24/01/2026 Burns' Night 2026 -- Nautical but Nice (Part 1)

adc, JS, dom666, ruckus, kruuk2, Psycho, sonicvince, Mrs. sonic, Bishlouk, STL, red71, Gaija and newcomer CG join tOMoH for this yearly feast. Guests arrive from 16:15 or so, a few at a time until 19:30ish.

Since we need a critical mass before we start pouring drams, and since that takes a while, I start composing the line-up. To help wait, Bishlouk pours a gentle gob-wetter: George T. Stagg 17yo 1993/2010 (69.05%, OB Barrel Proof). You read the ABV correctly. Eager to not burn my throat before the party even starts, I skip it; my notes are here.

As for nibbles, red71 brought his traditional canelés.

They do not last long

The soundtrack: the Old Man of Huy - Nautical but Nice

It is a long line-up, for a change. Notes will be scant, busy as I am enjoying the company.

Three bottles are missing from this first half, believe it or not

Now that the line-up is built (pending the contributions of sonicvince, Gaija and CG, who have not yet arrived), JS pulls out a rabbit from her hat as an apéritif. Well, it is a marlin, really, even if many will insist on calling it a swordfish ('espadon', in French).

Or 'espadom', as it will forever be remembered

Suntory Blue Marlin Decanter (43%, Suntory The Suntory Marine Collection) (JS)

Nose: toffee and dusty cardboard, Scottish tablet, then a pinch of lime zest.
Mouth: more toffee, accompanied by more and more lime zest as time goes by. It gives crusty-cake vibes, eventually.
Finish: lime zest and toffee.
Comment: nothing extraordinary (the attraction is clearly the decanter more than the liquid), but it is a pleasant starter, we all agree. 7/10

About the marlin, the fact it is ceramic (it is actually porcelain, ruckus tells us) and the pristine state of the cork.

Psycho: "It's a bamboo cork."

Mrs. sonic is treated to an Irn Bru

kruuk2: "Is this the twentieth Burns' Night?"
tOMoH: "Thereabout. We started in 2004, did not have it in 2005 or 2021. Most of the other years, if not all, yes." [That makes this the twenty-first edition]
kruuk2: "Google Photos pings the memories each year; you can see the early ones; you can see our faces. And..."
ruckus: "What!? What!?"
[Yes, we look younger in the pictures.]

kruuk2's watch

Starter enters

Courgette, leek and chickpea soup

Speaking of kruuk2, he is on next. He has a whole presentation with music and all. Instead of trying to paraphrase it, here it is:

tOMoH: "The party can now start and it is a successful party already!"
Bishlouk: "adc, finish your plate: you may go to bed!"

Glengoyne 12yo (43%, OB imported by Ian McLeod European Office, 100/0000273/16) (kruuk2)

Nose: lemon drizzle and torrents of vanilla. It then unveils crushed almonds.
Mouth: butterscotch, a lick of caramel and lemon curd in a cake -- or buttery cherimoya.
Finish: lovely butterscotch, lemon drizzle, warm flan.
Comment: again, nothing legendary, but it does the job perfectly. 7/10

adc: "I'll get the soup plates."
tOMoH: "Three of us are still eating. STL is enjoying it, dom666 is too busy talking about his Talisker mug to eat faster and I..."
adc [to dom666]: "You have a Talisker mug?"

Gaija arrives with a cardboard crate.

tOMoH: "Oufti! Il a pris une caisse."
Bishlouk:"Il vaut mieux prendre une caisse qu'en larguer une!"

[I shall not translate]

Bishlouk has us picture a beautiful ship with a wooden hull and its three masts, here represented by a wooden plinth and three bottles. He tells us they belonged to a restaurant in the 1990s and were forgotten in a cellar for a long period.

Classy, eh?

