has a gentle bitterness, and quite a kick too. Chewing emphasises the bitter mercurochrome, and perhaps exposes chargrilled red chicory. The second sip seems fruitier, amusingly enough; grapes smashed on a millstone. Chewing brings up shrubs and twigs of sorts, probably vine, and cranks up the heat to chilli levels (nowhere near Naga Morich, though), which triggers a slight numbness in the lips. Finish: sweet at first, it clearly showcases what a good Sherry (Pedro Ximénez) maturation can give. Then, it turns muskier and drier, and it becomes difficult not to think of a Fino instead -- fruity, boozy, and more mineral, or even abrupt. It is indeed sharper and drier as a bone-dry white wine, and more plastic-y. I have always found Fino Sherry's taste to be closer to that of plastic grapes than to ripe, juicy ones. Yes, I have tried eating plastic grapes, unknowingly, I might add, at a Yugoslavian restaurant, as a child; formative experience. The second gulp has dark-chocolate liqueur pralines (Mon Chéri), Cognac, and a dusting of quarry chippings. In faithful continuation of the mouth, the heat leaves the lips tingling, while the gob is processing nutty liqueur. Solid. But what is it?

Crabbie 30yo 1988/2019 (53.5%, John Crabbie Limited Edition, 528b) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)

07/02/2025 Bunnahabhain

More souvenirs from a recent trip to Islay.

Bunnahabhain 12yo (46.3%, OB, b. ca. 2024): nose: stale Grand Marnier or apricot liqueur almost in the shadow of drinks cabinets. It suddenly shifts to a bowl of fruity granola, and shifts once more to focus on the cereal dust at the bottom of the bag. It becomes dusty indeed, close to chalky, before introducing cut apples and baked clementine segments. The subsequent back-and-forth between orchard fruits and cereals reflects a certain youth, but it is not overly detrimental. In the long run, toasted aromas appear -- toasted bread or barley, rather than anything earthier. The second nose injects cumin powder and chilli butter, which comes as a big surprise. Soon enough, it goes back to cereals, and adds a hay bale. Mouth: young is the word, here. It is pretty bitter without being ridiculously green, with unripe apples that suddenly become a window-cleaning spray, or even windscreen defroster. Chewing adds a subtle sweetness, in the shape of (unripe) citrus: clementine, tangerine, orange. It turns increasingly bitter with time, and it is a small wonder that it does not reach rubber. The second sip is wine-y, in a young-Rhine-white-wine way, which is not a frank success, in this taster's mind. It mellows out with more time on the tongue, fortunately. Finish: much more pleasant here, it returns to citrus segments, though, this time, they are ripe and juicy to bursting. Tangelo, Buddha's hand, tangerine. All those are in a thin custard, and the soft acidity indicates that the whole would so much like to touch maracuja -- yet never manages. The second gulp is assertively custard-y, with juicy fruit turnovers and éclairs that would have a pineapple glaze instead of chocolate. An okay dram that delivers little pleasure on the palate. The perhaps-harsh score reflects that. 6/10

Bunnahabhain 23yo 1998/2022 (49.7%, OB Fèis Ìle 2022, Calvados Cask Finish): nose: a lot bolder and precise, it has generously-varnished wood, smoked hazel wood, and warm chestnuts (the shells shine most). A logical mind may be tempted to call out apples (Calvados is an apple brandy, after all), but tOMoH finds none of that: it is entirely treated wood and nut shells. The afore-mentioned smoky element seems to mix and fuse with timid maritime touches such as sea spray and fishing nets. Let us call it smoky kelp. It promises a salty note, when given time, and one can picture a pile of coarse sea salt on a zinc plate. The second nose is more-clearly smoky: hazel-wood-fire smoke in a tiny bothy, in which the larder contains baskets of fruits. Mouth: oily and voluptuous, almost syrupy in texture. Here is a sweet and controlled juice that marries the soft bitterness of a delicious orange liqueur with the sweetness of ripe citrus (kumquat, tangerine). Chewing revives the distant smoke, refined, controlled, comforting, and adds a drop of wood varnish -- without wood, here. In the back, we find Cox or Royal Gala apples so distant they are easily overlooked. The second sip blows smoke on those apples, and presents them, sliced, on a slab of varnished wood. Next to that, we spot an open jar of preserved oranges. Finish: a fruity finish, full of orchard fruits and a puff of smoke, assertive, not brash. It is a wicker basket filled with juicy apples and pears, a basket that is usually stored in a smoky shed. The more time passes, the sweeter this proves to be, and the natural sugars of Golden Delicious apple meets processed sugar turning green. The second gulp is in line: fruity, sweet (not overly so), and faintly smoky. tOMoH likes this one a lot. 8/10 (Thanks, adc)

