Knowing that tOMoH would be visiting the City of Lights, elskling kindly put a tasting together with some friends. aphex, ben_whisky, cosinus, Garobidou, Piazzolla, Piksi, JS and I meet up with for an evening of libations.
Since some are earlier than the announced starting time, they start with rum. I have a few, but skip several in a vain attempt to catch up. The numbering below is mine only. elskling's overall tally is higher (three units higher, to be precise).
New Grove Royal Rum Blend (45.6%, Grays Inc., 800b, b#8, b.2016, D131/16) (brought by?)
Nose: a whiff of rubber and liquorice, then it turns very sweet, with dark sugars of sorts.
Mouth: it has a certain bitterness, liquorice again (black bootlaces), that precedes a strong woody fruitiness reminiscent of lychee husk, or suchlike.
Finish: sweet, bitter, we find more liquorice bootlaces, and a spoonful of dark sugar. 6/10
Neisson 11yo 2004/2015 (45.4%, OB Single Cask bottled for La Maison du Whisky, 498b, b#409) (brought by?)
Nose: marzipan and chou dough, which is a good start.
Mouth: sea water paves the way for burnt caramel and tyres.
Finish: yeah, it has a strong bitterness of rubber, lightly burnt. 6/10
From here on, all drams are served blind.
Dram #3 (elskling)
Nose: lots and lots and lots of rubber again. I seem to be very sensitive to it, today.
Mouth: very strong on the tongue, it presents cured orange rinds and tyres.
Finish: tyres, tyres, tyres.
Isautier 10yo Apollonie Edition 2023 (58%, OB) 5/10
Dram #4 (brought by?)
Nose: sweeter than its predecessors, this one has sugar-coated apricots.
Mouth: aaaaaand we go back to rubber, this time with a dollop of glue.
Finish: powerful, heavy-handed with the cured apricot, though it has more rubber at the death.
New Grove 2010/2020 (55%, Grays Inc. exclusively bottled for France, Limousin Oak Cask, C#256, 164b, b#104, D095/20) 6/10
Dram #5 (elskling)
Nose: another one that has rubber, this one has a lot of menthol too. Then, we find apricot liqueur.
Mouth: soft, it is balanced by an almond-y bitterness.
Finish: very short and indistinct. Pity.
Isautier 13yo Antoinette Edition 2023 (58%, OB) 6/10
Dram #6 (aphex)
Nose: beside the now-expected rubber, we have mace, hay, and softly-smoky cane sugar.
Mouth: wow, it becomes hugely smoky on the palate, with dry-peat smoke pointing a finger towards darker, moister, earthier peat too.
Finish: warming, this has lots of smoky goodness. Apple compote stewed in a smoke-filled bothy.
Comment: a rum for whisky drinkers, if anything. Some online complain about that, but for this whisky drinker, it is this rum's saving grace.
Diamond 11yo d.2008 Kill Devil (60.9%, Hunter Laing, Port Ellen Cask Finish, 690b) 7/10
Dram #7 (brought by?)
Nose: some rubber (argh!) soon makes way for sundried tomato... and glue.
Mouth: this burns a little. Once past that sensation, we have a sugary sweetness.
Finish: long, syrupy and fruity, it only has a tame bitterness.
New Grove 12yo 2010/2022 (65.2%, Grays Inc. Collection Antipodes selected by La Maison du Whisky, Limousin Oak Cask, C#550, 427b, b#339, D140/22) 7/10
Much to everyone's relief, we leave the rums behind to focus on "real drinks" (© Garobidou). I do like to remain open-minded, but a session like this reminds me that rum is simply not for me.
Dram #8 (Garobidou)
Nose: phwoar, this smells pre-war, with the tin lids and jammy marmalade that betray a long sojourn in glass.
Mouth: delicate, fruity, jammy, it also has gunpowder and oxidised tin lids.
Finish: excellent, still as old school as the nose promised, jams and brass buttons.
Comment: we are under the spell, but stumped with regards to what it is. I venture it could be a Banff, but no.
Ballantine's 30yo (43° G.L., George Ballantine / Son imported by C. Salengo, b. ca. 1965) 8/10
elskling: "Why did you split this?"
