12/11/2022 A few drams at the SMWS

MS escaped the Big Smoke three years ago. He is in town today -- yay! PS and JS join us. The idea today is to socialise, not to take long notes.

63.12 14yo 1989/2004 Hard pears in a freshly shaved carpenter's shop (57.8%, SMWS Society Cask): a lesser-spotted bottling from yesteryear.
Nose: crumble, sugar-coated cake and hay.
Mouth: sweet, with sugar-sprinkled peach slices.
Finish: lovely, sweet, like swallowing a mouthful of peach tart. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, PS)

85.44 10yo 2006/2016 Have your cake and eat it (59.3%, SMWS Society Single Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 234b): this was distilled on 22nd June 2006 and is ten years of age. It was released (and therefore bottled) in 2016, possibly in the same month of June, perhaps on its anniversary, or a day later, on 23rd June 2016. The attentive reader will note that that was the date of the Brexit referendum, a connection that is is very hard not to make, given the name of this bottling, "Have your cake and eat it," has often been used to describe the Brexit negotiations, to the point the attitude became known as cakeism. The bar lad acquiesces my little explanation as if he were in on the joke, but I can see he did not understand a word of it. Never mind.
Nose: Virginia tobacco, pine jelly (Gocce Pino) and dead leaves.
Mouth: fresh, velvety, with just a minor bitterness.
Finish: tangerine peels, dried tangerine segments, pine needles. 7/10

64.88 13yo d.2003 'Put Through One's Paces' (62.4%, SMWS Society Single Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 210b): from the time the Society were randomly adding quotes to some of their bottlings... and using capital letters liberally.
Nose: white chocolate and lozenges (dragées). Yes, loads of mint dragées.
Mouth: warming, it has a touch of metal to complement the chocolate. It reminds me of PiM's.
Finish: warm and comforting, giving away a copious amount of milk chocolate. 8/10

PS lets us try his Brora again (we had it last night).

Brora 23yo 1981/2005 (48%, William Maxwell Dun Bheagan, Refill Sherry Butt, C#1512, 648b):
Nose: burnt dung, a discreet-yet-distinct whiff of sulphur, hot rubber, warm earth and liquorice root.
Mouth: sticky toffee pudding with a gooey core, caramel. The sherry influence is big, and the texture is velvety, earthy and cloying.
Finish: earthy chocolate coulis, caramel, overdone toast. More and more caramel comes out, alongside sticky toffee pudding. I like this better than last night. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, PS)

Good times! The venue, empty for the first couple of hours, was particularly pleasant, today.