20/03/2026 DWequinox at 3 Greek Street

DWeaster had to move, due to another shindig. Although he has nothing to do with the organisation of the event, tOMoH makes an executive decision to rename it DWequinox, on account of the date.

In attendance are DW, SOB, MSo, CDn, DR, DC, BA, cavalier66, TS, WS, JL, JS, YM and others whose initials I fail to write down. It would also be odd to go around the room and ask point-blank -- ha! ha!

It is the now-usual affair, bottles on the tables, free pour, freestyling session with no structure whatsoever. That probably means that everyone's experience is hugely personal. It also leaves time for socialising, for those who want to do that more. As often in that setting, notes are minimalistic, and not all bottles are attributed to their kind owners.

For reference, I brought D.town 33yo d.1979 (56.3%, Cadenhead Cask Ends, 3rd Fill Bourbon Cask, 1b) (notes here) and Inver-Regal (43° Gay Lussac, J.H. Wham & Son (Largs), for testing purposes only, b. pre-1991) (notes here) JS brought Sandy Macnab’s Old Blended Scotch 5yo (40%, Macnab Distilleries, b.1980s) (notes here) and Hazelburn 9yo 2008/2018 (59.9%, OB Duty Paid Sample, Refill Bourbon Hogshead, Warehouse 15, Rotation #4) (notes here). Amusingly enough, three out of our four bottles are one-offs.

I try none of them, since I know them well and there is so much else to try.

Glenrothes 21yo d.1975 (46%, Direct Wines First Cask, C#6045, b#167) (PF)

Nose: fresh, leafy and floral, it also offers cut orchard fruits.
Mouth: it is more savoury here, though it gains fruit at second sip. In fact, it is sherbet more than fruits.
Finish: fresh and fruity. We now pick up sherbet and dried raspberry slices.
Comment: I cannot read the distillery name on the spot (it is written small, the Direct Wine logo obstructs the view, and the lighting is inadequate). The profile should suggest a 'rothes. A good 'rothes. 8/10

JL: "What are you working on?"
tOMoH: "Embiggening my cock."
JL: "Oh! So nothing has changed [since last time I saw you]."
tOMoH: "Nope. No success to-date either."

Ardbeg 20yo 1992/2013 (46.6%, Whiskybroker.co.uk, Refill Hogshead, C#434, 222b, b#4) (PF)

Nose: oyster shells, salt water, peat smoke caught in fishing nets and ink.
Mouth: it is decidedly inky, almost tarry -- no! not almost. Proper tarry sands, like.
Finish: big and tarry again, with wood smoke added for good measure.
Comment: competent effort. I think I hear that the father of the owner of this bottle used to own the cask. Do not quote me on that. 7/10

Glen Elgin 20yo d.1995 (51.5%, Claxton The Single Cask, Refill Hogshead, Cask Ref 1609-1671, 194b, b#40)

Nose: fresh raspberries become dried strawberries and talcum powder sprinkled on new socks.
Mouth: woah! This has quite a bite. Mineral and acidic, it is akin to the effervescent reaction caused by acid dripped on limestone.
Finish: long, wide, acidic and mineral. It even emits a whiff of delicate smoke, in the long run.
Comment: excellent Elgin. 8/10

cavalier66: "Here it is. The Cadenhead gang. We had it good, didn't we? All those great bottlings, month after month..."
SOB: "2017 to 2020 were great years."
cavalier66: "And then, it just stopped. Like that."
MSo: "That's the thing with life. Things are good, then they just end."
tOMoH: "This is the most philosophical I've ever known you, MSo."

Táin 20yo 2001/2022 (56.1%, Irish Spirit Echoes of Éire, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Cask, C#4551, 66b, b#49)

Nose: phwoar! How pretty are these Irish whiskies, eh? Mango, papaya and a lick of metal.
Mouth: big and fluffy, the palate has peaches, mangoes and strawberry sweets. It is a notch drying at second sip, much like those sweets.
Finish: huge and hugely fruity, here are the same fruits and more strawberry sweets. I dare not say Fraises Tagada.
Comment: another cracking one. 9/10

JL reaches for something under the counter.

