26/10/2017 Three Lowlanders

This could fit under "clearing the shelf," but since they form a cohesive whole...

Rare Ayrshire 35yo 1975/2010 (45.5%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Bourbon Barrel, C#553, 150b): I tried this a few years ago and liked it a lot. The circumstances were very different, though. Nose: candle wax, crayons and honey, primary-school glue (the white stuff in pots with a small, oar-shaped spoon), custard cream biscuits and milk chocolate. It even has a distant whiff of latte. A few minutes later, the glue becomes more heavy-duty (or heavier-duty; will the Grammar Police please send suggestions in the comments section), and it is joined by tame shoe polish. The biscuits are soon back, though. Doughnut batter. Coming back to it after the next dram, gentle incense is also to be found. Mouth: soft and mellow, it has more custard cream biscuits, doughnut batter, chocolate milk, almond milk. This is silky as silk. Not hugely complex in the mouth, but pleasant, it is. Finish: again, it is soft, milky, with a touch of chocolate, crushed almond, custard and raw doughnut batter, as well as late ashes from a spent incense stick. Agreeable and dangerously easy to drink. 8/10

Ladyburn 27yo 1973/2000 (50.4%, OB for the USA, Bourbon Cask, C#4467): first official Ladyburn on this blog. Strangely, official bottlings of this ill-regarded distillery are always expensive. Nose: it is stronger and that feels. Metal polish and powerful glue. It also has crushed herbs (gentian, bay, marjoram, maybe sage). This nose is much less welcoming than the Signatory's, yet it works for me. It might have some berries, but they are hidden behind the alcohol. Timid apricot compote ends up appearing, yet one has to look for it. Tree bark is here too, warm and dry. Much later, candle wax shows up. Mouth: milder than expected, it displays similar characteristics as the Signatory's -- raw doughnut batter, custard and bakery shenanigans, augmented with crushed herbs (the same as in the nose, with the sage more assertive) and a metallic edge (or is that the sage again?) The texture is milky and would be silkier, were it not for the metallic bitterness. I can see that metal bothering some (hi, SW!), not me: I like it. Finish: similar odd mixture of custard, pastry and crushed herbs. This is not very far from some grains' profile. The metal note lingers on and on, obfuscating fruit that is really too shy to be properly detectable. The finish then move to fish scales and sardines off a tin, and the blade used to gut them can still be tasted. This is one for metal fans only. If the hardest you like is Bon Jovi, avoid. Works for tOMoH. Less immediate pleasure, more cerebral. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, Vit and RO)

Littlemill 22yo 1992/2014 (53.8%, Hunter Laing Old & Rare, Hogshead, C#HL 10882, 194b): nose: a little closed at first, it seems to make a promise of overripe, tropical fruits. It better deliver, now!... and it does! Jackfruit, mango, papaya, Chinese gooseberries are all there and have spent much time in the sun, as has that bowl of sangria, next to the fruit. It is not all, however: nail varnish is in the picture, and so are apricot turnovers. Mouth: warm and peppery, with the skin of the fruit from the nose, not so much the flesh, here. Powerful white pepper, a vague touch of wood (the wooden crates they sell six bottles of wine in). It is a bit of a let-down, compared to the nose, to be honest. Finish: this has a hefty dose of bitter wood (even thickly-lichen-covered staves), yet also a reminder of the tropical fruit from earlier -- jackfruit, papaya. Unfortunately, the wood is too loud and bitter to allow the fruit to shine and, therefore, the score is not higher than 8/10

That's a wrap!