02/02/2026 Ballan Sark

 Cutty Sark 25yo Tam o'Shanter (46.5%, Berry Bros. & Rudd for Burns' Night 2012, 5000b): nose: an old library or archive room, with piles of books (mostly worn paperbacks) and also reading desks -- blotting paper, faded carpet, old ink on yellowed paper. It ventures further on the road to stale, with crumpled newspaper, old cardboard and even dried urine. As it is about to turn into a rustic pub's latrine, it sheds all the above and puts on a mantle of candied cherries and acidic cranberry sauce, as well as rosehip. Cardboard and old papers do resurface, but we seem to have got rid of the wee -- phew! The second nose has an air of old world, and it is not hard to imagine gentlemen wearing dinner jackets in the smoking room of their club, There is even a heavier, woodiness settling in (acacia). Mouth: fresh and acidic, it presents cranberries indeed, followed by physalis. Chewing reveals a bold sweetness, chewy sweets at first, then cardboard-y toffee. It is dusty and malty, and hints at a malt breakfast drink (not Littlemill!) spilled onto a piece of cardboard. Old blends, eh? The second sip betrays a relatively-high grain content by displaying white granulated sugar mixed with barley mash. That gives way to a pleasant toffee augmented with lemon segments and just a whisper of menthol. Finish: sweetened chicory infusion, Mokatine, perhaps caramelised endives. It blends the sweet with the bitter brilliantly, bitterer than hot chocolate, sweeter than chicory infusion, close to stale toffee, if that were available in liquid form. The second gulp remains blend-y, with chicory granules and Vanidene trying to one-up one another in boiling water. Beside toffee and Mokatine, it has a pinch of lemon zest and some faded ginger gratings. Solid. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)

Ballantine's 30yo (unknown ABV, George Ballantine + Son, unknown volume, b. late 1970s/early 1980s, SB 161 L5): nose: deeper and darker, it promises sweetness in the shape of crystallised blackcurrant sweets rather than mocha-flavoured ones. Deeper nosing gives oily wood, uprooted trees in a damp clearing, and, increasingly, wild mushrooms. Breathing time imparts cola sweets lost amongst mulch, yet we never go too far from blackcurrants. The second nose introduces a cup of thyme infusion sweetened with a spoonful of dark honey. That is enjoyed at the rustic kitchen table, made of solid wood, that has seen the kitchen stove lit a number of times. Yes, oily logs and old newspapers complete the picture. Mouth: an old-school attack reminiscent of ancient Gordon & MacPhail offerings. One may conclude that this has been "adjusted" with E150a, and that is likely the truth. It certainly makes for a sweet, flat-cola-like palate, albeit one that still tells much more to those who care to listen: toffee, dried currants, dried figs, prunes, dried cranberries and cherries, and even a pinch of tobacco coated in honey. If it reads weird, it tastes exquisite. The second sip is sweeter yet, with Medjool dates pointing towards lukums. That paves the way for banane flambée, barley syrup, pressed raisins and smoked currants. Finish: phwoar! Despite the (presumably) lower ABV, it just kicks bouteille. Sweet again, it continues the dried-fruit parade, this time cloaked in a thin smoke. We have dried currants and berries, served on a walnut cutting board, while an acrid smoke rises from the open coal fire in another room. To overcome the smoke, which, if thin indeed, is clearly perceptible, one is sucking on a mocha-and-currant boiled sweet. The second gulp brings forth a smoked-pineapple purée and dies with mocha grounds and soot on blackened parchment paper moist with fruit syrup. Beautiful. It could use more power, but it does not strictly need it. 9/10

