31/03/2019 The Brexit tasting

If you have not lived under a rock for the past two years, you will undoubtedly know that the Great Kingdom of England was supposed to leave the European Union on the 29th March 2019. In the end, that departure was postponed. It did not stop us meeting up to mark the damp squib occasion. Still no politics, here, mind; simply light-hearted puns. And were the lot inspired, too! Usually, it takes a team of experts to shoehorn a bottle into a theme; this time, said team came up with ten theme links in addition to the one chosen by the bottle owner.

The suspects: Cavalier66, GL, PS, BA, JS and myself. Cavalier66 arrives last, and obviously had lots of fun, last night. He is unusually quiet for a time. :-)

Whilst waiting for everyone to arrive, the soundtrack is: Urawa - The Most Boring Thousand Years Of My Life

Provisional line-up

By the time everyone is there, soundtrack is: Shrine - Celestial Fire

Shyte Whisky (40%, Adelphi) (me): this is for Brexshite, of course, which is the nickname given by many Remainers. Nose: earthy, salty and muddy, it reminds me of mudflats. Mouth: soft toffee, caramel, salty mudflats again, salted caramel. Finish: more salt and mud, soil, clay. This will never change anyone's life, but it is pleasant. 6/10

Glen Albyn 1975/2006 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail, JF/BAE) (BA): BA disappears for a year and a half, then he rocks up with this. "I've decided to rejoin society." "Springbank Society, or Scotch Malt Whisky Society," I ask (of course). If he is going to bring this sort of things, he can disappear again. Anyway, he chose it, because 1975 was the year of the first referendum on the European Economic Community. Also, Glen Albyn was demolished and replaced by a B&Q; that did not thrive and became a discounted B&Q, before shutting down permanently. BA tells us he went on the site and found the place empty, with all windows smashed, sure-tell sign that the situation was better before -- one of the arguments of Brexiteers. Nose: old school from the word 'go', it has brine, old bookshelves, old newspapers, musty corks and bung cloth. All the way in the back, tinned pineapple appears as well. PS insists it is the tin more than the pineapple, to which I object that one has to lick the tin to extract all the pineapple juice from it, especially from the rippled bit of the tin. BA observes that licking the top of the open tin leads to other results. We all shrug at the thought of pineapple juice on a flesh wound... on the tongue. Mouth: jammier than anticipated, it has marmalade and apricot jam. Cracked black pepper shows up, mild chilli (jalapeño) and ginger. The whole remains juicy, mind. Finish: long, lovely and peppery, it has an excellent combination of peach jam, rose-petal jelly and dusty cardboard, a Glen Albyn trademark. 8/10

I recommend a particular expression from 1983 (another distillery).
BA: "1983 seems to be a good year."
PS: "Lots of distilleries tried to justify their existence!"

Soundtrack: Roxette - Tourism

Balmenach 25yo (43%, Glenkeir Whiskies Glenkeir Treasures The Gold Selection, 213b) (me): because Brexit has proven to be both a complete Balls-up-menach and a Ballache. I had initially selected another Balmenach, but the fact this one could be related to Glen Keir Starmer was too good to pass. Starmer is emerging as a more moderate Labour representative than the party leader, in case, again, you have been living under a rock, or managed to not witness a slow-motion car crash, over the past months. Speaking of car crash, I break the cork upon opening it. There is another Brexit allegory there, somewhere, I am sure. Nose: more rose-petal jam, but this time, it is joined by Virginia tobacco, mentholated tobacco, and candied peach. Mouth: fresh and jammy again, though it is probably a sequence error and should have come before the Glen Albyn. More menthol on the palate, as well as galangal shavings. Finish: rich and fresh, it has the same jam and menthol alongside a distinct wood influence that stays under control. A lovely Balmenach, this! 8/10

GL produces the next bottle, Optimism, which is heavily scrutinised by all.
Cavalier66: "The Brexiteers are seeing the glass half full; is that what it is?"
tOMoH: "You need a bit of optimism in hard times is what it is."
Cavalier66: "You have to believe?"
PS: "No, that's fairies... Or, if you're Grayling: ferries!"

