09/08/2025 Whisky Fringe 2025

JS and I are back in Edinburgh (after an eight-year hiatus) for the Whisky Fringe (after a ten-year hiatus). The whisky world has changed more than Auld Reekie, in that time. Not that we will notice the latter much: Oasis are playing in town tonight, which means everything is fully-booked and/or delayed. We have had to stay in Glasgow as a consequence, and will have virtually no time for the whisky shops tourism.

Glasgow first, then. Despite a late arrival last night and a busy day ahead, despite even the morning rain, we head for an earlyish run towards Clydeside distillery. We will turn around before, because we do not want to jeopardise our breakfast or risk missing our train.

Boston Cream, Crème Brûlée, Everything Bagel

Chai latte (JS)

Hot chocolate (me)

Good thing we were reasonable with the doughnuts: we have a 12:00 reservation at L'Escargot Bleu, a restaurant we have not visited in a decade or almost. We reach there fifteen minutes early, which does not buy us enough time to climb the Royal Mile. Instead, we call at the grocery shop across the road, kill the fifteen minutes, then enter our eatery. It has been open for a couple of minutes only, yet a customer is already sitting. It is AMcR. Lolle. I exchange a few texts with OB about the chance encounter before we order.

The food is its usual outstanding. 

Talonmore & apple (me)

Lost Orchard Cider (JS)

Lobster Bisque (me)
Waitress: "When I say 'lobster bisque', I mean it.
It is made with real lobster."
It is unclear what we are supposed to believe
lobster bisque is usually made of.

Steamed Shetland mussels, squid & courgette sauce (JS)

Ayrshire duck breast & black pudding w/ cabbage & girolles Sce.
Best duck breast I have had

Plaice fillet w/ monkfish cheek, squid & carrot pure (JS)

Beetroot Salad to share

Duck egg crème brûlée (me)

Griottines in Kirsch (JS)

It is time to make our way to Mansfield Traquair, which is conveniently located in the same street. The queue is long already. A bloke just ahead of us distributes lanyards to the others in his group who are incredulous. Incidentally, I pull mine out at the same time; one registers it and makes a comment.

tOMoH: "Trust me, you'll look like an idiot, but, in ten minutes, you'll think: 'this is fucking genius! Where was this during the rest of my life?'"
Him: "Sounds like we'd look like idiots and amateurs without them!"

The doors open, and despite the length of the queue, which certainly costs us fifteen minutes, we are in swiftly and easily.

In all its grandeur

I remember being a little underwhelmed with the quality of the selection, last time, so our strategy today is different.

Firstly, we will plan our half-time orange dram more carefully to avoid disappointment when the time comes. For memory, that is the local version of the dream drams: every stand has one, and they will pour it at 16:00 in exchange for the coupon that everyone gets with their entry ticket. Naturally, the most in-demand drams disappear quickly.

Secondly, we (I, at least) will spend the rest of the time exploring the New Kids On The Block. The late-1980s-early-1990s boyband from Boston is not here, so that means distilleries or bottlers I have not yet tried (or very little thereof).

Good. Let us start. Festival conditions, hence short notes.

Daftmill 12yo 2012/2025 Summer Batch Release (46%, OB, 23 x First Fill Barrels, 5250b)

Nose: lemon-y cereal and custard, or whichever way around.
Mouth: quite thin, it feels like a boozy custard. Then, it offers nice flowery tones, in the back.
Finish: lovely finish, creamy and cereal-y.
Comment: good start. 7/10

Daftmill 15yo 2009/2024 Fife Strength (56.3%, OB, 19 x First Fill ex-Bourbon Barrels + 1 x ex-PX Cask, 3840b)

Nose: rich, fruity custard topped with smoked berries. It is jammier at second nose.
Mouth: there is a slight bitterness akin to berry pips spread on toast.
Finish: long, bold, acidic and bitter in equal measure. It is also fairly nutty.
Comment: fruity dram. 7/10

Glasgow 1770 10yo 2015/2025 Sauternes Cask Matured (53%, OB Limited Edition Release hand selected by Royal Mile Whiskies to celebrate 10 Years of Whisky Making at The Glasgow Distillery, Refill Sauternes Barrique, C#15/97, 340b)

Nose: it is fairly woody, with mostly sandalwood. Some fruits emerge, such as cured apple. It becomes quite leather at second nose.
Mouth: drier than expected, light but almost grassy.
Finish: boozy toffee, brandy and birch oil.
Comment: Glasgow Distillery turns 10 this year, and this is the first I try them. Kwazy. 7/10