30/01/2026 Hellyers Road

Hellyers Road 19yo New Vibrations (69.9%, OB, American Oak, C#4085.05): nose: strong farm scents, with muck and dried mud the most obvious. Those are followed by hessian sacks filled with fertiliser and food recycling that has become compost. Surreptitiously, baking aromas reach the nostrils too, chocolate custard or sticky toffee pudding, as if served in a vase -- by which I mean there is a dry residue in there too, akin to algae or lichen stuck to the sides of an empty vase. The second nose is earthier yet, and blends mud patties with stagnant water. It is not long before timid fruits emerge, a mix of myrtles, grapes and plums casually displayed on an oilcloth. It also has a soft touch of penicillin, so soft it is hard to spot, and barley mash, after a while. Mouth: muddy on the tongue too, it soon shoots dark-chocolate darts, bitterer than they are sweet. Chewing drops a bagful of ripe fruits into a roaring fire, fleetingly sweet and tropical, durably hot. The longer it spends in the mouth, the fruitier it becomes, but it takes a lot of discipline and dedication (nay! abnegation) to endure the heat. Flames, terracotta, mud patties waiting to be baked, and lots of fruits (banana, papaya, pineapple and coconut, persimmon). The second sip injects a bit of grit, and, if it is not sand, it still feels slightly sedimentary (chalk, probably). It is also sweet, which suggests caster sugar. Hot fruits are right behind, now flirting with mango and mangosteen. Finish: big, assertive, it dishes out hot fruits with a pinch of spices and a sprinkle of soot. Retro-nasal olfaction picks up burnt wood dunked in water to extinguish it, and burnt fruit stones. Even fruitier at second gulp, and those fruits easily dominate the earthy part. We still have piping-hot mud patties and baked clay, to be clear; they are simply less obvious than mangosteen, rambutan and plantain, at this point. Repeated quaffing reminds one that this is pretty strong: the mouth gets all numb. Only a minor bitter note of toasted barley, barley sugar, or overly-milked chicory infusion prevents a higher score. What an excellent surprise! 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, DW)

24/01/2026 Burns' Night 2026 -- Nautical but Nice (Part 2)

The story started here.

There is indeed a second row

tOMoH goes for the double-dip with a bottling for Whisky-Schiff Zürich, a festival that takes place on ships. He notes that those ships ('Schiff' is German for 'ship', yes?) operate in fresh water and do not count. Instead, he brought it because it is a catam-Arran.

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) (tOMoH)

Comment: others cannot see the Arran character, nor much Sherry, but the dram is nevertheless popular. My full notes are here. 8/10

tOMoH gets up again, this time to unveil the group's bottle. It is from a collection named 'The Sea'. Yes, that one.

Ben Nevis 1970/1988 (46%, Brae Dean Int. for Moon Import The Sea, Sherry Butt, C#2913, 360b, b#267) (group)

Nose: we shift gears! Here are leather and shoe polish of a stupendous elegance. It then turns tertiary (yes, I know), with powdered porcini and seared shiitake.
Mouth: a wonderful shoe polish coming out of a tube, then distant sandalwood. Incredibly powerful at second sip too. Is this really 46%?
Finish: long and all-enveloping, comforting as a rustic chair with a coat of oil. The second gulp has a bitterer dark-wood-bench touch and liquorice, bitter, sure, but breath-takingly elegant.
Comment: phwoar! 9/10

The third cake is served, made by STL's daughter.

It does not last long

tOMoH: "You okay?"
STL: "Yeah. So... I don't even want to cut the cake."
ruckus: "I'll eat your piece!"

Psycho: "What does your daughter do?"
red71: "She's a hypnotherapist. You have a problem in your life? She'll fix it. Are you constipated?"

adc and ruckus introduce another pair -- a pair of Taliskers. I warn all that it will not be a fair fight.

ruckus brought a Talisker from the Isle of Skye, where they do water Skye-ing. Groan. Laughter.

adc delegates the introduction of her bottle to tOMoH, who explains he got to try the version of Talisker 10yo that comes in a blue fender in a London shop, one day. The staff were cursing Diageo for using Sherry-seasoned casks instead of proper Sherry casks. The resulting whisky was rubbery and rather unpleasant. Still, a fender... tOMoH had to have it, who then gifted it to adc.

Lots of jokes or actual questions about guitars, but a fender is a nautical accessory that prevents damage to vessels and berthing structures.

Drat! it is the wrong bottle... Oh! well.

This one is "made by the sea," as adc shouts from the other side of the room.

