16/05/2026 Slag heaps of the Black Country

GD and ydc are hosting this one, and they intend to celebrate their corner of the world with the theme. They went all in with invitations in local dialect, themed t-shirts, badges, stickers and other promotional items.

GD's tee

Tèje tu Boyard!

ydc's tee

sonicvince, Bishlouk, dom666, Psycho and I join GD and ydc for an afternoon of fun.

And work.

As I ask for a pen and warn that I may need a sheet of paper, at some point:

GD: "An Englishman without paper."
dom666: "That's called a clandestine."

GD opens the dance: a gin produced in Charleroi. It is called 972, which is the depth (in metres) of the deepest pit of the Martinet site.

MF-M-NC 972 Cuvée 2020 (42%, LaM-U, 3000b, b#0053) (GD)

Nose: hay, lime zest and parsley-topped goat's cheese. sonicvince has cloves and Granny Smith apples, while I find green peppercorns.
Mouth: it is very citrus-y on the palate. Acidic lime.
Finish: creamy, custardy, even, it has lots of lime zest again. GD detects black pepper, which, ydc points out, is wild. Wild black pepper. It also has génépi, though much less syrupy, naturally, more gin épais (boom-tsch).
Comment: this may be my favourite gin to-date. The acronyms mean Monceau-Fontaine, Marcinelle, Nord Charleroi and La Manufacture Urbaine respectively.
Score: 8/10

tOMoH notes that mines (coal mines are the reason this is called the Black Country) have pits. Here is a Pit-tyvaich.

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

Nose: wet sands, vanilla (sonicvince). It is acidic, then soft (sonicvince), with dried fruits (Psycho) and apricot (ydc).
Finish: liquorice (ydc).
Comment: full notes here. I am pleased that it is very successful, today. This group's experience with Pittyvaich was, so far, limited to one or two d.1993 by Gordon & MacPhail, and those have been less appealing.
Score: 8/10

Two kinds of dried sausage
Ossau Iraty
Homemade savoury cake

Psycho: "Are you saying I should inject alcohol with a syringe?"
dom666: "Do what you want with your own body."
ydc: "Impossible. He cannot stand needles."
tOMoH: "Psycho will never be pictured in a pine forest."
sonicvince: "I'm not a fan either."
Bishlouk: "You don't like pine trees?"
tOMoH: "That horrible smell of freshness..."

Psycho plays dyslexic and presents a Black-nod.

Bladnoch 1987/1999 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice) (Psycho)

Nose: pears (sonicvince), daisy stems (Bishlouk), flowery and vegetal (Bishlouk), Littlemillian (Bishlouk). It has wet pebbles (sonicvince) and apricots (Psycho). It is fruity, light and ethereal.
Mouth: pear and frangipane (sonicvince), though that is fleeting and turns medicinal (sonicvince). ydc finds elderberry. The dilution is noticeable, but tolerable.
Finish: fruits and wood. Here are balsa and dried pineapple. It kicks harder than expected too.
Comment: we had not had this in many years. Time in an open bottle seems to have improved it and turned it into a lovely, fruity drop. Bishlouk seems impressed. That happens rarely enough to mention.
Score: 8/10

tOMoH: "GD, you were showing dom666 your glass collection, earlier. Dangerous."
GD: "No, we don't have the same criteria."
tOMoH: "What's dangerous is not that he would steal them, but that he talks about his collection for three hours."

Psycho tells us that slag heaps are nothing but little mounds. A mound, he continues, is a high land. This Glenmorangie is from the Highlands. Groan.

Glenmorangie 12yo The Lasanta (43%, OB imported by MHCS, Bourbon & Sherry Casks) (Psycho)

Nose: syrupy, it has distant toasted cereals, then cinnamon rolls, Cured blush orange segments and dried pine cones. There is a whiff of apple in the second nose.
Mouth: soft, this is very syrupy. A syrup with a mineral side, mind. Then, we pick up dried coconut flakes cured in wine.
Finish: blackberry drops and blackcurrants. Chewy for a while, it leaves the same impression as a chalky paste on the palate. The second gulp brings a thick custard.
Comment: honest drop that grows on me.
Score: 7/10

Smoking in the sun

dom666: "LVMH and their handbags made in China..."
tOMoH: "What is not made in China, these days?"
Psycho: "Me. I was not made in China."
Bishlouk: "I can see that. You're losing oil."

sonicvince brought a bottling from the Mission Gold collection, because coal in Charleroi used to be the local gold.

