21/09/2026 Dailuaine

Dailuaine 29yo 1982/2012 (60.6%, The Nectar of the Daily Drams): nose: just as the colour suggests, the nose is naked spirit in crystalline form. After twenty-nine years, that is rather astonishing. It must have been a knackered old cask. We have tan suede, turpentine, warm copper, and a medicinal whiff too, ether or surgical alcohol. A few minutes in, it starts peddling a bunch of dried flowers -- carnations, roses, honesty plants, daisies. The turpentine morphs into a tin of purple paint well on its way to becoming lumpy. The second nose somehow becomes dark, woodworm-riddled furniture crumbling into a pile of dust. Walnut stain, old walnut shells, then hazelnuts shells followed by the oily nut itself. How did it just go from not-aged spirit to something so influenced by wood in such a short amount of time? Magic! The addition of water makes this nose softer and more flowery. It is as if the dried flowers from earlier came back to life: carnations, roses, pansies, primroses. The suede is now firmly in the background. Mouth: incredibly, it walks a tightrope between silky and razor-sharp. On the one hand, it has peach flesh, soft, almost mushy; on the other, it cuts through the tongue like a warm knife through butter. Chewing does not make it pick a side either: the plum-like note from earlier turns into chewy plasticine, a bit fruity, a bit bitter, while the sharp aspect is now bold enough to remind one of being hit with the flat (hamon) of a red-hot sword. It cuts and immediately cauterises, leaving but a metallic note, bronze or copper, more than steel or titanium. The second sip opens with a caramelised lemon cake. It maintains that unusual silky-incisive dichotomy, much to this taster's delight. Follows a nut spread sprayed with pressed apricots, served in a cast-iron spoon heated over a naked flame. This is hot! Water makes it chewy, waxy, almost rubbery. Plum-flavoured gum, perhaps. It is softer and better integrated, with only a minor leathery-earthy side. Finish: it is less powerful than the ABV promises, and it seems remarkably short. A quick drop of warmed plums, that is it. Only a minute later does the heat start to radiate back up the oesophagus, carrying orchard foliage, suede, cropped horse's hair. and more of those medicinal nuances (anaesthetics, ether, maybe tincture of iodine). It is shaking more than numbing, though. That feeling lasts forever. The second gulp is more assertive: it feels a lot stronger and heats up without a pause. It slaps hot metal (a silver spoon) on the top and front of the palate, and proceeds to revive it with acidic lemon juice. It then dies with a plastic sheet left in the sun for a few hours. Water renders this much more approachable. It continues the chewy adventure with plum gum, but also menthol, now. On the other hand, the leather has gone. All in all, the reduced finish is a tad more generic. Neat, it is interesting, good and intense. It will likely improve in the open bottle too. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, JS)

18/09/2026 Thank God It's Phroaigday

Laphroaig 15yo (43%, OB imported by Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine, b. ca.2003): nose: a wonderful wave of ashy fruits -- peaches, apricots, greengages, plums and their stones, burnt and turned to as. The ashes grow in intensity, become oily-wood ash, such as teak or mahogany. The ash morphs into dunnage warehouse, and, behind it, comes an ethereal layer of bolder, more-exotic fruits. Melon, Mirabelle plum, guava, carambola. This nose could really be summarised with two words (ash, fruit), yet it encourages many more!The second nose is even fruitier, plum-y as to feel close to plasticine. Soon enough, ash comes back with a vengeance, this time fruit-tree covered in lichen, then reduced to ash. Mulberries make a late appearance, as does something more flowery. Mouth: it is completely in line with the nose, with a superb balance of ash and fruit. At 43%, it certainly does not burn, but it is also far from weak. Chewing brings silky smoked fruits into the spotlight, plum, greengage or similar, dials the heat up a notch and adds liqueur-soaked cherries taken in a wood-panelled smoking room. The second sip is sweet, fruity and fleshy. Mushy peaches, ripe plums, soft bananas, all slowly augmented with overripe Crimson grapes and other berries. There is a murmur of mango further in the back, soon overtaken by slightly-bitter ashes. Finish: it kicks harder than anticipated and supplements the ashes we have now come to expect with charred-wood gratings. It also pours teak oil onto the lot, yet that does not totally smothers the underlying fruits (roasted melon, charred guava and carambola, grilled nectarines). The second gulp brings seal wax to the table, ripe nectarines and hints of mango flesh sprinkled with incense ash, after a while. This is outstanding. 9/10 (Thanks for the sample, kruuk2)

Happy birthday MDa!

14/09/2026 Campbeltown Loch

Leftover from a tasting in July.

