There was a fierce heatwave, last week. tOMoH cannot stand the heat. If tOMoH liked the heat, tOMoH would live in Madrid, for example.
On the other hand, tOMoH enjoys talking about himself in the third person.
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| Heat outside means 30+°C, inside tOMoH's castle |
I received a parcel, recently, in which the bottles were poorly secured in their canisters. Styrofoam beads everywhere in the box (big boo!), hardly any inside the metal tubes to stop the bottles wiggling (double big boo!)
One of the bottles shook so much in its non-snug tube that the seal broke off and the cork came out a little (from the picture below, one can see it was probably a faulty cork in the first place, mind), which led to a leak. It probably only lost five to ten centilitres in total, and, all things considered, the damage caused by the leak was limited to a few minor stains on the labels and lovely-smelling styrofoam beads. Still, I was not impressed. But since the bottle is kind of open, why not try the juice?
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| Minor staining to label |
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| The glue stopped sticking the cork to the wooden part of the stopper |
Caol Ila 31yo 1983/2014 (48.7%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Hogshead, C#5300, 248b, b#172): nose: a big, smoky slap in the face, and a complex one too! Ink, old parchment, menthol, tar, the diesel engine of a trawler, sea water, drying fishing nets, smoked haddock, sea shells, sandy beaches, oilskins, watercolour and pencil lead, it would seem. The ink note turns into a black tide of engine oil and kerosene, but also malted milk. Styrofoam beads are next, synthetic and almost medicinal in scent. Behind all that, however, a faint note of red fruits comes up, more lingonberry/elderberry than cherry or strawberry. And then, the menthol is back. The second nose seems more farm-y, with mud and muck, as well as putty and a lit cigar. Mouth: milky and sharp at the same time, the attack is hotter than anticipated. with grated ginger and turmeric carrying juicy berries. Swirling it around the mouth reveals exotic smoke and fruit-tree-fire smoke (cherry tree, apple tree), bonfires and a pinch of gunpowder. More importantly, the juicy fruitiness grows in intensity -- now grapefruit, honeydew melon, unripe pineapple and ripe kiwi, sprinkled with ashes. The smoke is only detectable in the back of the throat, via retronasal olfaction, and it is quite discreet. Perhaps sandy beaches and ink again? Finish: all the aromas and flavours explode in the finish, with citrus-infused peat, smoked haddock, smoked fruit (pineapple, grapefruit, honeydew melon), a pinch of ash. The whole is balanced by a softly medicinal touch of menthol, rubbed onto surgical gloves, guaicol, germoline and roasted pineapple, charred on the grill. Strangely enough, and just as on the palate, the berries have turned into citrus; nowt wrong with that. Very clean and sharp, citrus-y, smoky and simply excellent Caol Ila. 9/10
One of the bottles shook so much in its non-snug tube that the seal broke off and the cork came out a little (from the picture below, one can see it was probably a faulty cork in the first place, mind), which led to a leak. It probably only lost five to ten centilitres in total, and, all things considered, the damage caused by the leak was limited to a few minor stains on the labels and lovely-smelling styrofoam beads. Still, I was not impressed. But since the bottle is kind of open, why not try the juice?
Caol Ila 31yo 1983/2014 (48.7%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Hogshead, C#5300, 248b, b#172): nose: a big, smoky slap in the face, and a complex one too! Ink, old parchment, menthol, tar, the diesel engine of a trawler, sea water, drying fishing nets, smoked haddock, sea shells, sandy beaches, oilskins, watercolour and pencil lead, it would seem. The ink note turns into a black tide of engine oil and kerosene, but also malted milk. Styrofoam beads are next, synthetic and almost medicinal in scent. Behind all that, however, a faint note of red fruits comes up, more lingonberry/elderberry than cherry or strawberry. And then, the menthol is back. The second nose seems more farm-y, with mud and muck, as well as putty and a lit cigar. Mouth: milky and sharp at the same time, the attack is hotter than anticipated. with grated ginger and turmeric carrying juicy berries. Swirling it around the mouth reveals exotic smoke and fruit-tree-fire smoke (cherry tree, apple tree), bonfires and a pinch of gunpowder. More importantly, the juicy fruitiness grows in intensity -- now grapefruit, honeydew melon, unripe pineapple and ripe kiwi, sprinkled with ashes. The smoke is only detectable in the back of the throat, via retronasal olfaction, and it is quite discreet. Perhaps sandy beaches and ink again? Finish: all the aromas and flavours explode in the finish, with citrus-infused peat, smoked haddock, smoked fruit (pineapple, grapefruit, honeydew melon), a pinch of ash. The whole is balanced by a softly medicinal touch of menthol, rubbed onto surgical gloves, guaicol, germoline and roasted pineapple, charred on the grill. Strangely enough, and just as on the palate, the berries have turned into citrus; nowt wrong with that. Very clean and sharp, citrus-y, smoky and simply excellent Caol Ila. 9/10
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