Garobidou: "Yeah, perhaps I should have kept it all for me."
Piksi: "If you ever see me split something good, stop me!"
Piazzolla takes the lead for a string of six drams.
Dram #9 (Piazzolla)
Nose: melted dark chocolate, a dollop of mocha, then fruits take off: prunes, figs, raisins, with billowing Gitanes smoke in the background -- welcome to France.
Mouth: chocolate again, prunes, and something very earthy, pushing coffee grounds.
Finish: long, chocolate-y, coating. We have treacle and molasses.
Comment: we talk about a blended malt containing Glendronach, Caperdonich and Balvenie in the Sailing Ships collection. Piazzolla will correct later. It is in fact...
Glendronach 20yo 1970/1990 Araby Maid 1868 (43%, Signatory Vintage Sailing Ships Series No 1, Sherry Casks, C#546-558, 1200b) 8/10
Dram #10 (Piazzolla)
Nose: extremely jammy, here is peach jelly with a dollop of menthol.
Mouth: soft, mellow, jammy again, we now find smoked pineapple.
Finish: much more powerful than the mouth suggested, and also Woodier. It remains a fruity number, but it is pineapple peels (bark?), now, rather than the flesh.
Comment: they call it Mr. Bombastic.
Longmorn 1971/2011 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, AA/JAEA) 9/10
Piksi [to ben_whisky, about another Longmorn he owns]: "Yours wasn't as good."
ben_whisky: "Shut up."
Dram #11 (Piazzolla)
Nose: fruits, yet, this time, they are augmented with pickle or red-onion brine. That spells an ancient bottling, probably.
Mouth: a little pickle juice again, but it is mostly jammy in an old-school way, much to tOMoH's delight.
Finish: long, very jammy, it produces a tin-lid note akin to those we found in the Ballantine's.
Comment: amazeboulanger.
Longmorn 1974/1988 (46%, Brae Dean Int. imported by Moon Import The Sea, Butt, C#7729, 360b) 9/10
Dram #12 (Piazzolla)
Nose: mentholated and fruity, this has a lot of cured fruits too (carambola, no less). In addition, we detect some herbs (marjoram?)
Mouth: jammy, metallic, slightly herbaceous (marjoram indeed, perhaps sage), it has soft wood at second sip.
Finish: big and powerful, it shouts about minty fruits and (unidentified) flowers.
Linkwood 36yo 1973/2009 (49.7%, The Whisky Exchange 10 Years Online, Bourbon Cask) 9/10
Dram #13 (Piazzolla)
Nose: prunes in coffee (why!?), some old-school jam, and tin lids. The latter are almost totally overwhelmed by the previous notes.
Mouth: thick, syrupy, and increasingly earthy, pushing coffee grounds to the fore.
Finish: coffee, mocha chocolate.
Comment: well made, but too much coffee for me. Funny, this definite article in the pre-Billy Walker era (note the absence of capitalised 'D').
The Glendronach 18yo 1977/1995 (43%, OB, Seasoned Oak and Sherry Casks) 7/10
Dram #14 (Piazzolla)
Nose: earthy fruits, mostly dried figs, though perhaps dates too. It also has a whiff of metal.
Mouth: dried figs.
Finish: fruits dunked in chocolate, and an extreme earthy dryness, in the long run.
Longmorn 44yo 1967/2011 (48.3%, Gordon & MacPhail The Dram Takers exclusively bottled for La Maison du Whisky, Refill Sherry Hogshead, C#592, 133b) 8/10
Everyone complains about the quality of that flight, and wonders how to follow that. Until...
Dram #15 (Garobidou)
Nose: not exuberant, but fruity all the same, somewhat understated, delicate, and elegant.
Mouth: here, on the other hand, it is an explosion of tropical fruits. Mangoes, pineapples...
Finish: much fruit again, it still has a minor bitterness that hints at herbs and liquorice allsorts.
Comment: note the typo in Sauternes.
Teeling 24yo b.2016 (46%, Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection, Sauterne & Bourbon Cask, 5000b) 9/10
Dram #16 (Garobidou)
Nose: acidic, fruity, it projects Haribo banana, and an almost plasticine-like, plummy waxiness.
