07/08/2026 Whisky Fringe (Day 1 -- Part 3) After-party at the SMWS

Back to Glasgow to meet DH with JS. What better place than the local SMWS branch? It is Friday night and the new outturn is being launched. It is busy!

50.124 7yo d.2018 Vitality and maturity (59.4%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 328b)

Nose: winy. It has pickled onions, roast beef, wine sauce. It moves on to pan-seared mushrooms, the pan being deglazed with red-wine vinegar.

Mouth: strong and earthy, it has dead leaves, forest floor, dried pearl onions. Chewing adds a soft sweetness and a lot of horsepower.

Finish: burning-hot bread dough, Selkirk bannock, burnt Guiness cake. It really acquires a burnt note, after a while, perhaps charred beef, and a crisp bitterness.

Comment: disappointing. The previous 50, also a young one, was an excellent surprise. This one is more winy than I prefer.

Score: 7/10

76.166 20yo d.2005 Anyone for cricket? (50.9%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 176b)

Nose: very floral and juicy (not sappy). Honeysuckle, rosehip, followed by pears, quinces and apples, gooseberries and Mirabelle plums. That ends with Greek shortbread.

Mouth: soft and fruity, it has plump gooseberries, Mirabelle plums and an avalanche of Conference pears upon chewing. The second sip has mild citrus, dusted in confectionary sugar.

Finish: elegant, floral, it displays physalis and Mirabelle plums here too, unripe pears, crunchy, almost unpleasant, yet actually very good.

Score: 8/10

121,126 9yo d.2006 Midnight desires (60.9%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Sherry Hogshead, 153b)

Nose: another loud Sherry cask in action, with pickled onions, cured beef, braised shallots and red cabbage.

Mouth: sharp, spirit-y, it is akin to a strong wine spilled on earth. Rancio, roast beef, a lot of spices and dusty earth. It is really fierce, even after a few sips. Red cabbage again, augmented with cranberry sauce.

Finish: here is the best part, with a better balance, despite a pronounced winy bitterness. It feels like a bay leaf on roast beef. Time makes it mellower and sweeter, which works better for tOMoH.

Score: 6/10

Food enters.

Chicken supreme, roast baby gem, Caesar dressing, butter mash, bacon jam & chicken jus (DH)

Harissa roast hispi cabbage, garlic polenta & tahini dressing (me)

Garlic-baked mushroom burger, romesco, grilled onions, Parmesan & hand cut chips
House salad (JS)

68.141 14yo d.2011 The cooper and the croze (54.3%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill American Oak Cask, 249b)

Nose: mercilessly strong, it gives rye vibes, metal and shoe polish.

Mouth: earthy plasticine and plums. It is also really strong, with red-chilli flakes.

Finish: boozy plums, prunes, prune syrup and liqueur, and, after a moment, cherry peppers. It feels stronger than the advertised ABV, which is not necessarily a good thing. Overall, it improves with water.

Score: 7/10

tOMoH: "Have you got Bath Street exclusive bottlings?"

There is only one, it turns out.

53.512 12yo Haven in a heartless world (58.7%, SMWS In Celebration 40 Bath Street Exclusive Cask, ex-Bourbon Cask finished in Refill Charred Red Wine Barrique, 286b)

Nose: peated kimchi (DH), a lot of mud, drying pottery and clay, wet earth smeared on an oilcloth.

Mouth: smoky-prune syrup moving towards chestnut paste, nutspread, smashed blackberries and ink. Of course, ink. It is a Caol Ila, after all. It feels stronger and spicier at second sip, with more ink and fishing nets dipped in plum juice.

Finish: big, earthy, muddy. We have tarry sands gorged with sea water.

Score: 7/10

59.108 14yo 2012/2026 Veritably vivacious (57.4%, SMWS Two to One, 1st Fill ex- Bourbon Hogshead & 1st Fill American Oak ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 572b)

Nose: chocolate spread, a dollop of Marmite, rancio, Madeira. Next is a splashed wet with fortified wine.

Mouth: sweet, sweet, sweet. Tawny Port, pressed apricots. It gains a big dose of pepper over time, but the fruity sweetness does stay.

