37.112 16yo 2002/2018 Cream tea with a difference! (54.8%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Madeira Hogshead, 258b): nose: flowers that quickly make room for buttery fruit. From buttery papaya and apricot, it turns into Christmas pudding and mince pies, then juicy greengage, sunflower oil, rubbed honeysuckle leaves and fig relish. The second nosing is full of dry-ish plums, mirabelle plums and greengages. Mouth: wine-marinated peach skins, fig relish, the delicate acidity of citrus (bergamot? Tangerine?) and orange pith. The second sip is spicier. Finish: a mix of unripe-fruit juice and tame milk chocolate with a pinch of herbs thrown in. 7/10GK and Dr. CD are next to JS and me, which means that, despite the huge pours proiding enough to do so, socialising gets in the way of breaking down "a pinch of herbs" into a bullet-point list of herbs. Get over it.
39.172 28yo d.1989 Starry starry night (48.2%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill Toasted Hogshead, 182b): nose: berries aplenty (blackberry, gooseberry, blueberry, rowan berry, rose petal and pressed raisins, as well as a touch of ash and hot, crusty bread. Mouth: mellow, prune-y, plummy, soft and fruity. The sherry influence is wonderful and balanced (it is not mentioned, but I am convinced it is an ex-Sherry cask). Lingonberry compote, slightly caramelised. This is very juicy! Finish: amazing. It has more plums and soaked prunes, soaked raisins, then purple passion fruit -- fleeting, but present. There is indeed a dollop of tropical fruit that I cherish. The finish is 9/10 material, and the whole is one of the best expressions I have tasted from this distillery, flirting with the mighty Rare Malts' quality. 8/10Food enters. It is probably one of the best fish & chips I have had.
36.155 20yo d.1997 (56.9%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 185b): nose: curry leaves, Brazil nuts, nutmeg, oil paint, strawberry vinegar, almond paste. The second nosing brings milk chocolate. Mouth: a bit neutral, it has spicy almond paste and distant boiled sweets. The spices grow in intensity, and paint develops, after a few sips. Finish: pine needles and shortbread. This is very fresh, Gocce Pino or Suc des Vosges style. It has a lick of cork and lots of pine lozenges. 7/10
7.213 13yo d.2004 Moistify your leather (59.9%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 161b): nose: lots of various cakes, flour, plaster (yep), then toffee, cinnamon, speculoos spice mix, nougat and dried watercolour. With water, the watercolour becomes more prominent, as do crayons. Mouth: nougat-y and milky, it has an aggressive bite of green chilli, tamarind paste (though not quite as acidic), Thai curry paste. Oooh! it is hot. Water improves the balance. Finish: dried fruit, covered in ginger powder, dried tamarind, cassia bark, crushed bay leaves. This is nice, but a bit strong for me. Water makes this bitter and green to a point that is not enjoyable. 7/10
9.158 22yo 1996/2018 Heavy weight cake (59.2%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Sherry Hogshead, 239b): nose: nose: colour pencils, red-leaf lettuce, a pinch of dry earth, watercolour (again?) Mouth: crushed bay leaves, crushed cloves, kaffir lime leaves... This is dry and spicy. Finish: dry, drying, even, it has lots of earth, desiccated grapes, raisins, twenty years past their sell-by date, cork, dry staves. I chose it tonight because I liked 9.150 so much, but I am much less convinced by this one. 6/10CD and Jas come back from Jas's leaving supper -- they had wine and are well merry. :-)
CD kindly offers us the following dram to celebrate Jas's last shift here.
85.16 18yo 1987/2005 Afternoon tea on the lawn (55.3%, SMWS Society Cask): nose: some leather, some mud, some white wine, a hint of shoe polish. This is very earthy! Of course, that is one of the trademark distillery markers. New shoes alongside the polish, which is less expected. Water brings out more varnish and polished wood. Mouth: soft and honeyed, with a dash of mud. The texture is oily and pleasing, mellow and mildly fruity. Water does not alter it. Finish: long, comforting, it has honey, a splash of mud and blackcurrant sweets. H2O makes it bitter. It is definitely better naked. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, CD)
46.70 17yo d.2000 Rustic farmhouse kitchen (56.2%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Madeira Hogshead, 235b): nose: urgh. An interesting-but-by-no-means-pleasant mixture of watery coffee and baby sick. Not very enticing, this! To think this is one of my favourite distilleries!! Pine-tree sap shows up, dry tree bark and decaying plum, rotting hay. How charming! Mouth: soft, it ends up plummy and gently earthy, not dissimilar to drying sand. Finish: long, and plummy. The last impression is that of fermenting grapes. This is unripe, in my opinion. The finish is much better than the nose all the same. Not taken. 5/10While I order the next round, S offers home-baked carrot cake, which is cracking. Thanks!
50.104 28yo 1990/2018 A rosewood Dalek (51.3%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 139b): nose: super fragrant, it has all sorts of flowers (honeysuckle, dandelion, buttercup), incense, cut pears, quince, pencil erasers, burning balsa wood and cinnamon sticks. The flowery-fruity ping pong is amazing. Mouth: very soft, fruity and silky, it has peach, apricot, persimmon, a dash of light wine and ground pepper. Finish: juicy, with quince, pear, honeysuckle, peach in syrup, persimmon again and crushed cherries. Yum! 9/10
38.22 25yo d.1992 Love letters on linen paper (51%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 270b): nose: orchard fruit and ginger powder. I take no further note. Mouth: soft, subtle, it has more orchard fruits and banana skins. The fruit actually becomes more tropical, with jackfruit and banana stealing the spotlight. Finish: hot, very hot (it feels as though I just inhaled this), with lovely tropical fruit, banana and guava, chocolate and caramelised apples. 8/10Great night out.
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