30/10/2026 Ardnamurchan

Ardnamurchan 8yo 2018/2026 (63.3%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection, Bourbon Barrel, 228b): nose: it has a mineral cleanliness from the get-go, like a stone puled out from a stream, dried, yet inexorably polished by years of erosion. Shortly thereafter comes a mildly-medicinal touch (disinfectant or guaiacol), followed by a whiff of burnt wood and subtle softened butter. Finally, we find thorn-y twigs, hawthorn or brambles. The second nose has a wood stove in a rustic kitchen in the north of Italy in autumn. At some point soon, it will see a cauldron with polenta; for now, it is gaining heat. There is a tumbler of cheap red wine on the table, following the rising temperature in the room. With water, the nose turns more coastal, with sea breeze and a mist of sea spray. Eating orchard fruits on the harbour on a drizzly day. Mouth: clean and sweet on entry, very sweet, in fact, it peddles spent matches and charred hazel sticks with the most-limited chewing. Intentionally moving the liquid around the mouth ignites a fire of char -- charred twigs, a pile of matches (left behind by an arsonist, no doubt), liquid fire starter, burnt pine logs. It still has guaiacol and surgical disinfectant, some might say TCP, yet the acrid smoke and charred bits are loudest, reminiscent of a lunchtime fire on a November day's lumbering in the woods. The second sip has ashy peach slices, juicy, fruity, not fully ripe, and made a bit abrasive by a dusting of ashes. Water tones down the heat and the smoky side to focus on orchard fruits again. Only when chewing does the ashtray of a fire insert emerge, not even full of ashes. Finish: dry peat, then burnt peat. It is almost wood smoke, initially, from what seems to have been an efficient flame. Then it changes and hints at damper, smokier mosses, giving thicker, more-acrid smoke. Throughout, a pleasant sweetness hovers, strawberries or such. Retro-nasal olfaction sees lichens clinging to the sides of a vase, bone-dry, close to ash-like. The second gulp throws peach slices into a bowl of ashes and stirs them with a wooden spoon. It does not really go beyond that, but it also does not need to. It dies out with a pinch of soot, acrid and sticky. Water makes for a robust-if-juicy finish. More orchard fruits (apples, plums) and a pile of dry white-wood logs waiting to be thrown onto the fire. Perhaps it has a spoonful of lemon curd too. Pleasant, if not super challenging. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, JH)

29/10/2026 Arran

Arran 23yo 1997/2021 6th Release (53.8%, OB White Stag, Sherry Hogshead & Sherry Puncheon, B#6, 995b): nose: dry, dry, dry almonds and hazelnuts in a lacquered case. Underneath are dried cranberries, dried banana slices sprinkled with red wine and hum. Some breathing time makes the fruits fresher, with peach slices, papaya cubes and dark grapes or currants. Suddenly, the circular blade of a ham slicer appears, clean and freshly oiled. Follows a piece of white wood, likely pine from cheap furniture, cut with the ham slicer, and shedding sawdust. The second nose is full-on currants, raisins and dried cranberries soaked in red wine. At a push, one may find a trace of earth, yet that would be wine-stained earth. Mouth: unctuous and fruity, it has peach nectar, apricot juice, plum smoothie and a couple of rehydrated dried cranberries. Chewing triggers a small eruption of fruits, chiefly plums, punctuated with a strong and fruity Patras wine. It has a spoonful of peanut paste, neither overly oily, nor too bitter, which paves the way for something mineral: it could be fruit stones, but then they are mixed up with pebbles. Further chewing puts more emphasis on the wine-y note. The second sip welcomes gingerbread, mulled wine gone cold and Aachener Printen. Chew some more for a cup of mulled wine to accompany those Printen. It has cinnamon and ginger in reasonable amounts; it is the  texture, in particular, that shouts: 'Printen'. Moving the liquid around the mouth injects musk -- a fox's wet hair drying by the campfire. Finish: big and wine-y in the best possible way. It is fruity (grapes, blush oranges), game-y (sauce grand'veneur, lingonberry compote) and a little tannic. It sticks to the gob like pitch and feels like wine-flavoured sweets, albeit of a heady rather than sweet kind, a heavy wine that has seen a lot of sun. The second gulp doubles down on the fruits -- blush oranges, dark grapes, raisins, dried cranberries, dried figs, all soaked in heady wine, somewhere between sangria and mulled wine. It has cinnamon powder and but a pinch of ginger powder, so it is probably the latter. Well made, if not suitable every day, in this taster's opinion. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

27/10/2026 Highland Park

 Another dreich day, another topical dram.

