03/08/2025 Mini tasting

Following a series of flakages, only OB and JS make this one. We do away with a theme and go for samples and miniatures. OB regrets that he only brought top-shelf stuff, with no consideration for a balanced series. How selfish. I fill in with more-modest stuff.

Strathmill 11yo 1985/1997 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Oak Cask, C#2342, 2460b, b#95, 97/617) (me): OB declares it "not unpleasant, despite a soft soapy touch." He admits that said soapy touch is lost between the garlic from his lunch and the toothpaste he used to get rid of the garlic. JS finds it an excellent starter. My notes are here.

Macduff 17yo 1978/1996 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Sherry Butt, C#6643, 1320b, b#79, 96/1247) (me): I like this perhaps even more than last time. It is very citrus-y, acidic-sweet, ripe with pomelo. Full notes here.

Bunnahabhain 40yo 1973/2013 (46.2%, Acla da Fans Acla Selection, Refill Butt, 167b) (OB): nose: pineapple turnovers, loudly and clearly. Stunning nose, this: it is a total fruity debauchery, with cubed papaya, mango slices (dried and fresh), then sharpish citrus, including the zest mingling with a pinch of sawdust. The second nose presents woodworm-riddled cupboards and dusty staves. JS detects Mulino Bianco's Tenerezze. Spot on. Mouth: concentrated fruit yoghurt. Here are peach, mango, mangosteen, banana, pomelo, calamansi, cherimoya and a smashed mix of buttery mango and avocado. Chewing reveals just how creamy this is. It is acidic too, as if augmented with a drop of orange juice. It is big on the palate, by the way, especially considering the modest ABV. The second sip is chewier, with clay soon overtaken by fruits again. Finish: long, acidic and fruity. We find the same suspects here: pineapple, banana, peach, calamansi, papaya. This time, they are joined by Chinese gooseberry and chikoo. The second gulp is in line. We now detect the knife that has cut all those fruits; it is faint, yet present. This is a masterpiece. I compare it to the incredible Cambus 40yo. It is not as extraordinary, but not far off. 9/10

Poit Dhubh 30yo b.2006 (43%, Pràban na Linne 30th Anniversary Edition, b#230) (me): OB notes that the Sherry, although present, is not intrusive. It is well made. My notes are here.

The BenRiach 33yo 1976/2009 (51.6%, OB Limited Release Bottling specially selected and bottled for La Maison du Whisky, Hogshead, C#3551, 191b) (OB): nose: pineapple-and-mango turnovers. A deeper sniff adds a caramelised layer, almost smoky (I did rinse my glass, so I cannot blame the Poit Dhubh). It is wider and wider, bolder and bolder, and introduces more and more pastry and choux dough than one can shake a Glencairn at. There is surprisingly little of the trademark pink grapefruit, but it is there alright. The mouth ends up faintly metallic too, tin and aluminium. Tantalising nose. The ABV seems to increase at the second nose. On the late tip, we discover green-pepper shavings and mango powder. Mouth: ooft! It flows like pouring honey, and then, the fruity ride begins. Mangoes and peaches so ripe they melt on the tongue. The second sip adds cherimoyas, pulped pineapple and mint lozenges. The mint in question is subdued, sweetened, and just an accompaniment for the fruits. Finish: this leaves me speechless. A couple of slaps make me recover my senses, and I will mention squashed yellow fruits, some from the tropics, such as mangoes, others such as peaches. It also has those large pink-and-white marshmallow tongues and a minuscule amount of mint. Wow. Outstandingly decent, as OB says. 10/10

We devour OB's canelés

Miltonduff 21yo 1978/1999 (59.2%, Signatory Vintage, Sherry Cask, C#1685, 620b, b#350, 99/122) (me): this proves popular too. My notes are here.

