01/01/2020 NYD drams at Dornoch Castle Hotel

Today is a strange day. Everyone is tired, hungover and moody to some degree. Even the pros are not at their peak. JS and I have decided to throw ourselves into the sea for the yearly looney dook, which takes place at noon. That means there is no time to do anything before, and little to do anything afterwards, in a place where the sun goes down at 15:30. A day at the bar, more or less. But first, breakfast.

adc's full Scottish

JS's not-at-all-full Scottish without bacon, sausage, or potato scone

My French toasts with banana slices and maple syrup

Once back from the (blooming-cold) sea, it is time for lunch.

Cheese toastie for adc

Lentil soup for JS and me

Burnside 15yo (46%, Eaglesome, b.1980s): this is allegedly a Springbank, and it was bottled in the 1980s. Happy days. Nose: strawberry bubble gum and mild pepper, satsuma foliage, discreet bergamot, faint lime leaves -- all is very subtle and integrated, a bit tired, even, but pleasant nonetheless. Celery (JS) and a pinch of dust. Mouth: yes, it is tired. Peach-and-lemon juice, a pinch of chilli, growing in intensity (not quite so tired, eh?), grapefruit segments, drying away. It is not very assertive, all in all. Finish: it reveals itself in the finish, with the acidity of grapefruit and lemon/lime, some sawdust, ginger peel, cigar boxes (cedar wood) and dried lemongrass stalks. Well, this is excellent, innit. 8/10

Daftmill 2008/2019 (55.5%, OB for The Whisky Bars of Scotland, C#068/2008, 160b, b#73): nose: butterscotch and shortbread, porridge, granola bars and squashed banana. Something is there that resembles dessert rice. Mouth: quite peppery, punchy, it retains the butterscotch-y, shortbread-y touch, with porridge and custard too. Finish: long, rather fierce, with hot paprika and crushed bay leaves, spicy butterscotch, spicy custard and sweetened porridge, pumped up with vanilla sugar. This is pretty simple, but efficient. I simply cannot understand the secondary-market prices, however. 7/10

Back at the bar, CT asks us what we are drinking. As we request the next drams, he rolls up his sleeves and starts pouring ("Are those the whisky glasses?" he jokes). Not quite sure it is what he had in mind, but there is no-one else behind the bar at the time. "I demand to speak to the owner," I state. The manager enters to find his boss serving us whisky. I jokingly recommend hiring him as bar staff. Everyone pretends my joke is funny, which is kind.

Longrow 10yo 1987/1997 (43%, Signatory Vintage, C#149--151, 9990b, b#340, 97/1020): an indie Longrow from the 1980s. Where can one try that, really? Nose: dead leaves, tractor-engine fumes, dried mud, caked onto tractor tyres, rusty machinery and old-school industrialisation. Perhaps a pinch of coffee grounds to complete the nose. Mouth: soft, watery, it has lots of fruit, here -- peach, apricot and juicy plum. Thirty seconds in, it stops feeling watery and starts unravelling the spices. The exhaust fumes and farm-y character come running back, and that spells great news. Finish: that funky mix of fruit and farm-y diesel, redoubtable! Peaches, oil, old engines, rusty tools, old earth, dried apricots, oily nuts. Very good. 8/10

Benriach 44yo 1966/2010 (56.1%, Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection, First Fill American Hogshead, C#605, 129b, b#11, AJ/AEBG): nose: old-school sherry elegance, with black shoe polish on soft leather, and a good dose of juicy fruit (mango, jackfruit, very-ripe pineapple, persimmon, avocado). Flowering currants (adc), honeysuckle and a waft of coffee round off the nose beautifully. Mouth: proper fruity nonsense, with persimmon, mango, dragon fruit, mangosteen... It has the perfect horsepower as well: powerful, never invading. Green peppercorns and ginger shavings are kept under control. Finish: a little explosion of tropical fruit on a bed of chilli. Tropical-fruit squash is what remains on the top of the palate for the longest time. Exceptional dram, this, only overshadowed by the mighty 50yo for LMdW. Because of that, I feel compelled to score it lower. That might seem harsh, but life is harsh. 9/10

The prices, it dawns on us, seem higher than the previous years. The pours, on the other hand, are very generous.

Glenury Royal 30yo 1973/2004 (49.7%, Signatory Vintage, Sherry Cask, C#6860, 168b, b#106, 4/0359): nose: ooooft! Dusty hessian sacks, full of lychee and mangosteen. Fresh ginger, pressed sultanas, bergamot leaves, a pinch of ground white pepper. Soon, carrot soup enters too, never overpowering the gorgeous, juicy fruit. Crayon shavings, warm marmalade, a pinch of sage, apricot compote and even pine forest (tree bark and pine cones). Much later on, it is custard and soaked shortbread. Mouth: soft, peachy, velvety, it has more of the marmalade goodness, souped up with hot metal (and methedrine?). Citrus-y shenanigans take centre stage, with boiled zest and juicy segments, as well as the edge of the knife that has cut them (that will be the metal, then). Finish: long, warm and warming, with ladlefuls of hot marmalade, nigella seeds, black cumin, preserved lemons, crystallised tangerines and, well, orange marmalade, made with the juiciest Seville. 9/10

M has started his shift and taken over from CT.

