30/10/2021 The horror

On this eve of Halloween and daylight saving, OB, JS and first-timer SOB join me for an afternoon of dramming. GL unfortunately discovers, twelve minutes before the start of the tasting, that Wales is a three-hour drive away from the capital, and that he will not make it on time. As for Cavalier66, his busy social life inflicted him a nasty cold that impaired his smell and taste. BA tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, and announced that he would not make it, clearly oblivious to the fact he had said two weeks prior that he was not free today. Ha! Even OB almost flaked out, he admits, unable to distinguish a Saturday from a Sunday. Luckily, it only makes for a good story.

Soundtrack: Ab Ovo - Empreintes

SOB and OB build the sequence

.

tOMoH presents: Hellrayrshire

Rare Ayrshire 34yo 1975/2009 (45.2%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Bourbon Barrel, C#558, 166b, b#115, 9/124): nose: delicate flower pistils, make-up powder and crushed biscuit (shortbread, probably). Later on, it is lemon drizzle and vanilla sugar. Mouth: unripe-banana peel (JS) and a gentle bitterness (JS). I find it soft, silky, with more shortbread and, indeed, a green, bitter touch, almost leafy. This is spring-like, but it is also fitting on this sunny October afternoon. Pomelo, soft lime and unripe calamansi appear, in the medium term, which all mean acidity, faint bitterness, as well as fruit aplenty. Finish: more lemon drizzle and macha-tea doughnut, lime zest and pomelo custard. The profile and ABV designate it to go first, but it is perhaps a shame, as the first dram in any line-up is de facto sacrificed. This is excellent and deserves to shine. 9/10

Soundtrack: Noizaddict - Synth-pop mix (20-01-2010)

SOB presents: American Werewolf in London

Bimber King's Cross St Pancras b.2021 (58.5%, OB The Spirit of the Underground, American Oak Ex-Bourbon Cask, C#129, 259b, b#160): a series dedicated to the London Underground stations. It could be long-lived... Nose: banana sweets and an unexpected, pronounced green note (dried sage, oregano, bay leaves, thyme). Over time, the green, herbaceous aspect turns almost metallic. Mouth: it has more bite than a werewolf (to paraphrase Colin Dunn). Seriously, it retains a strong metallic touch, which may start with sage and definitely ends with the back of a silver spoon. But there is also lovely, juicy grapes and custard -- oh! yes, it has a custard-y texture, this one. OB, on the other hand, finds it syrupy, sweet and sour, while JS thinks it is almost vinegar-y. Finish: warming, but not actually that hot, the finish has plantain, baked banana, and sage-sprinkled doughnut (again). It is a relatively short finish, in terms of flavours, yet the warmth stays on. 8/10

SOB: "If you take a picture of the QR code, they'll offer you a discount on your next purchase."
tOMoH: "They should offer you a Zone-3 travelcard on the Picadilly line."
SOB: "We'd use the cork to touch in!"

Soundtrack: Lamia Vox - Sigillum Diaboli

SOB presents: I Know Watt Whisky You Did Last Summer

SOB also has another pun for this, which I do not fully get (Impergerial?) He misses the obvious Vampirial, though.

Imperial 25yo 1996/2021 (53.6%, Watt Whisky, Refill Barrel, 214b): nose: deeper and richer, it is lively and feisty nonetheless. There is a lot going on, and it is all tightly interwoven. Certainly pepper, hot jack fruit, hot pineapple that melts into a pulp, fruity yoghurt, but also sumac. Mouth: oily! Orange-blossom-infused olive oil, to be precise. Then, a softly-drying touch of old wood appears to balance that mellowness with bitterness and spice -- satsuma, ground orange peel, ground red chilli. The second sip has more citrus, louder satsumas, veering towards oranges. Finish: mandarin peel and... It leaves me wondering a bit: it is so well integrated that I find it hard to pick flavours apart. White pepper sprinkled on hot citrus slices, hot, custard-y yoghurt, with pomelo wedges thrown in to enhance the acidity and the bitterness -- both of which are mild enough, yet they add complexity. Excellent. 9/10

tOMoH: "A friend from out of town has burnt out and is struggling to find out what he wants to do with his life. In this city, you can leave a job and walk straight into another one. And, of course, we pay dearly for it: he's done paying his home, and I have twenty years left on my mortgage."
SOB: "But we have nice stuff on our doorstep..."
tOMoH: "Yeah! If I want vegan Korean food, I can!"

Soundtrack: Noizaddict - Synth-pop mix (18-01-2020)

JS presents: Warlockside

Lochside 21yo d.1981 (50%, Lombard Jewels of Scotland, Bourbon Cask, C#607): nose: peppery (OB) and almost devoid of the trademark fruity onslaught. It is a bit more nuanced, with lots of pepper fleetingly hiding chunks of mango, papaya and even maracuja. There is some hay too, subtle, and burnt gas (think of the smell of a natural-gas hob or stove). The second nose sees dry lichen, a pinch of dust, and a touch of wax. Mouth: velvety, comforting, then fruity AF. Lots of mango, smoked peach, dusty orange slices about to turn blue with mould. Finish: of a medium length, it has dusty fruit and a thin layer of pepper. Peach, sliced orange, satsuma, plum... This is beautiful. Better than I remembered it, if that is possible. 9/10

Food enters: St Felicien, Comté, St Nectaire, Mont Charvin dried sausage

JS [back from the hairdresser}: "SOB, I want to see your generous pour."
[SOB pours JS the Bimber]
JS: "Oh! That's enough!"
tOMoH: "That's a small pour! OB had more."
JS: "Would you have continued, if I hadn't stopped you?"
tOMoH: "The rim is the limit... Great title for a porno, that."
SOB: "Is that what you do, when you are not drinking your bottles?"
OB: "How do you think he can afford all this whisky?"

