JS and I, along with fifteen-or-so others, join Tim Roberts, Harrison and Wayne Ormerod and Lee "Connas" Connor for the second episode of the triptych dedicated to First Cask, Direct Wines Ltd.'s late collection.
Connas reminds us what First Cask was, as not everyone was at the first tasting. That takes up a whole thirty seconds or so, as the information is as scarce as it was last month.
Connas announces he took the feedback from last time on board and has a presentation to share. He apologises in advance for the fact he is not extremely tech-savvy. Case in point: his version of Powerpoint tells him that his licence has expired and offers to close that message by clicking a button -- he never does. The presentation is composed, for each dram, of a picture of the bottle, superimposed on a picture of the distillery. Connas then seemingly ad libs a little history and facts about the distillery.
I do not pay it much attention, more concentrated on enjoying the drams at my pace.
Bladnoch 16yo d.1980 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#89/591/12): nose: fresh and minty, fruity as a crisp white wine (Rivaner?), soon morphing into citrus peel. Later on, a woodier note shines through, with eucalyptus and rubbery olive-tree bark. Mouth: a surprising bite, with sparkly orangeade, which grows at the second sip. Swirling the liquid around the mouth reveals a soft bitterness and an even softer fruitiness. Finish: big, wide and orange-y, with a minute amount of grated Alka-Seltzer. It keeps the gentle bitterness, reinforcing the citrus (marmalade) and an almost rubbery woodiness. Lovely. I almost had it at 9, but for tonight, it is 8/10
Inchgower 18yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#9891): nose: barley sugar, apple jelly, crushed pear, candied lemon peel, lavender leaves (not the flowers, strangely enough), perhaps a note of pineapple. All in all, I find this rather herbaceous, despite the others detecting tropical fruits. Mouth: acidic attack and a lot more fruits, now, with pineapple and juicy apple, sprinkled with lime droplets and pomelo juice. Finish: bold -- no! Assertive, it once more has a softly bitter, rubbery side. Asafoetida and nigella seeds increase that bitterness. Someone cleverly mentions Campari and it is indeed reminiscent of bitter liqueur or dry vermouth. 9/10
Glenrothes 21yo 1975/1996 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#6051): nose: ah! It is a Glenrothes that falls under the category I am not fond of: rancid butter, sticky feet, chemical lemon flavouring, before sweet pot ale comes through. In the long run, the lemon-y side wins, which is good news, as far as I am concerned. Mouth: phew! It is all lemonade and chemical lemon flavouring, akin to souped-up Sprite. It is almost sickly sweet, though that is balanced by a gentle bitterness. The rancid butter seems gone. Finish: same as the palate, but even sweeter. Lemonade, in which one has poured ladles of caster sugar. Undoubtedly the weakest dram of the night, according to my taste, but still a decent drop. 7/10
Convalmore 16yo 1981/1997 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#89/604/112): there is a typo on the sample. Connas tells us this is his first Convalmore and he is excited to tick that box. Based on his post-sip reaction, that box-ticking excited him more than the dram itself, which is a pity. Nose: old school. This is smoky and hairy, boiler-room-like, with derelict garden tools and caramelised apple compote, simmering in a cast-iron cauldron. Mouth: zingy, it sparkles and tingles on the tongue. Repeated sipping makes this a full-on flat pomelo lemonade affair (pomeloade?) Finish: a lovely combination of citrus and vanilla; juicy mandarins, vanilla pods, and the whole turns creamy, towards the death. Very nice. 8/10
Glencadam 29yo d.1972 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#7639): nose; hugely vanilla-flavoured at first, with lots of custard, it then becomes weirdly farm-y, with dried cow dung and faded leather. It is not as metallic or herbaceous as more recent expressions from this distillery, even though it is also not the 1960s style. Mouth: furiously bitter, here, with lichen growing on old metal and moss on rubber joints. Cough drops, cachous... Oh! yes, this is Glencadam alright, now: vegetal, metallic and very good. Finish: a different story altogether, the finish is overflowing with melted milk chocolate, though chocolate sticking to a tin mould, to be sure. 8/10
Connas has another slide deck in which he talks about distillation. Again, I am too focused on the drams to pay much attention.
Tomatin 18yo d.1976 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#27643): nose: caramba! Tropical fruits aplenty, although that swiftly mutates into fruity/mentholated drops (dragées), before fire catches up, numbing the philtrum with verbena and fresh mint. Proper nosebleed, like. Then, the fruits come back, with peach and rosehip, dragon fruit and lychee. Mouth: it starts out bitter, then a huge wave of tropical fruits slap you in the face. It has dragon fruit, enormous peach and strawberry yoghurt, topped with nigella seeds. Finish: unctuous, creamy mashed peach, apricot custard and, quite simply, a fruity cavalcade, with caraway seeds to round it off. Total lack of surprise, as far as I am concerned, but when the quality is this high, I certainly do not mind it being predictable. 9/10
Bunnahabhain 19yo d.1980 (46%, Direct Wines Ltd. First Cask, C#5643): nose: dry earth and soft menthol, then steamed vegetables (swede?), turning back to toffee and mocha custard. Mouth: it is very mentholated. It also has a strong dandelion-stem bitterness, as well as peppermint, apple mint, crisp-apple skins and a delicate sea-air influence (sea spray, iodine, salt). Finish: complex, it swings between mentholated custard and dry moss, becoming almost mineral, then drying, with a lick of new-car rubber joints -- or is that melon skins? A more-than-decent Bunna, but to put it in simple terms: it is a sequence mistake. It is completely in the shadow of the Tomatin. 8/10
Different vibe, tonight. It felt less relaxed, and the conversation flowed less easily. Perhaps everyone was exhausted from a long week (I know I was), but it unfortunately made for a slightly-less enjoyable time. Some found the selection inferior to Part 1's. I did not share that opinion, but nevertheless...
Connas's line was also hissing during the whole tasting, which I found draining. Not sure if it was his microphone, his connection, or whatever else.
Anyway, looking forward to Part 3 all the same!
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