4.406 14yo 2012/2026 Sweetly soothing smoke (64.4%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 220b): nose: warming goodness. Warm oil, a cauldron of hot pitch, a puff of warm gas coming out of the sewers on a brisk morning... Did I say 'goodness'? Well, it is relative. Deeper nosing renders this cleaner, with ashy white wine and recently-applied sealant around a new bathtub. It progresses towards hazelnut oil, white-wine vinegar and the hard-sugar shell of lozenges. The second nose somehow brings ashes to the table, the white kind that follows an efficient fire, before reintroducing white wine, something between Riesling and Chenin Blanc. Mouth: astonishingly citrus-y, it has lemon drizzle cake and orange sponge cake. Mixed peel extracts itself from the fluffy cake to have a solo career, and it is a success. Chewing adds droplets of wood oil, too light for teak -- probably acacia? It has a faint bitterness, though that does not take away from the lemon-y pleasure and the honey-like wood we encounter too. The second sip is drying, if fruity. It is akin to a dry white wine again, with green grapes and their skins jostling chalk and sherbet. It is remarkably acidic and warming upon chewing. Imagine the juices of a lemon turnover trickling onto the hot baking tray. Finish: big, fruity and acidic, it has more mixed peel, hot lemon drizzle cake, hot marmalade spread on fluffy bread, all served on a board made of white wood -- birch, acacia, hazel. It is a long finish that wakens the taste buds before lulling them into a sense of comfort. The second gulp welcomes lozenges, some minty, some even mentholated, which overshadows the chocolate contained within the sugar shell. It takes imagination to catch an acrid white smoke, but why not? We spot dry-to-the-max passion fruits more easily, though. Alright, this! 8/10

26/10/2026 Caol Ila

53.527 12yo 2013/2026 Seraphic sea symphony (59.7%, SMWS In Celebration of Robin Laing the Whisky Bard, 2nd Fill STR Oloroso-Seasoned Barrique, 276b): nose: an inky-petrolic puddle of sea water. Is this really a Caol Ila? It smells like a Bladnoch -- not! Seashells dusted with caster sugar, wicker baskets of empty oyster and mussel shells, whelk in tarry sands, and profiteroles, believe it or not. It acquires a fruity side, in the long run, fruity and somewhat mineral, which hints at a dry white wine, probably. After thirty minutes of breathing, it turns quieter and more distinguished, with shoe polish and leather pouches, or brown leather shoes. The second nose continues that and makes it more comfortable by adding a fire insert. That leads to an empty-not-cleaned ashtray and church scents -- spent incense, stoup water, oiled pews, and a general archaic dampness. Mouth: salty as fook, it feels like drinking sea water from an oyster shell. It also has a strongly-appealing mix of kerosene, lacquer, ozone and mentholated tobacco, a mix that becomes bolder as one chews. It comes across as both clean and staining, which is remarkable. Briny sea air over an island airfield, while they refuel a plane, maybe. The second sip has mussels in a salty broth, a lick of chalk, old fishing nets and warm vanilla custard blended with warm sea water in a smoky bothy. Finish: sweet at first, like a gulp of chocolate éclair at room temperature, it swiftly drops a bomb of stagnant water, algae and mosses. It sticks to the oesophagus like lichen to an empty vase, drying and abrasive, vegetal and marsh-like. Menthol ends up in the spotlight, as does cigarette smoke in a fishing shed. Quaint. The second gulp follows a similar progression: sweet-stagnant-salty-ashy-vase-like-mentholated. Consistent. Does the trick. 7/10

24/10/2026 Shakespeare

The soundtrack: Various - Belgium's Finest

JH suggested the theme, who is in town just for this. Just kidding! He will, of course, attend a symposium on paper napkins at the same time.

YM, JMcD, SOB and JS join JH and myself for an afternoon of high-brow theatre, then.

Speaking of which...

tOMoH channels his inner-SOB to present Tea-tre-ninich

Teaninich 46yo 1975/2021 (47.4%, Sansibar JD’s Personal Choice No.4, Bourbon Hogshead, 158b) (tOMoH)

Nose: chamomile (JH), very floral (SOB), marygold (YM), gingerbread, Majorquese almond cake (JH), juicy orange-y cake (JH).

Mouth: super fruity, but also briny, salty and spicy (JH), pickles and jalapeños (JH).

Finish: mango (SOB), oily-rubbery (JH), tea (YM).

Comment: I do not spend nearly as much time with this stunner as I should. My full notes are here.

Score: 9/10

JH [about his recent trip to Skye]: "We were staying in an old castle -- actually McD-related."
JMcD: "You're welcome."

We talk about logos.

