Late this week, we finalised the attendance list for today's tasting. I closed by saying all we needed was a theme. PS put on his clown hat and proposed Thermidor, the month in the French Republican calendar that used to start today. He added that it would "allows for heat puns [the month was named after the Greek word for 'heat'] AND weak crustacean links." Little did he know that no-one would propose a better theme. Or, indeed, any other theme at all.
It is with this shaky theme that PS, JS, OB, JMcD and I meet this afternoon, then. GL, after announcing a last-minute attendance, cannot make it and sadly calls off.
The soundtrack is a collection of mixes by noizaddict, none of which is online.
JS presents Thermidletonor
Midleton 20yo 1991/2012 (54.1%, OB Single Cask for The Whisky Exchange, First Fill Bourbon Barrel, C#48750, 205b, b#000109): nose: all sorts of vanilla and fruit aromas. Mouth: creamy fruits. Finish: it has an acidic kick and tons of fruity custard. I spend little time with this. I know it well. It lives up to the memories I have of it. 9/10
 |
tOMoH: "There you go. I decapitated both of you, but..."
OB: "Well, that's in theme!" |
tOMoH presents Tormoridor
I was not sure which Tormore to feature. This seems like a good pick, for a collection of reasons. I will notice tomorrow that it was distilled on a 20th July. Today is its anniversary. Ha! Ha!
Tormore 15yo 1998/2014 (57.4%, Chivas Brothers Cask Strength Edition, B#TM 15 001): nose: bright, lemony, it also has a certain greenness -- mint, basil, pineapple weed, chamomile and lime foliage. Mouth: starting out mellow and custard-y, it swiftly explodes with sharp citrus and pineapple. There is some acidity, in other words. It also has a lick of wood, almost bread-like. Finish: big, citrus-y and custard-y again. Calamansi, candied lime. The second gulp adds melted chocolate. I am looking forward to spending more time with this. What a collection! 8/10
JMcD explains he is in theme (he wears a crustacean on his shirt), but the whisky was meant for the previous tasting that he could not attend. PS objects that it is an easy Thermisword
Man O' Sword 10yo (58.6%, OB Single Cask, Fresh ex-Bourbon Cask, C#103, b#092): nose: a light peat smoke that reaches leather and tawed suede, warm thyme, thyme infusion, and citrus in the back (kumquat and bergamot). Perhaps there is a dash of Indian ink and a hint of metal too. Mouth: it is very farm-y here. Raw hides, sheep's skins, cow's stable. It is very dry too, and turns a little abrasive, in a glass-cleaning-agent way. Finish: it is smokier now, long, lingering, pumped with billowing smoke. It feels less animal, save for burnt goat's droppings. The second gulp introduces smoked fruits. It is juicier and juicier with each sip. What a pleasant surprise! 8/10
We talk about peat, the environmental impact of its use, and recurrent discussions to abolish it.
OB: "What would Scandinavians drink if peat were made illegal?"
PS: "I guess they'd go back to diesel."
PS presents Dalthermidor
Yup, poor effort to shoehorn a Dalmore into the theme. :-D
13.36 17yo 1988/2006 Tea and marmalade (59.3%, SMWS Society Cask, 588b): I point out that the next cask would have made a much leeter impression (if you know, you know). Nose: this is from before the SMWS discovered water. Lots of straw, a hint of metal, dried thyme, bergamot leaves, dried oregano. And then orchard fruits appear: apples, quince, followed by lozenges, after a while. Mouth: more balanced than expected, it has verbena and thyme infusion, augmented with pressed heirloom apples. It is hot, if one keeps it on the tongue for too long. The second sip has crushed chalk mixed with apricot juice. Finish: very-hot marmalade, which implies a certain bitterness and hot tin caps. The finish is the best part of this dram for my taste. 7/10
 |
| Bread, courtesy of OB |
 |
Cheeses, courtesy of OB
Comté, Reblochon, Cabri D'Ici
(an ash-ripened goat's cheese, not to be confused with Francel Cabri) |
 |
| Dedication, is it not? |
PS: "That's Macallan for you. They're traditional in spirit and rapaciously greedy in marketing."
tOMoH presents Thermidornoch
Dornoch 3yo 2017/2020 (59.4%, OB, Sherry Cask, C#001): nose: a cereal dustiness (PS), quiet and fruity (PS). JMcD finds warm rubber boots. It has a scent of decay to me, cured meat, soy-sauce-soaked game meat. Mouth: fruitier here than the nose announced, with elderberry assaulted by mould. Finish: lots of cured berries -- rotting cherries, overripe elderberries, perhaps blackberries. I like it better today. Full notes here. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, MR)
PS: "I only drink whisky in good company. Or, at a push, here."
 |
| Berry cake and almond cake, courtesy of JMcD |
PS presents Thermibrora
Brora 20yo 1982/2003 (58.1%, OB Rare Malts Selection, b#0940, L19T00): nose: dusty-rusty boilers, caramelised apricot jams. In the back, we find gunpowder, hot engines, engine fumes, burnt wax, then engine grease. This is excellent already. The more one sniffs it, the more charcoal comes out. Mouth: powerful, almost brutal (it is a Rare Malt, after all), it is full of dark smoke, thick, coating, petrolic. We then have old greasy cogs and bolts, charcoal gratings and pepper sprinkled on freshly-greased nuts and cogs. Finish: huge, smoky, hairy, it has burnt jam, charred apricots, and the acridity of engine fumes. This is immense. 9/10
PS: "It feels like an old friend."
tOMoH: "How would you know?"
OB introduces the next whisky: "I thought I had shared this with [this] group, but I had not, and, thinking of lobster thermidor, I thought it was a bit shellfish..."
Best pun yet.
