07/08/2026 Whisky Fringe 2026 (Day 1 -- Part 1)

Back in Edinburgh for another edition of the Whisky Fringe. The train was cancelled, this morning. We had to take another one, two hours later, which made us rush and join the queue a little too close to the opening time, without a proper meal. Not without food, though: we stopped in a wee shop for sarnies. The queue is just long enough to eat half of them and line our stomachs a little.

It seems the show has grown quite a bit, since last year, with more exhibitors and a whole new room called Lost Distilleries. As the name suggests, that one focuses on hard-to-get drams from closed distilleries, and one obtains drams in exchange for tokens, which cost £5 each. We could end up spending a lot of time (and money), there!

Oh! and there is a welcome dram from a closed distillery.

Port Dundas 15yo 2010/2026 (46%, Signatory Vintage The Un-Chillfiltered Collection, 1st Fill Sherry Hogsheads & 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels, L26/63)

Nose: buttery pastry, very sweet, doughnut, custard cream.

Mouth: the doughnut parade continues, which is ironic, considering we had no time to stop for doughnuts on the way here. There is also a corn-husk bitterness.

Finish: sweet doughnuts served on a metal plate (zinc?)

Comment: nice starter.

Score: 7/10

Now perusing the bottlings in the Lost Distilleries area. The selection is impressive. In fact, it is phlabberghasting.

A Glen Flagler? A Kinclaith? A Killyloch?

The most saught-after Glenlochy?

It is hilarious to see most people gravitate towards the Port Ellen, a Diageo Annual Release, at that, when there is much rarer stuff to explore. That said, I have tried or own ninety-five percent of what is on offer and elect to spend little time here. Perhaps others feel the same.

To note: the Rosebank is the official 31yo that we tried last year. It is offered this year as a halftime-orange dram again. To have it here too feels like a gaffe-and-a-half!

We continue our journey downstairs to the tent.

Balblair 12yo 2014/2026 (56.1%, Little Brown Dog Small Batch, Calvados Cask, 290b)

Nose: it has gherkin, then brine an moist paper bags from a perfume shop.

Mouth: very brandy-like. Plum, greengage, gooseberry, apple.. That last one is suggestion speaking, surely -- Calvados, innit.

Finish: yes, this is a fruit eau-de-vie in character, with crunchy apples and unripe plums.

Comment: it is okay. A bit thin and eau-de-vie-like for me.

Score: 6/10

Orkney 24yo 2001/2026 (53.1%, Little Brown Dog Small Batch, Refill Hogsheads)

Nose: comforting and medicinal nose, with old bandages, embrocations, age-old gauze. Roasted apples are behind, as are smoked apples and a bit of tobacco too (cigar).

Mouth: rather juicy, it has tobacco and gauze, through which pressurised fruit-juice steam has been pumped.

Finish: long, warming. Someone is smoking a cigarillo whilst roasting apples.

Comment: very, very good.

Score: 8/10

Caol Ila 12yo 2013/2026 (57.3%, Little Brown Dog Small Batch, Refill Bourbon Barrels, 384b)

Nose: spirit-y, it opens up to give a naked sweet crust (no topping). Fortunately, pressed apricot rears its head.

Mouth: ha. Very thin and very spirit-y, as if custard (without vanilla) and corn syrup (without sweetness) had a bastard child.

Finish: not much, here either. Wet cardboard with confectionary sugar. JS finds it a skunky aftertaste, while I find it astringent.

Comment: an unpeated Caol Ila. A curiosity that does not work for me. I remember trying the official unpeated expression, many years ago, and thinking the same. It must have been 2011's Special Release version or 2012's. It appears Caol Ila without peat is simply not whisky that works for me.

Score: 6/10

Invergordon 7yo 2017.2025 (58.8%, Little Brown Dog Small Batch, Virgin Oak Casks, 300b)

Nose: a lot of custard, at first, but that Irn Bru note so typical of rye whiskies appears at the end. Warm pastry, pie or other.

Mouth: a rye it is! Irn Bru, polished metal and something much weirder. Fart? Or is it the three blokes near us?

Finish: this is the best part, with custard sprinkled with Irn Bru, and smoked raisins.

Comment: a rye produced at the North-Highland grain distillery. The finish makes this interesting, not memorable.

Score: 7/10

LBD: "I hate these pourers. There is no stopper."
JS: "They're great, aren't they?"

Drookit Dug 10yo (45.1%, Little Brown Dog, Final Batch)

Nose: it smells very blend-y. Dusty cardboard, corn syrup... That dissipates and gives couque suisse and craquelin.