Bishlouk likes Fabrizio from Charleroi, who talks about 'kete' a lot (Walloon for 'cock'), so he brought a Glen Keith.

With exactly zero surprise, that leads to this timeless masterpiece of Belgian television, with GD performing the choreography and all.

Since they are from the same distillery, we have them at the same time.

Glen Keith 32yo 1993/2025 (47.9%, Murray McDavid Mission Gold exclusively selected by The Whisky Mercenary, First-Fill Koval Bourbon Cask Finish, C#97174A, 140b) (sonicvince)

Nose: hyper-fruity sweets, mint (sonicvince). It gains a certain herbaceous note, indeed mint. Starburst/Opal fruits/Sugus (depending on where in the world you are), pineapple drops. There are fleeting glimpses of gelatine capsules, followed by candied angelica.
Mouth: more fruits, here, but it is actually pretty mineral. The second sip has bitter fruits, perhaps carambola with a dusting of crushed Aspirin.
Finish: quarry chippings sprayed onto vanilla custard augmented with cut apricot. The second gulp brings forth poached apples and Doyenné du Comice pears.
Comment: amazeboulanger.
Score: 9/10

vs.

Glen Keith-Glenlivet 43yo 1973/2017 (43.2%, Cadenhead Single Cask, Bourbon Hogshead, 156b, 17/192) (Bishlouk)

Nose: hyper fruity too, at first, it soon picks up leather and hay. Then, it progresses towards sherbet and crushed peaches.
Mouth: closely related to the other one, this has peach yoghurt and a stronger bitterness. That evolves to give a leafy fruitiness -- kumquat foliage.
Finish: long, full of fruity sweets and a soft lick of woody bitterness. The second gulp brings clay floors and Turkish delights.
Comment: we tried this three years ago and thought it would improve in the open bottle. It did. What is amazing is that it does not crush its younger sibling.
Score: 9/10

dom666: "When I was younger, I listened to another good little band from Liège called Prïba 2000."
All: "Errr… They were from Charleroi!"
dom666: "Are you sure?"

Here is the evidence, dom666.

dom666: "Mine is a forty-year-old Strathisla at 48.3%."
tOMoH: "And the link to the theme?"
dom666: "No idea."

Strathisla 40yo 1967/2008 (48.6%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld, C#2716, 160b, b#98, 107 08/113) (dom666)

Nose: dusty (Psycho), herbaceous, close to a rye, which prompts dom666 to shout the link to the theme: "C'est comme un rye de coke!" (For those readers who are not aware of the Industrial Revolution, coke is a coal-based fuel that enabled ironworks.) It has a pinch of lemon thyme bathing in custard. Is that maracuja? It may well be! To follow that, we find a bite of marzipan and a dollop of shoe polish too.
Mouth: powerful (Bishlouk, not used to alcohol at more than 24%), it has a note of fruits immediately followed by smoky flavours: smoky roasted apples, tarts in a dusty boiler room.
Finish: strong coffee (sonicvince). I find it a tiny bitterness, almost mineral.
Comment: this is incredible. dom666 opened it, ahem, almost eighteen years ago, which prompted me to procure my own bottle, which we opened ten years later. It remains a killery. Notes here.
Score: 9/10

dom666 [about Dune]: "Nice images, but -- pffft! Long and slow."
Bishlouk: "So are the books."
dom666: "The books you can put down and do something else."
Bishlouk: "You can press pause on a film..."
dom666: "At the cinema, it is difficult."
Bishlouk: "There is an interval. You can go take a wee."
dom666: "The interval is a year between films."
tOMoH: "You can take a long wee."
dom666: "Great for you, that!"

dom666 [about Gotlib]: "The second genius of comic strips."
Psycho: "After Léonard?"
tOMoH: "That's a character, not an author."
dom666: "Léonard... He was a lumberjack. Car c'est en sciant que Léonard devint scie."
tOMoH: "You are quoting Psycho in his presence."
dom666: "No, I read that elsewhere."
Bishlouk: "In the bingos, it is definitely in the Psycho bingo!"

ydc introduces Old Black Cane, a nod to the Black Country.

Bologne Old Black Cane (45%, OB, b. ca. 2025) (ydc)

Nose: plastic pipes and herbs. Rum baba, baked pineapple rings.
Mouth: rum-y, it has metal, melted plastic and sugar. All of them are rather discreet.
Finish: cane sugar, black garlic. It has that charred-garlic bitterness, yet it is also pretty juicy, somehow.
Comment: nothing could have followed that Strathisla. A rum is the perfect solution: so different it resets the palate. This one is good to boot.
Score: 7/10

tOMoH: "dom666 and Bishlouk both like Talisker, neither likes cucumber tart... Clearly, they're the same person. They have no hair, they wear glasses, they both live in Liège..."
Bishlouk: "We have no hair..."
tOMoH: "Neither listens..."