Talistill 11yo 1996/2007 (46%, Taste Still, C#5471, 180b) (ruckus)

Nose: salty air and horsepower. That is followed by boiled sweets. Much later on, a peppery Cologne comes up, old-man style. This is comforting already.
Mouth: it has a big lick of soft rubber, meaning it is fairly bitter, but it stops on the right side. And there are tons of peppery fruits too.
Finish: a huge slap of fruit and slightly-burnt rubber, a dead campfire on the beach, smoked mussels and halved citrus.
Comment: still delicious. What a treat to try this again. Although a well-known bottle amongst this group, it seems we have not had it since 2013. 9/10

Talisker 40yo 1978/2018 (50%, OB The Bodega Series, Finished in ex-Delgado Zuleta, 2000b, b#1048) (adc)

Nose: zomgue. We go into overdrive. Wax, roasted fruits and minute smoke.
Mouth: swarf, hot, dusty boilers, baked apples and a pinch of pepper so restrained it could even be overlooked.
Finish: huge, it has cut citrus, a pinch of salt and a whisper of smoke.
Comment: dom666 is ecstatic. It is his favourite distillery and he has never tried this expression before. In fact, he has, but he is right to be ecstatic: it remains a superlative dram. I hope to spend more time with it at some point. 10/10

Psycho gets up to offer his bottle. I interject. This is the worst spot. Nothing could shine after that Talisker (those Taliskers, actually), and it is unfair to leave that spot to anyone else, so I will take the hit. Since, coincidentally, Psycho's bottling is (likely) from the same distillery as mine, we will have them side by side. Which distillery? Loch Lomond -- favourite tipple of Captain Haddock. Well, mine is undisclosed, but with Captain Haddock's cap on the label, there is little doubt as to its provenance.

Highland Region 21yo 2000/2021 (54.7%, Thompson Bros., 2 x Refill Hogsheads, 589b) (tOMoH)

Nose: flinty and sulphury (Gaija), cheeses (Stilton, Gorgonzola, bleu d'Auvergne -- red71), gas leak (Gaija).
Mouth: bitter and tasteless (kruuk2).
Finish: not bad, fatty (kruuk2), wet cork (STL). Gaija calls it gloriously bad and a capital miss.
Comment: against all odds, hard-to-please-in-chief Bishlouk finds it not that bad. I giggle at others' reactions. Some notes here. I may do a full review one day, if I muster up the courage. Tonight, I do not even try it.

Loch Lomond 21yo 1997/2018 (52.5%, Cadenhead Small Batch, 2 x Bourbon Barrels, 378b) (Psycho)

Nose: a burst of lovely fruits followed by a waft of coffee (or is it the sludge some are now drinking?) It is a hot Moka tin pot, at the very least.

Mouth: velvety, fruity and inimitable. No other distillate has this texture. Smashed fruits aplenty, elevated with a pinch of chalk.
Finish: waxy fruits blended with wax.
Comment: as it did last year, this amazes. 9/10

red71 announces that the US Navy made a propaganda film in 1994 called Nautical but Nice. He therefore chose a whisky distilled in 1994. He adds that it is a Cadenhead bottling, which is abbreviated as CA on Whiskybase. 'CA' is the hull code for Heavy Cruiser in the hull classification. To make sure we get it, this particular bottle has naval flags all around it.

Clynelish 20yo 1994/2015 (55.4%, Cadenhead Wood Range, Sherry Cask, 486b, 15/292) (red71)

Comment: this is good, but is overwhelmed by the competition, tonight. Notes here. 7/10

The soundtrack: the Old Man of Huy - Exit the Dragon

ruckus brought a bottle from a Port that has a ship on the label.

We will let slide the fact that it is a canal boat (hence fresh water).