Mouth: the briny jelly of preserved pistachios, mocha custard.

Finish: lovely custard, but the cardboard-y element is hard to see past, and the alcohol is not elegantly integrated.

Comment: meh.

Score: 6/10

Aberdeenshire 12yo (46%, Little Brown Dog, b. ca.2026)

Nose: Scottish tablet, toffee, even fudge. Mostly fudge, actually. And thick ashes.

Mouth: mocha bitterness complements a custard-y texture (again). Melted chocolate with orange rinds and too much milk.

Finish: orange juice punctuated with melted chocolate chips.

Comment: decent likely Geerie.

Score: 7/10

Kingsbarns Doocot (46%, OB, 90% Bourbon + 10% STR Portuguese Red Wine Casks, b. ca.2026)

Nose: bluberry madeleines and blackcurrant cheesecake.

Mouth: it tastes younger than the nose suggested, with windscreen defroster complementing an undeniable fruity backdrop of unripe currants and gooseberries.

Finish: pleasant and comforting, it has blackcurrant cheesecake and blackberry sundae.

Comment: it is okay.

Score: 7/10

Glen Moray 18yo 2007/2026 (54.7%, Keeble Cask Fragrant Drops, Refill Bourbon Barrel, C#357, 218b)

Nose: a peaty Moray? This was announced as a lemon bomb, but it smells pretty earthy to me, with mud patties and farm paths. If there is any lemon, it is smoked. Antiseptic or dishwasher tablet (JS). Lemon rises timidly, given time.

Mouth: green olives meet dishwasher tablets. Chewing injects stringent lemon alright, but it is not that dominant, even if it becomes stripping, over time.

Finish: more dishwasher tablets (well spotted, JS) mixed with mud.

Comment: competent.

Score: 7/10

Tamnavulin 12yo 2013/2026 (60%, Keeble Cask Fragrant Drops, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, C#111516, 195b)

Nose: dried grass, hay (is that not the same thing?), mulch, custard powder, maybe a metal straw?

Mouth: hm. Naked. New ropes, turpentine. It is stripping. My tongue feels abused.

Finish: it is better here. It shows some fruits (plums, berries, not very ripe) and ginger biscuits. Or is that my craving those shortbreads they just put out at the stand? The next gulp is a tad more complex, but still not easy.

Comment: disappointing.

Score: 6/10

Kingsbarns Coaltown (46%, OB, ex-Peated Casks, b. ca.2026)

Nose: banana skins? That quickly makes way for baked bread -- baked to cardboard, in fact. We can hear the French residents of Auld Reekie slicing their wrists in despair -- and they are right. Cereals follow, mostly dry as stale granola.

Mouth: toasted cereals indeed, a bit of soot, charred husks and windscreen defroster sprayed onto raw cereals.

Finish: rough, it has defroster spray and bitter currants. Maybe cardboard too.

Comment: not for me.

Score: 5/10

Dalmunach 7yo d.2018 (55.4%, Blind Summit, Amontillado Sherry Hogshead, 170b)

Nose: Mokatines and warmed digestive biscuits are joined by a soap bar. That turns very buttery with a moment's breathing. Later on, we discover plain coffee.

Mouth: cardboard, Horlicks, Mokatine again. It is supremely drying at second sip and rather spicy too.

Finish: ashes, rocks, fruit stones (dry, stripped of any flesh). Long finish, almost invasive.

Comment: okayish.

Score: 6/10

Halftime is looming. Time to decide what to do.

This poster comes in handy

Mossburn thought it useful to specify that 100 ppm
classes as heavily peated :-)

Continue reading here.

04/06/2026 An evening at Onion

This is another chain of sorts. One venue is a hip bakery we once visited for breakfast. This one is a covered stall selling pizza by the side of a market that serves highballs. It also happens to have twentyish Korea-exclusive bottlings of whisky. This city is mad like that.

Rubbish collection two metres from our street stall.
Mad.