04/02/2025 A couple of drams at 3 Greek Street

Glen Scotia 45yo 1973/2019 (43.8%, OB, Refill Bourbon Casks re-racked 2011 into First Fill Bourbon Barrels, 150b): ethereal and fruity on the nose, with fragrant fruits so numerous they are hard to pick apart. The palate is on the thin side, and offers lychee and peach skins. The finish is medium-long, with rose water and juicy dragon fruit. Hopefully, one day, we spend more time with this, because it seems to be Glen Scotia's masterpiece. I would not be surprised to see it score higher when given the time it deserves. 9/10

Rosebank 26yo b.2018 (48.5%, That Boutique-y Whisky Company, 321b): this is just as fruity, yet more assertive, with pulp and nectar on top of fragrance and juice. It has white wood (birch) to accompany white peaches. The palate is fuller and thicker than the Scotia's; it combines the fruits from the nose with wooden cutting boards. A long, bold finish, with peaches, persimmon, and white plums, if such a thing exists. 9/10

With thanks to SW.

03/02/2025 Arran

Arran d.1996 (55.6%, La Maison du Whisky Belgique M & H Cask Selection, Domaine Olivier Guyot Fixin Wood Finish, C#96/1372, 144b, b#13): the corrugated card box suggests an official bottling, but no: although, in all likelihood, the official bottler bottled this on behalf of La Maison du Whisky Belgique, nowhere does it state Arran Distillers as having anything to do with this. Nose: fresh-and-briny sea air, a splay of sea spray, or micro-droplets vapourised at the foot of a waterfall. It then becomes more wine-y, tertiary (argh!), with hay, earth and decaying grape skins. The latter is fermenting, and it teases vinegar, in truth. Hay infusion, nettle broth, and red-wine vinegar. Deeper nosing hints at butter biscuits dunked in a glass of red wine (think of VIP from Lover Come Back). Wine and vinegar come to dominate, leaving biscuits and sea air behind, and entertain shy muesli in the distance. The second nose is even more tertiary, autumn mushrooms, oily pine cones, humus, and the fresh trail of a wild boar. It is all forestry and wine sauces, which suggests a hunt, yet one without a kill. "The best kind," some may say. Old corkboards, cardboard boxes stored in an earthen-floored cellar, and red wine, always red wine. Mouth: it is initially faintly fruity, but the tongue quickly finds itself wrestling the acidity and bitterness of a flawed red wine. That is not to say it has no redeeming quality -- pressed dark grapes make for a decent fruit juice, -- but, all in all, it is difficult. Earth rocks up, parched and crusty after weeks of drought, and oily musky animal skins (wild cat, fox). It has twigs and dried vine leaves too, neither of which is a positive addition, here. The second sip comes closer to white-wine vinegar, so stripping it is. Pan-seared mushrooms, the pan then deglazed with white-wine vinegar. This is the juice resulting from that deglazing. Finish: finally something pleasant: prune syrup, Dr. Pepper, and dark-fruit jellies. Blackberry jam, blackcurrant jelly, preserved dark cherries, and mere traces of liquorice boot laces. It is a medium-long, fruity finish. The second gulp has obvious dark-purple cough drops (Ricola), blackcurrant Lemsip, mulled wine. Indeed, we now find cassia bark and ground cloves to complement the berries and prune syrup -- and it is all warm, as if infused. A spicy bitterness remains at the death, very clearly sumac and ground cloves. The finish saves this from a right savaging, but it is a challenging dram anyway. 5/10 (Thanks for the sample, Psycho)

01/02/2025 Artificial Intelligence

BA, OB, PS, JS, JMcD and cavalier66 join me for an oh!-so-timely tasting on the theme of what seems to be consuming everyone's thoughts, these days: Artificial Intelligence (AI).

cavalier66 brought food, as usual. In theme.

Comté: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, it is what computers do
Quince paste: because it tastes a little artificial
Lancashire: where Alan Turing was from, who led development of the Enigma machine
Malden Deep smoked salmon: for deep learning, or DeepSeek

The soundtrack: The Old Man of Huy - Exit the Dragon

Another brief line-up

BA also brought nibbles

PS presents Largedaig Language Model

Ledaig 20yo (43%, OB, 03/312 L16 3174 15.38) (PS): nose: spirit-y apple juice, suede moccasins, leatherette, and even a touch of urine. A couple of sniffs in, that turns into evaporated Indian tonic, chalky and bitter. JMcD finds citrus and pear. Mouth: waxy lemons (PS) for what cavalier66 calls a clean version of Ledaig. It has some musk (which suits the AI theme to a T) and scorched earth -- or is that baked rubber? cavalier66 then discovers really soft mandarine water. Finish: dark tar (BA), the beginning of soapiness (BA), and a rubbery bitterness, as well as a dose of plastic (cavalier66). 7/10

BA [about London water]: "It fights back a little when you drink it, and I like that."

