24/02/2018 Whisky Show Old & Rare (Day 1 -- Part 1)

You may remember that last year's visit was a difficult decision that turned into a great experience. Well, this year was even more difficult, for many other reasons. But we are back. JS, cavalier66, MV, the Swissky Maffia, pat gva, EG, ST and PT and many others congregate to G-town for what is advertised as the greatest whisky bar in the world.

As usual, it is hectic and frenetic, not enough time is given to any of the drams, despite their requiring hours of analysis, and, as a consequence, notes are short and unimaginative. Hopefully, they translate some of the general impressions and emotions stirred.

Here we are
Brought here to drink
You're the princess of the
Whisky Show
(dedicated to all the Queen fans)

cavalier66 arrived last night. JS and I are fresh off the train when we spot him in the queue. The social carousel begins. The Swissky Mafia is not far behind, then PT and ST, AH... Lots of people to greet.
On to the drinks.

Bowmore 36yo 1966/2002 (42.3%, Duncan Taylor specially selected for Whiskyfreunde Essenheim, C#3305, 120b, b#107): because if one needs to start somewhere, one might as well do it with pomp. Nose: FRUIT! Peach, mint, lychee, guava, mango, yet also marzipan and yoghurt. Mouth: acidic, it has grapefruit juice, pink grapefruit, mango slices. Finish: pink grapefruit, pomelo, a mild acidity and a little bitterness. This is a total work of art. Life does not suck, already! 10/10

vs.

Bowmore 36yo 1966/2002 (40.2%, Jack Wieber's Whisky World, C#3309, 144b, b#055): because if one is going to smash it first thing, one might as well slam-dunk the shit out of it. Nose: buttery mango, varnish, maracuja (purple passion fruit, says cavalier66, who learnt a thing or two about it recently), then beeswax, royal jelly, flower petals, rose-petal jam. Mouth: a slight rubbery bitterness, a fruity acidity (pink grapefruit) and a wonderful overall balance. Finish: an explosion of pink grapefruit, with lots of maracuja, peeking at the back. This only suffer from one thing: the DT bottling is slightly more to my taste. All the same, WIN! 10/10

We never try this, on the other hand

cavalier66 feels a lack in his life, and tries to fill it up with Bowmore 1964/1979 Bicentenary (43%, OB) (9/10) and Bowmore d.1965 (50%, OB). A Bowmorgy, it is.

JS gets:

Springbank 21yo (unknown ABV, OB for Italy importer undecipherable): nose: star aniseed-y, fresh and lovely, leafy (green leaves), then forest floor grows. Mouth: unctuous and fresh, it has yoghurt and peach stone. Finish: short, fresh and leafy, with ivy and vine leaves. Lovely, though not a patch on the one we had in Ostend. 8/10

Quick trip to our favourite Italian's (he is definitely in the top 500, in any case).

Bladnoch 21yo d.1965 (46%, Moncreiffe Single Malt Collection imported by Meregalli): first 1960s Bladnoch for me, I reckon. Nose: super floral and fruity, it has heather and lavender. Mouth: soft as fresh laundry, floral and honeyed. Finish: dust, old fruit, left on a table basket in a sunny room for too long -- pears and oranges. A great Bladnoch! 9/10

I bump into Tom03 (whom I met at the after-party in Ostend) who has something in his glass that he loves because it is pure liquid violet boiled sweets. I explain to him that many Brits call that Parma violet and cannot stand it. Belgians, on the other hand, love it.

We go for food. It is 13:00 and some of us have not eaten since 4:00 this morning. Beef lasagna and veggie pasticcio for the veggies, all sorts of salads, including a celeriac one. We all think there is room for improvement, here, and it takes me back to the early shows in London, in terms of quality; things are over-baked (the pasta), too saucy (the salads -- and not in that way!), or bland (the beef lasagna). But let us be honest: it does the trick for me. I am not here to eat for hours anyway, I am here to taste whisky. This lunch is utilitarian and it is perfect at what it does: line the stomach with food that sticks to the system. I enjoy it.

Back in the room.