Glasgow 1770 Triple Distilled (46%, OB, ex-Bourbon & Virgin Oak Casks, d. ca. 2025)

Nose: this one is super fruity and ethereal, choc-full of candied pineapple and papaya cubes.
Mouth: yes, this is candied fruit cube galore -- papaya, mango, pineapple, Chinese gooseberry.
Finish: mellow, floral, delicate and elegant.
Comment: a proper Lowlander and a standout, really. 8/10

Glasgow 1770 6yo b.2024 Cognac Cask Finish (58%, OB Small Batch Series, 5 x First Fill ex-Bourbon Casks + French Cognac Casks Finish, B#2, 2250b)

Nose: briny smoke in the style of smoked ham drying in a barn by the sea.
Mouth: ash, chargrilled sardines, cigarette ash. It is pretty punchy and peddles burning hay.
Finish: hot and very smoky, ashy. It balances that out with timid smashed strawberries.
Comment: only an undeniable youth prevents a higher score. This was dubbed a lightly-peated dram, with 3 of the five casks filled with peated spirit. 7/10

Family picture

Ballindalloch 8yo 2017/2025 (62.7%, OB Single Cask bottled exclusively for UK, Virgin Oak Hogshead, C#69, 330b)

Nose: it has a mix of buttery pastry and white-wood oil (acacia, birch). The second nose adds apricot jam.
Mouth: pastry it is, with choux dough, faded tinned peaches and stale custard turning into cardboard paste.
Finish: very good, it has white wood and a huge associated bitterness. In fact, in the long run, that bitterness is a little bothersome, hardly made up for by pineapple gratings on a worn-out wooden cutting board.
Comment: from a refill virgin oak cask, the festival booklet tells us -- ha! ha! It is not exactly a winner in my view. 6/10

I try the oatcakes that are provided at almost every stand. They taste like sweat.

Springbank 12yo Cask Strength (56.5%, cask sample)

Nose: delicate and floral, it gains melted toffee at second nosing.
Mouth: woody, drying, yet also fruity. We spot cut fruits with their slightly-scarred stones.
Finish: dry, woody. Sawdust and ground spices.
Comment: JS asked for a Hazelburn and got this decent unreleased Springer. 7/10

Springbank 5yo 100° Proof (57.1%, OB)

Nose: toasted bread turns strongly perfume-y.
Mouth: soft (!), light, then furiously peppery (black pepper). It keeps a fresh touch nevertheless.
Finish: juicy and woody, it has a sprinkle of white pepper.
Comment: alright. 7/10

There is a tent?

Hi ST!

ST: "What would you like to try?"

Torabhaig 7yo 2018/2025 (57.1%, The Dornoch Distillery Co. for Thompson Bros., 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels)

Nose: smoky earth, dark earth, toasted barley and peat smoke grow alongside citrus (bergamot).
Mouth: it is very peaty, here, and big. We have hot tar, greasy earth and tarry sand.
Finish: chargrilled sausages, charred pineapple, char and coal. It is cloying.
Comment: my first Torabhaig, despite having been to the distillery. I like the label better than the whisky, but it is good enough. 7/10

Hi PT!

PT: "Is your glass empty?"
tOMOh:"No, but JS's is..."

J. & G. Grant from the Glenlivet District 12yo (40%, Grant Bonding imported and distributed by Girolamo-Luxardo, b. ca. 1970s)

Nose: very vinous, sherried, which, in this case, means extra fruity. (Rehydrated) prunes and dried figs are particularly impressive. Maraschino cherries are not far behind.
Mouth: syrupy, it is thick and coating, yet also rather fruity.
Finish: currants, prunes, figs.
Comment: "70% paxarette, 20% Sherry, 10% whisky," says PT (or something similar). Quite right! A strange undisclosed Glenfarclas by the proprietors. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, PT)

It is almost 16:00. We position ourselves strategically for the mid-point. In a way we are wasting fifteen minutes; in another, it is not a minute too soon: some of the stands have huge queues in front of them. "Queue" is an orderly word to describe the blobs of punters, really. Where I am is a shapeless mass of enthusiasts that, as the bell tolls, quickly degenerates into a free-for-all, full with freeloaders jumping the queue using their elbows. It is a miracle it does not descend into fisticuffs. JS, for comparison, will wax lyrical about the well-oiled organisation at the stand she is queueing at, with assembly-line responsibilities, queue management and all. Bah!

