JS and I cleverly did the Loony Dook at dawn, instead of the usual midday shindig (which is cancelled, this year, courtesy of COVID-19). It gives us a lot more time for dramming during the day.
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| Happy New Year! |
Lochnagar 12yo (70° Proof, OB, b.1970s): I missed out on the odd small bottle of undisclosed Lochnagar, two years ago. I have another Lochnagar in the line of fire, but when I spot this one, I decide to try it too. Funnily enough, it is an official bottling yet it is not Royal. "It tastes like a steam train," says adc. Let us see. Nose: as is typical in a bottling from that era, it has a lot of brine and copper coins. Net is a dollop of mustard and distant hay bales. This is another pretty subdued nose, really, from a time when the popular taste was perhaps looking for something a bit blander. Over time, it opens up a little and becomes more flowery. However, it stays mostly timid. Mouth: soft, it has some of the mustard from the nose, close to mayonnaise, at times, and sweet-and-sour pickles. One could detect a blend of yellow-tulip petals, cut yellow fruits and fading burnt wood. All good, really, if subdued again. I am wondering if it has spent too long in the open bottle. The second sip has a spoonful of pouring honey, diluted beyond recognition, and a drop of caramel or butterscotch. Finish: no, it has not faded at all, after all! Copper coins, vanilla custard, turbo-charged with vinegar, a pinch of dust and a long dash of butterscotch alright, that seems to have more Scotch than butter. The finish is clearly the strong point of this. It is overall good, but a bit non-descript. "Well-behaved," rules adc. Apéritif material. 7/10
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| Back when Lochnagar meant John Begg |
Miltonduff 23yo d.1973 (43%, Hart Brothers Finest Collection, L7 049 5 R64): four years later, it is still here. Crazy to see how an ancient-ish bottling will be overlooked, if it is not from a popular distillery. Short notes, since we had this before. Nose: brine-y, borderline vinegar-y, and almost sulphur-y too, in fact. Brine spilled on cardboard, burnt wood extinguished with vinegar. Mouth: pear juice, cider-apple juice, made with overly-ripe apples about to turn into vinegar. Some sweetness resurfaces gently, but surely. Finish: long, sweet and pleasant. Once more, it displays overripe apples, now complemented by pineapple shavings. This is still excellent. Dram of the stay for adc, after the 38yo Glen Grant, which she already knew. 8/10
Glengarioch-Highland 1966/2000 (46%, Brae Dean Int. for Moon Import In the Pink, Barrel, 192b, b#000024): nose: very perfume-y, with hand cream and puff powder (JS), yet it also has a clear minerality: water flowing on granite, lichen growing on a cliff face. That morphs into elemental sulphur and flint. Thankfully, it never translates into rotten eggs or spent matchsticks -- no: it is unlit matchstick tips, nothing more. Spent wick, perhaps, as well as candlewax. Further are burnt pear pips and roasted apple cores. Mouth: unctuous, creamy, it starts off with pear juice, but soon adds the spent wick and gently-sulphur-y side by stealth. Both work in co-operation, which is pretty original and works a treat. At times, it is a bed of flower petals catching fire and the matchstick that has ignited them; at others, it is pear-tree blossom. Finish: wide, long, burnt and juicy all at once, this sees a further fight between pears and burnt wood, as well as a matchstick tips. It lasts forever too, which is always a bonus. The death leaves a sprinkle of soot in the back of the throat, slightly acrid, but acceptable. Think of a roaring fire in a grand hall. How do you spell p-h-w-o-a-r? 9/10
We take a short stroll around town to open the appetite. Emphasis on short: it starts raining very badly, and we call it a day, soaked. Are we smug we dipped into the Moray Firth this morning, rather than at noon, like other years? Oh! yes, we are.
Time for food to warm up.
