15/06/2018 After-party at the SMWS

The twelve of us come out to light: it is still bright outside, despite it being past 21:15. We lose a few people who are either exhausted by the journey, or have later plans elsewhere, but Volanne, JK, TC, JS, PG and CD are up for a couple at the SMWS. A quick tube journey later, we barge into the hot-and-still-packed little venue.

On the bar, a line of discounted bottles.

95.18 24yo d.1990 A bed in a cornfield (55.7%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 150b): "what is 95?" asks Volanne. "Auchroisk," I say. "I know little about it, but I never really had a good Auchroisk," he admits. One nostril in, and he is ready to buy a bottle -- or two. Nose: very powerful, it has flowers and shaved galangal. Talcum powder joins the fun, freshly pulverised on baby buttocks. Volanne detects Boudoir biscuits, and I agree with him. Mouth: big, strong, almost brutal, in pure SMWS style. It has forsythia broth, hot plantain and lots of green chilli. Finish: very fruity, here, with nectarine (Volanne), satsumas, diluted mandarin juice and soft biscuit. 8/10

We have just enough time for a second round. I take the staff recommendation (and succinct notes).

73.78 14yo d.2001 Zingy, effervescent and intriguing (57.6%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Sherry Butt, 540b): nose: slightly smoky, then herbaceous. Mouth: gauze, bandages and peppermint. Finish: herbs, lime zest, milk chocolate, white-chocolate mousse and jack fruit (Volanne). 7/10

Glasses pass around and I try other things (a Glenrothes, a Cragganmore, perhaps others), but no notes.

Perfect ending to this lovely night. Now for some rest, because tomorrow is the big one.

15/06/2018 21+ Tasting at Cadenhead's

As the start of a big weekender, the eleven people who are already in town accompany me to Cadenhead's for a private tasting.

The 21+ is the upper echelon of the Tasting Room, here, running every first Friday of the month, and showcasing only whiskies aged 21 and above. The tasting being private (twelve people is the maximum capacity, and it is one big group, tonight) means the rules are looser. On top of trying the top end of the current range, we will be treated to exclusive things that are not available to buy anywhere, thanks to the staff having sporadic access to private casks. Yay. Having connections helps. :-)
Plus, there are lots of yummy nibbles to sustain ourselves and cleanse our palates in between drams. What could go wrong?

Up to no good, this lot!

The suspects: pat gva, Volanne, JH, PG, CD, JS, TC, JK, ruckus, EJ, jazzpianofingers and yours, truly. Sadly, DH called off: his boss rejected his holiday yesterday, because no-one could cover for him this weekend. Regardless, the shop is completely cluttered by the group, and it quickly turns into a merry place indeed, with hugs and parcel deliveries. We are soon led downstairs.

As has now become customary, most whiskies are poured blind. In fact, all but those that are not available for sale.

Rosebank 30yo d.1987 (43%, private cask sample, Bourbon Cask): nose: "rosewater," says Volanne. Honeysuckle, jasmine, dried kiwi, vine. CD finds it very perfume-y. Mouth: slightly mineral, with ginger and vine stems that have grown enough to turn into wood. Finish: it is astringent, acidic, with lashes of Chinese gooseberry. Lovely, and the perfect start. 8/10

SW: "Hipsters: failed young people who like to pretend to be among the working class to feel connected to society."

35.59 39yo d.1971 Arabian Nights (40.9%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 74b): this is of course brought by myself. Naturally, SW teases me for bringing something bottled by the competition. There is not much left in the bottle, it is great juice, and several people here today have not yet had it. Time to share. Nose: superbly fruity, with a drop of violet boiled sweets and fresh wood. Mouth: very soft, delicate, gentle and elegant. More boiled-sweet goodness. Finish: this never fails to impress, with lots of crystallised fruit and boiled sweets. 9/10

Light Creamy Vanilla 26yo (43.8%, Cadenhead Creations, B#3, b.2018): a blend of Aultmore, Braes of Glenlivet, Bruichladdich, Glen Grant, Glenlivet, Strathisla and Tamdhu, vatted in 2006, and aged in a single cask since. Nose: this is fresh as mouthwash, though it also has shards of exotic woods. Mouth: soft and spicy, gently drying, it has ground orange rinds. Finish: warm, fudge-y and orange-y, reminiscent of melted PiM'S. Lovely blend. JH immediately decides he wants to buy this, then later realises he has no space to store it. 8/10

SW: "We're doing a blended grain, soon, which sounds a bit like Beckham, but isn't."
JH: "Blend it like Beckham?"