Lochside 29yo 1981/2010 (51.8%, The Nectar of the Daily Dram joint bottling with The Whisky Agency): nose: lots of fruit, dunnage warehouse, cork and mushrooms. Exotic fruit, not fully ripe, clogged sink and distant coffee. Mouth: huge, peppery, acidic, biting, punchy... and also fruity, with crisp, red apple dominating. Finish: it is very punchy here too, with pepper and varnish and less fruit. Great drop, though. JS is less taken. 9/10

vs.

92.7 32yo 1966/1998 Kaleidoscopic richness (61.2%, SMWS Society Cask): nose: very woody and herbaceous, it has génépi and aromatics on a log fire. Mouth: extremely punchy, caustic, even. The fruit is smothered by the brute power. Finish: heavily sherried, Jägermeister-y, with liquorice. The sherry and wood completely overpower the distillate, here. It is a decent, sherried whisky, not the killer cavalier66 and I were hoping for. It reminds me of the one we tried at the legendary Exotic Fruits masterclass at the 2011 Whisky Show (notes predate this blog) -- and that is understandable, as, looking at my notes from then, it turns out to be the same whisky. 7/10

Benriach 42yo b.2018 (41%, Elixir Distillers The Single Malts Of Scotland Director's Cut exclusive bottling for Whisky Show Old & Rare 2018): I made the mistake of not trying the exclusive Caol Ila, last year. I have no intention to make the same mistake twice. Nose: custard, lemon tart, tangerine peels, carambola, white peach, mint and loads of vanilla. Mouth: soft, honey-like, floral and subtle. The second sip is bitterer, with verdigris. Finish: slightly bitter, with a kick of custard-y fruit coming in -- lots of fruit, in fact. Surprisingly, JS is not very enthusiastic, about this one. 9/10

Tom03 lets me try a Ladyburn 27yo d.1973 (50.4%, OB Vintage Single Cask, C#1591): 8/10
Worth noting that Tom03 is on a box-ticking mission: Ladyburn, Ben Wyvis and even Dunglass.

N from Brighton shares his...

North Port 15yo 1974/1989 (43%, Sestante Very Rare, Sherry Cask): vinegar, pickled onions and pickled herring. Rollmops. Mouth: soft and creamy, with pickled onions here too, dunked into custard. Finish: long and surprisingly soft, with custard and gravel. 8/10

N from Brighton: "This is amazing. I am having two North Ports. How many North Ports have you had in your life?"
tOMoH: "I don't know. A dozen?"
N from Brighton: "Well, I have only had three, including these two. Amazing to be able to do that in one sitting."

Time to shift gears once again.

Glenugie 20yo d.1968 (54.8%, Sestante, Sherry Cask): nose: currants, cedar wood, balsa wood. The fruitiness takes the back seat a bit, but it remains lovely. Mouth: bitter fruit -- no! Acidic currants, unripe elderberry, redcurrants and a lick of rubber. Finish: very long, very powerful, with all sorts of berry jam on steroids -- blackberry, squashed blackcurrants. Wow! 10/10

vs.

Glenugie 30yo 1966/1996 (62.4%, The Bottlers, Sherry Cask, C#856) : nose: amazingly punchy, with leather, black pepper, hot custard, then marjoram and wood shavings. This is almost aggressive. Mouth: oh! my. What a kick! Pepper, leather, caramelised blackberry jam, ginger, chalk, quicklime. Finish: extremely long and powerful, teeming with dark berries. 10/10

Tom03 loves the Sestante Glenugie so much he gets his own pour of it. Then he puts Ardbeg 25yo 1974/2000 (55%, OB Provenance for USA and Asia, Bourbon Barrels, 500b) under my nose -- woah! Ashy! Fruity! 9/10

JMcM tells us openly he flips bottles here and there and everyone else does it. I point out that many enthusiasts do not have access to many things because of that practice and I find it unethical. Except my choice of words is much less diplomatic. Ah, well.

Meanwhile, in Vera Cruz...

