02/04/2026 PP's 70th birthday tasting at the Melody

My first proper visit to this famous venue (I came once, fleetingly, to collect something). PS, DW, CBn, EC, BB, SOB, cavalier66, MSo, BA, SD, CC, JS, tOMoH and more join PP in this far flung corner of the city to celebrate this milestone. AN will make a grand entrance as we start the final dram, ha! ha!

Others are already at work when we arrive on site; some are eating, some are drinking. PS pours his thing that has a Cadbury's-looking label. I take no notes.

When we are called in the dining room, where the main event takes place, BB picks up his bag of goodies from the chair. The bag falls down, a bottle breaks. The staff help him salvage, oh!, 8cl. Considering the damage, BB seems to take it with commendable stoicism. We do our best to not let that taint the rest of the evening.

Fortunately, our minds are busy

This spring cap
confused our host

PP gives a short introduction and explains there will not be a whole lot of chichi about what we are about to try: they are bottles that are somehow related to 1956 or to PP, and he wanted to share them. Simples.

The first one was bottled in 1959. It is likely three years old (the legal minimum), which would make it a 1956ish distillation.

King George IV (44 Gradi, The Distillers Agency imported by Carlo Salengo, Seasoned Wood)

Nose: lots of OBE, with tin lids, corroded iron, brass buttons, copper coins covered in Verdigris and tainted marmalade. Coffee emerges after a while, delicate and refined, rather than invasive. The second nose offers a pinch of soot.
Mouth: yeah, lovely old-bottle effect. It has loads of oxidised metal and lukewarm marmalade. The second sip sees a ton of dust and more soot.
Finish: bigger than expected, it prolongs the above, with marmalade and the tin lids of marmalade jars. There is a soft bitterness at play (metal), but that is not distracting.
Comment: great start.
Score: 8/10

The second bottle, PP tells us, was bottled in 1956.

The Old Blend Scotch Whisky of the White Horse Cellar b.1956 (70° Proof, White Horse Distillers, b#2032171)

Nose: very, very subtle. Perhaps dusty water? Has it lost to evaporation? It acquires torched shoe polish pretty quickly, then purple corduroy slippers. Posh!
Mouth: spent. There is a little bit of old-bottle effect (read: metal and marmalade), but, mostly, it is dusty water.
Finish: a bit more characterful in the finish, it has a tankful of burnt peat, or, in fact, ashes, and dusty water sprinkled with ground dried orange peels.
Comment: it is an emotional experience, since this likely contains Malt Mill, a distillery that was still in production, at the time. Sadly, the whisky is objectively over the hill. Even generously, it will be a meagre score.
Score: 7/10

I become acutely aware that they are making coffee next door. For a place that claims to specialise in whisky, that seems like a faux pas that disrupts an experience. Fortunately, it does not last.

Here is one distilled in 1956.

Linkwood-Glenlivet 21yo 1956/1977 (80° Proof, Cadenhead)

Nose: ooft! This is a tad meaty and furry. It has coffee grounds, musk, mocha, then it turns all jammy, with caramelised marmalade, charred grapefruit, pineapple rings rolled in soot, dried sausages grilled on charcoal. All that in a boiler room covered in dust. There is a bolder whiff of mocha at second nosing, as well as more dirty, soot-y dust.
Mouth: old bottle effect in full display, which means tin lids and jars of marmalade. Chewing unleashes metal that flirts with a pencil-sharpener blade. It is fruity at second sip, with cut peaches and smashed apricots. Beyond that fruit is a metallic funnel.
Finish: big and long, it has more of that metallic edge. The second gulp delivers earthy jams slathered on hot crumpets. No! On scones.
Comment: PP has told me about this bottle and the occasion for which he would open it for nearly a decade. My expectations were therefore high. It does not disappoint. One of the very-first Cadenhead bottlings in this livery, where the dates appear on the main label. Later that year, they would migrate to the neck label.
Score: 9/10

cavalier66: "How can I steal this?"

tOMoH: "This is why I came. And I'm coming again."

cavalier66: "You know what this is? Important whisky."

PP explains the next one has nothing to do with 1956. He tried it at SMWS when it came out and thought it was the best thing he had ever tried. He tells us the price tag was scary, but he ended up taking the plunge, after trying it several times without his enthusiasm shrivelling.

117.3 25yo 1988/2013 Hubba-bubba, mango and monstera (58.5%, SMWS Society Single Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 199b)

Comment: we know this very well. This is a fresh bottle, which means it is aromatic and metallic before the mango starts talking. That will improve in the open bottle, however impossible it seems -- already, it is top score. That said, even if this is objectively superior (insofar as one can be objective about that), I prefer it the Linkwood, tonight. 10/10

cavalier66 discreetly pulls out his Irish Single Malt 25yo 1988/2013 (51.1%, The Whisky Agency, Barrel, 212b) for comparison with 117.3. It wins, today.

PP [clinks on glass to call attention]: "Thank God I don't do this for a living! *sigh*"
BA: "It's hard work, you know!"

PP brings out the first-ever bottling of Bimber, a distillery he has been following from day 1.

Bimber 3yo 2016/2019 The 1st Release (54.2%, OB, Pedro Ximénez Casks, C#6+19+31+37+38, 1000b, b#0142)

Nose: oiled leather followed by coffee grounds, then metal -- galvanised-iron buckets, to be precise. It has a drop of varnish and oiled metal too.
Mouth: a bit monolithic, this is a bold Sherry maturation, dry, earthy, with entirely-desiccated raisins and a lick of cat fur -- or is it fox?
Finish: big, hairy, almost medicinal in a herbal way. It is very much an Oloroso maturation at second gulp, earthy and musky. Despite the strength, it is hard to detect much distillery character.
Comment: competent, even if it will not make me a Bimber aficionado.
Score: 7/10

BA: "This is one of TWE's engraving team's best work."
PP: "Huh?"
BA: "When Dariusz [Plazewski, who co-founded Bimber] bottled this -- or whatever his real name is -- he asked TWE to do the engraving. The team who did this did some of their best work here."