Dram #4
Nose: squid ink, fresh tobacco leaves, kiwi peels and caramelised pie crust. Mouth: soft, quaffable, it has peach syrup, golden syrup and ginger. Finish: very soft, velvety and sweet, with dark fruit (blackcurrants) and grape-pip oil. SW claims I know what it is, but it takes me a while to remember that we talked about it twenty minutes ago. Port Dundas 29yo b.2018 (50.7%, Cadenhead World Whiskies, Bourbon Hogshead, 216b) 8/10

Dram #5
Nose: hazel tree and white shoe polish, at first, then crystallised ginger. This smells powerful and concentrated as Listerine or toothpaste. Mouth: here too, it is concentrated and gingery, rather hot. Finish: melted chocolate, ginger, ginseng. This is a bit green. Good, though I am not fully taken by it, unlike JK and Volanne, who love it. Linkwood-Glenlivet 30yo 1987/2018 (57.2%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection, Refill Sherry Butt, 480b) 7/10

Dram #6
Nose: blotting paper, caraway (Volanne), cumin, verdigris. Mouth: it is very rum-y, hot and drying. Finish: dark fruit, though not very ripe. It has a hint of blackcurrant, in the back. Invergordon 26yo b.2017 (53.5%, Cadenhead World Whiskies, Bourbon Hogshead, 132b) 7/10

Dram #7
Nose: this is very much a powerful white wine. And then, in a dramatic twist, it becomes very earthy, almost smoky, before grapes come back alongside oil paint and a dash of vinegar. Mouth: soft, it has some ginger heat all the same, as well as grape skins. Finish: this tingles the tongue alright, with pepper and the acidic note of grapes. Macduff 29yo 1989/2018 (55.1%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection, Refill Sherry Butt, 390b) which I enjoy more than in Campbeltown. 8/10

Springbank 30yo (42%, private cask sample, Fresh Bourbon Hogshead + Refill Sherry): nose: farm-y as fook, with farm paths, manure, burning hay-bale smoke and ink. Mouth: gentle, wine-y, it has super-dry leather saddles, a horse's harness and gag balls -- forget that last one; it is the alcohol and the company of filthy-minded people! Finish: dry leather, hay bales and scorched earth. It becomes more lemon-y towards the end. This is nice and deserves more time. But hay! [sic] 8/10

TC: "Do you have someone skilled woking on the Web site? Someone who knows what they are doing?"
SW: "Me."
TC: "No." :-)))

Dram #8
This one is one of mine. Nose: lovely peat smoke, mild and controlled, as well as fruit underneath the smoke (papaya, says CD). The fruit grows and grows, alongside a more earthy tone. Mouth: soft, mellow, almost, whilst earthy and oily. Finish: petrol and dry earth. This is an oil rig, with fishing nets, too. Amazing. After several collegiate attempts, CD miraculously guesses correctly that it is Bowmore 30yo (43%, OB,ceramic bottle, B230 10/01 , b.2006) (Well, he says, "Bowmore Sea Dragon," which is how it is colloquially known) 9/10

SW introduces the next dram as being a blend of all Islay distilleries, bar Kilchoman.
CD: "What percentage of Port Ellen is in this?"
JH: "Stop it!"
SW: "I'll say it's more than 30% and less than 95%."

Vatted Islay 47yo (47%, private cask sample, Sherry Cask): nose: super earthy, then meaty and smoky, with cured cutlets and marinated game. Mouth: meaty here too, with gravy and boiled beef. Finish: bread-y, like a bacon roll with game sauce. Most agree this is decent, but more interesting than good. 6/10

SW (who blended this and traditionally hates Islay whiskies): "I was trying to make it so I would enjoy it."
tOMoH: "And do you?"
SW: "No. Still Islay."

JH: "I smell condom in whisky all the time, I'm sorry!"

Shits and giggles. Great little evening. Thanks, SW for pulling all the stops!

Food was brilliant too

Continue here.

