17/04/2026 Talisker

There is much to infer about the state of the industry from the fact that Diageo, owners of Talisker, have started bottling single casks of one of their most-prized brands for private clients. This one for Hedonism is the first to come to our attention, but, two weeks later, Dornoch Castle Hotel announced their own such bottling. It had never been done. Probably, more will come.

Talisker 16yo b.268 (59.2%, OB specially bottled for Hedonism Wines, 15y ex-Bourbon American Hogshead + 1y Sherry Puncheon, 198b): nose: we have old boxes of spices, including bay leaves, cloves, cassia bark and black peppercorns. There are dried cherries too. What smoke we find is limited to a general cosy atmosphere in a rustic kitchen. We then discover warm shirt buttons and warm cocktails served in wooden cups. Cocktails? Yeah; rum, orange liqueur, pineapple juice. That is enjoyed in a freshly-waxed armchair on a hot summer evening. Ha! One can even smell some mosquito repellent on other patrons' skin. That is quite on point, seeing how Skye is infested by midges. The second nose sees moist textile of some kind, in continuation with the buttons from earlier. To follow, we have twigs and dead plants in a greenhouse, and the green wellies that go with it. Some really unlikely (if not unpleasant) notes, here! Mouth: oof! this is thick. Apricot nectar in texture, velvety and coating. Half a chew gives a gentle medicinal kick (hawthorn jelly caps), but what comes next is more in keeping with the distillery character: a copious dose of cracked black pepper and a bold alcohol bite. To even that out, grilled and roasted fruits (pineapple, apricot, papaya). It is smokier as it develops, and retro-nasal olfaction picks up a campfire in a coastal shelter. The second sip feels sweeter on entry. It may be mint crumbles, though it is fierce enough to be spearmint crumbles. Chewing brings out the same fruits again and adds unripe kumquat (and foliage) for shits and giggles. That makes the palate juicy and a tad bitterer. Finish: big and fiery, if not explosive, which means it is strong, numbing, yet not overpowering. It is also more traditional, here, with burnt wood and smoke. That said, it presents flint and fruit stones such as peach and avocado. There is less fruit flesh, on the other hand -- charred papaya, perhaps. We find a refreshing drop of bleach on top of that, or swimming-pool water (read: chlorine). It leaves the mouth as dry as if one had munched on chalk, though. The second gulp is closer to my preference, as fruits come out more (crystallised citrus taken with chopped mint leaves), wrapped in a hearty smoke. Smoked papaya skins and pineapple shavings rock up at the death. One more point awarded! 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, MSo)

13/04/2026 Laphwoar

Laphroaig 31yo 1974/2005 (49.7%, OB for La Maison du Whisky, Sherry Wood Casks, 910b, b#652): nose: phwoar! It has few fruits to begin with, if any; instead, we find tyres warmed by an hour on the race track, distant smoke and marzipan. Then, it is a scallop roll splashed with pressed-prune juice, and the water of rehydrated raisins and figs. I remember finding it rubbery, the first time, some twenty years ago, and, indeed, it has some of that, yet it is so well integrated, now, that it certainly does not tarnish the pleasure. It turns earthier, with dark mud and tarry soil, but we never shake off the prunes. With some insistence, we may spot caramelised lychee in amongst the earthy dried fruits and potting soil, as well as honey-glazed button mushrooms. The second nose brings a vaguely-maritime allure, scents of diesel and sea breeze in the sun-drenched harbour. Suddenly, a costermonger drives by in a van. Unripe bananas, plums, pomegranates, passion fruits, blueberries, mulberries, hazelnuts still attached to a cut branch, quinces and longans. There is a whisper of gas and faint manure too, as if the van were displacing a sewer's manhole, and that is oddly original. It any case, it is not a bright and clear fruitiness; it wrestles with darker, dirtier notes of rubber, smoke and decay. Mouth: immensely smoky on entry, peaty, borderline ashy. Half a chew creates an onslaught of fruits, tropical and otherwise, with dark cherries, purple passion fruits, smoked carambolas, cured peaches, caramelised lychees and snakehead fruits. It then produces a big slap of burnt wood and burnt tyre, with the latter becoming the dominant, acrid, bitter, sticky. More chewing helps us claw back some fruits coated in tar. The second sip appears more acidic and has brighter cherries (Lambert or even Rainier), a hazelnut paste made of unripe hazelnuts, gooseberry jelly, pink passion fruits and plums. Chewing increases the depth and we find that nectarines replace our plums, cured peaches and purple passion fruits (louder and louder) accompanied by a growing smoke, albeit thinner than earlier, acrid, yet still fruity, as emitted by a fire of fruit-tree wood. Caramelised lychee comes back to the fore too. Finish: it is tar and burnt rubber at first, and the acrid black smoke takes a while to settle. When it does, the costermonger is back. On the stall this time, caramelised chestnut shells. Behind them stand smoked cherries, cured peaches and apricots, rehydrated raisins and currants, prunes, smoked purple passion fruits, fresh figs, longans and chikoo. All that is experienced in a shed filled with dark smoke, surrounded by tyres and rubber fenders. The second gulp has bolder wood -- polished walnut armchairs in a room that also has an open fire. That introduces forest fruits such as bilberries, blackcurrants, myrtles, then smoked greengages, only to die with a kick of fleeting unripe passion fruit, which is to say it has a mild bitterness. All in all, it seems more youthful and uncouth than earlier in the year, but no less complex and enjoyable. To be perfectly clear, this is a masterpiece worthy of an irrepressible 'phwoar'. 10/10 (Thanks for the sample, dom666)