Longmorn 34yo 1973/2007 (54.4%, Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength, First Fill Sherry Butt, C#3649, JG/AIG) (OB): nose: an elegant Sherry maturation with oily teak and mahogany, boiled prunes and rehydrated dried apricots. We have cut cocoa and coffee beans too. All that is harmonious. It promises a lot of wood and shoe polish, yet also lychee. The second nose more clearly has coffee and rancio. At a push, one may detect smoked ham. Mouth: thick, coating, cloying, it is full of wood oil and shoe polish. Chewing adds polished leather and prunes, shards of cinnamon sticks, and a very-vague lychee freshness. OB finds it meaty; I do not. The second sip showcases pressed elderberry, some ash and musty earth augmented with hints of strawberry. Finish: long, warming, earthy and woody. It rolls out exotic woods (iroko, teak, ebony) and prunes, currants, raisins. The death is a tad astringent (OB), yet I do not find that detrimental. JS finds the Sherry too dominant, all in all. 8/10

Karuizawa 34yo 1976/2010 (63.6%, OB for Whisky Live! Taipei, 1st Fill Sherry Butt, C#7818, 554b) (OB): a cask split between Whisky Live! Taipei and Whisky Live! Paris. This one is from a 75cl bottle with a geisha on the label, while the French version is much more plain (and 70cl). Nose: "so fresh, after the Longmorn," says OB, a phrase that no-one has ever uttered about a Karuizawa, probably. He adds it is "the most naked Karuizawa [he has] ever tasted." Look! it is still very extractive a whisky, full of galangal, lemongrass, ginger and splintered cedarwood boxes, yet it also has blond tobacco and smoked elderberry, maybe smoked ham, although this is by no means a meaty dram. It is more leather sofas than anything. Mouth: woah! this is strong and punchy. It has amchur and green pepper on a bed of leather that has been recently polished. Next to that, there are hints of elderberry and dunnage-warehouse floor. It is chewy to a degree, and chewing balances it out somehow with mint and smoked crisp apples. Finish: long, assertive, woody (burnt wood), yet, once more, we are nowhere near the almost-unpleasant intensity of some of the other Karuizawa we have tried. In fact, this may well be my favourite to-date. In other circumstances, I may score this lower. For today, it is... 9/10

We then have the remainder of Lagg (59.1%, OB Exclusive Bottling for Lagg Distillery, Finished in ex-Tequila Casks): OB and JS do not think the Tequila is obvious, until I tell them what it is. Blind tasting, eh? My notes are here.

tOMoH: "I got shat on, during the morning run."
OB: "That's annoying when it happens."
tOMoH: "I had a feather in my hat..."
JS: "The birds thought you were one of their own."
OB: "Yeah, I didn't ask if it was a bird..."

While I finish my dram, OB and JS enjoy Springbank 20yo /2017 (59.9%, OB for The Bottling Hall Dinner 2017)

Excellent afternoon again.

02/08/2025 August outturn at the SMWS

It has been a wee while, has it not? GT, PS and Dr. CD are naturally here when JS and I land. Cue recommendations, which is always useful.

44.175 17yo d.2005 Kiss me Pedro! (56.4%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead + 2nd Fill ex-PX Hogshead Finish, 204b): nose: we have oily woods (mahogany, teak), prunes and dried dates. It has vanilla and caramel cream at second sniff, with a drop of cream coffee too. The second nose has hot brass. That is original! Mouth: it dishes out the faint bitterness of cream coffee indeed. Further on, it is torched sticky toffee pudding. Chewing adds the steam from a La Marzocco being cleaned, which is to say hot metal, remnants of coffee smells, and steam. The second sip confirms the cream coffee. It is well balanced. Finish: long, warm, part sweet, part bitter. It leaves the mouth in the same state a slice of sponge cake topped with caramel would. JS finds pepper or some other spice alongside cold cuts. The second gulp is similar, crispy-burnt mocha sponge cake at the death. Water renders this somewhat fruitier. 7/10