Mouth: unctuous, full of plump apricots, blueberries, and a sprinkle of herbs.
Finish: maracuja jelly, plain and simple. Over time, milk-chocolate praline also develops.
Comment: Irish beauties. How beguiling they are!
Irish Malt 28yo 1989/2017 (49.3%, Antique Lions of Spirits, Bourbon Cask, 209b, b#49) 9/10
Dram #17 (Garobidou)
Nose: vinegar or brine, poured on chalk. Later, we find preserved fruits, mildly salty -- preserved lemons, maybe.
Mouth: mellow, velvety and warming, it has a nutty vibe too -- walnut spread is my guess.
Finish: big, chocolate-y, and lovely.
Aultmore 13yo 2006/2019 Collective #3.3 (48%, La Maison du Whisky Artist Collective, 2 x 1st Fill Sherry Butt, 1548b) 8/10
Dram #18 (aphex)
Nose: this one has a faint smoke, hardened wax, and old-school jams.
Mouth: desiccating, here are dusty hot metal and hay bales about to ignite.
Finish: long, farm-y, and ashy, dominated by crusted earth.
Brora 1978/2013 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Rare Old, B#RO/13/05, 218b, AC/ADID) 9/10
Dram #19 (JS)
Comment: I skip this one. It stumps everyone, and more than one tell us they have not had more than a few expressions from this distillery. Notes here.
Tormore 29yo 1984/2013 (53.9%, www.whiskybroker.co.uk, Barrel, C#3674, 107b, b#87)
Dram #20 (ben_whisky)
Nose: peach and apricot on the subtle tip. Then, it becomes a hot moka pot filled with tame tropical fruits.
Mouth: slightly earthy, with a metallic bitterness, it presents a gentle fruity explosion.
Finish: very nice, fruity, a bit bitter, and earthy. It is also a tad coffee-like, which will prevent a higher score (personal preference).
Comments: when we tried a sister cask, a couple of weeks ago, it was likened to this here dram. That one seemed a lot fruitier.
Teeling 27yo b2018 (49.8%, Teeling bottled exclusively for The Whisky Exchange, Sherry Cask, C#6838, 180b) 8/10
Spotting an opportunity, elskling steps in.
Dram #21 (elskling)
Nose: this is rather mute. Some shoe polish, maybe?
Mouth: silky, mellow, unctuous. We have some fruit, but this is a texture story, rather than taste-driven.
Finish: good, long, powerful, it has a dose of fruit hidden by a pronounced Sherry influence.
Comments: this is a more-heavily-Sherried affair. Perhaps it is oxidation, but this makes me think of 117.5 more than anything fruitier.
Teeling 29yo 1991/2020 (46.3%, Teeling bottled exclusively for Celtic Whiskey, Refill Sherry Cask, C#6759, 216b) 8/10
Pizzas are delivered. They will help absorb some of the alcohol. What? Wine? Well, go on, then.
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| L'Anglore 2022 (Piksi) |
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| Savigny-les-Beaunes 2015 (cosinus) |
Dram #22 (elskling)
Nose: blow-dried hair.
Mouth: it feels a bit watery, despite the food-induced respite. One should probably bear in mind the ABV and the number of things we have ingested already. Dried blackberries, dried cranberries, and a dash of brine.
Finish: fairly long.
Comment: shit notes. I am too busy trying to identify the whisky to write much. I fail too, and that is embarrassing, because we had this one in April.
Bruichladdich 15yo (43%, OB imported by Moon Import, Sherry Wood, 2400b, b.1980s) 8/10
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| pouring generously |
Dram #23 (elskling)
Nose: mineral and not a little smoky. It also has musk, on a background of fruit.
Mouth: mud, smoked red onions, pearl onions, and a dash of brine.
Finish: long, big for the actual ABV (when revealed), and musky, although it remains quite mineral.
North Port 14yo d.1968 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice imported by Co. Import for Mauro Orlandi of the Club delle fattorie, Series 16, 120b) 8/10
Dram #24 (elskling)
Nose: old ink and earthy jam.
Mouth: this is rather acrid, sooty, but also jammy. A tell-tale sign of yet another ancient bottling.
