GN, Psycho, ruckus, Gaija and JS brave the heatwave to join me online for a few drams.
Dram #1
Nose: fruity and fresh (GN), it has citrus (GN) and apricot (Psycho).
Mouth: sweet, light and fruity (GN). On the other hand, ruckus finds it challenging, in the heat (29°C where he is).
Finish: apricots and other yellow fruits (Gaija), pineapple (GN).
Comment: GN finds it the perfect apéritif. Apart from ruckus, who warms up to it (see what I did?), it is widely seen as a strong starter. Gaija reckons a classic Highland or Speyside profile, whereas GN finds it reminiscent of Ardbeg Drum, minus the smoke. My notes are here. The bottle is empty, so I do not try it, tonight.
Strathisla 1999/2010 Here Come The Rain Again (46%, La Maison du Whisky Belgique, C#45530, 247b)
My Internet connection drops. I join back five minutes later.
tOMoH: “I see I haven’t missed much. Psycho is explaining carnival rides to everyone!"
Dram #2
Nose: GN finds it more aggressive than #1. Psycho calls cedar wood and cedar sheets, Gaija detects a waxy old-bottle effect and a peach aroma.
Mouth: dried fruits and dry fruits (Gaija, who specifies roasted almonds), lacquer (Psycho), a soft industrial touch (Gaija), engine grease (ruckus), dusty furniture (Psycho).
Finish: Gaija and GN love this; Psycho finds it a bit rough -- in a pleasant way. GN spots a Bourbon-y side that he enjoys a lot.
Comment: this has become ridiculously fruity, after seven months in a nearly-empty bottle. It is coming closer to the 46yo Sansibar offering. Full notes here.
Nose: coffee grounds, Sherry (Gaija), shoe polish (Gaija), Ça-Va Seul (Psycho and ruckus).
Mouth: syrupy and liqueur-like (ruckus). GN guesses it is a Pedro Ximénez maturation; it is Oloroso, but it feels much sweeter now indeed. Psycho finds it fresh, while Gaija notes peach. It is dried-fruit cake for Psycho, who calls it mellow, sweet and round. “The word you are looking for is: ‘smooth’,” I add, channelling my internal PG.
Finish: sweet and fruity. The more one tries it, the sweeter it gets.
Comment: another one that has dramatically improved in the almost-empty bottle. My full notes are here.
Deanston 11yo (50.1%, The Hampstead Beverage Collective Explorers & Elements Series, 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Cask, 72b, b#72) 8/10
Psycho: “Du cirage à cuir.” tOMoH: “Par opposition avec quoi? Du cirage à manger cru? Du cirage à velours?” Gaija: “Du carpaccio de cirage!”
Dram #4
Nose: pepperspray (GN, letting his past as a hooligan transpire), a hint of sulphur (Gaija), pepper-flavoured sweets (Psycho).
Mouth: slightly astringent (Psycho), Tabasco (GN). Gaija calls it complex and explains he likes the palate much more than the nose.
Finish: syrup, maybe sirop de Liège (Psycho). ruckus sees the rough edges of hazelnut, to which Gaija adds that it is a tad tannic. GN insists it has the explosiveness of youth; Gaija agrees it is characterful.
Comment: “this is the one you drink to put you to sleep” (GN). There is a general shock when they see the ABV: it is clearly higher than the first drams, but no-one realised just how high it is. They find it well integrated. This is smashing as ever. Full notes here. No-one here tonight was present when we had it in November; that is now corrected.
Nose: very cereal-y (Psycho), it has pepper too (GN), as well as a herbaceous and floral profile (Gaija). Gaija and Psycho find it perfume-like. Psycho even adds that it has a pharmacy smell.
Mouth: fresh, herbaceous, floral (ruckus and Gaija). It goes extremely well after the heavy-hitting Glenfarclas, and seems easy, by comparison.
Finish: liquorice (GN), fresh as a Lowlander (Gaija), herbaceous, perfume-y, it drinks as a génépi (Gaija)..