Campbeltown Loch 21yo (40%, Springbank Distillers): nose: it is a beautiful fruit eau-de-vie, one that smells of apricots. It has something bread-y and something metallic too. Hmmm... Could it be a bread-slicing machine, like they have in some supermarkets? It certainly seems that way. A subtle woodiness rises -- a wooden fruit bowl, pencils, a desk of some kind. Then, a whiff of smoke tickles the nostrils, unannounced. It is smoke from a wood-fired hob, upon which apricot jam is simmering in a cauldron. The second nose insists on the woody aspects, with salad-serving spoons humid with a thick vinaigrette, and cardboard boxes of chocolate (45% cocoa content). Mouth: delicately fruity, the palate brings more apricots, as well as cut plums, maybe greengages and ripe Mirabelle plums. Chewing adds a fistful of copper coins, or the tin lids of marmalade jars. It feels a trifle watery, to be honest, but it holds itself. Some of the fruits revert back to a less-ripe stage, which signifies a gentle bitterness. But maybe it is the copper coins: there is even a lick of Verdigris, after all. A pinch of soot too. The second sip brings pineapple bark, dried calamansi peels, and tangerine-flavoured yoghurt. It has got a more-acidic profile than earlier, yet it remains a fruity-woody number, all in all. We belatedly find a pinch of powdered ginger. Finish: the arrival feels soft for a second, watery. It does not take long for more power to shine through, and the finish throws a punch of smoked apricots, embellished with a pinch of soot. Little of the earlier metal touch makes it this far; it is mostly apricots, soot, and a drop of eau-de-vie to keep it lively. The second gulp is creamy with a spicy edge. Ginger powder, grapefruit zest and dried pineapple flakes. Very good. 8/10

11/09/2026 Benrinnes

There is no actual connection to the date, so I will not try to shoehorn one in.

Benrinnes 15yo (43%, OB imported by DBBY, b. ca.2026): Nose: it has much less sulphur than when the bottle was opened, and more shoe polish. It is a Sherry maturation, that is plain to sniff, Oloroso, probably, with a whisper of musk, yeast, dry wood (windfall from last year) and pickled Alfonso olives. It is as if chocolate cake from a supermarket tried to punch through the surface, but shoe polish never lets it. In fact, that becomes polished leather in no time. The second nose has a bold sangria in which soaked orange segments and apricots jostle cassia bark. It is not mulled wine, though! Mouth: a lukewarm attack, with stewed cherries and lingonberries, Alfonso olives in brine, musky compote and smashed Crimson grapes. Chewing pushes that grape touch to the top, perhaps with a pinch of grated cherry-flavoured Dextro NRG. The second sip seems to suffer from the dilution a little. We do get lemon gums and sugar-free Haribo bananas. The sides of the tongue catch caramelised-orange juice. Finish: it feels watery and brief, for a second. The flavours do appear a fraction of a second later, with smashed strawberries, a spoonful of lukewarm lingonberry compote and a lick of cat's hair. Yes, it has a tiny animal touch that leads to melted chocolate. The second gulp reveals ghosts of chocolate and Seville orange, as well as blush-orange segments. That brings a soft, fruit-related bitterness that works quite nicely. This is unpretentious, yet also not very exciting. 6/10 (Thanks for the sample, PSc)

05/09/2026 September outturn at the SMWS

Only a couple, today.

167.6 7yo 2018/2026 Tropical treat (61.6%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 205b)

Nose: sweet and flowery, this has sherbet, yellow-flower petals, but also coffee grounds. What follows is unexpected: climbing chalk and leather. A couple of minutes in, that chalky touch turns into dried lemon zest. There may be dolmas too. A clean woodiness appears at second nose, with cut thuja logs and other pine-bark slices. And whiffs of tobacco. Or is that weed?

Mouth: it is lively! It sparkles and stings. Peppery lemonade, pomelo soda augmented with green-chilli slices, Chewing adds a mild vegetal bitterness, a dandelion-stem stew or similar. The second sip adds a dried strawberry paste, for a second, then cherry-wood splinters.

Finish: big, long, explosive. It sees lime zest, then lime leaves, well bitter. It clearly has a nice fruitiness, but it is leafy and numbing. The second gulp is even bitterer and extremely leafy.

Score: 6/10

YM: "It smells really woody on the nose!"
PS: "Well, that's my Tinder profile."

149.27 8yo 2018/2026 Popcorn by the old pier (60.5%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 220b)

Nose: oh! this has 'cattle farm' written all over it. Cow stables, pastures, hay bales opening to unveil sweet tobacco, then turning to custard. It retains a farm-y profile, earthy, ashy. A campfire in the middle of a field, shrubs on the fringe of said field, and a whisper of burnt mint. Warm corduroy sofas emerge at second nose, as does a straw infusion sprinkled with ashes. Water makes the nose smokier, without making it smoky. After a second, it acquires sweaty-Gouda rind, which is unlikely. Some citrus peels appear as one tilts the glass.

Mouth: it has a twist of the pepper mill onto a leafy custard. Chewing makes it thinner -- no longer custard, rather milk and ivy leaves. Oh! It is leafy, now, if not as strongly so as the the 167 we just had. Spicy, a tad numbing, it never gets rid of flower petals entirely. The second sip puts on an orange-juice texture (no pulp). Follows a growing heat -- ashy embers take over the tongue. Water makes it softer and sweeter, it swaps the numbing, leafy vibe for sweet pomelo peels.

Finish: mint, menthol and pomelo zest. Most of the leafy character has disappeared, leaving but a mild bitterness on the sides of the tongue. Mint crumbles, with the chalky texture that implies. It is dolmades with an earth filling instead of rice. The second gulp brings the freshness of bathroom detergent hand in hand with ashes and chilli flakes. It suffers from the addition of water, which renders it woody and bitter.

Score: 7/10

Mission accomplished.