The boats on ruckus's shirt are sea boats, on the other hand

...albeit small ones, for atoll-hopping in the Pacific

Port Dundas 21yo 2000/2022 (62.1%, Keeble Cask Company Fragrant Drops imported by Perfectdram, American Oak Barrel, C#305291, 187b) (ruckus)

Nose: bleach or disinfectant (ruckus), rhubarb (STL). I have lots of marzipan, on the other hand.
Mouth: phwoar! This is hot and numbing. Soon, caster sugar emerges, as does Demerara starting to cluster.
Finish: huge, sweet, crumbly, gritty. It has golden caster sugar by the boatload.
Comment: another cracking grain. Bizarrely enough, the only grain in this monster line-up. 8/10

dom666 [about a new restaurant]: "Ça s'appelle [Van der Valk] Sélys."
tOMoH: "C'est comme l'Héliport? [another restaurant dom666 likes to talk about] Où tous les véhicules ont des Sélys?" [I will not translate]
JS: "What?"
tOMoH [repeats]: "You're frowning. You don't approve."
kruuk2: "She's right."

adc disappears as the fourth cake enters.

This one is laced with
SC 73 10yo b.2023 (58.2%, SMWS The Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Wasted Degrees Table Beer Quarter Cask Finish)

Psycho brought another one with a ship on the label.

We pair it with CG's bottle, which is another Bowmore, from the shores of Lochindaal, which is close to the sea (it is a sea loch, so, technically, it is the sea). "Also, the chimney of the distillery looks like a ship's mast," CG tells us.

Bowmore 15yo Mariner (43%, OB, L1284/L1304) (Psycho)

Nose: cat litter (Bishlouk), vinegar (kruuk2), pickled pearl onions, perhaps pickled strawbales.
Mouth: French-whore perfume (Gaija), and it does indeed have a clear violet-sweet taste.
Finish: long, it has toasted barley and smoked straw.
Comment: this is never as good as I want it to be. I so want to like it, but the nose is a little disappointing. 7/10

Bowmore 2002/2025 (58.2%, Malts of Scotland Rare Casks handselected & exclusively bottled for The Whisky Dreamers, Bourbon Hogshead, C#MoS25014, 146b, b#50) (CG)

Nose: a darker smoke, linoleum glue, floor disinfectant that is almost bleach-like. Blurry fruits take off, after a while, followed by ink.
Mouth: smoked roasted apples, a lot of horsepower. Then, tropical fruits rise: cherimoya, Ugli fruit. The second sip has a pinch of chalk that feels akin to licking a plasterboard.
Finish: long and irresistibly fruity, with persimmon and peaches rubbing elbows with embers.
Comment: here is an excellent Bowmore. 9/10

Gaija tells us about an artist he saw at Fuse in the not-too-distant past. Then, Ludovico Einaudi - Nuvole Bianche plays, which STL recognises.

Gaija: "Isn't [Einaudi] playing in Belgium, soon?"
STL: "Not at Fuse, in any case."

Gaija tells us that Caol Ila always has a maritime profile, yet it is always easy and accessible. In other words, it is nautical, but nice.

Caol Ila 22yo b.2019 (58.4%, OB Special Festival Edition Feis Ile 2019, Sherry-Treated American Oak Casks, 3000b, b#2977) (Gaija)

Nose: fried bacon, ashes, ink. These are terrible notes for a nose that feels a little indistinct, so far. It is undoubtedly well made all the same.
Mouth: punchy, it rolls out fruits covered in ash. We have prunes and peaches, as well as sauced-up nectarines.
Finish: big, ashy and fruity, it ends on a Merbromin note.
Comment: delicious. I have wanted to try this since it came out; it was definitely worth the wait. 9/10

kruuk2: "A while ago, you could buy a Porsche 911 for not a lot of money."
Psycho: "Depends on the model."
kruuk2: "Yeah, the Majorette [Matchbox] one was cheaper."

sonicvince and dom666 both brought a Laphroaig for the same reason: the drawing on the tube shows the seafront.

We embark on another entirely-unfair versus.