The Balvenie 10yo (40%, OB imported by C.V. SCS S.C., LF7032 2901 CSC6, b.1990s) (Bishlouk)

Nose: marzipan (dom666), sponge cake, moist apple cake with poppy seeds.
Mouth: soft, it has flan and caramel, vanilla extract.
Finish: this still has bite for a whisky that has sat thirty years in an almost-empty bottle. A summer's afternoon, says ruckus.
Comment: we continue with the unchallenging-yet-very-pleasant drams. 7/10

dom666: "You always have the last word with the ladies, don't you? 'Yes, darling.'"

The Balvenie 12yo DoubleWood (40%, OB impored by C.V. MCS S.C., Sherry Cask Finish, LF7104 1303 CSC6, b.1990s) (Bishlouk)

Nose: richer and wider, it has a drop of wine, very soft. Perhaps prunes and apricots too.
Mouth: yes, this is clearly full of prunes and cured apricots.
Finish: raisins, prunes, blackcurrants. It has a jammy sweetness to it that is well satisfying.
Comment: Bishlouk points out that this has Whiskybase ID 1. A well-known gateway drug that seems a tad less approachable tonight than in the past, or than other incarnations, perhaps. Several find the Sherry influence too great. 7/10

Psycho: "Rich Indians do not exist."
All: "Have you heard of [Lakshmi] Mittal?"
tOMoH: "So rich he has his own song: 'Je suis Mittal et je le reste...'"
dom666: "And then there is his nemesis: Tata."
Psycho: "Yoyo?"

The Balvenie 15yo 1980/1996 (50.4%, OB Single Barrel importedby CV. MCS S.V., C#13570, L41476070544) (Bishlouk)

Nose: ooft! This is jammy from the off, then it gets a wad of plasticine before vanilla appears, with Scottish tablet and sticky toffee pudding doused in custard right behind.
Mouth: woof! Another one that has lost none of its bite over the past decades. Toffee emerges from the depths with a bit of chalk. It is warming and comforting, with a glazing of hot marmalade.
Finish: very long, full of warm toffee and butterscotch, hot custard and caramel.
Comment: love it. 8/10

The main course is served.

Haggis with a mustard sauce (not pictured) and roasted vegetables

The menu has never been this simple; it lets the ingredients speak, and they do that really well. Everyone is enthusiastic.

CG joins us.

STL pulls out a bottle with ships on the label. He adds that it is a Burnside for Burns' Night.
red71: "And the cork does not break."
STL: "Never, with me."

Blended Malt 27yo 1994/2021 (47.5%, Le Gus't Selection for Nanyang Whisky, Bourbon Hogshead, C#3525, 240b) (STL)

Comment: big and punchy, it works really well, tonight. My full notes are here. STL brought this a couple of years ago and I liked it as much then as I do tonight, which is more than when I had it on its own from another bottle. Bottle variation? 8/10

Message on a bottle

STL added a custom label, kruuk2 style.
The AI he used to make it clearly did not know what
Charles Montgomery Burns looks like, but -- hey!

JS presents a bottle with a ship on the label (and on the box).

Caperdonich 16yo 1972/1988 Benan 1875 (40%, Signatory Vintage Sailing Ships Series No 1, Sherry Casks, C#7130-7132, 1200b, b#135) (JS)

Nose: subtle Sherry, with dried dates and dried figs, but also quince paste and a whisper of gauze, followed by rancio.
Mouth: cough syrup (kruuk2), camphor (Gaija), pressed apricots and tarry hairballs. Despite the low ABV (Bishlouk and red71 note the lack of horsepower), it feels full to me.
Finish: long, it has sticky dark honey and physalis coated in it.
Comment: we have stepped up, all of a sudden. 9/10

red71: The worst note on Whiskybase is 79: a certain Bishlouk."

dom666 [talking about Layla]: "What was his name again? Harrison!"
ruckus: "Ford?"
tOMoH: "Mr. George Harrison Ford T."
kruuk2: "Did he live in Seraing?"

adc introduces a Clydeside only available at the bar of HMS Glasgow, a warship built in Glasgow and with whom the distillery now has a long-term partnership.

