07/08/2026 Whisky Fringe (Day 1 -- Part 3) After-party at the SMWS

Back to Glasgow to meet DH with JS. What better place than the local SMWS branch? It is Friday night and the new outturn is being launched. It is busy!

50.124 7yo d.2018 Vitality and maturity (59.4%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 328b)

Nose: winy. It has pickled onions, roast beef, wine sauce. It moves on to pan-seared mushrooms, the pan being deglazed with red-wine vinegar.

Mouth: strong and earthy, it has dead leaves, forest floor, dried pearl onions. Chewing adds a soft sweetness and a lot of horsepower.

Finish: burning-hot bread dough, Selkirk bannock, burnt Guiness cake. It really acquires a burnt note, after a while, perhaps charred beef, and a crisp bitterness.

Comment: disappointing. The previous 50, also a young one, was an excellent surprise. This one is more winy than I prefer.

Score: 7/10

76.166 20yo d.2005 Anyone for cricket? (50.9%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 176b)

Nose: very floral and juicy (not sappy). Honeysuckle, rosehip, followed by pears, quinces and apples, gooseberries and Mirabelle plums. That ends with Greek shortbread.

Mouth: soft and fruity, it has plump gooseberries, Mirabelle plums and an avalanche of Conference pears upon chewing. The second sip has mild citrus, dusted in confectionary sugar.

Finish: elegant, floral, it displays physalis and Mirabelle plums here too, unripe pears, crunchy, almost unpleasant, yet actually very good.

Score: 8/10

121,126 9yo d.2006 Midnight desires (60.9%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Sherry Hogshead, 153b)

Nose: another loud Sherry cask in action, with pickled onions, cured beef, braised shallots and red cabbage.

Mouth: sharp, spirit-y, it is akin to a strong wine spilled on earth. Rancio, roast beef, a lot of spices and dusty earth. It is really fierce, even after a few sips. Red cabbage again, augmented with cranberry sauce.

Finish: here is the best part, with a better balance, despite a pronounced winy bitterness. It feels like a bay leaf on roast beef. Time makes it mellower and sweeter, which works better for tOMoH.

Score: 6/10

Food enters.

Chicken supreme, roast baby gem, Caesar dressing, butter mash, bacon jam & chicken jus (DH)

Harissa roast hispi cabbage, garlic polenta & tahini dressing (me)

Garlic-baked mushroom burger, romesco, grilled onions, Parmesan & hand cut chips
House salad (JS)

68.141 14yo d.2011 The cooper and the croze (54.3%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill American Oak Cask, 249b)

Nose: mercilessly strong, it gives rye vibes, metal and shoe polish.

Mouth: earthy plasticine and plums. It is also really strong, with red-chilli flakes.

Finish: boozy plums, prunes, prune syrup and liqueur, and, after a moment, cherry peppers. It feels stronger than the advertised ABV, which is not necessarily a good thing. Overall, it improves with water.

Score: 7/10

tOMoH: "Have you got Bath Street exclusive bottlings?"

There is only one, it turns out.

53.512 12yo Haven in a heartless world (58.7%, SMWS In Celebration 40 Bath Street Exclusive Cask, ex-Bourbon Cask finished in Refill Charred Red Wine Barrique, 286b)

Nose: peated kimchi (DH), a lot of mud, drying pottery and clay, wet earth smeared on an oilcloth.

Mouth: smoky-prune syrup moving towards chestnut paste, nutspread, smashed blackberries and ink. Of course, ink. It is a Caol Ila, after all. It feels stronger and spicier at second sip, with more ink and fishing nets dipped in plum juice.

Finish: big, earthy, muddy. We have tarry sands gorged with sea water.

Score: 7/10

59.108 14yo 2012/2026 Veritably vivacious (57.4%, SMWS Two to One, 1st Fill ex- Bourbon Hogshead & 1st Fill American Oak ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 572b)

Nose: chocolate spread, a dollop of Marmite, rancio, Madeira. Next is a splashed wet with fortified wine.

Mouth: sweet, sweet, sweet. Tawny Port, pressed apricots. It gains a big dose of pepper over time, but the fruity sweetness does stay.