Johnnie Walker 12yo Black Label (43%, John Walker & Sons imported by Wax & Vitale) (JL)

Nose: dusty, fruity, soot-y. Soot-covered strawberries. JS finds it rubbery.
Mouth: faded leather cleaned with strawberry coulis.
Finish: a blast of strawberry paste or jelly, and a dusting of old-school soot.
Comment: delicious. 8/10

tOMoH: "Is this yours?"
DC: "Yes."
tOMoH: "May I?"
DC: "Sure. I also brought a rum. What an idiot. A rum. To a whisky tasting."
JS: "Many here like rum too."
tOMoH: "Yeah. There is so much whisky already, though. That's why it's not getting much love."

Dornoch 5yo 2018/2023 (55.9%, OB, 1st Fill Bourbon Octave, C#80, 82b, b#20) (DC)

Nose: pickle and brine flirt with chocolate coulis and dried wood. Walnut spread appears next.
Mouth: it is weird, here. Maybe it has glue? Yes, there is a lot of that upon chewing. Then, it has linoleum strips and wood.
Finish: it is balanced, but what it balances is glue and linoleum strips. It works in an odd way. Then, suddenly, nut spread and chocolate kick in.
Comment: interesting. 7/10

DR has me try the last drops of a sample he brought. I try to guess what it is.

tOMoH: "Hard to tell. It could be anything from 1992-1993..."
DR: "Well, you got the vintage right."
tOMoH: "Did I? Well, that narrows it down! How old is it?"
DR: "It is seven. It is the first organic whisky."
tOMoH: "Ah! Springbank Dà Mhìle."
DR: "Spot on!"

Springbank 7yo 1992/1999 Organic (46%, OB for Dà Mhìle, 1000b)

Nose: soft, floral, it has a vague hint of smoke, though it manages to stay fresh.
Mouth: similar fresh-and-floral character.
Finish: it ends with a modest blast of soot.
Comment: lovely to try this again. The first time was in 2017 and I took no notes. 7/10

Tobermory (Ledaig) 24yo 2001/2025 (52.2%, Thompson Bros. specially bottled for Dornoch Castle 25th Anniversary, Refill Hogshead, C#201, 158b) (DW)

Nose: this one has ink, petrol and seal wax. The second nose brings suede and horse's hair. Later yet, it is spent matches that tickle the nostrils.
Mouth: sweetened sea water, petrol and ink, as well as crushed seashells.
Finish: more petrol and ink are balanced by a slightly-sweeter touch.
Comment: this is excellent. 8/10

Dalmunach 10yo 2015/2025 (58.5%, Cadenhead Club, Oak Casks + 3 x Oloroso Hogsheads since 2024, 1032b) (SOB)

Nose: hard to tell for sure, by now, but oil wood seems to come out strong, then lots of cherries (maraschino and candied more than fresh).
Mouth: it is seriously woody, which comes as a surprise, considering the age, perhaps less when seeing the colour. Teak and mahogany are the loudest.
Finish: oiled wood, chestnut spread, walnut dashboards.
Comment: interesting whisky. My first Dalmunach. SOB chose it after checking this blog to verify I had never tried any. Is that not considerate? 7/10

MSo [about his gaff]: "Ten minutes' walk to the tube station. It keeps me slender and fit."
tOMoH: "You did lose some weight."
MSo: "Yeah. If my wife were a better cook, we'd be having a different conversation, right now."

Linkwood 28yo 1994/2023 (51.7%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength, Refill Sherry Butt, C#12601202, B#23/208, 656b, 230085) (MSo)

Nose: oh! Here is an animalistic number, a fair bit musky. It has a bit of plasticine too.
Mouth: ooft! Green-grape skins, cured fruits, a lick of stainless-steel metal.
Finish: surprisingly soft, it has chocolate and a minute smoke.
Comment: good. 7/10

DC: "How can you still write after all these whiskies?"
tOMoH: "I can write easily. Re-reading myself is the problem. But then, that's a problem even when I'm sober."
MSo: "The thing with tOMoH is he's in a consistent level of drunkenness. His handwriting is always immaculate."

