01/03/2020 Whisky Show Old & Rare (Day 2 -- Part 1)

We are a little tired, today. Partying on the other side of town meant we only came home after midnight. And dom666 has to get up and leave early to make the Springbank masterclass at 11:00. As it turns out, we will be well on time for it, but he will still be ten-fifteen minutes late, as he takes a long time touching up his makeup.

Before we go anywhere, however, food. Ozone again.

JS's red and my Orange pressed

JS's veggie brekkie

JS orders chips with aioli -- which I use to paint my woolly jumper, of course :-(

Mushrooms on toast for me

My side of hash browns and dom666's granola

A short tube ride later, we are back at the Institute of Civil Engineers.

WhiskyLovingPianist is already there

It is a beautiful day, today

dom666 joins the masterclass (I buy him some time with the bouncer, since he is late). JS and I proceed to the main floor.

First things first: let us grab a table!

A quick round and I select my first port of call (Skinner) and a dram. The bloke is complaining to someone else that he did not have a good day, yesterday, that many came to his stand to take pictures, not to order whisky, that everyone is chasing big names and closed distilleries. In the meantime, I have been standing there for five minutes and been given zero attention. When he finally does acknowledge my presence, the experience is as welcoming as a bearded grandmother's kiss. Ah, well. :-)

Burke's Fine Old Irish Whiskey (45%, Edward & John Burke, b.1910s): nose: faint metal, old coins, soup tins or beans tins, maybe even used aluminium foil, perhaps a thin veil of smoke. Nothing sticks out much, apart from the metal. Mouth: jammy, with tinned apricots, pineapple drops and tinned satsuma segments -- the tin has bled onto the fruit a bit. Finish: super delicate and very fruity, it has pineapple, satsuma and a lick of tin. Lovely, if subdued. 8/10

This being the second day, Cavalier66 is on a Bowmore crusade.

Cavalier66: "I've had more expressive Bicentenaries."

Locke's Kilbeggan 34yo 1946/1980 (42.3%, The Uisge Beatha Malt Whisky Co., 480b, b#333): This is from the last known cask of Kilbeggan, long before the distillery re-opened. Nose: apple chutney, cucumber relish, some old-school stove, smoked jam, nigella seed. As usual with those ancient things, the smoke is nothing like the modern peaters. It is much dirtier, greasier and sootier.
Mouth: fresh at first, it soon brings back the nigella seeds, chutney and smoked relish/jam from the nose. Finish: long, fruity, jammy, with only hints of spices, here it is mostly creamy fruit and fruity custard. I adore this. 10/10

Cavalier66 comes back puzzled, with a murky-looking dram. I immediately identify it as the Black Bowmore from Gooding's collection. Cavalier66 knows I had this bottling last year and asks me to confirm it tasted like this.

Black Bowmore 29yo 1964/1993 (50%, OB, Oloroso Sherry Casks, 2000b): this looks muddy and smells really tired. It turns out to be a tannic, tarry, liquorice-laced affair with the palest shadow of fruit. Completely ruined by years in an opened bottle, probably stored in terrible conditions ("Under the sink," said JMcM yesterday). A mere 7/10

Great to bring this so people can try it, but I find it lamentable to pour it for £100 a centilitre (a relative bargain, considering a freshly-opened bottle on the other side of the room sells for £170 a centilitre) without a word of warning. Other exhibitors are offering tired whiskies too, but they all point that fact out, or the price reflects it (£5 or £10, not £100). This incident will be the talk of the festival for a while. We explain it to others, some of whom take their chance regardless of our warnings, and are bitterly disappointed.

dom666 comes back from the Springbank masterclass with three drams.

