5/05/2018 The Shite Tasting

You read that correctly. The point is not to have terrible whiskies, but terrific whiskies whose names can be related to *ahem* natural needs. Everyone loves a bit of toilet humour. Or should.
The suspects: ruckus, dom666, PSc, JS, adc and myself. Bishlouk joins us later, while kruuk2, sonicvince and Psycho sadly cannot make it.

Lots of work, for a change!

The weather is compatible with the season, at last, and we have the whole thing on the terrace. Yay.

Shyte Whisky (40%, Adelphi) (tOMoH): I would be lying if I said this has nothing to do with the theme. It was the trigger. Nose: it smells like a blend, with toffee, caramel and a little smoke. This could be Johnny Black. Except it is better. Mouth: soft, watery, even, still with toffee, Quality Street Toffee Penny (the flat, golden one), a little smoke and burnt oak. Finish: yup, caramel and burnt wood with hot custard. This is funny as fuck and not that bad. I bought this second hand; the label is super wonky, clumsily cut, it looks photocopied, it is stuck on the wrong side of the bottle, and there are traces of glue on the glass. I still wonder whether it is a fake. At the same time, I really cannot see why anyone would counterfeit one twenty-five-pound bottle that is still available in shops. 5/10

Well funny

Can you spell W-O-N-K-Y?

Inchm-urine 18yo b.2015 (40%, Undisclosed Bottler for XV Squadron's 100 Years) (JS): nose: lemon drops, lemon jellies, dried lime peels, tangerine peels. Mouth: acidic and fresh, with lots of mixed peel, pineapple drops, crystallised lemon cubes. This is lovely, perfect in this weather. Finish: more acidic goodness, full of lemon skins, lime zest and pineapple cubes. I reckon I like it slightly more than the OB 20yo from a couple of days ago, but they play in the same category. 7/10

Sausage rolls enter. Neither adc, nor I get to try any. However, this turns into a masterclass in shite food too, with a sequence of crisps.

Elusive sausage rolls

Grills (by Lays)

Bolognese-flavoured Hula Hoops (by Croky)

The almighty Bugles (by Lays)
I could not find Toppies, and Mama Mia's contain palm oil
Chipitos were a bit pedestrian

Dean-stron Finished in Virgin Oak (46.3%, OB, P030146 L5 09:42 13056 F227044/F227046) (PSc): where 'stron' is Liège slang for 'étron,' meaning 'turd.' Nose: caramelised porridge, roasted coconut, warm custard and sticky fudge (that does sound rather turd-y). Mouth: warm honey, custard and a hint of spices. Finish: toffee and fudge again, cream coffee, chococcino. Nice. 7/10

Talking about the April 2018 controversy around the Nobel Prize in Literature (the laureate has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women):
dom666: "In Sweden, they don't laugh about that!"
PSc: "In Sweden, they don't laugh, full stop!"

A trio of drams next.

Scaca-pa 14yo (40%, OB, LU28176 13:37 M01618/M01522) (PSc): nose: slightly salty custard, chocolate pudding and orange zest. Mouth: softly bitter, green, with lots of citrus (pomelo, lime), and even mango skins. Finish: again, very fruity, with a drop of cocoa powder. This formerly-entry-level whisky remains an excellent drop. 8/10

vs.

Scaca-pa 2005/2017 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, 161983) (ruckus): nose: this smells more buttery at first nosing. It also has peaches in Syrup, then citrus peels eventually come back. Even later, it has a potent smell of marijuana. Mouth: fresh, with a very spicy arrival, before it becomes very gentle, with mellow custard. Finish: acidic, here, very acidic. It has notes of hops (lager, or blond beer, as it should be known), cider, Pêche Mel'Bush (peach-flavoured beer); it is slightly hop-y, fizzy and fruity. 8/10

vs.

Scaca-pa 16yo (40%, OB, LKRW 3770 2SPF9000/2SPB9001) (ruckus): nose: this one seems a bit weak, after the previous ones. The nose is more earthy too, with even a touch of cellophane. Mouth: mellow, watery, thin, but pleasant. It has a dash of honey, a pinch of ground cloves, dandelions. Finish: easy and soft, with warming acacia honey, a broth of daffodils and daisies. Spices emerge towards the end (cinnamon and ground cloves), but the whole is mostly soft and easy. Nice and efficient, although it is the least interesting of the three, in my opinion. 7/10

High quality throughout, though.
Crazy that none of the owners thought of Sca-pa-tology (© adc)

Inverleven 37yo 1973/2011 (49%, Chivas Brothers Cask Strength Edition Deoch an Doras) (group): double whammy, as this is a Jock an Doras, bottled by the Shite-vas Brothers. Ha! Ha! Nose: marzipan, French toast, marmalade, speculoos -- this is amazingly good, sweet and biscuit-y. Mouth: concentrated, full of French toast, speculoos and gingerbread men. Mellow, gently lively too, spicy and ample. Finish: peach liqueur, ginger bread, crushed speculoos, a soft, drying, oaky note, toasted bread and cane sugar. Meow! This is lovely! 9/10

PSc calls it a day.