TAKE MY TOKEN!

We both get what we are after; that is the most important.

Tomatin 45yo b.2023 (41.5%, OB Travel Retail Exclusive, Oloroso Sherry Cask, B#1, 225b)

Nose: this is on a different planet -- nay! In a different galaxy. To everything that preceded it. It rolls out an incredible depth of grapes, lychees, ripe peaches... Rhaaaa! The second nose may bring tame coffee in amongst all that fruit. Considering it is an Oloroso cask, that coffee is firmly under control.
Mouth: mellow and super-fruity here too, with (Mirabelle) plums, greengages and lychees. Chewing unearths more fruits, with only a minute bitterness. The whole is mouth-coating. "Tasty!" says JS, channelling her inner TM.
Finish: long, juicy and fruity again. Plump plums of all kinds, ripe apricots and all sorts of jams.
Comment: right? The context does not do this justice. It is amazeboulanger. By far the best dram so far. 9/10

Rosebank 31yo b.2022 Release 2 (48.1%, OB Limited Release, 4000b)

Nose: honeysuckle, lilac, jasmine... This is as floral as can be! It has cut orchard fruits too. The second nose brings honey-glazed apricots.
Mouth: mellow, juicy and drying all at once. We have apricot juice and quarry chippings competing for attention. Kumquat and bergamot round all that off.
Finish: sweet jams simmering in a hot tin pot, a dollop of melted milk chocolate, just a sprig of a herb or another -- tarragon, rosemary or sage, perhaps?
Comment: phwoar! 9/10

Back to our regular programme.

Inchdairnie The KinGlassie 8yo 2017/2025 Raw (46.3%, OB, ex-Bourbon Casks)

Nose: TCP, hay so dry it is falling to dust, a mix of ashes and cereals.
Mouth: creamy, custard-y, yet also smoky. Shall we call it ashy custard?
Finish: ashy custard indeed, although the ashes are loud, here.
Comment: I was eager to try this distillery, after pat gva commented about it, earlier this week. Based on this sole expression, I am less enthusiastic than he was. 7/10

Gone Grant 30yo 1994/2025 Chapter Eighteen (51.2%, Decadent Drinks Whiskyland for WhiskySponge, 26 Years in a Refill Barrel + 4 Years in a First Fill Sherry Hogshead, 230b)

Nose: a slap of nectarine on the olfactory organ. Then, it becomes ridiculously floral, with pink flowers that flirt with pink wafers from Champagne.
Mouth: soft and floral again, it ends up slightly drying in a vegetal way.
Finish: spellbinding. This has fruits, cosmetic powder and confectionary sugar.
Comment: love it. Excellent Caperdonich. 8/10

I try the other type of oatcakes on offer. They are bursting with chilli. Who had this terrible idea?

Secret Wigtownshire 6yo 2018/2025 Lemon sherbet, anyone? (50%, Keeble Cask Company Elevenses Whisky, 2 x 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrels, 565b)

Nose: it Is pretty mute, initially. Mild and soft-spokenly floral, it has little to say.
Mouth: the distillery is recognisable, here. Bold pastry, sugar and lovely fruits.
Finish: sweet, with a dusting of sugar, poached pears and baked shortcrust.
Comment: excellent undisclosed Bladnoch from a lesser-known bottler. 8/10

Benriach 17yo 2007/2025 (47.3%, Keeble Cask Company Fragrant Drops, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, C#700204, 278b)

Nose: a lot of wine smothers faint orchard fruits.
Mouth: fruits and gravel. I am not seduced. It gets juicier and a little more to my liking at second sip.
Finish: it is a fruitier finish than foreseen, but not enough to win me over.
Comment: no picture of this one, and it is not mentioned in the festival booklet. As for my feedback: meh. 6/10

Ah! It is that time of the festival when it starts smelling of fart.

Annandale 6yo 2019/2025 (60.2%, Gleann Mór Rare Find, Seasoned Oloroso Barrique, C#14201, 334b)

Nose: kippery AF, briny. It then develops smoked earth.
Mouth: ooft! Very drying, it is soon earthy and smoky, with crushed stones and abrasive sand.
Finish: very smoky and hay-like, this is also ember-hot.
Comment: second peaty Annandale that impresses me. 7/10

Random bloke: "CALLUM!"
JS: "Five hundred people turn around."