Glen Moray 13yo 2008/2021 (58.7%, Blackadder Raw Cask Bottled for Dal Dal Korea imported by Magic International, Hogshead, C#2988, 170b, b#19)

Nose: it is fairly neutral, at first, which may suggest a high ABV. A minute's breathing and we can confirm: this assails the nose with flower essence, haybales and cut fruits -- raspberry and peach slices. There is also dark wood at play, which is not expected and offers a nice counterpoint. The second nose has much more white-wood sawdust (birch, balsa), ginger powder, galangal gratings. Water unlocks darker notes of pressed dark grapes and leather. 
Mouth: lovely orange or tangerine juice augmented with white-wood sawdust. Keep it on the tongue long enough and white pepper shows up, shaved lemongrass, ginger powder. Chewing reveals dried citrus peels, slightly bitter, and orange oil. The second sip combines the same wood notes with oily orange peels. Softer with water, it delivers pineapple and pear juices.
Finish: orange oil is right. It is oily, bitter, yet it remains pretty fruity all in all. It is also warming. The alcohol is integrated, but the high ABV is palpable. It is also a tad drying, in the long run, with sawdust and ground white pepper. The second gulp kicks even stronger to play the same notes: wood dust, citrus peels, powdered spices. Water adds a boozy sponge cake.
Comment: very good. A shared cask with Belgium, it would appear: it was released for the fifteenth anniversary of The Nectar.
Score: 8/10

Royal Brackla 12yo 2011/2023 (59.20%, Volpe & Castello imported by J International, Bourbon Barrel, C#1176, 92b, b#1)

Nose: robust and woody at first, it rolls out custard and butterscotch at the next sniff. We do find dried orange peels rubbed on rustic oak furniture. Flan tart with a lovely caramel coulis. It has a fruity note too, either blueberries or currants. The second nose brings warm crusty bread and a knife that has cut yellow citrus (calamansi, sweet lemon, calamondin). Water brings up burnt apple pie, which means more caramel.
Mouth: mellow and very fruity. We have currants, green grapes and lychees, perhaps rambutans. It warms up on the tongue to the point it feels as if it could burn a hole through it. Apart from that, it is well pleasant. Burning-hot raspberry slices. The second sip is fruitier, teeming with calamansi and calamondin, kumquat, citron and a minute amount of metal. Water makes it mellow and reminds me of honey-glazed pickled onions.
Finish: long, it has caramel poured on a blueberry cheese cake. There is a lick of warm metal behind that, perhaps a tin plate or a knife, a faint bitterness that brings nothing negative to the table. The second gulp is a trifle numbing, with white wood and white peach displayed on a stainless-steel plate.
Comment: very good and terribly unlikely we will see this again. The label represents a traditional Korean card games, by the way.
Score: 8/10

That Benromach is tempting

Upon looking at the bottles to choose a second flight, we are told they are closing in ten minutes. The site said earlier than that, the chalkboard reads later. It is likely linked to the staff's mood. Despite a case of FOMO, it is time to hit the sack anyway.

02/08/2025 August outturn at the SMWS

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

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

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

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

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

PS offers a round.

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

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

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

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

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

Sadly, they are out of 162.4. Hm.

26/04/2025 The Whisky Fair (Day 1 -- Part 2: Maltbarn)

Last year, JS and I spent the whole Saturday socialising aimlessly. Only the following day did we discover some stands and their excellent bottlings. Some of which were sold out, by then. This year, our plan was to do the opposite: start with the things for sale, then socialise. Well, the whole morning has gone already, and we have been to two stands. Ahem.

MD, JS and I finally climb the stairs and head to Maltbarn. We can still get back on track.

Braes of Glenlivet 30yo 1994/2024 #15 (48.9%, Maltbarn The 26, Bourbon Cask, 51b)

Nose: light and ethereal, powdery.
Mouth: it stays fresh, flowery now, with lilies-of-the-valley, jasmine and honeysuckle. Lovely.
Finish: soft, sweet and flowery, it has confectionary sugar and cosmetic powder.
Comment: excellent. This is very much in line with the Càrn Mòr bottling I know rather well. 8/10

Ben Nevis 28yo 1996/2024 #18 (48.6%, Maltbarn The 26, Bourbon Cask, 39b)

Nose: wide, it has blush-orange peels, a touch of earth, and raspberry chocolate.
Mouth: strangely dry, it has a mere dollop of white-chocolate cream. Chewing releases the fruits.
Finish: plainly fruity, here, although it is decaying fruits, now.
Comment: very good too. The price tag, however, is somewhat prohibitive for tOMoH. 8/10

Glenlossie 29yo 1995/2025 Whisky's Calling (49.2%, Maltbarn, B#250, Bourbon Cask, 156b)

Nose: butterscotch. I spectacularly fail to take more notes.
Mouth: a little more punchy and acidic than foreseen, but mostly light and biscuit-y.
Finish: soaked biscuits, Custard Creams or Petits Beurres dunked in milk.
Comment: another good 'lossie. 8/10

[The initials of the head honcho are also MD, so he will be known as MM, the second M being for Maltbarn.]
MD: "You bottled shit again!"
MM: "I know."
MD: "I find you an importer and that is what you do."
MM: "Yeah, I know."
MD: "Always the same, with you. You always disappoint me."

