26/09/2015 Nothing Toulouse

After a grand day out, time for party. The programme is ambitious, which means there is no time Toulouse! So much so that JML sings an impromptu session of choir tunes. He must think his final moments have come.

The suspects: JML, CT, Arribba, JS, myself.

A selection of delikatessen and nibbles of all kinds populate the living-room table, which is a more relaxed approach than the three-course Burns' dinner, while as tasty and copious.

We have beer too! (thanks pompix)

On to the drinks. We try most blind, so as to not taint the first impression and also because it makes for great fun to try and identify the liquid. CT pulled out at least 25 minis. Of course, many of them will not be opened.

Dram 1 (JML): nose: soft sherry notes. It is slightly salty, with a hint of nail polish. Fruit comes up in waves, a bit later on. Mouth: watery, although it grows to become ever-so-slightly smoky. Finish: a light veil of smoke -- I reckon coal-fired stills. The coal dust and smoke become more intense as time goes by, complemented with a hint of fruit. Marvellous. I think Glengarioch, Glenlochy or Glen Ord. Numerous clues help me narrow it down to St Magdalene 18yo d.1964 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice) 9/10

Dram 2 (CT): nose: hard caramel (JML), hard biscuit (Arribba), grape juice and candy, hints of burnt earth, ham. Mouth: not very assertive at first. Old cardboard, dust, then pickles and soft chilli (Espelette pepper). Finish: slightly drying, with dust coal dust, roasted pineapple. Nice, this. We have a hard time identifying it -- we even think it might be a grain, or a rum. It turns out to be, brace yourself, Berry's Blend (unknown ABV, Berry Brothers & Rudd, b.1902) 7/10

Dram 3 (me): nose lemon drops (JML), acidic sweets (JML). Arribba finds it herbaceous, while JML (in full form) detects preserved lemons and preserved angelica. I am astonished that no-one seems to detect the crisp-apple peels that are so obvious to me. Mouth: star anise, angelica (JML) and apple peels. Finish: long, warming and fresh at the same time, with a shovelful of fruit. As I expected, this proves extremely hard to identify, even with a multitude of clues. I am very excited that all like it (unless they are being overly polite). JML ends up finding it, though strangely, this is his first guess from that distillery -- remember that Loch Lomond, who produced this, make about 12 different whiskies. It is Old Rhosdhu 1967/1999 (40%, OB) 9/10

Dram 4 (CT): nose: farmyard, vegetable fields, old, ripe cheese, old bread, cow dung and faded leather sandals. Mouth: soft, slightly salty with a note of smoked ham and a light bitterness. Finish: nail varnish. With tons of help, JML identifies it as Glenlivet K (43%, OB Orlandi Import, b.1960s) 7/10

Dram 5 (CT): this one we see from the get-go. Cardow 100% Pot Still (43%, OB, b. early 1980s): nose: an old library -- dusty, leather-bound books and mildly overbaked plum pie. Mouth: mellow, with notes of peppered yellow fruit. Finish: much dryer than anticipated, with coal dust. I like. It is austere and old school. 7/10

Tuna loaf and courgette quiche are served and liked.

Dram 6 (CT): we see this one too. Perhaps CT is getting inebriated. Berry's Best (43° G.L., Berry Brothers & Rudd): nose: a crazy mix of flat cola, melted chocolate, seashells and fruit. JML detects frozen medlar, while JS is spot on with tamarind. Mouth: this is rather powerful, with squashed apricot. Finish: light smoke and white pepper. Quite a ride! I like it. 7/10

Dram 7 (CT): Bowmore 12yo (43%, OB, b.1980s): nose: a nasty smell of enclosed space ('remugle', in French, thanks JML for the lesson). Clogged sink, pickled onions, rotting onions (JML), rubber. This is clearly a sherry cask gone wrong. Mouth: pickled onions again -- big, fat ones. Finish: it is not horrible, yet well disappointing. Interesting, not good. 4/10

Everyone loses the will to live. CT cracks open a big bottle of the same for comparison.

Dram 8 (CT): Bowmore 12yo (43%, OB imported by Auxil, b.1980s): nose: smoke at first, then lemon and grapefruit come through. Mouth: warming with a twist of black pepper. Finish: neverending, with smoke and a hint of fruit. Lovely. This is very, very close to the recent Bowmore Tempest (B#1 to 3; have not tried the more recent ones). 8/10

Blend of both: it is OK. A waste of the big bottle, to be honest, as the rotting onions emerge quite boldly.

CT, JML and Arribba have a mini of Talisker 10yo from the 1990s. JS and I do not drink supermarket whisky.

CT and JML also start cooking (and flaming) scallops. Massive and delicious. The flaming is done with a Caol Ila I fail to note the references of.

We carry on with disclosed drams for a while.

