07/03/2025 Mystery sample #3

Nose: here is an unusual nose, with warm, chewy plastic, and age-old capsules that once contained saffron. Then, it is old, wide elastic bands, warm bicycle inner-tubes, jelly capsules -- it has a borderline-medicinal aura, thanks to that latter, -- and a spot of vegetal... something. Might it be spurge stems? Or daffodils in a vase of warm water? It triggers memories; tOMoH has come across this sort of profile before. But what was it? The more time passes, the more succulent plants rise: cactus, yuca, one crassula or another. Tilting the glass releases some freshness, somewhere between limoncello and salmiak. Against all prejudices, it is rather pleasant. The second nose confirms the saffron-capsule note, adds faded oilcloth, and a milk pot of gellified mocha custard. It has Bourbon-cream biscuit filling too, if one is on a mission to find that. Mouth: very thick at first, full of succulent-plant saps and leaves, it soon proves slightly bitter (dialled-down liquorice allsorts) and rooty-herbal (salmiak). Chewing reinforces a succulent-plant impression, more eucalyptus or laurel than anything much thicker. One may claim to distinguish chocolate, though that would be a stretch. The second sip sees Bourbon-cream spread that would be made out of almonds. Indeed, if it is sweet as a biscuit filling, it is unmistakably bitter too. Not unpleasantly so. Finish: here, on the other hand, we definitely have chocolate. Mint and chocolate lozenges of so specific a kind that I have to use the French word 'dragée' to describe it accurately: that hardened-sugar shell with a chocolate filling. It is neither powerful, nor big, yet it is a long finish that sticks to the tonsils and the uvula in particular. A little creamy, it dies like a chocolate mousse. The second gulp is very much in line. Creamier, probably. I doubt this has a high ABV; it merely tickles the tip of the tongue after three sips. Pleasant enough drop.

Tomatin 14yo Port Casks (46%, OB, Tawny Port Pipes, b. ca. 2024) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)

03/03/2025 Celebrating St David

Of course, we do it like Belgians. Two days late. Bah!

What else than a Welsh whisky to celebrate the patron saint of Wales, eh?

128.18 9yo d.2012 Dragon's lipstick (59%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead + 1st Fill Ex-Ruby Port Barrique Finish, 271b): nose: just as it did from the freshly-opened bottle a month ago, it starts out relatively earthy, with mushrooms and their juices in a frying pan. That is followed by a lick of encaustic and wood varnish. Covering the glass for a few minutes elicits ginger powder and tree-bark splinters, likely cassia bark, albeit less sweet. The second nose is lighter and more spring-like, as if blossoms finally managed to peek through the earthy layer. We have jasmine, faded lily-of-the-valley, and saxifrage, all timid, barely hiding a growing sense of ripening berries served on a hot metal plate, and lichen. Mouth: the attack is syrupy and wine-y, tannic and very viscous. The strength is as evident as the wood spices; we find ourselves with cassia bark and cloves on the palate, chewy, sweet, and immensely flavourful. We also have dried juniper berries, mace, and a drop of plum juice. Chewing adds some berries in the way a fortified wine would have them, so it is not really a fruity number, this. The second sip is sweeter and juicier, now unfolding cured peach slices, cured plums, and currants soaked in wine, sangria-style. It is still spicy, yet it now tickles the gums with spearmint, beside a pinch of cinnamon powder. With some imagination, one can picture fleeting tropical fruits in the background (purple maracuja) -- with imagination and work: they do not shout. Finish: it is softer than expected, yet still robust. Chewy tree bark, mulch, and potting soil pave the way for stewed plums augmented with a drop of wood varnish. A drying finish it is that turns the tongue into a piece of dried-out leather basking in mushroom juices. The second gulp is creamier and fruitier, full of ripe nectarines and peaches, soaked in wine for good measure. Indeed, even now, it is hard to escape the wine finishing. It is well made, but it overshadows the trademark exotic profile Penderyn showcases when matured in a more-neutral cask. Regardless, this is good. And it shines brighter with each dram. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)

Happy birthday, EG!