71.110 13yo d.2011 Fresh out of the oven (61.2%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead + 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Barrique FInish, 262b): JS chooses this because of the name, which makes her think of bread out of the oven (oooh!) Nose: wide and buttery. Here is Saint Louis gooey butter cake burnt in the oven and that has turned pretty crispy. Of course, that makes no sense: the point of a gooey butter cake is that it is gooey. Maybe a few grains of ground mocha on top. It is drier on the second nose, almost dried ink and sand. Mouth: big and powerful, it feels a lot stronger than the previous dram (and, looking closely, it is). We detect heated apricot eau-de-vie or liqueur (it is too thick to be an eau-de-vie, really). The second sip is juicier, while still very hot. Simmering marmalade sweating in a torched tin cap. Finish: big on arrival, it grows bigger and bigger, with hot caramel, caffè corretto (more corretto than caffè), and hot metal trays. The second gulp is fruitier, all piping-hot apricots. 7/10

JS and I move tables to let newcomers join the lads. YM arrives a bit later on.

GT: "Are you okay, there?"
tOMoH: "I feel left out. But really, it allows me to focus on the drams."
GT: "Bet you can still hear PS!"
tOMoH: "Oh yeah."
GT: "Can you hear me?"
tOMoH: "I can hear you are talking. I cannot hear all the words."
GT: "Good answer!"

PS offers a round.

36.228 28yo d.1996 Tales of the Worm Tub: The snaking coil (47%, SMWS The Creators Collection, 1st Fill American Oak + PX Hogshead Finish, 222b): oh! So floral. Honeysuckle and rosehip frolic with roasted apples and baked peaches. Wow. Cherries and Mirabelle plums follow, more  honeysuckle, lychee, magnolias... Did anyone mention honeysuckle? The second nose has chocolate éclairs with a topping of fruity-pine-y cream rather than chocolate, and pineapple shavings in a lemon custard. Mouth: perfect balance, mellow, silky, it is full of flower petals and fruit slices (pear, apple, guava, lychee). The second sip brings pineapple acidity and sweet citrus to boot -- Ugli fruit, calamansi, citron. Finish: behaved, yet long-lasting. It leaves quite an impression. It is creamy as mango (the texture, not the taste). We have baked-peach flesh melting on the tongue. Repeated quaffing decreases the acidity and the fruitiness which tend to go hand in hand. This is on such a different level, compared with the first two drams, that it is comical. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, PS)

Cheese board served. Huge slabs of cheese
with only six puny crackers. I ask for a couple more
and receive twelve. :-D

35.410 19yo 2006/2025 Don't hurry this one... (55.8%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead + 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Barrique Finish, 271b): nose: here, we have fine tobacco, crushed pinecones, and what comes across as preserved lemons, a little briny, a little sweet, and a little acidic. It may well have a drop of diluted ink too. Mouth: it is more wine-y here, sweet, yet also tannic. Rather punchy too, surprisingly enough. We note pickled onions, maybe. Finish: long, big, briny. This is full of pickled red onions, onion relish, and a lick of wood varnish or oil. It does not improve much with water; wood oil turns into nail lacquer. I am not really convinced by this one. 6/10

66.258 26yo d.1998 Wood-smoked walnut gâteau (51.2%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead + 2nd Fill ex-Shiraz Barrique Finish, 237b): nose: incense smoke, ash, burnt balsa wood, a pinch of dry earth, albeit much less than could be expected of this distillery. Further sniffs have hay so dry it is falling into dust, as well as extremely-dry shortcrust. It develops leather, in the long run. Mouth: hot at once, it soon reveals dried cherry slices fallen into mud. The second sip is more charred, with burnt paper, charred fruits (acidic pineapple, this time) and old newspapers after a trip in the open fire. Finish: some fruits here too (cherry and pineapple), chargrilled and turning black. It has the bitterness of black ash, paper burnt to a crisp, and parchment paper after it has been under the oven's grill. Decent. 7/10

