03/07/2026 Lochnagar

103.12 30yo 1972/2003 Caramel and eucalyptus (53.3%, SMWS Society Cask): nose: a wave of honey laps the nostrils, royal jelly and rose-petal jelly. Honey spread onto oiled birch shelves and sprinkled with orange-blossom water. It has a soft wine elegance, yet it is not winy. Perhaps it is umeshu, which is close to wine enough and fruitier than most Western wines. This here whisky has no shortage of fruits, yellow (peach, Mirabelle plum, apricot), fresh, baked and poached, some coated in honey, some used as topping on a honey toast. Gonna be gonna be golden. On occasion, it puffs a fleeting whiff of smoked blueberries and blackcurrants kept warm on the metallic wood stove. The scents of wood smoke and hot metal add another dimension to what would otherwise be "just another fruit." The second nose recycles those fruits and smears them with shoe polish. They become waxier too, plum, nectarine and Cape gooseberry joining the above, as does a slice of frangipane cake. Mouth: sharper and greener than expected, it has a gentle bitterness, as if the fruits from the nose were not totally ripe. Chewing confers this a punchy cough-drop taste: blackberry, blackcurrant, liquorice, earthy and sweet in equal measure. It flirts with tyre and tar, so intense it becomes. The second sip feels tamer, if still pretty hot, and riper. Baked physalis, Mirabelle plums, nectarines now rub elbows with tarter things -- perhaps baked Granny Smith apples and poached lemons? Kumquats and bergamots also do a performance. More chewing brings fermented pineapple rings that venture very close to musk. It has crushed mint or menthol too, actually. Finish: immense and numbing, it really leaves the tongue in the same state as if it had licked a tyre slathered with currant jelly. Dark, bitter, this is like a radial tyre, rubbery and tarry. It goes on for a long as a Fisherman's Friend, if the famous brand's peppermint were liquorice. The second gulp starts off fruity and fresh, with poached peaches and chopped mint leaves, then dumps a shovelful of hot mentholated sticky tar at one's feet. That makes for a bitter and anaesthetising finish that is also very fresh. Fruits come back, slowly but surely, though no longer intact: they are all smashed into a thick paste, coating and sticky. This is likely from a Sherry cask. At times, I think it is a little too loud for me to rate it higher. But the longer I drink it, the more I like it. 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)

02/07/2026 Springbank 12yo Vertical

Someone should perhaps ring the good Campbeltonians and explain that a vertical tasting consists in expressions from a distillery in increasing (or decreasing) order of age. A tasting of expressions from a distillery that all bear the same age statement is a horizontal. Anyway.

Springbank 12yo b.2014 (46%, OB Green, Bourbon Casks, 9000b, 14/488): nose: here is a strange one! It has pickled onions, onions in the larder, oat flakes and fermented cereals. It turns dry and dusty as old Ovaltine or Horlicks, and moves on to gravy granules. Indeed, it ends up winy and game-y (it is not funny that Gamey is a type of grape, by the way, when a game-y sauce is usually made with wine?), with rusty old coins added for excitement. The second nose seems more austere and the cereals are now grist mixed with crushed glass. For some reason, I do get that feeling with organic whiskies. The type of barley, maybe? Mouth: a schizophrenic, this dram! On one hand, it has a bold cereal sweetness; on the other, it has pickled-onion peel, dusty and bitter. Chewing gives the sweetness the upper hand as it opens a pouch of sweets, both chewy and hard. Crystallised tangerine segments and smoky violets mingle with liquorice and blackcurrant chewies. The second sip allies acidity and bitterness like a lime juice made with unripe limes and their foliage. It has a note of smoky green grapes too. Finish: intense and citrus-y, it diffuses crystallised tangerine segments and crystallised pear slices in a cup of onion relish. We find a soft dry-hay touch via retro-nasal olfaction, and the mouth is left dry as if it had chewed chicory granules, yet the crystallised sweets are a little louder than all the rest. The second gulp is sweeter yet, even if it has a Springbankian minerality too. Crystallised sweets coated in quarry dust so fine it will cause silicosis in a few sips. There is also a minute amount of smoke at every stage. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