M: "I've got a feeling someone's watching me."
tOMoH: "Every time that happens, I've got Michael Jackson playing in my head."
M: "I don't even want to know what that means..."
tOMoH: "I'm talking about Michael Jackson, the whisky writer, obviously."
M: "Next thing, you'll tell me there's really a whisky writer called that..."

Longmorn 38yo 1971/2009 (47.4%, Gordon & MacPhail Reserve exclusively for Limburg, C#4812, 190b, JI/AJGH): nose: ethereal, it has subtle jasmine, peach skins, lacquered wood, and layers and layers of understated fruit (apple peels, poached pears, avocado flesh, poached peaches and plums). Baby powder, moisturiser -- this smells creamy and custard-y. Mouth: it feels a little weak at first, but it is teeming with ripe fruits. Silky, soft, it has peach, überripe apricot, juicy pear, squashed dragon fruit, mango pulp and non-chillied guacamole (smashed avocado, coriander and lime juice, then). Finish: soft, peachy, it does have some wood (freshly-installed bookcases), but nothing to eclipse the deluge of ripe, juicy fruits (see above). 9/10

Caol Ila 20yo d.1983 (46%, Direct Wines First Cask, C#46, b#290): nose: a typical Caol Ila from the 1980s, with fishing nets, a trawler's engine, a pinch of soot, a wood stove, diesel, and fruit. Barbecued pear, barbecued apricot. It is on the smoky side, though, with coal-fire smoke, even charcoal. Mouth: soft and mellow, it has more fruit than the nose: white plum and canary melon, peppered with soot and kept on a wood stove. The fruit is really fresh, juicy and lively. Finish: sweet, fruity here as well, and sooty/smoky, with diesel fumes, buckets of soot, greasy engines, soot-covered peaches, super-dry fishing nets and dusty mechanics. Amazing. 9/10

Caol Ila 21yo 1976/1997 (59.9%, Adelphi, C#8093, L726088): nose: smoked peach stones in a fruit-juice liqueur, if that makes sense. Lacquered-wood cabinets, liqueur cabinets. It develops to reveal more fruit (nutty peach, apricot, plump plum, juicy quince) and polished wood panels. Mouth: it feels fruitier than the First Cask on the palate as well, with peach juice, smoky marmalade and smoked preserved lemons. The high ABV makes itself well known: powerful, fearsome. From the second sip on, it feels perfectly integrated and the mouth becomes fruitier and fruitier. Finish: big, but balanced, it has similar fruity notes and an ashy, salty undercurrent. The finish is drying, arid (the ash, I would wager), austere, but with some fruit, still (roasted peach). Here too, the fruit grows more prominent with each sip, white peach and all, but the ash and fishing nets remain, subtle, yet fantastically present. 9/10

adc: "Ah! Those haggis balls. They were a bit too hard. I don't mind putting a whole ball in my mouth, if it is small."
[JS and I lol.]
adc: "You dirty minds. You're as bad as the French."

Dinner.

No buffet, this year, (un)fortunately

adc and JS have the Smoked Sea Trout

Marbled Game Terrine for me

12 Hour Braised Pork Belly (adc)

Honey & Thyme Roasted Salmon (JS)

Venison Loin (me)

Coffee & Doughnuts (JS)

Vanilla Mouse for adc and me (yes, there is a typo and yes, I do make a scene about it)

There is no band playing folk music, this year, sadly. JS goes for a little nap. adc and I go for one last dram. She has Glen Grant 38yo Gordon & MacPhail again, which I do not take notes for.

88.6 25yo 1975/2001 (63.4%, SMWS Society Cask): nose: melted caramel butter, melted fudge, doughnut batter, distant shoe polish. It feels like a sherry maturation with a medicinal tack -- bandages, gauze, leather belts and leather shoes. It grows muddier and dirtier as time passes, though that is balanced by bergamot foliage. With water, orange juice comes out more, and soaked cork (adc). Mouth: massively hot, frighteningly so, with ground cloves, crushed bay leaves, mace, black pepper, sumac, lots of ginger, galangal, green chilli, curry leaves and spiced-up oranges. The heat! With water, it stays warm, but turns fruitier too, with bitter orange pith and orange peel. Finish: it surprisingly hits a great balance, with dark chocolate, bay leaves, sage, verbena, salted caramel and underripe oranges, almost blue with mould. Funny how the finish is more tolerable than the palate. Water makes it warmer, amusingly enough, and allows acidic, bitter orange to come through. Very interesting drop, but the palate is not a little challenging. One of the fiercest whiskies that I recall, in the mouth. Despite that, it is so interesting I will not go below 8/10

They have an SMWS Glen Mhor and an SMWS Glen Albyn, but this feels the right time to stop.

Also this 30yo Lochnagar, which is very tempting

That is all, folks. Tomorrow, PT will let adc and JS try a Yoichi 10yo 2008/2018 (59%, OB, Virgin Oak Cask, C#409288) as we say good bye. I am driving and therefore sober.