We move to the dining table. ydc and GD made Nasi Goreng. I worry that the spices will impair our taste buds, but it is perfectly balanced. And delicious.

We discover that dom666 has never had Nasi Goreng.

tOMoH: "I don't know how it is in Charleroi, but in Liège, it's like this: Belgians of Italian descent discover after they're forty that Belgium also has Chinese restaurants. All they know is the Italian ones. dom666 is not an isolated case."
dom666: "This isn't Chinese. It's Indonesian. I know Chinese restaurants in Liège. There is one rue Aaa, there is a Thai rue Bbb, a Viet-Namese rue Ccc…"
Bishlouk: "There is also one rue Ddd."
dom666: "There is also a good pizzeria in rue Ddd."
Bishlouk: "It's not as good as the one rue Eee."
tOMoH: "Unbelievable. We do a Charleroi tasting in Charleroi, and those two only talk about Liège!"

We talk about fried food.

tOMoH: "The Chinese have no lesson to take from anyone, when it comes to fried food. The best fried spiders I've had were from a Chinese restaurant."
dom666: "Have you had them from many other places?"
tOMoH: "No. That's the joke."
dom666: "I know."

Dessert is served. rhubarb tart and rice tart, and apple turnovers for Psycho, which he will not share.

Rhubarb and sugar tart

Rice tart

Bishlouk tells us that Ben Nevis, the United Kingdom's tallest mountain, is but a large slag heap in Scotland.

Ben Nevis 15yo 2010/2025 (56.9%, Liquid-Treasures bottled for Espirits Whisky, Bourbon Hogshead) (Bishlouk)

Nose: fish (sonicvince), dusty hot metal, hydrocarbons (Bishlouk). It smells industrial (Bishlouk) or farm-y, with horse's dung (GD). I find horse's hair and lots of oxydised and dusty metal. Apple and quince come out in the long run, while Bishlouk finds peat.
Mouth: it is peaty alright! Crushed peach stones and decaying fruits provide backing vocals. It has a bitter lick of tree bark, though peach custard rises a bit, timid.
Finish: peat and hot metal, and the bitterness associated with the latter. Sea spray (ydc), lots of hay, a handful of horse's hair and Mokatine, maybe. Mocha is bitter after all, is it not?
Comment: another one that will likely improve in the open bottle. It is promising, but a bit unruly, as it stands.
Score: 7/10

Les Gayettes
A special kind of local truffles

sonicvince shows us a whisky distilled in 1987 and explains that the 1980s were the golden age of socialism in Charleroi.

Tomatin 27yo 1987/2014 (46.3%, Morrison & Mackay Càrn Mòr Celebration of the Cask imported by The Stillman's, Hogshead, C#495, 187b, b#10) (sonicvince)

Nose: berries jelly to me, though sonicvince detects a touch of sulphur.
Mouth: unctuous and ripe with berries.
Finish: lemon zest (ydc), lemon pith (ydc), astringent (Bishlouk).
Comment: full notes here. Long discussion about Bishlouk's impressions -- he calls this not horrible and the previous not bad. ydc cannot figure out if one is better than the other, or if Bishlouk is simply difficult. We all know the answer to that, do we not?
Score: 8/10

Second serve

dom666 brought a peaty whisky and tells us that peat is nothing but wet coal.

Ardbeg 30yo (40%, OB, LS67462) (dom666)

Nose: lichens, an elegant vegetal peat, ashes, dried algae stuck to the side of an empty vase, sphagnum moss.
Mouth: ashes, smoked currants. One can feel the dilution a bit, and that pushes algae, sphagnum moss and dried ferns to the fore.
Finish: an onslaught of dried algae and lichens, stagnant water, empty vases. It leaves an extremely-dusty mouthfeel, bitter and ashy.
Comment: unique profile, especially in the world of ancient Ardbeg. I like it.
Score: 8/10

tOMoH unveils a Laphroaig, famously adorned by the seal of HRH the Prince of Wales, who favours Laphroaig. Naturally, Prince Charles was promoted, since this was bottled and became king. In French, one would say he is now Charles Roi. Check. Mate.