MSo: "It's actually decent, this Bimber."
JS: "That's rare!"
tOMoH: "It's from before they went legal."

PP recounts a couple of anecdotes relating to his adventures in the Wee Toon. On one such occasion, he procured this Springbank.

PP: "There were several Canadians there at the time..."
cavalier66: "And not all were whiskies."

Springbank 17yo d.2000 (48.5%, OB Duty Paid Sample, Fresh Canadian Barrel (ex-Potter), Rotation 836)

Nose: to me, this is so farm-y. Cows' behinds, cow dung, cow droppings (Holstein, Burlina, Bleu-Blanc). We catch a whisper of salty sea spray in the back, then caramelised puffed wheat. Behind all that, it has quince and pear, which is remarkable.
Mouth: dry and mineral, it quickly turns fruitier, with baked pears and quinces, very juicy. The second sip has a crushed-glass dryness to it, crunchy and abrasive, before the juicy side comes back to the rescue. There, it is smoky peach that is clearest.
Finish: long, farm-y. We have peach slices trampled into farm-path mud. It develops a note of charred wood that balances the fruit with a gentle bitterness. And soot too.
Comment: terrific Springer.
Score: 8/10

Finally, PP tells us, we will have a Millburn, a distillery very dear to someone we all know -- someone who, sadly, did not attend tonight.

Millburn 18yo 1975/1993 (58.9%, OB Rare Malts Selection)

Nose: astonishingly strong, this is pure RMS fury. Burning shrubs, old cast-iron radiators, paint tins. The second nose adds acetone. Water gives it horse's sweat, horse hair and desert dirt by the stables.
Mouth: salt city (cavalier66). Dried watercolour, dry brushes (in fact, it is the whole dry-brushing process) and, indeed, salt. Chewing cranks up the watercolour and adds plasticine. We find a little rubber at second sip (the texture, that is), perhaps black liquorice bootlaces.
Finish: caramelised chocolate, salted caramel, boiler-room smoke. Water makes it long and earthy, as well as a little fruitier: crisp apples, some smoked, some roasted.
Comment: I adore this. Muscular, austere, challenging Rare Malt. It is only now I realise that the back label is very different to that of the bottle we tried in 2015. It makes me think we tried the 25yo at the time, rather than this 18yo.
Score: 9/10

Tonight's back label

2015's back label
(the front label was missing)

cavalier66: "Where was Millburn? Speyside?"
JS: "Inverness."
tOMoH: "Never taken the train to Inverness? The distillery is on your left-hand side as you approach the station."
JS: "We must organise a field trip."
BB: "Dornoch weekend."
SOB: "Great name for a band!"

What a line-up!

Talking about the Cadenhead days in which we all met (2016--2020) and Mark Watt's influence on what the company was releasing at the time.

cavalier66: "It's like that surgeon who carved his initials on people's organs."
BB: "That doesn't seem right."

tOMoH: "I'm very upset."
MSo: "Sorry?"
tOMoH: "This friend of ours is organising a barbecue the day before we come back from Seoul."
MSo: "Oh! Sorry."
tOMoH: "I find it inSeoulting."
cavalier66: "You're inconSeoulable."

We talk about BB's broken bottle that PS delivered to him today.

cavalier66: "It's PS. You know what he's like."
tOMoH: "He's one Tullamore away from being wasted is what he's like."

PP reminds us that there is plenty more to drink at the bar, implicitly asking us to hit the minimum spend. After such a line-up, it is unclear what could hold up. And the kitchen is now closed. Samples and bottles come out of bags anyway.

Talisker 16yo b.268 (59.2%, OB specially bottled for Hedonism Wines, 15y ex-Bourbon American Hogshead + 1y Sherry Puncheon, 198b)

Nose: smoked nail varnish and a pinch of earth.
Mouth: drying and sandy, it is marred with tar or petrol topped with glass dust.
Finish: big, hairy, it has oily wood and dust. Pepper? Not so much.
Comment: alright.
Score: 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, MSo)

PS and BB are talking business. Specifically the broken bottle

BB: "If it's the Japanese sense of giving, I don't feel comfortable with it. I want to make up for it.
SOB: "[PS]'ll take a hand job."

MSo [about a 1976ers birthday party]: "We have a WhatsApp group."
PS: "?"
tOMoH: "If you're not in it, it is intentional."

SOB [to PS]: "How's your dad?"
PS: "That's not a good pick-up line."
MSo: "It is in Ireland."

Mars Komagatake 6yo 2018/2025 Tsunuki Aging (60%, OB selected for Capital Whisky Club imported by La Maison du Whisky, Bourbon Barrel, C#5435, 165b)

Nose: fruity, it rolls out peaches and apricots.
Mouth: tin and stainless steel with fruit.
Finish: more fruit and tin.
Comment: lovely.
Score: 8/10

Time to go before it turns messy. Happy birthday, PP!

19/12/2025 DW's birthday bash at 3 Greek Street

Back at 3 Greek Street for DW's birthday event. Hard to accept it has been that long, even knowing we had an intermediary sesh in April.