Clydeside 6yo 2019/2025 HMS Glasgow (46%, OB, Guyanese Rum Cask) (adc)

Nose: wonderful yellow fruits, physalis, nectarines, peaches, and sweet green citrus. It then gives barley sugar, vanilla and citrus mixing in an unusual way.
Mouth: sweet, it has a dose of cane-sugar juice, honey-glazed caster sugar, pears, nectarines, and even mandarins. Wait! Is this gravel? This is delicious.
Finish: apple, marzipan (kruuk2). The rum influence is clear, but delicate: it is sweet and fruity, not sickly.
Comment: another excellent Clydeside. 8/10

Chilling

sonicvince tells us Bruichladdich Rocks comes from an island, and that island probably has rocks in the sea.

ruckus: "Tous les Islay viennent d'une île."
tOMoH: "Non, seuls les Égyptiens viennent du Nil."

[I shall not translate]

Bruichladdich Rocks The Rhinns of Islay: A Land Apart b.2011 (46%, OB, French Syrah Casks, 61810511050) (sonicvince)

Nose: a whiff of sulphur and matchsticks. It is a little winy too, while Gaija has a strong kiwi scent, as well as medicine. The wine influence gives leather, rather than vinegar, which is good.
Mouth: lots of mushroom cooking juice, then a little burnt-wood gratings. We finish with warm, acidic cranberry juice. Gaija finds it funky -- I agree.
Finish: big, long and sticky, it has a pronounced salinity, with crushed sea sand, still wet from contact with the sea. Mind you, it also has pressed plums and raisins.
Comment: decent, but it is still not my favourite entry in the Bruichladdich range -- not even if we limit that to the discontinued ones. This is predictably divisive amongst our group; STL and Gaija love it, the wine-lovers they are, dom666 and Bishlouk much less. 6/10

Mrs. sonic serves the first cake. She brought a canister of whipped cream, which saves us whisking a shirt.

Bishlouk mocks krruk2's technique: "It looks like churros!"

CG shows us a bottle with a lighthouse on the label.

Scapa 25yo d.1980 (54%, OB, 2000b, b#00496, 05/08032) (CG)

Nose: a wide slap of earth and smashed berries. This is impressive! It also has a confectionary note; bubble gum and pineapple drops.
Mouth: quite a bite, followed by confectionary again. We have candied angelica, and jellied leaves and pistachios. Meow! There are some smoked pineapple chunks too at second sip.
Finish: long, leafy, with more candied angelica doused in jelly.
Comment: boss. CG is not taking the piss for his first appearance. What a dram! I may like it even better than upon first encounter. 9/10

Gaija screams and sniggers.

tOMoH: "You okay?"
Gaija: "I just saw the second row of the line-up."

dom666 presents a bottle with a boat on the label, and exactly the one I thought and hoped he would bring.

It matches my polo shirt, although the clouds of my shirt have been replaced by gulls on the (more-recent) bottle, amongst various other minor differences.

Old Pulteney 21yo (46%, OB, American ex-Bourbon and ex-Fino Sherry Casks, L12-044-1B R12/5019, b.2012) (dom666)

Nose: roasted and poached apples.
Mouth: definitely roasted apples, topped with a heaped spoonful of honey. It is a tad drying, but remains fruity on the tongue.
Finish: melted salted butter blended with custard. The second gulp adds a wonderful toffee.
Comment: the Maritime Malt, they call it. Perhaps not as maritime as the tagline suggests, but pleasant all the same. This is the first incarnation in this livery and sports the Whisky Bible Award sticker. 8/10

The second cake enters, augmented with Irish Mist (65° Proof, The Irish Mist Liqueur Co. imported by Heublein Inc., b.1970s).

red71 on cutting duties

The soundtrack: _Ruckus_ - Nautical but Nice

tOMoH presents another obvious contribution: a Bunnahabhain, with its Captain Bird's Eye-like logo. Not just any Bunna, though: this one also sports an anchor, a sail boat and a shipwreck.