10/06/2018 Clearing the shelf #17

Springbank 12yo (40%, Eaglesome Campbeltown Commemoration, b. ca. 1985): as said in a previous post, it is unclear whether this is a single or a blended malt: it reads "vatted malt," but why vat different distillates, when the distillery was active and perfectly able to produce a single? It was a period of slow activity for Springbank, yet there are other 1985 around. And this was bottled in 1985, which, if a single, suggests an early-1970s distillation; that definitely exists, and did not require a vatting. Anyway. Nose: at first, it is waxy apples and encaustic, then, with breathing, more furniture polish comes out, then ink and engine oil. Most peculiarly, swirling it in the glass makes the ink/engine oil combination become more prominent; letting it sit still for a few seconds allows the orchard fruits and the furniture polish to speak loudest. There are also notes of plastic lunch box, linseed oil and fish scales. This is nice and complex alright! Mouth: oily, earthy, it has honey-glazed nuts, teak oil and ground Brazil nuts, as well as forest floor, after a drizzle, a dash of lemon juice and a spoonful of lemon marmalade. Finish: an unexpected touch of syrupy wine (Port? Sherry? Madeira?), dark-chocolate coulis, and even a lick of smoke. Lemon marmalade on a slightly-overdone toast. Once again, a great Campbeltown Commemoration offering. 8/10

Campbeltown 12yo (40%, Eaglesome Campbeltown Commemoration, b. ca. 1985): nose: this one is full of ink and stained blotting paper. Plastic buckets left in the desert sun for years, dry fishing nets, fresh laundry on a sandy beach. A minute in, it has cedar-wood sheets (the kind one uses to light a cigar) and dry hay. Even brine and pencil eraser appear, after a while. Mouth: it is a jig of wine-y and cereal-y notes, augmented with exhaust fumes to spic it up. On one hand we have Burgundy wine, refined and earthy, on the other, pot ale and iron tonic, all enveloped in diesel-engine fumes, gunpowder, and caramelised, squashed apricot. Finish: all the flavours from before come back with a vengeance. Fancy red wine, earth, cereals, exhaust fumes, apricot compote, dry fishing nets, hot sand, tobacco leaves, squid ink and blotting paper. Remarkable. 8/10

Glentauchers 27yo 1990/2018 (54.4%, Cadenhead Single Cask, Bourbon Barrel, 168b): nose: clover honey, plum compote, milky swede purée, fruity sweets (pear drops and pineapple cubes), then cereals grow in volume (toasted bagel), joined by old rags, cardboard and blotting paper again. Warm wine completes the picture -- usually a bad idea, but it works, in this instance. Mouth: softer than expected (we just had a 14% ABV increase, remember), it has apple compote, floury potato purée, and even cabbage water -- the whole laid to dry on blotting paper. Is this a blotting-paper sort of day? The palate is distinctly cereal-y and, well, very good. Finish: it retains all of the above, very fleetingly; what does appear durably, however, is incense. Incense, sandalwood, mouse droppings (I kid you not), a drop of Sherry wine and soft, pink, scented pencil eraser. Nice. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SW)

What do you do in the morning?

03/06/2018 One lonely Linkwood

Linkwood 22yo 1995/2018 (48.8%, Cadenhead Small Batch, 2 x Bourbon Hogsheads, 456b): nose: rather shy -- is the sample tired, perhaps? Celery? Warm sand? Ground green pepper, at a push? Am I smelling my minestrone, on the hob? I am really struggling to get anything out of this. After a couple of minutes, my impression of heat is confirmed -- warm earth, maybe, instead of sand. A sip or two in, the nose starts to develop at last -- fresh notes, Mediterranean-cuisine style: cucumber, courgette, lime; none of those are in my minestrone, so we are safe. Mouth: ah! Something is happening, here. A drop of lime juice on a fresh leaf salad, and a piece of chocolate next to it. It is acidic and gently herbaceous, though it does carry a certain sweetness as well. Cellophane appears in the middle of the tongue, yet the dominant are bitter-fresh notes of lime, lime zest and cucumber peels. Finish: warm milk chocolate, lime peels, fresh spinach (what!?), pomelo segments. The sweet turns into salty, and it becomes remarkably close to a margarita, fresh and salty. Salted-caramel coulis on a lime drizzle is the final, lasting impression. This is unusual and pretty good. It would beat a gin & tonic any day, and works a treat, in this humid heat we have been having, lately. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SW)

02/06/2018 June outturn at the SMWS

Let us get cracking!