10/04/2026 Glen Mhor

Glen Mhor 1982/2009 (46%, Berry Bros. & Rudd Berrys' Own Selection, C#1231): nose: a whiff of sea air, brine-y, close to sea spray, albeit one from a warmer climate than the Moray Firth. Beneath that is a larder loaded with jars of marmalade, some of which are not tightly sealed. Sugary citrus, syrup and tin lids, then. This nose has a reassuring presence; maybe a basketful of logs by a wood stove in a room where marmalade is being made. It is rather grandmotherly -- if one accepts that one's grandmother may have lived not far from the sea. Yes: marmalade, wood, salty air and even gas, somehow. Oh! Nothing unpleasant; just a whisper of natural gas, as if there was also a gas stove on site. To follow all that, we detect warm metal. It is now dusty zinc gutters or galvanised-iron buckets, instead of tin. The second nose unearths dry blond tobacco and a little smoke coming out of it to supplement the inescapable marmalade, which happens to be spread on sponge cakes, now -- imagine PiM's without the chocolate coating. Mouth: it is definitely metallic on the tongue, and a little salty. Dusty disused boilers, ancient salt mills, salty marmalade in the tin lid of the jar it came out of. Chewing adds a strip of rubbery tyre still warm from the car race. This has a clear bitterness to it, though something dark and tarry, not leafy nor vegetal. Perhaps it has eucalyptus bark as well, and still that bold salt that now suggests salt water, not unlike drinking lukewarm sea water. The second sip manages to be both bitterer and sweeter. It should make no sense, yet it works perfectly. Lukewarm yuzu tea in which one dumped cigarette ashes. The light smoke comes from a boiler room, though, not from a cigarette. Finish: this demonstrates, as if we needed it, that 46% is a splendid strength. It allows the flavours to shine, while retaining some bite. We have tyres, salt, dusty metal, old spoons, a lick of black liquorice bootlace, creosote, tar and even mentholated-cigarette ash, after a long while. The whole is sprinkled with ground mace, which is original. The second gulp stirs up more marmalade (yuzu more than orange), blows ciggy smoke on it, and sprinkles it with ground mace and metal filings. That is experienced while sitting on a zinc gutter on the edge of the roof of a seaside bungalow. Superb old-schooler. 8/10