149.19 9yo d.2015 Out with the gherkin, in with the brine (61.7%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 190b): nose: heavily peated to this nose, this is muddy -- crusted mud, lumps of mud stuck on boot soles. Indeed, it has a whiff of new rubber soles. Then, suddenly, it is all billowing cigar smoke, burnt banana leaves and smoky Kaffir lime leaves. The second nose adds pine-y influences, needles and cones, as well as smoked vanilla custard (or smoked-vanilla custard, who knows?) Mouth: white pepper on hot custard, sawdust, cork shavings and something green. It has smoked orchard fruits too that do not dominate at all. Finish: long and peppery, it has the tingle of ginger without the taste, galangal and cinnamon. It is the numbing effect of those, not the taste. The smoke is much more subdued, here, more a feature of a leafy whole, but it is there alright. Repeated quaffing adds smoked seaweed too. Solid. 7/10

Sadly, they are out of 162.4. Hm.

28/07/2025 Talisker

Last time we had a Talisker, it was anything but a supermarket whisky. This time, it literally is available from supermarkets.

Talisker Skye (45.8%, OB, b. ca. 2025): nose: it reeks of peat and lukewarm pickle water. That could mean brine, and, indeed, it is a tad briny, yet pickle water is more specific: it has a mild sweetness to it, perhaps imparted by sweet-and-sour pickles themselves. Next are aluminium cable trays, metallic, sure, and painted white. Why that is so clear and so specific is a mystery, but it is. Much more, in fact, than the saltier side that emerges, rollmops, pickled herring, pickled onions, all of which are easily missed. In terms of peat, it promises more heat from a kitchen hob than any bold smoke. It is a heat that feels more welcoming with each sniff, warm logs and pickled fish, even if it is not smoky enough to mention kippers. The second nose seems more earthy and pickled yet, with pearl onions, pickled red onions, beetroot kimchi. Cherry-filled chocolate, or cherry-liqueur-filled chocolate appears too, borderline sickly without falling so easily into that trap. Mouth: vaguely fruity upon entrance, it quickly spreads its wings. Here, it is clearly smoky, with mud patties baked in a stone oven, old cigars, berries in a wicker basket by the fire. Chewing reveals pickled garlic cloves, rollmops, briny olives, capers and a drop of ink. The second sip is pumped with cherry liqueur, and that, in turn, is poured on charred chocolate, which generates a thin white smoke. The cherry side is so earthy it is virtually the same as elderberry. Finish: burnt chocolate blended with watercolour. It provides a scorched-earth note that is also a little fruity -- and by "a little," I mean hardly recognisable: burnt oily nuts, burnt cherry stones, overly-roasted elderberry. It is a long finish, bold, peaty to a point, and quite boorish. It has no subtlety to speak of; it does what it does, take it or leave it. That calls for respect, to an extent. The second gulp is warmer yet, and it swaps the watercolour for clay. Here is a potter's workshop in which the potter is making amphorae out of clay (obvsl) that he keeps moist by splashing it with Greek red wine. Just like said wine, this sticks to the gob forever and a day. Honest dram. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Rock View Guest House)

21/07/2025 Fête Nationale de Belgique

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

Bonne Fête Nationale, Belgian friends.

20/07/2025 Thermidor

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.

29/06/2025 The Arran Malt Festival (Day 3)

Today, we take the automobile, keen not to repeat yesterday's frustrations with the bus. Driver's drams are provided everywhere anyway. The journey is short. We park and go straight to the shop, which is much more bearable than yesterday.

En route to the shop, we meet this

We complete the collection and are made to sample a few interesting things (for confirmation, you understand). In come MR and Mr. MR, her fabled husband. They have been married for a couple of years, and we have not yet met him. He actually exists. With that running gag out of the way, we all join JL and CH on the grass outside. Mr. MR came in last night from Glasgow, and is the welcome bearer of Tantrum Doughnuts. Seeing as we ran out last night, needless saying he is our hero. They are for JL's birthday, however, so we (I) must exercise some restraint. Etiquette and all that. Fortunately, there are drams to take my mind off them. Short notes; the setting is not exactly adapted.