Laphroaig 28yo b.2018 (44.4%, OB Limited Edition, Quarter Casks + Bourbon Barrels + Sherry Butts) (tOMoH)

Comment: I take no notes for this today. It was a long day and time is running out. It is universally liked, which pleases me. Full notes here.
Score: 9/10

What a day. The amount of nonsense was epic. These notes do not show it, but the word of the day was clearly 'bite' ('dick'), to the point Bishlouk is henceforth known as Bite-louk. His final words are: "I don't know how many times we said 'dick', but I'm satisfied with the tally!"

An hourglass, a diabolo, or a butt plug, depending on whom you ask

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.

22/08/2025 Pittyvaich

Pittyvaich 14yo 1986/2001 (43%, Ian McLeod Chieftain's, Hogsheads, C#9519-22, 1074b, L1212BB 3 11 58): nose: it was not that way when I opened this bottle, a few months ago, but, today, it feels remarkably close to how I remember the James Macarthur bottling we had previously, which is to say wine-y and butyric, with fermented fruits macerating in cheap wine. The wine is then spilled on cardboard, and topped with sweaty Parmesan (the cheese, not a factory worker). That comes with a leather wineskin filled with red wine. It is a little game-y and leathery, as well as wine-y, even if we are not talking about sauce grand'veneur, here. It is more nuanced than that. It has dried apricots too, and, on the late tip, thick tulip petals. The second nose increases the fruits-on-cardboard note. Some of those fruits are dried, some are decaying, some were kept in a leather pouch. Deeper nosing puts the spotlight on plums and tulips, then warm, wet leather. In the long term, we have fresh dark grapes stored on a wooden shelf in a cellar. Mouth: porridge served in a leather pouch, splashed with red wine. Reads weird? It tastes it too. It is not unpleasant, mind; just unusual. A bit of chewing adds cured plums and lukewarm custard, rehydrated raisins, a dollop of shoe polish, butter cream, engine grease and an old, crackled leather jacket. The second sip welcomes more plums, fresh and cured, nectarines, peach slices, maybe even clementines. All those come both fresh and soaked in wine. If looking for them, one may find elderberry and lingonberry, and those would suggest wine, surely. Perhaps it has a pinch of cut grass too, though this is hardly a grassy number. Finish: it peddles the same raisins and cardboard in the finish too, with a splash of wine, naturally, all served in a recycled-cardboard cup. There is a sangria element to this, highlighted by the cardboard one inevitably finds where sangria is served, whether that is cardboard plates for the buffet, or cups for the drinks. Only, here, that cardboard is dusty. The second gulp adds discreet, overly-sweetened chocolate and a drop of berry liqueur. It is not Edel Tropfen by a long shot, yet it points in that direction. Repeated sipping introduces a spoonful of pineapple custard and a drop of mint filling such as the kind one finds usually in After Eight. An unconventional dram that may score higher in the right sequence. 7/10

HB ruckus!

15/03/2025 EG's birthday bash

EG is not one to celebrate his birthdays, but, for some (welcome) reason, he decided to do it, this year. He announces early on that this is (and I paraphrase) "no more than an informal meeting with a group of friends to try some interesting whiskies."

EG introduces us to the world of whisky

When that group of friends covers around ten nationalities and as many uprooted folk, it can perhaps be informal, but not casual! Amongst those in attendance, we count MW & Hk, KCF & EF, JKr, AH, CB, PG, JS, TM, NH, Ar, and a handful of EG's colleagues (Em, An, Cl, Da). NF makes a brief early appearance, then vanishes like a ghost at dawn. Ha! Ha!

First, let us fix the lighting

Local Mortadella (EG), and aged Gouda (Em) that most (tOMoH)
confuse for a mature Parmesan

Beside nibbles, EG has concocted a line-up of whiskies all distilled in the same year. As many whiskies, in fact, as years he has spent working in the industry. Several of us have known the energumen for all those years.

That's a lot of years, yo!