Laphroaig Quarter Cask (48%, OB) (sonicvince)

Nose: medicinal, it has ashes and mercurochrome.
Mouth: bold, with lots of smoky roasted apples and quinces coloured with Merbromin.
Finish: there is a loud rubber-camphor duet, coupled with strong cough drops.
Comment: reliable. Dependable. Even this late, it does the job without pretense. 7/10

Laphroaig 31yo 1974/2005 (49.7%, OB for La Maison du Whisky, Sherry Wood Casks, 910b, b#652) (dom666)

Comment: after trying this in 2006 and in 2015, it is clear there will not be a fourth encounter: the bottle is on its last leg. We have this masterpiece just as Tide Lines - Shadow To The Light (Piano Version) is playing. I find it hard to contain my emotions, even as ruckus vocalises his dislike for the song. I make away with a sample, so we will spend more composed time with it in the future. For now, it soars above everything we have had until now. A charged 11/10

STL: "Quel est le thème pour l'an prochain?"
tOMoH: "Maporama. Des étiquettes avec des cartes."
dom666: "Viendrai avec des cartes à jouer. Ha! Ha! Une bouteille avec un as de pique sur l'étiquette!"
Gaija and tOMoH [clearly thinking of the Ace of Spades]: "On te regarde."

Psycho explains that Corryvreckan, the famous whirlpool off the northeast of Jura, is clearly nautical, and that the whisky of the same name is nice.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan (57.1%, OB, b. ca 2007) (Psycho)

Nose: smoked hay and smoked straw.
Mouth: woah! This is punchy. It has peat smoke cloaking poached apples.
Finish: big, smoky. We detect hay, a pinch of ash, and toasted barley, Ardbeg style.
Comment: this is good. Naturally, it suffers from the sequence -- what would not? 7/10

Jocelyn Pook - The Masked Ball plays. People start talking about Eyes Wide Shut (the track is used in the film) and Kubrick.

tOMoH: "Psycho, tu n'aimes pas vraiment les films de Kubrick. Tu préfères les films de Ku tout court."

We survived the full line-up, somehow. Bishlouk, STL, red71, sonicvince, Mrs. sonic and CG take a leave.

The soundtrack: the Old Man of Huy - Another Brick in the Wall

ruckus, dom666, kruuk2, Psycho, Gaija, JS and I have a nightcap. It would not be a proper Burns' Night without a nightcap, now, would it?

SC 73 10yo b.2023 (58.2%, SMWS The Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Wasted Degrees Table Beer Quarter Cask Finish)

Manages to hold its own. Full notes here.

North British 45yo 1963/2009 (50.7%, Signatory Vintage Rare Reserve, Hogsheads, C#117362 + 117363 + 117365, 290b, b#19)

This sails comfortably, even now. It may have one more outing before the bottle is empty, sadly. Full notes here.

117.3 25yo d.1988 Hubba-bubba, mango and monstera (58.5%, SMWS Society Single Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 199b)

Phwoar. How can this still fly so high at 7 in the morning? Well, it does. Notes.

We decide against the Port Charlotte, this year again. Some are running out of fuel.

Epic.

Dram of the day:

• adc: Talisker 40yo + Caperdonich 16yo
• dom666: Talisker 40yo
• sonicvince: Ben Nevis + Caol Ila 22yo + Port Dundas 21yo + Laphroaig 31yo
• ruckus: Caperdonich 16yo + Arran 17yo + Caol Ila 22yo + Laphroaig 31yo
• kruuk2: Ben Nevis + Laphroaig 31yo + Clydeside
• JS: Laphroaig 31yo + Bowmore MoS
• Bishlouk: Talisker 40yo
• STL: Highland Region 21yo
• red71: Talisker 40yo
• CG: Laphroaig 31yo
• Psycho: Laphroaig 31yo + Talisker 40yo
• Gaija: Laphroaig 31yo + Talisker 40yo
• tOMoH: Laphroaig 31yo + Talisker 40yo

Those fine people have plans on the Sunday. That means many have left when I get up, and those who have not make a quick exit.

More breakfast for the few who do stick around,
including espadom

24/01/2026 Burns' Night 2026 -- Nautical but Nice (Part 1)

adc, JS, dom666, ruckus, kruuk2, Psycho, sonicvince, Mrs. sonic, Bishlouk, STL, red71, Gaija and newcomer CG join tOMoH for this yearly feast. Guests arrive from 16:15 or so, a few at a time until 19:30ish.