A merry band of twenty-or-so meet in the tasting room, including CBr, PS, IH, BA, WhiskyLovingPianist, DW, YM, JS, cavalier66, TS, JL, SW.

This year, I am (unintentionally) sitting next to WhiskyLovingPianist from the start. Scribes stick together for a never-ending he-said-he-said joke.

It is a free-for-all, self-service affair, loud, sweaty, and hectic. As a consequence, I do not always know whose bottle I am trying, hence the lack of credit in places. Obviously, notes are sparse as a result.

My own contributions, which I do not try tonight:

Strathisla 1999/2010 Here Come The Rain Again (46%, La Maison du Whisky Belgique, C#45530, 247b) (notes here)

Pittyvaich 14yo 1986/2001 (43%, Ian McLeod Chieftain's, Hogsheads, C#9519-22, 1074b, L1212BB 3 11 58) (notes here)

Let us roll!

Springbank 18yo 1975/1994 (55.8%, Signatory Vintage for the Quincentenary of the University of St Andrews Quaich Society, C#3594, 120b, b#, 94/996) (CBr)

Nose: it has a mineral sweetness, like confectionary sugar on limestone. That turns into cosmetic powder and honeysuckle.
Mouth: ooft! this is bitter. It has a mix of blotting and edible papers, crumpled paper bags and ink. Earthy fruits rise thereafter, slowly.
Finish: a sharp, earthy kick introduces fruits, though it remains a touch earthy too.
Comment: a great Springer from the past, and quite the rarity too. That may play a role in my score. 9/10

Caol Ila Cadenhead 31yo 1984/2015 (54.3%, Cadenhead London Exclusive 20th Anniversary, 168b)

Nose: fishing nets and whelks, a dash of diesel and sand. A textbook Caol Ila, in other words. It becomes sweeter at second nosing.
Mouth: diesel alright, tarry sands.
Finish: long, sandy, tarry, it also has a lot of ashes and dry smoke.
Comment: this is a bit too diesel-heavy for me. A good bottling, but I can see why I did not buy it, at the time. Cadenhead and others have released better expressions from this distillery since. 8/10

Teaninich 45yo 1975/2021 (49.5%, Bartels Whisky Highland Laird, Bourbon Hogshead, C#14796, 35b, b#20) (CBr)

Nose: prunes or cured plums, to be more accurate. Flowers descend onto the world shortly afterwards. It becomes more fragrant when given time, with flower petals (roses, tulips).
Mouth: chewy, almost chalky, though that is quickly overtaken by jasmine or similar small white flowers.
Finish: it is a bit plant-sap bitter, which spoils an otherwise-delicious custard.
Comment: good, not great. Considering the pedigree, I am disappointed. 8/10

WhiskyLovingPianist [to one of the whiskies]: "If my dog had a face like yours, I'd shave his butt and ask it to walk backwards."

Lochside 1981/1998 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Rare Old, no screen print) (cavalier66)

Comment: we had this one previously, so I take no notes. It is still excellent, even in this hectic environment. 9/10

Blair Athol 26yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines First Cask, C#7601, b#224) (CBr)

Nose: wonderful, lush fruitiness. We have prunes, peaches, cured dried apricots.
Mouth: quite biting for the ABV, it has cured fruits too, a faint lick of cork, and wine gums. There are a few splinters, but it is not woody per se.
Finish: I want to say gravadlax, for some reason (it is such a cool word, after all!) It has a touch of gravy, which starts with the same four letters and may explain, thickened wine sauce, glazed button mushrooms...
Comment: bloody hell, First Cask! Never seen a bad one. 8/10

WhiskyLovingPianist: "It's just a thing. It's its own thing."

Blended Scotch Whisky 1979/2016 (53.3%, Berry Bros. & Rudd exclusive to Royal Mile Whiskies, Sherry Butt, C#4, 385b)

Nose: cherry turnovers and berry-flavoured sweets.
Mouth: initially fruity, it quickly turns woody and spicy, with galangal paste, crushed ginger and all. Then, it goes back to lovely berries and even lychees.
Finish: mango custard, smashed rambutan, unripe blueberries. This is delicious. It even has a blast of mango at the death.
Comment: the nice surprise of the evening. I would go to 9, were it not for that woody bitterness. 8/10

Glen Garioch 27yo 1998/2025 (57.1%, Thompson Bros. for East Coast Whisky, 2nd Fill Bourbon Barrel, 97b) (DW)

Nose: very fresh and clean, citrus-y, it has lemon mint and even menthol.
Mouth: ah! It is a slightly astringent number, not soapy, but pointing in that general direction. It stays on the right side of what is acceptable. Chewing brings a spicy custard, with vanilla, chocolate and ginger powder -- lots of it.
Finish: powerful, pungent, spicy, yet also custard-y in texture, and a tad acidic. There has to be a lot of calamansi and Sicilian lemon in this, foliage included. That competes with a soft earthiness.
Comment: great act. I preferred it the previous edition, though. 8/10

Irish Single Malt 28yo 1989/2018 (45.1%, The Whisky Agency Ten Years TWA, Barrel) (cavalier66)

Nose: P.E.A.C.H.! Cured persimmon too.
Mouth: well, it is ridiculously fruity.
Finish: more fruity debauchery.
Comment: I tell PS this is Allison Doody in The Last Crusade. How topical: Irish inside, German outside, just like this bottling by The Whisky Agency. Ha! Ha! It is as good as the first time, if not better. 9/10

The Arran Malt 10yo 2008/2018 Fourth Release (55.4%, OB White Stag, Bourbon Barrels, 875b, b#640)