Finish: strong, fired up with black pepper, it also welcomes nuts and a lick of mahogany cabinets.

Score: 7/10

Enough. It has been a long day.

07/08/2026 Whisky Fringe 2026 (Day 1 -- Part 1)

Back in Edinburgh for another edition of the Whisky Fringe. The train was cancelled, this morning. We had to take another one, two hours later, which made us rush and join the queue a little too close to the opening time, without a proper meal. Not without food, though: we stopped in a wee shop for sarnies. The queue is just long enough to eat half of them and line our stomachs a little.

It seems the show has grown quite a bit, since last year, with more exhibitors and a whole new room called Lost Distilleries. As the name suggests, that one focuses on hard-to-get drams from closed distilleries, and one obtains drams in exchange for tokens, which cost £5 each. We could end up spending a lot of time (and money), there!

Oh! and there is a welcome dram from a closed distillery.

Port Dundas 15yo 2010/2026 (46%, Signatory Vintage The Un-Chillfiltered Collection, 1st Fill Sherry Hogsheads & 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels, L26/63)

Nose: buttery pastry, very sweet, doughnut, custard cream.

Mouth: the doughnut parade continues, which is ironic, considering we had no time to stop for doughnuts on the way here. There is also a corn-husk bitterness.

Finish: sweet doughnuts served on a metal plate (zinc?)

Comment: nice starter.

Score: 7/10

Now perusing the bottlings in the Lost Distilleries area. The selection is impressive. In fact, it is phlabberghasting.

A Glen Flagler? A Kinclaith? A Killyloch?

The most saught-after Glenlochy?

It is hilarious to see most people gravitate towards the Port Ellen, a Diageo Annual Release, at that, when there is much rarer stuff to explore. That said, I have tried or own ninety-five percent of what is on offer and elect to spend little time here. Perhaps others feel the same.

To note: the Rosebank is the official 31yo that we tried last year. It is offered this year as a halftime-orange dram again. To have it here too feels like a gaffe-and-a-half!

We continue our journey downstairs to the tent.

Balblair 12yo 2014/2026 (56.1%, Little Brown Dog Small Batch, Calvados Cask, 290b)

Nose: it has gherkin, then brine an moist paper bags from a perfume shop.

Mouth: very brandy-like. Plum, greengage, gooseberry, apple.. That last one is suggestion speaking, surely -- Calvados, innit.

Finish: yes, this is a fruit eau-de-vie in character, with crunchy apples and unripe plums.

Comment: it is okay. A bit thin and eau-de-vie-like for me.

Score: 6/10

Orkney 24yo 2001/2026 (53.1%, Little Brown Dog Small Batch, Refill Hogsheads)

Nose: comforting and medicinal nose, with old bandages, embrocations, age-old gauze. Roasted apples are behind, as are smoked apples and a bit of tobacco too (cigar).

Mouth: rather juicy, it has tobacco and gauze, through which pressurised fruit-juice steam has been pumped.

Finish: long, warming. Someone is smoking a cigarillo whilst roasting apples.

Comment: very, very good.

Score: 8/10

Caol Ila 12yo 2013/2026 (57.3%, Little Brown Dog Small Batch, Refill Bourbon Barrels, 384b)

Nose: spirit-y, it opens up to give a naked sweet crust (no topping). Fortunately, pressed apricot rears its head.

Mouth: ha. Very thin and very spirit-y, as if custard (without vanilla) and corn syrup (without sweetness) had a bastard child.

Finish: not much, here either. Wet cardboard with confectionary sugar. JS finds it a skunky aftertaste, while I find it astringent.

Comment: an unpeated Caol Ila. A curiosity that does not work for me. I remember trying the official unpeated expression, many years ago, and thinking the same. It must have been 2011's Special Release version or 2012's. It appears Caol Ila without peat is simply not whisky that works for me.

Score: 6/10

Invergordon 7yo 2017.2025 (58.8%, Little Brown Dog Small Batch, Virgin Oak Casks, 300b)

Nose: a lot of custard, at first, but that Irn Bru note so typical of rye whiskies appears at the end. Warm pastry, pie or other.