Comment: GN is not enthused by this. The others like it. Gaija, ruckus and Psycho had a chance to try this last month. I am glad none of them did. There is none left for me to try. Full notes here.
ydc, GD, adc, Psycho, Bishlouk, STL, red71, sonicvince, JS, PSc and I join dom666 in ze Heimat to celebrate his yearly shindig. kruuk2 sadly calls off, due to an emergency, and ruckus is climbing mountains somewhere.
It takes a wee while to get going, owing to the number of bottles and the effort it takes to build a line-up, but, soon, it is all systems go.
Work.
GD and ydc brought the first bottling back from a trip to the Vosges. They explain that, with all the Anschlußing going on in the region in the past, the Vosgians could easily have become Germans, i.e. supervillains. (This is a joke, not a reflection of today's Teutons, okay?)
Nose: it smells blend-y, which is logical. It has cured apples, wet cardboard and pickle juice. More fruits appear over time, apples and quince, followed by toffee and dried apricots. Mouth: peppery rocket, cardboard again, gherkins and dried apple peels. It takes a turn towards dried plantain skins and blackcurrant skins at second sip, macerating in their own juice. Finish: a bit young and grainy, it has cardboard, unsweetened cereals and a dash of grape juice or pressed gooseberries. Comment: a decent starter that is more than a curiosity. 6/10
Bishlouk: "adc, you're on your own, at the end of the table..." adc: "Yes, on purpose. Same at the cinema. I like being in the back. If there is no-one in front of me, even better!" tOMoH: "That's called a television."
sonicvince: "I wonder if I have had COVID thirteen times without knowing. Mrs. sonic often tells me it smells this or that and I can't smell it." tOMoH: "Does she say it smells of your farts? And you go: 'No, no, all good!'?"
Psycho brought a Corsican single malt matured in wine casks. He tells us it is the Black Knight, aka Bruce Winesky. Sinking to new lows.
P&M Signature b.2018 (42%, OB, 6600b)(Psycho)
Nose: pine and sugar (ydc, red71, adc), génépi, dried pine needles (adc), le Bassin d'Arcachon (ydc), pine needles on a sandy beach (sonicvince). It plays the pine-needle note to death. But, if one likes that... Mouth: mountain-flower honey, conifer resin and daffodils macerating in a honeyed solution. Finish: simple, it has toffee and pan-fried plantain. Comment: divisive. I think it works, even if it is hardly whisky. 6/10
adc: "What was the name of the actress in The Horse Whisperer?" tOMoH: "Roberta Redford." Bishlouk:"She's dead, now." dom666 + tOMoH: "So is the horse."
Psycho presents Ben Grimm Bracken, aka The Thing.
He also breaks his first cork of the day, and the vacuum technique to extract the remainder cracks everyone up, as per usual.
tOMoH: "New vacuum cleaner, adc. Do you still have the other one?" adc: "I have... [she counts] four of them." GD + ydc [look at each other]: "We fell small, now, with only two of them!"
Ben Bracken 12yo (40%, Scotch Whisky Company for Lidl, b. ca. 2007) (Psycho)
Nose: strawberry bubble gum, dust (adc). Mouth: maple syrup. Comment: I know this one well (proper notes here) and spend more time socialising than taking notes. I like it. 7/10
Psycho looks for a new cork in the cork basket. tOMoH: "Alright, Psycho? Can you find one?" Psycho: "The thing with [the original] one is that its girth is pretty wide." Bishlouk: "Yeah, but it is broken!"
sonicvince brought a Tomatin. STL: "Is it for Leguman?" No, it is a Tomatin Decades, because, sonicvince says, superheroes have been around for decades.
Nose: adc finds cork and a wet wild plant. As for me, it is tropical fruit (papaya and maracuja) as well as passiflora for a delicate vegetal touch. Mouth: it is lively, acidic, and ripe with tropical fruits, now chiefly pineapple. Chewing reveals a pinch of quarry dust, yet it is far from a mineral number. Finish: long and bold, it explodes with tropical fruits, supported by a lick of green plant stem. The second gulp adds cut mango and includes the skin too for that extra bitter touch. Comment: this one is always a pleaser. 8/10
Psycho introduces General Glenn(burgie) Talbot, one of The Hulk's archnemesis.