Since we need a critical mass before we start pouring drams, and since that takes a while, I start composing the line-up. To help wait, Bishlouk pours a gentle gob-wetter: George T. Stagg 17yo 1993/2010 (69.05%, OB Barrel Proof). You read the ABV correctly. Eager to not burn my throat before the party even starts, I skip it; my notes are here.

As for nibbles, red71 brought his traditional canelés.

They do not last long

The soundtrack: the Old Man of Huy - Nautical but Nice

It is a long line-up, for a change. Notes will be scant, busy as I am enjoying the company.

Three bottles are missing from this first half, believe it or not

Now that the line-up is built (pending the contributions of sonicvince, Gaija and CG, who have not yet arrived), JS pulls out a rabbit from her hat as an apéritif. Well, it is a marlin, really, even if many will insist on calling it a swordfish ('espadon', in French).

Or 'espadom', as it will forever be remembered

Suntory Blue Marlin Decanter (43%, Suntory The Suntory Marine Collection) (JS)

Nose: toffee and dusty cardboard, Scottish tablet, then a pinch of lime zest.
Mouth: more toffee, accompanied by more and more lime zest as time goes by. It gives crusty-cake vibes, eventually.
Finish: lime zest and toffee.
Comment: nothing extraordinary (the attraction is clearly the decanter more than the liquid), but it is a pleasant starter, we all agree. 7/10

About the marlin, the fact it is ceramic (it is actually porcelain, ruckus tells us) and the pristine state of the cork.

Psycho: "It's a bamboo cork."

Mrs. sonic is treated to an Irn Bru

kruuk2: "Is this the twentieth Burns' Night?"
tOMoH: "Thereabout. We started in 2004, did not have it in 2005 or 2021. Most of the other years, if not all, yes." [That makes this the twenty-first edition]
kruuk2: "Google Photos pings the memories each year; you can see the early ones; you can see our faces. And..."
ruckus: "What!? What!?"
[Yes, we look younger in the pictures.]

kruuk2's watch

Starter enters

Courgette, leek and chickpea soup

Speaking of kruuk2, he is on next. He has a whole presentation with music and all. Instead of trying to paraphrase it, here it is:

tOMoH: "The party can now start and it is a successful party already!"
Bishlouk: "adc, finish your plate: you may go to bed!"

Glengoyne 12yo (43%, OB imported by Ian McLeod European Office, 100/0000273/16) (kruuk2)

Nose: lemon drizzle and torrents of vanilla. It then unveils crushed almonds.
Mouth: butterscotch, a lick of caramel and lemon curd in a cake -- or buttery cherimoya.
Finish: lovely butterscotch, lemon drizzle, warm flan.
Comment: again, nothing legendary, but it does the job perfectly. 7/10

adc: "I'll get the soup plates."
tOMoH: "Three of us are still eating. STL is enjoying it, dom666 is too busy talking about his Talisker mug to eat faster and I..."
adc [to dom666]: "You have a Talisker mug?"

Gaija arrives with a cardboard crate.

tOMoH: "Oufti! Il a pris une caisse."
Bishlouk:"Il vaut mieux prendre une caisse qu'en larguer une!"

[I shall not translate]

Bishlouk has us picture a beautiful ship with a wooden hull and its three masts, here represented by a wooden plinth and three bottles. He tells us they belonged to a restaurant in the 1990s and were forgotten in a cellar for a long period.

Classy, eh?

The Balvenie 10yo (40%, OB imported by C.V. SCS S.C., LF7032 2901 CSC6, b.1990s) (Bishlouk)

Nose: marzipan (dom666), sponge cake, moist apple cake with poppy seeds.
Mouth: soft, it has flan and caramel, vanilla extract.
Finish: this still has bite for a whisky that has sat thirty years in an almost-empty bottle. A summer's afternoon, says ruckus.
Comment: we continue with the unchallenging-yet-very-pleasant drams. 7/10

dom666: "You always have the last word with the ladies, don't you? 'Yes, darling.'"