As PS feared, the cork disintegrates

tOMoH presents pittyvAIch. In the chieftAIn's range.

Pittyvaich 14yo 1986/2001 (43%, Ian McLeod Chieftain's, Hogsheads, C#9519-22, 1074b, L1212BB 3 11 58) (tOMoH): "classic Pittyvaich," cavalier66 exclaims, which is a sentence not many people have ever heard. Nose: gooseberry and tins of raspberry (PS), hoppy fruitiness (BA). Next to that fruit, I find horse's hair, dusty wicker, hay bales, and fermented custard (cavalier66). Over time, the nose goes quieter. Mouth: chocolate-covered weed (OB), easter eggs and lots of chocolate indeed. Further sips have damson plums at various stages of unripeness, or a little bitter, in other words. Parmesan cheese rises, drying and butyric. Finish: milk and white chocolates in the style of those eggs (the ones with the toy inside, remember?) I will spend more time with this soon. In the meantime, I am enthusiastic about it. 8/10

tOMoH presents here come the rAIn agAIn.

Strathisla 1999/2010 Here Come The Rain Again (46%, La Maison du Whisky Belgique, C#45530, 247b) (tOMoH): we had this one not a year ago, but OB, JMcD and BA were not there. Nose: fresh (cavalier66), apples and lemons (PS), strychnine (cavalier66), a little herbaceous. Mouth: calm, mellow and still (JMcD), dark herbs (cavalier66). Finish: lively and fruity, it has plums and apricots, with just a very-small pinch of dried herbs. Full notes here. 8/10

BA: "What distillery is this?"
tOMoH: "Strathisla."
cavalier66: "strathAIsla."
tOMoH: "I thought of it, but it is a bit far fetched, even for me."
all: "Who are you? What have you done to tOMoH?"
tOMoH: "I've been abducted by AI."

PS [about Bell's decanters]: "They're made by a company called Wade..."
tOMoH: "Wade a minute!"
PS: "...and they..."
BA: "No. Stop. Give [the pun] a little space to breathe. There. Carry on."

PS presents a whisky matured in a sassicAIa cask.

Benromach 5yo b.2006  Sassicaia Wood Finish (45%, OB, 27mo Sassicaia Wine Casks Finish, 3000b) (PS): nose: shards of cedar wood and unlit incense. cavalier66 finds it more vulgar than the preceding dram, brash (PS). It does become a bit wine-y, with added crushed pine cones, roasted chicken breasts, and oily mahogany. Next is a wicker-clad open bottle of Valpolicella. Mouth: tannic, young, fruity, but not in a very-convincing way. It is also drying as a wine whose grapes have seen too much sun. Finish: long, grape-y, it has elderberry, decaying berries, and rancio as well. 6/10

JMcD presents Artificial Intelligens.

Mackmyra Intelligens (46.1%, OB, ex-Bourbon + ex-Oloroso + American Oak + Swedish Oak Casks, B#AI02, b.2021) (JMcD): a recipe allegedly created by an AI. Nose: Gummibärchen, poached pear and baked persimmon. Jellied melon cubes too, and raspberry jellies. Mouth: There is a veneer of tropical fruits that is soon overtaken by pitch-black liquorice, then that morphs into juicy mango sprinkled with paprika. Finish: clean (JS), the whisky speaks for itself (JS, channelling her inner Quaker), long and fruity, Turkish delights, fruit jellies, candied papaya cubes, and a pinch of liquorice shavings. 8/10

cavalier66: "Can I share something interesting?"
PS: "That seems hugely unlikely, but go on."

The soundtrack: The Old Man of Huy - Man To Men

tOMoH presents AIlsa bay.

Ailsa Bay 7yo (unknown ABV, Cask Sample, ex-French Red Wine Cask) (tOMoH): nose: buttery nut paste. Mouth: chewy (cavalier66), thick (OB), this is almond paste dampened with syrupy red wine. Finish: vulgar (cavalier66), all cask and no spirit (cavalier66). My notes are here. 7/10

JS presents the Baller, which has a samurAI on the label.

