19 & 22/11/2020 Lesser-known Speysiders

Because of COVID-19, meeting in person, let alone travelling, is not really feasible, right now. That means the yearly bash at dom666's has been canned. I suggested he plan for a virtual tasting instead, but he could not see it happening. So, JS and I stole his date and sent lots of blind samples, so we could have a shindig all the same.

Naturally, my friends are all jet-setters busy applying for visas to travel from the kitchen to the living room, so no single day saw everyone available. We had to spread it over two non-consecutive days. It means I get to try the whiskies twice and have twice as much fun, so all good! :)

On 19/11, we have: JS, adc, Psycho, ruckus, STL, red71, Bishlouk, me.
On 22/11, we have: JS, adc, Psycho, sonicvince, kruuk2, PSc, dom666 and me. Poor kruuk2 does not have the samples: dom666 had the demanding task of splitting 6cl into three for himself, PSc and kruuk2; unfortunately, he only got the 6cl in August and had no time to do the split by November. To be fair, the initial plan was for all of them to congregate to the same place. PSc is sorted, somehow.

Anyway.

Let us get going...

Dram #1 (JS)

Nose: custard, JS finds subtle vanilla and some lemon, while adc finds it spring-like. Bishlouk detects elderflowers too. Alcohol comes out strong, next to the vanilla (PSc), old wood (PSc) and a hint of caramelised puffed rice.
Mouth: "autumnal," says adc, when Bishlouk reckons it bites the tongue, a bit (he has been French-kissing his cat, no doubt). Psycho can taste cork, and STL has damp earth. I find it acidic on the tongue too. Caramelised popcorn (JS), maple syrup, dark honey and citrus (PSc, who specifies it is oranges, not lemons).
Finish: the finish is long, astringent and lemon-y, almost sparkling, with rock salt and ginger. PSc, on the other hand, finds it fresh, dense and with a hint of kirsch.
Comment: detailed notes here.

Dailuaine 17yo 1996/2014 (56.9%, A.D. Rattray Cask Collection, Bourbon Hogshead, C#10622, 281b) 7/10

Dram #2 (me)

Nose: Bishlouk claims this smells dirty and unusual. adc finds tyres, though not in a grand-prix sort of way, and I think it is borderline metallic. It turns more bubble gum-y, after a while, and even has rotting wood (Psycho). Sulphur, citrus (sonicvince), tree bark (adc -- cedar or sequoia), maple shavings (Psycho). PSc thinks it is less strong in alcohol than Dram #1, but that it has nutmeg.
Mouth: creamy and more in line with the nose (adc), warm (Bishlouk), warm gravel and a bit of wood. Heavy and metallic, it is punchier and denser than the nose suggested, with grapefruit juice (sonicvince).
Finish: woody and drying (STL and Bishlouk), it strikes me as having wormwood and fruit stones, today. During the second sessino, I find it rocky and monolithic.
Comment: detailed notes here. As difficult a profile as I have ever found it.

Miltonduff 15yo 1995/2011 (56.3%, Gordon & MacPhail Reserve imported by Classic Wines Imports for Park Avenue Liquor Shop, 1st Fill Bourbon Barrel, C#9461, 198b, AA/ABBB) 7/10

adc: "After four sips, I am starting to find it very good!"

adc: "PSc has an automatic mic that switches off when he stops talking."
sonicvince: "He just has to continually talk, then..."
tOMoH: "We have Psycho for that!"

PSc: "I've never seen Avatar.
sonicvince: "Visually, it's great. But the story is very corny."
kruuk2: "It's Pocahontas in space."
Psycho: "Chromatically stimulating."