Mouth: a rye it is! Irn Bru, polished metal and something much weirder. Fart? Or is it the three blokes near us?

Finish: this is the best part, with custard sprinkled with Irn Bru, and smoked raisins.

Comment: a rye produced at the North-Highland grain distillery. The finish makes this interesting, not memorable.

Score: 7/10

LBD: "I hate these pourers. There is no stopper."
JS: "They're great, aren't they?"

Drookit Dug 10yo (45.1%, Little Brown Dog, Final Batch)

Nose: it smells very blend-y. Dusty cardboard, corn syrup... That dissipates and gives couque suisse and craquelin.

Mouth: the briny jelly of preserved pistachios, mocha custard.

Finish: lovely custard, but the cardboard-y element is hard to see past, and the alcohol is not elegantly integrated.

Comment: meh.

Score: 6/10

Aberdeenshire 12yo (46%, Little Brown Dog, b. ca.2026)

Nose: Scottish tablet, toffee, even fudge. Mostly fudge, actually. And thick ashes.

Mouth: mocha bitterness complements a custard-y texture (again). Melted chocolate with orange rinds and too much milk.

Finish: orange juice punctuated with melted chocolate chips.

Comment: decent likely Geerie.

Score: 7/10

Kingsbarns Doocot (46%, OB, 90% Bourbon + 10% STR Portuguese Red Wine Casks, b. ca.2026)

Nose: bluberry madeleines and blackcurrant cheesecake.

Mouth: it tastes younger than the nose suggested, with windscreen defroster complementing an undeniable fruity backdrop of unripe currants and gooseberries.

Finish: pleasant and comforting, it has blackcurrant cheesecake and blackberry sundae.

Comment: it is okay.

Score: 7/10

Glen Moray 18yo 2007/2026 (54.7%, Keeble Cask Fragrant Drops, Refill Bourbon Barrel, C#357, 218b)

Nose: a peaty Moray? This was announced as a lemon bomb, but it smells pretty earthy to me, with mud patties and farm paths. If there is any lemon, it is smoked. Antiseptic or dishwasher tablet (JS). Lemon rises timidly, given time.

Mouth: green olives meet dishwasher tablets. Chewing injects stringent lemon alright, but it is not that dominant, even if it becomes stripping, over time.

Finish: more dishwasher tablets (well spotted, JS) mixed with mud.

Comment: competent.

Score: 7/10

Tamnavulin 12yo 2013/2026 (60%, Keeble Cask Fragrant Drops, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, C#111516, 195b)

Nose: dried grass, hay (is that not the same thing?), mulch, custard powder, maybe a metal straw?

Mouth: hm. Naked. New ropes, turpentine. It is stripping. My tongue feels abused.

Finish: it is better here. It shows some fruits (plums, berries, not very ripe) and ginger biscuits. Or is that my craving those shortbreads they just put out at the stand? The next gulp is a tad more complex, but still not easy.

Comment: disappointing.

Score: 6/10

Kingsbarns Coaltown (46%, OB, ex-Peated Casks, b. ca.2026)

Nose: banana skins? That quickly makes way for baked bread -- baked to cardboard, in fact. We can hear the French residents of Auld Reekie slicing their wrists in despair -- and they are right. Cereals follow, mostly dry as stale granola.

Mouth: toasted cereals indeed, a bit of soot, charred husks and windscreen defroster sprayed onto raw cereals.

Finish: rough, it has defroster spray and bitter currants. Maybe cardboard too.

Comment: not for me.

Score: 5/10

Dalmunach 7yo d.2018 (55.4%, Blind Summit, Amontillado Sherry Hogshead, 170b)

Nose: Mokatines and warmed digestive biscuits are joined by a soap bar. That turns very buttery with a moment's breathing. Later on, we discover plain coffee.

Mouth: cardboard, Horlicks, Mokatine again. It is supremely drying at second sip and rather spicy too.

Finish: ashes, rocks, fruit stones (dry, stripped of any flesh). Long finish, almost invasive.