JS: "The Watt Whisky [logo] is weird. Every time I see it, I think: 'What were they thinking?'"
tOMoH: "Should be called the Twat Whisky logo."
[YM looks it up]
SOB: "Have you found it?"
YM: "Yeah. I don't know. The colour scheme. Usually, that means you need to go to the hospital."

The soundtrack: The Coronation Of King George II

JMcD brought something from a Danish distillery to mark The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. He adds that this is a peated version, dried with peat and heather, likely harvested on a blasted heath, the place where the witches live, in Macbeth.

Stauning Smoke (47%, OB) (JMcD): salt (JMcD), pine (JMcD), cigar smoke (JH), malted barley (YM), liquorice (JH), Salmiyakki (JH). It is roasted apples for me, and heather brush, borderline hay. Mouth: Bolder here, it has fine smoke, roasted barley, toasted cereals. It still has juicy apples, roasted, even charred in places. Some earth comes up on the late tip. Finish: grappa (YM and JH), eau-de-vie distilled from pine stuff (JH). 'Speciality smoke' (JH), scented wood chips for burning. 7/10

tOMoH introduces the next bottle: he bought it from OB, whose local pub used to be The Shakespeare.

Auchroisk 27yo 1988/2016 (48.6%, Cadenhead, Bourbon Hogshead, 258b) (tOMoH)

Nose: a fruit bomb. Strawberries, peaches, tropical fruits and candied ginger (JH).

Mouth: front-loaded, it hits bigly (JMcD). It packs quite a punch indeed, with dried ginger, dried peach slices, dried mango slices and rehydrated-dried-fruit water.

Finish: it drops (JMcD). It is indeed relatively short at first impression, until one realises a comfortable heat stays in the stomach. And then fruits shine again, wave by wave.

Comment: we took notes for the miniature version of this, when it came out. This full bottle fares considerably better.

Score: 9/10

SOB unveils Othello's character: Port Dun-Das-demona. He continues by saying this particular one was bottled for Cadenhead's Milan shop and observes that so many plays of Shakespeare's take place in Italy. In particular, he insists, Two Gentlemen of Verona, in which one of the characters, Lord Prospero Visconti, is the Duke of Milan. As if that were not enough, he notes that the Shakespeare pub in Bethnal Green has a plaque that reads "Est. 1842", the same year as Cadenhead.

Port Dundas 31yo 1988/2019 (50.8%, Cadenhead specially bottled for Cadenhead Whisky Shop Milan, Hogshead, 228b, 19/389) (SOB): nose: a Port-Dundasian metallic edge, perhaps, and oregano. We find the syrup of stem ginger lurking behind it all. Mouth: syrupy (SOB), it has lots of aromatic herbs, some candied, some fresh. It becomes chewy with minty chalk or chalky mint, though that turns into silky custard in the long run. Finish: 'me like' (JH), fruit cake (JH), apricot cake(JH), very buttery, like a vanilla cookie (JH), canelés (YM), almond croissant or lemon drizzle (JH), brown sugar (YM). It has a wonderful custard-y texture reminiscent of flan or vanilla pudding. This is something! A very strong 8/10

Food enters.

YM and SOB brought enough for a garrison:
Coppa Piacentina, Rabbit Terrine, Saucisson with Walnuts
Pinocchiona IGP, Pinocchiona Salame, Veroni Prosc. Parma
Gouda 48 Months, Fleur du Maquis, Pecorino Sardo, Pecorino Romano
Sourdough bread 

And JMcD brought the now-traditional
blueberry cheesecake and almond tart

JS introduces a Tulli-bard-ine. (If you live under a rock, Shakespeare is known as The Bard).

Tullibardine 33yo 1972/2006 (43.1%, Dewar Rattray Cask Collection, C#2597, 141b) (JS)

Nose: Austrian dessert with curd and rum (JH), Topfenstrudel (JH).

Mouth: acidic and lively, very yellow. Then, we have a vanilla custard with soaked raisins and prunes.

Finish: a yellow-fruit explosion with a note of salted caramel (SOB), bitter marmalade (JH), orange pith (JH).

Comment: JH rates this 'yes' out of ten. It is still amazing two decades after first trying it. I am glad we have it later than number one in the line-up, for once. It allows it to slap even harder. Full notes here.

Score: 9/10

The soundtrack: Various - Romeo + Juliet: Music From The Motion Picture - Volume 2

JH hits gold with a separated pair: Tobe Ardna Tobe?