Talisker 1972/1999 (42.5%, Berry Brothers & Rudd Berrys' Own Selection, C#1102): Nose: leather and smoke. Mouth: thick and viscous, this feels like walking into a tannery. Finish: leather and the tiniest drop of fruit juice. 8/10

Lagavulin 1988/1998 (50%, Brae Dean Int imported by Moon Import Horae Solaris, 1300b): nose: buttery peat, then earth, crusty and powdery, augmented with thick custard. Mouth: honeyed peat, cut dandelions and a sprinkle of ash. Finish: perhaps just too much ash for me to score it higher, but this is good indeed! 8/10

The Neutrals come back from their masterclass and hand me a Mortlach 22yo 1957/1979 (45.7%, Samaroli, 360b) (10/10) and a Glen Garioch d.1971 (59.6%, Samaroli Full Proof, Sherry Wood, 2280b) (9/10).

Time to hit one of the coveted drams to end on a high.

Old Orkney Real Liqueur (unknown ABV, OB, b. ca 1910): we had one last year already. How unbelievable is it to have a chance to try another Old Orkney? For the absent-minded reader, this is from the Stromness distillery, which closed in the 1930s. One does not come across this every day! Nose: spent. Extinct. Soon, the nose is a huge discharge of candle wax. Mouth: honey and wax. Finish: much more expressive than the nose suggested, waxy and beautifully honeyed. Wonderful, but I cannot help thinking it was better fifty years ago. 8/10 (including one point for emotion)

The day is over. Exhibitors count their takings, whilst we slowly make a move. Further adventures await us. For now, it is time for reflection.

The real organiser of this shindig

Perhaps the most adequate way of appreciating this festival is to compare it to my analysis of last year.

For me, the formula is too much. The number of superior drams is overwhelming, to a point one loses the sense of reality and risks becoming blasé, unsuspecting of the actual quality on display. Sure, here are great whiskies, but in the words of one of my favourite philosophers, Butt-Head, 'If nothing sucked, if everything was cool, how would you know it's cool?'
Here, one has a hard time knowing it. Nothing is bad, even that SMWS Rosebank. All the same, every legendary whisky in this shindig becomes just another whisky. It is then easy to become numb to their greatness, to think that whisky is only this, and become an arrogant snob (not that I needed that to be one); you know the type -- 'I only drink Brora 1972, Ardbeg 1974 or Macallan bottled pre-1980s.'

However, great this event is, and however much I enjoyed it, it is a gigantic box-ticking exercise for most, including myself. These are legendary drams. I would have easily spent one hour with each, to discover their complexities and intricacies, but could not. Not only is everyone (understandably) trying to make the best of their entry fee, there was not even a bench to sit on and quietly try to understand what was in the glass.
Without going as far as saying that it is a waste of good whisky, if it is anything more than a networking event, it merely serves as a confirmation that a particular expression is worth buying -- or not. 

I enjoyed it, I may come back next year, yet it really is not my preferred style of events.
That said and as can probably be felt by the preceding paragraphs, I have not had much sleep, I have been on my feet for twelve hours, my food intake is messed up, I am near dehydration and my serotonin levels are critically low, depleted by hours of excitement. Perhaps, that is the explanation for my dreary mood and this somewhat harsh criticism.
Or perhaps, I am jealous of someone else's success.

Those comments mostly still stand. It is still overwhelming, there are still too many great drams, which leads to the highest concentration of geeks per square metre in the world, and it is still ambitious to arrive in Glasgow as the show starts -- JS had a headache all day and did not enjoy it to the full.

On the negative side, it is more crowded (they sold more tickets to the same venue), the masterclasses were expensive, with the side effect that we did not attend any, which allowed us more time in the main room. The entrance fee is also much more expensive: last year was £100 per day, including £50 worth of tokens for drams. This year is £75 per day, including food. Compare that to 15EUR in Ostend.
On the undecided side, the food is unremarkable and they did away with the tokens completely, using only cash.
On the positive side, they introduced tables and chairs and sofas on the second day, last year, and kept them this year.

As for my impressions after the second day last year...

My mood and impressions after day 2 are far more positive than yesterday's. This formula requires a lot of planning and discipline, yet it can make sense. Well glad I joined in on the fun, after all. It was also much more pleasant with seats and tables to spend time at, although it made for less efficient dramming (or did it?) 