Finish: yes, the soot remains, jammy and simply impressive.
Comment: we are going fast, hence the short notes. The quality is ridiculously high. I am tempted to score this one higher, but I have to admit it would be an emotional number, rather than a deserved one.
Linkwood 1984/1995 (50%, Brae Dean Int. imported by Moon Import De Viris Illustribus, Oak Cask, 750b, b#322) 8/10
Dram #25 (elskling)
Nose: minty, full of herbs and weeds of all kind. Rocket, mint crumbles, then, suddenly, strawberries take over.
Mouth: mint crumbles are confirmed, augmented with basil and marjoram.
Finish: milky, creamy, it has lemon mint as a focus point.
Comment: the shape of the bottle makes me guess the Talisker bottled by GMP in 1977 for the Queen's Jubilee. Wrong.
Glen Avon 25yo (40%, Avonside Whisky imported by "Il Sestante - s.n.c.") 8/10
Dram #26 (elskling)
Nose: cleaned bathroom -- as in: squeaky-clean wash basins, not soap. This is extremely elegant.
Mouth: mineral, it has limestone, limescale, lemon juice, and smoked rubber, whatever that means.
Finish: distant burnt wood dunked in water, and unripe hazelnuts.
Comment: motherfucker. This is amazing.
Talisker 25yo b.1977 (70° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail bottled to commemorate The Queen's Silver Jubilee) 9/10
Dram #27 (elskling)
Nose: very deep, we find jams and mint chocolate introduce mentholated tobacco.
Mouth: it has this characteristic note of jam, soot and metal that can only be found in ancient bottlings.
Finish: velvety and surprisingly punchy at the same time, this has "crushed mint crumbles" written all over it.
Comment: look out for the screen-printed flowers.
Strathisla 15yo (70° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail Deluxe Quality imported by Co. Import, b.1970s) 9/10
Dram #28 (Piksi)
Nose: lemon-y and mineral, it has a dollop of mustard (or is that post-reveal suggestion?)
Mouth: super fruity, here, with green grapes, at once acidic and mineral. More citrus rock up, calamansi, and pomelo, as well as cardboard via retro-nasal olfaction.
Finish: almond cream (cosinus) and orangettes (chocolate-coated candied orange rind).
Comment: Piksi admits he had a hard time containing himself when I suggested the first may be a Banff.
Banff 29yo 1975/2004 (46%, Berry Bros. & Rudd Berrys' Own Selection, C#3323) 9/10
Dram #29 (elskling)
Nose: we have got fruit in a wooden crate, left in a farmyard.
Mouth: malty, spritzy, and a tad mineral, this gives a whiff of soot, after time on the palate.
Finish: earthy, chalky, with a minor muskiness.
Comment: this one was JS's favourite at Aurora Brorealis. A decade later, it still slaps.
Brora 35yo b.2012 (48.1%, OB Natural Cask Strength distributed by Diageo Italia, 1566b, b#0498, L2142LS000 00036105) 9/10
Dram #30 (aphex)
Nose: super farm-y on the nose. We see a procession of raw hides and cow's behinds. Later on, it becomes full-on citrus -- lemon, calamansi, Buddha's hand.
Mouth: soft and elegant, we have some sugar and lots of citrus. Sugar-coated candied lemon segments.
Finish: smoky-and-a-half, relentless, but also balanced. More citrus in this finish to ease the effect of the smoke.
Comment: phwoar!
Glen Garioch 1971/2011 (43.9%, OB Single Cask specially selected by The Whisky Exchange for Whisky Show 2011, North American Oak Cask, C#2038, 194b) 9/10
Piazzolla announces his imminent departure. elskling will not have it.
Dram #31 (elskling)
Nose: vinegar-y chocolate, pickled onions and lots of India ink.
Mouth: this is kicks-like-a-mule chocolate in cream. It is entirely-desiccating, 163%-cocoa chocolate, cocoa powder and coal dust. They call it chocolate, but one might as well lick a piece of charcoal.
Finish: amazing finish, again, incredibly chocolate-y, and super dry. It dies with candied fruits coated in dark chocolate.