He also breaks another cork.
Glenburgie 19yo d.1995 (46%, Signatory Vintage for Direct Wines First Cask, 3 x Hogsheads, b#197) (Psycho)
Nose: dusty peaches served on cardboard plates. This gets fruitier and fruitier, juicier and juicier. Then, it peddles cosmetic powders. Mouth: peach stones with fruit flesh still attached to them. Confectionary sugar, cosmetic powder, sherbet, flying saucers. Finish: long, fresh and fruity, full-on peach debauchery. Comments: this is a small masterpiece. 9/10
ydc: "I like it. Do I need to be more loquacious? Accurate?"
Bishlouk shows the next bottle: "The label looks like an American comic from the 1960s."
The Nameless One 18yo 1995/2014 (46.8%, The Whisky Mercenary, Sherry Cask) (Bishlouk)
Nose: a little gamy, it has cured meat and rancio aplenty. Then, it is leather and farm paths. The second nose is fruitier. Mouth: fruity, if robust, it has ripe carambola leaking in a leather game pouch and bright passion fruits. The second sip adds guava and small Egyptian green bananas. Lovely! Finish: lots of fruits again (pink-grapefruit segments, pink maracuja) and a drop of ink. Comment: fruity drop from start to finish for this presumed Glenfarclas. Love it. 8/10
Food enters. The usual selection of cheeses, pâtés and a white pudding with bread rolls.
STL shows us three pictures. They are clues that hint at three names of heroes (not super-, but hey!) We find them easily. Those three names are written on the label of the next bottling.
Clockwise: Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford), Maverick, City Hunter
Waterford 3yo 2019/2022 Heritage: Hunter 1.1 (50%, OB Arcadian Barley, 45% First-Fill US Oak Casks + 18% Virgin US Oak Casks + 21% French Oak Casks, B#HE01E01-01, 9048b) (STL)
Nose: heavy and woody, deep, soaked. Here are mahogany drinks cabinets in which the drinks have leaked for years, oily and oiled oak, precious and exotic woods. This is heady! Mouth: fairly bitter on the tongue, borderline plank-y, which is in line with the nose, yet very unexpected of something so young. Bitter, bark-y, though it gains pressed sultanas, in the long run. Finish: long and woody. Comment: my first Waterford. I knew it was a divisive distillate, now I feel I can emit an opinion. It is not really my thing. 6/10
sonicvince presents the figure of authority in Batman: Commissioner Gordon (& MacPhail).
Glen Keith 28yo 1993/2021 (51.8%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength UK Exclusive, Refill American Hogshead, C#97142, B#21/143, 230b) (sonicvince)
Nose: sawdust and crushed dried strawberries. Mouth: lightly acidic (Psycho), it has beefed-up strawberry yoghurt and peppery sawdust. Finish: long, spicy and fruity. Comment: we tried this in August 2024. It is just as good today. Maybe, one day, I will spend enough time with it. 8/10
Nose: grapefruit rinds, hot pineapple purée, dried mango slices. It becomes juicier at second nose, though sonicvince finds honey. Mouth: a crescendo of acidic fruits, starting with mango and ending with grapefruit. Finish: PSc detects loads of vanilla, whereas all I have are explosive fruits. Comment: JS served this for the same occasion, ahem, seven years ago, and we have not had it since. It is still cracking and I am looking forward to spending more time with it. 9/10
sonicvince: "Anyone wants half a roll with me?" tOMoH: "Only a wimp would take half a roll!" Bishlouk: "I'll take half a wimp roll, thank you."
red71 unveils a Bowmore and tells us that inverting the syllables gives Morebow -- and more bow points at Green Arrow.