Nose: fudge, custard and a nut paste or another (probably chestnut). It may even have soft smoke.
Mouth: a little spice and a lot of chocolate. White pepper, smashed rocks and chocolate custard.
Finish: lots of cracked black pepper and the same nut paste as before that still appears to be chestnut.
Comment: pretty good. 8/10

Burnside 1993/2017 (54.6%, Spirits Shop' Selection imported by Sansibar, Bourbon Hogshead, C#1796, 209b)

Nose: initially a little mute, it wakes up to medlar and unripe chestnut, (not quite) green hazelnut and unripe almonds. There is plasticine in the background.
Mouth: lots of waxy plasticine, here, and chewy fruit sweets. They are not Starburst, but it is a similar in texture as when one lets Starburst melt on the tongue. There are also berries of some kind.
Finish: long and fruity, in a way. This is smoked berries and crushed bay leaves.
Comment: good effort, despite the weird use of an apostrophe. 8/10

Kildalton 22yo 2003/2025 Chapter Twenty (53.7%, Decadent Drinks Whiskyland, 2nd Fill Barrel, 247b) (DW)

Nose: crushed seashells, mud patties, inky cuttlebones, tarry sands.
Mouth: woah! this is inky. Ink, diesel, petrochemicals in a water puddle, seashells after a black tide, and sea water.
Finish: surprisingly soft, custard-y, it has smoky fudge, smoky chocolate custard, yet also seashells full of diesel and cracked black pepper. The death brings souped-up vase water, which is interesting, after all that sea water action.
Comment: good. 8/10

Glasgow 1770 8yo 2017/2025 (54%, OB Bourbon Cask Matured, First Fill ex-Bourbon Barrels, B#1, C#17/264 + 17/269 + 17/272 + 17/674 + 17/676 + 17/699, 1400b)

Nose: it feels a tad spirit-y, but we still find apples, followed by a soft earthiness. Does it peddle washing-up liquid, in the long run?
Mouth: bubble gum cranked up to 11, black pepper. The main picture is that of strawberry bubble gum, though.
Finish: bigger than expected, in line with the mouth, which is to say: bubble gum and pepper.
Comment: another nice surprise that deserves a generous 8/10

Ben Nevis 12yo 2012/2024 (53%, Stillwater, Oloroso Barrique, 300b)

Nose: blueberries fallen into the mud. It is not as dirty as party sludge (remember that?), but it is not clean either. Prunes, blueberries, and also an oaken shield.
Mouth: ooh! This is fruity on the palate. Lots of berries, currants and black pepper.
Finish: super creamy, now, custard-y. It has hints of chocolate and buttery fudge.
Comment: annoyingly, this is very good. As it turns out, it is yet another distillery to keep an eye on, ha! ha! 8/10

Millburn 22yo 1969/1992 (51.7%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection 150th Anniversary Bottling, Oak Cask) (SW)

Nose: peach stones, polished wood, cured fruits.
Mouth: rehydrated raisins and a lot of drying wood spices.
Finish: woody, it also has Cognac, which means fruity shenanigans.
Comment: not my favourite Millburn. The label fell off in a flood. One wonders if more than the label was damaged and that is why the whisky, if decent, is a little underwhelming (for a Millburn). 8/10

DW: "I almost drew a cock-and-ball on your notebook."
tOMoH: "I think you'll find it's a cock-and-balls. Or did you want to draw a Hitler?" [who famously only had one bollock]
DW: Yeah, a Hitler."

Sweet 48yo 1972/2021 (46%, J.G. Thomson)

Nose: bah! Full-on baking scents, marzipan and baked choux dough.
Mouth: soft and sweet, it is a pastry attack alright, with custard and apple turnovers.
Finish: lots of blackcurrants. There must be a good proportion of Invergordon, in this. There may be a drop of grape juice too, which presents a tiny bitterness.
Comment: delicious. 8/10

Talisker 25yo b.2008 (54.2%, OB Natural Cask Strength imported by Diageo Greece, Refill Casks, 9708b, b#0104) (cavalier66)

Comment: I finish JS's glass who has had enough. I take no notes, convinced I have had it before, but apparently not. The closest is the version from the following year. This one is good too. 8/10

Glen Scotia Victoriana b.2025 (54.2%, OB, Bourbon + First-Fill ex-Pedro Ximénez + Deep Charred American Oak Casks, L1 148 25)

Nose: rubber, black liquorice bootlaces, but also cotton candy and a shoemaker's workshop, which spells polish and sole glue.
Mouth: apple juice, then fresh green grapes. There is quite a bit of horsepower on display too.
Finish: "a butyric candy" (WhiskyLovingPianist). It is very sweet and very fruity, full of apples and grapes pressed into a delightful juice.
Comment: totally unlike my memory of the Victoriana expressions I tried between 2016 and 2019, which, as I remember them, were very-smoky affairs. This is super welcoming. Another nice surprise. 8/10

Glen Garioch 19yo b.2025 (48%, Whisky Souls Living Souls, First Fill Sherry Butts) (SW)

Nose: clay and plasticine, some herb or another.
Mouth: plasticine juice, peach and clay.
Finish: a little soft and shy, this most certainly suffers from the sequence.
Comment: we will try this again another time. 8/10

We are all kicked out at 22:00. JS and I manage to escape, while others hit the bar downstairs.

Survived another one!

I think the only things I did not try were a Scallywag and BA's White Peak 7yo 2018/2025 (52.4%, Elixir Distillers The Whisky Trail, 4 x New Bourbon Barrels, 1254b), which we tried in October.

