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

25/04/2026 The Whisky Fair (Day 1 -- Part 4) Rarities for Charity

This year, JS and I are attending the Rarities for Charity tasting with elskling and LsR. OO is here too, as are thirty-or-so others. Gérard Hofmann is hosting with Henrik Schmidt. Patrick de Schultess is busy elsewhere, so he is not there.

J. & G. Grant from the Glenlivet District 5yo d.1967 (40%, Grant Bonding imported and distributed by Girolamo-Luxardo)

Nose: austere, it has lots of cardboard, pickled gherkins, hay. JS finds OBE and toasted cereals in an old library. A cardboard box used to transport vanilla.

Mouth: same cardboard action, perhaps leather and, if any fruit, it is bone-dry strawberry slices. elskling finds it mineral.

Finish: cereal-y, a bit raw. We may find vanilla biscuits (JS) or digestive biscuits. It is so chock-full of cereals it could also just be Horlicks.

Comment: good, provided one likes cereals. How unlikely is it that we would try two of those J. & G. Grant in less than a year, eh?

Score: 8/10

Starter is served.

Spargelsuppe

Tomatin 28yo 1982/2010 (55.3%, Scotch Single Malt Circle, Sherry Cask, C#29, 574b)

Nose: this is entirely taken over by the Sherry cask. Fruits do kick into gear, fortunately. It is a compact and almost intimidating nose, though. Last to appear are crayons and dried peach slices.

Mouth: och! Pickled red onions, pearl onions from a jar. That recedes to deliver unripe berries, but it remains a big, scary Sherried dram.

Finish: creamy and fruity, it has lots of berries, yet that is sadly hampered by a sour, briny note.

Comment: considering how difficult these bottlings are to get hold of, it is always interesting to try one. I cannot say I am entranced by this particular one, all the same.

Score: 6/10

The next bottle is presented by the Scotch Single Malt Circle ambassador herself. She explains in detail how the founder introduced the Scotch Malt Whisky Society into Germany who gave her a choice in the 1990s: to pay a large sum of money and continue or to jog on. She did not have said large sum of money and parted ways with the SMWS, but carried on pushing liquid, now with another club, the SSMC.

I had no knowledge of that story and welcome the informative introduction.

Clynelish 9yo 1990/1999 (57.4%, Scotch Single Malt Circle, C#3210)

Nose: mint paste applied on waxy fruits. It has spent wick too. Honestly, it is not perfectly balanced, out of this freshly-opened bottle, but it is promising. The second nose has vanilla custard and a sweet shortcrust.

Mouth: mmmh! Wax, yellow fruits punctuated with a lot of pepper and a pinch of ash. The waxy fruits probably come out most, but it is also rather strong, a sensation increased by the presence of white pepper. Water tones that down and lets the fruits shine brighter.

Finish: dry, hot, waxy and fruity. It has a lot of ash propping up yellow fruits (plum, Mirabelle plum, peach). Water makes this softer and fruitier, and increases the presence of yellow and white fruits, which eclipse wax and wick almost entirely.

Comment: this is a belter. Were it not for the imbalance on the palate at first, it would score higher.

Score: 8/10

Henrik goes geeky-and-three-quarters for the next bottle. He tells us (too much about) how to date a bottle of White Horse, how the various sovereigns on the seal give the era, which label goes with which bottle engraving, how the brand name evolved, what the thickness of the tin foil tells us et caetera. Twice, the audience claps to put a stop to the logorrhea; twice, he tells us he has more to say. Being a geek myself, I am torn: what he tells us is immensely interesting; on the other hand, we have a strict deadline. I also notice he is losing the crowd at pace.

Tin-foil stories.

On the right, a 1980s bottling.

On the left, a 1940s bottling.

In fact, the explanation takes so long that JS's right-hand-side neighbour pulls out a bottle from his bag and starts pouring it. "It has the white horse on the label; I thought it would be interesting to try them side by side."

Main course enters at the same time for total overload. I elect to eat first.

Pasta with mushrooms and courgettes

LsR: "I am reminded that only the French can make bread."
tOMoH: "I am reminded that the French abroad are insufferable."

Glen Elgin 12yo (no ABV, OB, no bottle size, SC803)

Nose: hay and muesli punctuated by yellow fruits.

Mouth: a lovely old bottling, it has lemon zest in cream custard. Citrus rises and rises.

Finish: soft and citrus-y, the hay note is a little too pronounced for me.

