After yesterday's emotions, we sleep in a bit -- after a dozen short nights in a row. Today is the last day of the Arran festival, and we want to enjoy it.
Upon waking up, shower time, then a little blogging before we catch the bus at the Corrie Hotel again (and bump into DG again). Said bus is going to Lochranza, today, for the Survivors' Lunch. A much shorter drive for us, and that is good news, as far as I am concerned.
Stewart Bowman welcomes us all in the cafeteria, where we grab a table -- MR joins us.
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| The cafeteria is still beautiful, well lit, but awkward, with its sloping ceiling |
Amuse-bouches are served already, and we quickly get a dram to go with them.
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| Casks Homemade Hummus |
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| Homemade Chicken Liver Pate [sic] with Beetroot Chutney (top) Smoke Salmon & Cream Cheese (bottom) |
Bowman asks the audience for impressions; as tends to happen in those circumstances, no-one can remember how to speak, so I try to help him by interacting.
Dram #1
Nose: discreet, yet elegant, here are wood lacquer, shoe varnish and melted white chocolate. A little later on, precious wood comes through -- mahogany and teak. Finally, we have fig relish and caramelised apricot. Even later, there is a whiff of coffee beans.
Mouth: spicy, it has ground cloves, cinnamon sticks, lemongrass splinters, but also a lovely prune syrup and caramelised apricot jam. This is pleasantly warming.
Finish: long, wide, a little spicy (gingerbread), full of deliciously sweet dried fruits (prunes come to mind immediately, dates, soft apricots). Repeated sipping definitely pins the gingerbread to the fore, and bring up hazelnut paste.
Comment: very good drop.
The Arran Malt 2009/2017 (56.1%, OB exclusively selected for the Visitor Centre, Bourbon Barrel finished in Grand-Cru Champagne Casks) 8/10
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| What have we here? |
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| DG is excited to have a beer can camouflaged as a cola can |
Food enters.
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| Traditional Crofters Pie with seasonal vegetables |
JS tries to explain Irn Bru to adc by saying it tastes like Creamsickle. I order one for her.
DG: "As a Scotsman, there is a a rumour we are quite tight with our money."
Dessert is served. It is excellent.
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| Lemon Posset with Raspberries & Home-made Shortbread (yes, inconsistent spellings of home-made) |
Dram #2
Nose: would this be an Oloroso maturation? It has all sorts of root-y or toasted scents. Black cardamom, black cumin, nigella seeds. Next are dark fruits, berries, but also squashed strawberries (which are not that dark) and dark-red dead leaves. adc finds orange rinds too.
Mouth: right. It is distinctly sweeter on the palate, even though it ends up desiccating the inside of the lips and attacking the enamel of the teeth like an Acid. Repeated sipping reveals a syrupy texture and loads of natural sugars -- dark raisins and dried dates.
Finish: the finish too sees an obvious sweetness, though it remains clearly strong as well. It still has an earthy note; raisins and prunes, topped with black-cardamom shavings. The drying, earthy aspect lingers on and on.
Comment: a bit cloying, but I like it, in small doses.
Arran 2013/2019 (56.3%, OB selected for and by the Lochranza Visitor Centre, Bourbon Casks + Pedro Ximénez Finish) 8/10
The cheese boards are served.
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| Selection of local cheeses & chutneys Biscuits & Oatcakes (the capitalisation is also rather folkloric) |
Dram #3
Nose: wine, Glühwein, gingerbread, cinnamon and cloves. It is a tad earthy too, very much in that category of heady wines, and what the local fauna refers to as 'Christmas cake'.
Mouth: rich and vinous, it is full of grapes in sangria, mulled-wine spices, and a strong, strong tannin content, which means it is pretty drying.
Finish: spicy, it has lots of cinnamon, but also super-dry leather and crackled saddles. It is very tannic again, and reminds me of warm (not mulled) wine. The tannins show a pronounced woodiness too.
Comment: water balances it a bit, yet it does not bring it more in line with my taste.
Lochranza 2007/2022 (56.3%, Cask Sample, 9-10y in Bourbon Cask + finished 5y in Château Margaux Cask) 6/10
MR whisks the crowd outside for a group photo. Of course, it starts pouring at that moment. No matter: the mood is festive and we all comply.
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| Lovely Scottish weather :-) |
Soon, it is time to say good bye and take the bus for the last time.
I gorged on cheeses and am wrecked. Since the weather is now dreadful, the rest of the afternoon is a mix of puzzles and naps.
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| Sadly, we will never finish it |
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