The Balvenie 12yo DoubleWood (40%, OB impored by C.V. MCS S.C., Sherry Cask Finish, LF7104 1303 CSC6, b.1990s) (Bishlouk)

Nose: richer and wider, it has a drop of wine, very soft. Perhaps prunes and apricots too.
Mouth: yes, this is clearly full of prunes and cured apricots.
Finish: raisins, prunes, blackcurrants. It has a jammy sweetness to it that is well satisfying.
Comment: Bishlouk points out that this has Whiskybase ID 1. A well-known gateway drug that seems a tad less approachable tonight than in the past, or than other incarnations, perhaps. Several find the Sherry influence too great. 7/10

Psycho: "Rich Indians do not exist."
All: "Have you heard of [Lakshmi] Mittal?"
tOMoH: "So rich he has his own song: 'Je suis Mittal et je le reste...'"
dom666: "And then there is his nemesis: Tata."
Psycho: "Yoyo?"

The Balvenie 15yo 1980/1996 (50.4%, OB Single Barrel importedby CV. MCS S.V., C#13570, L41476070544) (Bishlouk)

Nose: ooft! This is jammy from the off, then it gets a wad of plasticine before vanilla appears, with Scottish tablet and sticky toffee pudding doused in custard right behind.
Mouth: woof! Another one that has lost none of its bite over the past decades. Toffee emerges from the depths with a bit of chalk. It is warming and comforting, with a glazing of hot marmalade.
Finish: very long, full of warm toffee and butterscotch, hot custard and caramel.
Comment: love it. 8/10

The main course is served.

Haggis with a mustard sauce (not pictured) and roasted vegetables

The menu has never been this simple; it lets the ingredients speak, and they do that really well. Everyone is enthusiastic.

CG joins us.

STL pulls out a bottle with ships on the label. He adds that it is a Burnside for Burns' Night.
red71: "And the cork does not break."
STL: "Never, with me."

Blended Malt 27yo 1994/2021 (47.5%, Le Gus't Selection for Nanyang Whisky, Bourbon Hogshead, C#3525, 240b) (STL)

Comment: big and punchy, it works really well, tonight. My full notes are here. STL brought this a couple of years ago and I liked it as much then as I do tonight, which is more than when I had it on its own from another bottle. Bottle variation? 8/10

Message on a bottle

STL added a custom label, kruuk2 style.
The AI he used to make it clearly did not know what
Charles Montgomery Burns looks like, but -- hey!

JS presents a bottle with a ship on the label (and on the box).

Caperdonich 16yo 1972/1988 Benan 1875 (40%, Signatory Vintage Sailing Ships Series No 1, Sherry Casks, C#7130-7132, 1200b, b#135) (JS)

Nose: subtle Sherry, with dried dates and dried figs, but also quince paste and a whisper of gauze, followed by rancio.
Mouth: cough syrup (kruuk2), camphor (Gaija), pressed apricots and tarry hairballs. Despite the low ABV (Bishlouk and red71 note the lack of horsepower), it feels full to me.
Finish: long, it has sticky dark honey and physalis coated in it.
Comment: we have stepped up, all of a sudden. 9/10

red71: The worst note on Whiskybase is 79: a certain Bishlouk."

dom666 [talking about Layla]: "What was his name again? Harrison!"
ruckus: "Ford?"
tOMoH: "Mr. George Harrison Ford T."
kruuk2: "Did he live in Seraing?"

adc introduces a Clydeside only available at the bar of HMS Glasgow, a warship built in Glasgow and with whom the distillery now has a long-term partnership.

Clydeside 6yo 2019/2025 HMS Glasgow (46%, OB, Guyanese Rum Cask) (adc)

Nose: wonderful yellow fruits, physalis, nectarines, peaches, and sweet green citrus. It then gives barley sugar, vanilla and citrus mixing in an unusual way.
Mouth: sweet, it has a dose of cane-sugar juice, honey-glazed caster sugar, pears, nectarines, and even mandarins. Wait! Is this gravel? This is delicious.
Finish: apple, marzipan (kruuk2). The rum influence is clear, but delicate: it is sweet and fruity, not sickly.
Comment: another excellent Clydeside. 8/10

Chilling

sonicvince tells us Bruichladdich Rocks comes from an island, and that island probably has rocks in the sea.

ruckus: "Tous les Islay viennent d'une île."
tOMoH: "Non, seuls les Égyptiens viennent du Nil."