Glen Moray 21yo 2003/2025 (53%, Maltbarn, B#249, Bourbon Cask)

Nose: oily white-wood shavings, then butterscotch and biscuits, then cured quince.
Mouth: citrus-y porridge, oily, a little neutral, yet it turns drying upon chewing.
Finish: classic Glen Moray citrus peels -- dried at first, then juicier. It has some spices too, ginger powder or such.
Comment: Nice. It leaves a pleasant mouthfeel. 8/10

Benromach 11yo 2013/2025 Glen Mosset (54.6%, Maltbarn, B#254, Bourbon Cask)

Nose: bandages (JS). I find it peaty, displaying very-dry sausage, perhaps smoked, or a worn-out game bag.
Mouth: light, bright, fruity, then suddenly very drying, with quarry dust and ground dried orange peels.
Finish: long and citrus-y, it is juicier than the mouth suggested.
Comment: not sure why they call it Glen Mosset, since Benromach is clearly written on the label. 7/10

Bruichladdich 21yo 2003/2024 (50.5%, Maltbarn, B#243, Bourbon Cask)

Nose: meringue, beaten egg white, a whiff of farmyard and some baby sick.
Mouth: fresh, light, a tad acidic. It may have some lactic acid, actually.
Finish: fresh again, perhaps cereal-y with a touch of fruit.
Comment: honest. 7/10

Strathmill 32yo 1992/2024 #17 (48.8%, Maltbarn The 26, Sherry Cask, 41b)

Nose: oranges or tangerines stored in a Tupperware.
Mouth: all sorts of citrus jams and marmalades -- tangerine, clementine, mandarine.
Finish: warming and marmalade-y again, with a lick of oily wood to boot.
Comment: competent, though it does not wow me. 8/10

MD [nosing his glass]: "What's that smell?"
tOMoH: "Is it arse?"

NH joins us.

Glen Spey 29yo 1995/2024 #16 (54.1%, Maltbarn The 26, Sherry Cask, 42b)

Nose: fresh, light, and probably a little indistinct.
Mouth: vaguely woody (white wood), it dishes out cinnamon and ginger shavings.
Finish: narrow, precise, it remains rather indistinct.
Comment: a fair drop that lacks personality. It is too middle-of-the road to make us enthusiastic. 7/10

MD [whose wife and daughters are dress-shopping for a wedding]: "My credit-card-bill notifications are coming in fast!"
NH: "Your net worth is falling faster than Elon Musk's!"

Real Diver's Whisky 12yo (unknown ABV, unknown bottler with the compliments of Sub Sea Services & Divex)

Nose: effervescent, bubbling with fruity Alka Seltzer and some baby sick kept in a plastic bottle, and cold cuts.
Mouth: strangely watery with a little hay infusion. I would say porridge, but it is much thinner.
Finish: indistinguishable orchard fruits and a pinch of dust.
Comment: NH reckons Glen Garioch. tOMoH is not so sure. Great opportunity to try something this exclusive. Love the shameless Cadenhead look. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, NH)

Longmorn 16yo 2008/2025 (53.4%, Maltbarn, B#253, Sherry Cask, 177b)

Nose: this smells buttery, with ripe apricots and peaches, as well as, well, butter. Avocado, maybe? It has something almost metallic to it too. Softer and more fragrant with water -- "it presents itself with spread legs," says MD.
Mouth: a lot more acidic, here, it offers orange juice augmented with pressed maracuja.
Finish: wow! Some wood under control, and a lot of fruits, 1992 style.
Comment: cracking dram. 8/10

MD [about backpacks]: "That's why I wear a man bag. It's slim. Like everything else on me."
tOMoH: "I hear your credit card bill isn't."

NH, MD and tOMoH debate the chocolate of their respective Heimats. tOMoH argues that chocolate-making is a legacy of empire, and becoming the best chocolate-maker required having colonies that produce cocoa.

NH: "Well, we grow all our cocoa beans in the Alps, so..."
tOMoH: "...grazed by purple cows."