Springbank 12yo b.2025 (55.5%, OB Cask Strength, Bourbon Casks, B#28, 25/175): nose: wood sticks and logs warned by the fireplace. Suddenly, it takes on crushed citrus foliage, vibrant, green and promising to be bitter. It changes again to give suede, heavy with desert dirt. It is a cowboy's jacket at dusk, as he starts a fire (yes, it is a trifle smoky). If searching for it, one may spot a few drops of Merbromin too, followed by a distant stable in the sun, and finishing with a bed of ashes. The second nose pours chococino on that, augmented with a spray of orange-scented defroster liquid and a carpet tile. Hm. Mouth: gravy granules it is! Keep it on the tongue for a second and the meaty side makes room for a custard-y sweetness closer to Vanydène/Vanilone granules, and lush peaches wrapped in a thin veil of smoke. This one is crisp, minty an lively, yet, under that ardour is a delicious fruitiness. Peaches and poached apples served on a dusty brick, the only sign it may be a little mineral. Thicker at the second sip, sweeter, it has a blend of chocolate milk and orange juice. It works. Finish: warming yet fresh, bitter yet sweet. Could it be a cold mint coffee? Or a citrus-leaves infusion? Cinnamon-coated bay leaves? That could well be it indeed: fresh, bitter and slightly anaesthetising. The second gulp also combines the velvety sweetness of chocolate milk (or chocolate oat milk, you know?) with the fruity acidity of orange juice. It leaves the tongue throbbing, as if numbed by cinnamon powder. Larger gulps lead to smoked-cereal dust at the death. Excellent. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

Springbank 12yo b.2021 (55.9%, OB Cask Strength, Bourbon Casks, B#23, 21/133): nose: Horlicks crumbs, which is to say: cereal dust. This one has a blackberry paste in the background, shy, earthy, sweet, raw cinnamon-bun dough and beads of clay. Very far in the back of the sinuses, one can find onion relish, albeit not a particularly-sweet one: it is more earthy and a tad more vinegary than it is sweet. The nose picks up smoke from a pizza oven as one tilts the glass. The second nose has a berry shrub, possibly rosehip, to complement what comes across as lactic and chalky simultaneously. Imagine that! Mouth: a lot sweeter here, it has onion relish, as sweet as they make it, but also blueberry jam and blackcurrant jelly. This one too has a pinch of cinnamon powder, which confers it a numbing quality. Chewing unleashes a torrent of berry jams (blue- and blackberry, blackcurrant) and raisins or dried currants soaked in hot water. Some of those currants are smoked, which gives a slightly-acrid mouthfeel. Incredibly, the second sip has a similar combination as the nose: grated chalk in lukewarm milk. It still has citrus too, cherimoya, calamondin. Finish: Oh! yeah, currants abound, and berries. Dried, stewed, jammed. The cinnamon, also present in the finish, is powerful, likely associated with ginger powder, so fiery it is. It does not go as far as peppermint, though; no scraping the throat. The second gulp injects crushed Aspirin Junior tablets, which is to say: grated chalk with a citrus flavour and, maybe, dried strawberry slices. That and cinnamon powder, which still features prominently. Gone is the cereal dust, on the other hand. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

Springbank 12yo b.2024 (57.2%, OB Cask Strength, 70% Bourbon Casks + 30% Sherry Casks, B#25, 24/86): nose: it appears woody, with piles of logs, dusty cigar boxes and varnished walnut shells. The latter properly take off in subsequent sniffs, alongside fruit stones and other shells (hazelnut, almond, pistachio -- unsalted, of course). Follow beach pebbles dried by the sun, and a fistful of warm sand. We swiftly go back to nutshells, however, and add oily-Brazil-nut shells to the lot. The second nose injects red wine into the mix, dark-wood dust and dusty gravy granules. Strange! Mouth: thicker than its predecessors, oilier, it has a faint bitterness too, which is another nutty touch, probably -- oily and bitter, such are nuts. Chewing adds some sweetness to all that, something reminiscent of Boules Magiques... For some reason, strawberry and cinnamon come to mind, yet, it is neither, really. In any case, it is definitely the texture of a Boule Magique, that moment when the hard shell becomes a magma-like paste that fuses with the yoghurt-like core. Almost syrupy at the second sip, it has wine-stained gingerbread, Madeira-infused ganache, Amontillado-cured nut spread and the heat of a lava stone. Finish: phwoar! Hot peach flesh, smashed, sprinkled with cinnamon powder, blended with warm yoghurt and almond milk. It is a fantastically-creamy finish that simply will not end. Peach flesh, hazelnut paste, strawberry yoghurt with a dusting of cinnamon powder. The second gulp presents a combination of hot lava stones and walnut spread with a nip of fortified wine on the side, a wine that becomes muskier with each gulp. This is my favourite, so far. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