Springbank 12yo (80° Proof, OB, b. ca 1978): powerful and minty on the nose, with a jammy, fruity palate. The finish is big, with juicy fruit, metal and wood smoke. 9/10

Springbank 12yo 100° Proof (50%, OB, b.1996): funny how 100° Proof became 50%, over time (100° Imperial Proof is really 57%). Smoky peaches on the nose, jammy again in the mouth, jelly-like, almost, and with a touch of smoke in the finish -- smoked peaches. 8/10

Springbank 39yo 1969/2008 (57.8%, Ian Macleod Chieftain's, Butt, C#794, 150b): a different beast, unsurprisingly. Lots of brown sugar on the nose, complemented by floral scents, fir and pine needles. The mouth is acidic, with pine-tree bark and needles again. The finish is huge, though the alcohol is well integrated, showing notes of pine needles and resin. Wonderful. 10/10

Irish 27yo 1990/2017 (51.3%, The Whisky Agency & The Whisky Exchange, Barrel)
Nose: ripe mango, underripe passion fruit and something more herbaceous.
Mouth: pine cones, juicy fruits, then black pepper, sprinkled on quince.
Finish: good and warming, for a second, then a thunderslap of exotic fruit lands on me like a ton of bricks -- mango, persimmon, happiness.
Comments: I was going for a 9, but that finish!... 10/10

Scotch Whiskey 1885/1890 (unknown ABV, unknown bottler imported by M. E. Bellows' Son): I know, right?
Nose: industrial varnish, carbonyl esters.
Mouth: watery, here, flat, with some solvents and not much action.
Finish: spent. Dusty water, diluted varnish, diluted hair lacquer, ash.
Comment: educational, no longer good. But it was £10, not £100. 6/10

North of Ireland 27yo 1988/2015 (47.6%, The Whisky Agency & ACLA Selection, Barrel, 201b)
Nose: pollen, honey, beeswax, hot metal.
Mouth: thinned orange juice, cut satsuma, then the volume is turned up, gradually but surely.
Finish: and, once more, a debauchery of exotic fruits come dancing on the tongue.
Comment: the nose is a bit behind, but the finish -- what a killer! Is this the new norm, or what? 10/10

Talisker 1979/1992 (64.9%, Cadenhead Cask Strength, C#6, b#56, 92/300)
Nose: smoke, smoked pepper, seashore pebbles.
Mouth: soft, a little peppery, with smoky jam. It grows in intensity and becomes quite big, actually. Hardly a surprise, once I am told the ABV!
Finish: a mix of brine-y sea air, peppery jam and pepper ashes.
Comment: nice. 8/10

Linlithgow d.1982 (65.4%, Cadenhead Cask Strength, C#2839, b#284): no code on the back of the label, suggesting it is one of the very first bottlings with that livery. 1991?
Nose; flinty, fruity and a little herbal, with smoked thyme.
Mouth: sage on marmalade, peach and apricot.
Finish: assertive, but also delicate and fruity, with tame bitterness -- verbena and tarragon. 9/10

pat gva pours me more of that killer Ledaig from yesterday. JS smells it and brings the following for a back-to-back sesh.

Ledaig 27yo 1974/2001 (51.3%, Private Cask, Bourbon Cask, C#IS 371)
Nose: smoky as fook, sooty, it has smoked crabs, hot fishing nets, smoked shells, hot sands.
Mouth: soot, ash and lots of nigella seeds in jam, as well as peat smoke.
Finish: in line with the palate, sooty and smoky.
Comment: very different to Cadenhead's Ledaig from yesterday, but very good too. 9/10

Cavalier66: "we've got to give him food: his jokes are getting worse!"
tOMoH: "I'm flattered you thought they were of a higher level before."

Talisker d.1964 (100° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseur's Choice, b.1970s)
Nose: cut yellow fruit, flint -- it has that magical austere/fruity combination that I like so much. Soot, smoke.
Mouth: chalky, ashy, but also generally fruity.
Finish: quince, peach, soot, ash and dirty smoke.
Comment: I bet this would be even more my thing at 70° Proof. 8/10

More of JS's pairing adventures.

County of Antrim 24yo 1991/2016 Special Edition No. 5 (47.8%, ACLA Selection, Sherry Wood, 158b): super fruity. 9/10

vs.

Hera Domus 24yo 1991/2015 (55.8%, Adelphi selected by Maximilian Bosse for Hotel Essener Hof Historic Series No. 4, 289b, b#40): much woodier on the nose, but with a fruitier finish. 8/10

MD appears and distributes more (Swiss) chocolate. I have to pretend I enjoy it. ;-)

Port Ellen 16yo d.1969 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice)
Nose: peat reek and cut orchard fruit.
Mouth: sweet and fruity.
Finish: that sweet smoke and fruit, reminiscent of the Dovr-Tvtes-Mares. 9/10

Food.