Cutty Sark 25yo Tam o'Shanter (46.5%, Berry Bros. & Rudd for Burns' Night 2012, 5000b): nose: an old library or archive room, with piles of books (mostly worn paperbacks) and also reading desks -- blotting paper, faded carpet, old ink on yellowed paper. It ventures further on the road to stale, with crumpled newspaper, old cardboard and even dried urine. As it is about to turn into a rustic pub's latrine, it sheds all the above and puts on a mantle of candied cherries and acidic cranberry sauce, as well as rosehip. Cardboard and old papers do resurface, but we seem to have got rid of the wee -- phew! The second nose has an air of old world, and it is not hard to imagine gentlemen wearing dinner jackets in the smoking room of their club, There is even a heavier, woodiness settling in (acacia). Mouth: fresh and acidic, it presents cranberries indeed, followed by physalis. Chewing reveals a bold sweetness, chewy sweets at first, then cardboard-y toffee. It is dusty and malty, and hints at a malt breakfast drink (not Littlemill!) spilled onto a piece of cardboard. Old blends, eh? The second sip betrays a relatively-high grain content by displaying white granulated sugar mixed with barley mash. That gives way to a pleasant toffee augmented with lemon segments and just a whisper of menthol. Finish: sweetened chicory infusion, Mokatine, perhaps caramelised endives. It blends the sweet with the bitter brilliantly, bitterer than hot chocolate, sweeter than chicory infusion, close to stale toffee, if that were available in liquid form. The second gulp remains blend-y, with chicory granules and Vanidene trying to one-up one another in boiling water. Beside toffee and Mokatine, it has a pinch of lemon zest and some faded ginger gratings. Solid. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)
Ballantine's 30yo (unknown ABV, George Ballantine + Son, unknown volume, b. late 1970s/early 1980s, SB 161 L5): nose: deeper and darker, it promises sweetness in the shape of crystallised blackcurrant sweets rather than mocha-flavoured ones. Deeper nosing gives oily wood, uprooted trees in a damp clearing, and, increasingly, wild mushrooms. Breathing time imparts cola sweets lost amongst mulch, yet we never go too far from blackcurrants. The second nose introduces a cup of thyme infusion sweetened with a spoonful of dark honey. That is enjoyed at the rustic kitchen table, made of solid wood, that has seen the kitchen stove lit a number of times. Yes, oily logs and old newspapers complete the picture. Mouth: an old-school attack reminiscent of ancient Gordon & MacPhail offerings. One may conclude that this has been "adjusted" with E150a, and that is likely the truth. It certainly makes for a sweet, flat-cola-like palate, albeit one that still tells much more to those who care to listen: toffee, dried currants, dried figs, prunes, dried cranberries and cherries, and even a pinch of tobacco coated in honey. If it reads weird, it tastes exquisite. The second sip is sweeter yet, with Medjool dates pointing towards lukums. That paves the way for banane flambée, barley syrup, pressed raisins and smoked currants. Finish: phwoar! Despite the (presumably) lower ABV, it just kicks bouteille. Sweet again, it continues the dried-fruit parade, this time cloaked in a thin smoke. We have dried currants and berries, served on a walnut cutting board, while an acrid smoke rises from the open coal fire in another room. To overcome the smoke, which, if thin indeed, is clearly perceptible, one is sucking on a mocha-and-currant boiled sweet. The second gulp brings forth a smoked-pineapple purée and dies with mocha grounds and soot on blackened parchment paper moist with fruit syrup. Beautiful. It could use more power, but it does not strictly need it. 9/10
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