Springbank 12yo b.2025 (55.9%, OB Cask Strength, 60% Bourbon Casks + 35% Sherry Casks + 5% Rum Casks, B#27, 25/29): nose: a warm metal tray on an equally-warm corduroy sofa. That swiftly recedes, replaced by toasted barley and the boldest smoke we have seen since we started this session. It then rolls out hay, oat flakes, dehydrated potato flakes to make mash, a whisper of earthy paint (Humbrol AA0312) dry-brushed on a model tank, and a nectarine or two, smashed on a tractor tyre. Paint purrs more and more loudly, now closer to midnight blue (Humbrol AA0165), hand in hand with acetone, and there may be lichen involved too. The second nose brings steam from a Moka tin pot and river sand. What a combination! Finally, a faint scent of roasted chestnuts in a brasero -- very faint. Mouth: heady and ester-y, it pushes acetone indeed, white spirit, turpentine... Solvents, in one word. Chewing adds thinned fruit juice (green grape, gooseberry) and an acrid smoke. Said smoke is under control, yet it hits the front of the palate mercilessly. The second sip is sweet, with rock sugar to disperse the solvents. Perhaps it has lukewarm black coffee or chicory infusion, but sugar obstructs all view. Finish: long, chiselled, it hits precise points (which constellation those points delineate is another matter). Barley grains and small stones, crushed glass, subsequently heated, crystal ashtrays in which someone has crushed hay. The second gulp introduces hot brushed steel and a drop of lemon juice in a mug of coffee. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

Springbank 12yo b.2024 (56.2%, OB Cask Strength, 60% Bourbon Casks + 35% Sherry Casks + 5% Rum Casks, B#26, 24/199): nose: this is the most abrasive, so far; it strips the nostrils clean! Smoke and musk come first like a fox circling a campfire, but soon, that morphs into cured plums and roasted chestnuts. A glass of nut milk follows and it is unclear which nut (hazelnut, walnut or macadamia, probably). Far in the back is a drop of paint thinner, lost in the middle of a tin of dry silver paint (Revell 32190). Cured orange peels and pineapple bark join, a minute in. The second nose has honey-coated pencil erasers and plasticine rolled in apricot-and-lychee jam. Mouth: a more-syrupy Sherry maturation than the previous ones. We have sultanas, dried dates, prunes, dried apricots. Chewing increases the sweetness and adds dried lychees, dried mango slices and dried pineapple cubes. 'Sweet' and 'chewy' are the key words, here. The second sip is hotter yet, sweet like hot cane-sugar syrup. That comes with a lick of hot brushed steel, shiny and a tad bitter. Dried pineapple rings end up appearing surreptitiously. Finish: the Sherry is beautiful in this one, and it takes control without a doubt. We see the same procession of dried fruits again, sultanas, Medjool dates, raisins and prunes, dried apricots and mango slices. All are wet with a splash of plum liqueur and eaten with a side of honey-glazed green grapes. The second gulp looks at Ireland in the way it handles fruits: it goes from jammy orchard ones and dried tropical ones to fresh tropical; unripe mango and papaya timidly show their colours. The finish is so long and sticky that the patient taster will meet them, though. The death brings a smidge of mint toothpaste, refreshing and cleansing. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