Comment: always nice to try these old dusties.

Score: 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, T)

The Blended Scotch Whisky of the White Horse Cellar (86.80° Proof, White Horse Distillers imported by Browne Vintners, b#AU915749, b. ca. 1940s)

Nose: it smells well integrated, but also a bit mass-produced. We have suede and hay, I guess.

Mouth: soft, it continues dishing out suede, now with leather and corduroy cushions.

Finish: easy, it has a lick of leather, dry hay and horse's hair (or is that the power of suggestion?)

Comment: just like the one we had earlier this month, this is fairly nondescript and not worthy of the reputation it enjoys in some circles, in my opinion. And I that it contains Malt Mill does not change my opinion.

Score: 7/10

After spending too long on the first four drams, we pick up the pace.

Lochindaal 12yo 2010/2022 (49.9%, The Finest Malts for DramOff, Bourbon Barrel, C#4395, 72b)

Nose: roasted fruits and faint smoke.

Mouth: sweet, porridge-y, it is also acidic, fruity and farm-y to an extent. Some find it peaty, but I do not. It does become salty at second sip, on the other hand.

Finish: long and bold, dry, smoky, farm-y in a mud cake way.

Comment: unremarkable. There is nothing wrong with it; I simply do not find it impressive.

Score: 6/10

Irish Single Malt 28yo 1989/2017 Vol.1 (56.2%, Limited Whisky Investment The Monkey Series in co-operation with Sansibar, Bourbon Cask, 164b, 16/05058)

Nose: mango purée, melted papaya, squashed persimmon, butternut purée (JS), then baked puff pastry and stewed peaches.

Mouth: wonderful. Mango turnovers followed by hot metal baking trays and baked satsumas. This has 'pastry' written all over it.

Finish: lots of hot turnovers slightly tainted by the metal tray they were baked on. It is a bit unbalanced, here, too liberal with the metal, if very acceptable.

Comment: we are nit-picking. It is not one of the great Irish, but it is a great whiskey. By the way, the bottle code suggests it was bottled in 2016, whatever the label reads.

Score: 8/10

JS: "It is lacking in maracuja."

Dessert.

Tiramisù

Glenfarclas 12yo (45%, OB for F.W. Hempel Metallurgical GmbH)

Nose: another one that is full of fruity turnovers, with baked mangoes and apricots, smashed papayas and melting persimmons.

Mouth: creamy and fruity, it has a bite alright. It is hot, metallic and turns acidic with time.

Finish: pretty acidic here too, it has sour fruit jellies, followed by a faint bitterness of unripe fruit.

Comment: good.

Score: 8/10

JS: "It's a complete Ball-indall-ache."

I pull out empty sample bottles, as I know I will not finish the line-up intact and I do want to enjoy the drams, at some point. elskling sees my Post-Its.

elskling: "Qu'est-ce que c'est que ce travail de cochon? Here, take one of my labels!"

A bottle comes out of nowhere, delaying us further.

Glenturret 29yo 1989/2019 (44.7%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Hogshead, C#238, 253b, b#112)

Nose: grout, mortar, crumbly Korean pear. It is chalky indeed, and I find that really challenging, at this point.

Mouth: big and lively, it has some fruits, but especially a lot of horsepower. Later on, we detect rocket and apricot. Aprocket?

Finish: rocket is right! Peppery and bitter as fuck. Spinach, rocket, peach stones. There are vague hints of apricot, but they are easily missed.

Comment: not sure why anyone thought it was a good idea to slide this one here.

Score: 6/10 (Thanks for the dram, Babelfisch42)

We are now so late and I am starting to feel the effect of alcohol so much that JS and I decide to skip the next dram. Fortunately, I have empty samples, so we will try it later.

The Balvenie 32yo 1966/1998 (42.1%, OB Vintage Cask, C#6432, 264b, b#36)

Springbank d.1963 (46%, OB imported by Preiss Import, b. ca.1985)

Nose: we go stratospheric. This has an incredible depth. With every new sniff, it keeps rolling out more fruits (ripe plums, Mirabelle, greengages) and marzipan. The source simply will not dry up.

Mouth: perfect balance of fruit, herbs, ginger and varnish. Not sure how that reads, but it is harmonious on the palate.

Finish: incredible finish.

Comment: I will need to spend more time with this. I am no longer in the right state to express my appreciation.

Score: 9/10

GH: "1963 is a rare vintage."
PhG: "Great vintage."
GH: "Yeah, for those born in 1963. Not as good as those born in 1966, but shit happens."