St. George 3yo The Baller (47%, OB, Ex-Bourbon, French Wine Casks + Umeshu Finish) (JS): nose: orange fruit gum (PS), sage and thyme (PS). Mouth: Swiss herbal sweets (cavalier66), but also a lot of (artificial) fruits (plum, ripe apricot, citrus). Finish: hoppy (OB), génépi (cavalier66). My notes are here. 7/10

BA: "What's the stuff you put in beer?"
OB: "Hops?"
BA: "No, the orange stuff..."
tOMoH: "Irn Bru?"

SW cannot be with us, today, but he did manage to send a bottle our way for the occasion. An unmarked duty pAId sample.

Midleton d.2014 (unknown ABV, Duty Paid Samples, Double Charred Bourbon Cask) (SW): nose: "instantly recognisable as a pot still" (cavalier66), grapefruit (BA) and other fruits. I find it pink and yellow, with peach and ripe apricot. A little breathing time makes it woodier and drier. Mouth: cream (cavalier66), pink passion fruits coated in nail varnish. It has the texture of peach and mango melting on the tongue. Finish: long, powerful, a little spicy, while remaining very fruity. Persimmon, peach, nectarine, kumquat. Lovely. I hope to spend more time with this too. 8/10

Next up is OB. I ask the gang if they prefer a trou normand, or a trou-du-cul normand. Emphasis on the pun, here, since OB is obviously not a trou-du-cul (arsehole). BA, OB and JMcD opt for the trou normand. The fools. JS pours them a shot of bAIju, and they immediately regret it. Although BA lectures us all on baiju (starting with the pronunciation), so go figure.

With that prank behind, we move on to the trou-du-cul normand.

OB explains how the next whisky is made in a Coffey still with a rectifier. In neural networks, the rectifier, or ReLU… Bah! Who am I kidding? Check the Wikipedia page, if you need to know more.

Cambus 40yo 1975/2016 (52.7%, OB, Hogsheads, 1812b, b#0442) (OB): nose: ethereal, yet it seems a little less tropical than four years ago. Still: pineapple, buttery peach and creamy coconut. Mouth: incredibly creamy on the palate, and pumped with maracuja, sprinkled with cumin seeds. Finish: so creamy again, with mango and peaches drowning in coconut cream. It does sustain a clear bitterness too, yet that Is never a worry. I am perhaps a tad less impressed than the previous times, but yeah... 10/10

PS [paraphrasing]: "Grain is vile. Grain is disgusting and no-one should buy it."
tOMoH: "Quite right. This should never have been bottled."
PS: "Indeed. Don't push the prices."
JMcD [after trying it]: "This is amazing. I'd like to understand why tOMoH thinks it should not have been bottled."
tOMoH: "tOMoH is winding you up. This is tOMoH's favourite grain."

cavalier66 explains that the next dram was rated A⊕⊕ by BC, when he had a blog. That is as close to AI's perfection as is achievable for a human-made product. He adds that this is from ChatGPTeaninich.

59.54 32yo 1984/2016 Elegant, classy and simply beautiful (50.5%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 186) (cavalier66): nose: elegant, classy, rather good (OB), greener [than the previous drams] (cavalier66), and, indeed, pomelo, Ugli fruit and Kaffir lime are front and centre. BA finds it orange-y. He is wrong, but citrus foliage is a given. Mouth: very citrus-y again, with tangerine peels starting to turn blue with mould, and a drying chalkiness splashed with Indian tonic. Finish: a note of hay, fruit, and a lot of quinine-y Indian tonic. With water, corn flakes turn up (BA). It is a long, sparkling finish, citrus-y and a little bitter, borderline leafy. Excellent. 9/10

OB: "It becomes elegant with water."
cavalier66: "Maybe our definition of 'elegant' is different."
OB: "No. My definition is correct and yours is wrong."

cavalier66: "I was pulling on the wrong bit."
PS: "Erm..."
cavalier66: "No!"

Time for OB's exquisite Galette des Rois
I will find the trinket tomorrow in the last piece (and almost break a tooth)

OB tells us the next one was bottled for WhiskyNerds, and reminds us that AI was developed by nerds. In parallel, BA tells us that The Whisky Exchange's code for Loch Lomond is LLM -- which is short for Large Language Model, the basis of current AI.

Inchmurrin 14yo 2003/2017 Law Bottling (56.2%, OB Single Cask specially selected by WhiskyNerds Trias Usquebaugh, Refill Sherry Butt, C#17/169-1, 260b) (OB): very tropical, it has buttery mango, cured peach, cherimoya, persimmon, and pressed dried dates in warm turnovers. On the late tip, we get water-chestnut purée. Mouth: this is mango and lychee in a cup of coffee, served with dried dates on the side. Finish: a lot earthier in the finish, it has black cardamom, liquorice-root shavings, and green-grape juice, as well as smashed lychee. I bet it would gain a point after it has had some time to open up in the open bottle. 8/10

vs.