Bunnahabhain 23yo 1998/2022 (49.7%, OB Fèis Ìle 2022, Calvados Cask Finish) (tOMoH)

Nose: leathery earth. Yup! This feels peaty.
Mouth: a smidge drying, with bletted fruits. It is not long before it shows its true power -- and it is more powerful than the ones that came before, even than the Scapa, it feels.
Finish: tart apples and a lick of peat smoke.
Comment: love it. Better notes here. 8/10

dom666 blows raspberries.

tOMoH: "Great fart impression!"
dom666: "Did you see that? And with the mouth, no less!"

adc is sporting a life vest.
Talk about taking the theme seriously!

Continue reading here.

15/11/2025 OB the Ba(n)ker

OB is sadly leaving the country for the Land of Inferior Chocolate. We cannot let him go without one last hurrah.

cavalier66, JMcD, SOB, YM, WhiskyLovingPianist and JS join me to wish OB farewell.

With enough whisky to make sure he never reaches his destination

With the number of whiskies and guests, much time is spent on logistics, banter and rushing through drams. Notes are consequently succinct.

The soundtrack: Cthulhu - Le sortilège

cavalier66 opens fire with a North of Scotland, which is as far away from OB's destination as any Scottish distillery can be. It is 44% ABV, which is OB's age today -- or 44.4%, to be precise, two third of 66.6, the Devil's number. cavalier66 argues that OB is selling his soul to the Devil by going to Neutralandia, and will turn into a full devil himself. The label, in pure Douglas Laing fashion (the parent company of Hunter Hamilton), tells of great expectations, which is what OB has for that new life, and of a great single blend -- and cavalier66 adds that OB is a great man we are losing.

cavalier66: "If I remember correctly, the nose is more impressive than the rest."
YM: "Should we put it into a dickhead glass?"

North of Scotland 39yo d.1966 (44.4%, Hunter Hamilton The Clan Denny, C#HH2240)

Nose: raisins, dusty sultanas, dried peach slices. It has a whisper of cured meat, honey-glazed pork roast or such. Beyond are vanillin and candied citrus. Perhaps a sprinkle of white-wood dust too. More and more pineapple and papaya cubes emerge with time.
Mouth: candied orange segments ride on a fairly-thin body, then we get pineapple cubes dunked in marmalade augmented with a dash of wine.
Finish: an explosion of raisins and resins, and the most distant dark-wood sawdust -- an old shelf sawn in smaller chunks. It has tannins, though they merely add to the complexity.
Comment: wonderful old grain. Cue memories of a time when these were "just there" and no-one was buying them. What a way to start! 9/10

tOMoH explains that OB is e-Scapa-ing from London.

Scapa 19yo 2000/2019 (49.9%, Chivas Brothers Distillery Reserve Collection, 1st Fill Barrel, C#26, 312b, b#38)

Nose: bakery scents (WhiskyLovingPianist), brighter (cavalier66) and chalkier (WhiskyLovingPianist) [than the previous dram]. For me, it has sweet grapes, nectarines and a spoonful of honey.
Mouth: it has body and acidity to complement a clear custard-y profile.
Finish: long, sweet and citric, with calamansi and Ugli fruit playing first and second trumpets.
Comment: WhiskyLovingPianist teases that Scapa is a lower-tier distillery, but really, everyone agrees this is "not bad," even if they are in denial about its true greatness. My notes are here. 9/10

cavalier66: "A little bit of soap in this. Is it just me?"
tOMoH: "Just you."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Soon as you said it..."

The soundtrack: Cthulhu - Chronicles of the red sun

SOB explains that the theme, OB the Ba(n)ker, made him think that bakers no longer use imperial measures, but that bankers still occasionally talk of shillings or guineas. He therefore brought an Imperial.