Springbank 12yo b.2018 (54.8%, OB Cask Strength, 50% Bourbon Casks + 50% Sherry Casks, B#18, 18/515): nose: custard, pineapple purée mixed with flan. It becomes narrow, blade-sharp, with white grapefruit and oroblanco, yet also the sweeter calamansi. In fact, resolutely fruity, it alternates between acidity and sweetness. Soon, a salty touch appears; fleeting at first, it takes over as if it presented the afore-mentioned citrus in a preserved format, briny and salty. It is tempting to detect a thin smoke, but I am not sure it really is there. It may be iodine and citrus only. That said, it has a growing earthy signature, farm paths, field earth, maybe even a farmyard, with its puddles of manure. The second nose has tree-bark shavings covered in lichen and mouldy lemons. That quickly dissipates to let our citrus shine brighter, still accompanied by a fistful of moist clay. Mouth: pineapple chunks doused in Iso Betadine. It also has peach nectar, thick, juicy and elevated by a dash of oroblanco juice. Chewing unlocks a strong sweetness of light-brown sugar. It tickles the gums like red chilli flakes, which is as amusing as it is fitting, and it too has a refreshing touch -- though it points at mouthwash more than toothpaste, this one. The second sip is softer, sweeter, offering natural fruit sugars, not the processed stuff one buys from the supermarket. The citrus here are kumquat, tangerine and calamansi, perhaps Buddha's hand in brine. It takes on a chalky texture, in the long rum (pun intended -- that is a frequent note for rum-cask-aged whiskies... which this is not!) Finish: with the perfect kick, it combines a minty-mouthwash freshness, a puff of light smoke, a pinch of salt, iodine and a collection of citrus fruits, fresh, preserved or juiced. Grilled grapefruit, juiced oroblanco, pressed pomelo and lemon, smoked lime, baked citron. It leaves an impression of having licked burnt hazelwood, yet that is far from the alpha note. The second gulp prolongs the mouthwash feel -- a citrus-y one! It also pushes plenty of pineapple and rehydrated dried papaya cubes seasoned with salt. We have a winner. 9/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

Springbank 12yo b.2021 (55.4%, OB Cask Strength, 50% Bourbon Casks + 50% Sherry Casks, B#22, 21/62): nose: musky and animal, this takes us to meet foxes, wild boars, red deer and wild cats. Behind that procession of mammals, it serves cured game meat: venison or pigeon in a wine sauce. Deeper sniffing shows rancio and mushrooms growing in pots in a limestone-walled cellar. In fact, it is increasingly mineral and starts smelling like a cave, albeit a warm one, stalactites and all. That should spell(eology -- ha! ha!) mud as much as it does limestone, and, indeed, we end up with piles of the stuff, then wet oil paint. Tilting the glass triggers a bold slap of fruits, pineapple slices, blush oranges, tangerine segments, and ink. The second nose introduces stewed citrus, skins and all, which is closer to a wild animal's scent than one would instinctively think. Finally, it peddles the smell of a hot dusty radiator. Mouth: another fruity number on the tongue, it may have a dash of heady red wine, but it is blush orange that occupies the dancefloor. It has sweet mint crumbles too, which provide sweetness and freshness, yet that will not overshadow the citrus. Kumquats join oranges, tangelos and satsumas. Chewing adds a modest bitterness, as if, in the midst of that excitement, some of those citrus fruits had brought a few leaves with them. It stays a juicy party, though. The second sip is sweeter, with sugar-cane juice and pineapple chunks in syrup. Chewing reveals the heat of it, which cauterises the mouth before pouring sugar-cane juice and pineapple juice on the scalded mouth tissues. Finish: despite a general mellow tone, it does not lack in the kicking department. Those fruits have life in them yet! What strikes, once the alcohol bite has calmed down, is the lingering bitterness: oil from the citrus peels, without a doubt. It also leaves a chalky impression, as if the fruits had been covered in talcum powder. Finally, those two points (bitter and chalky) combine and result in crushed Aspirin tablet. It is not as bitter as in a Littlemill, but it is there. The second gulp does away with the bitterness altogether and makes this a lovely fruity dram, with satsumas, golden kiwis, kumquats and a drop of blush-orange juice. Excellent and better with each sip. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

That's a wrap!

01/07/2026 Back to Raasay

Three hundred and sixty-four days have passed since we were on the small island off the east coast of Skye.