Nibbles!
Cavalier66's bread, olives, cherry tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella
My dried sausage

Optimism b.2009 (44%, Compass Box, American and new French Oak Casks, b#124) (GL): it would seem Clynelish and Laphroaig are big components of this blend. Nose: medicinal, salty and coastal with bitter orange rinds. Mouth: more medicinal stuff -- I have a blister inside my lip, and this one disinfects it alright! Acidic orange, coupled with a splash of lemon juice, wood stave. Finish: smoke and soft soot, sea spray and burning cinnamon sticks. Perhaps ink and blotting paper, too. This is nice. Possibly my favourite Compass Box offering. To think this was a last-minute one-off for a festival!... 8/10

Littlemill 24yo 1990/2014 (50.6%, Maltbarn No. 28, 158b) (JS): the gang tries long and hard to find the connection. It is only when I mention the EU's chief negotiator that all find Maltbarnier. Of course, we push further and find it also works for Little-Englander-mill. Nose: creamy and milky, almond milk, to be precise. A few seconds later, the mad fruity gig starts off: peach, mango, papaya, mango skins, then a touch of crushed quinine tablet also appears, ground Aspirin and pickled chilli slices. Mouth: powerful, surprisingly peppery and fruity (the same as on the nose). Finish: big and fruity in a tropical way, peppery, still (is this a Littalisker?), and very, very dusty. 8/10

Soundtrack: Atrium Carceri - Codex

Cavalier66's turn. He immediately stops and claims we cannot have only one of those Speyside Region casks, reaches into his rucksack and pulls another bottle out. Both work on the same level: distilled 1973, when the UK joined the EEC and bottled at 43yo, ca. 2016, when the UK voted to leave the EU.

Speyside Region 43yo d.1973 (51.6%, Mancarella Limited Edition, Sherry Cask) (Cavalier66): we had this one a while ago (last time BA was here, actually) and I remember liking it, but finding it spicy. Nose: tantalisingly syrupy, it has golden syrup, candy floss, jasmine and Cologne. Fragrant, in one word. Mouth: hot golden syrup, quite simply. This is soft and sweet in taste, but intense in flavours and not without its share of spices. Finish: the finish is fiery, with red-chilli powder in honey and souped-up golden syrup. Same impression as last time: good, but spicy. I am surprised PS likes it as much as he does, considering his usual intolerance for all things spicy. 8/10

vs.

Speyside Region 43yo 1973/2016 (49.2%, The Whisky Agency, Sherry Butt, 324b) (Cavalier66): nose: this one is even sweeter, with jelly and golden syrup again, sweetened plums, overripe peaches and manuka honey poured on yellow fruits. Mouth: wider and rounder than its sibling, it has squashed cherries, ripe plums and peaches; some spices too, but they are softer than in the Mancarella. Finish: phwoar! Full-on berries, here, blackcurrants leading the charge, supported by a pleasant note of oak. 9/10

Cavalier66 stops us again. He brought two more bottlings and organises a referendum to decide which one to try. The options on the ballot are:

• 51.9 15yo d.2002 Sinful indulgence (54.2%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 240b)
• Glen-leave-it 38yo 1973/2012 (48.6%, Berry Bros & Rudd Selected by Berrys', C#10658)

51.9 is chosen by 51.9% of the voters. Or indeed three to one. Cavalier66 forgets to vote, while I do not take part: being an EU national, I am barred from referenda in the UK.

Last-minute development, however: Theresa May's solution is a third option: Glenallachie 39yo 1973/2013 (48.9%, Maltbarn #13, Bourbon Cask, 51b). This one has a butterfly on the label, which Cavalier66 informs us is the symbol of the chaos theory, which is exactly how the negotiations have gone, over the past years. The majority sticks with 51.9 all the same, proving once and for all that it does not matter how much facts change, the voting public tends to not change their mind with more evidence. JS consistently voted for the least popular option.

51.9 15yo d.2002 Sinful indulgence (54.2%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 240b) (Cavalier66): on one hand, 51.9% of the voters voted to leave the EU, on the other, this is the Irish Backstop™. One could also observe that Brexit is the Brexiteers' sinful indulgence. Nose: candy floss, talcum powder, powdered sugar, then a little pinch of Virginia tobacco. After fifteen minutes, it mellows out further to give doughnut. Mouth: soft, full of bakery goodness, it is also warm! Candy floss, powdered sugar and pickled gherkins. Finish: flowery, sweet and bakery-influenced, the finish has talcum powder and flower stems. Very nice. 8/10

tOMoH: "CONtroversy or conTROversy?"
Cavalier66: "I switch."
JS: "Why?"
tOMoH: "He's a switcher."

Soundtrack: Wolfsheim - Spectator

44.73 25yo d.1990 Long live the difference (52%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 312b) (GL): this is 52%, close to 51.9% enough, and is the 73rd cask of distillery #44 the SMWS released -- the UK joined the EEC in '73. Nose: buttercups, forsythia and truckloads of smoke from a fruit-tree fire. It might even have wax. Is this a misstencilled cask? I declynelish to comment. Mouth: very waxy, now, with candlewax, beeswax, caramelised apricot compote, caked to the bottom of a cauldron. Finish: old-school smoke, hot wax, piping-hot apricot slices. We have had a few sister casks, presumably from the same parcel, and they were all good. This is no exception. 8/10

Soundtrack: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - The Best Of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

We take a break with a Cantillon Iris that BA brought. Because Cantillon is in Brussels, capital of the EU. There is another reason, but I cannot remember it. Very nice.

