01/10/2017 The Whisky Show 2017 (Day 2 -- Part 2)

The story starts here.

I have the lamb, today, then then sponge cake.

PP sits next to me. He has to clear a couple of glasses to do that. I tell him that the seats are taken already, that they are collecting their dessert and will shortly be back.
"If someone wants to fight for this space, I'm up for it!" :-D
No-one ever comes back.

OB leaves some of his crumble on his plate which I tease him for.
OB: "It is orange. They put oranges in the crumble."
tOMoH: "Oranges in an apple crumble is like four people in a threesome -- disgusting!"

Quick visit to BA.

Glentauchers 19yo (53.5%, Elixir Distillers for The Whisky Show, 152b): nose: earth and herbs, with some earthy fruit. Mouth: hot, metallic, with jam fruits. Finish: that lingering metallic note, hot earth and marmalade. 7/10

Someone makes me try Littlemill 27yo 1990/2017 (51.3%, OB Private Cellar Edition, 500b): extremely fruity. 9/10

JS and Cavalier head off to their respective masterclasses. Cavalier booked two that overlap. He goes to R-Patz's, whilst JS goes to Lumsden's. The time has come for me to run like a maniac, suddenly aware that the show is three-quarters done and I am not even halfway down my list.

Teeling 14yo Revival Vol. III (46%, Teeling Revival, Pineau des Charentes Finish): nose: light, fruity, with berries, Demerara sugar -- this is quite sweet, in fact. Mouth: the Pineau des Charentes now shines, with sweetness, yellow fruit, grapes. It is very fruity indeed. Finish: again, sweet and fruity, full of win. I love this grape-y profile, which, unlike a brandy, will not give me a headache. \o/ 8/10

Teeling 15yo Revival IV (46%, cask sample, Muscat Finish): this is a future release. Nose: Virginia tobacco and dried apricots. Mouth: drying, with tobacco and bitter coffee. Finish: some fruit, some coffee bitterness, Demerara rum, caster sugar. I think I have had too much booze. All the same, this does not excite me. 6/10

Ah! Glen Moray!

Glen Moray 18yo (47.2%, OB Elgin Heritage, 1st Fill Bourbon Casks, 28N24): nose: vanilla, pastry, custard. Mouth: soft, velvety, with all sorts of custard and a hint of wine. Finish: nut oil and liqueur pralines. 7/10

Glen Moray 25yo 1988/2013 (43%, OB, Port Cask Finish, 21M88/28N15): nose: jammy toasts, distant pralines and chestnut puree. Mouth: rum -- sweet, yet drying. Is that rancio? Finish: long, sweet, with rancio and lots of caster sugar. 7/10

TC and I venture outside for a breath of fresh air. HMS Waverley is here, running back and forth between Tower Bridge and London Bridge. Last time I saw it, it was sailing between Arran and Kintyre. Wonder why it is in London. Tower Bridge soon opens to let it go.

I have hit my wall, yet I need to push forward. I did not pay for a weekend ticket to drop out!

Glenfiddich IPA (43%, OB, India Pale Ale Cask Finish, L34B44311005130830): I finally get to try this popular bottle, though it took an inordinate amount of time to even get the bar tender (yes, it is themed as a bar) to acknowledge my presence. Nose: wood, staves, beer kegs, cream soda. Mouth: light and fresh, with barley sugar, boiled sweets and, perhaps, a drop of fruit beer (unless it is the power of suggestion). Finish: it feels fizzy, with barley, hay, wooden staves and cider. Nice. 7/10

JS and Cavalier come back from the masterclasses... with lots of masterglasses. I do not take notes about the future £50,000 50yo Dalmore. It tastes like a decent £150 whisky, though.

Glenmorangie 11yo 1991/2002 Missouri Oak Reserve (55.7%, OB, Bourbon Casks, 1000b, b#702): nose: vanilla, shortbread, sweet shortcrust. Mouth: soft, sweet, mellow, with shortbread and a gentle bitterness. Finish: yep, soft, sweet, shortbread-y, with a touch of honey and some bitterness. 8/10

Glenmorangie 1993/2005 Truffle Oak Reserve (60.5%, OB, 886b, b#347): nose: this one is more metallic, herbaceous, while still shortbread-y. Mouth: stronger and more acidic. Finish: strong, metallic, it has sage and hot chilli on custard. 7/10

Glenmorangie 10yo 1993/2004 Burr Oak Reserve (56.3%, OB, Bourbon Casks, 1152b, b#887): nose: herbaceous, with hot dough. Mouth: this is meatier, without being really meaty. It also has a nutty touch. Finish: nuts, chestnut puree. This is good. 7/10

Glenmorangie 12yo 1993/2005 (55.7%, OB Single Cask, Swamp Oak Cask, C#1946, 247b, b#133): this one is extremely rare and sought after. Nose: almost grain-y, it has toasted coconut and charred oak. Mouth: rich, thick, coating, nutty, with polished dashboards and dried orange rinds. Finish: long, leathery, drying, with orange syrup. 7/10

Glenmorangie 12yo 1993/2005 (58.2%, OB, Post Oak Cask, C#1947, 296b, b#23): I did not even know this one existed. Nose: burnt chocolate, toasted wood. Mouth: darkened dough, chilli, oak -- this is strong. Finish: chocolate and chestnut. Nice. 7/10

Oh! We have dream-dram tokens left, and less than an hour to spend them. Off to Springbank's!