Tobermory 1994/2026 (55.3%, OB Hand Filled Exclusive Edition, Oloroso Finish, C#015) (JH): nose: very elegant, nutty, it has almonds, hazelnuts, soft leather. The second nose may well offer milky coffee. Water elicits cherry liqueur and nutty cappuccino. Mouth: mincemeat pie (YM). It is dry (Oloroso, you see?), with old shoe polish and old leather, yet a leather that retains its softness, dry, not crackly. Further are tins of dried black modelling paint. It is a bit bolder at second sip, with old tyres, liquorice allsorts, spearmint (JH) and blackened cassia bark. Water makes it milky, adds diluted cherry juice and a sprinkle of mocha. Finish: dry-not-drying, it has crusty shoe polish, not rubber. Bone-dry prunes, an old bag of raisins. The sting of mint (SOB) followed by berries (SOB), candied chestnuts (YM). A fair amount of melted dark chocolate shows up in the long run, augmented with freeze-dried raspberry slices and a pinch of ground mocha. Here too, water increases the milky impression. It has a fantastic pudding-like texture and a mocha-chocolate taste. Beautiful and an excellent swimmer. Might bump my score with water. 8/10

YM tells us that A Midsummer Night's Dream has a character called Highland Puck. Lolle.

4.221 16yo 1999/2016 Light, luscious and lovely (55.9%, SMWS Society Single Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 156b) (YM): nose: lemony (YM), lemongrass (SOB), custard, vanilla-ed sugar. Later on, it has an air of freshly-cleaned corridor in a government building. Actually, there is a whiff of antiseptic, even. Mouth: lemon meringue (YM), lemon curd (SOB). It has smoked cream, custard and a beautiful freshness that is almost pine-y. Finish: torta della nonna (JH showing off his dessert knowledge). It is long, assertive, a trifle smoky, and comforting, in the long run, soothing. It has salt and crushed glass, but that is hidden underneath pine-y custard. Excellent drop. 8/10

The soundtrack: Mogwai - Zero Zero Zero

SOB brought something bottled in the Warehouse Tasting range, because his favourite productions of Shakespeare were those at the Donmar Warehouse. This is from an undisclosed Speyside distillery and he tells us that many characters in Shakespeare's plays are not (fully) disclosed. Also, this was matured in a Port cask -- for Portia, a character in The Merchant of Venice. Finally (yes, he is really inspired by this theme!), it is allegedly a Glenfarclas -- or a Glenfar-Claudius, for the main antagonist in Hamlet. Ooft.

An Undisclosed Speyside 15yo 2010/2026 (56%, Cadenhead Warehouse Tasting, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel finished in Ruby Port Hogshead since 2019) (SOB): nose: warm wood, aromatic wood, seasoned wood chips for barbecues, plum skins. Mouth: JH finds it savoury as gravy, while YM detects walnuts. It is a blackberry paste or elderberry jelly to me, a tad bitter. Dusty uncoated frying pans show up too. The second sip pushes boiled horse's hair. Finish: fruity, it has prunes, figs, raisins. It is mahogany that shines at second gulp, though it remains fruity and juicy. Delish. 7/10

JMcD: "The burger scene in Newcastle is amazing. They have burger battles."

YM tells us Shakespeare's plays are a canon of thirty-nine plays, according to Wikipedia. This is, therefore, from distillery #39. Also, it is called Magical and Heavenly, adjectives that are often used to describe Shakespeare's work.

YM: "This was distilled on the 30th April 1990..."
JH: "Which is the anniversary of Shakespeare's circumcision!"

39.135 26yo 1990/2016 Magical and Heavenly (58.8, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 186b) (YM): nose: JH calls it funky, with soju and fermented stuff, perhaps mirin. JMcD finds shortbread. It is buttery to me, with kouign-amann, then a metallic water bottle. Maybe it is JH's suggestion, but I get shrimp crackers. JH finds it iron-y and oxidised, while YM talks about yellow Chartreuse. Mouth: not very sweet, not very fruity, it has fermented stuff (JH). This has a lot of dandelion petals, stewed and cooled. Not that this is cool -- it is fairly hot, in truth. A tad bitter and becomes very bitter as one chews. Hotter at second sip, with burning bunches of dried flowers or hay. Finish: yellow flowers, with the softness of petals and the bitterness of stems. It gets hotter and bitterer with each gulp. Not sure if it is the sequence, my preference, or what else; this does not resonate with me, today. 6/10

JH finally gets to the Ardna part of his Tobe Ardna Tobe.