Cavalier66: "You think it is phonetic, but it's not."
tOMoH: "Funny. Brits learning French complain that it's not phonetic..."
Cavalier66: "Greek is phonetic."
tOMoH: "What you mean is: it's phoneticos."

106.18 27yo d.1984 Bottled essence of summer (52.6%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 197b) (JS): it has been ages since JS last brought this to a tasting. She really wanted to illustrate the consequences of an 'ard Brexit, but has no Ardbeg, Ardmore or Ardnamurchan. A C-'ard-hu Brexit it was going to be, then. And then, when the distillery is revealed, the boys remind everyone that, in every negotiation, the UK was supposed to always hold all the card-hu-s. Ha! Nose: ivy and lots of herbaceous notes, tree foliage and citrus (bergamot, lemon, satsuma leaves). Mouth: mildly aromatic, but still very herbaceous, it retains the citrus foliage and adds citrus juice into the mix. This is fantastic! Finish: big, flowery, long and citrus-y, it has the same bergamot and, this time, calamantsi. 8/10

Speculation regarding the previous bottle.
"75cl. Is it a US bottling? Once we've left, we can go back to UK measures."
"27yo. There are 27 other countries in the EU."
"Summer. We voted to leave in the summer."

In a Kafkaesque moment, PS and Cavalier66 inquire: "Who is this Jack Hughes fella?"

I announce the following dram.
tOMoH: "I didn't plan to pour this, but I found it in the morning and thought I would get rid of it share it."
PS: "Unplanned, palmed off on us... Brexit!"
tOMoH: "Brack-xit, innit."

Royal Brackla 20yo 1992/2013 (52.4%, Cadenhead Sherry Cask, 180b): nose: rancio (BA takes the path of least resistance to agree). The sherry influence is undeniable; it has roasted-hazelnut shells and distant cured meat. Mouth: hot and tongue-tingling, it has cured ham and nuts again, never overpowering. It develops to reveal chocolate and hazelnut paste (none of that palm-oiled Nute**a shite, though). Nice. Finish: more chocolate and hazelnut paste, a soft note of smoke or toasted rye bread. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, RO)

BA: "Do not drink the inside of glowsticks. You will not have a good time."
PS: "Still better than Edradour Tokaji cask."

Cavalier66 asks about cask maturation.
Cavalier66: "Someone's done a sake whisky!?"
tOMoh: "Probably Suntory."
PS: "Symington released one and it was sarky whisky!"

128.3 5yo d.2006 Chestnut purée and new hiking boots (61.3%, SMWS Society Single Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 229b) (PS): PS chose this, because the Welsh voted for Brexit. Nose: chestnut purée and hiking boots. One of the most accurate SMWS names ever. I have had this several times and love it each time. It has that clogged-sink-funk-come-tropical-fruit touch that I love and loathe in equal measures. It also has hazelnut paste, and a bright warning sign that the ABV is high. Mouth: sharp. It is bakery delight, sweet and fluffy, with hot apple turnovers, but it is also strong (and stable?) Finish: huge, warm and light, with milk chocolate, hazelnut paste, chestnut purée, maybe, fruit, not so much, here. I still love it. 8/10

PS: "Do me a favour: stretch over there and hit him."
Cavalier66: "That would give him pleasure."
PS: "Astute observation. Well done."
tOMoH: "He's a psychiatrist. He cheated."

Soundtrack: This Mortal Coil - It'll End In Tears

93.31 16yo 1992/2008 Cigar boxes and fish crates (65.5%, SMWS Society Cask) (PS): most people find Springbank the best distillery in Campbeltown. PS reckons this one, Glen Scotia, is, so he brought it. That is a minority opinion succeeding -- like Brexit. Nose: oooh! it is a dirty one, with diesel, boiler rooms, fishing trawlers, fishing nets, refined smoke, pickled lemons and, lastly, eggs. Lastly? No! Merbromin also appears, in the back. Mouth: hot Lemsip, lemon tea, braised thyme and hot rapeseed and linseed oils. Finish: it surprisingly combines all the notes from the nose and mouth, adding hot baked potato and hair balls to the lot. A funky Scotia. I love it. 8/10

JS: "There's a lot of scrolling going on..."
tOMoH (to PS): "Does it hit your scrollum?"
Cavalier66: "I feel sick just saying it!"

Soundtrack: Gary Numan - Sacrifice (Extended Mixes)

We end at 20:20 instead of the 18:00 hard stop, which represents only a short extension to our initial plea (being a school night).

Excellent tasting! Lots of funny nonsense and great drams.