Comment: I have been eyeing those aged bottlings for a while. Good to try some and confirm they are not really for me. Too much vinegar on the nose, and too desiccating on the tongue. Fans of the style will disagree. I will live.
The GlenDronach 41yo 1972/2013 (51.7%, OB Limited, B#9, Oloroso Sherry Butt, C#702, 448b, b#238, LG71062) 8/10
Piksi [to Piazzolla]: "Thanks for leaving, or we would not have had tried the Glendronach."
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| Having a good time |
I pour mine.
aphex, cosinus, ben_whisky:"Ooft! This one has horsepower!"
Piksi: "It's balanced in that it burns everywhere the same."
Dram #32 (tOMoH)
Comment: I skip this. We had it multiple times (notes here). Tonight is its swan's song: the bottle is empty.
Glenlochy 17yo 1977/1995 (61.8%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection imported by Preiss Imports, 95/250)
Dram #33 (aphex)
Nose: dry earth, some smoke, ashes, fishing nets and sand dunes.
Mouth: rancio, ginger, smoked plums.
Finish: undergrowth, petrichor, smoked raspberries, chocolate plums, in the end.
Comment: it is hard not to notice that the RRP (~450 EUR, 540 EUR at time of writing) is laughably disconnected from the quality of the juice. Price aside, it is a solid drop, though. Sadly, I take no picture of the bottle.
Laphroaig 18yo 2004/2022 (50.1%, Douglas Laing Old Particular imported by La Maison du Whisky, Refill Barrel, C#DL15857, 270b) 8/10
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| Gimme some more! |
Dram #34 (brought by?)
Nose: monolithic Sherry maturation. Here is a huge slap of leather. We are at a ranch, stacking hides in a barn.
Mouth: big, it has smoked dark cherries. It becomes drying, earthy, with blackberries and elderberries. It is actually desiccating, after a short while.
Finish: again, very dry, earthy, a dusting of ash on dark cherries.
Comment: not too taken by this one.
29.260 19yo d.1999 A visceral, elemental experience (56.9%, SMWS Society Cask, First Fill Spanish Oak Oloroso Cask, 507b) 7/10
The above triggers a twenty-minute discussion about profile change and conservation.
ben_whisky: "I didn't throw up."
Dram #35 (cosinus)
Lovely dry earth and oily nuts. Others find a lot of peat -- they are clearly drunk.
Comment: a UFO that makes me think of the Wire Works that we had recently. Very interesting.
Hellyers Road 6yo New Vibrations (70.1%, OB for La Maison du Whisky, American Oak, C#16315.10) 7/10
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| Perhaps cosinus is a bit too enthusiastic about his own bottle... |
elskling decides we cannot finish on "that thing [that] should not be in the line-up."
Dram #36 (elskling)
Nose: some earth, sea dredging, and slowly-decaying blueberries.
Mouth: fresh, sweet, fruity. Blueberries, raspberries, and some concrete dust. An unexpected combination, but it works.
Finish: dark and fruity, long and wide, this has crunchy peach and smoked blueberries, with a spoonful of greasy earth.
Comment: this is amazing. Love it. Who would have thought this distillery could produce anything good, eh?
Bowmore 26yo 1995/2021 (50.4%, The Nectar 15 Years The Nectar) 9/10
Good to see some friends for the first time in ages, and meet others for the first time full stop. It is always useful to put a face on a name you know from online.
It was a few more drams (and different alcohols) than I am usually comfortable with (no sore head in the morning, mind), and the pace was a tad frenetic for me. Regardless, good times were had.