We insist he has it in the dickhead glass, too

Ardnamurchan 8yo 2018/2026 (63.3%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection, Bourbon Barrel, 228b) (JH): nose: tuna tataki (JH), barbecued miso (JH), pink pepper (JH and JMcD). It is very peaty, with mud patties and farm paths. Rice pop and popped cereals (JH), Kinder Country (JH), caramel, maple syrup (JH), sweat from a builder's armpits. Mouth: oh yeah! Caramel puff wheat (the pack with the cartoon frog, you know?) and overbearing mud. This is super earthy, with chilli flakes showing up only belatedly. The second sip stings the tip of the tongue. Finish: incredibly well-integrated peat (JH). It gives the same impression as upon eating something spicy, jalapeño or such (SOB). Water renders it sootier and spicier (YM). Scorched earth, ashes, torched wheat. The second gulp is very cereal-y. 7/10

The soundtrack: Various - Best Of Techno - Volume Four

As a nightcap, we have something of JS's. tOMoH asks when A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place. On the 21st June. It is really the end of Spring-bank.

Springbank 21yo (46.5%, Atom Supplies Darkness Limited Edition, Oloroso Sherry Octaves Finish, b#115) (JS)

Comment: stale Coca Cola (JH). No! Pepsi Cola or Red Bull cola (JH), Ricola (JH), Coca Cola Classic (in a yellow can) (JH), Cola Bottles (the sweets) (SOB). My notes are here. 9/10

SOB: "Darkness. The week before Hallowe'en, too."
tOMoH: "Did the Bard write anything about that?"
SOB: "Hallowe'en? Don't think so."
tOMoH: "Lazy git."

That concludes tonight's enjoyment.

23/10/2026 Glen Garioch

19.116 13yo 2012/2026 Home for a Christmas Sherry (58.7%, SMWS The Winter Series 2026, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill American Oak ex-Oloroso Hogshead): nose: drinks cabinets, lacquered wood, oiled mahogany and polished brown shoes, open bottles of brandy and liqueurs. It also has a spray of furniture polish on hazelnut shells. We detect one overripe strawberry too, as well as melted dark chocolate slowly blending with a melted soap bar. It changes a little at second nosing to become more farm-y. We are now in an orchard, and that orchard is next to a cows' pasture, complete with with cow dung and bovine occupants. Lacquered wood comes back, eventually, more discreet than it was. Mouth: lacquered wood upon which overripe strawberries have come crashing down. Chewing loads the strawberries up with fruit eau-de-vie of one sort or another. A faint metallic note shows up, heated tin, which adds a tame bitterness that one could possibly relate to coffee, even. The second sip is very neutral, at first, then turns into eau-de-vie after chewing. A fruit eau-de-vie with hay macerating in it. A timid note of vanilla pudding tries to make itself heard. Finish: light and fruity, it has fruit eau-de-vie indeed (plum, raspberry, Mirabelle plum), warming and pleasant. It retains a soft metallic edge in the finish, though that may as well be baked cucumber peels or geranium stems. In any case, it is original. The second gulp hits a little harder and tickles the gums for longer. Freeze-dried raspberry slices, rehydrated by dunking them in plum eau-de-vie. As was the case on the palate, a note of hay slowly appears and leaves a dry and softly-bitter taste. Retro-nasal olfaction picks up apple brandy, or stewed cider. Good drop. 7/10

22/10/2026 Mystery sample #11

Nose: rich and a little vinous. Do we have red onions, fried until they are soft? Fleeting (pale) mushrooms? In any case, that does not seem constant: it is suddenly Quercus Alba staves murmuring. Then, a steak-and-ale pie, or beef stroganoff, which takes us back to wine and mushrooms, probably. Warming up the glass confirms that strange split personality of white wood and wine-y mushroom. How quaint! The second nose has baked plantains, lozenges, almonds in a hard-sugar shell. We have a dusting of white ash, in the far back... Another surprise. And clementine foliage. Mouth: a mint crumble grated over warm vanilla custard. It feels as fresh as it is welcoming. Chewing reveals an unexpected woody bitterness, followed by spices. It is ginger-encrusted parsnips and bicycle inner-tubes. Well original. Is that mentholated talcum powder too? The second sip is more-assertively bitter, akin to chewing on citrus leaves. Tangerine, perhaps. Its zest too, and still mint crumbles on custard. The bitterness grows, but thankfully stops short of flower stems. Finish: minty custard, here, crushed bay leaves, or laurel, since they are not as dry and bitter as bay. It is very refreshing and warming once more, a counter-intuitive combination, yet one that works a treat. The second gulp is in line: minty custard. Fresh, warming, it dishes out a gingery mint paste, and we get to eat that with a wooden spoon. Decent.