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| Haggis Bon-bons and Jenga Chips for adc |
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Haggis Bon-bons and Loaded Jenga Chips for JS
The waitress first brings the wrong chips again (regular instead of loaded) |
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| Battered Haddock for me |
Lochnagar 30yo 1973/2003 (57.9%, Douglas Laing The Old & Rare Platinum Selection, 239b): nose: a wood shed, in which a fox has spent a few nights. It has dry logs and sawdust, mixed in with a soft animal, musky touch. Soon, fruits emerge, candied oranges and other ginger-powder-coated citrus slices. A whisper of baking flour appears, and the whole creates a great atmosphere, warming and comforting -- just what is needed on this 1st January. The nose is pretty powerful, by the way, and the ABV rather obvious, in a dusty-wood-window-frame way. Around the corner is farmland-path mud torched with a flamethrower, until it disintegrates into a pile of ash... and still tatters of fresh fruits (apple and white peach). Water accentuates a smoky-shed impression, with weathered leather and smoked fruit to boot (mostly orchard produce). It does remain fierce, though, and I cannot be bothered experimenting further with the pipette. Mouth: hot, peppery marmalade, rife with sawdust and ginger powder for a second. Suddenly, it becomes all gentle, peach jelly and apricot jam, though that lasts mere seconds, and quickly turns to hot metal brands, marking the palate with no mercy whatsoever for the roof of the mouth! Further sipping cranks up the jelly or marmalade, still hot, and clearly tainted by the lid of the jar (in another word: metal), but juicier than before. With water, this one is much fruitier, more on the side of marmalade and peach jelly than apple or pear. Finish: stripping like a Rare Malt, it is not content anaesthetising the mouth; it strips it bare with a white-hot metal brand and an abrasive sponge. As it did to the palate, repeated sipping allows a sweet, fruity nuance to emerge, shy behind the sheer brutality of the hot metal. Again, the addition of water renders it juicier and fruitier, even if it remains big, hairy and hot. It is only slightly more approachable. This is certainly a challenging one! Rewarding for those who are willing to put up a fight, though. 8/10 (9/10 with water)
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| Cheeky cedar waxwing trying to steal my dram again! |
Imperial 25yo 1975/2000 (40%, The Highlands & Islands Scotch Whisky Co. for Jack Wiebers Whisky World Scottish Castles, 180b): one we had a couple of days ago. To be sure to be sure, you understand. Short notes. Nose: a bit of brine and vinaigrette, which seems very different from the other day, when it was more the salad itself than the dressing. Mouth: at that modest ABV, it is frankly refreshing, after the previous beast. Juicy, full of grapes. Finish: rhubarb-and-chocolate tart, as well as lemon-y sponge cake. Excellent. 8/10
Tomatin 39yo 1976/2016 (43.8%, Cadenhead Single Cask, Bourbon Hogshead, 162b): nose: this is the definition of the adjective "exuberant". Tropical fruit by the wheelbarrow, starting with ripe mango, then guava, pineapple, carambola and persimmon. That is not all, however: here are chalk, plasticine, hand cream... It goes on and on, and evolves constantly. Fruit invariably comes back to the top all the same, rich and fragrant. Mouth: mellow, juicy peach nectar, persimmon flesh, crushed mango... Fucking hell! The mouth is literally throbbing with fruit. It is as close to biting into mango slices as one can get. Mango and persimmon lead the charge and deliver the taste and the texture for maximum result. Finish: never-ending and -- surprise, surprise! -- fruity. To the sweetness of mango and persimmon (and the others), the finish adds a soft bitterness that could be attributed to peach-stone filings, or dried cucumber peel. Unless it is crème brûlée. Nae bother, though! Despite that slight bitterness, it is very much a sweet-and-buttery-fruit-driven dram. And in that context, it performs as well as the likes of 117.3. JS thinks it even beats it. We will have to find out, one day. 10/10
Dalmore 21yo 1976/1998 (46%, Cadenhead Original Collection): nose: this is wildly earthy -- not in a violent fashion; it is simply wild, perhaps musky. Animal skins, hot sands, and dusty dry wood, heated by the sun. Later on, plasticine seems to come out, soft, fruity and a little chemical. Mouth: a lot more mild-mannered than the nose suggested, it has lots of juicy fruits, quickly joined by rock and dust from a quarry. Repeated sipping, as often, dials up the fruitiness, supported by granite-dust cakes, candied berries, dried fruits, Demerara sugar and Golden Syrup. Marvellous! Finish: super-fruity! Prunes, lychee, syrupy figs so syrupy they are borderline sickly, borderline bitter. Emphasis on "borderline," though: it is perfectly delicious. The second sip is close to liquorice, elderberry cordial, while the following ones are lighter and, therefore, sweeter and less bitter. In the long run, the sweetness comes close to Golden Syrup again, or candied pineapple in syrup and manuka honey. 9/10
Amazingly, it is already time to retire to the room to change before uploading more food.