Nose: "Fifty Shades of Islay, at first dusty, then very good" (PSc) tOMoH points out that is only two shades. It is farm-y, with ploughed fields all round. Soon, violent fruits rise, as do cold ashes (PSc). Mouth: it showcases very-dirty farmland, with muck on the side of the paths, and torched soil in planters. Chewing shows fruits again (peaches, nectarines). The second sip adds a pinch of chalk and metal filings. Finish: another mix of scorched earth and torched fruits, this also has red chillies and fiery ginger. Comment: what a class act! 8/10
ydc polls the audience to know what the name is of the prison where the villains are jailed, when caught by Batman. It is, of course, the Arkham-urchan Asylum.
sonicvince: "I would have said April O'Neill, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." red71: "That's not worth Leguman, but..."
Ardnamurchan 5yo b.2022 Second Release (53.2%, The Whisky Exchange April Fool, First Fill Bourbon Casks, 1575b) (ydc + GD)
Nose: a pinch of moist clay and lovely strawberry sweets. Fruit stones are next, maybe a mineral touch, and a pinch of cinnamon powder. Mouth: yup, clay and strawberries. This is delicious, viscous, chewy. It then develops scorched earth. It feels chalkier at second sip. Finish: long, acidic, earthy. It has dark, inky algae in the back. It gives me the impression of licking black ink off the bottom of an empty vase -- yes, one would need a long tongue to know. Comment: excellent. 8/10
First cake.
ydc on shanking duties
dom666 brought something from Campbeltown, near the Hulk of Kintyre. Groan.
Springbank 21yo b.2000 (46%, OB imported by Fourcroy) (dom666)
Nose: Dr. Pepper, flat cola, grated cinnamon, crushed dried raspberry. What a nose! Mouth: fantastic rancio with parched mud, tarry mud patties caked on tractor tyres and bitter blackcurrants. Finish: slightly-drying finish with tons of fruits. Cream Sherry, which is to say the dryness of Oloroso and the sweetness of PX combined. Comment: fares so much better today than at Burns' Night 2023 when it faced an ancient twelve-year-old and another twenty-one-year-old. Today, it shines on its own. 9/10
tOMoH: "We had the real deal at hand, which is genuine without the shadow of a doubt." dom666: "Yeah, I'd bought mine from La Maison du Pékèt [instead of du Whisky]." Laughter all round.
tOMoH introduces a distillery no-one has had apart from JS and adc. Abhainn Dearg, pronounced Aveen Djarek for the Aveendjers or Avenger-eks. (Thanks for the inspiration, JS)
Abhainn Dearg b.2023 (61%, OB X Cask Type, PX Cask) (tOMoH)
Nose: baked breadstick (Psycho), fish (Bishlouk), burnt peach pastry, some rubber, industrial glue and a hot plastic bag. The second nose sees melted chocolate and strawberry filling in a chocolate biscuit. Mouth: oh! yeah, this feels plastic-y alright, rubbery, a little drying. Then, the alcohol becomes desiccating and peppery. The second sip is softer-ish (it is still a brute), creamy and chocolate-y. Finish: long and chocolate-y. This goes from challenging to delicious over the space of fifteen minutes. It will likely benefit from breathing in an open bottle too. Comment: as expected, it is not as good as it was at the distillery, but what a nice souvenir. Bishlouk disagrees, who empties his glass in the sink (and will consequently never be invited again). 7/10
adc is relieved that it is her turn, at last. She produces her bottle -- a bottle wearing a cape!
And she goes...
Kilchoman
Kilchoman
Héros de l'Univers
(Y'know...)
Kilchoman, the peaty superhero -- ha! ha!
She adds that all that American-superhero malarky is of a certain generation. Previous ones had other heroes, such as the Four Musketeers -- D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis and Port-os, hence a Port-cask-matured whisky.
Kilchoman 6yo b.2024 Port Cask Matured (50%, OB, Ruby Port Casks, 24/96) (adc)
Nose: ooft! Mud, bay leaves, cassia bark, and piles and piles of mud that turn into empty-aquarium residue. Mouth: honey and mud, smoked earth, ashes and some smoked cut slices of peach and nectarine. It is hot on the tongue, but keeps it all entertaining by not playing the mud/peat card exclusively. Finish: it is very smoky and ashy, with mud and torched chocolate. Comment: works a treat, today. Very efficient. 8/10
Second cake.