Deanston Virgin Oak Cask Strength b.2023 (56.5%, OB, ex-Bourbon Casks finished in Virgin Oak Casks, B#1) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)

19/10/2026 Mystery sample #10

Nose: very timid. It presents a vague freshness and a drop of white spirit. Let us give it a minute to wake up... White spirit indeed, green-grape vine, honeysuckle essence spilled on a wooden case full of silver jewels. Crunchy apple slices end up in the frame, just as timid as the rest. This is not a loquacious nose! The second pass has ash and metal. Neither is loud, yet they make me think of a rotating ashtray. Metal and ashes it is. Behind that are citrus and a mineral tone. A flintknapper eating an orange. How unexpected! Mouth: discreet too, the palate has unripe apple, almond and a droplet of defroster. Chewing changes it dramatically: it reveals mint crumbles, soft plasticine and some kind of cinnamon paste. It reminds me of The Pogues. It tickles the gums with a paste made of crushed pine cones. There is virtually no bitterness attached to this; just a chewy freshness. Sweets galore at second sip, chewy, peppered with sherbet. Fruit jellies (yellow, orange, green), a minuscule pinch of ground pepper and crushed bergamot leaves. Finish: more chewy goodness, vaguely pine-y, vaguely spicy, rather fresh. Cinnamon-coated dried mango slices, dried pineapple cubes, bergamots and their foliage. Yes, a softly-bitter note develops that merely adds to this finish to make it a tad bolder. A chewy citrus paste lands on the late tip. The second gulp comes across as a little more herbal: candied angelica and honey-glazed citrus leaves. It is not particularly long, certainly not loud, but makes for a pleasant everyday dram. What is it? A Pot Still?

Sailor's Home The Horizon 10yo (43%, The Sailor's Home The Islands Series, Barbados Rum Cask, b. ca. 2025) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)

Happy birthday sonicvince and JMcD!

16/10/2026 Mystery sample #9

Nose: gorgeous earthy peat, charcoal, crispy dried leaves. That moves towards more-maritime notes of fishing nets and dried seaweed. In fact, it becomes a stay in a shed on the shore of a sea loch on a drizzly day. The drizzle and the humid salty air blend to stick to one's stubbles and provide a perma-salty tang. In that shed, we find a case of old copper coins and a derelict deep-sea-diving suit. The second nose goes to the boiler room -- not that of an old ship, but that of a house, warm, comforting, with a thin humidity over enamelled metal. Mouth: surprisingly mellow, creamy and honey-like in texture, and on the sweet side. Chewing brings back a soft maritime touch, and it is even more surprising to find ourselves tasting a spoonful of custard augmented with a drop of sea water. More chewing adds cigar smoke and ashes. The second sip has noticeable sea water warmed on the fire and embellished with a dollop of minty toothpaste. That is hardly detectable, yet it adds an air of freshness. Finish: rich and peaty without being boisterous. Cake crust, baked pottery clay, cigar leaves, and, still, that custard-y sweetness. Warming, not burning, it appears to have dried off most sea water and lost its salt, somehow. A smoky sweetness lingers, borderline acrid. Only several minutes later do we unearth a pinch of fine salt. The second gulp brings forth a certain freshness reminiscent of distant mint. Perhaps it is long-expired mint crumbles that have lost their potency. Retro-nasal olfaction revives the cigar smoke and cigar leaves, dry at first, then increasingly moist. Nice.

Caol Ila 13yo (43%, Gordon & MacPhail Discovery, Bourbon Cask) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)

14/10/2026 Industry Giants: Dave Broom at the SMWS

Rescheduled at last, after the main guest did not show up on the original date (because of trains issues, not neglect). GT, Dr. CD, PS are here already, and YM and cavalier66 soon join us.

Broom opens the ball by saying how awkward it is for him to talk about his life ("Scots don't really like talking about themselves"), and says it feels like a self-promotion. All the same, he will spend the next couple of hours sharing anecdotes and insights with his usual charisma, much to the audience's delight. He worryingly concerts with JPM too: he chose the (SMWS) drams because of the distillery they represent, so he can talk about the distilleries themselves, and is it alright to reveal the distilleries? (It is)

With that in mind, it is not really a blind tasting, for once.

The Blenders Notebook 18yo 2007/2026 (50%, SMWS, 2nd Fill & Refill Bourbon, PX & Oloroso, B#44)

Nose: lovely toffee, a bit of encaustic, a honeyed patina on rustic furniture. The second nose may well bring copper coins.

Mouth: a lick of caramel and that same honey-like patina. It has a tin box of moustache wax too.

Finish: honey-glazed nuts, toffee and caramel sweets. It turns dustier at second gulp -- like a more-ancient blend, in fact.

Comment: takes me to a smoky pub with wood panels and corduroy armchairs.

Score: 8/10

78.101 8yo 2007/2026 Apples dumped in hay bales (61.1%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 234b)

Nose: a walk in a pine forest in autumn, with slightly-damp forest floor and a little dash of lemon juice.

