01/09/2018 Pro-Choice Rally

Of course, voluntary pregnancy interruption should be legal, in many cases, and the world is overpopulated. However, it is not the point, today. Although I jokingly encouraged attendants to bring condoms, contraceptive pills, unborn children or other artefacts, the more prosaic reality is we are looking for choice bottles -- bottles that bear the word 'Choice,' ... or otherwise linked to the theme. We also do not drink blood, nor do we eat placenta. I can hear your disappointment from here. Get over it.

PS is the first to arrive, and it only takes us a whole nine minutes before we mention the B-word. 'Brexit,' if you are wondering. JS and GL are next and last. We have an apéritif.

Rosebank 30yo 1987/2018 (43%, private cask sample, Bourbon Cask): honeyed, with a gravel kick. Lovely. It is also in theme, since SW chose it for the June tasting at Cadenhead's. (Thanks for the sample, SW)

tOMoH: "He brought only two bottles."
JS: "Oooooh!"
tOMoH: "And they're choice ones, too!"
JS: "And you're in theme, too!"

On to the proper tasting.



Soundtrack: The Future Sound Of London - My Kingdom Re-Imagined

Balmenach d.1970 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, b.1980s) (tOMoH): if there are only few of us, we might as well pour rare miniatures. Nose: polished dashboards, teak oil and game sauce. It is surprisingly meaty, but also noble, with lots of good wood. Soon, the nose brings dark, overripe peach and a pinch of dust, before citrus appears, acidic and dusty too. Mouth: the palate is woody too, with also blood orange, dry pine wood. This is quaffable, juicy and soft, with peach nectar and, really, a lot of blood oranges. Finish: meow! Wood, of course, but the perfect amount of it, then blood oranges, ginger shavings (or is it galangal?), peach pulp and orange segments. Another excellent brown label. 8/10

Soundtrack: Rapoon - Darker By Light

St Magdalene 1981/1997 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, IG/BAH) (tOMoH): nose: über-fresh, with mint, coconut and crushed apricot, then the trademark StM flintiness and herbaceous touch appear -- thyme, lemon thyme, sage and dried mint leaves. It also has some flowers, forsythia and honeysuckle, principally. Mouth: this noticeably hits the palate, despite the low ABV. It has lime drops and mint leaves, a pinch of ground flint and juicy yellow fruit. A balanced and pleasant mouth. Finish: similar notes, here, slightly more mineral, fruitier (peach), and less herbaceous. It feels more watery, though, at this stage, which makes it lose one point. Pity, as it is otherwise great. 8/10

Aberfeldy d.1966 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, b.1980s) (tOMoH): nose: pickled onions, lots and lots of dark shoe polish, burnt caramel, rancio, dunnage warehouse and a small ladle of game sauce. Later on, coffee and dark tobacco show up. Mouth: bitter, pickle-y, brine-y. PS finds it heavy, whilst I detect chewing tobacco, dried orange rinds and liquorice roots. It tastes like a good old sherry cask, we all agree. Finish: wide, heavy, old school and sticky, it has coal stoves, cigars and old leather shoes. Woah! 8/10

vs.

Aberfeldy d.1974 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, b. late 1980s) (tOMoH): it is my show, so far, is it not? Nose: much fruitier than its more ancient sibling, it has strawberry and Virginia tobacco, preserved olives and even lychee. Mouth: mint-y and polish-y, soft and juicy. This tastes like a Bourbon maturation. Finish: long and soft, with peach nectar and peach skin. There is a touch of walnut-shell bitterness to it, as well as liquorice roots. I prefer this one, personally. PS and GL disagree. 8/10

Nibbles enter: Italian dry sausage and mortadella, accompanied by lavender and violet pralines. Yum!

Italia raprazente

Yum!

Soundtrack: Magic Affair - Omen (The Story Continues...)

Ledaig 32yo 1973/2005 (45%, Ian McLeod The Chieftain's Choice, Hogshead, C#2800, 240b) (PS): PS decided to flip the bird to those who could not make it today, and brought this desirable bottling. He will be invited again. In fact, I have wanted to try one of these early-1970s Ledaig for a while. Nose: melon skins, pomelo flesh, squashed raspberry, mango skins, cut lychee, thick banana skins -- wow!! This is brilliant! Later, the nose displays a little earth and countryside paths. The longer one waits, the bolder the fruitiness grows, though. Juicy apple, ripe pear and tinned lychee. Mouth: soft and fruity here too, with banana, sweet pink grapefruit, sugar-cane juice, a dash of earth, dragon fruit and milk-chocolate shavings. Finish: some soft peat smoke emerges, here (it is a Ledaig, after all), faint and distant. The dominant is still that fruit, however, with dragon fruit, pink-grapefruit segments, just-ripe banana, plantains... this is bloody excellent! 9/10

Garnheath 37yo 1978/2015 (46%, The Vintage Malt Whisky Co. The Cooper's Choice, Bourbon Cask, C#309612, 282b) (GL): JS almost brought this one, then thought GL probably would. I spend too little time with it, unfortunately. Nose: lime and shortcrust, banana, coconut yoghurt. Mouth: squashed mango, mixed with coconut milk, plantain, banana, papaya and guava. Buttery fruit galore, this! Finish: soft, gulpable, mango-y and coconut-y -- very much so. It has custard and lime pastry. Excellent/ 9/10

Sountrack: Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time (JS and PS impressively recognise the band after two notes)

PS: "I mistakenly opened [that Rosebank] the other day."
me: "You thought it was a Bell's decanter?"