Imperial 26yo 1994/2020 An ever changing world of impossibility (45.3%, The Whisky Exchange for Whisky Show, Barrel, C#5874, 198b)

Nose: pure ozone photocopier (cavalier66), citrus (WhiskyLovingPianist), glossy magazines, ozone indeed, vine leaves and flowers -- chiefly carnations.
Mouth: photocopied flowers (cavalier66), certainly glossy magazines. This is boldly flavourful and a trifle bitter.
Finish: creamy, custard-y, long and fudgy. The death brings a hint of mocha-y rubber or rubbery mocha -- who knows?
Comment: excellent. More nostalgia about Imperial (tsk! WhiskyLovingPianist again). I have to remind him that the ones that came out twenty years ago were not all stellar. This one is excellent. 9/10

tOMoH: "Glossy magazines."
cavalier66: "Top shelf."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Oh..."
cavalier66: "Don't go there!"
tOMoH: "Are the pages stuck together?"

Gruyere, a cheese from OB's destination

WhiskyLovingPianist: "I think Mark Watt owns most of the Imperial that came out around that time."
cavalier66: "Wasn't it Elixir [Distillers]?"
WhiskyLovingPianist: "He bought it in bottles."

Alp Blossom, with the Alps having a foot in both France and Switzerland
(and Italy, Germany and Austria, but EG, MV and JH are not here)

cavalier66: "You can barely tell you're drinking alcohol at all..."
OB: "One could say: fruit."
SOB: "Write that down, tOMoH!"

WhiskyLovingPianist brought houmous and guacamole.
The latter turns out to be green tzatziki

OB opens, then closes the next bottle.

OB: "Ah! Okay. I've had bad luck with broken corks, lately..."
tOMoH: "So you put the cork back in to double your chances."

cavalier66 also brought beetroot-cured smoked salmon

OB presents his favourite bottle of whisky. Not his favourite whisky, not his favourite bottling, but his favourite bottle. He tells the story of how he acquired it, how he randomly met the bottler in a bar in Japan, and rolls out more incredible anecdotes all linked to this.

Tomatin 38yo 1976/2015 (47%, OB imported by Japan Import System for Whisky Hoop, C#31, 190b)

Comment: I know this from a previous encounter and take no note, today. It is still amazeboulanger. 10/10

OB: "Switzerland, as a tourist destination, makes no sense, because it is so expensive."
cavalier66: "And a bit boring, to be honest."
tOMoH: "Unless you want to ski."
cavalier66: "Even then, skis resorts are a bit boring."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "It's all downhill from here!"

JMcD: "Last time, there was a debate about chocolate..."
tOMoH: "No, there wasn't. No Swiss was here, so, no, there could have been no debate [about who makes the best chocolate]."
OB: "That's right. The best chocolate is French."
JMcD: "Wait! French?"
tOMoH: "Only for those who think that Belgium is a province of France."
cavalier66: "Well, half of it is..."

JMcD presents a whisky from the Old Bakery distillery.

Old Bakery 8yo (47.2%, Old Bakery Distillery for Gerry's, American 40% Toasted Oak ex-Bourbon Casks finished in Cuban Rum Barrels, b#7B)

Nose: cucumber juice poured on rubber, a new snorkel, nail polish thinner, with lemon rinds in the back and cypress resin.
Mouth: oh! yes, this has a strong rum-y side, with rubber, hevea brasiliensis and chewy wood, cork style.
Finish: bold, rubber, with enough pineapple to fill a wheelbarrow.
Comment: ideally placed, after the previous glories: so different it not only stands out, but stands its own. 7/10

The words on the label make little sense, on the other hand

WhiskyLovingPianist: "Dave Broom's Atlas. First edition, there were 3,500 whisky distilleries. Latest edition, there are 5,000."
tOMoH: "And that's just in Scotland! Nay! The Highlands!"
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Just in Glasgow!"

SOB notices that cavalier66's shirt is covered in Drambuie bottles.

