27/11/2020 Dornoch X Bimber

 A virtual tasting co-hosted by the Thompson brothers of the Dornoch distillery, Dariusz Plazewski, Bimber's founder/manager, and Farid Shawish, Bimber director.

Auchroisk 31yo 1989/2020 (44.9%, Thompson Bros., Refill Sherry Puncheon, 122b): I would lie if I said this is not the one I am looking most forward to. Nose: sweet, it has Turkish delights and cherry glazing. It is also rather discreet, and I cannot smell much else. Mouth: light, soft, sweet and delicate, with a gentle bitterness (blood oranges, I reckon). Finish: long and citrus-y, sweet in a calamansi way, yet it is met with the bitterness of orange peels. At the death, super-dark chocolate appears too, much to my liking. Delicious. I have a bit left and am looking forward to trying it again. 8/10

The brothers explain that moving wares from the old distillery building to the new one is an administrative headache.
Audience: "If you need to build a roof to join the two buildings together, let me know: I can help."

Dornoch d.2018 (59.5%, cask sample, C#123): made with Belgian-ale yeast and American brewer's yeast. The barley is of the plumage archer variety, arguably less famous than its sister Tasmin. Nose: this is unlike anything I have ever had! Bacon crisps (Grills or Frazzles, depending on which side of the Channel one lives), burnt fruit stones, crackers (wheatsheaf digestives, to be precise), and a generally bready nose, altogether. Slightly smoky too, funnily enough. Plum eau-de-vie shows up later. Mouth: sharp and warming, the palate sees rye crackers with a touch of smoke (mezcal is mentioned several times) and ash. Finish: a bit new-make-y, here, with plum eau-de-vie, but also gravel and dried herbs in beer. 6/10

PT: "In pure Scottish fashion, you're wearing a kilt for the tasting?"
ST: "Who is not wearing trousers, tonight?"

Dornoch d.2019 (65.45%, cask sample, ex-Laphroaig Quarter Cask, C#160): this one was made with spent brewer's yeast from the Cromarty brewery. Nose: butyric and drying mud, after a downpour. Then, it is herbal tonic water, before turning to butter and lime peel. Mouth: mineral as fook, it has limestone, flint and, a minute later, that plum eau-de-vie that the first had. Lime juice and peel are there too, as well as smoky tonic water -- and is that quinine? Finish: tabasco sauce (JS), herbs-marinated ribs, char-grilled on the barbecue. The second sip turns ashy, very ashy indeed, with burnt bracken and burnt lime peel. 7/10

JS: "I'm getting tabasco sauce, in this."
PT: "We need JS to source us some quality hot sauce to do finishes!"

Dornoch 3yo 2017/2020 (59.4%, OB, Sherry Cask, C#001): the first release of Dornoch whisky. Nose: a dark and deep sherry influence, though not overpowering. Sultanas, Smyrna raisins, dried dates. The plum eau-de-vie has all but disappeared, after a mere three years in wood. I would say pot soil, but it smells so sweet that cannot be it! Mouth: here, it is still sharp and wet behind the ears, sweet with sultanas and golden syrup, yet also a little plummy (the unripe fruit, not the spirit made from it). Finish: extraordinarily sweet, teeming with sultanas and Smyrna. It is almost too sweet for me, actually. Fortunately, a pinch of scorched earth appears, towards the death, which keeps it on the straight and narrow. 7/10

Bimber 3yo 2017/2020 (57.9%, Thompson Bros. for the UK, C#167): nose: toasted bread, Krisprolls, then, suddenly, marshmallow storms the scene. Purple marshmallow (violet-flavoured?) and blackcurrant. The second nose is more traditional, with vanilla and custard cream. Mouth: sweet in a boiled-sweet sort of way, with violets, lavender and blueberries, as well as blackberries. Finish: a soft note of burnt brambles over blackberry jam, blueberry, jam, blackcurrant jelly, myrtle jam and a pinch of gentle chilli powder. Impressive. 7/10

Dariusz explains that they control the temperature of the washbacks artificially, as summers in London now reach thirty to forty degrees. ST explains that, in Dornoch, they just switch yeast types.

Bimber 3yo 2017/2020 (57.9%, Thompson Bros. for export, C#171, 250b): nose: berries and toast again, perhaps darker, if that makes sense, with more raisins, then blackberries and dark jams on rye bread. Mouth: mellow, perhaps a little more velvety than the previous cask, still with the berries and a progressively-more-intense chilli. Finish: myrtle, blueberry, blackberry chutney and woody jam. I find it remarkably similar to C#167, which, considering they are sister casks, is not entirely surprising. Some like this one better; they are the same level of quality to me. 7/10

Bimber (57.9%, OB, Re-Charred Cask, C#144, 303b): nose: this one is more pine-y, with cedar-wood sheets, then vanilla, before it turns into génépi. Later on, a whiff of parmesan appears, strangely enough. Mouth: another soft number, with warm custard, this time, a pinch of spices (ground cardamom) and toffee. Finish: yeah, another drop of custard (minty custard, here), butterscotch, toffee caramel (Quality Street's Toffee Penny). Very nice. 7/10

Nice sesh, informative and entertaining. I would have liked a bit more structure, but the pace was ideal.

Many lurkers again, though, and the same as the ones who attend the East Coast tastings, if the names are anything to go by: not a word all evening, cameras off, zero engagement.