Finish: strong, fired up with black pepper, it also welcomes nuts and a lick of mahogany cabinets.

Score: 7/10

Enough. It has been a long day.

17/07/2026 Savoureur’s surprise birthday party

In April when JS and I bumped into PH, she invited us to come back to Limburg today to celebrate Savoureur’s milestone birthday -- unbeknownst to him. Here we are, then, with thirty-or-forty others, some of whom are familiar faces, but mostly new acquaintances to meet.

When Savoureur and PH make it to the venue and he spots us all, he is genuinely surprised and enthusiastic at the idea of spending an evening with friends.

Savoureur: "Thank you all for joining us here, some from outside of the EU, even!"

PH: “I booked dinner for forty people. Some have forgotten to come, but I did not cancel their food. You may have to help eat their share.”
tOMoH [to himself]: “Mission accepted.”

We all enjoy a glass of prosecco before proceeding to the real stuff. It quickly turns into an open bar and I do not know who brought what; notes are scant and I cannot always attribute the bottle to its owner.

James Martin’s V.V.O. (40°, James Martin imported and distributed by Distillerie Riunite di Liquori)

Nose: old-bottle effect, tin lids, jars of marmalade and copper coins.

Mouth: soft, mellow, it still presents hazelnut shells and a lick of copper.

Finish: nutty, timidly leathery, it serves scoops of caramel-and-hazelnut ice cream.

Comment: perfect apéritif.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks, T)

Clynelish 22yo 1995/2018 (56.7%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams, Sherry Cask, L18/420)

Nose: musky and husky, it promises dryness and animality. It is a Clynelish, after all. Fox’s skin, dried windfall, nutshells. Deeper sniffing makes it seem a little sweeter.

Mouth: dried dates, dried rugs and super-dry raisins. It is well marked by the Sherry, if not overpowered. There is a bit of rancio and elderberry compote oxidising in a cellar.

Finish: extraordinary balance, here, dry yet elegant, with a dried-fruit touch (prunes, Medjool dates, figs) and a faint animal aftertaste. It is fairly tannic, in the long run.

Comment: good effort. I prefer Clynelish in Bourbon casks, but hey!

Score: 8/10 (Thanks, MG)

Antipasto misto

Flatbread

Ireland 26yo 1989/2016 Volume 6 (53.8%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams Anniversary Edition for 10 Years The Nectar)

Nose: phwoar! An explosion of tropical-fruit custard, with no surprise and for maximum enjoyment. It starts with mango, continues with banana, grapefruit, apricot, berries… You get the picture!

Mouth: sweet and bitter, big, glue-y. It has lots of glue, in fact. Chewing releases an avalanche of fruits, cantaloupe and mango leading the pack.

Finish: citrus flesh, citrus bark, chopped mango in yoghurt, served in a copper goblet. Phwoar!

Comment: this is excellent.

Score: 9/10 (Thanks, F)

White Horse (unknown ABV, White Horse Distillers, b#8734189)

Nose: extremely fishy, it has crayfish, fish sauce, dried fish, salt cod, fish oil sprayed on hay bales. It turns drier and less original with breathing, but the initial impression is gobsmacking. It picks up pickled antipasti, perhaps, though that may be the food interfering.

Mouth: a tad weak at the knee, after two cask strengths, but it holds together. Machine oil, engine grease, sardine tins with a drop of oil still in it. It is really tinny, actually.

Finish: soft, if long, it sticks to the gob surreptitiously, like engine great or petroleum jelly. There is a bit of smoked chocolate at the death, and not much fish left.

Comment: interesting and original. It does not turn me into a White Horse aficionado, though. The tax seal reads 'ministerio', but there is no importer information.

Score: 7/10 (Thank, Savoureur)

Schweine Steaks mit Champignon's sauce [sic]
dazu Gemuüse und Rosemarinkartoffeln
(me)

Putenbrustfilet mit Pfeffer Sauce
dazu Gemüse und Rosemarinkartoffeln
(JS)

Littlemill 13yo 1990/2004 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Oak Cask, C#2974, 449b, b#64, 04/099)

Nose: hay, lemon zest, Aspirin, a drop of hot Merbromin. It also has hot set custard and peach blended into yoghurt. The second sniff brings strong rubber.