25.62 20yo d.1991 Classy and attractive (54%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 205b) (GL): of course, GL brought this, because the Society's tasting panel chose to bottle it. Nose: it clears the nostrils and fills them with lots of yellow flowers, green grapes and tons of apricots. Apricot turnovers and pineapple jam. Toffee and fudge are here too. It remains fierce, though. The SMWS knows no water -- and this is our first cask strength of the day. Speaking of water, adding some does not change the whisky much. Mouth: warm, warming, hot, even. It has cut apricot, pink-grapefruit juice, and a hot broth of macerated dandelions. Again, water does not change the profile much; it merely gives it more vanilla. Finish: long, devastating, full of custard-y pastry, perhaps plum pie. This is so lovely. Water brings out more vanilla custard and also... much more pepper! I declare it does not work with water. GL, an authority on the distillery, ascertains water never works with Rosebank. 9/10

vs.

Rosebank 22yo 1991/2013 (55.2%, Iain Mackillop Mackillop's Choice, Sherry Cask, C#271) (tOMoH): because, really, why have two Rosebanks in the same tasting, when one can have three? Nose: meaty! Unexpectedly so. It has squashed elderberry, which goes away to leave lichen on staves, rum and a dunnage warehouse. Water makes it much more mellow and waxier. Mouth: spicy, thick, it reminds me of elderberry cordial, with also dandelion and a remarkable heat. So much for the softy softness of Lowland malts, eh? Green chilli, lemongrass, grapes, lingonberry compote. Water has a similar effect on the palate as on the nose: waxier and fruitier. Finish: it turns rather soft, here, leafy. It has oregano, dried sage, game sauce and thick, heady red wine. Very nice, but I do not regret not buying a bottle when it came out. It could almost be any sherry-matured whisky. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, LM)

These head-to-head sessions are very interesting

Soundtrack: Lesa Listvy - Way Home

PS: "These are the best stories."
me: "You mean the ones that finish with, 'I'm an idiot'?"

PS: "I ordered duck and... cabbage, which was odd, but very nice."

We move out onto the terrace to take advantage of the last sun rays.

If you look closely, you can see
the price tag. There you are. Have
a tissue to wipe those tears.

Director's Tactical Selection 25yo 1980/2006 (50%, Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 50°, Sherry Cask, 569b) (PS): PS points out that the Selection is really a Choice. Nose: eggs, past their prime, pepper (PS). I do not find it particularly peppery myself. Behind the eggs, it is green-hazelnut vinegar and unripe tomato. It turns fruitier, with plum juice. Mouth: surprisingly fruity, here, it has plums (skin included), salt and a feeling of warmth on a damp day in a bothy. This easily redeems the eggs of the nose. Finish: peat smoke shows up, gentle, yet unmistakable. Sulphur comes back in the form of rotten eggs, though it is not overly invasive, this time. The nose is not great, to say the least, but the rest is decent, even good. The mouth is clearly the strong point of this dram. Of course, it is always interesting to try an indy Talisker, even if it is only to make dom666 jealous. 7/10

Soundtrack: Tropic Of Cancer - Restless Idylls

Springbank 36yo 1969/2005 (57.3%, Ian McLeod The Chieftain's Choice, Refill Fino Sherry Cask, C#793, 540b) (JS): I remember liking this very much, when JS opened it. Nose: another super-fresh number, with lots of mint, unripe kumquat, medicinal plants -- actually, this reminds me of the Tullamore from March, in a way, although not as strong, obviously. This one really is full of unripe citrus (tangerine, mandarin, satsuma), with an added hint of hay, thyme and rosemary. Mouth: good balance, with botanical herbs and medicinal plants, citrus aplenty and softer fruits -- apricot, yellow plum, juicy and sweet. Finish: perfume, white flowers, caramel. The end is gently drying, with rancio, nuts, medlar jam and the most marvellous dunnage-warehouse note -- sweet rum, lichen on staves, Demerara sugar, crystallising on the staves. This is amazing. In better circumstances, I am convinced it would achieve top score again. 9/10

vs.

Springbank 20yo b.2017 (59.9%, OB for The Bottling Hall Dinner, Re-Charred Sherry Butt) (tOMoH): JS and I helped choose this bottling on the night it was bottled. We are important like that. Nose: shoe polish and farmyard, leather, a touch of seaspray and salt. The farm-y notes are the loudest, with tractor tyres, drying mud, cow dung, tractor saddles, then dark cherries and warm, flat cola. The nose becomes meatier as time passes. Mouth: big, loud, boisterous, meaty and musty, it has musk and sink funk. The texture is a lot softer than expected, silky, almost, though it is warm silk, to be sure! Finish: musk, leather and shoe polish leap out, even if the sea air and salt are still there, overseeing the operation. The dominant, however, is the assertive note of heavily-sherried whisky. No doubt this is a great distillate -- it is simply almost hidden behind the huge sherry maturation. An excellent bottling, I can see why we picked it, but the Chieftain's is better. But then, of course, that is the best dram, today, in my opinion! 9/10

Soundtrack: Noir Désir - 666.667 Club

PS: "The only thing I ate today was your sausage. It was salty."

After a time to calm down the tastebuds and a dram of Garnheath to reset them, GL and PS have a dram of Kinclaith 1968/1995 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, ID/DIB)
I have another go at the Garnheath, which is still great.

Excellent tasting. Pity we did not have a single Manager's Choice, nor even the Editors' Choice mini that we all own. Here is an incentive to have another tasting on the same theme!

And remember, in the undying words of Doug Stanhope: "Sodomy is eco-friendly and abortion is green."