Like most distilleries it seems, Lochranza is home to songthrushes

Lochranza 9yo 2015/2025 (57.1%, Jewish Whisky Company Single Cask Nation, 1st Fill Sherry Hogshead, C#153118, 316b) (CH)

Nose: cola and a bit of rancio.
Mouth: spicy cola, a mix of caramel and Kola Kubes.
Finish: big, boisterous, overflowing with spicy cola.
Comment: as often stated, the thing with Arran is that there is no real dud, once we skip the "creative" early finishes. 7/10

Devil's the avocado is
enjoying himself too

Islay (unknown ABV, unknown bottler, ex-Glenfarclas Cask) (CH)

Nose: dark, mossy earth, prunes.
Mouth: earthy prunes indeed, topped with liquorice shavings and smoked clay.
Finish: long, warm.
Comment: from a blind hipflask and no bottling details, this alleged Kilchoman is perfect, here on the lawn. 7/10

JS once more brings back the goods from the barbecue. It is regular burgers only, today: despite lunchtime being less than an hour in the rear-view mirror (it is 13:37), they are out of vegetarian options, or indeed everything else. Seems like a miscalculation, but what does tOMoH know?

On my way to try and catch someone (I forget whom), I interrupt a conversation, one part of which is pouring Isle of Arran 10yo b.2012 (55.7%, OB for Spirit of Stirling Whisky Festival, 156b, b#128) talk about an exclusive drop! 7/10

Once more, everyone present is gathered in the tent for a "special event" at 14:29. We cross fingers that it is more eventful than yesterday's underwhelm...

After a moment or two, Euan Mitchell rises to the stage and delivers a speech to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of this here distillery.

EM: "People have travelled from all over the world: Belgium, Taiwan, Shiskine…"

He then hands over to Campbell Laing (remember him from yesterday?) who wrote a poem for the occasion and reads it.

Following on comes Stewart Bowman, Distillery Manager at Lochranza, who concocted a dram for this moment. He clears the air immediately: there is no thirty-year-old stock (the first distillation would turn thirty tomorrow), so he opted to blend juices from 1995, 2005 and 2015. That makes the sample we all received a 9yo or 10yo whisky, in other words. The speeches fall a bit short, in terms of time, so there is a funny gap before we count down to 14:29, the precise time the spirit flowed for the first time, in 1995. When we reach zero, we try the whisky. I take no notes (what is the point? It is not otherwise available and there is no other information about it, not even an ABV), but I rate it 8/10.

Finally, a clearly-nervous Duncan Ritchie of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland introduces and plays his tune The Road to Lochranza, which he wrote for the occasion (and for the accordion). A good tune it is too!

It becomes clear that this this 14:29 climax signalled the informal end of the festival. I try to catch Ritchie to laud his tune, but he disappears like a jet-setter. adc, JS and I decide to make a move. MR explains she is stuck until the bus: someone else drove her, this morning. She has to take the car, but she left her keys where she is staying. Not to worry! We drive off to Brodick, where we drop off MR and Mr. MR. From there, we continue to Lamlash, where adc want to see a monument to the clearances from a closer distance. The weather is so nice we spend a while on the seafront, watching the ballet of gannets fishing.

They are easy to recognise in good weather: they glow in the sun

Comes the time to return to Brodick for a nap.

With a halt at the imaginatively-named Viewpoint Carpark

This evening, we have a reservation at the Douglas Hotel where we join old and new friends for dinner.

One brought this that we will never try

Moules Marinières (adc)

Falafel Burger (JS)

Seafood Korma (me)

We also destroy a plate of dirty fries with haggis

JS has an Arran Anvil

I go for the Pornstar Martini for shock value

Everything is delicious, and the slow service does not diminish our enjoyment too much.

Being a large-ish group, the discussion never goes too deep and, since we are in a restaurant, it feels inappropriate to pour our own whiskies. Against MR's plans, we all decline an after-party. We are in bed before midnight.

We even manage to dodge JL's Connie the Caterpillar cake

They have a map of the Benelux behind the bar