[I shall not translate]

Bruichladdich Rocks The Rhinns of Islay: A Land Apart b.2011 (46%, OB, French Syrah Casks, 61810511050) (sonicvince)

Nose: a whiff of sulphur and matchsticks. It is a little winy too, while Gaija has a strong kiwi scent, as well as medicine. The wine influence gives leather, rather than vinegar, which is good.
Mouth: lots of mushroom cooking juice, then a little burnt-wood gratings. We finish with warm, acidic cranberry juice. Gaija finds it funky -- I agree.
Finish: big, long and sticky, it has a pronounced salinity, with crushed sea sand, still wet from contact with the sea. Mind you, it also has pressed plums and raisins.
Comment: decent, but it is still not my favourite entry in the Bruichladdich range -- not even if we limit that to the discontinued ones. This is predictably divisive amongst our group; STL and Gaija love it, the wine-lovers they are, dom666 and Bishlouk much less. 6/10

Mrs. sonic serves the first cake. She brought a canister of whipped cream, which saves us whisking a shirt.

Bishlouk mocks krruk2's technique: "It looks like churros!"

CG shows us a bottle with a lighthouse on the label.

Scapa 25yo d.1980 (54%, OB, 2000b, b#00496, 05/08032) (CG)

Nose: a wide slap of earth and smashed berries. This is impressive! It also has a confectionary note; bubble gum and pineapple drops.
Mouth: quite a bite, followed by confectionary again. We have candied angelica, and jellied leaves and pistachios. Meow! There are some smoked pineapple chunks too at second sip.
Finish: long, leafy, with more candied angelica doused in jelly.
Comment: boss. CG is not taking the piss for his first appearance. What a dram! I may like it even better than upon first encounter. 9/10

Gaija screams and sniggers.

tOMoH: "You okay?"
Gaija: "I just saw the second row of the line-up."

dom666 presents a bottle with a boat on the label, and exactly the one I thought and hoped he would bring.

It matches my polo shirt, although the clouds of my shirt have been replaced by gulls on the (more-recent) bottle, amongst various other minor differences.

Old Pulteney 21yo (46%, OB, American ex-Bourbon and ex-Fino Sherry Casks, L12-044-1B R12/5019, b.2012) (dom666)

Nose: roasted and poached apples.
Mouth: definitely roasted apples, topped with a heaped spoonful of honey. It is a tad drying, but remains fruity on the tongue.
Finish: melted salted butter blended with custard. The second gulp adds a wonderful toffee.
Comment: the Maritime Malt, they call it. Perhaps not as maritime as the tagline suggests, but pleasant all the same. This is the first incarnation in this livery and sports the Whisky Bible Award sticker. 8/10

The second cake enters, augmented with Irish Mist (65° Proof, The Irish Mist Liqueur Co. imported by Heublein Inc., b.1970s).

red71 on cutting duties

The soundtrack: _Ruckus_ - Nautical but Nice

tOMoH presents another obvious contribution: a Bunnahabhain, with its Captain Bird's Eye-like logo. Not just any Bunna, though: this one also sports an anchor, a sail boat and a shipwreck.

Bunnahabhain 23yo 1998/2022 (49.7%, OB Fèis Ìle 2022, Calvados Cask Finish) (tOMoH)

Nose: leathery earth. Yup! This feels peaty.
Mouth: a smidge drying, with bletted fruits. It is not long before it shows its true power -- and it is more powerful than the ones that came before, even than the Scapa, it feels.
Finish: tart apples and a lick of peat smoke.
Comment: love it. Better notes here. 8/10

dom666 blows raspberries.

tOMoH: "Great fart impression!"
dom666: "Did you see that? And with the mouth, no less!"

adc is sporting a life vest.
Talk about taking the theme seriously!

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