Comment: okayish.

Score: 6/10

Halftime is looming. Time to decide what to do.

This poster comes in handy

Mossburn thought it useful to specify that 100 ppm
classes as heavily peated :-)

05/08/2026 A triplet of Chichibu at Bar Lotus

JS and cavalier66 join me for what is supposed to be a modest night out, but will go on much later than expected. cavalier66 who cannot even remember how long he has been home alone, is determined to make it count too and orders only the most prestigious. He is there first, enjoying a dram of Highland 49yo 1976/2026 (45.1%, Thompson Bros. specially bottled for Dornoch Castle, Hogshead, C#SR26050, 140b) which he seems to like.

JS discovers there is an offer on flights of Chichibu, so she chooses one such flight. There are twenty-or-so Chichibu on the menu, you see? And that is before cavalier66 points out there are thirtyish more on the other side of the page.

Whilst she chooses, I peruse the shelves. cavalier66 has another.

Talisker d.1970 (53.1%, Gordon & MacPhail, b.1980s)

Nose: very peaty, with a lick of tropical fruits in the back. It then turns tertiary, much to cavalier66’s pleasure, with forest floor, mushrooms and dead leaves. It also starts smelling of pepper. A promising nose, at any rate.

Ah! We have a selection.

Chichibu 2015/2021 (63.3%, Venture Whisky exclusively bottled for Spirits Shop Selection, imported by Hua Yang International Exhibition, Bourbon Barrel 2nd Fill, C#5497, 223b)

Nose: pretty powerful. It is spirit-y and a bit mute, really. Potato salad? Water barely opens it up. We have bandages, wet with white-fruit juice, perhaps.

Mouth: very strong, it cauterises the mouth. Gauze soaked in ether. Adding water strikes a better balance: more fruit (baked plums), but that is still subdued.

Finish: powerful and disinfecting as to be medicinal. Antiseptic. JS finds it peppery. Water makes it fruitier, but also rather dry -- how ironic! cavalier66 detects banana. I am less convinced.

Score: 6/10

Chichibu 2015/2022 (61.7%, Venture Whisky exclusively bottled for Spirits Shop imported by Hua Yang International Exhibition, Bourbon Barrel 2nd Fill, C#5494, 183b)

Nose: more custard-y, it also has an allure that reminds tOMoH of the fun fair in Huy. The smell of fried doughnuts mixed with that of grilled sausages, perhaps? Stale industrial bread? That gives way to freeze-dried raspberries. Water does not really change the nose. Maybe it adds plastic grapes.

Mouth: super dry and a notch meaty (roast beef), it is also fairly salty. And strong, it goes without saying. With water, it becomes a tad fiery.

Finish: still pretty strong, yet it now also exhibits fruits -- Sauvignon Blanc grapes, ash-dry and bitter, devoid of the sweetness often associated with the term ‘fruity’. Water releases a bit more fruits, but it remains a fiery, drying number. cavalier66 even calls chilli. He is not wrong.

Score: 7/10

Talisker 47yo b.2026 Magma (48.8%, OB, Refill American Oak > Volcanic Toasted American Oak, 622b, b#310)

Nose: marsh-like, quagmire (giggity giggity), it has an overdose of vegetal peat, lichens, dried algae, dried mosses. Marshmallow (cavalier66) -- “or marshsmooth” (tOMoH). It is too peppery, according to cavalier66.

cavalier66: "Two supermarket whiskies in the same evening..."
JS: "The Tesco tasting!"

Chichibu 2014/2023 The Tree In The Forest (63%, Venture Ichiro's Malt exclusively bottled for Shinanoya distributed by Japan Import System, 2nd Fill Bourbon Barrel, C#3551, 191b, b#54)

Nose: this is more welcoming. It has baked sweetcorn and confectionary sugar. In fact, it is Destrooper butter crisps. Water allows dirty fruits to shine very brightly (peaches, rambutans), along with dirt and mud.