JS: "How is this Drambuie thing?"
YM: "It's sweet and flavoured with herbs."
tOMoH: "It's called aqua vitae -- or uisquebaugh."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "You're such a ninja."

WhiskyLovingPianist wanted to pour the following bottling, Pink wafers in a ladies hat shop, and suggested Bundt Day / confectionary as a theme to be able to do so easily.

48.41 25yo d.1988 Pink wafers in a ladies hat shop (48.3%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 239b)

Nose: it starts off woody, if not plank-y. Dusty shelves and dried staves. It quickly opens up to reveal orchard fruit -- conference pears, poached apples, and a whiff of dried rosemary too. The second noses serves peaches.
Mouth: lemon-y and herbaceous, it has calamansi juice and limoncello, pineapple turnovers sprinkled with dried rosemary, then cypress branches coated in Golden Syrup. The second sip has a bitter lick from the rosemary, and that complements the fruit well.
Finish: pastry aplenty, still with a softly-bitter-herbaceous note. It is essentially peaches and herbs.
Comment: lovely. The bitterness will prevent a higher score today, but in other circumstances, who knows? 8/10

JS: "WhiskyLovingPianist, what is that bread you brought?"
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Heritage sourdough."
JS: "Oh, really? Is it made with Maris Otter and brewer's yeast?"
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Yeah, and the Thompson Brothers' spit."

The soundtrack: Cthulhu - Beyond the gate to the eternal slumber

tOMoH explains he looked for a Swiss bottling. The only one easily accessible was this Arran bottled for a Swiss festival. He added the Barrel Bonfire, because OB is making a bonfire of his London life, at the moment.

Arran 17yo 1997/2014 (51.6%, The Whisky Agency & Acla da Fans Acla Selection specially selected for Whisky-Schiff Zürich 2014, Refill Sherry Cask, 120b)

Comment: a citrus malt, especially the finish. Full notes here. 8/10

vs.

Arran 11yo b.2024 Edition 2 -- Barrel Bonfire (50%, OB The Signature Series, Peated Quarter Casks, 14822b)

Comment: full notes here. 8/10

WhiskyLovingPianist: "This is really pastry. It is almost in the Nordic- sorry! in Nordic Zone of Whisky Show. Did you go to Nordic Zone of Show, SOB?"

OB presents a Brora from his birth year, because he wants to finish the bottle before he leaves.

Brora 27yo 1981/2009 (51.3%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld, C#291, 330b, b#76)

Nose: ashy and waxy, it has nectarines and bubble gum of some sort.
Mouth: acidic and ashy, it also has a touch of yellow fruits. I find it very bitter in the long run.
Finish: more ash and wax, soot, desert dirt. WhiskyLovingPianist calls it sugary, almost sherbet-like.
Comment: WhiskyLovingPianist says "lovely" and "comfort," while cavalier66 says it is almost more Clynelish than Brora. I find it delicious. Better than previous times (here and here), in fact. 9/10

cavalier66: "I've had some that were not as good. It wasn't Duncan Taylor -- who was it?"
tOMoH: "Chieftain's and Dun Bheaghan. Ian McLeod and Wm. Maxwell."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Yeah, they were quite poor."
cavalier66: "I've had three or four of those, and..."
tOMoH: "Do you want a dickhead glass to say that?"

SOB went for the banker side and brought a Springbank. In a Madeira Cask. He also brought Madeira, tough not the one the Springbank was aged in.

Barbeito Madeira Bastardo Duas Pipas (unknown ABV, OB Reserva, B#2, C#46+735)

Nose: butter not far from turning rancid, pressed raisins (sultanas, to be accurate), dried figs, then it turns drier, earthier
Mouth: earthy-mushroom-y profile submerged by dried dates and prunes. It is syrupy at second sip, almost cloying. Then, that dissipates and leaves Manzanilla and prunes.
Finish: coating, incredibly sweet, with rehydrated dates and figs. Incredibly, it is sweeter and juicier at second gulp, with Smyrna and cloudberries or salmonberries.
Comment: pleasant, and an adequate break in the line-up to recalibrate. 7/10

vs.

