28/02/2025 Mystery sample #2

The second (in random order) in a series of samples received as part of recent purchases.

Nose: juicy plums, oily mahogany, and elegant drinks cabinets. We also find stains of melted milk chocolate on a beige leather sofa, and pressed dried dates. Despite the light colour, those notes suggest a beautiful Sherry maturation, with even gum drops and a dash of tame coffee. The second nose seems earthier, with pan-fried mushrooms and clay floors, spring humus and amchoor powder. The fruits and chocolate collide to give us oily pralines, but that is subdued. Mouth: here, it is suede, soft and velvety, yet accompanied by a subtle strength. Indeed, underneath that veneer of suede, we see cured plums, oily mahogany, and teak, and the pale bitterness that comes with the latter two. The second sip has decaying cubes of Galia melon, as well as a pine-flavoured gel (even if it is far from Gocce Pino levels) or liqueur. It has a faintly-bitter lick of green-citrus peel too, once more pretty subdued, and lime-filled milk-chocolate-glazed PiM's. Finish: Fino-like, perhaps? No, it is less dry. Fruity and mineral, it is also sweeter and darker than a Fino, in the finish. Amontillado, maybe? Irrespective, the finish has off-dry green grapes (Thurgau or Müller, to say something), yet also fresh pasta filled with Ricotta, alongside pressed prunes, sultanas, and white-wine-soaked nectarines. Repeated sipping brings about a strong sense of gulping lime-flavoured PiM's again, something that ends up in the spotlight, hogging all the attention. Green grapes come back towards the death ((Dry) Chenin Blanc), hand in hand with blanched hazelnuts and a delicate cigar (Petit Corona Blond). This is a delicious sipper.

Tomatin 12yo (43%, OB, Bourbon & Sherry Casks, b. ca. 2025) 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, Whisky-Online)

24/02/2025 Caol Ila

Caol Ila 14yo b.2022 (53%, OB Four Corners of Scotland Collection bottled for the distillery shop & malts.com, Refill and Freshly Charred Hogsheads, 3000b): final souvenir from Islay. Nose: a quintessential Caol Ila, in which fishing nets are frolicking with caster sugar, lukewarm kippers on toast are mingling with scrambled eggs, and honey-glazed cockles are swimming with smoked whelks. Mind you, it also has an ashy cast-iron grille and matte-dark-green modelling paint (Humbrol #149). Deeper nosing unveils plasticine left out to harden, and, of course, lemon peels -- or citron or calamansi, since it is neither too bitter, nor overtly acidic. Finally, we spot lukewarm Styrofoam (think: packing peanuts). The second nose rolls out more citrus (lemon-scented washing-up liquid comes to mind, even), salt water and seafood of various sorts (oysters). At the last minute, all that is matched, if not eclipsed, by smoked apricots. Yum! Mouth: on the palate too, it is an archetypal Caol Ila, with fishing nets and crisp citrus, seafood, and a drop of petrol, all augmented with a generous sprinkle of caster sugar. Chewing puts the emphasis on the petrol, and twists it to bring it close to tarry sands. One can picture the rainbow-like colouring petrol makes in a puddle of water. This is bold and assertive without losing a certain balance, without turning vulgar. The second sip is warm, with embers and burning charcoal that sea water fails to extinguish. That generates a lot of smoke, in turn used to smoke mussels and preserved lemons. It is frankly lemon-y, at this point. Finish: the petrol, here, converges with ink, and, if it is not a 1965 Ardbeg, it is not the first time a Caol Ila hits similar notes to the third smokehouse on the road to Kildalton. This is long, teeming with sea water, squid ink, smoked whelks, fishing nets boiled in sea water, and caster sugar heated in a copper or cast-iron pot, but not caramelised. Tarry sands rock up via retro-nasal olfaction, and the death brings the same feeling to the gob as smoking a citrus-y cigar. The second gulp is perhaps even bolder. It brings about burnt wood, extinguished with either marsh water extracted from a peat bog, or vase water. In any case, it works really well. This time, it is smoky cigarette ash that closes the proceedings. I reckon Gaija would love this. 8/10