Cut by yours, truly
tOMoH somehow remembers a bottle that was meant for Burns' Night 2024 that went AWOL and that he forgot to put into this here line-up. He tells everyone that Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Bruce Wayne (Batman) are both upper Far-class.
Comment: in order to not fall behind too much, tOMoH skips this one altogether. Others seem enthused by it. My notes are here.
Psycho and PSc prepare for a duel, a battle of the groans.
PSc has an Ardbeg Uigaedal Vador (groan), or an Uigaedzilla (double groan).
red71: "Make him stop!"
Psycho has a Commissioner Gordon (& MacPhail), which was done already, so he prepared a backup link: it was distilled in 1996, a year that saw the release of a film version of The Phantom.
He is so proud of himself that he breaks the cork.
Nose: barley and cereal, in pure Ardbeg fashion. adc finds it a certain sweetness. I detect a whiff of coffee, and that is not the sludge everyone else is sipping. We also have scorched earth and sands licked by a flamethrower. Mouth: oh! This is ashy, drying. It has crushed (ground) seashells full of sands, salt and iodine. It picks up boozy caramelised custard at second sip. Finish: a blend of sweet and ashy, confectionary or caster sugar and fine white ash. The second gulp brings smoked cereals too. Wow. Comment: here is one we had not had for years, probably decades, as it seems to predate this little blog, and it still does the job. 8/10
Nose: lots of ink, iodine, a drop of Iso Betadine, soot, cork and burnt toffee. Mouth: ash-dusted toffee and lots of chilli. It is surprising how hot this is, after a few drams that were much higher in alcohol. Chewing cranks up the ash and ink -- so much so I find it a bit unbalanced. Finish: it is better here, long, with clay dirt, dust and the bitterness of crushed bay leaves. Comment: this is okay. I am less taken than others. 7/10
We talk about Skye.
dom666: "You should not go to Skye in August. Unless you're a duck."
Unbeknownst to all, a new bottle enters the party to face the last one in the line-up, that was moved in the original sequence.
dom666 open a Torabhaig -- or a Thor-abhaig. Because it is from the 57th Parallel (57.1, to be precise), whereas Talisker, dom666's favourite distillery, sits at 57.3. It is also bottled at 57.1%, but is neither fifty-seven years old, nor from 1957. At least, it is not a supermarket whisky, unlike its neighbour at 57.3. ;-)
To fight Thor-abhaig, tOMoH pours a Glen-Loki.
vs.
Boom.
Torabhaig 7yo 2018/2025 (57.1%, The Dornoch Distillery Co. for Thompson Bros., 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels) (dom666)
Nose: iodine, old bandages, followed by a big burst of farm-y scents, part ashy fields and cindered pitches, part tractor fumes. It is smokier at second nosing, with earth fields saturated with diesel fumes, and root vegetables just as gorged with the same fumes. With water, all we have is ashes. Mouth: spicy, gingery and peaty in a muddy way. It is very powerful, even this late in the game, a tad herbaceous, but mostly earthy. The second sip is pepperier, overflowing with cracked black pepper and bay leaves that have been dragged into a field. Water pours seawater and adds a bunch of samphire.
Finish: bold, it acquires dark chocolate, maybe liquorice bootlaces (the red variety). The second gulp is creamier, with the chocolate putting on a milky coat. Water adds pan-seared algae. Comment: a very-well-made, muscular animal that I hope to explore further in the future. Careful with water, though. Since I like it better than upon first encountering it, it will be a generous... 8/10
Comment: I take no notes, tonight (here they are, from another time). It is 21:15. We have been drinking around twenty drams over almost eight hours. It still slays. Universally liked. 9/10
Phew! We made it, somehow. Excellent tasting as usual. Lots of banter, nonsense and laughter, satisfying food, and a wide variety of whiskies all combined to create unforgettable moments.
Happy birthday, dom666!
Psycho was on a mission and broke 3/4 of his corks
This week in London was marked by large-scale strikes on the public-transport network. It mostly affected the Underground, but also the DLR, and, of course, that had a knock-on effect on everything else. We therefore meet to have a few drams on that theme.