06/04/2026 Undisclosed Speyside

Speyside Region 44yo 1973/2017 (47.4%, East Village Whisky Company, Sherry Butt, 142b, b#125): we had this one a couple of times (here and here), but never on its own. Nose: smashed strawberries aplenty! Strawberries on Biscote, dried strawberries, strawberry coulis... Say! this could easily be seen as a one-hit-wonder. What a hit, though. Jelly follows and you will never guess what kind it is -- strawberry. Ha! It turns darker and more serious, with caramel coulis and a dash of liqueur (strawberry liqueur?), before pushing some kind of pink flowers reminiscent of cherry blossom. Then, we find boiled sweets and strawberry chewing gum mingling with beetroot peels, root-y and earthy as one would think. How original! There may be some raspberries in the middle as well. The second nose centres on woodier tones, with fruity-cinnamon-y yoghurt, papier mâché and pink edible paper. Strawberries do come back, of course, but more fleetingly. Mouth: gorgeously fruity, it has more of the strawberry avalanche -- smashed, in a coulis, jellied... All are here. The texture is silky and creamy until one chews, at which point, it comes across as pure fruit juice (berries, you guessed it), perhaps augmented with a drop of nail varnish and a slice of banana. Come to think of it, it has Haribo Bananas, soft, sweet and made a tad acidic by a sprinkle of sherbet.. Retro-nasal olfaction detects the most-minute woodiness, with cinnamon bark and mixed peel past its prime. The second sip is a little bitter: satsuma peels and a delicate ginger paste to complement the strawberry parade. It becomes chewy too, like an orange-and-strawberry-flavoured papier mâché. Finish: surprisingly full and assertive for the ABV, it rolls out the strawberry-coloured carpet: smashed strawberries on Biscote, strawberry jelly, but also dried pineapple rings and mango slices, as well as a lovely vanilla custard in which all those are blended. The second gulp brings us a satsuma-flavoured yoghurt, which is quite a departure from before. Acidic and a trifle bitter, sprinkled with mango powder, yet it remains creamy. In fact, it dies with a breath of fresh, if not overly-juicy, mango. Wow. Simple-ish, but efficient. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, OB)

02/04/2026 PP's 70th birthday tasting @ the Melody

My first proper visit to this famous venue (I came once, fleetingly, to collect something). PS, DW, CBn, EC, BB, SOB, cavalier66, MSo, BA, SD, CC, JS, tOMoH and more join PP in this far flung corner of the city to celebrate this milestone. AN will make a grand entrance as we start the final dram, ha! ha!

Others are already at work when we arrive on site; some are eating, some are drinking. PS pours his thing that has a Cadbury's-looking label. I take no notes.

When we are called in the dining room, where the main event takes place, BB picks up his bag of goodies from the chair. The bag falls down, a bottle breaks. The staff help him salvage, oh!, 8cl. Considering the damage, BB seems to take it with commendable stoicism. We do our best to not let that taint the rest of the evening.

Fortunately, our minds are busy

This spring cap
confused our host

PP gives a short introduction and explains there will not be a whole lot of chichi about what we are about to try: they are bottles that are somehow related to 1956 or to PP, and he wanted to share them. Simples.

The first one was bottled in 1959. It is likely three years old (the legal minimum), which would make it a 1956ish distillation.

King George IV (44 Gradi, The Distillers Agency imported by Carlo Salengo, Seasoned Wood)

Nose: lots of OBE, with tin lids, corroded iron, brass buttons, copper coins covered in Verdigris and tainted marmalade. Coffee emerges after a while, delicate and refined, rather than invasive. The second nose offers a pinch of soot.
Mouth: yeah, lovely old-bottle effect. It has loads of oxidised metal and lukewarm marmalade. The second sip sees a ton of dust and more soot.
Finish: bigger than expected, it prolongs the above, with marmalade and the tin lids of marmalade jars. There is a soft bitterness at play (metal), but that is not distracting.
Comment: great start.
Score: 8/10

The second bottle, PP tells us, was bottled in 1956.

White Horse Cellar b.1956 (70° Proof, White Horse Distillers, b#2032171)

Nose: very, very subtle. Perhaps dusty water? Has it lost to evaporation? It acquires torched shoe polish pretty quickly, then purple corduroy slippers. Posh!
Mouth: spent. There is a little bit of old-bottle effect (read: metal and marmalade), but, mostly, it is dusty water.
Finish: a bit more characterful in the finish, it has a tankful of burnt peat, or, in fact, ashes, and dusty water sprinkled with ground dried orange peels.
Comment: it is an emotional experience, since this likely contains Malt Mill, a distillery that was still in production, at the time. Sadly, the whisky is objectively over the hill. Even generously, it will be a meagre score.
Score: 7/10

I become acutely aware that they are making coffee next door. For a place that claims to specialise in whisky, that seems like a faux pas that disrupts an experience. Fortunately, it does not last.