Port Ellen 19yo 1981/2000 (59.4%, The Bottlers imported by T's The Vintage Selection, Refill Sherry Butt, C#1550): a mix of rancio and squashed elderberry. This has earth, yet it is also fresh in a toothpaste sort of way. Let us call it liquorice, then. Mouth: holy molly! This has Oloroso and Fino, brine, cured prunes, skewers of grilled fish doused in soy, fish and hoisin sauces. Chewing brings more liquorice with strong cough drops. Maybe camphor too? Finish: more Sherry of exceedingly-good quality. Super-dark grapes, prunes in brine, fortified-wine-cured kippers. It is very wine-sauce-like, game-y, not too far from red-wine vinegar, in fact, though, of course, less strippingly acidic. It stays on the straight and narrow, so to speak. A stronger bitterness appears at second sip that makes me think of rubber. This is excellent, as impressive as the first time. 9/10
tOMoH: "That almond cake is the donkey's bollocks."
OB: "
Monkey's arse; donkey's bollocks... You taste strange things."
tOMoH: "I like animals..."
PS: "Every zoo has a restraining order against you."
JMcD [about his next offering]: "I have to admit I haven't put any thought in the theme."
OB: "On the contrary: it is a Bourbon."
JMcD: "And? Thermibourbon?"
OB: "The French Revolution put a temporary stop to the Bourbon dynasty."
Blanton's (62.8%, OB Single Barrel, C#781, b#89): nose: hot, it has all sorts of white wood, then mint lozenges. Shortly thereafter, we have paper and edible paper. Then, we spot candied herbs, marjoram or tarragon. Later on, it emits corn syrup. It smells well sweet. Mouth: this is definitely grassy, herbal, but also sweet and candied. It packs a punch, to be sure, and it feels like chewing on leather, at times, with a lick of milk chocolate to keep it interesting. We go back to marjoram and tarragon in the long run, soft but present. Finish: long and minty, this resembles a warm Tic Tac. It also boasts candied angelica, bitter and sweet in equal measures. 7/10
PS [about the unstable weather]: "I considered a hat, but it would have been too warm, so I took an umbrella."
tOMoH: "You've always been less Jim Murray and More Rihanna."
OB tells us that 'Thermidor' comes from the Greek for 'heat', and this is a hot whisky.
George T. Stagg 17yo 1993/2010 (69.05%, OB Barrel Proof): nose: super-punchy, it still finds space for candied orange segments, marzipan, blackcurrants and furniture polish (JS). Then, we have more-extractive aromas, such as mint, lemongrass and white-wood splinters. Over time, it develops a strong vanilla smell that works a treat with subtle fruit. Mouth: a big, bold American spirit (OB). I can feel bald-eagle feathers growing from my skullcap. It has furniture wax and thick currant syrup. The second sip has peach juice (not nectar) studded with grape pips for an added bitterness. Finish: long, full of blackcurrants, blackberries and tar-dark honey. Repeated sipping hits hard, yet it is surprisingly balanced. The more one drinks, the woodier it becomes, bitterness and all, but it never is a bother. 7/10
I pour JMcD a dram of Très Vieux Cognac Grande Champagne Vallein Tercinier Lot n°65 50yo 1965/2015 (54.4%, OB for Wealth Solutions). OB has 163.1 6yo 2018/2024 Smokin'! (58.1%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 240b), PS has Isle of Arran 3yo 1995/1998 (60.3%, OB, 1000b, b#102).
PS [bouncing off a comment from OB]: "Collateral wind probably doesn't mean what you think. Also, it is the name of my new prog-rock band."
JS: "The Bourbon were good."
PS: "I prefer Custard Cream or Garibaldi, but yes."
Pleasant, leisurely tasting. The weather cleared up and we ended up too warm, but it was tolerable.
163.1 6yo 2018/2024 Smokin'! (58.1%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 240b): nose: smokin' indeed! Roasted apples, smoked quince, a warm-but-empty brasero. It has a pinch of ash too, yet the longer it breathes, the fruitier it gets: soon, we detect roasted pineapple and acidic lemon juice, heated and used to clean shiny metal -- it is not exactly a razor blade, but it does not fall very short. It settles for warm smoked-apple compote and pulped chargrilled pineapple. Looking with intent, one may spot a fleeting whiff of boiled egg, though calling it sulphury would be delusional. Perhaps it has herbs growing in stagnant water; it is slightly vegetative. The second nose is dustier, freckled with drops of old honey that has set and gathered, well, dust. This is a nose that is reminiscent of a rustic kitchen in the countryside, somehow, wood for the fire and all. On the late tip, we note a brown-corduroy game bag at body temperature. It contains an apple and a smattering of gunpowder. Mouth: assertive not brash, which is quite an achievement, after only six years in wood. It has the numbing effect of peppermint with little of the pepper -- could it be spearmint? Or a dentist's anaesthetic? Half a chew fans the smoke a little and restores chargrilled fruits, pineapple and apples, maybe quince too. The second sip is ashier, soot-y, even, acrid, jet-black and coating, while sucking all moisture from the palate. Chewing brings forth incandescent embers, burnt wood, an undecipherable mineral quality, and mixes those with the fruits from before. Finish: a nice, green, minty touch fades out to make way for smoky fruits. Smoked apples, grilled pineapple, shiny metal (it must have been a new grille upon which the pineapple was chargrilled). A hot fruit salad with chopped mint at second gulp. A faint medicinal taste lingers between the roof of the mouth and the top of the throat, part tincture of iodine, part burnt fruit stones (plum), part ether, part piping-hot apple compote. It feels close to anaesthetics again, not so much the effect as the taste, though it is a little numbing, to be clear. This is bloody good. 8/10