In the run-up to today, emails fly about regarding how challenging this theme is (is it?) and I say I hope we do not end up with eight Cam-buses. Fortunately for my head, no Cam-bus in sight.
JMcD arrives first, followed by OB, JS, SOB and YM.
SOB explains that Norwegian public transport is probably better than London's. He adds that, in Norse mythology, Bifröst, also called Bilröst and often anglicized as Bifrost, is a burning bridge that reaches between Midgard (Earth) and Asgard, the realm of the gods. In other words: Bivrost is a link between two worlds, just like public transport is a link between two places. Finally, this expression is called Yggdrasil, which is the name of the tree at the centre of everything. SOB reckons the Underground map looks like a tree, with many branches at the top, and not much going on around the trunk (south of the river).
Bivrost Yggdrasil 2024 (46%, OB Limited Edition, Oloroso-Seasoned + In-House Charred Casks, 9009b, b#5208): from the Aurora distillery, in Norway. Nose: it is super herbaceous, presenting hawthorn, thyme, sage and some kind of custard to balance it a bit. Later on, it gives dried sausage, cured reindeer meat and white pepper. Mouth: unique, this has chives-topped omelette, peppery egg white and meat fat -- think of the white bits in mortadella, for example. Finish: big and odd, it continues the eggy trip. "This is a brunch dram," says JS. Quite. The egg fry-up turns browner over time, a little crispy on the edges. Yum! So very interesting! 7/10
The soundtrack: three pipers on the bridge downstairs, probably providing music for morris dancing.
OB: "The music selection is more and more eclectic!"
tOMoH: "JMcD is back from Japan. He brought back some whisky." JS: "It better have 'mizunara' written on the bottle!"
JMcD explains that Ichiro Akuto is in charge of Chichibu distillery. Chichibu regularly release a London Edition, which is his tenuous link [sic].
Ichiro's Malt MWR Mizunara Wood Reserve (46%, Venture Whisky distributed by Japan Import System, B#127): nose: lovely fig relish and date spread. Then, we get lots of bold, chewy sweets and crystallised berries. Mouth: woody and drying, it does not want for fruits and sweets -- in fact, it is full of them. Finish: wow! Sweet, fruity, it does not have anything exuberant or extravagant (no Japanese whisky has, other than Karuizawa), but it has enticing jams and pressed currants. 8/10
OB presents a Glen Gants Hill. He adds, "I guess there must be a 31 bus somewhere, and it has to be operated by Go a-Caden-head London." Boom-tsch.
Glen Grant-Glenlivet 31yo 1985/2017 (44.8%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection 175th Anniversary, Sherry Butt, 312b): a 'splosion of peaches and figs doused in Golden Syrup. Behind that are tons of pressed currants so ripe they are borderline hairy. Juicy prunes in a leather goblet. The second nose adds dark plums, very ripe too. Mouth: inky prunes, figs, pressed dates, sweaty currants. The second sip has a faint whisper of smoked meat, blood sausage or black pudding with raisins. Finish: long, comforting and sweet, though not overly so. It is a parade of currants and prunes. The second gulp adds a custard-y, cake-y note: berries cheesecake, in which currants are substituted for the berries. I suspect this one benefits form extended breathing in an open bottle, because it is even better than last time. 9/10
Incredibly, as I write down that note of berries cheesecake, JS sits down with a slice of the very same berries cheesecake that JMcD brought and I had not yet seen. Even more incredibly, the previous time we had this Glen Grant, in 2017, it came just after another batch of Ichiro's MWR, the very same sequence as today.
Blueberry cheesecake
Custard-and-almond cake
OB tells us that the next one is bottled by East Village Whisky Company. He adds that another word for 'village' is 'hamlet' (ahem), which makes this an East Ham(let) whisky. There is also a moon module on the label, which is not a London mode of transportation.
