29/01/2022 Burns Night 2022 -- Man to Man (Part2)

Continuing on from Part 1.

The soundtrack:

Crikey! Another broken cork!

The Old Man of Hoy 10yo b.1995 (43%, Blackadder International, 95/2319) (adc): the bottle code suggests it was bottled by Signatory for Blackadder, while the golden stopper foil hints at Cadenhead instead. Nose: amazingly bold, this has scorched earth, heather roots, smoked lavender and parched soil. This is soooooo earthy! Later on, some glue comes up too -- carpet glue, to be precise. The second nose is all about stone chippings and ground pepper, glazed in honey. Mouth: soft, driven by honey, this has a lick of acidity, alongside citrus zest and liquorice shavings. Finish: long, assertive, if not bold, it has a bit of smoke, a lot of earth and then some honey. This is excellent! 8/10

Psycho marvels at Blackadder's bottling a whisky for this blog, seventeen years before it existed. A long explanation ensues of what the Old Man of Hoy is (a sea stack in Scotland) and why my blog is called the Old Man of Huy (I am an old man, I am from Huy, I drink whisky and I like bad puns). Despite adc's and my efforts, he never seems to register. adc goes to bed, exhausted by the exchange.

Next is Bishlouk with a vi Clinchelish di Hu worthy of EG's Macallan 1962 or kruuk2's Varran Malt.

Bishlouk: "C'est du vieux gaélique wallon."
vî = old
clinche = incapable
clinchelish is a contraction of clinche and Clynelish
di = of
Hu = Huy

26.137 8yo d.2011 Chasing chameleons (58.6%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 244b) (Bishlouk): nose: oooh! This is remarkably fresh, full of metal and cut fruit (apples), perhaps a bit of musk (or is that autosuggestion because I know the distillery?) It feels quite close to the gel-like paste in a Mentos. Mouth: a soft woody bitterness takes off (hazel), as does a growing spicy heat that serves lemongrass stalks all round. Apricot develops; so does the bitterness of apricot stone. Finish: big, mentholated, fresh and quite woody. This tastes a lot older than it actually is. It has a soft note of cork, in the end, though not in a bad way. 8/10

Gaija demonstrates his fencing skills
on a second cake, because, let us face it, one is a pittance

Glendalough Calvados XO (42%, OB Single Cask, French Oak Calvados Cask Finish, C#RC1232, 700b, b#022) (ruckus): nose: astonishingly marked by the Calvados. It is so pronounced it seems closer to that eau-de-vie than to whisky. Apple and metal, before lichen rocks up, hand in hand with verdigris. It is very much an apple eau-de-vie that smells a bit like a grain whisky. Mouth: soft, almost weak... for a second: it quickly grows back to stand up on its own feet, and has cider brandy oozing through every pore. It has a clear sweetness, but also a fruity-woody structure. In the long run, the sweetness becomes significantly more assertive. Finish: apples and nuts, with just as much sweetness as nuttiness. The sweetness ends up being a bit much, in the long run, but this is a more-than-decent drop all the same. 7/10

Not content with arriving two hours late, Bishlouk and STL have to leave early: like Cinderella, the Mogwai, they must not be out after midnight o'clock. They try the Bunnahabhain and the Ardbeg out of sequence (and out of time) before departing. A shame too: they will miss some spectacular drams.

The cork may not break, but
it needs to be replaced, as
the level hints at

The Cally 40yo 1974/2015 (53.3%, OB, 5060b, b#3642) (group): nose: nose: phwoar! Pine cones, pine sap, furniture polish, tins of toffee, then blackcurrant Lots of blackcurrant. Invergordon levels of blackcurrant. Mouth: one for the sweet teeth of the whisky world, without a doubt. It is very sweet indeed, even if it does not lack in the metallic and herbaceous departments, which is to say the taste buds detect a clear bitterness. The berries soon come back, blackcurrants or blackberries. Finish: long and sweet, it has raw shortbread dough, blackcurrant turnovers, berries-stuffed waffles and all sorts of pastries. This is magnificent, better even than I remembered it. 9/10

There is a piper on the label

ruckus: "'Kali' means 'black' in Hindi."
tOMoH: "In Greek, it means 'good'. 'Kalymera for 'good morning,' 'kalyspera' for 'good evening,' 'kaly aurexi' for 'bon appétit,' 'Kaly Ma Shakti De' for 'good death, little prick'...