Caol Ila 30yo 1984/2014 (52.8%, The Ultimate Rare Reserve, Hogshead, C#6261, 228b, b#42): leftover from a tasting last November. Nose: although clearly from the same stable, this is much sweeter and fruitier. Kumquat, peach, nectarine, as well as sherbet. We have a drop of citrus-scented washing-up liquid in a (yellow) plastic basin full of warm salt water. That may read strange, yet it works a treat. Behind all that is billowing cigarette smoke (light tobacco), blended with strawberry chewing gum. It creates a secondary-schoolyard atmosphere that triggers a mix of emotions. That tobacco, for example, is usually a turn-off for tOMoH, but it works, here. The second nose seems drier and focusses more on tobacco smoke (fag, rather than cigar or pipe), yet it recoups some fruit shortly thereafter -- fresh strawberries, now. Mouth: much mellower, it also feels less smoky and maritime than its sibling. Instead, we find sweetness: cherry-filled waffles (not turnovers, that do not have the same dough at all), golden choux dough, and enough sea water to help one remember we are not in Speyside (nor in Kansas, Dorothy). Chewing pours fine salt on a hot tin tray (unlike a Clynelish, which pours cats on a hot tin roof), and adds hot strawberry coulis and a dash of melted dark chocolate. Only in the background does one notice smoked seafood -- Gaston Lagaffe's famous cod in a strawberry sauce comes to mind, and it is appealing, today. The second sip doubles down on seafood and strawberry, and, if it tastes closer to cockles than to cod, it quite clearly strays towards the latter with time, firm, juicy and fishy. It develops a chalky quality, in time, without losing the fruit. Smoked Dextro Energy tablets. There. Finish: the closest it comes to the fourteen-year-old, this delivers burnt wood extinguished with murky water. At first, it is hard to tell if said water is from a vase, tainted by mud and floating algae, or salt water heavy with sand. After a minute, it no longer matters, owing to the arrival of baked nectarines, the juices of which are collected from a metallic baking tray. They are sprinkled with both salt and sugar, much to one's satisfaction. The second gulp has soluble fruit-flavoured energy tablets for a couple of seconds, until boggy clay hits like a ton of bricks, and opens the way for sherbet in vase water. Excellent dram. 9/10 (Thanks for the sample, cavalier66)

22/02/2025 Clones

BA and PS call off on the day, but OB and JS join me all the same in commemoration of the 22nd February 1997, when Dolly the sheep became the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.

...and t-shirts were made

The soundtrack: DJ Gert - Boccaccio Life Vol. 3 (CD2)

The soundtrack: Various - Dance Opera Empire 4

JS presents: Dollybardine.

Tullibardine 33yo 1972/2006 (43.1%, Dewar Rattray Cask Collection, C#2597, 141b): nose: it still delivers! All sorts of fruits -- carambola, wine-soaked orange segments, cured pineapple, cranberries, lychee, pomegranate seeds, and a lick of pine cone. OB finds it sour -- the pomegranate, surely. Some wood comes out at second nose. Mouth: soft, it is clearly woody, and just as fruity. Cured strawberries, wine-soaked orange segments, pomegranate seeds, red grapefruits. OB nails it with Fraise Tagada. Phwoar! We start with this? Finish: long, elegant, sparkly, it has ginger beer, decaying wood (a little bitterness, then), and sour apples. Full notes here.  9/10

tOMoH presents Dalaruan. Not the original, of course (the distillery closed a century ago, after a century of existence), but the Lost Distillery Company's, who cloned the original's flavour profile.

Dalaruan (46%, The Lost Distillery Company Archivist’s Selection, B#1/i, b#298): nose: meaty and gamy to the point I would not be surprised to learn it contains Mortlach. Pickled pearl onions too. It becomes more cardboard-y over time. Mouth: stewed fruits here, lingonberries and apples, yet it retains some of the meat and pickled-onion brine. 'Briny' is the word. Further sips are drier: a pinch of chalk sprinkled on steaks. Finish: long, it sticks to the gums, and is more acidic and fruitier here than it is meaty. Cranberries and lingonberries, rather than game. Full notes here. 7/10

The soundtrack: Noir Désir - 666.667 Club (this one is from 1996, but I listened to it a lot in 1997)

OB tells us that, in the film Attack of the Clones, we learn that the clones in question all come from Django Fett, whose son is Bobalvenie Fett. He actually wanted to make it a triplet and offer BowmoreBalvenie Fettercairn, but could not find a Fettercairn and threw the towel.

The Balvenie Tun 1401 (49.2%, OB Tun 1401 imported by Acla da Fans, 11 x Traditional Whisky Casks + 2 x Sherry Hogsheads, C#15914+5033+14824+7051+15342+15336+5823+13453+442+6440+5173, B#7): nose: so elegant! Full of prunes, polished dashboards, dried figs, shoe polish, as well as Tableau sticker-removal spray, and seared mushrooms. That is right: there is something a little earthy to this that tickles liquorice-root shavings. That, blueberry jellies and cashew paste. The second sniff has fragrant trees (thuja? Maple?) and marshmallow. Mouth: a masterclass of Sherry maturation. Dried fruits (dates loudest, on the palate), earth (button mushrooms) and rubber (faint bicycle inner-tubes). That rubber turns mildly drying at second sip, but it is, again, balanced, with dark honeys and maple syrups dusted with ashes. Finish: assertive softness, total control, extreme elegance. This is a little sweet, in a dark-honey style. Dark cough drops, grated candy necklace. It all dies with a minimum amount of mulled-wine spices (not the wine itself) and tar-black maple syrup. Excellent. Even though it is not necessarily my style of predilection, it is clearly extremely well made. 9/10

tOMoH presents a 1997 distillation, the year Dolly was created. Does it matter that we had it the same day as the Tullibardine, in the past? Answers on a postcard.

