23/02/2019 Whisky Show Old & Rare 2019 (Day 1 -- Part 1)

Yep, here again. The red-eye train is convenient, but it makes me slightly light-headed upon arrival in Glasgow. Ah, well, nothing to worry about too much.
Swift check-in, then into the queue, and in the room in minutes.

Whilst I look around, thinking about where to spend cash I do not have, JS has no second thought and goes straight for the jugular.

99.10 25yo 1980/2005 Complex and intriguing (47%, SMWS Society Cask): because, if one is going to drink crazy things all weekend, one might as well start with a Glenugie. It is nutty and apricot-y on the nose, soft and lush on the palate with a shortish finish. A cracking 'ugie, unsurprisingly. 9/10

The Swissky Mafia is located, greeted, and they give this to taste.

Littlemill 23yo 1990/2014 (55.2%, Creative Whisky Company The Tony Koehl Series, C#36, 176b): Grassy, mellow, and only a little bit fruity. This is not an immediately sexy one, but I like it. 8/10

Also, they show this shot of EG doing
an impression of the recent Thompson Bros.
Bunnahabhain's label

Speaking of Bunnahabhain...

Bunnahabhain 46yo Eich Bhana Lìr (41.8%, OB Duty Paid Sample): the story is that Jonny McMillan sourced this from a (former?) Bunnahabhain employee as a duty-paid sample. The bottle looked like nothing, so Jonny drew a label for it -- which looks rather good, too. The end product comes in a luxurious, if sober decanter with waves across the base, and a massive wooden case. I have been willing to try it for a while. The fact it is not in a decanter here led to Jonny pricing it very fairly indeed. A nice touch. Nose: nutty peaches and soft rubber, playing elegantly. Mouth: it does become pretty rubbery, here, with those black liquorice laces and some tannins. Finish: liquorice is the word, though it is not completely over the top. This is (very) nice, but it is woody. Will not please everyone and, as far as I am concerned, the price of the real thing (ca £5,000 as I type) bears no correlation with the quality of the whisky inside. Still a more-than-satisfactory 9/10

Bowmore 36yo 1969/2006 (44%, Duncan Taylor Peerless, C#6090, 233b, b#61): the day may now start properly. Nose: the fruit is there, as is pronounced rubber and all sorts of seafood notes -- seashells, cockles, smoked oysters. Mouth: some soft fruit again (if one knows to look for them) and elegant rubber, as well as diesel oil, and fishing equipment, including oilskins and rubber wellies (yellow, of course) Finish: long, very salty and rubbery, with only a touch of fruit. A beauty, provided one does not expect an exuberant tropical-fruit avalanche. 9/10

Bowmore 36yo 1966/2002 (43.2%, Duncan Taylor Peerless, C#3306, 201b, b#115): ah! This is a different kettle of mango. A burst of gorgeous tropical fruit jumps at the nose from the glass. Cavalier66 calls a Bowmorgasm. It has a notch of smoke, oysters and... just loads and loads of fruit; melon, maracuja, watermelon, pink grapefruit and the likes. Mouth: it is a little more maritime, here, though it retains the fruit. Finish: concentrated tropical fruit, augmented with a hint of rubber. This is completely glorious, of course, and we all think we have found the dram of the show already. 10/10

Cavalier66 is keen to prolong the "final Bowmorgy... thing," and our resident truffle expert, JS, knows exactly how to do that.

Bowmore 36yo 1966/2002 (40.0%, Hart Brothers Finest Collection): good thing JS is there, since this (and many others) comes from a stall I do not want to visit. :-) Nose: we have a new dram of the show. This one is even fruitier than the DT with less rubber as well, and hot marzipan to round it up. It leads to Bowmore eyes in half a second and it is incredible to see that the juice was bottled at 40.0% and remains so expressive all the same. It simply jumps at you face-hugger style (you know, Alien). Humbling. Mouth: it seems a little more influenced by the sea, here, though the dominant adjectives are still acidic and fruity. Finish: propa mortal, like. Fruity, with mussels, cockles and, well, happiness. It just edges the Duncan Taylor. We will have this three times throughout the weekend, and it will remain on top until the very last half hour (ooh! what a tease :-) ) A very comfortable 10/10

Cavalier66: "This is the Lochside, which, after the Bowmores, tastes a bit more raw; a bit..."
tOMoH: "The word you're looking for is: 'vulgar.'"

