18/10/2018 Whisky Squad -- The High-end Returns

The weird capitalisation is theirs.

It was a lot of fun last year, so when BA announced this theme coming back, JS and I jumped in. Psycho is in town and that seems the perfect way to entertain him. Once there, it turns out DW is attending too. The one person who is running half an hour late will turn out to be N from Brighton, blighted by train cancellations. We get acquainted with our tablemates.

Our tablemates

BA tells us immediately that we are about to taste six whiskies priced between £150 and £500 -- blind, of course.

Dram #1: nose: precious wood from a carpenter's workshop. It is very noble, with soaked cork, mayonnaise (a first, I think) and hazelnut shells. This is really nice! Overripe apple (Psycho reckons unripe apple, but he is clearly wrong) and beeswax appear, before citrus abounds -- grapefruit skins, orange skins. Lychee joins the party shortly thereafter. Mouth: drying, it has ginger grissini (Psycho, showing the extent of his breadstick knowledge), sawdust and shaved ginger. It later turns lighter and more ethereal, with lychee again. Finish: gingery cinnamon buns and other pastry shenanigans. I reckon it is a grain whisky and am not the only one to think that. It is indeed. Custard soon flows through, beautiful and comforting. BA bought this at auction for around £300. It will remain my favourite and Psycho's. I guess it is Caledonian 30yo 1987/2018 (48.5%, Cadenhead, 216b). Wrong, though geographically close. North British 49yo 1962/2011 (46%, Moon Import The Last Fetish, Hogshead, C#62, 336b, b#0181, LOT. 11/08016) 8/10

Dram #2: nose: mint, all sorts of herbs, liquorice roots, liquorice allsorts, Mentos ("still wrapped," says Psycho), mint tea, Fruit Loops (JS), candied angelica, incense, in the back and dried juniper berries. Mouth: mint again, turning to peppermint, gunpowder tea, dry orange peels and ground white pepper (under control). It takes on a vaguely fruity character, which is very nice, yet keeps the spice level going with cloves (Psycho). Finish: soft, fruity, but powerful, with lots of citrus and warm spices, mint again, but liquorice, not so much any longer. The wood spices (pepper, ginger powder) dominate, without squashing the other flavours. I venture it is Mannochmore 25yo (53.4%, OB, 3954b), though the price (£500) does not match. Wrong again. Mortlach 1976/2014 (43%, Gordon & MacPhail, AD/JJDI) 7/10

Dram #3: nose: this smells more traditional, with width, leather, chestnut oil and oranges, raspberry-filled PiM's (or raspberry jam and milk chocolate). Once we are told what it is, it becomes obvious to me: it reminds me of the First Cask bottling that OB brought to a tasting a while ago: very fresh, in a fruit-and-pine-forest style. Mouth: yep, more traditional indeed, with leather again, and oranges. It feels watery at first sip, before the mouth becomes an orange-and-liquorice juice. Finish: raspberry PiM's, orange peel, chocolate thins, frangipane and freshly-polished cabinets. Very nice. "Too nice," says Psycho. It does not stick out, which makes me reckon it is an official bottling, whatever the distillery. I am convinced it is the recent GlenAllachie 25yo (48%, OB, b.2018) at £228. Wrong again, and it is £122 (BA gave an incorrect and misleading lower threshold). Balblair 1991/2018 (46%, OB, L18/044 R1850541B) 7/10

Dram #4: nose: orange slices, freshly-harvested fields (Psycho), some dried-ginger shavings, orange rinds, ginger-and-cinnamon buns and an ever-growing note of cake icing. Water makes it bizarrely more stripping on the nose. Mouth: wood spices (galangal, dried ginger). This is much more powerful, almost numbing. Behind that power, it has more cinnamon buns and ginger. Water makes it softer and better, but also more streamlined, less wild, less interesting. Finish: gingerbread and pastry of all kinds, with white glazing. Another grain, I believe. With water, it loses all its appeal. My neighbour finds it very average, when diluted. Of course, I guess wrong again. It is worth 200€ and is only available at the distillery-come-visitor-centre (big clue, there). Jameson 18yo Bow Street (55.3%, OB, B#1/2018, L804431050) 7/10

Dram #5: nose: leather (with meat tatters still on), meat, then smoke and acidic citrus. It reminds me of the atmosphere in a bothy. Cherry tree, wet ashes (Psycho), farm paths. The first nosing was quite awful, I thought, but then it gets better and better. Mouth: so-so, not very interesting. Pepper, ground orange peels. When we are told what it is, it becomes obvious to me that the Talisker is the loudest on the palate. Finish: long, but monochord, overpowered by the Islay components. Hints of wax and fruit, presumably from Clynelish. The big reveal comes before I can cover myself with ridicule, this time. It is the £155 blended malt from Diageo's latest special releases. It contains the products of all of Diageo's (active) coastal distilleries (Clynelish, Inchgower, Oban, Talisker, Lagavulin, Caol Ila). Cladach (57.1%, Diageo Limited Release, b.2018) 6/10 (pushing it)

N from Brighton: "What's the age?"
tOMoH: "19. Everybody knows the average age was 19."

Dram #6: nose: ink and smoke, gentle smoke, mind, fruits, rolled in mud, leather, belts in mud and, far in the back, promising fruit, never too obvious, but definitely there -- cut papaya and jack fruit. That should give it away, but I fail to make the connection. Mouth: ink, farm paths, dried mud. This is comforting and oh! so my thing. Finish: peat smoke, ginger buns, hot custard and hot chocolate coulis. Excellent. The ink makes me confident it is an ancient Ardbeg, perhaps a 10yo, bottled in the 1970s. How many times can you go wrong, eh? It is £300 and I like it as much as the North British. Bowmore 19yo 1988/2018 (48.8%, The Whisky Agency for The Whisky Exchange, Butt, 187b) 8/10

We finish our drams, then escape for a bite at Mac & Wild, where the food is as good as filling.

JS's burger

Psycho's amazing chateaubriand

My chowder

Psycho's chips

Good little tasting, with all sorts of things out of the (my) beaten path and a good crowd. I do find the portions too generous, though, at 2.5cl per dram; great from a ROI perspective, of course, but it is a lot to drink in that short a time.