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): "much more whisky than the previous," says OB. Nose: citrus-y and rich at the same time, it has cosmetic powder, today. The second nose develops cigarette smoke, which is a surprise. Mouth: crystallised orange segments. It is chewy and a tad chalky in further sips, and very-softly bitter too. Finish: a gulp of milk coffee, lukewarm and diluted, totally tolerable for this non-coffee drinker. We also have warm metal (zinc pipes) cosying up to warm custard. Full notes here. 8/10

The soundtrack: Speedy J - Public Energy #1

OB presents Dolly... Parton - Jo-Linkwood. Wow.

Linkwood 23yo 1998/2021 (53.3%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength Exclusively bottled for TyndrumWhisy.com, Refill Sherry Hogshead, C#13808, B#21/214, 267b, 211030): nose: spicy, it has sumac and ground cloves. That morphs a few minutes in to develop dried rasp- or strawberry slices, wrapped in a veil of smoke. Said smoke is the result of burning oak bark. There is a spoonful of pine needles in this nose too. Subsequent sniffs have a plastic element, blended with dark-fruit jellies. Water tones down the spices and allows berries to shine brighter -- fresh berries too, now. Mouth: it starts out mellow and pleasant, then grows in spicy intensity, with sumac and crushed dried cherry stems. Strawberries of the dried kind appear here too, and, if one searches with intent, so does a soft sulphury note (OB). Juicy and lively, the second sip has darker-berry sweets, jellies, cough drops or other, a little bitter, perhaps, and delicious all round. Water makes this mellower, believe it or not, fruitier. Gone are the sulphur and the bitterness of cherry stems. It is all fruit jellies and jams. Finish: tree bark introduces dried raspberry slices and dried wild strawberries. Darker berries show up upon repeated quaffing, and it is gradually juicier, on the blackcurrant tip. Water cranks up the dark berries, juicy, if still a little bitter. That never becomes a distraction. Blueberries, myrtles, blackberries. This is a terrific swimmer. 8/10

tOMoH and JS present a grain from the Clone Denny range. Groan. Ha! Ha!

Port Dundas 21yo 1992/2013 (55.7%, Hunter Hamilton The Clan Denny, Refill Hogshead, C#HH9452): nose: very grassy and metallic. Welcome to Port Dundas. It also has rubber boots. Mouth: very rubbery (in a good way), it showcases ancient bike inner-tubes, old plumbing joints (rubber seals), old corn cobs, and oilskins faded by years in the sun. Finish: caramelised corn coated in syrup of sorts. It is less grassy and metallic here and deserves a perhaps-generous score. Full notes here. 8/10

tOMoH: "What did you think of the Port Dundas?"
JS: "It was nice."
OB: "Not sherried enough."

Soundtrack: Richie Hawtin - Pete Namlook - From Within III

tOMoH presents (with a little help from JS) a Baaaaah!-clones (for Balcones, see?)

140.17 3yo d.2019 Bowled over by cinnamon cola (62.8%, SMWS Society Cask, #3 Char New Oak Barrique, 217b): nose: "cinnamon cola is right" (OB). I find Werther's Original and maple toffee. It slowly reveal melted toffee ice cream and a lick of pine bark. Perhaps it is the memory of Clementine's Ozark Cabin ice cream. Mouth: a lot of cinnamon (OB). Almost drying, with crushed cassia bark, a clove or two, and Dr. Pepper. It is desiccating at second sip, like biting a stick of chalk. Finish: root beer, followed by warm chocolate custard and melted Mokatine. Wonderful finish. 8/10

OB: "The ABV is not crazy. [Looks at the bottle] Oh! Right."

To round off this superb tasting, we have a drop of Clynelish 12yo d.1973 (56.9%, OB exclusively bottled from original cask for Whiskyteca Edward & Edward, b#198) (or Clone-lish, as OB rightly points out). It slays. Funnily enough (because completely coincidental), we had it a year ago, almost to the day.

18/02/2025 Springbank

Whilst visiting a shop, JS and I are treated to two unlikely Springbank, hidden behind a side counter.