Glen Grant 5yo d.1985 (40%, OB, 1l): nose: light and spirit-y, it focusses on few things, and does them with precision. Pear and distant raspberry provide a little fruity entertainment. Mouth: soft, thin, pear-like, it also has a lemon-y perfume (JS). It remains precise, then, akin to limoncello, at times. Finish: clean, lemon-y, filled with limoncello. It even has almond cream in the long run. It is fairly simple, but a designated starter. We all agree it feels a lot bigger than 40%. 7/10

Glen Avon 5yo 1985/1990 (40%, Avonside Whisky Selected and Bottled Exclusively for P.A.I.S.S.A. imported by Sestante): many discussions and assertions about this. An undisclosed Glenfarclas, all reckon. In any case, it is the most-recent vintage bottled under this name. Nose: very plastic-y, with flexible rubber and cured meats, electric cables and wire insulation (jacket insulation), PVC ducting and plastic-doll heads. Mouth: pickled-pearl-onion brine, dusty cured meat, charred bits off a barbecue grill... Meaty? Yes, a little. Finish: spirit-y, if wider than the nose hinted at, it is somewhat chalky, then adds some roast beef, and a drop of brine. 7/10

S & E Wedding Reserve 1985/2021 (unknown ABV, Nadi Fiori): if you think that NF dropped off a one-off bottle before he buggered off, you are right. He made this blended malt exclusively for EG's wedding. Nose: warm wool with pearl onions in milk. Mouth: odd. Perhaps plastic? Old rubber? Finish: here, an unexpected note of liqueur chocolate rocks up. How original! Here is a dram that works better in large sips, by the way. 7/10

Strathmill 11yo 1985/1997 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Oak Cask, C#2342, 480b, b#196): nose: this is a step-up in quality, it seems. Orange bark, cassia bark, bitter orange liqueur and limestone gratings. The second nose welcomes pot-pourri. Mouth: it is quite woody on the tongue, with slabs of oak, yet it remains juicy to complement the mild bitterness. Finish: citrus-y, it has orange rinds and dried-up plasticine. A divisive dram, for some reason. Some say it is the best Strathmill they have had (the best of two, you understand), others care less for it. I like it a lot. 8/10

Bruichladdich 12yo 1985/1997 (46%, Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection): nose: very mineral, this is like granite torched with a flamethrower. It surprisingly progresses to give dried strawberries and dried peach slices. Mouth: CB finds it charred, whereas it is mellow and a tad mineral for JS. Strawberry yoghurt, cassia-bark shavings and eucalyptus bark. Finish: mellow again, it has a dash of orange juice and cassia bark. This is my favourite so far. 8/10

MW, KCF and EF meet outside of
a festival, for once -- or an airport!

JS [about the nibbles]: "That mortadella!..."
EG: "Do you want me to move it?"
PG, JS and tOMoH: "Put it away!"

PG [grabs the toolbox]: "Later, I'll come to your room to do some plumbing."

The Macallan 15yo d.1985 (43%, OB Greek import, Sherry Oak Casks): nose: it smells like a spectacular Pedro Ximénez maturation: sweet, bold, and darkly fruity. Prunes, dried figs, hazelnut paste. More and more smoked dried fruits come out, as does cured orange. Mouth: it is more mineral and drier here, and hints at a Fino. Oily roasted chestnuts, wine-cured lychees and green grapes. The second sip is earthier and drier, with quarry dust and tree bark. Finish: long, sticky as cough syrup, it has camphor and liquorice, but also sweet prunes and dried figs. 8/10

TM: "This group has had more-exclusive Macallans, single casks and all, but this really does the trick."

Pineapple cake, courtesy of KCF and EF

Yum!

EF shows tOMoH how to eat the cake like a local

Aultmore 14yo d.1985 (60.1%, Adelphi Distillery Limited imported by High Spirits, Sherry Cask, C#2900, 612b): nose: this is super-dry, chalky, overflowing with quarry dust. Grated limestone, and piles and piles of chalk. It certainly does not hide its provenance -- Aultmore tends to be chalky; this is but an extreme example. Mouth: PG finds sulphur, and, indeed, it has something of an old-school sulphur-y limestone fertiliser, were it heated. Just another side of chalky, really. Finish: burnt rubber (PG). I get none of that, but quicklime instead. Chalky and hot, and, if that reads repetitive, so be it. There are some flashes of pineapple, though that might be a remnant of those pineapple cakes from Taïwan. In any case, this stays hot on the palate for a long time. It is also the most-disliked dram today by everyone present. 6/10

TM: "The Aultmore smells shit, tastes good."

Emergency cork-removal skills required.
At least, we know it is not a fake!

EG goofs around with the next bottle, pretends to take a swig straight from the bottle, and ends with a generous sip of whisky in the gob, much to his uncomfortable surprise (and our amusement).

PG: "Can you pour it straight from your mouth [into mine]?"