Speyside Region 44yo 1973/2017 (47.4%, East Village Whisky Company, Sherry Butt, 142b, b#125): nose: bergamot and a plate of moist mortar. It is sweeter and sweeter with time, piling on crystallised sugar cane. The second nose has wee-soaked pyjamas -- astonishingly, I mean that positively. Mouth: soft and juicy, it has barley syrup, ginger snaps, stem ginger and candied dried-fruit cubes (pineapple, peach), as well as candied angelica (yes, a gentle bitterness). Finish: it is not big, which suggests it has lost a bit of power (the cork is broken), but it remains delicious. Candied fruits, a puff of light pipe tobacco, balsawood smoke. Lovely dram, even if the smoke bitterness becomes a little loud. 8/10
JS: "'Age', not 'Edge'. It is not the US importer." tOMoH: "Oh."
YM brought a Spring-Bank
Springbank 28yo (48.9%, OB specially selected for the Springbank Society, 2966b): nose: moss fire, gingerbread in the oven (oooh!), roasted nuts, roasted berries. The second nose adds hot, oxidised metal. Mouth: ooh! it is rather pickle-y on the tongue, with cured red onions and red-wine vinegar. Chewing releases squashed berries, dark jams, smoked elderberry and blackberries. Those berries are muddier in the second sip, and soot makes an appearance. Finish: long, rustic and comforting like a kitchen fireplace in the countryside. The second gulp feels smokier and adds a blend of grated coal and soot. It remains berry-laden and juicy, however, even if it adopts stagnant water in the long run. 8/10
SOB brought a Gold Spot for Gold-ers Green. He adds that the gold spot of the tube is the place on the departure platform or on the train that is closest to the exit at the destination station. He confesses he missed the gold spot on his way here.
Gold Spot 9yo b.2022 135th Anniversary (51.4%, Midleton Distillery Limited Edition celebrating the 135th anniversary of the Mitchell's Whiskey bonding tradition, Bourbon Barrels + Sherry Butts + Bordeaux Wine Casks + Port Pipes, L215031402): nose: it is not a complete fruit onslaught, but it is pretty bold in that department, as if ripe fruits were served in a precious-wood bowl. This has a pinch of cigarette ash too, which is more unusual. Mouth: softly drying, it is also creamy and, of course, fruity. Plums, persimmons, plantains, baked cherimoyas. The second sip is a little more drying yet, though it is now on the confectionary side of the spectrum -- sweets and candied fruit. Finish: long and blend-y, this clearly has a good does of unmalted barley in the mash. Old polished wood, wood stain... it is fairly woody alright, with plane shavings and stuff on top of a shier fruitiness. 8/10
tOMoH unveils a Glenlochy by Signatory Vintage. He points out that this one did come with the tube (see picture).
SOB: "I thought you were going to say we would have been sorry to come last week, because all the stations were Glen-locked."
Glenlochy 29yo 1980/2010 (52.8%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Hogshead, C#2649, 265b, b#71): nose: nostril-clearing, it then emits a nice faded suede and yellow fruits. Mouth: ooft! This has fruits and smoke in a smoky bar, a bit of jam and tin lids. Finish: big, a tad briny, and full of acidic yellow fruits. My full notes are here. 9/10
JMcD, who, remember, is back from Japan, brought a Yoichi, because the company that runs the Tokyo Metro also runs the Elizabeth Line in London.
Yoichi Peaty & Salty (55%, OB distributed by Japan Import System): horse's hair, suede, sheepskin, desert dirt after a soft rain, earth patties. It has a bold spiciness to it and lots of horse shenanigans -- stables, hay bales, straw, saddles, harnesses and, well, horse's hair and horse's sweat. Manure appears in the second nose, with also a whiff of muck. Mouth: it Is pretty potent, borderline fiery, briny (JMcD). It has salted chocolate and smoked apricots eaten on a horse's back. Finish: huge, it has lots of dried ginger, earth, desert dirt, and more horse. We find smoked pasties with the second gulp. Lovely stuff, this. 8/10
JS extracts an unbroken cork from her contribution.
JS: "Clearly a fake!" tOMoH [picks up the cork]: "I don't know why I'm looking. I can't compare it to a Rare Malts cork: I've never seen one intact."