Mouth: oh! It is peaty. The manager had told us, but I had forgotten. Elegant smoke in an engine room, perhaps a hot motor (Aston Martin). It also has yellow fruits rubbed against galvanised metal (iron or zinc). With water, it sees more fruits and ashes, maybe burnt wood, and also a forest-fruit smoothie.

Finish: peaty and fruity. Plums dragged through an extinguished fireplace (soot, ash, charred wood), then rubbed on zinc. Water makes it linger and stick like a thick smoothie cut with mouthwash.

Score: 8/10

cavalier66: “Oh! wow, very different. I have been drinking old. I know it sounds…”
tOMoH: “Do you want a dickhead glass?”

The manager recommended water to open these Chichibu up when he brought them to the table. At first, I thought it was presumptuous to assume we were not familiar with 60+% whiskies. But coming out of the place, I seem to be more under the influence than I expected. Very glad JS did not go for a margarita on top of that. I really do not need another unit of alcohol tonight!

I enjoyed this to Bar Lotus visit it more unequivocally than the previous. It works better as a bar than as a vessel for tastings, I find. It also reminds me of those bars we went to in Korea, with dimly-lit atmosphere that make for dark pictures, and very few others drinking whisky.

31/07/2026 Clynelish

26.47 22yo 1984/2006 Honey complex (57.6%, SMWS Society Cask): nose: pickle in brine! It also has mown hay, crystallised green grapes and encaustic, leading to the trademark wax, though it is not overly pronounced, at this stage. Shaking the glass propels darker tones to the surface, such as Kalamata olives and anchovies in garlicky oil. It then moves back to wax of sorts, this time a rustic armchair so covered in patina it looks darker than teak. A drop of wine appears in the long run, as if poured on plastic green grapes and crystals of one kind or another. Tilting the glass, it feels stupidly cliché to even write it, presents a wax-coated cat, gently musky. The second nose sees Virginia tobacco join the hay, and there may well be unripe pineapple and pomelo in the back. Mouth: plums, waxy nectarines and a dash of pressed lemon rub elbows with plastic green grapes. It has a fruity rubbery bitterness like that -- more squeaky plastic than rubber, actually. The lemon-y acidity grows to becomes fairly intense. Chewing adds a dollop of melted chocolate ice cream morphing into pistachio ice cream. Always a winning combination. This Belgian will never willingly write “Dubai chocolate,” by the way. That wrestles with a re-emerging taste of plastic green grape, and it ends in a puddle of furniture wax, liquid, acrid and coating. The second sip is fruitier and bitterer, as if we just bit into a wedge of unripe citrus (pomelo, bergamot, satsuma). Sweeter upon chewing, it becomes juicy and acidic, and pushes citrus-y mint crumbles or spearmint and pepper. It is not peppermint, but it is rather strong. Finish: chocolate is the first to talk, soon joined by wax. It feels milky and unctuous, very coating, of course, and long. Somehow, the mouth is left with a feeling close to that procured by a generous gulp of warm cola. Little-to-no grape here, though the finish retains notions of plastic, a tiny bitterness that may be associated with a waxed piece of furniture or citrus rinds. Unless it is a plastic cup coated with paraffin. The second gulp feels sweeter; we find mint crumbles again, lozenges and chalky citrus-flavoured tablets. Yes, it does become a tad chalky and drying, though not desiccating. This is not Aspirin, but there is enough to chew on. Lovely Clynelish. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, PS)

17/07/2026 Savoureur’s surprise birthday party

In April when JS and I bumped into PH, she invited us to come back to Limburg today to celebrate Savoureur’s milestone birthday -- unbeknownst to him. Here we are, then, with thirty-or-forty others, some of whom are familiar faces, but mostly new acquaintances to meet.

When Savoureur and PH make it to the venue and he spots us all, he is genuinely surprised and enthusiastic at the idea of spending an evening with friends.

Savoureur: "Thank you all for joining us here, some from outside of the EU, even!"

PH: “I booked dinner for forty people. Some have forgotten to come, but I did not cancel their food. You may have to help eat their share.”
tOMoH [to himself]: “Mission accepted.”

