20/11/2015 A regular Friday night

GL, a Society member, invited a few people to his office for a celebration of some kind. What we are celebrating, I have no idea. I like to think this is a regular Friday night in that place.
The weather is becoming chilly, which means it is a relief, once on the right floor, to discover lots of cheeses, sausages, pretzels and various other nibbles, alongside a huge selection of bottles. Mostly from the Society, yet others too.

A regular office around here

PS is there before me, JS joins us, then SMcD, MR, CD and other familiar faces arrive too. We waste no time.
The setting is that of an office party. We are standing and there is constant chatter and music playing. Notes are brief as a result.

117.3 25yo d.1988 Hubba-bubba, mango and monstera (58.5%, SMWS Society Single Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 199b): what a treat to be able to try this one again! Nose: tobacco at first, to a point I am wondering why I seemed to like it so much the previous times. Oh! it is complex alright, perhaps not as fruity as I remembered it is all. It also has citrus traces and... Ah! The tropical fruit cascade is here, now. Wow. Mouth: powerful and peppery, with delicate, tropical fruit behind it all. Finish: initially bland and leathery, it further releases a river of tropical fruit. Grand. 9/10



That is me done with SMWS bottlings for tonight.

Linlithgow 21yo 1982/2003 (63%, Duncan Taylor Rare Auld, C#2211, 264b): great opportunity to try this. Nose: herbaceous and flowery, it develops custard-y bakery goodness soon enough. Mouth: good body and strength. It is lively, despite the long-lasting low fill of the bottle. Finish: what!? Smoke? Yes. Burning hay -- and quite powerful, at that! 8/10

St Magdalene 31yo 1982/2013 (53.5%, Hart Brothers Finest Collection): not messing about, are we? Nose: much more pungent, with invading flowers (dandelions) and warm pastry. Mouth: creamy and lovely, with a slight metallic edge to it. Finish: ooooh! This is where it is at. A mix of fruits, spices (pepper) and honey pastry. 9/10

Linlithgow 26yo 1975/2001 (51.5%, Signatory Vintage, C#96/3/36, 354b): because why not? Nose: much deeper, this, with smoky barley and cow-stable notes, even. Mouth: velvety, with cactus spines on it -- it is powerful. Finish: woah! Big, powerful, assertive. This is bold and full of smoke and burning hay. What a beast! 9/10

Glenglassaugh 27yo 1976/2004 (51.2%, The Dormant Distillery Company, C#2370, 280b): exciting to try this from a relatively unknown bottler. It is a shared cask too: Whiskyfreunde Essenheim got 96 additional bottles out of the same cask. Nose: powerful bakery, with lots of spices and a touch of caramel sweetness. JS finds dough in this nose as well. Mouth: again, much spicier than expected, a little drying, even. Good wood display. Finish: an explosion of spices, which then settles on warm (hot) pastry. Hot cocoa, crushed cinnamon sticks. 8/10

Rosebank 11yo 1989/2001 (43%, Signatory Vintage, C#708+09): I remember trying this in a swimming pool in 2009 and liking it, yet finding that it was not exactly the typical Rosebank profile. Ever since, I have been thinking I was probably dreaming or am confusing it with something else. Nose: unbelievably smoky for a Lowlander, with lovely medicinal notes and dried flowers. Mouth: feels a bit watery, at this point, with candle wax and spent candle wick. Finish: spent matches soaked in honeyed water. An oddball Rosebank, totally unlike any other I have had. It confirms the impression I had in 2009. Interesting, yet perhaps not something I would buy. 6/10

Rosebank 20yo 1981/2002 (62.3%, OB Rare Malts Selection, 6000b): yes, they even have this. Nose: brutal as a RMS can be. In fact more so than any other, I reckon. Once the alcohol calms down, it becomes quite animal, with musk and fox skin. Virginia tobacco is present too, as well as stripping lemon. With water, it becomes more bearable. Same flavours, better balanced. Mouth: super powerful, as peppery as a Talisker, almost unbalanced. This is too powerful to be truly enjoyable, really. With water, it becomes whisky, rather than fire water, still with a similar profile (musk, tobacco, lemon). Finish: thermonuclear warfare, when undiluted. This is huge, challenging and barely drinkable. It must be the most powerful RMS I have had, which says a lot. Water makes it more tolerable, with hot marmalade and boiled flowers. This is unbalanced. I cannot go higher than 7/10, and that is taking the pedigree into account.

Time to call it a day. That Rosebank knocked me out. Good times, hope GD invites us lot again. :-)

Lost in bliss