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Continuous improvement:
the typos from previous days have been corrected |
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| Beetroot Velouté for all |
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| Smoked Salmon for adc |
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| Filo Tart for JS |
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| Ham Hock Terrine for me |
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| North Sea Halibut for adc |
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| Duo of Local Venison for me |
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| Duo of Local Venison for JS too |
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| Baked Lemon Tart for all |
Replenished at last (!), we go back to the bar.
Cooley 24yo b.2016 (53.8%, Cadenhead World Whiskies, Bourbon Barrel, 198b): nose: overly-caramelised tarte Tatin, a wood stove heating up a bothy, but there is a tiny note of cooked vegetables too... Cooked greens? Is that the Irish link? Yes, there is a vegetal peat note that is most pleasant. Maybe carambola too. The second nose has marzipan or cashew-nut paste, veering towards plasticine without reaching it. Mouth: silky, it has more vegetal peat and muddy fruit; Braeburn apples, or some heirloom type, conference pears, oranges turning blue and a clear minerality -- unpolished granite, slate. Repeated sipping turns it into a more-straightforward fruity affair, with peach, chewy apricot slices and a sprinkle of pepper. Finish: more rocks, vegetal peat (all peat is vegetal, of course; here, the plants are almost recognisable is what I mean) and decaying peach, covered in blue/green mould. It is long and powerful, a bit austere, closer to rocks than anything else, but wet with a splash of peach juice. That juice comes out more clearly in subsequent sips, spiced up by white pepper. Much later on, the whole is juicier and fruitier, with only a spoonful of oily peat. To call it petrolic would be a stretch, though. Lovely! 8/10
Glen Grant 21yo (70° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail, b.1970s, SC295): adc wants to confirm her first impression. Nose: oily and mustardy. Mouth: unctuous, it has mild mustard again. Finish: creamy as mayonnaise, the finish sees the appearance of thin soot. 9/10
Final round.
Balblair 23yo 1975/1999 (59.2%, Iain Mackillop and Co. Mackillop's Choice imported by Villa Colonna, C#7, b#094): nose: leather handbags, oily walnuts, a big wheel of ripe soft cheese wrapped in hay. Soon after that, we are treated to a cloud of smoke from a campfire and hazelnut shells, lacquered, then roasted to the point they start dripping oil. It also has a drop of peppermint almost not worth mentioning. Something charred rocks up, after a while; charred salmon skin, weirdly enough, smoked ham. Mouth: hazelnut liqueur, souped-up hazelnut paste and, quickly, burning heat. This is seriously hot. A clay oven, a roaring fire, baking pottery, flame-torched leather and burnt olive branches. No matter how long one keeps it in the mouth, the strength stays rather frightening, even on this third day of seasoned dramming. It is like chewing chilli-infused leather. Finish: dark-chocolate coulis, hazelnut liqueur, soft-leather handbags, and so on. I am a bit too numb to make great notes. It is a good, if intimidating sherry maturation, this. It turns juicier over time, but it is tobacco juice, which means it remains drying, after all. Much later on, a gentle, sweet, lemony note ends up emerging to pacify the finish somewhat. 8/10
Rosebank 18yo 1990/2009 (55.4%, Douglas Laing selected exclusively by The Whisky Shop Glenkeir Treasures Cask Strength Selection, 180b): nose: light and ethereal, full of confectionary sugar and vanilla. It is airy as a doughnut, or a good lemon tart, but of course, it is to be expected: it is a Rosebank. Mouth: delicate and fruity, it has the sweetness of ripe nectarines, Korean pears and... That is exactly it! Korean pear. It grows warmer with every second and stays comfortably warm indeed. What a contrast with the previous dram. Finish: a soft warmth wraps the tongue, and, once more, we have distinct Korean pear -- baked, this time. 8/10
Time to... Oh! The waiter is coming to us with a bottle whose label I know very well.