Springbank 8yo 2017/2025 (54.7%, OB Springbank Society, Fresh Madeira Cask, 1761b, 25/169)

Nose: it is dramatically farm-y with a mineral touch. We have sun-baked farm paths, tractor tyres in the summer, with a rubber that suggests quite a bit of Madeira indeed. Then, it peddles walnut stain, peppery earth, dark-strawberry (Benihoppe, Camarosa) coulis, and black bun dragged through a dry field. A drop of water reveals a scrumptious berry paste and increases the lovely fruitiness.
Mouth: oh! my, this is so farm-y. Peppery clay pots dragged through a field of dark earth. That pepper is strong! Is this a mislabelled Talisker? Water adds loads of wine-y fruits such as lychees and peaches.
Finish: strong, dark, peppery again. Juicy prunes, Corinth raisins, and, especially, a lot of earth and chilli peppers. Even with water, it remains on the side of earth and prunes, with only the spices taking a bit of a subtler front.
Comment: JS is not a fan -- too farm-y and impacted by the Madeira. I find it works well. 8/10

JS says she chose the next bottle, because OB is leaving UK to go to CH-i-CH-ibu. I add that OB is our resident expert on all things Japanese.

SOB: "Chichi-bye?"

Chichibu London Edition b.2023 (51.5%, OB Ichiro's Malt imported by Speciality Drinks, 1949b, b#1843)

Comment: I take no notes to avoid being too behind. It is well liked all round. For today, it is 8/10

WhiskyLovingPianist: "What does 'CH' stand for?"
tOMoH: "Chwitcherland."
cavalier66: "Canton Helvetica."
tOMoH: "Confédération helvétique."

cavalier66: "Do I detect a touch of red-wine cask?"
tOMoH: "Is that your glass of Madeira?"

cavalier66 checks online and confirms the Chichibu was partly matured in wine casks.

WhiskyLovingPianist: "When was the last Show you attended?"
tOMoH: "2018."
cavalier66: "No. When was last Show you attended."

From here on, we (attempt to) stop saying the word 'the'. For each 'the', the person who said the word has to pick a sample from OB's bag o' tricks. It leads to hilarious situations. That lasts until OB's bag is empty.

The soundtrack: Cthulhu - Chronicles of a pandemic

YM looked for an OB to bring (Official Bottling), but could not find an interesting one. He looked for a connection to bankers; none. Oban? He does not have any. So he took this bottling.

tOMoH: "It reads 'pudding' on the label. OB baked pudding."

Speaking of which...

9.210 17yo d.2003 Nostalgia-filled trifle pudding (56.7%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 205b)

Nose: apple pie? This is really, really closed, at first nosing. There are blackcurrants in the medium run, I suppose, maybe vapours coming out of a baker's oven too. Water opens it up and it releases perfume.
Mouth: hot marmalade, lemon marmalade, even, green chilli, split stones and orange peels so hot they are barely recognisable. This is hot. Water brings orange juice.
Finish: long, a tad metallic and hot again, with sage and bitter orange rinds. Water mellows it down. It becomes juicy and fruity.
Comment: challenging today, this will likely improve in the open bottle. 7/10

OB pulls one out that he wants to share before he leaves the country, especially with cavalier66, the only enthusiast in town who has never had it. Yes, the theme is a lot easier for some people than for others, is it not?

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

Comment: I skip it and keep it for later.

For the next one, cavalier66 has a whisky distilled in 1981, which is OB's year of birth. It is a Rose-bank(er), from a lost distillery -- "and we are about to lose OB" ("to alcoholism," adds WhiskyLovingPianist). cavalier66 explains he had preselected several bottles to pick from. This is the one that OB guessed correctly, so he brought it.