Oh! And cavalier66's Caol Ila 30yo 1984/2014 (52.8%, The Ultimate Rare Reserve, Hogshead, C#6261, 228b, b#42) (already tried) and his Imperial 20yo 1995/2015 (46%, The Ultimate, Hogshead, C#50234, 281b, b#44, L15/1482) (he breaks the cork and cannot open it; we had it last year).

BA worked in the shop, today. :-D

09/09/2025 Member Take Over: Ian Hunter aka Mr. Closed Distillery

When this event was announced, I could not remember meeting or hearing about Ian Hunter. When PS underlined he was nicknamed Mr. Closed Distillery, my curiosity was obviously piqued. I also thought it was a little weird that we had never crossed paths.

Tonight is the night, then, when we verify if this Mr. Closed Distillery is whom he claims to be.

I join JS, DW, PS, GT, Dr. CD, YM and others on the top deck. One look at the host, and I realise we have met -- at DW's Easter bash. Phew! That bodes well.

Despite tube strikes, most people made it. We start on time.

Hunter wastes no time. He tells us briefly when he became a Society member (2002), not how or why, then dives straight into the whiskies and the memorabilia he brought along, documents from yesteryear, some frankly depressing when one compares prices and selection with today's.

Take this 2002 outturn brochure, for example.
The Lowland page advertises an Inverleven,
a Rosebank and a St Magdalene.
One could buy all three for... £159

I take scant notes. The pace does not allow it and I want to enjoy the company. We try everything blind.

Dram #1

Nose: powerful nose, with marzipan soon overtaken by honeysuckle. This is bright, lively, and a tad minty, perhaps. The second nose brings honey.
Mouth: punchy, it has a mix of peach and red chilli pepper.
Finish: long, wide, fruity, it delivers peaches and peach stones, as well as a tame lick of chocolate.
Comment: with a few vague clues, I guess Coleburn, then Convalmore, even if it is clearly not the profile of the latter. We struggle to pinpoint it until the reveal. Then, it becomes embarrassingly obvious. Caperdonich is not really a rare sight at the SMWS, even these days. That said, no-one has had this older bottling. And it is very good.

38.13 24yo 1980/2005 Eiswein and red peppercorns (57.9%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill Hogshead, 268b) 8/10

Dram #2

Nose: mint crumbles, sherbet, it is rather sweet, then develops a soft citrus-peel profile and adds cosmetic powder.
Mouth: it has quite a bite, acidic and citric. It is also powdery without being chalky. The second sip is spicier, with a good dose of chilli.
Finish: chocolate rolled in rose petals. The second gulp presents dandelion stems, which is to say: plant bitterness.
Comment: Ian tells us it is a divisive distillery, which PS confirms by staring at me. I conclude that it is Cambus and dare not touch it. The man said Speyside, though, and it does not smell like a grain. Good thing I do not say anything, because it is, in fact, Pittyvaich. A Pittyvaich we have already tried in this very room, actually! More than a decade ago, granted.

90.5 10yo 1992/2002 Kola Kubes and Lilt (59.4%, SMWS Society Cask, 248b) 8/10

IH: "It has a cult following."
PS: "It's spelled with an 'n', not an 'l'."

Dram #3

Nose: this is bursting with jelly capsules, followed by fruits. It is like pulling peaches out of a plastic medicine jar. It probably smells much better than it reads.
Mouth: it has citrus foliage, but it is mostly lovely  fruits. Strawberries, rosehips, Damson plums, apricots and the softest puff of blond tobacco.
Finish: juicy Mirabelle plums and apricots.
Comment: this is excellent and my favourite, so far. I liken it in my head to 45.19. That was good, but this one is even better.

45.9 27yo 1975/2003 Cherry on top (50%, SMWS Society Cask) 9/10

Dram #4

Nose: a little brimstone mixed with juicy fruits (kumquat, calamondin, tangelo). It is also mineral and gives a whisper of Hardois the dog, wet or not.
Mouth: mosses on slate, corroded metal, fresh fruits and dried orange.
Finish: long, it is a steamroller, assertive, not aggressive. It has stewed orange segments simmering in a cast-iron pot.
Comment: some guesses, including Brora, which this obviously is not. I silently think Glenlochy, but we are told it is an Invernessian distillery. The crowd narrows it down to Millburn. It is even one we have tried before. I like it better today. Crazy how much more approachable it seems, tonight. The magic of a well-crafted sequence, eh?

87.6 16yo 1983/2000 (57%, SMWS Society Cask) 9/10

Dram #5

Nose: phwoar! Behind the obvious shoe polish from the no-less-obvious Sherry cask, it is absurdly fruity, with exploding lychee, dragon fruit, mangosteen and rambutan. Coffee pops in and out too, waving like a line-drying leather belt flapping in the wind.
Mouth: it is very powerful, even now, numbing and clearly fruity. Here are lychee, kumquat, mandarine, apricot.
Finish: long, warming, it rolls out the chocolate carpet, which is quickly trampled on by fresh citrus and cut plums, with shy lychee now in the background.
Comment: what a way to finish! The colour worried me, but this turned out to be precisely my kind of dram. Colloquially known as Mandarins in a well seasoned roasting tin, a name that appears nowhere on the label, it is remarkably different from 92.7, which shared the ABV and the cask type, though from another vintage. That one was sadly smothered by the Sherry.

92.9 20yo 1981/2001 (61.2%, SMWS Society Cask, Sherry Butt) 9/10

There. We just finished five drams in exactly one hour.

And what drams!

Beside the pace, which was too fast for me, it was a great tasting. Unpretentious, factual. I liked that Ian did not bring the obvious or more-prestigious closed distilleries. I was also glad the venue did not crowbar a current bottling into the line-up: seeing the calibre on display, that may have degraded the experience, as JS says.