Mouth: creamy. No! Milky. It has pulped peach, persimmon (though not as thick), yoghurt, a sprinkling of grated Aspirin, and crunchy heritage apples with a rough skin. It is chalkier and chalkier with time.

Finish: more creamy, custard-y goodness with grated Aspirin peppered on it. Is that a medicinal touch? Perhaps! Medicine tablets. Some whole, some grated, jelly caps full of herbal preparations -- woah!

Comment: very good Littlemill that reminds me of another Signatory bottling we had recently.

Score: 8/10

Glenturret 30yo 1982/2013 (46%, Meadowside Blending The Maltman, Fresh Bourbon Cask, C#258, 242b)

Nose: a mix of strawberry bubble gum, inflatable beach balloons and cat sick. Is that weird or what? It smells like a grain gone wrong -- in a good way! Pineapple and melted plastic having an argument. The second nose is ridiculously fruity (unripe white peach and pineapple) in a chemical way.

Mouth: the bubble-gum-rubber hallucination continues, with melted wellies and torched strawberries. More plastic appears upon chewing (beach balloons), and the dryness that comes with that. Sweeter and even more chemical at second sip, with more bubble gum and Gummibärchen.

Finish: it scrapes a beach ball along the tongue and leaves it all burnt -- or tender, at least. It stays warm and plastic-y in the long run.

Comment: So original, but… it is a little too weird. Very, very particular.

Score: 7/10

Springbank 12yo 1999/2023 (46%, OB Norddeutscher Kaufmann, 236b)

Nose: a weird mix of rubber and farm-y notes. That will be tractor tyres, then, surely. Exhaust fumes, garden fire, faint manure, smoked roasted cereals.

Mouth: Creamy? Dry? It is chocolate pudding is what it is. Chewing brings back the smoked cereals, nice, sweet clusters, augmented with a dash of fortified wine. Breakfast of champions.

Finish: dry, mineral, it has smoked cereals mixed with quarry dust and bone-dry earth patties fallen off a tractor tyre.

Comment: pretty good. Well, it is a Springbank, innit. It is expected.

Score: 8/10

Dessert is served.

Tiramisu [sic]

 

A pause during which I try a Port.
Warre Tercentenary 1970 (unknown ABV, imported and bottled for Percy Fox)
It is very good, despite all the vegetables
sinking to the bottom of my glass.

A waiter brings an unclaimed tiramisu. Guess who claims it!

Me.

Ledaig 10yo 2004/2015 Edition No. 1 The Fat Cat End Bottling(58%, The Scots Whisky Forum imported by Brühler Whiskyhaus, First Fill Sherry Butt, C#15/740)

Nose: super leathery and mineral, yet there is also lychee behind it all (“Lychee or Lydaig?” JS asks) -- or is it rambutan? We have pickled pearl onions, onion relish spread onto lychees… How ancient is this? It smells like a 1970s bottling. Cocoa powder is sprinkled on top, and a dollop of shoe polish adds to the magic.

Mouth: pickled onion alright, sharp, vinegary and, actually, very nice too. Chewing unleashes a torrent of smoke, followed by a nearly-medicinal heat, which is a tad numbing. The second sip adds a spoonful of piping-hot marmalade.

Finish: strongly coffee-like, teeming with mocha and cocoa powder. It is earthy, dry, still good, yet no longer as elegant.

Comment: that nose was a strong 9. The mouth and finish are a little behind.

Score: 8/10

Cake is served.

Baumkuche, or tree cake

Bowmore 28yo 1996/2025 (50.3%, Malts of Scotland Rare Casks hand selected and exclusively bottled for The Whisky Dreamers, Caribbean Rum Cask, C#MoS25039, 155b, b#44)

Nose: pineapple-and-coconut juice with a. Lick of smoke. Next is washing-up liquid (with zero soapiness, mind), citrus and ash.

Mouth: mild, fruity, it has lemon, calamansi, grapefruit, pomelo. Chewing increases that and splashes it with Indian tonic water. There is more and more ash, to a point it is a little desiccating. The citrus stays on top, also desiccating.