Caol Ila 17yo 2007/2024 (54.2%, Maltbarn, B#245, Sherry Cask)

Nose: pitch-black ink, torched fishing nets and dried lichens.
Mouth: smoked-ham-infused sea water, cockles, ink and sand. Smoke rises boldly in the long run.
Finish: more of the same -- ink, tarry sands, burnt fishing nets.
Comment: this is really good, if perhaps not overly interesting. 7/10

An Islay Distillery 24yo 2000/2024 (51.8%, Maltbarn, B#251, Sherry Cask, 175b)

Nose: super earthy, if not one bit medicinal. It turns almost bret-y with time.
Mouth: dark, inky, earthy, and drying when chewing.
Finish: huge, inky, sandy (hot sands), it has dark chocolate emerging over time.
Comment: reliable 'froyg. 7/10

MD [to JS]: "I just looked at [my] picture of your Glenlivet. I'm stunned that, even back when this was bottled, they were already warning people about the [American] government!"

JS: "That's close to... Why is my memory so bad?"
NH [looking at the whisky]: "I wonder why..."
tOMoH: "It's the same when she's sober."
JS: "You're mean."
tOMoH: "That's okay. You won't remember tomorrow."

Port Charlotte 22yo 2002/2025 (55.2%, Maltbarn No. 252, Bourbon Cask, 186b)

Nose: ooft! cigarette smoke and ash.
Mouth: this is desiccating, exuding scorched earth bathing in sea water. Phwoar! I need a litre of fresh water!
Finish: huge, inky, ashy and chocolate-y. In fact, it is cocoa powder through and through.
Comment: impressive. 7/10

Time to close this Maltbarnathon and grab a bite to eat. It is only a biscuit (Mulino Bianco's Macine), but it feels good to sit down for a second. Short respite, however: NH's sour beers are in need of a refrigerator. A trip to the accommodation awaits me.

Continue reading here.

25/01/2024 Toasting the Bard

'tis the night again. The come and go quickly, do they not?

Glen Moray 10yo (40%, A.D. Rattray Whiskies of Distinction, b. ca. 2020): it is unclear if this is a rebottled official bottling, or a genuine Rattray selection. A.D. Rattray bottled a 10yo Glen Moray in 2019 for Whighams Edinburgh (C#5678), but the few details given on this sample do not match. Nose: woah! Pot-pourri has never been this clear. It is a heady blend of dried flowers, cinnamon sticks, and cloves, rose petals morphing from dried to plush and velvety, and dried apple slices. It has a whiff of cut forsythia too, reaching the end of its vase life, and wilting. Behind that comes hardened modelling wax, left out for long enough to have gone a little stale, then blooming bushes (brambles). Fifteen-twenty minutes in, it acquires a certain fruitiness, with cut orchard fruit coming to the fore. The second nose has dried watercolour, which is a logical extension of modelling wax, I suppose. Mouth: young and somewhat brash, honestly. Even at 40%, the alcohol does not feel terribly-well integrated, and the whole resembles chewing on a ball of plasticine that would have macerated in malt vinegar. Much more than that, one would be hard pressed to find. The second sip is fresher, and less vinegar-y. It somehow reminds me of windscreen defroster spray. That has its charm, for some. I like it in general, but not sure I do in whisky. Finish: quite similar to the palate in that it does not have a harmonious alcohol integration, and it plays the vinegar-y plasticine card as if nothing else mattered (there is no metal here, you power-ballad enthusiasts). The following gulps are in line, though they add a spoonful of grated milk chocolate as a bonus. It makes me think of the blue (aniseed?) chocolate sold in Venice, for whatever reason (see picture). A promising nose, but it is disappointing from then onward. It is simple, uninteresting, and not very well made, if not at all disgusting. 6/10 (Thanks for the sample, A.D. Rattray)

10/12/2022 Partial anagrams

Following on from the other day's Dunglass, the brief for the day is to bring bottlings from distilleries whose name contains at least three letters that also appear in the name of a popular celebration. And to make things more interesting, we will have them in alphabetical order of the celebrations they represent.

WhiskyLovingPianist, OB, Cavalier66, BA and JS join me for an afternoon of pfun.

The soundtrack: Olympic Pool Maintenance League - Projection Set

OB presents a 42.0% whisky for 4/20. Well, his bottle is 42%; he looked it up on Whiskybase, where it is recorded as 42.0%, from which he made 4.20%. The 20th April, or 4/20 across the Pond, is World Cannabis Day, by the way. You learn something every day. It is far fetched, strictly speaking, only two characters, but it is good enough to fly.