Here is one distilled in 1956.

Linkwood-Glenlivet 21yo 1956/1977 (80° Proof, Cadenhead)

Nose: ooft! This is a tad meaty and furry. It has coffee grounds, musk, mocha, then it turns all jammy, with caramelised marmalade, charred grapefruit, pineapple rings rolled in soot, dried sausages grilled on charcoal. All that in a boiler room covered in dust. There is a bolder whiff of mocha at second nosing, as well as more dirty, soot-y dust.
Mouth: old bottle effect in full display, which means tin lids and jars of marmalade. Chewing unleashes metal that flirts with a pencil-sharpener blade. It is fruity at second sip, with cut peaches and smashed apricots. Beyond that fruit is a metallic funnel.
Finish: big and long, it has more of that metallic edge. The second gulp delivers earthy jams slathered on hot crumpets. No! On scones.
Comment: PP has told me about this bottle and the occasion for which he would open it for nearly a decade. My expectations were therefore high. It does not disappoint. One of the very-first Cadenhead bottlings in this livery, where the dates appear on the main label. Later that year, they would migrate to the neck label.
Score: 9/10

cavalier66: "How can I steal this?"

tOMoH: "This is why I came. And I'm coming again."

cavalier66: "You know what this is? Important whisky."

PP explains the next one has nothing to do with 1956. He tried it at SMWS when it came out and thought it was the best thing he had ever tried. He tells us the price tag was scary, but he ended up taking the plunge, after trying it several times without his enthusiasm shrivelling.

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

Comment: we know this very well. This is a fresh bottle, which means it is aromatic and metallic before the mango starts talking. That will improve in the open bottle, however impossible it seems -- already, it is top score. That said, even if this is objectively superior (insofar as one can be objective about that), I prefer it the Linkwood, tonight. 10/10

cavalier66 discreetly pulls out his Irish Single Malt 25yo 1988/2013 (51.1%, The Whisky Agency, Barrel, 212b) for comparison with 117.3. It wins, today.

PP [clinks on glass to call attention]: "Thank God I don't do this for a living! *sigh*"
BA: "It's hard work, you know!"

PP brings out the first-ever bottling of Bimber, a distillery he has been following from day 1.

Bimber 3yo 2016/2019 The 1st Release (54.2%, OB, Pedro Ximénez Casks, C#6+19+31+37+38, 1000b, b#0142)

Nose: oiled leather followed by coffee grounds, then metal -- galvanised-iron buckets, to be precise. It has a drop of varnish and oiled metal too.
Mouth: a bit monolithic, this is a bold Sherry maturation, dry, earthy, with entirely-desiccated raisins and a lick of cat fur -- or is it fox?
Finish: big, hairy, almost medicinal in a herbal way. It is very much an Oloroso maturation at second gulp, earthy and musky. Despite the strength, it is hard to detect much distillery character.
Comment: competent, even if it will not make me a Bimber aficionado.
Score: 7/10

BA: "This is one of TWE's engraving team's best work."
PP: "Huh?"
BA: "When Dariusz [Plazewski, who co-founded Bimber] bottled this -- or whatever his real name is -- he asked TWE to do the engraving. The team who did this did some of their best work here."

MSo: "It's actually decent, this Bimber."
JS: "That's rare!"
tOMoH: "It's from before they went legal."

PP recounts a couple of anecdotes relating to his adventures in the Wee Toon. On one such occasion, he procured this Springbank.

PP: "There were several Canadians there at the time..."
cavalier66: "And not all were whiskies."