Ardbeg 10yo b.2025 Cask Strength (61.7%, OB Committee Exclusive 2026, Bourbon Casks)

Nose: stacks of hay, hot smoked mussels and plasticine.
Mouth: woah! This is inky, salty and smoky. Tarry sands drenched in sea water.
Finish: it kicks like a mule. There is a smidge of barley and salt water, augmented with petrol and crushed seashells.
Comment: funny to see the similarities with the Whiskybroker bottling from earlier. There has been a lot of hype around this bottling. It is not bad, but the hype is disproportionate to the quality, in my opinion. 7/10

We disband and, after spending a good while chatting with SW, disappear into the night.

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.

27/04/2025 The Whisky Fair (Day 2 -- Part 1)

A bad night's sleep it was! tOMoH got up every hour or so to empty the tank, and did so struggling to contain screams caused by kidney pain. Only later today will we establish that the acidity of asparagus coupled with the acidity of sour beer is a lot for one's kidneys. Whisky, on the other hand, is totally safe. I should add that tOMoH is not a doctor.

Today, we have breakfast at Café Kolorit, as we did last year. JS and I manage to nab the only table that is not reserved -- woo! We are outside, the weather is clement, things are looking good. Sadly, they bring something full of cold cuts that I did not order, and it takes an excruciating amount of time before we can pay and depart. The beverages (orange juice and grapefruit juice) are fantastic, on the other hand.

My Genieβer Frühstück

JS's Eggs Benedict

Artisanal bread

In the queue to the venue, we spot CD; he is watching from the balcony and is waving at us. JS is worried we will not be on time to meet AH and VW, but I am more relaxed. Where would they go? In any case, we are on time after all.

Planters Ozark Highlands (59.75%, OB Rickhouse Reserve, b. ca. 2025)

Nose: incredibly mild and cake-y, with custard and butterscotch, as well as toffee.
Mouth: drying and extractive, it is intense as Listerine -- cinnamon-infused Listerine.
Finish: mint cream, Bourbon cream, then numbing ginger and cinnamon.
Comment: a bit of a shocker with which to start the day. From the Nobleton distillery in Missouri -- a new one to me. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, AH)

Black & White (unknown ABV, James Buchanan, b. ca. 1950s)

Nose: dusty, vinegar-y old blend. It smells beautiful.
Mouth: super jammy and mellow, it overflows with marmalade and peach jelly. That is topped with a pinch of gunpowder.
Finish: a touch of soot, a lot of jam.
Comment: good old blend. The spring cap is quite a conversation-starter to boot. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, rhumauction.com)

Sadly, I am too slow to get to try this White Horse (unknown ABV, White Horse Distillers imported by WEMPA Handels, Nº 9604399). I do not insist either. Enough freeloading as it is. :-)

On the other side of the room, we meet our new friend from last night.

Domaine Pouy d.1998 (55.9%, L'Encantada L'Esprit Armagnac, C#708, B#98POUY7801, 605b, b#279)

Nose: fragrant, ethereal and ripe with jasmine.
Mouth: nice and fruity, though the mouthfeel becomes desiccating, with ashes and quarry dust.
Finish: fruity to the max, it also has drying Sauvignon blanc, Grenache, and ground lychee stone. It ends a "bit" bitter (read: very).
Comment: good. Will not turn me into a brandy head, mind. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, armagnac.de)

Domaine Séailles 1979/2022 (49.5%, La Petite Gascogne for armagnac.de, C#81)

Nose: wood and cardboard. It smells alright, but it struggles after the previous.
Mouth + Finish: grapes, prunes, soaked raisins.
Comment: competent. I fear the sequence was wrong, however. 6/10 (Thanks for the dram, armagnac.de)

Time to climb the stairs to meet those we neglected yesterday, starting with EG, who told his wife yesterday that we did not come to the festival at all, owing to not seeing us the whole day. Woops.

Milton-Duff 13yo (43º G.L., OB)

Nose: musky, dusty, old. That dissipates to leave a light nose, fragrant like a forest undergrowth.
Mouth: jammy, sweet, it has marmalade and old copper coins. It is drying in the long run.
Finish: beautifully jammy, still retaining a good dose of copper, brass or tin.
Comment: a pleasant old dusty. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

EG: "Have you tried this one?"
JS: "No."
EG: "Try it!"
JS: "What? You want me to pour it myself?"
EG: "No charge, no service!"