Ord 10yo 1985/1995 (56.9%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection imported by Rossi & Rossi, Oak Cask): nose: ooft! We have a rich mix of minerals and fruits, with cut mango and pineapple rings served on slate. Granite chippings show up, and it appears at last that this is very strong. The second nose has cigarette smoke, grist, and a flour millstone. Mouth: phwoar! Papaya, tamarind, stewed jackfruit. After chewing, hot metal joins the dance (copper, brass). It is warm, but tolerable, despite the furious ABV (it is actually less strong than it feels). The second sip has cracked black pepper wrapped in ciggy smoke. Finish: long, full of smashed heated fruits. Smoke appears, in the long run, and it becomes quite the robust dram. 9/10

PG: "Proper dram for real people. [Grabs the toolbox] Now I can get some shit done!"

EG distributes vouchers to all.

KCF: "Give me ten, man!"

54.2 9yo 1985/1995 (58.2%, SMWS Society Cask): nose: leather grease, old leather coats that have just ben waterproofed again. Then, we move on to jams and marmalades slathered on hot boilers (dusty cast iron). Water makes it nuttier and woodier, with a stack of extremely-dry oak logs. Mouth: chicory infusion... and quite some power! This is hot, from a time before the Society discovered water. Hazelnut spread, almond butter, chestnut purée. The desiccating second sip sucks all moisture. Water renders it sharper and more chiselled, almost grappa-like, so sharp it is. Finish: hot, dusty metal mingles with hazelnut and almond spread, perhaps chocolate, and chestnut purée again. The hot metal is incisive, though. Very bold. It is all darker and warmer at second sip, chocolate-coulis galore. Water brings out grapes and keeps it sharp. 7/10

Pittyvaich-Glenlivet 15yo 1985/2000 (59.1% Cadenhead Authentic Collection imported by Arnolfini Trading, Bourbon Hogshead, 240b): nose: initially very briny, it turns into roast beef and crushed sand. With time, it is geranium stems, and, slowly, earth and potting soil, augmented with cork shavings. Mouth: hot tomato sauce, musk (JS). This has meaty elements -- cold gravy, mortadella, -- and retains the cardboard. Finish: it turns hot again, earthy, flowers trampled into mud. 7/10

CB: "This is a technical whisky."
PG: "One of my top-100 Pittyvaich."

tOMoH [to AH]: "I didn't realise you were a big The Cure fan. JS told me: 'Are you kidding? He's rocking a Siouxie and the Banshee t-shirt!'"
AH: "It's Suze. My Cure t-shirt is wrapped around [a bottle of] olive oil I just bought."

Glenlivet 10yo 1985/1996 (57.9%, Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection Cask Strength imported by Rossi & Rossi, Sherry Hogshead, C#19.765, 271b): nose: dry polished wood (AH), a bold Sherry cask indeed, but one that brings one a lot of squashed fruits (figs, dates), and a bit of earth too. Mouth: thick, rich, Sherry-matured whisky that exhibits raisins, prunes, and figs. It is thick, coating, rich, and fairly strong too. Last to strike are heated lychee shavings. Finish: dark fruit, stewed, juicy, lovely. The second gulp brings cured lychee too. This is very good. 8/10

We pick up the pace for the final couple, which makes for scrambled notes.

Glen Garioch 16yo 1985/2001 (51.9%, OB Individual Cask Bottling for The Whisky Exchange, Sherry Butt, C#1585): nose: lavender (EG). There is some, as well as sultanas, raisins and violet candy (I am not talking about Parma Violet, but the superior Continental variation; Verquin's, for example). Mouth: oh! This is so full of hard-boiled violet sweets it is hilarious. Of course, everybody hates it. Everybody but me -- I like it. :) Finish: dirty earth and a lot of violet sweets. So much violet it is extremely entertaining. 8/10

Bowmore 16yo 1985/2001 (50%, Silver Seal Special Reserve, Sherry Cask, 480b): nose: a notch of peat and mud make way for a roasted-nut paste. We then have faint shoe polish and distant pot flowers. Mouth: mellow and earthy at first, shoe polish develops, spread onto the softest leather. Flowers are nowhere to be found, here. Finish: earth-soaked violet sweets -- and the earth is certainly easier to spot than the violet. Later on, hazelnut spread becomes more and more obvious. I try this on the spot, later on in the evening, and again the following morning and love it each time. 8/10

PG: "The Garioch is more 1980s Bowmore than the 1985 Bowmore!"

Ar: "The best thing about the Bowmore is that it was not the Glen Garioch."

Bodegas del Mundo Nuevo 40yo (84 Proof, OB imported by Schroeder Bros.)
Em brought this Brandy de Jérez.
I will never get around to trying it.