Lochside 40yo 1966/2007 (54.4%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strenth Collection, Sherry Hogshead, C#7536, 213b, b#23, 7/0480): nose: it is distinctly woody, on top of the expected fruit. Fruit stones all round, then. It also showcases all sots of oily waxes, very elegant. Mouth: oily and big, it has marmalade and a pine influence. Finish: long, wide and assertive, I want to say 'robust,' even; it has liquorice, cooked fruit and salty wood. Nice. It holds itself together, even though it is in the death seat, coming after what we still reckon is the dram of the show. 9/10

Longmorn 39yo 1969/2009 Gordon & MacPhail Book of Kells exclusive bottling for The Mash Tun and Kask imported by Japan Import System, Refill Sherry Butt, C#5298, 460b, b#188/192): hehe. The bottle number makes no sense, by the way. They seem to all be that way. Nose: at first, a kick of varnish-y wood, then lots of juicy fruit, nuts and old furniture, in typical, sherry-matured, aged Longmorn fashion. Mouth: it becomes a little bitter, here, with plum stone soaking in plum juice. Finish: this is undeniably the strong point of the dram. It has plum and prune juice, dark cherries, furniture polish and no bite at all. A dangerous one that one could easily drink a bottle of overnight. Legendary finish to an otherwise 9 dram. In the circumstance, it is 10/10

You heartthrob, you! Trying to catch whisky geeks in your nets!

Talisker d.1955 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, b. ca late 1970s): nose: cut guava, lots of manuka honey, some dust and crazy apricot (Jack-Nicholson-in-The-Shining crazy). Mouth: super soft, fruity, light with more manuka honey. Finish: mild, mellow, sweet and light with honey and thick jams. This simply confirms that I do like Talisker... provided it was distilled in the 1950s. 9/10

Finally, I manage to grab pat gva's attention. He is carrying a bag... containing bottles, naturally. "Ah! tOMoH. Pass me your glass..."

Cedar Brook Sour Mash b.1913 (100 US Proof, OB): yep. I know. This is from the stash that was discovered late last year and auctioned off. pat gva managed to procure some of it -- and beat SSS to it, which pat tells us giggling like a school girl; a surreal scene if there ever was one. Nose: herbs and aromatics, a medicine cabinet, a botanical garden, pine-needle juice and Turkish delights. The nose stops you in your track, that is for sure! Mouth: soft, mellow, juicy and pine-y, it also has honey and aromatics. Amazing. Finish: very, very beautiful, balanced as fook, it erupts with mint lozenges. None of that sickly vanilla on steroids here, it is all clean, sharp and herbal. A rather emotional moment. Pre-Prohibition liquid, no less! In fact, pre-First World War! pat gva tells us it is a Bourbon, distilled in 1913, bottled in 1919, but the label is clear: sour mash, bottled 1913. 9/10 (Thanks, pat gva)

The Glenlivet Solera drawn 1994 (48.3%, Thompson Bros, 17b, b#5): nose: very fruity, just on the right side of rotten fruit, with added furniture polish. Mouth: mildly-bitter marmalade, soft and juicy, perhaps gently caramelised. Finish: fabulous balance of fruit and dusty books. This is great, though it impresses me less than the first time. 9/10

Time for food. Many skip it, disappointed as they were by the brasserie, last year. I find it better this year, though there is hardly any main left. Since I have decided to be a vegetarian for the weekend, potatoes, vegetables and mushroom sauce will do. The staff seem a little out of their depth, though.

It does the trick

7.25 35yo 1968/2004 Ginger chocolate and prunes (51.7%, SMWS Society Cask): nose: leather, walnut stain, saddles and fine, elegant mocassins. Mouth: mellow, with some walnut, polished leather and prune-y fruit. Finish: wood and walnut stain, crushed plum stones. Very nice. 8/10

Read on here

It takes Cavalier66 a couple of hours to realise JS buys shirts from his secret boutique