I did regret that IH read tasting notes from the outturn brochures of the time, or notes he found online. For the one instance where he did not find any note (the Dallas Dhu), he even had Co-Pilot produce tasting notes for him, which I thought bizarre. Now, notes can be a useful guideline, but I find it a pity to read us those notes before we can try the drams and make our own opinion.

Off tasting, we have...

76.157 18yo 2006/2025 Tales of the Worm Tub: Behold the beast (54.3%, SMWS The Creators Collection, 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Butt, 534b)

Nose: thick leather boots, rancio, smoked ham. Then, it shifts towards hair lacquer. The second nose adds cracked black pepper and shaved wine-soaked cork.
Mouth: wine-soaked orange segments, pressed, and most of the moisture removed. Chewing injects sangria and soaked citrus peels. The second sip is drier, full of dusty elderberry and blueberry skins.
Finish: long, wine-y and fruity with a bitter orange-peel aftertaste -- in a good way.
Comment: DW tried to impress us with a recent Caperdonich and came back with this Mortlach. Woops! It is good all the same. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, DW)

38.43 32yo 1992/2024 Homecoming: The essence of heritage -- Bar-room buzz (49.6%, SMWS The Creators Collection, 1st Fill ex-PX Barrique, 213b)

Nose: coconut wood shavings (JS), an avalanche of candied papaya, dried peach cubes and mint crumbles in the back. There is also a bunch of flowers in there, somewhere -- carnations, tulips, chamomile, canola. The second nose is more leisurely, with soft leather sofas and many cushions. It stays floral, almost hay-like.
Mouth: initially chewy, it becomes unctuous, milky, if not custard-y. We have mushy peach flesh, timid maracuja, a pinch of mint, plum, white peach, mango, palak.
Finish: mellow and custardy, it peddles white-peach flesh before expiring in a puff of mango pulp. The second gulp is in line. Maybe, we imagine vanilla-filled milk chocolate?
Comment: what did I say about recent Caperdonich, at the beginning of the tasting? This is stupendous. Simply beautiful. I like it much more than the first time we had it. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, DW)

Well, that set us back an hour, ha! ha!

Good night out again.

28/05/2022 HM Queen Elizabeth double Eye

OB, Cavalier66 and JS join me on this opening day of the Islay Festival to celebrate something completely different: the opening of the Elizabeth Line (of Crossrail, a new public-transport service in London), the impending jubilee of the Queen, who has been on the throne for close to seventy years, now, and, generally, the royals.

The soundtrack: Imminent - Cask Strength

When the line-up is assembled, I sneakily pour an apéritif for the boys (JS had it last week and does not want to try it again).

Grand Royal Special Reserve (43%, International Beverage Trading Company, LM006/0281N 6027) (tOMoH): OB and Cavalier66, who seem to like it, reckon it is a Lowlander, or an old blend... and indeed. I take no notes, today. Full notes can be found here.

JS offers whisky from a rare Royal distillery.

Glenury Royal 1984/2007 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail Rare Old, JG/AEB) (JS): nose: very fruity (Cavalier66). I have nail lacquer, wood varnish, then seal wax, hot linen, and even a few coffee grains. Mouth: fresh, it has a minor mocha bitterness. Finish: long, acidic, here are some fruits and a pinch of ground coffee grains. "It does what it does brilliantly, which is fruit and malt, not layered. The only potential criticism is that there is a slight harshness." (Cavalier66) Full notes are here. It is still excellent, despite a slightly lower score, today. 8/10

JS [to Cavalier66}: "Your shirt pattern is very subdued, today."
Cavalier66: "It's because I upgraded. I didn't go for Coton Doux, I went for Paul Smith, the queen of fashion."

I will wait for nibbles (a selection of British cold cuts and cheeses).
Cavalier66, of course, has had neither lunch nor breakfast, and is starving

Cavalier66: "This, by the way, is Comté, isn't it?"
OB: "Yes, but British."
tOMoH: "It's Counted."

Soundtrack: Imminent Starvation - Human Dislocation

The Old Man of Huy presents a whisky bottled by a bottler given the royal warrant (the only one, in fact).

Frustratingly, since this was bottled for someone else, the warrant is neither on the label nor on the box. It is on the stopper fold.

Cavalier66 brought another expression from the same distillery, so we have them in parallel. "Mine is just because the Queen has a turret in her castle."

Glenturret 31yo 1980/2012 (42.5%, Malts of Scotland, Bourbon Hogshead, C#MoS12008, 96b) (Cavalier66): nose: more subdued than the other (OB), it has icing sugar, though subdued indeed. It becomes bolder with time, sweet and lovely. Old-school sweets such as red bootlaces and Cherry Gums. Is there a puff of smoke? Maybe. Mouth: it is more subdued on the palate too (Cavalier66). It is tame alright, but well fruity all the same -- melon, plum, even gentle yellow maracuja. Finish: long, fresh and fruity, this sees fruity sweets rolling on the tongue. 8/10

vs.

Glenturret 35yo 1977/2013 (47.5%, Berry Brothers & Rudd for La Maison du Whisky, C#25) (tOMoH): nose: old Fruit Salad sweets (Cavalier66), which is to say artificial fruit aroma. It is immensely more expressive than its young sibling. Mouth: fizzy and amazingly fruity, with fruit sweets, mostly, some chewy, some in a crystallised form. Finish: it has more depth (Cavalier66), but also cooked vegetables (Cavalier66, who adds it is asparagus). JS and Cavalier66 find it an intense fruitiness that turns into liquorice. OB specifies that it is waves of fruit, not an explosion. We all agree it is a fruit tide. Full notes are here. 9/10

Cavalier66: "I think it is even lower than retro-nasal olfaction..."
OB: "Rectal-nasal!"