As many have observed, though: where are the locals? I think we saw half a dozen Scots only. I suspect the price point is too high to appeal to them and, considering most of the whisky enthusiasts live elsewhere (south of the border, the Continent, Asia, ...), this unfortunately might be perceived as an upper-class shindig that the locals cannot afford and are not interested in, with a similar effect to setting a golf club for billionaires in a ravaged, post-industrial town. Of course, this is where whisky is made. I simply am not sure how it is perceived by the local clientele, the very people who make the whisky. 

Another oddity is that some stalls were almost always empty. Then again, some prices seemed less fair than others, and the offer varied quite dramatically, from eight bottles at Catawiki's to over 150 at Bero's. It made certain stands more popular than others and some exhibitors look sometimes very 'ronery.'

That has not changed at all. Even a little planning makes for a much more enjoyable day (e.g. the Bowmore and Glenugie pairs).
Even fewer locals than last year, and a huge difference in stand popularity. Some, I did not even go to at all.

I did not feel like trying this again.
The inferior-chocolate makers did and
were disappointed.

Continue reading here.

19/02/2017 The Whisky Show Old & Rare (Day 2 -- Part 2)

The story starts here.

While we keep a presence at the table, others keep bringing drams to try.

'Oh! Hi, pat gva.'
'Try this!'

DH and MV have a lively conversation

Springbank 31yo 1966/1997 (52.1%, OB Local Barley, Bourbon Oak Cask, C#488): I mistakenly claim I have had this and only take a drop. Love it. Beautiful wood influence, magnificent balance of power, great whisky. Still, I believe it is overrated, as is the rest of the series -- or the few I have tried, at least.

SLK finally makes an entrance. He was at the Clynelish vs. Highland Park masterclass, earlier, as were MV, whom we met yesterday, and MR, who promptly join us and let us try Highland Park St Magnus (100° PROOF, OB) and Highland Park 30yo 1955/1985 (53.2%, Gordon & MacPhail for Intertrade, 216b). The latter, I have already had.

Glen Grant 50yo (49.4%, Gordon & MacPhail The Dram Taker's Book of Kells for The Whisky Exchange, Refill Sherry Hogshead, C#3720): nose: as with so many drams here, the depth of this is flabbergasting. It has old books, wet stones, old furniture. Mouth: superb balance, with ground, dried orange, old books again. Finish: slightly drying furniture wax and marzipan. 10/10

'Oh! Hi, pat gva.'
'You should try this.'

Stromness 1894/1918 (unknown ABV, OB): yes, this is from the Stromness distillery that closed down in 1928. A ghost hunter's wet dream, to say the least. This one was, of course, not available to the general public. The organiser is not very good at keeping a secret, or even at being discreet, though. 'How is it?' asks a passer-by. 'Educational,' says pat gva. Refined peat and smoke, roasted barley. The smoke gets quite loud in the finish, while the mouth is very watery. It is obviously a spectacular box to tick, yet I cannot help but think this has spent too long in glass and it has evaporated. Almost impossible to rate, because of that, but I will do it anyway. 7/10

Table mates pour this undisclosed Speysider

At this stage, the drams fuse from every corner. Between my table mates, JS, who is our of control, pat gva, the Swissky Mafia, MV and others, I simply cannot get up to get my own. Also, I am out of tokens.*

* I will discover tonight that two tokens have gone AWOL in my trousers pocket. There are so many things in my pockets (flasks, glasses and business cards) I cannot find the tokens during the day, argh!

Millburn 18yo 1978/1997 (65.6%, Gordon & MacPhail Cask, C#3166): nose: rather austere, with fruit and a strong mineral character. Smoky too. Mouth: hot and spicy, before it turns velvety and creamy. Finish: warming, with something akin to high-strength wine. 8/10

Royal Lochnagar John Begg (unknown ABV, OB, b. late 1930s): nose: animal, leathery, with animal smoke -- wait! What? A herd of wet dogs around a camp fire. There. That is better. Mouth: velvety and peachy. Finish: milk chocolate, creamy as fook, with a hint of bitter coffee. 9/10

Hard to figure out from the picture, but this is a scene of nuclear hilarity

The Swissky Mafia giggle like schoolboys who just made a prank. I need not ask why; they are too proud to tell me.
They approached Serge Valentin (of whiskyfun.com -- he was doing the Clynelish bit of the masterclass) with a camera in hand. As he was making sure his hair was presentable, they asked him... if he would take a picture of them!
Shits 'n giggles indeed.