We all enjoy a glass of prosecco before proceeding to the real stuff. It quickly turns into an open bar and I do not know who brought what; notes are scant and I cannot always attribute the bottle to its owner.

James Martin’s V.V.O. (40°, James Martin imported and distributed by Distillerie Riunite di Liquori)

Nose: old-bottle effect, tin lids, jars of marmalade and copper coins.

Mouth: soft, mellow, it still presents hazelnut shells and a lick of copper.

Finish: nutty, timidly leathery, it serves scoops of caramel-and-hazelnut ice cream.

Comment: perfect apéritif.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks, T)

Clynelish 22yo 1995/2018 (56.7%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams, Sherry Cask, L18/420)

Nose: musky and husky, it promises dryness and animality. It is a Clynelish, after all. Fox’s skin, dried windfall, nutshells. Deeper sniffing makes it seem a little sweeter.

Mouth: dried dates, dried rugs and super-dry raisins. It is well marked by the Sherry, if not overpowered. There is a bit of rancio and elderberry compote oxidising in a cellar.

Finish: extraordinary balance, here, dry yet elegant, with a dried-fruit touch (prunes, Medjool dates, figs) and a faint animal aftertaste. It is fairly tannic, in the long run.

Comment: good effort. I prefer Clynelish in Bourbon casks, but hey!

Score: 8/10 (Thanks, MG)

Antipasto misto

Flatbread

Ireland 26yo 1989/2016 Volume 6 (53.8%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams Anniversary Edition for 10 Years The Nectar)

Nose: phwoar! An explosion of tropical-fruit custard, with no surprise and for maximum enjoyment. It starts with mango, continues with banana, grapefruit, apricot, berries… You get the picture!

Mouth: sweet and bitter, big, glue-y. It has lots of glue, in fact. Chewing releases an avalanche of fruits, cantaloupe and mango leading the pack.

Finish: citrus flesh, citrus bark, chopped mango in yoghurt, served in a copper goblet. Phwoar!

Comment: this is excellent.

Score: 9/10 (Thanks, F)

White Horse (unknown ABV, White Horse Distillers, b#8734189)

Nose: extremely fishy, it has crayfish, fish sauce, dried fish, salt cod, fish oil sprayed on hay bales. It turns drier and less original with breathing, but the initial impression is gobsmacking. It picks up pickled antipasti, perhaps, though that may be the food interfering.

Mouth: a tad weak at the knee, after two cask strengths, but it holds together. Machine oil, engine grease, sardine tins with a drop of oil still in it. It is really tinny, actually.

Finish: soft, if long, it sticks to the gob surreptitiously, like engine great or petroleum jelly. There is a bit of smoked chocolate at the death, and not much fish left.

Comment: interesting and original. It does not turn me into a White Horse aficionado, though. The tax seal reads 'ministerio', but there is no importer information.

Score: 7/10 (Thank, Savoureur)

Schweine Steaks mit Champignon's sauce [sic]
dazu Gemuüse und Rosemarinkartoffeln
(me)

Putenbrustfilet mit Pfeffer Sauce
dazu Gemüse und Rosemarinkartoffeln
(JS)

Littlemill 13yo 1990/2004 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Oak Cask, C#2974, 449b, b#64, 04/099)

Nose: hay, lemon zest, Aspirin, a drop of hot Merbromin. It also has hot set custard and peach blended into yoghurt. The second sniff brings strong rubber.

Mouth: creamy. No! Milky. It has pulped peach, persimmon (though not as thick), yoghurt, a sprinkling of grated Aspirin, and crunchy heritage apples with a rough skin. It is chalkier and chalkier with time.

Finish: more creamy, custard-y goodness with grated Aspirin peppered on it. Is that a medicinal touch? Perhaps! Medicine tablets. Some whole, some grated, jelly caps full of herbal preparations -- woah!

Comment: very good Littlemill that reminds me of another Signatory bottling we had recently.

Score: 8/10

Glenturret 30yo 1982/2013 (46%, Meadowside Blending The Maltman, Fresh Bourbon Cask, C#258, 242b)

Nose: a mix of strawberry bubble gum, inflatable beach balloons and cat sick. Is that weird or what? It smells like a grain gone wrong -- in a good way! Pineapple and melted plastic having an argument. The second nose is ridiculously fruity (unripe white peach and pineapple) in a chemical way.