Glen Garioch 16yo 2008/2025 (55.4%, Gleann Mór Rare Find, Ribera del Duero Red Wine Finish, C#108, 309b)

Nose: winy and gamy, this may as well be a Mortlach. Or anything, really. It is overcome by the wine maturation.
Mouth: thick, winy, it has lots of tannins and mud patties. It is very chewy in texture.
Finish: huge, even after the colossal Annandale. This is earthy, with burnt mud and hay.
Comment: not my thing. 6/10

We (I) do not resist commenting on the logo that
looks grubby on the boxes.
We are assured it is not the founder's thumbprint
and it is not an easy way to crack into his phone

ST: "What can I pour you?"

Sutherland 5yo b.2022 (48.5%, Thompson Brothers celebrating 20th anniversary of whiskyfun.com, 590b)

Nose: lots of cosmetic powders and sherbet. Tickly!
Mouth: rather mellow and fruity, with apricots other turnovers, yet also ground apricot stones.
Finish: dry and fruity, reminiscent of peach and citrus juices poured onto rocks.
Comment: a blend of Clynelish, Dornoch and Brora (from a bottle), this is pretty good. 7/10

Glen Garioch 10yo 2014/2025 (56.2%, Little Brown Dog, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels, 337b)

Nose: sand and crusted mud.
Mouth: blackberry-flavoured cough drops and earth.
Finish: yeah, earthy berries which never reach elderberry stages.
Comment: same as the one MR poured in June? Yes. Same score. 7/10

I confirm with PT and ST that the guy I do not know behind their stand is French and proceed to introduce myself. Shortly after, he offers...

An Islay 33yo 1991/2025 (49.1%, Thompson Bros. specially selected and bottled to celebrate the Thompson Family's 25th anniversary at Dornoch Castle Hotel, C#2681, 244b)

Nose: muddy fruits.
Mouth: beautiful smoked fruits augmented with a spoonful of mud.
Finish: mud, ink, crushed seashells and fruits.
Comment: excellent. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, Shalil)

Ben Nevis 26yo 1999/2025 (50.5%, Little Brown Dog, Bourbon Hogshead)

Nose: concentrated and potent, it displays mild fruits only.
Mouth: mineral and fruity at once, which is pretty nice.
Finish: it is a little too hot for me in the finish, not to mention funky (it is a Ben Nevis, after all). That distracts from the subtle fruitiness.
Comment: too funky for me to give a higher score. 7/10

It is getting sweaty and blurry in that tent!

Lochlea Our Barley (46%, OB, Bourbon + Sherry + STR Casks, b. ca. 2025)

Nose: fresh and crisp, full of cut apples and candied fruits.
Mouth: fresh, candied fruit cubes -- lots of them! Mango and papaya first in line.
Finish: creamy, here are milk chocolate and more candied papaya cubes.
Comment: remarkable. Their basic bottling, at 46%, at the end of a festival, after several 60+% drams, and it still shines. 8/10

Secret East Highland 46yo d.1978 Half Time Orange (40.6%, Little Brown Dog for Whisky Fringe Edinburgh)

Nose: phwoaaaaaar! An explosion of candied tropical fruits, topped with colour-crayon shavings.
Mouth: watery candied fruits, which tastes better than it reads, probably. Even though it is less explosive than on the nose, it remains outstanding. In an odd sequence of flavours, it adds oysters and shrimps at second sip.
Finish: it is in the same vein, super-fruity and fresh, adding smashed strawberries to an-otherwise full roster.

Comment: yet another Glen Garioch, albeit an undisclosed one. They made only two or three bottles of this just for the half-time orange. What a belter to finish with! 9/10

There are fifteen minutes left, but exhibitors are packing up and everyone is leaving. I wish they had rung last pour a few minutes prior. We tried more and better than we bargained for, but I feel stopped in my track, with this surprise festival end. Ah! well.

Outside, Mary_Poppins / Strawberry_Shortcake / Nana_Smith picks us up in her automobile. We drive to The Fishmarket Newhaven, where we have supper before taking a digestive walk during which we see four herons over the space of a few metres.

Crispy Squid and Chips

Battered Scallops

Haggis Bon Bons

The Forth Bridges in the distance.
We spot three, but cannot see the Forth
*cough*

From there, Poppins takes us to S. Luca for an ice cream. The Black Hawaii flavour impresses us much and helps us overlook the noise from the Oasis concert which we hear in the distance.

Time to say goodbye, though.

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.