We are more or less kicked out. We made it alive. Just.

Ambitious tasting. The selection only had things that most of us would not have been able to try anywhere else. That some were less my thing than others is irrelevant: they were indeed rare, and that is what was promised. The food was excellent (yes, even the bread) and the company relaxed and friendly.

Personally, I thought two things could be improved: the introduction of each bottle was a bit loose in places, which tried the patience of some. As said, being a geek myself, I found the flood of information interesting, but I would have preferred a better balance between information and time-keeping. The second point is the attendees shoehorning their own bottles into the line-up. It comes from a very kind intention (they want to share), but the effect is rarely what they hope for. Instead, it disrupts, distracts, delays, and sometimes destroys the rest of the line-up (remember that London Whisky Club tasting, during which a generous customer offered an unplanned Millburn Rare Malt at 61.9% right before the planned Banff at 43%?) The hosts worked hard to build a line-up that works; it is inconsiderate at best to kibosh that line-up with an additional bottle.

Ultimately, fun was had. Tomorrow morning will be difficult. 

25/04/2026 The Whisky Fair (Day 1 -- Part 3)

Glenmhor (43 GL, OB imported by Cantine Cairella)

Nose: hints of barley do not eclipse a rather-austere profile, all in all -- wet cardboard and dust. Fortunately, tOMoH likes that.

Mouth: cereal-y and fruity to a point. It has a good portion of citrus served on cardboard (grapefruit segments) and roasted apple slices.

Finish: bigger than expected for the modest ABV, it continues with roasted apples and grapefruit segments.

Comment: love these old-school Highlanders. This one is a rarely-seen example to boot.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

A new stand? Who is manning it? KCF!

Macduff 18yo 2007/2026 (48.9%, Scout Drinks, Hogshead, C#800220, 210b)

Nose: toffee followed by purple berries, honey-glazed gooseberries and physalis.

Mouth: sandy and fruity, it has a bitter profile, with unsweetened mixed peel and orange peels.

Finish: very orange-y and sweet, now. Marmalade, mixed peel, mint crumbles covered in orange juice.

Comment: this is good. Finishing the second sip after another couple of other drams, I downgrade my score.

Score: 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, KCF)

Hi PT.

Highland 49yo 1976/2026 (45.1%, Thompson Bros. specially bottled for Dornoch Castle, Hogshead, C#SR26050, 140b)

Nose: FRUIT! Peaches and mangoes the loudest. What a smack in the face.

Mouth: mango juice with an uncharacteristic dryness. Mind you, it is not abrasive or anything.

Finish: long, fruity, teeming with peaches, persimmons, apricots and mangoes.

Comment: phwoar! I would love to spend more time with this.

Score: 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, PT)

What does one try to follow that? Oh!...

Bowmore 1969/1979 (56.2GL / 98.8° Proof, OB imported by Fecchio & Frassà, Sherry Cask)

Nose: earthy-fruity, this is immediately insahne. It is maracuja and chikoo fallen into mud.

Mouth: that surreal fruitiness makes me emotional effortlessly. It has got earth, rancio, fine Rhine sand and wheelbarrows full of tropical fruits.

Finish: and here are the Bowmore eyes. This is at the confluence of earth, mud, salty beach sand and unreal tropical fruits. Carambola, dragon fruit, snakehead fruit, longan, chikoo...

Comment: another one with which I would like to spend hours (as I did in 2016). No time today, but this is an obvious masterpiece, even in these circumstances.

Score: 11/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

Glenugie 23yo 1981/2005 (61.9%, Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare imported by Va.Ma, Sherry Butt, C#5155, 516b, b#194)

Nose: precious wood, lacquer, shoe polish, black leather belts, dark nuts (Brazil, Kluwak).

Mouth: as expected, not much of the Glenugie character subsists, here, but what an outstanding Sherry maturation! Shoe polish, leather sofas, chocolate blended with wood lacquer.

Finish: long, earthy, it has prunes, raisins and currants aplenty, but also beef stock.

Comment: woah! It suffers from the sequence (what would not), which is reflected in the score.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

Hi AH! Hi VW!

Rittenhouse 4yo 1944/1948 Straight Rye (100 Proof, OB)

Nose: this is unmistakably a Rye, full of Irn Bru and sweetened iron juice, then floor polish. And is that a whisper of smoke?

Mouth: full and sweet, it has more Irn Bru and lemonades made with various citrus.