Isle of Raasay The Draam (46.4%, OB, Rye Whiskey Casks + Chikapin Oak Casks + Bordeaux Red Wine Casks, b. ca. 2025): nose: oily bacon rashers, smoked, but uncooked, and thick, petrolic earth. Increasingly petrolic over time, it peddles bitumen, diesel, engine grease, oil paint, greased-up cylinder blocks and ink. The bacon is lurking in the background, with cured beef and smoked ham. It acquires a lot of watercolour with breathing, coating and dusty. Cured and smoked meats remain the centrepiece, though, including game, now (boar, partridge). It promises to be rather salty too. The second nose is more acidic, halfway between freshly-tawed soft leather and a puddle of vomit on the street of a student town in the morning (Leuven. Stella.) A vague fruitiness (fermented plums) appears, hard to find behind the acidic and butyric notes that point more at fermented barley. Mouth: salty! Blue ink and watercolour, salt-crusted chicken, smoked prosciutto (it reads much posher than 'ham', does it not?) Chewing reveals a thick, plasticine-like texture that is soon overrun by parched earth, first caked onto a tractor tyre, now so dry it fell off onto a farm path. There remains watercolour, now augmented with linseed oil. Chewing further gives a fleeting note of smoked kippers; it timidly peeks from time to time and ends up settling for good. The second sip has burnt hay and caramelised straw, smoked granola and smoky plums, fermenting away. It is bold and acidic, but there is no puddle of sick, here, thankfully. Instead, we have souped-up barley juice with a dash of lemon juice added for kicks. Finish: plasticine, smoked plasticine and, inexorably, petrol and oil paint. It is a dollop of dark-green paint (RAL 6020, or Revell reference 32363) doused in petrol or diesel. It coats the palate like a ripe alphonso mango with none of the mango taste. Perhaps it is crude oil instead? Whatever it is, it is thick and coating, while also earthy and bitter. The second gulp welcomes smoked lemons and calamansis, pressed, the juice of which is enhancing smoked granola and half-burnt haybales. Charred, smoked and citric. Retro-nasal olfaction picks up plastic straws or smoked dandelion stems. I prefer the individual components, even if this is not bad. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, adc)

29/06/2026 Bowmore Rare Bottlings at Bar Lotus

Last week, BB tipped us this event when we met. Tonight, JS and I meet here for the first time. cavalier66 joins us, who has been before. Only six of us, tonight, amongst whom Gunooner.

Bowmore 29yo b.1979 Bicentenary (43%, OB, Sherry Casks, 24,000b)

Nose: tarry passion fruits, purple maracuja and soot, followed by jams and jellies of all sorts. It is definitely fruity, yet the fruitmonger used to be a chimney sweep. cavalier66 finds it a touch of petroleum, as well as medicinal and herbal notes. For me, it is asafoetida that emerges, and a butyric side. cavalier66 finds pickled onions.

Mouth: salty and briny, it soon gives more soot and charcoal dust. Grilled fruits follow suit, with chargrilled peaches and persimmons. It has burnt-wood gratings too that never overpower the fruits.

Finish: thin and short, it has the allure of a dry white wine, Sauvignon blanc, ashy and mineral. The second gulp adds hardened rubber and crushed pistachio shells.

Comment: "bottled for the Italian market," our host says. It has no tax seal and no importer indication, which would have been illegal in Italy (and still is). The paperwork is, indeed, in Italian, though. I suspect an Italian box to complement a UK bottle. In any case, despite being excellent, it is not the best of the Bicentenary expressions I have had the pleasure to try (the honour would belong to this one). Finally, the paperwork is clear: this is a vatting of ten different vintages, the most recent of which is 1950, aged twenty-nine. Written black on white.

Score: 9/10

Our host regrets that he forgot to pour us the welcome drink. It is a Lagavulin. With a mix of gratefulness and disbelief, I put my glass to the side. I am not tarnishing old Bowmores with a peaty Lagavulin!

Bowmore 34yo 1968/2002 (41.40%, Duncan Taylor Peerless, C#1427, 210b, b#060)

Nose: coconut and yellow passion fruit (cavalier66). This is a fruity killery of the highest calibre. Carambola, mango, jackfruit, yellow maracuja, persimmon and lychee grow at second nose, buttery peaches and overripe apricots join them. cavalier66 detects anchovies. Must be the pizza from his lunch stuck between his teeth!

Mouth: floral (cavalier66). It has a vague floral hue, almost impossible to read underneath the cascade of fruits. However, that comes with grains of soot on the tongue. The second sip is a notch bitterer, with ground mace and a lick of rubber amongst the now-dominant nectarines.

Finish: big, surprisingly minty, fruity and a tad peppery (think: peppermint). It takes two gulps for yellow fruits to come to the top, but when they do, they rule. cavalier66 talks about elderflower cordial.

Comment: with exactly zero surprise, this is fantastic and will remain the dram of the night for JS and tOMoH.