For the next whisky, OB explains it is an anniversary bottling, celebrating a jubilee of sorts. Also, it is twenty-six years old, and the Queen was born in 1926.

Littlemill 26yo 1990/2017 (52.6%, Cadenhead 175th Anniversary, Bourbon Barrel, 180b) (OB): nose: custard and a general creaminess, lemon curd and crushed Aspirin. I am struggling to put words on the scents, partly because they are well integrated, partly because I am enjoying the company. All the same, this nose, if not overly evolutive, is excellent. Mouth: on the palate, it has mellowed, since last time (Cavalier66). It is not that kaleidoscope of tropical fruit (OB), but it has ripened (Cavalier66). JS points out how creamy it is. They are right and wrong: I find it potent, displaying the bitterness of crushed Aspirin. The second sip focuses on citrus (a blend of calamansi and grapefruit), with Kaffir lime leaves and bay leaves balancing the acidity with bitterness. Finish: big, wide, gently bitter and pretty fruity. Next to that fruit, we see chocolate emerge. The crushed Aspirin remains rather prominent all the same -- something that may bother some. Further sips turns to pudding and custard, both vanilla and mocha-flavoured. 9/10

tOMoH: "[Bottle] splits are a faff. The world is full of self-entitled pricks."
Cavalier66: "As is the royal family."

Cavalier66 [about extensive collections]: "At least, with the Hanyu Cards collection, there were only fifty-two bottlings -- or fifty-four, with the jokers."
JS: "Yeah, it all becomes more reasonable, all of a sudden..."

Soundtrack: Ravi Shankar - Rāgas & Tālas

JS offers an Old & Rare Platinum Selection for the platinum jubilee.

Brechin 33yo 1970/2003 (52.4%, Douglas Laing The Old & Rare Platinum Selection, 479b) (JS): nose: ozone and photocopier ink (Cavalier66), blue ink, and a pinch of dust. A bit of cask (Cavalier66). I have crisp apple and shreds of ginger. Mouth: blush-orange juice, sangria-soaked fruits. JS and I find it spicy, OB finds it more peppery than spicy (Is pepper not a spice, then?). This shows nigella seeds, chutneys and relishes. Finish: intermittent waves of cinnamon (Cavalier66), bread dough, yeast, loads of fruit. This is excellent. It is almost yoghurt-y in the way it delivers fruit, with crushed apricot, peach, squashed cured plum... Phwoar! I am looking forward to spending more time with it, as these notes obviously do not make it justice. 9/10

Cavalier66 tells us the Queen Mary was known as Bloody Mary because she used to kill people for heresy. And how did she kill them? By burning them. We shall therefore have a Millburn. "Also, we all know the monarchy should be bloody silent, like this distillery."

OB: "It is quite alcoholic."
tOMoH and OB: "Well, it is a Rare Malt..."
Cavalier66: "Long."
OB: "Thick, it's got body."
Cavalier66: "Bodies."
OB: "It's got decaying corpses."
Cavalier66: "At this point in the line-up, this is exactly what we need."
OB: "Corpses."
Cavalier66: "Oily, encompassing, developing. It's not actually corpse, which I'm familiar with."

Millburn 35yo 1969/2005 (51.2%, OB Rare Malts Selection) (Cavalier66): nose: a lot fruitier than I remembered it, it has dried apple slices and raisins, with a drop of vinegar. It is also less funky than I remembered it (a memory that made me agree with the corpse note before I even smelled this). It still has hairballs. Also, shoe polish, walnut stain, spicy sweets (cinnamon and ginger, then, I guess). Mouth: wide, invasive, more in line with my memory, it has the taste of corpse, yet that is almost overshadow by an abundant shoe polish. There is plenty of leather and waterproofing grease on this palate too. The second sip is leafier, with hazel leaves and chestnut-tree leaves. It still has a lot of shoe polish, mind. It stays very strong on the palate, fiercely gingery. Finish: long, sweet, and a little bitter, it has cola, ginger-and-cinnamon Boules Magiques, but also a pronounced bitterness, in the long run that flirts with liquorice. 9/10

Soundtrack: Imminent Starvation - Nord

Cavalier66: "The music is quite anarchic, today, which may reflect your anti-monarchy sentiment."

Cavalier66 proudly presents the next one.

Cavalier66: "This is a Hanyu single cask cask for Full Proof Holland, matured in a puncheon. Punching is what I want to do to the monarchy. Also, the label has a picture of the Queen in her early days."
OB: "Thank you."

tOMoH: "Hanyou. The 'T' and the 'k' are silent."

Hanyu 1988/2006 (56.3%, OB for Full Proof Holland, Puncheon, C#9204, 204b) (Cavalier66): nose: an obvious sherry maturation, but a dirtier one (Cavalier66), some more obvious decay in this (OB). It has soot and coal dust, burnt-walnut shells, and hard-as-rock orange peel. Further nosing brings out plastic buckets. Mouth: smoke on the back (Cavalier66), coal smoke (OB). Yes, it is rather dirty, with lots of dusts -- coal dust, sawdust, ginger shavings. It is spectacularly gingery and hot. The second sip is drying, sucking up all moisture from the mouth. That later turns into grape-pip oil, oily and bitter. Finish: big and powerful, rich in ginger and embers, it has a dusting of ash, but little smoke, now. Water does not alter it much, though it does take some heat off the palate and renders it more balanced and more approachable. 8/10

We talk about how there is a contest to decide what the official jubilee food is going to be. Cavalier66 explains that is precisely how the coronation chicken recipe got that name: it was created for the banquet of the coronation in 1953. A piece of trivia the other three of us never knew.