Invergordon 48yo 1972/2020 (42%, Thompson Bros., 3 x Refill Barrels, 260b): nose: coconut-y to the extreme, until the trademark blackcurrant rocks up. Cavalier66: "If you are going to market a coconut-flavoured nail varnish, you could do worse than make it smell like this." It has a lick of nail varnish indeed, candlewax (WhiskyLovingPianist), and fruity yoghurt. Mouth: buttery, oily, coating, it is mild, with a drop of wax. Soon, lots of blackcurrants and blackberries appear. Finish: blackcurrant goodness, with a minute bitterness -- a bitterness that grows. It does not remain the juicy thing that it could have been, showcasing tannins that will prevent a higher score. 8/10

WhiskyLovingPianist: "Got some candlewax."
tOMoH: "Me too."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Really enjoying the bitterness, in the end."
tOMoH: "'Bitterness' is the latest word I wrote down. Get out of my mouth. Hm. That did not come across the way I thought it would..."

A turkey flies in. Trust a turkey to know a good celebration!

WhiskyLovingPianist: "It's also my birthday, today."
tOMoH: "Don't ruin the surprise!"
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Sorry guys, next year!"

BA: "When Berry Brothers & Rudd introduced their current bottle shape, they sent two bottles to journos and influencers."
tOMoH: "And which category do you fall into?"

BA [passes the bottle to WhiskyLovingPianist]: "You know how much whisky you want to drink before you fall over, yes?"
Cavalier66: "Have you seen him at Whisky Show?"

BA presents Bunnahabhain for Advent ('a', 'n', and 'bh' for 'v' -- clever!)

Bunnahabhain 1989/2015 (43.4%, Berry Bros. & Rudd bottled exclusively for Billy Abbot imported by Richards Walford, Hogshead, C#5738, 115b): nose: toasted barley, dried staves, a whiff of light smoke, and then -- boom! Raspberries. Next are ripe pineapple slices, soft custard... and new dolls (JS). Mouth: juicy, with a fruit acidity, now crisp apple and unripe pineapple. This is lovely! Finish: an unlikely mix of wood shavings, vanilla custard, raspberries, and smoked pineapple. Wow! 8/10

The soundtrack: U Can Dance (900 Years Of Utrecht Dance Music, Volume 1)

BA [after talking about Enigma]: "I've got some questionable music in my collection."
tOMoH: "Those are not questionable. The first four albums of Enigma are great."
BA: "I have the second album of Deep Forest."
tOMoH: "Ah."

Cavalier66 presents a bottle known as the ABC whisky, because it contains Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila. Cavalier66 is at pains to point out that ABC is an obvious anagram, clearly not aware of the difference between anagram and acronym. Fortunately for him, BA comes to the rescue an hour later with: "Always Bringing Christmas." Just as well, because Cavalier66's back-up plan, made on the hoof, was that this is 25yo and that Christmas is on the 25th December -- in another word: dire. Not long enough to qualify either. But especially dire. :-)

tOMoH: "Such a poor show."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Sorry, I missed the acronym. What is it, again?"

Robust Smoky Embers 25yo b.2016 (46%, Cadenhead Creations, Married in Sherry Hogshead, B#3): nose: dry and ashy, with a spoonful of cranberry compote, dry earth, kelp-covered rope, and that unmistakable Ardbeg barley. There is some ink coming up, and shellac too. Mouth: syrupy, sweet. We have some rancio and a lot of earthy sherry. Mind you, there is a bit of smoke and trampled clay, as well.  It turns a little juicier with each sip, though. Finish: big, cloying, syrupy again, but this time, it boasts peppermint to boot. The dryness of the earthy side grows pretty strong, and leaves the palate as if covered in ashes. A good drop. 8/10

Different food selection.
Cavalier66 went for mince pies and Stollen

WhiskyLovingPianist: "Why can't you teach puns to kleptomaniacs? Because they take everything -- literally."
tOMoH: "I thought I was a kleptomaniac. Then I came here, found this cake, but it was, in fact, Stollen."

JS presents Benriach, which has five letters from Christmas ('r', 'i', 'a', 'c', 'h'), and five from birthday ('b', 'r', 'i', 'a', 'h'). And it is WhiskyLovingPianist's birthday, today! What a surprise!

Benriach 27yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines First Cask, C#9444, b#332, b. ca 2004): nose: cut mango and warm apricot, even if they are a little diffuse. Mouth: oily tropicality (Cavalier66). It is peppery, punchy, at 46% -- lively and fruity-acidic on the tongue, where it really shines. Finish: faint metallic bitterness, and mangosteen on a background of mango and peach juices. I feared the sequence (alphabetical order of the celebrations, remember) would do this a disservice, but if anything, it is even better than before. Full notes here. 8/10

Cavalier66 struggles to shoehorn his next offering into the theme, still humiliated by his poor first effort, and his misreading the theme (anagram != acronym, and no, it is not a festive tasting where "festive" means Christmas-y). I point out that his next bottle contains five letter in Christmas.