Tobermory 8yo d.1972 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice)

Nose: phwoar! More ashy fruits, this time, with a healthy pinch of soot.
Mouth: mellow, jammy, lovely.
Finish: yup, it has the sooty-marmalade profile one may expect from something that has spent so long in glass.
Comment: excellent. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

Ben Nevis 1970/1988 (46%, Brae Dean Int. for Moon Import The Sea, Sherry Butt, C#2913, 360b, b#267)

Nose: warehouse dust, clay floor and tennis-court clay, damp after a drizzle, dark pipe tobacco. Meow.
Mouth: a trio of wood, orange and soot. It is terribly complex, and seems well powerful for 46%, with ginger powder and dried citrus zest.
Finish: long, it has cigar tobacco, cedar-wood sheets and dried orange peels.
Comment: extraordinary. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

Someone bumps into us.

bumper: "Scusi, scusi."
tOMoH + JS: "Tsk! Oh! It is PG."
PG: "Don't spill [your whisky] on [tOMoH's] notebook."

We follow PG to his stand, where we catch CD.

Highland Park 18yo 2006/2024 (59.2%, C.Dully Selection, Hogshead, C#3571, 232b)

Nose: boasting a lot of very-dry smoke at first, it gains burnt sugar and honey with a lot of breathing, as well as cured leather.
Mouth: violet boiled sweets, torched and burnt. This is rather fierce, with burning lavender too, and it becomes drying in the long run.
Finish: it now is like licking dusty gravel in a quarry on fire (I know). Long, fiery, pushing incandescent heather bushes.
Comment: just okay for my taste. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, CD)

Savoureur joins us. We try the next one blind, and, after a few attempts, I even manage to recognise it, owing to the fact I have tried it before.

Rosebank 15yo (50%, The Distillers Agency Ltd imported by Zenith, Ceramic decanter, b.1980s) 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, Savoureur)

Glen Keith 30yo 1994/2024 Nr.9 (53%, Sansibar Jens Drewitz' Personal Choice, Bourbon Hogshead, 110b)

Nose: super fruity, it offers a blend of apricots and peaches.
Mouth: I find it quite spritely too, akin to a fizzy drink made of kumquat and apricot.
Finish: long, jammy, fruity, still peddling peaches, apricots and kumquats.
Comment: who needs extreme complexity when the result is this good? 9/10 (Thanks for the sip, Savoureur)

Cool label too

Springbank 21yo (46%, OB signed by J Archibald Mitchell, b. ca 1990)

Comment: the tiny quantity I manage to put on my tongue does not allow for notes, but it is excellent. Same level as the Hedley G Wright edition we had in 2016. 9/10 (Thanks for the sip, Savoureur)

Pineau des Charentes Jean-Luc Pasquet 40yo Assemblages 75-80 (16%, OB for C.Dully, b. ca. 2025)

Nose: thick as OXO broth, filled to bursting with sweet prunes.
Mouth: fresh, overflowing with grapes, soaked sultanas and pressed prunes. Mind you, it is sweet, not sickly, chewy, not cloying.
Finish: concentrated prunes (JS). It is an explosion of rehydrated raisins and sultanas.
Comment: apparently, I like Pineau des Charentes, now. Although, this is head and shoulders above the ones we had in March. And, of course, it has little in common with the stuff one can find in supermarkets. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, CD)

We will try this ultra-rarity another time

I spot AMcD from Clydeside. He does not recognise me, but it only take a couple of words for the penny to drop.

"Have you heard of Clydeside?"