Dram 9 (CT): Lagavulin 12yo (43%, OB White Horse, b.1980s): nose: immediately, sherry notes jump out of the glass, with a little peat, then earth, nail polish and turpentine. The nose is very wide. In the the back, a whiff of mould on grated cheddar cheese!! -- the kind that smells of dust and is beyond salvaging. Mouth: hot and powerful, with dark tapenade, peat, earth and lots of pepper. Finish: neverending, muscular and ample. At the same time, it retains some dignity. Earth, seashells, fishing nets. This is better than the modern stuff! 8/10

Dram 10 (Arribba): Dumbarton (Inverleven Stills) 27yo 1987/2015 (53.3%, Cadenhead, Bourbon Hogshead, 240b): nose: pear, crêpes with cream, baba au rhum (JML), lemon (JML), pineapple. Mouth: chillied pineapple, soured cream (JML). Finish: massively warm, with a drop of pineapple in it again. Wonderful dram. Once the whisky has breathed a bit more, I trust it will score higher. 8/10

vs.

Dram 11 (CT): Dumbarton (Inverleven Stills) 30yo 1969/2000 (57.7%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection, Bourbon Hogshead, 150b): nose: strawberry sweets, nail-varnish remover -- is this a grain? Mouth: super soft, mellow, with chemical fruit -- Fraise Tagada. Finish a whiff of (dark red) nail varnish, then Fraise Tagada soaked in lacquer. Lovely! I cannot decide which of the two Inverleven I prefer. 8/10

Dram 12 (me): Tobermory 20yo 1994/2015 (57.8%, Cadenhead Wood Range, Sherry Cask, 570b): nose: leather, wine (JML) -- very wine-y, actually. Cured meat, a buccaneer's boots. Mouth: more leather, wine, cloves. Finish: powerful, with marinated ribs and mulled wine. Meh. 5/10 (thanks SW for the sample)

JS wakes up to pour her dram just as JML and CT finish their arsonists' take on giant gambas. The things are big as lobsters!

Flaming monsters, I'm telling you!

Dram 13 (JS): nose: papaya and other exotic goodies. Mango is rather expressive too. Mouth: a lot more powerful than expected, in this sequence. Lemon and other exotic fruits explode in the mouth. Finish: loads of exotic fruits, as well as some lichen on a cask. Love it. JS was scared it would be a little mute or spoilt, after the big, bold ones. It is not -- far from it! This is a big hit. CT's dram of the day -- and he does not even like the distillery, usually! Arribba finds the provenance, while the others think of BenRiach 1976. It is Littlemill 28yo 1985/2013 (50.4%, Robert Graham Treasurer Selection, C#99, 230b) 9/10

Dram 14 (JML): nose: buttered pear, buttery croissants, peaches. Mouth: again, a mixture of pastry and fruit. Finish: marmalade on buttered crumpet. Even the slight bitterness or orange rinds is there. We all love this. It takes me many, many attempts to identify the distillery: Macduff 27yo (53%, James MacArthur In Celebration 500 Years of Scotch Whisky, b.1994) 9/10

Cheeses are served. Epoisse, Chaource, Fourme, Bethmale and a brie-like whose name I cannot remember. I fail to try the Epoisse. The Bethmale is spectacular. JS prefers the Chaource.

Dram 15 (JML): nose: lemon curd, acidic and creamy at the same time. Mouth: more lemon curd, apple peels and a sprinkle of white pepper. Finish: lemon pie, meringue pie. This is orgasmic. Dram of the day for JS and me. Again, it proves difficult to identify the distillery, as it is off the beaten path. It is 8.27 33yo 1967/2000 (48.2%, SMWS Society Cask) 9/10

Dram 16 (me): nose: candied sugar (JML), mint, wood shavings, salted plum (JML), colour pencils (JML). Mouth: the wood influence is huge, as usual -- this is an old acquaintance for me. It combines herbal and woody notes. Finish: lemon tart and soured cream (JML), lots of wood. It remains balanced, yet woody. Mint-flavoured toothpicks and salted plums. Love it! Another hard-to-find one: 64.40 22yo 1990/2012 Gingery heat and oaky tannins (53.7%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 172b) 8/10

Dram 17 (me): nose: banana, squashed banana, to be accurate. A bit of peat (JML). It has a thin veil of smoke indeed, as well as lemon pie (JML again). Mouth: vanilla (JML), banana yoghurt (JML). This is creamy, with ginger heat. It also grows bold and assertive. Finish: liquorice (JML), ginger, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. ßανίλια intermingles with woody notes. No-one manages to identify Glenlossie 12yo (55.5%, OB The Manager's Dram, b.2004, b#0998) 8/10

Dram 18 (Arribba): Port Charlotte 8yo 2001/2010 Port Sgioba (66%, OB Private Cask, Sherry Hogshead, C#826/2001, 286b): yes, this will be the last dram. ;-) Nose: burnt earth and coq-au-vin. Mouth: hot, really hot, then wine-y. Finish: peat, meat and wine. This is unsubtle and brutal. Not really my style. Funny, though. 6/10

Epic. High quality throughout, lots to eat, good company. What more could one want?