Cavalier66 presents Kilchoman for Christmas ('i', 'c', 'h', 'm', 'a').

129.6 6yo d.2008 Peated candy (58.9%, SMWS Society Single Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 243b): we do not often have Kilchoman, and the SMWS ones dried up almost a decade ago. It is therefore a bit of an exciting sight. Nose: ink, fishing nets, drying in the sun, and a droplet of melted strawberry marshmallow. There is also a clear smoky hue (burning hay) and tarry ropes. It turns dusty, offering wheelbarrows of desert dirt. Mouth: immensely powerful, full of embers and juicy berries, or fruit yoghurt. The embers relentlessly dominate, however. Later on, we see simmering cranberry compote. Finish: more acidic fruit, with menthol and peppermint added in. The second sip has a full tannery, with faded handbags and drying leather. It becomes a little acrid, after a while. 8/10

BA presents Glen Keith for Advent ('e', 'n', 't'), Bethlehem (Crimbo reference, 'e', 't', 'h', 'l'), tinsel (Crimbo decorations, 't', 'i', 'n', 'e', 'l'), or turkey (festive food, 't', 'k', 'e'). "I get really bored on the tube," he adds. Take note, Cavalier66! ;-)

Glen Keith 29yo 1992/2021 (46.2%, Thompson Bros., 437b): nose: vanilla pods, candy necklace, crushed peach flesh. It turns bolder and bolder, with fruit more and more exuberant, in a confectionary way, flirting with red bootlaces. Mouth: mellow, it has just a sprinkle of ground pepper on red bootlaces, and a cocktail of strawberries and peaches. It is coming pretty close to mango, actually. The second sip seems more acidic, unripe grapefruit and nutmeg competing for the spotlight. Finish: ample, fruity, soft, teeming with pulped fruit (peaches, strawberries), and a copious dose of menthol. The second sip brings back the grapefruit, and becomes drying, desiccating -- in a good way, yet that stops the whole being the dram of the day. Still, what a great drop! 8/10

Cavalier66: "'Burning Fruity Embers'. I can make 'erotica' from that!"
tOMoH: "Yeah, that was two whiskies ago."
Cavalier66: "My reputation is ruined!"
OB: "Your what?"

The soundtrack: In The Nursery - L'Esprit

Cavalier66 presents Boozy Christmas Cake for Christmas ('c', 'h', 'r', 'i', 's', 't', 'm', 'a', 's'), thereby leading the race for who will have the most letters in an anagram -- and they are in the same order too!

35.97 10yo Boozy Christmas Cake (58.7%, SMWS Society Single Cask): amusingly, BA is sporting a Glen Moray sleeveless polar fleece (35 is Glen Moray, for clarity). Nose: bile, rubber. The bile dissipates, fortunately, and leaves an assertive sherry influence. There is nothing here that says 'whisky'; instead, it is a very strong sherry. Boot polish, beaver fur, castor oil. Mouth: celery (BA), litres of Oloroso, desiccating earth, rancio, and, well, strong sherry, with its musky-earthy profile. I can feel my teeth being covered in lichen and thick green ink or marker pens. Finish: big, unsubtle. Earth, decaying grapes, ground walnut shells, thick elderberry. It is cloying, intense, adding liquorice bootlaces, black cumin, and crushed nigella seeds. Not my style. 6/10

BA presents Dubh Glas Naughty for Pudding (as in Christmas pudding, 'u', 'd', 'n', 'g') or Balthazar (one of the three wise men of Christmas, 'b', 'l', 'a', 't'). Also, this was a Christmas release.

Dubh Glas Naughty (44.5, OB, C#D-006 & D-010217b): nose: packing cellophane (JS), raincoat lining (WhiskyLovingPianist). It is indeed a plastic-fuelled nose, with melted plastic, cut plastic-doll heads, melted sunglasses and industrial glue. Mouth: fresh, but plastic-y again. Cellophane, old plastic dolls, and oilskins. Then, thirty seconds in, eucalyptus cough drops and peppermint drops. Finish: fairly short, barley-like, with a lick of plastic, and quite a lot of fruit, now. Not bad, and certainly unusual. Lots of plastic, though. 6/10

Discussing a whisky festival after which no-one is allowed to drive:
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Well, no-one drives after Whisky Show!"
tOMoH: "Have you ever talked to HT?"
WhiskyLovingPianist + BA: "Aaaaaaaaaah!"