Mouth: reminiscent of generic whisky. Cardboard, caramel, a whisper of mocha, after a while.

Finish: a tad sharp, it slowly acquires custard, but that is virtually submerged by ground white pepper.

Comment: takes me to a harvested corn field in late summer.

Score: 7/10

4.406 14yo 2012/2026 Sweetly soothing smoke (64.4%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 220b)

Nose: this has a comforting, warming peat smoke of a farm-y character. Cow stables and cattle pastures.

Mouth: smoked caramel, roasted toffee and tractor fumes as one chews. It feels less smoky than on the nose, sweeter and more greasy.

Finish: the stones of a campfire, licked by flames and somehow impregnated with smoke.

Comment: takes me to countryside pastures. It will remain my favourite of the night.

Score: 8/10

Dave talks about yeast. 

Punter: "Is there any whisky distillery that uses wild yeast?"
DB: "Err... Dornoch! If you have a question of that kind and you're not sure about the answer, usually, Dornoch is a correct answer. They try all sorts of things."

[In a couple of days, a friend from Dornoch distillery will confirm they tried it in Spring 2026, if not before]

53.527 12yo 2013/2026 Seraphic sea symphony (59.7%, SMWS In Celebration of Robin Laing the Whisky Bard, 2nd Fill STR Oloroso-Seasoned Barrique, 276b)

Nose: this one is very smoky and a lot drier, akin to a wood-fire smoke lingering low on cobblestones. It also has ashes and lichens. Dead leaves join, as does cherry tart. Huh!?

Mouth: embers and a touch of ashes. It is glowing hot, not burning. Actually, it is extremely comforting. Mulch smoke comes out.

Finish: big, long and welcoming too, rich and sweet, while earthy and smoky, it is also greasy.

Comment: takes me to a warm pub after a day's hiking in the great outdoors.

Score: 8/10

DB: "Skye is more dramatic. Mull is more dramatic. Islay... gets you."

19.116 13yo 2012/2026 Home for a Christmas Sherry (58.7%, SMWS The Winter Series 2026, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill American Oak ex-Oloroso Hogshead)

Nose: brownies, baking and still moist inside. There is a pinch of rosemary followed by smoked berries smashed into a paste. cavalier66 detects flat cola.

Mouth: soft and round at first, it explodes with rubber, after a moment, then settles for plasticine, chewy and a trifle bitter, like flavoured liquorice allsorts.

Finish: liquorice. It is fairly sweet too, and reminds me of cough syrup, with blackcurrants sweets and camphor.

Comment: takes me to the pews of a church, for some inexplicable reason.

Score: 7/10

DB: "Glen Garioch were using their heat surplus to grow tomato plants."
GT: "Did they try to distill tomato juice?"

The final dram is from Broom's collection.

Komagatake 7yo 2015/2022 Yakushima Aging (53%, OB Single Cask distributed by Japan Import Systems, Sherry Butt, C#2026, 602b)

Nose: it is gently smoky and sherried, but extremely floral all the same. The smoke disappears in no time, leaving us with pressed raisins and fewer flowers (lily-of-the-valley, white lilac). Later on, we have hinoki peeking through. Coffee notes appear at second nosing.

Mouth: rich, oily. This has dark, pine-y honey, mahogany oil, and other tropical-wood essences. The second sip feels thinner and fruitier, with lychee and rambutan.

Finish: a noticeable lick of chocolate. cavalier66 finds it savoury. He is clearly not in a state to drive.

Comment: takes me to a far-eastern public baths, enjoying dark chocolate while soaking in the tub.

Score: 8/10

Not life-changing, but a pleasant little session.

12/10/2026 Mystery sample #8

Testing my eyesight too!
Look at that faded label!

Nose: a naked one! Here are straw and crispy dried apple peels. That becomes a little more moist, but it is not a juicy affair, at least initially. Eau-de-vie, apple brandy and a Verdigris-infested copper kettle. Maybe it has a splash of lemon juice, in the long run, though nothing to be overly excited about. The second nose feels drier, if anything, and brings forth hazelnuts that were stored in an oiled mahogany case since last year's season. It turns oilier in a wood-stain fashion. Mouth: mellow and velvety, it is a blend of crème caramel and melted toffee. Were it a trifle dustier, one could say it tastes like an old blend. Chewing crystallises the caramel and we have caramel boiled sweets, Mokatine without mocha (which is like nicotine without Nico, really, or the same without Newcastle-upon-). It grows a gentle heat, gentle enough for the mainstream, just about hot enough for a seasoned taster to notice. A faint sherbet and something earthier take over, after a while. The second sip may well have more bite, with tart apple and roasted hazelnuts dripping their oil. How seasonal! Finish: yes, blend-y, it offers caramel, toffee, a pinch of dust and stewed plums. It lingers like a gulp of spearmint, yet the caramel rules, without being too sweet. The second pass has banane flambée in which the banana is virtually unrecognisable behind the flamed rum. A hazelnut coulis or liqueur slowly gives way to gritty, chalky ground hazelnut, dry, dry, dry. No oil left, here. Unpretentious, unchallenging. What is it? A blended world whisky?