dom666 struggled to find a bottle with the picture of a man on it, and resorted to the poor man's solution of going for an officially-bottled Bunna. He only has one. Considering it is one of the top Bunnas, we are tremendously disappointed -- not. He tells everyone how he received it for a birthday and laments that time is not standing still.

tOMoH [to dom666]: "You did not celebrate your birthday in 2020 or 2021, so you are still [the age you were in 2019]."
dom666: "As you wish. My body will probably tell me to go fuck myself..."
Psycho: "Ah! Your body is finally in agreement with us!"

Dear reader, you may remember that dom666 and his proverbial delicate dexterity broke the cork when he first opened the bottle.

Bunnahabhain 16yo b.2007 (54%, OB Limited Edition for Feis Ile 2007, Oloroso Sherry Cask, C#276, 190b) (dom666): nose: phwoar! This is another earthy number, with a clear walk through a damp cellar; rancio through and through. There are some berries and lichen growing on an old leather sofa too. It does not stay there, though: it has pastry and baked plums as well. Still, the earth is never far. Mouth: cola and greasy, greasy soil and coffee. It is sweet and bone-dry at the same time, which is quite impressive. Imagine an earthy cola. It may read off, but it works perfectly. Finish: ooft! This is so dry, tonight. It is akin to munching a fistful of desert dirt, washed down with Chinotto or flat cola. It really is a masterpiece. 9/10

Gaija [referring to 135.11]: "C'est du dégueulasse flamboyant!"

We move to the sofas and stoke the fire. ruckus is trainspotting.

ruckus: "Nena?"
tOMoH: "Yes, but not alone. She is joined by one of the nicest creatures of all time."
ruckus: "Demis Roussos?"

I thought we would have tons of Chieftain's
but it is only now we have our first -- and last.

Caol Ila 10yo 1996/2007 (46%, Ian Macleod Distillers Chieftain's, Rum Finish, C#90361/90366, 2016b) (ruckus): nose: this one has a chiselled peaty profile, with peat bogs over a hard bedrock, but also a lot of citrus. Lemon juice, granite. Soon, dried-mud cakes appear, so do dried algae. It becomes rather petrolic, with oil-tainted sands and oil spills. Mouth: lots of mud, then fishing nets, followed by a very unexpected fruitiness. Peaches, sweetened jams and cold apricot compote. Finish: there is a lot of fruit, here -- smoked peaches (and I mean heavily smoked). It has peach slices in buckets of soot, char, embers, and it even tips over to ashes. 8/10

dom666: "I did not finish a dram only twice."
tOMoH: "Only twice has dom666 not finished a dram. One I do not recall; the other one was my Tamdhu in the Dun Bheaghan range. You dumped it in sonicvince's planters. As you can see, I still have not swallowed it."
dom666: "Well, neither have I."

Ardbeg 15yo 1990/2006 (58.6%, Taste Still Selection, C#2900, 271b) (dom666): dom666 cheated for this one. He broke the cork and replaced it before travelling here, saving himself the embarrassment of doing it in front of us all. Nose: stagnant water, silt, peat bogs, but then also a much dryer side, with scorched earth, burning hay and ink -- oh! it is subtle, mind. The very back of the nose is full of ashes and burnt-paper dust. Mouth: hot, it has lemongrass, ginger, burning hay and a lot of peat. In the long run, it develops a note of strawberry to complement the peat. That berry sweetness grows with time, which is great. It almost overshadows the fierce burning hay -- almost. Finish: big, hot, a bit rough, honestly. This finish sees a lot of dry peat, now, smoked-clam shells and farm paths. Eventually, the berries extend to the finish, although they are very much scorched berries. This does not work that well for me, tonight. 6/10

Psycho: "Being dead is like being stupid: it is more painful for others."

dom666: "Knowing that homo sapiens all have African ancestors..."
tOMoH: "No, no, no. I am hetero sapiens, so it does not concern me."