Finish: acidic and ashy, it takes a few seconds to turn lemon-y, grapefruit-y, with acidic juice poured onto smashed glass.

Comment: very excited to try this one. It is very good, but I much prefer it the 2004 by the same bottler we tried in January.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks, F)

Springbank 1997/20017 (55.2%, OB Vintage, Re-Charred Sherry Butts, B#1, 07/155)

Nose: a blend of shoe polish and mint paste, toasted coconut flakes and smoked caramel — just a wisp of soft smoke, you know. Some decayed pineapple bark rocks up at second nose.

Mouth: creamy, coating, it has melted tar, black shoe polish, rubber soaking in blush-orange juice, a touch of liquorice. Chewing adds desiccating ashes, lint and hardened tar. It is overly rubbery at second sip.

Finish: menthol, tar, lint, dried citrus peels, liquorice root. That combines at second gulp, long, tarry, rubbery, and the liquorice moves from root to allsorts and bootlaces.

Comment: decent.

Score: 7/10

Out of my bag comes 18.15 35yo 1966/2001 Curry powder and dark rum (67.5%, SMWS Society Cask Old Masters Collection, Sherry Cask)

Comments: “It’s like a cannon shot on squirrels or something,” says T. “Intense? Yeah, one could say that!” MG tells us, who will drink it fifty-fifty whisky and water. “It is intense, but also very dry,” F says. Whether they like it or not, I rejoice that I brought something that gets the tongues wagging. Everyone has their own taste; this is unforgettable. Full notes here.

The one-upmanship begins.

76.22 11yo 1989/2000 Quark cream cake (58.5%, SMWS Society Cask, Butt, 498b)

Nose: super-dry and mineral. Quarry dust, chalky sandstone. Maybe Sauvignon blanc and crushed plum stones.

Mouth: it has some fruit juice, but it is mostly desert-dry orange zest more than the fruit’s juice.

Finish: dry, borderline herbaceous, this has lichen on metal pipes.

Comment: never know what to expect from a Mortlach, especially an SMWS Mortlach. This is not a winy beast, but neither is it a fruit deluge like the series bottled around 2011-12. It seems it may have been a Switzerland special, though no access to the bottle means I did not see an importer label.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks, T)

Glen Elgin 31yo 1986/2018 (48%, Signatrory Vintage The Un-Chillfilitered Collection Specially Selected by and bottled for The Belux Tour 2018, Hogshead, C#2526, 215b)

Nose: grapefruit peels and zest. There are splashes of yoghurt, but it is mostly a zesty number, with citrus zest on a baking tray.

Mouth: juicy as hell, with citrus and marmalade leading to liquorice allsorts.

Finish: fruity, it has chewy sweets, candied papaya and pineapple cubes.

Comment: fantastic drop.

Score: 9/10

Mortlach 25yo b.2021 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Distillery Labels imported by Kirsch Import, Sherry Casks, 210181)

Nose: cured meat, marinated cutlets, and nuts. Perhaps there are sandstone chippings?

Mouth: woah! It is a meaty yoghurt. Rosemary, roast beef, blush-orange rinds and a drop of wine, very dark and musky.

Finish: lots of blood oranges and rosemary, oil -- it is marinated orange wedges, really. It also has distant cinnamon sticks. The second gulp is drying and makes the gums throb.

Comment: works well.

Score: 8/10

The GlenDronach 20yo 1995/2016 (54.4%, OB Single Cask, bottled exclusively for Whisky-Museum Kyrburg Kirn, Pedro Ximenez Puncheon, C#3805, 662b, b#381)

Nose: Madeira wine or Sherry. It is extremely winy. That opens up to give melting dark chocolate in a Glendronach fashion, roast beef, and other cured meats in the background. It is a little fresher at second nose, with minty cotton candy and onion relish.

Mouth: very-dark chocolate melted into a puddle. A little musky at second sip, it sees a fox rolled in melted chocolate and sprinkled with dust.

Finish: ink, liqueur chocolate, it comes a bit too close to Edle Tropfen for my taste, but narrowly escapes sickly disaster.

Comment: JS detects soy sauce and everything she does not care for in official Glendronachs. It is not bad, but less my profile.