Longmorn 11yo 2008/2019 (57.9%, A.D.Rattray From the Cask hand bottled exclusively for A Whisky Lover, Bourbon Hogshead, C#800349) (tOMoH): distilled in the year of the Beijing Olympics. It makes the same impression as in February -- a young, fiery, if promising dram, with a citrus-y quality to it. In fact, I like it better today. Breathing time, or sequence? Who knows! 7/10
Invergordon 43yo 1972/2016 (49.3%, A.D. Rattray The Whisky Angel, C#38) (tOMoH): distilled in another 'lympics year, in Munich, to be precise. Wonderful whisky. An explosion of blackcurrant sweets, and a faint note of carbonised rubber. It also has watercolour tubes and plasticine, today. Full notes are here. 8/10
Glen Grant 32yo 1976/2009 (50%, Douglas Laing The Old Malt Cask 50°, Sherry Cask, C#DL REF 5034, 266b) (tOMoH): yet another Olympics year (in Montreal). "We are shifting gears," says OB. It is prunes, dried figs and peach juice, with just a nuance of shoe polish. I reckon it benefitted from breathing in the sample, yet JS still finds it leathery and shoe-polish-y. On the late tip, I detect camphor and liquorice-flavoured syrup. It is elegant, with a lick of leather, yet mostly dried fruits. Lovely drop. Full notes here. 8/10
Royal Brackla 30yo 1984/2015 (54.1%, Cadenhead Single Cask, Bourbon Hogshead, 192b, 15/120) (OB): the label on this has the same shiny colour as the gold medals awarded to Olympic champions. It was also distilled in a 'lympics year (Los Angeles). Nose: citrus-y, leafy and leathery all at once. It has mosses growing on branches, peach skins wrapped in blond-tobacco smoke, then pomelo and lime peels, still basking in that same tobacco smoke. Shallow-fried rice (OB), or pilau rice before adding any water to the karahi. In truth, that is saying the same with more complicated words. Mouth: a soft bitterness of cough lozenges, or black crayons, a drop of ink, perhaps, and dried apricots to balance it out with something sweeter. It is a little rubbery too -- in a good way, with chewy aniseed, or faded liquorice bootlaces. Finish: long and pleasant, still citrus-y, with a minute bitterness that morphs into the minty freshness of a nice toothpaste. On the late tip, peaches and apricots re-appear, discreet as a shy kid (a dream concept). They are kept in a container with a rubber seal. The gums sparkle in the same way they would after chewing on ginger. We had this in 2015. I liked it then, and I like it even more today. 9/10
Clynelish 24yo 1995/2019 N°20-1bis (58%, Signatory Vintage exclusively bottled for La Maison du Whisky 20 Rue d'Anjou, Refill Sherry Butt, C#2158, 574b) (OB): a bottling for La Maison du Whisky, a famous establishment in Paris, where this year's 'lympics take place. Nose: pow! This is quite the punch in the nose. Once past the high strength, we find smoked apricots and candlewax (how surprising!) It has a sprinkle of red-chilli powder -- unless it is chopped fresh red chilli, waxy and crunchy. Deeper nosing reveals a crumbly beef-stock cube and more wax. Mouth: inky, waxy, if one accepts that candlewax can be inky. It is filled to the brim with camphor, liquorice syrup and tar-black honey, and it is coating like candlewax (from a black candle, then). Finish: a little softer than it was on the palate, the finish is also sweeter, which reinforces that impression of dark honey. It retains a creamy-earthy freshness of liquorice, without as much bitterness. Blackberry jelly, perhaps, blackcurrant cough lozenges, and liquorice-root shavings. Excellent. This reminds me of the TWA bottling we had at Cobbler. 8/10
Ben Nevis 24yo 1996/202 (52.1%, Berry Bros. & Rudd exclusive to Royal Mile Whiskies, Refill Sherry Butt, C#1196) (tOMoH): 1996, the year 'Olympics went to Atlanta. Nose: the Ben Nevis funk is limited to a clear earthiness, pushing the boundaries of farm-y. That morphs into a septic tank, yet, what sticks out is tropical fruit (khaki, papaya, guava). It is funkier on the tongue, yet still fruity, perhaps cured fruits, now. Full notes here. 8/10
North Port 23yo 1971/1995 (54.7%, OB Rare Malts Selection) (tOMoH): JS reminds us that this year's 'lympics were prefaced by arsonist attacks on trains and tracks, which forced Brits who wanted to attend to drive to the ferry and land via France's North Ports. In addition, this could be the antithesis to Southport, a town near Liverpool where they had riots on 30th July, during the same Paris Olympics. It is mineral as I remembered it, but also very fruity, a combination of flint and cut calamansi, or even grapefruits. The quarry dust and ground citrus zest that remain in the gob in the finish are really something. Another wonderful RMS, sadly now empty. Full notes here. 8/10