'Hi, pat gva.'
'Try this Sheriff's Bowmore 7yo'
It turns out to be watery, but the nose!...

7.11 17yo 1976/1994(59.6%, SMWS Society Cask): nose: fresh and grassy, with hay and small flowers (saxifrage). Mouth: flowery, then ginger heat and vinegar come out. Finish: green wood, ginger and galangal. This is not what I expected, but good all the same. 8/10

Hoopoe!

We observe the group of Asians at our table, who have tried some of the most expensive whiskies on display and, according to the exhibitors, have downed them in seconds. Although it is good that the whisky is being drunk, we are at loss to understand the lack of patience and respect for the liquid, even given the festival conditions. Their show seems like a navigation game to tick boxes, much the same way people were collecting Pokemon, in 2016. I cannot help but think they are missing the point, especially after seeing one spend over an hour on the phone with his parents in the middle of the flipping festival. It takes all sorts, I guess.

pat gva, who is infinitely more patient and magnanimous than I am, offers them his Miltonhaugh (see earlier). They study the label carefully, but seem unimpressed and struggle to show much gratitude -- or perhaps it is down to cultural difference, I do not know. In any case, one leaves his full glass on the table.

Glen Mhor 1963/1994 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail): nose: so fruity, with plasticine and gentleness, pears and pomelos. Mouth: elegant and delicate, it has pear compote. Finish: soft and classy, with squashed peach flesh. 9/10

I spot SS with an empty glass and run up to him. I ask him what his favourite dram is, after two days. He does not answer, but something more surreal happens.

'Do you remember we talked about auctions, the other day?'
'Errr... yes?' I lie.
'Come! I will introduce you to someone... This is IGY. She is in charge of the auction site. [to IGY] IGY, this is my friend from Switzerland. [to me] We are trying to set up partnerships with different countries. A, B and C are covered, now we are looking at D, E, F and others. Right, I will let you discuss.'
And off he goes.

...

'Hi IGY, I am actually from Belgium (it is in the name, innit) and I do not live there any longer. Nice to meet you, but I do not see how I can help you.'

IGY asks me a few questions regardless and figures out pretty quickly that I can indeed not do much for her. We have a slightly awkward chat (I have been drinking for five hours!) before she offers me a drop of:

Lagavulin 24yo 1991/2016 (52.7%, OB 200th Anniversary, Sherry Butt, 522b): it is a Lagavulin, bold and peaty. I do not care much for it, to be honest. I give it to SLK, who is a much better audience for it.

Linkwood d.1961 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, b. ca 1990): nose: mentholated tobacco. Mouth: more mentholated tobacco; the menthol freshness is strong. Finish: menthol, grapefruit slices, lemon. Lovely. 8/10

Laphroaig 12yo (43%, OB imported by Bonfanti, ceramic jug): the label reads: 'Bonfant.' Ha! Ha! Nose: jam on toast. Mouth: jammy and marmalade-y, amazing. Finish: jam, preserved fruit -- phwoar! 10/10

I run to Skinner's stand to take pictures of the bottles I missed. A punter is timidly trying to buy the remainders:

'What do you do if you don't have enough whisky left to take the bottle back?'
'Fill it with tea and sell it on eBay,' I say.

It did not get a laugh, that one :-)

Long John jug

The show is over, people are leaving. We are simply delaying the inevitable.