Score: 7/10 (Thanks, Savoureur)

Time to go. I have eaten so much I am about to explode.

As we depart, Savoureur insists we smell two drams. He tells us both are Macallan 2006/2020 (57.3%, Gordon & MacPhail Speymalt, C#9672, 294b). One is one of the guests', the other is his own bottle that he brought to London last month and has, therefore, matured for three additional days in the UK. Geekery aside, they do smell different. How much of that is due to the fact one was open a month ago, the other today, and what is the result of one spending three days in the UK is, of course, anyone’s guess. Full notes here.

Happy birthday, Savoureur!

06/11/2025 November outturn preview at the SMWS

Today is the first of two big days. The November outturn is so huge the SMWS is hosting two preview nights. Tonight is the first. I join DW, PS and Tm. JS joins us later on.

Before I even look at the menu, PS hands me his dram.

76.159 17yo 2007/2025 Catalan if you can (60.1%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Butt, 570b)

Comment: this is really souped-up Sherry, rather than whisky. It has syrupy prunes and lots of horsepower. A hot Sherry. 6/10 (Thanks, PS)

164.1 10yo 2015/2025 An embarrassment of riches (61.8%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill STR Barrique, 265b)

Nose: boutique milk chocolate to start with, it quickly acquires berry liqueur. It follows up with spirit spilled on stainless steel. Time brings confectionary, while water increases the metallic shine.
Mouth: berry liqueur by the bucket and melted milk chocolate. It is pretty potent, though that does not hide the sweetness. The second sip sees a slight chalky chew.
Finish: glazed cherries, milk chocolate again, this time filled with a strawberry paste. It has a comforting breakfast-y allure, which fills me with content. It also has a fleeting touch of timid tropical fruits, at some point. JS says that water adds peanut butter.
Comment: from distillery 128, but distilled in their pot still, rather than their Faraday still. It convinces. 8/10

9.302 21yo 2003/2025 Perfume of the library's bookworms (57.7%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 155b)

Nose: minty oilcloth, chococino, melted toffee. It is a tad buttery, with lily-of-the-valley or jasmine in the back. Later on, it seems to provide a whisper of tobacco smoke.
Mouth: nut spread on desert-dry crackers. The palate exhibits an impressive balance of dry and oily, augmented with chocolate-y stuff.
Finish: a continuation of the palate, bursting nutty chocolate spread is made even more appealing by ripe peaches. 8/10

PS enters a long hypothetical match between the new 112 and the new 121. Then he walks up to the bar and comes back with drams of both.

112.140 9yo 2015/2025 Berliner beer with a shot of woodruff syrup (58.5%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 218b)

Nose: mentholated paste, crumbly biscuits, followed by custard-coated corroded metal at second nose. Warm radiators show up too.
Mouth: mellow, it has yellow fruits such as peaches, melon (DW) and pineapple. It has a surprising heat on the tongue. We get the peaches' stones at second sip.

Finish: potent, fruity, topped with a dollop of custard. Candied pineapple and papaya cubes.
Comment: lovely. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, PS)

PS [about the next dram]: "It's a perfectly cromulent Isle of Arran."

121.121 9yo 2015/2025 Sparkling mango lemonade (61.3%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 230b)

Nose: slightly-medicinal sponge cake, warm Lycra clothes, spandex. On the second nose, we find salted vinegar without the crisps and, perhaps, dishwater.
Mouth: green fruits (greengages), sparkly lemonade and a rubbery wetsuit. Hazelnut appears on the second sip, as do greengage and unripe kiwi.
Finish: not too long, it has honeysuckle fruit, green gooseberry and a hint of metal that lingers on the tongue.
Comment: the symmetrical number alone is good enough a reason to like this. One can read it forwards, backwards, or upside down. In addition, it is a perfectly cromulent Arran indeed. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, PS)

DW makes a lot of noise about 29.301 -- specifically, how much he does not like it. He lets me smell it: it smells of smoky currants and Port, quite faithful to its Oloroso maturation. I suspect what he is complaining about is the pricing more than the taste -- and at £495 a bottle, it is hard to not see where he is coming from. JS wonders who will buy this; I remind her that not everyone has access to a venue to try it and will buy an aged expression from a specific distillery on spec. Not to mention some may even like this style.