Springbank 17yo d.2000 (48.5%, OB Duty Paid Sample, Fresh Canadian Barrel (ex-Potter), Rotation 836)

Nose: to me, this is so farm-y. Cows' behinds, cow dung, cow droppings (Holstein, Burlina, Bleu-Blanc). We catch a whisper of salty sea spray in the back, then caramelised puffed wheat. Behind all that, it has quince and pear, which is remarkable.
Mouth: dry and mineral, it quickly turns fruitier, with baked pears and quinces, very juicy. The second sip has a crushed-glass dryness to it, crunchy and abrasive, before the juicy side comes back to the rescue. There, it is smoky peach that is clearest.
Finish: long, farm-y. We have peach slices trampled into farm-path mud. It develops a note of charred wood that balances the fruit with a gentle bitterness. And soot too.
Comment: terrific Springer.
Score: 8/10

Finally, PP tells us, we will have a Millburn, a distillery very dear to someone we all know -- someone who, sadly, did not attend tonight.

Millburn 18yo 1975/1993 (58.9%, OB Rare Malts Selection)

Nose: astonishingly strong, this is pure RMS fury. Burning shrubs, old cast-iron radiators, paint tins. The second nose adds acetone. Water gives it horse's sweat, horse hair and desert dirt by the stables.
Mouth: salt city (cavalier66). Dried watercolour, dry brushes (in fact, it is the whole dry-brushing process) and, indeed, salt. Chewing cranks up the watercolour and adds plasticine. We find a little rubber at second sip (the texture, that is), perhaps black liquorice bootlaces.
Finish: caramelised chocolate, salted caramel, boiler-room smoke. Water makes it long and earthy, as well as a little fruitier: crisp apples, some smoked, some roasted.
Comment: I adore this. Muscular, austere, challenging Rare Malt. It is only now I realise that the back label is very different to that of the bottle we tried in 2015. It makes me think we tried the 25yo at the time, rather than this 18yo.
Score: 9/10

Tonight's back label

2015's back label
(the front label was missing)

cavalier66: "Where was Millburn? Speyside?"
JS: "Inverness."
tOMoH: "Never taken the train to Inverness? The distillery is on your left-hand side as you approach the station."
JS: "We must organise a field trip."
BB: "Dornoch weekend."
SOB: "Great name for a band!"

What a line-up!

Talking about the Cadenhead days in which we all met (2016--2020) and Mark Watt's influence on what the company was releasing at the time.

cavalier66: "It's like that surgeon who carved his initials on people's organs."
BB: "That doesn't seem right."

tOMoH: "I'm very upset."
MSo: "Sorry?"
tOMoH: "This friend of ours is organising a barbecue the day before we come back from Seoul."
MSo: "Oh! Sorry."
tOMoH: "I find it inSeoulting."
cavalier66: "You're inconSeoulable."

We talk about BB's broken bottle that PS delivered to him today.

cavalier66: "It's PS. You know what he's like."
tOMoH: "He's one Tullamore away from being wasted is what he's like."

PP reminds us that there is plenty more to drink at the bar, implicitly asking us to hit the minimum spend. After such a line-up, it is unclear what could hold up. And the kitchen is now closed. Samples and bottles come out of bags anyway.

Talisker 16yo b.268 (59.2%, OB specially bottled for Hedonism Wines, 15y ex-Bourbon American Hogshead + 1y Sherry Puncheon, 198b)

Nose: smoked nail varnish and a pinch of earth.
Mouth: drying and sandy, it is marred with tar or petrol topped with glass dust.
Finish: big, hairy, it has oily wood and dust. Pepper? Not so much.
Comment: alright.
Score: 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, MSo)

PS and BB are talking business. Specifically the broken bottle

BB: "If it's the Japanese sense of giving, I don't feel comfortable with it. I want to make up for it.
SOB: "[PS]'ll take a hand job."

MSo [about a 1976ers birthday party]: "We have a WhatsApp group."
PS: "?"
tOMoH: "If you're not in it, it is intentional."

SOB [to PS]: "How's your dad?"
PS: "That's not a good pick-up line."
MSo: "It is in Ireland."

Mars Komagatake 6yo 2018/2025 Tsunuki Aging (60%, OB selected for Capital Whisky Club imported by La Maison du Whisky, Bourbon Barrel, C#5435, 165b)

Nose: fruity, it rolls out peaches and apricots.
Mouth: tin and stainless steel with fruit.
Finish: more fruit and tin.
Comment: lovely.
Score: 8/10

Time to go before it turns messy. Happy birthday, PP!