51.5 16yo d.2001 Inside a confectioner's dreams (56.7%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill Barrel/ex-Bourbon, 180b): I only remember ever seeing 51.1 at the Queen Street venue in 2011, and being discouraged by the staff  to try it-- cannot remember if they said it was not all that, or if the bottle was tired (there was hardly anything left in it). In any case, one does not see a Society Bushmills every day, at least not one that does not masquerade under another number. Nose: Haribo sweets, Fraise Tagada, bubble gum, a touch of dry wood in the back, and then some herbs. Mouth: soft, sweet, fluffy -- oh! A bit of fire, now. Very hot peach compote. Finish: this is very warming, mildly metallic, fruity, but not as violently so as the nose. Milk-chocolate coulis completes the picture. 8/10

I manage to photograph 51.5 twice.
Here is a picture of cheeses instead
of 51.9.
You're welcome.

51.9 15yo d.2002 Sinful indulgence (54.2%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill Barrel/ex-Bourbon, 240b): you wait so long to see one, and two come out at once (and the numbers suggest there are three more, somewhere). Nose: drier fruits and flower petals, perfume, even. This is mellow, with powdered-sugar-sprinkled pastries. Mouth: soft, if quite warm, it has apricot nectar and caramelised compote. Finish: sweet apricot-y, with lovely apricot turnovers. 8/10

7.194 25yo d.1992 'Where the bee sucks' (53.4%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill Hogshead/ex-Bourbon, 214b): another odd one, where the name is between inverted commas. Those appear from time to time, unexplained. Nose: deep, dark peach nectar, sprinkled with rosewater, fresh mint paste and burnt rosewood. Mouth: soft, generous, fruity (a dash of cherry juice), though it has a kick too -- this is high-voltage. Finish: melted milk chocolate yellow fruit, some spices. The cherry returns briefly. Another corker. 8/10

9.146 22yo d.1995 Sweet, slightly spiced mead (52.3%, SMWS Society Cask, New Oak Hogshead/Custom Cask, 211b): nose: tobacco and rancio, brown shoe polish, barbour grease, shaving foam, hints of a rubbish lorry in the far back (and it works!), chicken tikka, too. Mouth: this one is very mellow, balanced, soft and fluffy; it has orange juice and shaving foam with a whisper of smoke. Finish: leather and dried orange rinds. 8/10

4.241 15yo d.2002 Humbrecht's cough medicine (55.8%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill Barrel/ex-Bourbon, 191b): notice the reference to Malt Maniac Olivier Humbrecht for those in-the-know? This is his favourite distillery. It seems like a lousy-placed self-accolade to me, and to those at my table, today. Michael Jackson taught me never to name-drop. Nose: honeyed-up heather, a lavender campfire, upon which a bowl of honey is melting. Lozenges and mints are also there. Mouth: nice, honeyed and warming, it has a pinch of grated ginger and other wood spices, as well as warm honey. Finish: mints and cough lozenges, warm honey again, heather sap and a slight bitterness. Lovely HP, this. 8/10

G15.3 8yo d.2009 Meet your cocktail maker (58.3%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill Barrel/ex-Bourbon, 235b): I try this one quickly in PS's glass. Nose: herbs and metal. Mouth: more herbs, dried moss and lichen on dry stone. Finish: decaying pear and lichen. Decent, yet not a patch on the 1967 official bottling, unsurprisingly. 6/10

GK is sponsored by Ardbeg Grooves

Ardbeg Grooves (46%, OB, ex-Wine Casks, b.2018): nose: charcoal, pencil lead, pencil shavings, then vindaloo curry -- this promises some heat! Mouth: it is crayons, now, softer and sweeter than the nose suggested, but it retains a pencil-y feel. Finish: crayons, pencils, dry earth, ash, ash, ash. Simple and rather nice. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, HT)

This year's Ardbeg truck

Very good outturn, based on those five -- I have not tried the rest of the drams. Frustratingly, there was no 135.1 left, not even by the dram, thanks to preview tastings, pre-preview tastings and pre-pre-preview tastings since Wednesday. Great planning, guys! On the day this comes out (today), several bottlings have sold out and are not available at the bar. What a wonderful way to piss off customers.