Mouth: the bubble-gum-rubber hallucination continues, with melted wellies and torched strawberries. More plastic appears upon chewing (beach balloons), and the dryness that comes with that. Sweeter and even more chemical at second sip, with more bubble gum and Gummibärchen.

Finish: it scrapes a beach ball along the tongue and leaves it all burnt -- or tender, at least. It stays warm and plastic-y in the long run.

Comment: So original, but… it is a little too weird. Very, very particular.

Score: 7/10

Springbank 12yo 1999/2023 (46%, OB Norddeutscher Kaufmann, 236b)

Nose: a weird mix of rubber and farm-y notes. That will be tractor tyres, then, surely. Exhaust fumes, garden fire, faint manure, smoked roasted cereals.

Mouth: Creamy? Dry? It is chocolate pudding is what it is. Chewing brings back the smoked cereals, nice, sweet clusters, augmented with a dash of fortified wine. Breakfast of champions.

Finish: dry, mineral, it has smoked cereals mixed with quarry dust and bone-dry earth patties fallen off a tractor tyre.

Comment: pretty good. Well, it is a Springbank, innit. It is expected.

Score: 8/10

Dessert is served.

Tiramisu [sic]

 

A pause during which I try a Port.
Warre Tercentenary 1970 (unknown ABV, imported and bottled for Percy Fox)
It is very good, despite all the vegetables
sinking to the bottom of my glass.

A waiter brings an unclaimed tiramisu. Guess who claims it!

Me.

Ledaig 10yo 2004/2015 Edition No. 1 The Fat Cat End Bottling(58%, The Scots Whisky Forum imported by Brühler Whiskyhaus, First Fill Sherry Butt, C#15/740)

Nose: super leathery and mineral, yet there is also lychee behind it all (“Lychee or Lydaig?” JS asks) -- or is it rambutan? We have pickled pearl onions, onion relish spread onto lychees… How ancient is this? It smells like a 1970s bottling. Cocoa powder is sprinkled on top, and a dollop of shoe polish adds to the magic.

Mouth: pickled onion alright, sharp, vinegary and, actually, very nice too. Chewing unleashes a torrent of smoke, followed by a nearly-medicinal heat, which is a tad numbing. The second sip adds a spoonful of piping-hot marmalade.

Finish: strongly coffee-like, teeming with mocha and cocoa powder. It is earthy, dry, still good, yet no longer as elegant.

Comment: that nose was a strong 9. The mouth and finish are a little behind.

Score: 8/10

Cake is served.

Baumkuche, or tree cake

Bowmore 28yo 1996/2025 (50.3%, Malts of Scotland Rare Casks hand selected and exclusively bottled for The Whisky Dreamers, Caribbean Rum Cask, C#MoS25039, 155b, b#44)

Nose: pineapple-and-coconut juice with a. Lick of smoke. Next is washing-up liquid (with zero soapiness, mind), citrus and ash.

Mouth: mild, fruity, it has lemon, calamansi, grapefruit, pomelo. Chewing increases that and splashes it with Indian tonic water. There is more and more ash, to a point it is a little desiccating. The citrus stays on top, also desiccating.

Finish: acidic and ashy, it takes a few seconds to turn lemon-y, grapefruit-y, with acidic juice poured onto smashed glass.

Comment: very excited to try this one. It is very good, but I much prefer it the 2004 by the same bottler we tried in January.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks, F)

Springbank 1997/20017 (55.2%, OB Vintage, Re-Charred Sherry Butts, B#1, 07/155)

Nose: a blend of shoe polish and mint paste, toasted coconut flakes and smoked caramel — just a wisp of soft smoke, you know. Some decayed pineapple bark rocks up at second nose.

Mouth: creamy, coating, it has melted tar, black shoe polish, rubber soaking in blush-orange juice, a touch of liquorice. Chewing adds desiccating ashes, lint and hardened tar. It is overly rubbery at second sip.