Gaija calls it quits and goes to bed. The lightweight. Time to pull out the good stuff. JS, dom666, ruckus, Psycho and I have this staple:

Port Charlotte 14yo 2002/2017 (60.1%, The Creative Whisky Company The Exclusive Malts, Sherry Hogshead, C#1140, 228b) (group): it is strong, earthy, root-y and surprisingly sweet, tonight, cola-like. The width and power are simply flabbergasting. This remains a killer. 9/10

Psycho [about his martial arts prowess]: "Even when I shut my mouth, I get bullied. The sensei take liberties with me that they would not with others."
dom666: "Of course, battering the six-year-olds in your class would be frowned upon..."

We hang up the gloves just after 6:00.

Dram of the day:

Psycho: Ardbeg
adc: Glenmorangie Cellar 13, Tomatin for La Confrérie, The Old Man of Hoy
ruckus: Glenmorangie 1963, Glenmorangie Cellar 13, The Cally
dom666: Glenmorangie 1963, Tomatin 43yo
JS: Glenmorangie 1963
Gaija: Glenmorangie 1963, The Cally
tOMoH: Glenmorangie 1963

24/12/2015 Christmas Eve drams

Pretty self explanatory, would you not say?

Tomatin 25yo 1989/2015 (51.9%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, Bourbon Hogshead, 204b): nose: some alcohol, some grapes -- it is really rather discreet, believe it or not. Some fruit comes out after several minutes (pears) and nail varnish, alongside walnut flesh. With water, it becomes rhubarb tart or compote. Mouth: lively and peppery, spicy, with hot chilli and a light bitterness. Water gives it a bakery feel, not unlike apricot turnover. Finish: milk chocolate first, then some fruit, mostly unripe. It is a bit green, this. With water, it becomes more mello, with notes of apricot turnover again. Alright; I cannot say I am very impressed. 6/10 (thanks SW for the sample)

Old Man of Hoy 12yo (43%, Blackadder, C#2001/H05 385-R-OM-43 / 343-R-OM): all that gibberish hints at a Highland Park bottled in 2001, does it not? Nose: leather, liquorice, oxtail broth, earth, gravel under the rain (adc) and even some sulphur, after a minute. Mouth: consistent with the nose -- liquorice and dry earth. It has the zing of liquorice allsorts, or those black, flat-cable-shaped sweets, while remaining gentle and smooth, with a hint of blackcurrant and prunes. Finish: more oxtail broth with lots and lots of liquorice and stewed prunes. 6/10 (thanks adc for the dram)

26/07/2014 Whiskaholics anonymous

Dear reader, are you wondering why I cut out faces from my pictures and why I do not disclose real names unless they are already public elsewhere? Easy: I never ask permission to take pictures or upload them. Some of my friend do not want to appear online, so everyone gets the same treatment. Ha! Now that has been cleared up, let us have a couple of anonymous drams -- drams from undisclosed distilleries, that is.

Mar Lodge 12yo 43%: nose: strong nose that gives scents of marmalade, stone fruits (peach, nectarines) and quince. It could very well be a quince-jelly croissant, as there is some bakery quality to it. In any case, I like it. In the back of the nose, dust and cardboard, which suggests it is a rather old bottling. White-plum waffle is the last thing that emerges. Mouth: medium body, more marmalade, then honey. The whole is well balanced and quite pleasant indeed. Finish: slightly bitter, with more notes of jam and marmalade, as well as old books, now. A pinch of tarragon too. Orange becomes prominent after a while. Not a spectacular malt by any means, yet an agreeable dram. My guess is it is from Speyside.

Old Man Of Hoy 10yo C#2003/HO8 55%: let us overlook the fact Mr. Tucek misspelt my name (it is Huy, not Hoy). This one is easier to guess, or at least to narrow down: only two active distilleries on Orkney; the cask number hints at the most famous too. Let us see... Nose: yes, it is a HP. Drying meat, mild peat smoke, yet instead of the traditional heather, this one reeks of forsythia branches on a fire. It gains some freshness from breathing a bit, but it never becomes tame, this one! Mouth: hot and spicy, though velvety at the same time -- sweet, even. Did I pour myself some souped-up Kashmir curry paste by mistake? Honey, sliced almonds and crushed cardamom pods. Finish: hot again, with ash, embers, spent garden fire, peat smoke and that honey again with an additional pinch of cardamom. A rather fiery HP, really. Wild and uncompromising. So wild I did not even think to add water. :-/