The staff brings more glasses.

68.131 16yo 2008/2025 A shilling in the study (54%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 2nd Fill Toasted Barrique, 220b)

Nose: sanitary detergent or urinal cookies sprinkled with confectionary sugar. The second nose injects a whiff of dried fruits (dates and Smyrna raisins).
Mouth: it is both dry and syrupy, which does not compute. Smashed plums and lots of pressed currants. Very sweet indeed!
Finish: and the sweetness continues with a parade of Smyrna raisins and Mirabelle plums coated in Golden Syrup. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, JN)

DW makes his way out with his new bottles in a suitcase.

JS: "DW is leaving a lot heavier than he arrived."
PS: "That's unusual! You usually leave me lighter than you came."

85.79 14yo 2007/2023 A drop of dessert (57.7, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 2nd Fill ex-Sauternes Barrique, 254b)

Nose: this oozes oilcloth tablecloth from the 1970s. The second nose bears burning balsa wood.
Mouth: thick marmalade, and that is the texture more than the taste of orange. This has some pepper, somewhere too. It is juicy and citrus-y at second sip, with marmalade aplenty.
Finish: bitter orange marmalade, Seville style. Orange peels, stewed and coated in syrup. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, JN)

Back to our regular programme. We have been here for three hours and are only two drams into a ten-dram tasting. Ahem.

19.105 22yo 2003/2025 Custard on marmalade on rye (52.6%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 2nd Fill ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 174b)

Nose: honey-glazed peaches and jasmine. Later on, it has tame incense and blue chocolate (cioccolato colorato). The second nose has talcum powder on tyre, or on bicycle inner-tube. That is augmented with a drop of lemon juice.
Mouth: earthy, woody chocolate spread (without nuts), a drop of raisin juice and a mineral note too, which is a little drying. Juicier at second sip, it has a lick of rubber with a dusting of talcum powder.
Finish: big, raisin-y, and, as the official notes state: "new car tyres and bramble jelly." 7/10

165.1 8yo 2016/2025 Smoked Thai holy basil (52.8%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 248b)

Nose: peat-smoked hay, preserved lemons and a firm farm-y scent: cows' bottoms and leather boots in cow dung. It has preserved lemons in salty brine dragged through cow dung -- and that works! The second nose has strawberries, somehow.
Mouth: fruity and smoky, here are smoked lemons, farm paths in a lemon orchard dotted with grazing cows.
Finish: fruits in a greenhouse, with the gardener's rubber boots, dry lichen, an empty flower vase and lichen on beach pebbles.
Comment: aside a Mystery Malt by the Thompson Bros,, which is impossible to knowingly buy, this is the first independently-bottled Wolfburn. Hard not to think the distillery would be better known and regarded if the Indies had more access to it. 8/10

149.17 9yo 2016/2025 To sup by starlight (61.7%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill Spanish Oak ex-PX Butt, 638b)

Nose: raisins, rancio and clay floors. It is a little prickly in the long run.
Mouth: big, plastic-y. We have cellophane and other clingwraps.
Finish: long, it has cucumbers, chandeliers and...
Comment: oh! forget it, I need a break. Provisional 7/10

We are halfway through our selection and I am a bit worse for wear. There is hardly enough time to continue anyway. The staff kindly agree to let us finish the session on Saturday. Phew!

In the meantime, PS is also trying 29.301, is also not convinced by it, and also has us try it.

29.301 27yo 1998/2025 To your heart's content (50.3%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill STR ex-Oloroso-Seasoned Barrique, 82b)

Nose: ultra-processed sausage. It has a fattiness that is really noteworthy; I simply cannot pinpoint it. Also clay pots. The second nose brings burnt glossy magazines and burnt maraschino cherries.
Mouth: broken clay pots bathed in water, a plethora of dried lichen and freshwater algae, the encrusted waterline in an empty vase.
Finish: robust, this peddles empty vases and empty aquariums. Even upon repeated quaffing, it sticks to empty vases and dried algae. Over time, it develops inky lichens and crushed seashells, augmented with tar and strawberry coulis.
Comment: it is decent enough, if one does not take the price into consideration. Also: 82 bottles! 7/10 (Thanks, PS)

We will be back!