Score: 9/10

Our host, paralyzed_frank, asks us if we want to try a certain Glenlivet. He says he does, so he will pour it for all. Another dram for the back of the queue, as far as I am concerned.

Bowmore 21yo d.1973 (43%, OB)

Nose: pickled onions ("of the dark-brown variety, hanging at your aunt's for several years," says cavalier66). It really is onion-y: onions that have fermented in the larder and dripped, decayed red onions, smoked and smashed on earth, acetone (cavalier66).

Mouth: pwah! Parma violet, lavender, perfume of you-know-whom. This is too much, even for me. Crystallised violet sweets come out on top and almost save it, but it sadly only has a novelty value. The second sip is even more violet-y, too much for tOMoH, who is usually not at all negatively-impacted by this well-known taste.

Finish: long, bitter, violet-y. It is less sweet -- or it has fewer sweets. Instead, it tickles perfume. A sentiment which is confirmed with the second gulp.

Comment: 750ml bottle (not 75cl), no US Proof nor importer information. paralyzed_frank explains it is a UK version from before 70cl became the standard; I beg to differ: that was in 1991; this is twenty-one years old distilled in 1973. It was bottled 1994 or 1995. Besides, the earlier bottlings indicated 75cl, not 750ml. Which market was this for? South Africa? Anyway, this is not my thing.

Score: 6/10

Bowmore 21yo (43%, OB imported by Carmi Zvi, F158, b. ca. 2000s)

Nose: an earthier number, it has warm rubber and heated liquorice allsorts. It also smells a lot stronger than its predecessor. Preserved lemons, dried and salty. Some fruits emerge at second nosing, mostly apricots, fresh and dried. There is a pinch of dried herbs too, likely tarragon and oregano.

Mouth: sea salt (cavalier66), crystallised liquorice, a lick of anthracite, and chewy blackcurrant cough drops. There is a veil of smoke, but it is hardly noticeable.

Finish: bigger, longer, more sherried. It has liquorice, soot, tar, creosote and lint. It is not a brutal finish, but it sticks to the gums like a petrolic Sherry.

Comment: several of us expected this one, being likely distilled in the 1980s, to be the violet-y one. How surprising that it has none of that, when its more-ancient equivalent is plagued by it. Did they mix up the glasses upon serving?

Score: 7/10

A fly sets camp in JS's glass. paralyzed_frank traps it and removes the glass.

Barman: "I'll give you another one."
tOMoH: "I have a fly in each of my glasses!"

Bowmore 36yo 1972/2008 (45.4%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Fresh Oloroso Sherry Butt, C#3890, 540b, b#6)

Nose: prunes, sultanas, dried figs, a whiff of hashish. It is earthy and a bit, but also promises dried fruits. The second nose is super lush, with prunes and raisins aplenty. It adds a drop of ink, black as night.

Mouth: rancio, elderberry jelly, smashed prunes, dried Medjool dates, fig relish. It has an acidic touch and a slight bitterness -- the Sherry, clearly. The second sip has a mineral touch akin to prunes smashed on pebbles. Ginger and cinnamon powders become more intense with time.

Finish: big, earthy, it has bucketloads of prunes, figs and pressed blackberries. The second gulp is similar: dark, juicy and a little mineral in a tickly way.

Comment: excellent.

Score: 9/10

Bowmore 18yo d.1971 (57.3%, Sestante)

Nose: this is much more austere and mineral, with volumes of pepper and billows of smoke. Smoked pepper ground in a granite mortar, let us say. The longer it sits in the glass, the more mineral it becomes too. The second nose has dried onion peels and candle wax.

Mouth: onion syrup, sweet and pickled, totally weird. Confit d'oignon, JS tells us. It also has a prune-cut-on-slate vibe that is rather original. The second nose seems more nosebleed, drying and numbing, like granite.

Finish: pickled onions again, dripping with syrup. JS is right: it really is confit d'oignon! The dichotomy between syrupy sweetness and pickled acidity is surprising. The second gulp serves that confit on a hot tin plate.

Comment: not an easy one, but very good.

Score: 9/10

Bowmore 16yo d.1973 (62.8%, Sestante)

Nose: this one is even more austere, boiler rooms and dusty machinery. "Blind, would you say Bowmore?" cavalier66 asks. Nope. It is closer to Glen Mhor or Millburn. Metal filings covered in dust, quarry dust. The second nose is austerer yet, if that is possible. It is more and more numbing, like chilli flakes, yet also metallic.