B: "CT would like to know if he can tempt you with a dram of his own bottle."
tOMoH: "Why, certainly. How kind of him, thanks."
Ardmore 10yo 2008/2019 (50.5%, Thompson Bros., Refill American Oak Barrel, 274b): nose: holy cow! I thought I knew this one well, having had it several times, but tonight, it has a strong hard-cheese aroma, with cured rind, rotting bandages and ripe feet. For some reason (probably because I love cheese), I am really enjoying this! All that I had down as mud and boggy moss in the past is cheese and sweaty cheese, today. And against all odds, it works alright. Sweaty Parmesan, fougne spread onto stale bread. The following morning (!), the nose has more baked clay, bog water, and mud so full of algae it is pretty close to ink. Mouth: the palate is more conventional, part custard, part fruit flesh (papaya, plum, peach), part distant smoke. The fruity side takes over spectacularly from the second sip onwards, shooting quince, plum and peach in all directions, with the texture of pineapple ice cream. After a few hours' sleep, the mouth is fresher and more citrus-y; the tongue welcomes tangerine and sweet grapefruit or calamansi and heated pineapple custard. Finish: unrecognisable. And only now do I realise this is the 10yo, when I know the 21yo that has exactly the same label art! That is not confusing at all, I must say. We have more hard cheese in the finish: Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, aged Gouda, Pétafine, then plasters, along with cracking yellow plums and mirabelle plums. This is really an original (and delicious) dram. Further sips bring in more fruits: tinned peach and tinned pineapple, roasted until their surface is charred. Stupendous! In the morrow, the fruit is still there, yet it is now in the shadow of bold, dark mud and peat, augmented by a pinch of dirty soot. What a pleasant surprise! 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, CT)
Well, this is it. Time to pack and go home. It was a sometimes strange experience, with the restrictions in place, but it was a pleasure to come back.
Visibly, customers are not all comfortable travelling and socialising yet. Numbers were down from previous years. There were always going to be fewer, considering all the restrictions to implement, but even then, the hotel occupancy was far from its maximum capacity. It was especially clear from the restaurant menu: the duo of beef one night and duo of venison the following night seemed a bit indulgent. I ventured that it looked like they ordered too much meat and tried to pass it on to those customers who were there. "It might be a bit of that," I was told. Same story for the first night's pork belly, of which there was obviously enough in one portion for two people (or more). Never mind the fact that every other dish had pea shoots (a novelty that wears off pretty quickly). No complaint here, mind. I hope the business picks up is all.
We were all sad that there was no buffet on the final night -- it was always a highlight, in previous years. From a health perspective, one can easily understand that it was unworkable, though.
As for the bar, we had the impression that the selection was less wide than it used to be, while the prices were higher. There was clearly enough to keep us busy, and there was enough in our price range too; it is merely an impression based on no scientific study. Perhaps we have simply grown harder to please in six years.
Oh! on the personnel front, the staff has changed quite dramatically. Not more than five or six of the original front staff are still there. I guess the last two years have forced many to re-evaluate their careers.
Regrettably, with all those restrictions, cancellations and the ever-growing booze-producing business we did not see ST and PT, this year.
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