Finish: subtle, sweet and orange-y. Irn Bru still prevails, though.

Comment: the label tells us that Continental Distilling Corp. made this at Registered Distillery, which is a bit of a daft name, you will agree. Not sure how AH determined the dates, here, but how special to try something from 1944! Remember not a single Scottish distillery was producing at the time.

Score: 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, AH)

Planters Ozark Highlands (57%, OB Family Reserve, B#High Ground, b#039, b. ca. 2026)

Nose: drier and dirtier, it still has the Irn Bru and iron that come with the rye. Follow smoke, swarf and burnt metal filings.

Mouth: creamy, orange-y notes. Satsumas now take over and push the iron into the shadow.

Finish: big, full of orangeade, lemonade and but a faint lick of iron.

Comment: these two seem to be on a mission to convert the world to Nobleton (they brought some last year). One can understand why; it is good.

Score: 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, AH and VW)

Ben Nevis 29yo 1996/2026 (48.1%, Scout Drinks, Hogshead, C#1558)

Nose: cut mangoes and smashed longans. This is really fruity.

Mouth: fruity Sprite or Fanta, bold and sparkly. More sipping makes this fruity as fook, with mango, tangerine and more longan.

Finish: soft and creamy like a mango yoghurt enhanced with smashed papaya.

Comment: so many Ben Nevis 1996 on display, today. This may just be my favourite.

Score: 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, KCF)

The clock is ticking. Let us visit Kirk Barleycorn, since he will not be here tomorrow.

Benriach 1996/2026 (46.7%, Malts of Scotland Rare Casks handselected & exclusively bottled for The Whisky Dreamers, Bourbon Hogshead, C#MoS26016, 236b, b#96)

Nose: fruity pastry, turnovers, pies. It smells like it could have a whiff of smoke too, which is unexpected.

Mouth: warm, fruity, it has crusty turnovers to kill for.

Finish: long, full of pastry again, mostly pineapple turnovers, now.

Comment: another cracking selection by The Whisky Dreamers.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, Kirk)

Kirk Barleycorn: "If I understood correctly, you are a big fan of Talisker…"

tOMoH: "I have a love-hate relationship with Talisker. I only like it at forty years or older, or distilled in the 1950s or earlier. But I appreciate the gesture, and the bottle you are holding is very good. dom666 let me try it a while (many years) ago."

Talisker 25yo 1975/2001 (59.9%, OB Natural Cask Strength imported by United Distillers & Vintners Lausanne, 6000b, b#1089)

Nose: it is strong and peppery, ripe with saline, maritime notes. Behind that, we detect some smoke straight from the industrial revolution.

Mouth: indeed, lots of peppery smoke cloak juicy fruits. The second sip has a drying mineral touch.

Finish: long and hairy, it has dusty boilers, in a smoky room. It ends with a pinch of soot and bitter crushed seashells.

Comment: undeniably quality, but this is not my favourite type of Talisker.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, Kirk)

Strathisla 1989/2024 (45%, Malts of Scotland Rare Casks handselected & exclusively bottled for The Whisky Dreamers, Sherry Hogshead, C#MoS25027, 110b, b#89)

Nose: well, it clearly has chocolate, then berries (blackberries, blueberries), then white fruits behind that: green grapes, lychees, white peaches. Even later, currants rock up.

Mouth: dry and earthy, here are lots of raisins, prunes, dried currants. It is also quite strong. When the taste buds wake up, we have a medicinal note and it becomes woodier too.

Finish: a soft, earthy touch, some precious wood without the bitterness and a lingering fruitiness -- namely currants and raisins.

Comment: delicious.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, Kirk)

It is almost over. for the day JS leaves. I decide I have to at least say hello to the Swissky Mafia. PG produces his Emergency Banff and tells me how he just established the In-Between Banff Club. We are at the end of the main event and about to enter a masterclass. It seems fitting to have an in-between Banff.

Banff 23yo 1979/2002 (46%, Ian Macleod Chieftain's, Hogshead, C#476/499, 708b)

Nose: initially farm-y, it soon emits a lot of fruits, starting with apples and pears, then moving towards dark grapes. It takes on an earthier profile shortly thereafter.

Mouth: unmistakably Banff, if has mustard, hay or straw, porridge. It grows drier and drier, yet remains fruity throughout.

Finish: soft and fruity, it is overflowing with plump apricots.

Comment: amazing.

Score: 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, PG)

Time to run to the tasting.