Mouth: confit d'oignon here too, hot metal (zinc, galvanised iron) and hardened rubber, bizarrely enough.

Finish: the Industrial Revolution has begun! Hot dusty metal, smoke, hammered zinc, coal (cavalier66), galvanised iron. The second gulp is numbing, and, considering the ABV, it is hardly unexpected.

Comment: the staff tell us it is close to Baiju. Fortunately, I disagree with them. Wholeheartedly. This is uncompromising, and really a style I appreciate.

Score: 9/10

Punter: Such and such has tried four hundred Ben Nevises. One hundred and thirty from 1996."
tOMoH: "Does he have a girlfriend?"

Bowmore 22yo 2002/2026 (51%, Thompson Bros. for Bar Lotus, Refill Barrel, 88b)

Nose: extremely custard-y, it has flan tart and banana bread.

Mouth: ginger, a touch of smoke, tree bark, ginseng and rose water.

Finish: smashed banana served in a rubber bowl, dried algae and the residue in an empty vase.

Comment: this is good, but it is hard not to think it is a grave sequence mistake.

Score: 8/10

paralyzed_frank: "I started drinking whisky a year ago."

Our jaws drop in disbelief. It explains the missing bits. Not what is there.

Glenlivet 1946/1972 (43%, Berry Bros. & Rudd)

Nose: boiled potatoes sprinkled with soot. It is most particular! Cinnamon powder ends up making its way through. Then, we have lemons, crisp and acidic in a forest of Epiceas. The second nose has a drop of lemon juice on limestone, effervescent reaction and all.

Mouth: OBE in full effect. This overflows with the tin lids of marmalade jars and copper coins (remarkably not oxidised). It has the bitterness of brass, which makes one think of playing the trombone.

Finish: long and fairly fruity, it has prunes and fresh figs, followed by jam-jar lids and a pinch of soot.

Comment: it is not terribly complex, but very good.

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

Lagavulin 25yo 1990/2015 (44%, The Syndicate, C#4394, 243b)

Nose: vase water, musky hairballs, gunpowder, smashed dried algae. It also emits gas and lingering septic-tank odours -- in a good way. That dissipates to give dust, ash and burnt hair.

Mouth: dry, hairy, it has horse's hair and fairly-new rope. Chewing releases juicy dried fruits, prunes or soaked raisins, then rancio and fermented-onion juice.

Finish: juicy and prune-y, it is also smoky as fook. We have smoked prunes and smoked red onions, caramelised or in a relish format.

Comment: really good. Glad I saved it for last.

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

Good night out. The venue is a little hard to find, with its half-down shutter, I stopped twice to look at the cat in front, without realising it was the place. The selection inside is very impressive and the vibe is as geeky as it gets. Somehow, I did not feel entirely at home, but that must be me.

As for the tasting itself, it was not a guided tasting. More a preselected flight of eight(*) with an imposed pace -- a pace that suited me perfectly.

(*) with inexplicable detours, which I found weird and a little hazardous.

29/06/2026 Bowmore

In preparation for tonight, you understand.