Springbank 10yo b.2017 (46%, OB imported by Pacific Edge Imports, 17/61): a lovely lemon-y earthy profile that warms one up with a tingling fruity tang. Just a plain Springbank 10? Well, yes and no. Look at the label: Springbank swapped those for a flashy orange one in late 2016 / early 2017. Of course, it is never clean-cut, in Campbeltown, and there are (few) 10yo Springers in that new livery with a 2016 code, and (fewer) 10yo sporting this old label bottled in 2017. This is possibly the last batch with the old label to find its way to the US. 8/10

Springbank 20yo 1997/2017 (55.2%, OB Single Cask exclusive bottling for Pacific Edge Wine & Spirits imported by Pacific Edge Imports, Fresh Sherry Cask, 192b, 17/163): although much more desirable a bottling, this one is much less my thing. Game casserole with a wine sauce, mouldy berries and sulphur on the nose, and a thick, coating and desiccating mouthfeel announce a long and warming, but also acrid finish. A great box to tick, if not my favourite box. 6/10

14/02/2025 Cocktail Night at StilL 630

In Missouri once more. PC and JS join me for an evening at one of the most interesting distilleries of the past ten years, in tOMoH's opinion. Certainly outside of Scotland.

StilL 630 24mo 2015/2025 X-86 (50%, OB Experimental, #3 Char Barrel, C#15-768, b#100): nose: roasted or charred apples, and punchy, oily apple-tree staves (why not?) Breathing allows fermented apples to emerge, in the long run. Mouth: it is very woody here too, with limited smoke and an abundance of apple pips. We also spot cut orchard-tree branches. Finish: sweeter than expected, it prolongs the smoked-apple-tree-wood vibe. There are review cards on the table, via which one is supposed to leave feedback to help the producers decide whether to make this again. It is whacky enough to be repeated, even though it is not fully successful. In small doses, maybe. 6/10

We try their cocktails, since that is the idea of the evening -- Fly to the Angels (made with their Expedition Rum) and an Old Fashioned (made with their S.S. Sorghum whiskey). Both good, with a strong preference for Fly to the Angels, simply because it is more original. We fail to take pictures.

I do not always drink whiskey. But when I do...

We swiftly move to whiskey, though.

The serious stuff

StilL 630 1yo b.2024 Still 2nd Shift (45%, OB Brewery Collab Series XI, New Oak Barrels, B#2): one year and seven months. At that age, every month counts! Nose: fruity! Fruits leap at you as if it were an IPA, with orange peels, carambola, and cucumber. Later on, we detect pickle, and a pickled citrus. Mouth: beer, Irn Bru... Is it rye? No, it is hoppy as a Jupiler; just one that would have more fruits soaked in it. JS detects ganja ("there is definitely a 1953 Glenfarclas thing going on"), while PC calls it hoppy. Finish: long, wide, and fruity again, we have more citrus peels, cured orange rinds, and a lick of chocolate. Perhaps it has a touch of wood, once JS suggests it. 7/10

StilL 630 6yo b.2024 Double Barrel RallyPoint (64.2%, OB Rare Release Barrel, 63mo in a 53-gallon Barrel + finished 12mo in 3 x 15-gallon Barrels, B#XI, b#95): nose: surprisingly un-rye-like (which is to say: no Irn Bru). Indeed, it has creamy wood, hazelnuts (skins on), and nut liqueur. Mahogany comes out at second sniff, then cured-grapefruit zest. Mouth: oh! Super dry and woody, desiccating. It has a lick of wood varnish, but it is a little plank-ish, close to chewing on wood chips. Repeated sipping increases that feeling. It is really bitter and drying. Finish: big, woody, full of wood shavings (some kind of darkish wood; it is unclear which). The second gulp is even woodier and drier. 6/10

StilL 630 5yo 2019/2025 Missouri Straight Bourbon (45%, OB, B#I): five years and eight months, although it is starting to be less relevant, at that age. Nose: much more traditional a nose, and very pleasant it is too. Maple syrup, marzipan, vanilla and Bourbon-cask staves, supplemented with billows of smoked orchard-tree wood. Mouth: it is a tad drying too, displaying dried orange peels, much less flavourful than in the previous dram, and cucumber peels. Indeed, it is lightly bitter too. Finish: toffee, cream soda, and crushed nut shells. Lovely. 7/10

Chilling with the PC

Enough for tonight. We could go on, but we have other things on our to-do list. I will shamefully have a headache of dehydration tomorrow; I will blame the cocktails, especially the one with rum in it, yet it could also be the hefty pours and the pace at which we downed them.

In any case, excellent place to visit on a Friday night.

And it comes to be
That the soothing light
At the end of your tunnel
Is just a freight train
Coming your way