Woven Superblend (46.1%, Woven Whisky Makers) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)

09/10/2026 Glen Grant

Glen Grant 22yo 2003/2026 (52%, Decadent Drinks Decadent Drams, 19y Refill Barrel & 3y 1st Fill Sherry Hogshead, 193b): nose: phwoar! that is a fruity nose. We have ripe plums and dark grapes leaping out of a lacquered jewel case, and all sorts of dried-fruit pastes -- prune paste, raisin paste, membrillo, apricot paste. How marvellous! It has got a bit of dusty plasticine too, an open bottle of Italian wine (Chianti in a bottle clad with a straw basket) and emerging blackberries. Keep sniffing and it ends up giving hot metal (but no methedrine, ho! ho! ho!) The second nose smashes blackberries and myrtles all the way up the nose, hitting the sinuses. That slows down a bit to dish out a lovely fig spread. It promises sweetness and chewiness. Mouth: a modest kick prefaces a sprinkling of pepper and a spoonful of blackberry jam. It is all rather discreet. Chewing slaps the tongue with melted plastic on oilcloth, plum juice and pressed blackberries. It has a sharp bitterness, which suggests that not all fruits are entirely ripe, but it is not detrimental to the overall enjoyment A stick of cinnamon and a splatter of toothpaste inject some wood spices for good measure. The second sip maintains the bitter lick, but, underneath that, we find the same nice fig spread as on the nose. The bitterness now seems to come from the fig pips in said spread. It has a strong wine presence, yet it is not tannic; it is close to a Mediterranean wine that has seen more sun than many would prefer. Finish: it is pretty earthy, here, which is a surprise. Damp clay floors, moist mulch, cassia bark crumbling into shards and dust. And it is anaesthetising too. Some of the fruits from before do show up, indiscernible. Plum stems and grape vines are louder than the fruits they once bore. The second gulp prolongs the earthy-woody notes, with plenty of spices (ginger shavings, cinnamon, cassia) and the beginning of a sweeter note -- another relish or spread, sultanas, dates or quince and lemon, augmented with ground star anise. A strong nose, while the palate and finish are a little behind. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

02/10/2026 An Ardbeg to welcome October

When Francis Cabrel wrote a song about this month, he spoke of dead leaves, mist and scarves, woolly jumpers and an anaemic sun we hardly saw. In 2026, October means 20-25*C, sweaty commutes and watering the plants that have endured the sun all day long -- with rain water, since there is still a hosepipe ban going on. Hard to stay chirpy, innit.

33.52 10yo 1994/2004 Rowan jelly and menthol cigarettes (58.3%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill Hogshead): nose: it is a farm-y one, with ploughed fields, peat bricks and mercurochrome poured onto them. There are hints of vegetation as well, mosses and roots of all kinds, that pave the way for a more-typical Ardbeggian nose: fishnets drying in a field and ink. That (black) ink comes to dominate the picture, given a few minutes, and lets drier notes emerge: charred skewers, spent incense, scorched earth. There is even a whiff of manure desiccated with ashes and chalk for sanitation purposes. The second nose is purely farm-y, with muck, manure and other natural fertilisers (agricultural lime comes to mind). Mouth: fruit, straw and cereal at first. It has unripe white peach, dried Korean pear, straw bales and roasted barley. Chewing shows just how strong it is, but also sets the straw on fire and douses it with black ink to extinguish it. Mussel shells appear, after a while, in parts salty, sandy and petrolic. The second sip has unripe citrus peels, earth, some moist, some dry, unripe berries trampled into the mud, and dried hazelwood consumed by a flame. To a lesser extent, it also has salt and pepper. Finish: it kicks more modestly than expected and it displays heated (not burnt) earth, ink, fishing nets after a day in the sun, a dollop of petrol and a minute quantity of mentholated roasted barley. It gives a strangely-liqueur-like impression in how it sticks to the tonsils. Retro-nasal olfaction detects sphagnum moss and lichen stuck to the side of an empty vase. The second gulp has more dried lichen and residue in an evaporated pool of stagnant water. Scorched earth and a pinch of sugar certainly join smoked plums in the frame, yet, once the sphagnum moss and lichen have shown their faces, it is harder to see past them. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, PS)