23/12/2020 Thompson Bros & Guests Xmas (Part 2)

It started here.

Blend On The Run 29yo b.2020 (45.6%, Signatory Vintage for Whisky Sponge, First Fill Sherry Butt for 13 Years, 314b) (brought by Angus MacRaild): we are told this is from Signatory's reserve, and somehow related to a 1997 blended malt called Signatory Supreme. Nose: softly-smoked prunes, dried dates, soaked raisins. Mouth: a bit nuttier on the tongue, with oily chestnuts in their roasted shells. Finish: teak oil, pressed prunes, figs, ripe blueberries. Others say rancio, but I do not think so. It is certainly juicy, sweet and fruity. 7/10

Parafilm did not
prevent a
minor leakage

Glen Mhor 8yo (57%, Gordon & MacPhail, b. mid-to-late 1980s) (introduced by John Beach and Arthur Motley): honestly, this is the one I am looking forward to most. Nose: feisty industrial-revolution scents, with hot metal, coal fumes, lichen, limestone and burnt bread crust. Mouth: big and muscular, the palate welcomes a fruity note of peach, intertwined with lichen and limestone. Finish: imposing, austere, metallic. More limestone, diesel fumes and gorgeous fruits. Well, my expectations are met. 8/10

PT: "JB, it sounds as though you researched for thirty minutes this afternoon, for this..."
JB: "Err, yeah. Isn't that what I was supposed to do?"

Daftmill 11yo 2008/2019 (55.5%, OB for the Whisky Bars of Scotland, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, C#068/2008, 160b) (presented by Jonny McMillan): nose: confectionery sugar and hand wash, jasmine, sourdough, then crushed Aspirin tablets. Mouth: powdery, I swear this has flour and crushed, mentholated Aspirin tablets. Finish: menthol again, supported by unripe apples and tonic water. 7/10

JMcM: "I work for Berry Brothers, who have been selling overpriced bottles since before I joined them. We've been paying way too much for casks for over a century."

Connal Mackenzie talks about the Ardnamurchan he selected for this shindig -- or that he did not select, as it turns out he wanted one, a peaty make matured in sherry, but, following a mix-up, ended up with another, a non-peaty make matured in Bourbon. Looking at the miniature whilst typing this, I realise it is a peated Ardnamurchan from an ex-Oloroso cask. Either I misunderstood, or the mix-up was Connal's. Unless, of course, not everyone received the same juice. We will never know. Does it really matter?
I am starting to feel tired and annoyed, so I skip it for now. For reference, it is:

Ardnamurchan 2015/2020 (59.5%, OB, ex-Oloroso Hogshead, C#670)

Final dram.

Laphroaig 24yo 1996/2020 (51.8%, Elixir Distillers The Single Malts of Scotland, ex-Jack Daniel's Cask, C#1-104, 217b) (presented by Oliver Chilton): nose: well, peat smoke, obviously. Iodine, bandages and Reflex spray. Mouth: some juicy fruit balances the peat, in the long run, yet I fail to identify it. Bog water and mud meet apricot turning mouldy. Finish: boggy, medicinal peat, with lots of tincture of iodine. Pear and apricot develop after a while too, which is most welcome. 7/10

PT calls upon Marcel van Gils, an authority on Laphroaig, to dissect this one. From where I stand, it appears as though MvG summarily executes the dram for being from the 1990s and therefore not as fruity as the earlier makes. Others protest that they can smell/taste fruit in this. I certainly can. Perhaps it is not a 1974 distillation, but then it does not claim to be either.

I call it quits. I am exhausted, and not good company. No point insisting and tarnish others' enjoyment.

With more than sixty people in attendance, this is definitely not a format that suits my preference. Next to the now-usual lurkers, who switch the camera off two minutes in and say nothing throughout, only six to eight vocal individuals talk. The atmosphere quickly turns very clique-y. As with most cliques, the rest is then divided between those trying to join the clique and those who cannot be bothered. The important takeaway from that is not chicken tikka masala; rather that most (including myself) do not seem to engage at all.

Good to swap a few words in private with people we have not seen in a year, on the other hand (e.g. CB and GB). And lovely whiskies to boot!