Bowmore 20yo 2005/2026 Ronald's Choice (56.5%, Cadenhead Barrel Royale, Bourbon Barrel): nose: bacon and wood stain. Yup, here are Frazzles, Grills, Walker's recent-ish bacon crisps (certified without bacon, I am convinced) juxtaposed with Carbonyl, Ronseal, and other wood oils for decking. Further nosing does away with that and replaces it with warm plasticine and flowery shrubs (lilac, magnolia). That latter note is not very bold and it soon recedes to allow bacon back. This time, it is crispy rashers on a toasted onion beigel. What do you mean, "it makes no sense"? It is heady and ester-y, maybe has a hint of pickled pearl onion, which goes well with the dominant bacon. Is it a drop of black ink, in the back? The second nose has fleeting purple fruits that soon open the door to earthy aromas: clay floors and mounds of dug-up field earth strangely go back to blueberries in seconds. It seems to settle for brambles, hawthorn and other berry-bearing bushes, which is very nice. Mouth: warm, almost hot, it is ink that is reaching boiling point and warm Ronseal wood stain. It cools down a bit after spending some time on the tongue, which allows plasticine to take over -- plasticine filled with wood oil or wood stain, surely enough. Against all odds, chewing releases tropical fruits, yet they may not be fresh. Instead it is chewy mango-flavoured sweets, as if Gummibärchen came in mango flavour (do they?) That is enhanced with a drop of crisp citrus juice (Ugli fruit or sweet grapefruit) and a generous dose of wood oil, still. The second sip is pretty punchy again, acidic and fruity, perhaps with less wood stain. Chewing seems to revive that, but, in fact, it is now much closer to gooseberries, currants and myrtles. The bitterness has shifted from wood oil to brambles and no-one is complaining. Stubborn chewing brings forth some earth, but it is now a fruity number. Finish: quite the rollercoaster, it starts off farm-y, would you believe?, continues with tropical fruits (mango and papaya, mostly) coated in melted cheese (Appenzeller -- go figure!) and witnesses bacon squirting wood oil and Carbonyl from the side line. Waxy cheeses such as Gouda and Jarlsberg keep growing after that, which is as sticky as it is mesmerising. Highly unexpected. 'Barrel Royale with Cheese', they should have called this! The second gulp dials down the cheese to 0.5 and focuses on earthy berries, not quite ripe, at that. Blackcurrants, elderberries, blackberries, sloe berries. It is a trifle bitter, but it remains acceptable. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)

Next, we will have a younger one that is actually older. Are you following?

3.217 16yo 1997/2014 A delicatessen shopping basket (55.6%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Sherry Butt, 609b): nose: big, musk-ular Sherry maturation, wet cat's hair and fox's skin in the drizzle. It has bruised and cured quince and apples, lukewarm caramel and a spoonful of melted chocolate, perhaps. Fig paste spread on overly-toasted bread or Biscotte, and open bottles in a teak drinks cabinet. This is really a bold Sherry cask and one would be tempted to guess Oloroso. Deeper nosing unearths (pun obviously intended) rancio, before taking us back to animal scents -- lynx, fox, wolf, hyena. However, at this stage, those animals have been rolling in fig relish, Corinth raisins and dried dates, then sprinkled with cocoa powder. They have enjoyed it too. No need to call the RSPCA. The second nose has gooseberries and unripe redcurrants, a tad green, and promising to be bitter, yet that is counterbalanced by currants and candied citrus segments (green grapefruit and oroblanco). How far we have come from wet foxes, eh? Deeper nosing brings up some kind of green tart; not apple, not greengage. Gooseberry tart? Does that exist? Of course! Water increases the pickled-pearl-onion smell and the musk. Ammonia? To be fair, it smells sweeter too, but all in all, it is a trifle less interesting (to tOMoH). Mouth: somehow, this is reminiscent of Greek wines (Udo Jürgens to the rescue). It is strong, assertive more than bold, and sweet, yet not as syrupy as Sherry. It has chewy sweets and dried currants, notes that chewing magnifies. It verges towards blackberry cough drops or even chewy liquorice sweets, yet those currants are never out of sight. The second sip rolls out fig paste punctuated with droplets of melted chocolate (low cocoa content) and berry liqueur. It is small enough quantities to not come across as liqueur-like, but it is there. Chewing, again, propels raisins to the fore, soaked in hot water, and said hot water served alongside. Wet animal fur is right behind, albeit less musky than on the nose. The bitter aspect turns almost rubbery with water, which one could take or leave, based on preference. You like chewing a dandelion stem or a car window seal? This is for you! You do not? Well... Finish: a lot fresher than expected, it still is a big Sherry cask full of chewy sweets and currants, yet, instead of the musk from the nose, we have black liquorice bootlaces and an almost-minty mouthfeel akin to caramelised fennel or lovage seeds. It is a very-long finish, by the way -- the kind one knows immediately that a few sips of water will not dissipate. The second gulp shows just how earthy this can be: beside a strong alcohol kick, it piles on a few shovelfuls of fertile-but-dry earth. There is a general impression of burning that could be construed as a heap of peat by an open fire, but I do not think it is peat. It is earth by a fire, the fuel for which is undetermined, but could be oil. Water improves it by peddling prune ice cream or beetroot sorbet served with a dash of elderberry liqueur that one enjoys while sitting on a tyre. It is weird enough to work! 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)