Finish: menthol, tar, lint, dried citrus peels, liquorice root. That combines at second gulp, long, tarry, rubbery, and the liquorice moves from root to allsorts and bootlaces.

Comment: decent.

Score: 7/10

Out of my bag comes 18.15 35yo 1966/2001 Curry powder and dark rum (67.5%, SMWS Society Cask Old Masters Collection, Sherry Cask)

Comments: “It’s like a cannon shot on squirrels or something,” says T. “Intense? Yeah, one could say that!” MG tells us, who will drink it fifty-fifty whisky and water. “It is intense, but also very dry,” F says. Whether they like it or not, I rejoice that I brought something that gets the tongues wagging. Everyone has their own taste; this is unforgettable. Full notes here.

The one-upmanship begins.

76.22 11yo 1989/2000 Quark cream cake (58.5%, SMWS Society Cask, Butt, 498b)

Nose: super-dry and mineral. Quarry dust, chalky sandstone. Maybe Sauvignon blanc and crushed plum stones.

Mouth: it has some fruit juice, but it is mostly desert-dry orange zest more than the fruit’s juice.

Finish: dry, borderline herbaceous, this has lichen on metal pipes.

Comment: never know what to expect from a Mortlach, especially an SMWS Mortlach. This is not a winy beast, but neither is it a fruit deluge like the series bottled around 2011-12. It seems it may have been a Switzerland special, though no access to the bottle means I did not see an importer label.

Score: 8/10 (Thanks, T)

Glen Elgin 31yo 1986/2018 (48%, Signatrory Vintage The Un-Chillfilitered Collection Specially Selected by and bottled for The Belux Tour 2018, Hogshead, C#2526, 215b)

Nose: grapefruit peels and zest. There are splashes of yoghurt, but it is mostly a zesty number, with citrus zest on a baking tray.

Mouth: juicy as hell, with citrus and marmalade leading to liquorice allsorts.

Finish: fruity, it has chewy sweets, candied papaya and pineapple cubes.

Comment: fantastic drop.

Score: 9/10

Mortlach 25yo b.2021 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Distillery Labels imported by Kirsch Import, Sherry Casks, 210181)

Nose: cured meat, marinated cutlets, and nuts. Perhaps there are sandstone chippings?

Mouth: woah! It is a meaty yoghurt. Rosemary, roast beef, blush-orange rinds and a drop of wine, very dark and musky.

Finish: lots of blood oranges and rosemary, oil -- it is marinated orange wedges, really. It also has distant cinnamon sticks. The second gulp is drying and makes the gums throb.

Comment: works well.

Score: 8/10

The GlenDronach 20yo 1995/2016 (54.4%, OB Single Cask, bottled exclusively for Whisky-Museum Kyrburg Kirn, Pedro Ximenez Puncheon, C#3805, 662b, b#381)

Nose: Madeira wine or Sherry. It is extremely winy. That opens up to give melting dark chocolate in a Glendronach fashion, roast beef, and other cured meats in the background. It is a little fresher at second nose, with minty cotton candy and onion relish.

Mouth: very-dark chocolate melted into a puddle. A little musky at second sip, it sees a fox rolled in melted chocolate and sprinkled with dust.

Finish: ink, liqueur chocolate, it comes a bit too close to Edle Tropfen for my taste, but narrowly escapes sickly disaster.

Comment: JS detects soy sauce and everything she does not care for in official Glendronachs. It is not bad, but less my profile.

Score: 7/10 (Thanks, Savoureur)

Time to go. I have eaten so much I am about to explode.

As we depart, Savoureur insists we smell two drams. He tells us both are Macallan 2006/2020 (57.3%, Gordon & MacPhail Speymalt, C#9672, 294b). One is one of the guests', the other is his own bottle that he brought to London last month and has, therefore, matured for three additional days in the UK. Geekery aside, they do smell different. How much of that is due to the fact one was open a month ago, the other today, and what is the result of one spending three days in the UK is, of course, anyone’s guess. Full notes here.

Happy birthday, Savoureur!