Loch Lomond 15yo 2009/2024 (55.2%, Decadent Drinks Decadent Drams, 2nd Fill Hogshead of Loch Lomond + 1st Fill Hogshead of Inchmurrin) (BA): a blend of Loch Lomond and Inchmurrin, which is a funny concept. This is the juice before reduction, rather than the one that was commercially available at 53%. Nose: banane flambée (cavalier66), mulled wine, gingerbread (loud and clear), banana bread. We will call it a gingerbread-and-banana sandwich. Mouth: There is a more-mineral touch at play, here, with a mix of quarry dust and lichen on stave, ground peach stone turning green with lichen. Finish: long and fruity, it has a dash of mandarine juice and peaches, greengages, tangerines, and just a shake of Sherry cask (whatever that means). 8/10

cavalier66 stands up to leave (as usual, he is double-booked). He generously offers to change the line-up to have his last contribution now. The cleverer thing to do was to pour and let us have it in the right order, but the attendees are apparently drunk enough to throw cleverness to the wind, and spoil their palates with this.

cavalier66 quotes his mentor, Jim Murray, who said of this very bottling: "I have been tasting Talisker for 28 years, this is the best bottling ever. Miss this and your life will be incomplete." cavalier66 argues that, today, our lives are incomplete without AI. He adds that this is PS's most-hated distillery, and PS is the furthest a man can be from AI. He concludes by saying this Talisker is Chat-G-Peaty. Groan. Laugh.

OB: "That was the best [pun] to-date."
tOMoH: "Not meant as a compliment."

cavalier66: "That's not the original cork. That one went soft. tOMoH gave me one."
PS: "Are you saying tOMoH's cork is soft?"

BA: "Can I say this? It's going to sound bad, but it's not meant in a bad way. It reminds me of the baiju."
Room. Gasping. For. Breath.
cavalier66: "Do you know how much this cost me at auction?"

cavalier66 departs. I have not yet touched my dram of Talisker, because I know better.

BA: "This is Lagavulin 16. You may have heard of it. It's just Lagavulin 16."

BA asked ChatGPT: "I need to bring a bottle of whisky to a tasting on the theme of AI."

ChatGPT said Lagavulin 16, amongst other random suggestions."

Lagavulin 16yo (43%, OB, b. ca. 2023) (BA): nose: smoked lemons, preserved lemons, skimmed milk, and, after a while, horses' stables. Mouth: mellow (at 43%, how could it be otherwise?), full of chargrilled sweet yellow citrus, grapefruit and pineapple. Finish: long, big, briny and ashy. It is warm, drying, and gives one the voice of Annie Girardot in a matter of seconds (think early-2000s Marianne Faithfull for an English-speaking comparison). There is little Sherry to find, here, which makes sense once one knows Lagavulin 16 has not been aged in Sherry casks for years, contrary to popular belief. Hard to believe how well this fares, so deep into the line-up. 7/10

BA presents a Longrow from a chardonnAI cask.

Longrow 16yo 2001/2018 (56%, Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting, Chardonnay Cask Finish) (BA): very medicinal, with jelly capsules, and... Is it marzipan? Later on, it acquires those chalky candy necklaces. Mouth: oooh! The Chardonnay is more obvious, here, with squashed raspberry, and glimpses of lychee, perhaps. Chewing reveals a firm chalkiness which dehydrates the inside of the lips. It takes even more chewing for strawberry sherbet to rock up. Finish: plums and prunes, peach skins, and wine-cured fruit stones. JMcD calls it juicy and sweet, but also meaty and savoury. This should absolutely not work, but somehow does. 8/10

Talisker 20yo 1981/2002 (62%, OB Limited Edition, Sherry Casks, 9000b, b#5117): and now, the Talisker. Actually, I do not feel like it. BA, OB, PS and JMcD all leave together, and I have had enough. It is hard to believe the hiccoughs around this bottling. dom666 brought it to his birthday tasting in November -- only to realise he took the wrong bottle in the right box. He brought the right bottle to Burns' Night in January, but we had so much else to try we skipped it. cavalier66, who also has a bottle, read that on this little blog and decided we had to try it in February (today). By the time we reach its position in the line-up, I am whiskied out. Bah! I have transferred my dram of it to an airtight container and will have it another day.

Great times.