Dram #3 (me)

Nose: sweeter than the previous two, it has rosewood, solvents (adc) and an industrial touch (Bishlouk). Virginia tobacco too, maybe? Wonderfully caramelised apricot compote, apricot turnovers, straight out of the oven. Pastry, specifically frangipane (PSc), a tart taken out of the oven (PSc), warm and fruity, citrus (sonicvince), hay and bison grass (adc).
Mouth: chemical sweets (red71 and STL), mellow and honey-like, until dry papers appear, followed by leather or parchment. Mellow, very jammy, it has a gentle metallic touch and a dose of spices.
Finish: long, fruity, as well as punchy, warming, with ginger-y citrus.
Comment: detailed notes here. Cracking dram.

Glenburgie 1983/2011 (56.3%, Berry Bros & Rudd Berrys' Own Selection, C#9806) 8/10

red71: "A Glenroses?"
tOMoH: "Welcome to the jungle, baby!"

sonicvince does: "Psycho explains..."

Dram #4 (me)

Nose: cereal-like (Frosties, according to Psycho) and hairy in a musky way, leathery. Warm and more phenolic (PSc), wet straw (sonicvince), pastoral (PSc), borderline farm-y (cow dung), with soft peat smoke that is not unlike a bothy (adc), wet rope and a drop of vinegar.
Mouth: sweet, then porridge-y, then rich and dark-grain-like. sonicvince finds it stings the tongue a bit, whilst adc recognises cow stables. It is lively and nutty, with the bitterness of almond skins.
Finish: super long, almost overly so (Bishlouk, STL), too long (red71 who did say: "the longer, the better," earlier), flat (Psycho). Alcoholised at first, it becomes fruitier as time passes, according to sonicvince, nutty, gently bitter, complex and ever changing.
Comment: detailed notes here. This is ever the puzzling whisky. I like it.

Pittyvaich 14yo (54.5%, James MacArthur Fine Malt Selection imported by Pevarello, b. ca 1990) 7/10

red71: "It's not kerosene, it's not burning alcohol..."
tOMoH: "I find it cereal-like."

I give the clue that the distillery starts with a 'P'. There are only two in Speyside, and one is much harder to find than the other.
tOMoH: "Parkmore had a very bad reputation. When they closed the distillery, the legend goes that they emptied the casks down the drain to reclaim the casks."
kruuk2: "...and used them to mature Ledaig!"

dom666 joins us at last.

Dram #5 (JS)

Nose: "best nose this evening," says STL. I have sweet banana slices, meringue citrus pie (STL), custard (STL). Sweets, boiled berry sweets (PSc), bubble gum (Psycho), an aulde sweet shoppe (PSc, who echoes STL's "best nose tonight" comment, three days apart).
Mouth: hard-hitting (adc), lively, even sharp. With water, lots of milk chocolate comes out, though it seems to become even sharper.
Finish: piping-hot peach slices on a leather plate, almost tasteless. Water gives it a brown Boule-Magique taste (ginger and cinnamon), vanilla (sonicvince, who finds it altogether more generic).
Comment: detailed notes here. Not one time I have had this good dram, have I enjoyed it as much as I hoped to.

Longmorn 29yo 1985/2015 (51.9%, Hunter Laing Old & Rare A Platinum Selection imported by DJK Imports for K&L Wines, Refill Hogshead, 251b, L15 194 PB OAR0243) 7/10

Many guesses, none right. We joke about blind Skye or Mull tastings. Psycho notes that, at least, Orkney has two distilleries.
tOMoH: "Three."
Psycho: "Three distilleries on Orkney? What is the third?"
tOMoH: "Stromness."
Psycho: "Never heard of that one..."
tOMoH: "It closed in 1927."
Psycho: "We're not far from a hundred years closed..."
tOMoH: "I'm impressed by your mathematics skills."

MPD walks by the camera and spots dom666:
MPD: "What's he doing there? I haven't seen him in a long while."
tOMoH: "I think she's talking about dom666. What about the whiskies?"
sonicvince: "It has vanilla in the finish."
dom666: "I don't have a taste of vanilla in the finish."
tOMoH: "How do you know? Are you that flexible?"

Fun times. Pity about the exhausting conversation about COVID-19, when dom666 joined. There are enough of those for my liking on an everyday basis.

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