JS finally unveils her bottle: a Rare Malts Teaninich. YM immediately registers that it spells 'RMT', the name of the union who initiated the strike.
Teaninich 23yo d.1972 (64.95%, OB Rare Malts Selection, b#1323): nose: interestingly, it prolongs the suede-and-stable profile of the Yoichi, perhaps meatier: it is not just horse's hair, but horse's meat, cured and thinly sliced. Horse's hair and fringed suede jackets mingle with smoked raspberries too. Soon, we find heated metal -- think of a cannon, without the gunpowder. It becomes ester-y, after a few minutes, and, with that ABV, how could it be otherwise? JS rightly calls it ferocious. Mouth: drying as warm sand, it has more of that horse's hair goodness and a lick of fresh paint. Quickly, hot cast iron joins the dance. Keeping it in the mouth until the taste buds wake up generates a shock. Finish: hugely powerful, it is not particularly wide. It unfolds similarly to the nose and palate, with smoke, horse's hair and sun-drenched hay bales. Without surprise, it leaves the palate a little numb. In fact, it is surprising that it does not leave it completely destroyed. 8/10
Huh?
It is unclear why this (and other RMS) give the ABV with two decimals and why the bottle label states 75cl and not 750ml (as American imports do -- the box does, yet the American version has no box). It does not sport the 'B297' that would indicate a South-African bottling (also 75cl), and has a blank space where market information would normally be written. Just which market was this bottled for?
JS: "The mystery, like the cork, remains intact."
JMcD is made to drink out of the 1920s blender's glass (aka the dickhead glass).
JMcD [paraphrasing]: "It is very impractical to drink from." JS: "Hence the name. One looks like a dickhead when using one." OB: "I bet it makes you want to look down on us, though." JMcD: "I do feel superior indeed."
He passes it around for comparison with a regular glass.
YM: "It increases the booziness. Just what you don't want to do." YM [sarcastically]: "Maybe with an Octomore…" JS: "But then you'd be dead on the floor with a dickhead glass on you."
YM brought an SMWS bottling called 'Entropy meridian', which, he says, describes the chaos caused by this week's tube strikes.
53.318 11yo 2008/2020 Entropy meridian (57%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 232b): nose: hot sands wet with diesel, mud patties, ashes (YM). YM finds it not as punchy as most Caol Ilas, yet it packs a punch alright, even after the previous brute. We have more and more smoked cockles, over time. Mouth: oh! Here, we find more-usual Caol Ila notes; whelk, salt water, fishing nets. It gets saltier and sandier with subsequent sips. A tank of diesel augmented with a drop of ink, and a fishing net basking in it. Finish: it has a huge earthiness of smoked mud patties. Later on, we have sugar cubes and caster sugar sprinkled on oysters. 8/10
JS: "What does [Entropy meridian] mean in the context of Caol Ila?" YM: "It's a chaotic dram, not very much like their usual 11yo." tOMoH: "Not something you hear in many circles." YM: "..." tOMoH: "Give [YM] the dickhead glass [so he can feel superior]!"
JS: "What was the best dram?" OB: "I would like to say the Glenlochy, but tOMoH will piss himself if I say that." tOMoH: "Why do you say it in the future tense?"
Excellent tasting, lots of silly nonsense, good food, good drams.
Nose: fruity and fresh (GN), it has citrus (GN) and apricot (Psycho).
Nose: GN finds it more aggressive than #1. Psycho calls cedar wood and cedar sheets, Gaija detects a waxy old-bottle effect and a peach aroma.
Nose: coffee grounds, Sherry (Gaija), shoe polish (Gaija), Ça-Va Seul (Psycho and ruckus).
Nose: pepperspray (GN, letting his past as a hooligan transpire), a hint of sulphur (Gaija), pepper-flavoured sweets (Psycho).
Nose: very cereal-y (Psycho), it has pepper too (GN), as well as a herbaceous and floral profile (Gaija). Gaija and Psycho find it perfume-like. Psycho even adds that it has a pharmacy smell.