Soundtrack: Apocryphos - Stone Speak

OB presents: Ben Neviscerated

Ben Nevis 19yo 1996/ (51.8%, OB Single Cask, C#1424): nose: banane flambée, porridge, a dollop of damp earth, clay pots, dried plantain skins. Later on, it is pencil shavings and raspberry jam. I observe it is less dirty than some Ben Nevises that are so popular, at the moment. Mouth: oh! it is plenty dirty here, with oily rags, greasy knives and ink stains on peach slices. The second sip cranks up the fruit, yellow and juicy, plum-and-grapefruit juice, very nice indeed. Finish: custard, though it is also loaded with peach, ink and engine oil. Over time, that morphs into a bold tropical-fruit blanket, with warm mango and stewed persimmon bathing in lovely vanilla custard. Great surprise. 8/10

That is a bottle OB bought at auction, and it turns out Cavalier66 was bidding against him, after telling him how good it was.

OB: "This one is exactly how Cavalier66 described it to me..."
tOMoH: "What? Expensive and hard to get?"

Soundtrack: Soft Cell - Non-Stop Electric Cabaret

OB: "I'm not sure I've had a Pittyvaich before."
SOB: "Did you pour one at Coke Float?"
tOMoH: "Yeah, but neither of you was there."
OB: "So much virginity lost, today!"
tOMoH: "You won't be able to sit down for two weeks!"

Popcorn enters.

tOMoH presents: The Pittyvaich and the Pendulum

JS and I lament that GL is not with us; The Pittyvaich and the Penderyn would have been a great double-whammy.

Pittyvaich 14yo (54.5%, James MacArthur Fine Malt Selection imported by Pevarello, b. ca 1990): nose: a completely different ballgame, with cardboard and salted popcorn (or is that the popcorn?). OB finds it porridge-y, sour, full of fermentation aromas and crusty bread, a bit charred. I have hot cobblestones, while JS reckons toast -- we all agree on Biscotte/Melba toast, in the end, with even char and a thin veil of smoke. Mouth: hot, muscular, hairy, earthy, cardboard-y. It has stale porridge, flat cola, yet also piping-hot marmalade and hot compote. There is a dichotomy at play between the cereal and the fruit. Finish: caramelised apricots, roasted cereals, malt (OB), porridge stuck to the sauce pan. I love this, today. 8/10

OB: "We were flying at high altitude, but..."
tOMoH: "You don't like it? I know this one is very divisive."
OB: "I love it. Best, so far."

We talk about good tracks being always too short: if they are three minutes long, they should be six; if they are six they should be ten. To prove the case, I play the following record:

Soundtrack: 777 - Alpha Wave (Plastikman's Acid House Remix)

Then, I decide to follow that path.

Soundtrack: Plastikman - Sheet One

SOB presents: The Cage

Springbank 18yo 2002/2021 (52.8%, Duty Paid Sample, Fresh Port Cask, Warehouse 3, Rotation 843): a bottle bought from The Cage, a restricted-access cupboard in a back room of the Cadenhead shop, in Campbeltown, where one can pick up one-off bottles and other curiosities. Nose: charred maple syrup, toasted oak, charred chocolate that has been left too long in the microwave oven. However, there is also a touch of varnish, rubbing feathers with toast and overly-roasted peanuts. The second nose is vegetative, with natural gas and cooked-vegetable water. Mouth: sugary, in a caramelised-Demerara-sugar way, it has lots of smoke from the chimney of a coal stove. It is syrupy to a high level, giving away peaches, poached in reduced Port. It is powerful and turns rather tannic, in the long run. Finish: big, sweet, hot, gently smoky. It seems that the toasted notes have all gone, surprisingly enough, making room for maple syrup and caramelised manuka honey, treacle, almost. It leaves the gums a bit dry, as if covered in ash, but it does the trick. 7/10

OB presents: GlenDronachloween

OB also thought he would open the box, and I would look at the colour with horror.

The GlenDronach 19yo 1994/2013 (58.4%, OB Single Cask, Oloroso Sherry Butt, C#101, 628b, b#396): nose: gas, boiled vegetables, sulphur-adjacent (OB, inventing words). Behind that is, of course, lots of wood varnish and wood lacquer. Water makes this more cardboard-y, with coffee spilled on a cardboard box. Mouth: ginger, cinnamon and liquorice root aplenty to accompany a strongly varnish-y accent. It also has lukewarm, flat Dr. Pepper and ebony. Further sips are sweeter, with Port, PX, and prune compote. Water makes it sickly sweet and syrupy as hell. A cola pouch, prior to being mixed with carbonated water. Anyone who has worked at a fast-food joint will see the reference. This is toasted and bitter to the extreme. Further sips add a note of dark sugars, but it remains very earthy, all in all. Water, again, turns it sweet and syrupy, although this finish stays spicy too, dishing out ginger and cinnamon drops. 7/10

Soundtrack: Front Line Assembly - Monument

Good times and a cracking line-up. Considering the hefty pours, it is perhaps a good thing more people did not turn up, after all. :)

Dram of the day:
OB: Pittyvaich, Lochside a close second
tOMoH: Lochside
SOB: Lochside
JS: Ben Nevis