Miraculously, the cork does not give in

Rosebank 25yo 1981/2007 (61.4%, OB Natural Cask Strength, 4710b, b#01138)

Nose: musty warehouses, soaked corks, mushrooms in planters. Later, it is a ball of cat's hair, warming. It also has gum. It promises to be drying (it singes the nostrils), with hot blankets and herbs on cobblestones.
Mouth: fiery, it has quarry dust, strawberry-flavoured toothpaste, and a lot of red flowers (carnations, peonies, begonias, dahlias).
Finish: huge. Flowers on fire. There is a fair amount of fruits too, baked nectarines in front.
Comment: at last, tOMoH tastes this legend. It is very good. However, for the price it commands, one can obtain better things (including other from the same distillery), in my opinion. This confirms that 1981 is not tOMoH's favourite year for Rosebank. The Rare Malt is also too hot for its own good. Still... 9/10

cavalier66: "I'm trying to think of what it reminds me of. I think it reminds me of itself."

YM chose a bottling called Spices and syrup, which are things one might use when baking.

94.30 11yo d.2011 Spices and syrup (62.1%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill #3 Char Barrel, 224b)

Nose: toffee and milk chocolate. WhiskyLovingPianist detects English rye whisky. Obviously drunk. Well, there is a soft lick of Irn Bru on a sheet of metal, I suppose, which spells rye. Further nosing has warmed cardboard and chocolate slabs on a wood plank.
Mouth: ooft! it is a little grain-like, with melted chocolate that gets added chilli pepper over time. The second sip has quarry dust, heat and a little fruit.
Finish: hot and softly metallic, with dark chocolate and aluminium cans. Hot Dr. Pepper, cassia-bark splinters, later on. It is a bit drying, though that is tolerable.
Comment: I really like this. 8/10

WhiskyLovingPianist: "You could try Rosebank for free at th-... at Show."
cavalier66: "No, you can say it, now."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "Not for Show!"

JS points out that our guest is OB a(n asset) Manager('s Dram), rather than a banker.

Oban 19yo (59.5%, OB The Manager's Dram, Refill Cask, SE 102, b.1995)

Comment: a dram I know very well and, therefore, take no notes for. It is universally liked, and as good as it always is. Incredible how well it fares, at this late stage, after the heavy hitters. 9/10

WhiskyLovingPianist observes the ABV is high, yet well integrated.

WhiskyLovingPianist: "It's almost as if we didn't just have eighteen drams!"

cavalier66: "This is rather good."
tOMoH: "What a shocker! Kept a decent dram for last!"
cavalier66: "Well, it comes after..."
tOMoH: "Sixteen drams."
OB: "Huh?"
tOMoH: "One of them was a Madeira."

cavalier66 gets up and prepares to let his offspring in, who forgot the key."

tOMoH: "You'll want to stay a little longer."

I remind OB and cavalier66 that, in 2017, they left a tasting early and missed a dram, which only JS, GL and MR ended up enjoying. cavalier66 knows immediately and exactly what I am talking about. Time to pour it again.

cavalier66: "And it is from 1981. OB's year!"

Lochside 30yo 1981/2011 (54.9%, Cadenhead's, Bourbon Hogshead, 246b, 11/396)

Nose: olive oil and fruits (cavalier66). It is fruits in various stages of ripeness (WhiskyLovingPianist).
Comment: I reviewed this masterpiece yesterday (quality check, you understand), so no notes today. 10/10

WhiskyLovingPianist: "It's when the tropics become dusty."
YM: "this, I think, you could snort."
cavalier66: "I know the word to describe this whisky: 'exquisite'!"

I still have a dram, which I kept for now.

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

Comment: it still rawcks, even after the glorious Lochside. Fuller notes here. 10/10

Well, that was an epic send-off. Goodbye, OB! Come see us again!

In pure English fashion, cavalier66 left us half a bite of pie.
Could not possibly finish it; that would be rude!