Soundtrack: Pye Corner Audio - Entangled Routes

OB notes that the Queen's name is Elizabeth the Second, therefore, we will have the second official bottling of Brora 30yo. Since I am severely behind, I give the boys the remainder of a sample of Brora 20yo 1982/2003 (58.1%, OB Rare Malts Selection) to have as a sparring partner.

OB [about the Rare Malt]: "It is subdued, compared to the 30yo."
Cavalier66: "You do get some cow dung."
tOMoH: "It has some cow dung alright, but the cow didn't have curry the night before."
Cavalier66: "No coronation cow dung."

Brora 30yo b.2003 (55.7%, OB Natural Cask Strength, 3000b, b#2570) (OB): nose: a sour vinegariness barely conceals a humongous drop of cow dung. This is farm-y to the extreme, with sheep farts, curd, whey, soured milk, rancid butter, horse's behind, baby sick (JS), Comté, cheese rind, butyric. Much later on, it becomes ashier. Not candles (Cavalier66), maybe ass-candles? "They are the best type." (Cavalier66) Horse manure and cow dung are what dominate, though -- by a long shot. Mouth: very peppery, almost too much so. Who swapped my dram of Brora for a Talisker 10yo? Then, it is dried cow dung, ginger shavings and cinnamon-stick splinters. Further sips seem more fruity, with gingery citrus and dried lemon zest. All the same, it does not shake off the farmyard. Finish: lovely, it displays powerful ash, crusty earth, dry as fuck, dried muck, and dried raspberry slices. To wet all that somewhat, we have a dash of squid ink and some juicy berries. Cavalier66 claims it is worth 11/10; I disagree. It is great, there is no debate, but not that great. Perhaps less my preferred style than his. 9/10

Cavalier66 teases me about a famous note I gave a Glen Scotia.

tOMoH: "I'll say behind, because 'arse' is reserved to monkeys."
OB: "How would you call a donkey's behind? An ass's arse?"
JS: "British people call a donkey an ass? Or an arse?"
Cavalier66: "Well, you'll call an ass an arse if it's being a pain. But an ass is a crossing between a donkey and a horse. Like a mule, though it depends which is the mother and which is the father."
OB: "Is that so?"
Cavalier66: "Yes. And both the ass and the mule are sterile. So you can have as much sex with an ass as you want without consequence. Sterile."
OB [indeed, dear reader: it does not stop there!]: "There is also the liger, a crossing between a lion and a tiger, but what do you call the opposite?"
Cavalier66: "A tion."
OB: "It's a tigon, but tion is also accepted."
tOMoH: "What do you call a crossing between an elephant and a rabbit?"
All: "?"
tOMoH: "A dead rabbit with a twenty-centimetre-wide arsehole."
JS: "You took the conversation to a new low."
Cavalier66: "Yes, the level has seriously declined."
tOMoH: "Declynelished!"

Cavalier66 checks his facts online.

Cavalier66: "Actually, the offspring of a horse and a female donkey is called a hinny."
OB: "According to the Cambridge dictionary, the first definition of an ass is a donkey."

Soundtrack: Phelios - Astral Unity

Cavalier66 produces 53.193, because the Queen's coronation was in '53 (1953, obviously). He then points at the name the SMWS gave this: "And the jubilee of our beloved Queen brings a smile to every face." Tomorrow, he will add that our very own OB, in fanboi style, adopted the nom de plume caolivier, and that he is a bit of a drama queen.

In an unequal versus, we oppose it to my own Caol Ila, which, of course, is from Islay, Queen of the Hebrides.

53.193 22yo To bring a smile to every face (49.9%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Bourbon Barrel) (Cavalier66): nose: a bit of hay and lots of kelp and seaweed, then goat's cheese and dry earth. It smells like an SMWS Caol Ila of that era: reliable, good, yet also predictable and same-y. That said, it does have lemon and a lick of limestone, as well as new bandages to boot. Later on, we have... We will never know what, because I do not finish writing my sentence. Mouth: mercurochrome and a dash of citrus juice (lemon and pomelo). It hits pretty hard, in terms of power, though that heat is also balanced by some lemon juice. Finish: long, muddy and kelp-y. It really is muddy, full of silt, sea-harbour bed... and melted chocolate. Repeated sipping adds crystallised citrus drops, wrapped inside kelp and rehydrated nori. This is the weakest dram in this line-up, which says a lot, considering this dram is very good. 8/10

Caol Ila 31yo 1983/2014 (48.7%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Hogshead, C#5300, 248b, b#172) (tOMoH): nose: ripe citrus here too, more mellow than it was on the SMWS offering. Pomelo, ripe lime, smoked preserved limes, and citrus-wood embers. Mouth: lovely citrus again, with lime paste, lime marmalade, and pomelo jelly. It has a big cloud of smoke, yet that does not eclipse the citric goodness. Further sips have a notch of candied angelica, adding a sweetness to the otherwise acrid and acidic palate. Finish: hugely long, it showcases lime juice on oysters, citrus paste, and candied angelica again. The finish has little smoke to speak of, amazingly enough. Probably that is only by comparison with the previous two drams. Full notes here. 9/10

What a tasting! We flew high, today.

Dram of the day:

JS: Littlemill and the two Glenturrets
OB and Cavalier66: Brora and Millburn
tOMoH: Brechin and The second Caol Ila