Nik-kaca Coffey Malt (45%, OB imported by La Maison du Whisky, 6/04F081539) (dom666): nose: metal and verbena, then pastry scents show up, powered by toasted coconut. Mouth: coconut yoghurt, vanilla and custard. Finish: coconut, vanilla custard, custard-cream biscuits. Simple, but efficient. 8/10

vs.

Nik-kaca Coffey Grain (45%, OB imported by La Maison du Whisky, 6/04F101511) (dom666): nose: more cereal-y and porridge-y than the malt and, well, less expressive. Hints of vanilla. It later opens up to reveal more coconut. Mouth: milky, with a minimal pinch of ground cardamom. It also has sumac and tingling green pepper. Finish: the full extent of toasted coconut now hits, with vanilla and yoghurt, hot custard and soft doughnuts. This is warming and comforting. Again, relatively simple, but very good at what it does. 8/10

Bishlouk joins us.

Just in time for brownie

Caca-ol Ila 11yo 1993/2004 (46%, Murray McDavid Maverick, Bourbon Cask finished in Chenin Cask, C#W0404) (dom666): nose: roasted barley and coal dust, then lots of salt. Mouth: fiery, velvety, but fiery. It is hot and smoky. Finish: roasted barley, spent camp fire, cold embers, ashes. Effective. It takes water really well, too. 7/10

Craigella-shite 8yo 2008/2016 (46%, Murray McDavid Benchmark, Sherry Butt finished in Rum Cask, C#6001855 & 600855, 713b) (Bishlouk): nose: sulphury cheese, rancio, milk, and quite a bit of leather. Mouth: lively, with drops of coffee, then mocha tart. The sulphur disappears, leaving only charcoal behind. Finish: soft, sweet, it has no sulphur and no mocha. The rum influence is tame and pleasant. 6/10

ruckus leaves us. He has a party to go to tonight.

Meanwhile, we have more whisky to drink

Poo-ley 24yo 1991/2016 (53.8%, Cadenhead World Whiskies, Bourbon Barrel, 198b, 16/293) (Bishlouk): nose: clementines and a whiff of smoke. It is soft and delicate, waxy and fruity. Mouth: acidic and fruity, it has lots of citrus -- fiery pink grapefruit and zesty lemon. The citrus is almost stripping. Finish: long, with clementines and gentle smoke again, a touch of bitter citrus peels and ground orange rinds. This is excellent! 9/10

Unsurprisingly...

Glenlo-shite 17yo 1977/1995 (61.8%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection imported by Preiss Imports, 95/250) (tOMoH): of course, the cork breaks. Fortunately, I am now a seasoned corkscrewer, and extricate the remainder with no further damage. Nose: pinewood undergrowth. In the distance, gravel and flint -- this is a Glenlochy alright! Granite, tree bark (beech). Water helps tobacco come out, as well as a pinch of ash and nigella seed-covered jam or chutney. Mouth: big, muscular, it has concentrated pine wood, Gocce Pino style, pebbles, polished granite, a full quarry of it. This is really hot! Water allows chutney and jam to come out, sprinkled with nigella seeds and pepper. Spicy, it is! Finish: huge, long, with lots of fiery pine wood, cedar needles. The alcohol is fierce as fook, from "that" period of Cadenhead's. I bet the cask selector had no gums left. With water, it remains warming, with Virginia tobacco, hot sand and gravel. Another brutal, indomitable 'lochy. I love it, but one dram of it is enough. Old school, difficult and certainly challenging! 8/10

As a nightcap, dom666, Bishlouk and I have...

Banff 35yo 1975/2011 (42.4%, Douglas Laing An Old & Rare Platinum Selection, 158b, b#149) (group): nose: pencil shavings, hot mustard, crayons, plasticine, carpet glue, sawdust, but also juicy straw, shaved ginger and wasabi, with whispers of apricot, in the back. The second nose is dunnage warehouse, lichen on stave. It becomes fruitier and fruitier. Mouth: it is woody here too, but softer than the nose suggested -- of course, it has a low ABV. In no particular order: rose-petal jam, balsa wood, an Ikea workshop -- no! posher than that! The wood becomes drying, though it remains fruity. Finish: long, comforting, mildly drying, with more of that nigella-seed-driven jam and roasted mandarin slices. The intensity is impressive, considering it is nigh-on 20% lower in ABV than the previous dram. The wood goes down, while the mandarin grows. This is extremely good. 9/10

Bishlouk has a dram of G5.5 before driving dom666 back to his. Another excellent tasting.