Dailuaine 30yo d.1973 (46%, Direct Wines Limited First Cask, C#14736, b#70): nose: grassy, with hay and drying citrus peel. Mouth: citrus-y and creamy, lemon yogurt. Finish: long and milky. This is lovely. 9/10

Littlemill 17yo 1966/1984 (46%, Cadenhead): nose: fruity wine. Mouth: slightly drying, with the freshness of green grapes. Finish: long, fruity, sharp. More green grapes come through. 10/10

Springbank 1965/1987 (46%, Brae Dean Int. imported by Moon Import The Birds, Sherry Cask, C#367, 504b, b#462): nose: rancio, tobacco, menthol and stellar fruit. Mouth: fresh menthol and a hint of Virginia tobacco. Finish: menthol, tobacco, walnut flesh, walnut. Beautiful. 9/10

Time to bid EG and GG good bye, at the far end of the room. Nadi Fiori says good bye too and tells me to eat pasta.

'Actually, I could eat pasta, right now.'
'It is a piece of advice! Eat more pasta!'

We leave pat gva (we will see him again in the morning) and MV, who needs to prepare for his flight. He will tell us tomorrow morning that his suitcase finally made it to Glasgow, hours before he has to leave.
Time to go. Apart from the exhibitors dismantling their stands and the cleaners, we are the only ones left.

What a day!

My mood and impressions after day 2 are far more positive than yesterday's. This formula requires a lot of planning and discipline, yet it can make sense. Well glad I joined in on the fun, after all. It was also much more pleasant with seats and tables to spend time at, although it made for less efficient dramming (or did it?)

As many have observed, though: where are the locals? I think we saw half a dozen Scots only. I suspect the price point is too high to appeal to them and, considering most of the whisky enthusiasts live elsewhere (south of the border, the Continent, Asia, ...), this unfortunately might be perceived as an upper-class shindig that the locals cannot afford and are not interested in, with a similar effect to setting a golf club for billionaires in a ravaged, post-industrial town. Of course, this is where whisky is made. I simply am not sure how it is perceived by the local clientele, the very people who make the whisky.

Another oddity is that some stalls were almost always empty. Then again, some prices seemed less fair than others, and the offer varied quite dramatically, from eight bottles at Catawiki's to over 150 at Bero's. It made certain stands more popular than others and some exhibitors look sometimes very 'ronery.'

Epilogue

Now would be a good time for food. I fancy a curry. The Swissky Mafia took JS's and my recommendation for lunch, earlier, and went to Bread Meats Bread. They will now follow us anywhere when it comes to food.

The Wee Curry Shop it is, with backup plan at the Pig and the Butterfly.

The WCS is almost empty; they must be reaching the end of their shift. I believe it is with a mixture of satisfaction and dread that they see seven of us pass the door (SLK will join us after he has checked in).
One quick glance and the waiter goes, 'Seven pints?'
Laughs all round.

We giggle like schoolgirls after a gin and tonic when CD observes the waiter looks like Dave Broom; he *sort* of does -- a tanned Dave Broom.

One of the Mafiosi goes to the loo. When he comes back, the waiter asks the whole restaurant if it is OK to close the toilets for twenty minutes. More laughter (it seems to be unrelated, by the way).

The food is the usual great, with haggis pakoras stealing the show for everyone. No doubt they will go down in legend, as the fabled haggis nachos the Swissky Mafia had in Campbeltown. I have lamb sunghundi, JS has chilli garlic chicken and we share a peshwari naan and a saag panneer broccoli

Haggis pakoras

Chilli garlic chicken

Lamb sunghundi

Saag panneer broccoli

After the meal, CD pulls out a 1993 Laphroaig, which ends up in my mango lassi -- tropical fruit and peat, lovely.
R pours a dram of the Tomatin 20yo d.1965 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs' Choice), which we had yesterday and still goes down a treat.

Possibly the highlight of the whole weekend, however, is when PG empties a sample in a nosing glass and passes it around for dessert. A terrifying intensity, this -- think of Listerine. It is Karuizawa 1983/2014 (59.1%, OB for Nepal Earthquake Appeal, Sherry Cask, C#3557). I am not usually a fan of the distillery, but after the curry, this is top notch.

SLK departs as we leave the restaurant: he has an early flight tomorrow morning. The path back to our respective accommodations takes us past the Pot Still. That is where DH takes a leave. We enter, of course, and bump into the whisky-loving pianist, ceremoniously taking notes. He tells us we smell of curry...

...and spends ten minutes sniffing our clothes!

Great day. Legendary night.

Yay!