01/11/2025 All Saints at the SMWS

It was made clear to tOMoH that tOMoH should definitely visit the SMWS on the 1st November. There was, of course, no obligation, but Dr. CD would bring something special that tOMoH would certainly want to try. tOMoH is prone to FOMO, so, tOMoH is going to the SMWS.

Glenwyvis 4yo 2020/2025 (57.9%, OB for Christopher Davies, Oloroso Firkin, C#90, 48b): nose: a big Sherry maturation, with a little mineral touch (limestone, slate, brimstone) and smoke. It has an elderberry-like, rancio-y sweetness in the back, and a whiff of animal musk, warming and comforting (musk rat, water vole, or a fox's den). Later on, we have a whisper of Cologne too. The second nose has melted dark chocolate and cocoa-bean shavings. Mouth: big, it has a strong alcohol kiss, hair balls and an avalanche of juicy raisins. There is a lick of old, dusty boiler too, with corroded metal and, well, encrusted dust. The second sip is drier: limestone dust, limescale, brimstone again, sand paper, even. And then we come back to berries -- elderberries, blackcurrants and prunes. It has a drop of hot water too, in which Kluwak nuts have soaked. Finish: remarkably behaved, sweet, with a pronounced bitterness to round it off. The sweetness (raisins, prunes, cured peaches) lingers and leaves a comfortable glow. The second gulp is warmer, giving away hot zinc, hot coffee grounds and hot dusty boilers. My first Glenwyvis, and it is rather convincing. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, Dr. CD)

78.90 10yo 2014/2024 Tempura gâteau train ride (57.9%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 192b): nose: treacle and Kluwak nuts. What!? Here is a note I have never used before, and now twice in as many drams. Anyway, this is full of beef stock, Bovril, stock cubes (Maggi, Knorr, you know the score). It also has dried mushrooms and root-y aromas. In other words, it is an earthy one. Burnt paper appears as one tilts the glass. The second nose has a fairly-ashy touch, whereas water reveals dark honey (tar-like, to be accurate). Mouth: strangely, it is prunes and raisins, rehydrated and mixed with burnt paper. Chewing adds sweetness... and spices! Curry powder, chilli powder, ground cassia bark, garam masala. The second sip is sweeter yet, with fruit jellies, candied angelica and chewy Turkish delights. Finish: huge, earthy and prune-y, it gains liquorice allsorts upon repeated quaffing. Perhaps we also detect Vegemite, though it is sweeter than that. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, GT)

4.394 15yo 2010/2025 Pâtisseries and perfumeries (61.8%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 232b): nose: smoked mud. This has a very farm-y and smoky profile, soon topped with lemon-drizzle cake. The farm-y tones calm down at second nosing, leaving fruits (some of them smoky) to do the talking. Mouth: oh! how lemon-y. White grapefruit, smoked pineapple, smoked papaya cubes (!) and a whisper of seafood (cockles?) The second sip is teeming with citrus fruits -- calamansi, pomelo, shaddock, Ugli fruit, maybe even cherimoya. Finish: huge (check out the ABV), it has smoked and preserved lemons and bright, sun-drenched hay fields. Fruitier with each sip, this falls under the weight of pineapple, grapefruit, pomelo and calamansi. Excellent surprise. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, Dr. CD)

76.72 20yo 1989/2010 Sunday Roast (59.2%, Society Single Cask, First Fill ex-Sherry Butt, 565b): nose: pickle brine is soon joined by mussels in wine (it is a month in -ber, after all) and crushed seashells. The second nose brings preserved lemons and grapefruits, and even tame pastry, to an extent. Mouth: this is unexpectedly balanced. It peddles sweetness, fruitiness and a mineral touch. Indeed, it has candied grapefruit and quarry dust caught in a deep debate. Finish: desert dirt, quarry dust and bone-dry grapefruit zest. On top of that is a good dose of plank-y birch. A good Mortlach, even if I reckon that parcel of casks peaked a little later on, when they hit mid-to-late twenties. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, GT)

What a trap! I went, thinking I would be out in thirty minutes or so, and ended up staying more than two hours. :-)

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.