Springbank 25yo d.1974 (46%, OB to celebrate Frank McHardy's 40 years in distilling, 610b, b#132): nose: orchard fruit, dunnage warehouse and pastry. Mouth: meow. Apple turnovers, dunnage warehouse, dust, musty casks. Finish: caramelised apple, dunnage warehouse, old-style varnish (whatever that means). This is amazing. 9/10

The BenRiach 40yo 1975/2016 (53%, OB, Sherry Butt, C#7028, 511b, b#171): I have always been wary of these peated BenRiachs. The non-peated are great, but I always feared the peat would offset the distillery's typical fruity profile too much. Nose: refined smoke, spent cigars, musty warehouses and potato purée. Mouth: warm, with caramelised apricot compote and hot pears. Finish: wow! Farm-y peat, earth, hay and much overripe, tropical fruit, in a clogged-sink kind of way. Of course, notes do not do it justice. This is stupendous. 10/10

Tomatin 36yo (46%, OB Small Batch Release, Ex-Bourbon Casks & First Fill Spanish Oloroso Sherry Butts, B#3, 800b, b#211): nose: tropical fruits. Mouth: soft, sweet, delicate and fruity. Finish: a round-house kick of passion fruit. Smashing. Again, short notes for a great dram. Much better than B#2, almost as good as B#1. 10/10

EC shouts: "D!"
The GlenDronach man halts his conversation, turns around, all smile.
EC: "Not you, the other D!"
DW joins us. I am giggling.

EC also shows me what CB's notes look like.
Teh lolz.

This morning, I planned to have another after-party. It does not seem such a good idea, now. We are all whiskied-out to a point that has not been reached in years.
...
All the same, dom666 and I have a nightcap, courtesy of JS. :-)

You might remember it from last year

Conclusion

All in all, it is a well-oiled machine run professionally. The brasserie, in particular, has seen major improvements over the years and is now functioning smoothly, with no excessive queue, no shortage (well, apart from the veggie option, but then we went late). We cannot help but feel this edition was more sanitised and streamlined than ever, meaning it was also less exciting. Just as with The Meaning of Life, however, that is until we start thinking of specific moments. When we do, those moments turn out to be as precious as they ever were:

• We did have an awful lot of drams
• Those drams were globally of a similar quality to every year's, albeit from different exhibitors, perhaps
• There were some extraordinary drams and, despite the glories on display the previous years, I cannot recall giving more than 10/10 to anything outside a masterclass in the past; I did yesterday -- to a dream-dram
• The social element is taking a more important place, with our circle extending to a considerable number of party-goers, as well as exhibitors, with all the pre- and post-party shenanigans that involves

Things that mildly irritated me were:

• The queueing: some queued for over an hour to get in -- and that is after the doors had opened. The queue to buy dream dram tokens was also long and frustrating -- certainly at the beginning of the show, when everybody had the same idea
• It is now explicitly forbidden to bring bottles into the venue, which is a shame, as it clamps down on sharing. Although it is fully understandable: it is impossible to stop bottle-nicking, if people can freely circulate with their own bottles
• The tables: not enough of them, not placed centrally enough. In fact, the whole concept of tables in such a big venue makes little sense, as opposed to the Whisky Show Old & Rare, where the smaller venue is the perfect setting for tables
• The crowd: it seemed busier than previous years and it was often difficult to reach a stand. Or chat with the celebrities
• The stands: there were so many of them, I could not visit them all -- not even the ones I really wanted to visit (A.D. Rattray, anyone?) A nice problem to have, this

I blame the general "morosity" about this year's show on the lack of a life-changing masterclass, this year. I did not attend any and did not want to. Even the Glenmorangie one and its extremely rare cask experiments did not appeal to me.
One could see that as a massive blow, after the crescendo in excitement and wonderment of the previous years (2011: Exotic Fruits and Sherried Manager's Drams; 2014: Gordon MacPhail's A New Generation, Aurora Brorealis and I did it my way; 2015: Gone but never forgotten; 2016: Bowmore -- from one master to the next). The reality, though, is that no masterclass looked tempting enough in 2012 (in hindsight, the one with Japanese whiskies and Gold Bowmore would have been an obvious highlight) and 2013, so skipping a year is not a first occurence. besides, it is nice to not spend insane amounts of money and enjoy the floor instead. Finally, a reality-check is welcome. Last year's Bowmore extravaganza was likely the pinaccle of one's whisky journey. There will be other peaks, and it is good for those to come in later, lest they pale in comparison with the One.

But yeah, all in all, I will be back next year, I would imagine. :-)