WhiskyLovingPianist: "In A triathlon with a shark, you're gonna win the running, but lose the swimming. So, it's down to the bike."

tOMoH presents Glasgow Blend for Halloween ('l', 'a', 'o', 'w', 'l', 'e', 'n').

Glasgow Blend Limited Edition b.2019 (49%, Compass Box Great King St Single Marrying Cask selected by The Wine Merchant Ltd imported by Compass Box USA, ex-Sherry Marrying Cask, C#35, 132b): nose: subdued. The smoke is honestly tame, at this stage, overshadowed by cereal. Perhaps it has smoked orange rinds? Mouth: smoked peach slices, even mango tatters, engulfed in smoke. The second sip has a lick of sponge. How unexpected and unusual is that!? Finish: in total contradiction to the nose, the finish is big, wide, smoky. We have smoked plantain and fruit juice with a dusting of soot. Full notes here. 8/10

The soundtrack: Michael Nyman - Drowning By Numbers

OB presents Karuizawa for Hanukkah ('k', 'a', 'u', 'a').

Karuizawa 33yo 1981/2014 (54.5%, Number One Drinks Vintage imported by La Maison du Whisky, ex-Sherry Cask, C#152): we had this a year-and-a-half ago. WhiskyLovingPianist was jealous that he did not get to try it; here is his chance -- and an opportunity for everybody else to try it again. Nose: surprisingly sweet on the nose, with mincemeat (mince-pie stuffing), prunes, and a touch of faint rubber. Deeper nosing reveals polished oak, and tobacco leaves (BA). Later on, we have glitter-littered purple wax, and clean sherry (WhiskyLovingPianist). Mouth: fairly stripping (not by Karuizawa standards, mind), it rubs the teeth with wine-stained bits of cork. Decaying grapes and berry liqueur make a late appearance. Finish: long, rancio-y, warming, full of red wine, it presents light tannins and alcohol-soaked mincemeat. This is a great Karuizawa in that it tastes like whisky, not Listerine. 8/10

The soundtrack: noizaddict - Man 2 Men

It is all becoming blurry

WhiskyLovingPianist presents Laphroaig for Holi ('l', 'h', 'o', 'i', or all the letters).

Laphroaig 13yo 2005/2019 (48%, Ian Macleod Distillers Chieftain's Limited Edition Collection, Butts, C#900159-900160, 1502b): nose: natural gas, vegetative, burnt lawns, dried kelp, smoked kelp, ash, lichen-strewn pear-tree. Mouth: juicy barley water, and pronounced burnt wood, cured grape stems. The second sip is fresh and fruity, with cold smoky apple compote. Finish: long, ashy, it sucks every bit of moisture from the mouth. The second sip has bits of burnt cork. A decent Laphroaig, innit. 8/10

WhiskyLovingPianist presents François Peyrot for Pyrotechnic Art Festival, in Cannes ('f', 'r', 'a', 'n', 'ç' for 'c', 'o', 'i', 's', 'p', 'e', 'y', 'r', 'o', 't'), and obliterates the pun competition. Respect.

François Peyrot Lot 60 1960/2021 (42%, OB Héritage imported by Drenth International): nose: well, it is superbly fruity, with some plasticine added for good measure. Wax, Cognac (no shit, Sherlock!), then a whiff of natural gas. Laphroaig residue in the glass? Perhaps. Mouth: juicy grapes, mirabelle plums, nectarines. The grapes are becoming clearer and clearer, juicy, fruity, acidic, and a bit sweet too. Finish: long and fruity again, slightly darker, yet still full of grapes -- now a mix of green and dark. There is a subtle crushed-grape-pip bitterness, not at all distracting. Excellent Cognac. 8/10

BA: "My knee is dodgy. When I'm standing up, I can't bend it like this."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "It's an amazing bend, though."

tOMoH presents Port Dundas for Thanksgiving ('t', 'n', 'a', 's'). My co-tasters point out that it would also qualify for turkey ('r', 't', 'u'), Easter ('r', 't', 'a', 's') and Sunday ('d', 'u', 'n', 'a', 's').

Port Dundas 10yo (60.2%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection World Whiskies, 318b, b. ca 1998): nose: metal and distant coffee. Mouth: Bakelite, warm rubber. WhiskyLovingPianist reckons it smells sugary, with a sourness to it too. Finish: strangely, it is warm Bakelite and hard rubber. Short notes for today: it is late. Full notes are here. I like it better today, I think. 8/10

Excellent times as always. Silly bantz and nonsense, bags of fun.