Clydeside 2018/2025 (55%, OB for Vibrant Stills, Fresh Bourbon Barrel + Tawny Port Cask Finish, C#006F)

Nose: even blind, it is relatively easy to tell it is but finished in a Port cask: it has macerated grape skins alright, but also the fruits one might expect from a Bourbon cask.
Mouth: wine-y and drying, here. We find stem ginger  and peach stone, which betrays a certain bitterness, surely.
Finish: long, big, it is reminiscent of cinnamon buns.
Comment: good, but it confirms wine casks are not something I should systematically chase. 7/10

Clydeside 2018/2025 (58%, OB for Vibrant Stills, Fresh Bourbon Barrel, C#999)

Nose: vanilla custard aplenty.
Mouth: mellow, it has a citric edge, custard with a drop of lemon juice.
Finish: phwoar! Custard-y, lemon-y, it also offers fudge, bananas and pineapple.
Comment: love this. Well done, DH! 8/10

AH and VW join us. VW is enjoying a Millburn 25yo 1975/2001 (61.9%, OB Rare Malts Selection), I think for the second time this weekend. It is a bottling he knows well, and he wants to enjoy it while he can.

Oh! ST!
tOMoH: "Is your brother here? I have not seen him."
ST: "He should be."
tOMoH: "He should be?"

ST tells us how PT had an administrative mishap and could not come into the EU for this festival. He is in Scotland, probably fuming.

Dornoch 4yo 2018/2022 (55.91%, OB for The Barrel Baron, First Fill Bourbon Octave, C#90, 82b, b#74)

Nose: dry pineapple slices and a lot of wax. It also has pandoro, confectionary sugar and sweet dust.
Mouth: oh! Funky and seemingly old, it prolongs the waxy touch, and adds brass, shoe polish and custard.
Finish: big, brass-y, with a generous dollop of brass polish.
Comment: my favourite Dornoch to-date. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, ST)

I spot something going on from the corner of my eye. It looks as though someone is negotiating the remainder of a bottle of EG's that I had my eye on.

Glenugie 20yo d.1968 (54.8%, Sestante, Sherry Wood)

Nose: phwoar! The jam in this nose! It is pure tangerine jam. I wish I had more of it and more time to spend with it, but even then: phwoar!
Mouth: incredibly balanced (remember: this is the cask-strength edition), it sprinkles a pinch of grated chalk on tangerine marmalade.
Finish: this leaves me speechless. I suppose we see the confirmation of the nose and the palate, with tangerine jam and chalky soot, but really, this is beyond words.
Comment: dram of the festival for me. I am very happy to reveal that the guy who tried to negotiate the rest of the bottle on the cheap did not get it. In fact, it went to elskling, in the end -- a good home if one can be found. 11/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

MW spots me.

MW: "tOMoH, do you like Port Ellen?"
tOMoH: "Errr… Sure?"
MW: "Here. The bottle is almost empty, this will make some room."

Port Ellen 15yo 1980/1996 (63.9%, Gordon & MacPhail Cask Strength imported by Giuseppe Meregalli, Oak Casks, C#5090 + 5101-5104)

Nose: a very-petrolic number, it has tarry sands, diesel and seashells after a black tide.
Mouth: petrol again, drying as a sanding machine, and fairly salty. This evokes cockles full of tarry sands.
Finish: huge, dry, earthy, petrolic, phwoar. Mind you, it is also fierce and desiccating, so I can see it not being as well received by all all the time.
Comment: excellent. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, MW)

Teaninich 40yo 1973/2013 (42%, The Whisky Agency, Refill Sherry Hogshead, 213b)

Nose: very floral, it has honeysuckle, daffodils and ripe apricots.
Mouth: fresh, overflowing with spring flowers, lily-of-the-valley and suchlike, daffodil and narcissus.
Finish: spicy, jammy, we find peach jelly and the filling of apricot turnovers.
Comment: amazing. How can this shine so bright after the Port Ellen powerhouse? Who knows? Who cares? 10/10

The Westfalian 2012 11yo 2013/2024 Cask Experiment Islay (63.5%, Unique Liquids, ex-Laphroaig Bourbon Barrel, C#TW34, 210b, b#159)

Nose: extremely corn-like, with corn syrup, fructose, boiled corn and some kind of sweets.
Mouth: at once rough and sweet. It coats the taste buds in corn syrup, which immediately starts sucking all moisture out of the mouth.
Finish: funny, unusual, sweet and very much corn-orientated.
Comment: this comes recommended by the Cask Trade team. It is not bad, but I am less enthused. 6/10 (Thanks for the sip, SA)

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