Follow-up to Part 1.
The soundtrack: The Old Man of Huy - Another Brick in the Wall
The next one is a well-known whisky for this group (even if we appear to not have had it for a bloody decade). Psycho chose it, because we call it the Francorchamps grand-prix, owing to its smell of burnt rubber. Psycho tells us that that led him to race pilots, who are likely to perform burn-outs.
Auchentoshan 17yo d.1987 (61.5%, OB Individual Cask for Belgium, C#1659, 552b) (Psycho): nose: much less sulphur and rubber than in previous encounters. It still has roasted coffee beans and rubber, but they are much less prominent than before. Now, we have pastrami, roast beef, and an unexpected dash of lactic acid. The roast beef is slow to come (about thirty minutes to appear) and introduces a slightly sulphur-y note. On the side are sangria-soaked orange rinds. Mouth: strong coffee flavours, and melted mocha chocolate. Finish: balls of fiery hairs! Mocha, coffee, yes, yet virtually none of the burnt rubber from our memory. Instead, hot stout, and a long, drying impression, with root-y galangal. Lastly, cola shows up. 7/10
17th August 10yo b.2022 W.12 (55.3%, Wave Distil Rare Cask Edition, 7 years Port/Cognac Casks + 2 years Sauternes Cask Finish + 1 year Tawny Port Cask Finish, B#WD-SP/001-2022, 302b, b#111) (sonicvince): the bloke on the label has sideburns. Nose: filled to the brim with apples, and turning waxy after a short while. We also have green hazel leaves. The second nose sees bergamot and herbaceous marzipan. Mouth: fruit jellies, orange gummy sweets, and a pinch of discreet sawdust. Finish: sweet marzipan and ripe satsumas. This is lovely. 7/10
 |
| Look at those sideburns! Use your imagination! |
 |
| Gaija cries into his notes |
red71 pours his Glenfarclas before leaving with STL. He says there is no connection to the theme, but sonicvince is quick to point out that Lord Farquaad, from Shrek, has sideburns.
 |
| Not really, but the pun (Glenfarquaad) is bad enough to roll with it |
Glenfarclas 11yo 2004/2015 KPT Devil (62.3%, OB Vintage Limited Bottling for Anam na h-Alba / Kirchhellener Private Tasting Circle, Sherry Casks, 1019b, b#953) (red71): known as the Devil's cask, because it is limited to 666 bottles. Yet, this one clearly states 1019 bottles, of which this is #953. Hm. Nose: oilcloth and unripe-citrus peels. In fact, it is fairly fruity, with wafts of smoked bergamot. There is a dryness too, cocoa powder, and fancy, fruity nail varnish. Mouth: hairy horsepower. I find this one warm and challenging, with fierce ginger, progressing towards hot, chewy cherry sweets (Twin Cherry Gummies). Finish: surprisingly balanced, considering the fearsome ABV, the finish has white-chocolate powder and fudge. Nice. 8/10
sonicvince and Mrs. sonicvince leave around this time.
Gaija notes that one could easily abbreviate 'sideburns' with SB. But in the whisky world, SB stands for Springbank. So he brought one.
dom666, always the geography expert, notes that Campbeltown is on the tip of Kintyre -- the dick of Scotland, he says. The afore-mentioned 'rouflaquette' (French slang for sideburns) contains the word 'quette,' Belgian slang for 'dick'. So he brought Springbank too, seeing as the distillery is in the "dick" of Scotland (yes, it is far fetched).
dom666 pre-emptively asks me for a spare cork, sure that one of his will break when he tries to open it. As it turns out, the cork put the previous hours to good use, and spontaneously broke off! It is now lifelessly floating in the bottle.
 |
| Corkicide |
Springbank 12yo b.1994 (46%, OB, 94/216) (dom666): nose: WD-40, engine grease, and mashed mango, as well as bolts in custard. Later on, it becomes drier, and displays faded leather. Mouth: pretty dirty, we have engine grease on mangoes. The latter becomes more obvious, the longer one spends with it. Finish: incredibly powerful at 46% (even after the monstrous 'farclas), it has quite a bit of pepper to cap off fleshy fruit. Oily tools hint at the engine grease from before. Subsequent gulps are juicy as fook, still with a lick of engine oil or grease. Amazeballs. 9/10
vs.
Springbank 21yo (46%, OB imported by Fourcroy, b. ca 2000) (dom666): what? No bottle code? Nose: fresh like a mix of toothpaste and shoe polish. This is sherry maturation at its best, really. Beautiful rancio, with prunes and rehydrated raisins. It grows dirtier with time, closer to a mechanic's workshop, and adds a whiff of tobacco, then flat cola. Mouth: rancio, clay floors. It is softly drying, with potting soil and ground sumac. Finish: long, earthy, drying. Darker tobacco shows up, at this stage, perhaps pipe tobacco (Semois). It is a very long finish too, with nuts and dried fruits. Amazeballs again, though less my bag than the 12yo. 8/10
vs.
Springbank 21yo b.2016 (48.2%, OB exclusively available for The Nectar 10 Years, Oloroso Sherry Hogshead, 342b,16/266) (Gaija): nose: this one is much more austere and mineral, despite a lemon-juice note -- lemon juice on limestone, you see? Time makes it dirtier, if still fruity/acidic, and certainly punchier than the other two. Mouth: the underlying current of fruit juice is balanced by a beefed-up mineral side. The second sip cranks up the the acidic fruit juice with pink grapefruit. Finish: long, juicy, it retains a strong mineral profile. In the long run, that grows to become plaster-y. The second sip is in the same vein. This one may just be my favourite of the three, tonight, despite the illustrious competition. 9/10
 |
| Tonight's Holy Trinity |
ruckus: "Blackbirds are not on carriers..."
tOMoH: "Nor are Concordes on submarines!"
Kilkerran 8yo b.2018 (58.4%, OB Open Day 2018, Recharred Sherry Cask, 18/228) (STL): STL left hours ago, so we will never know the connection -- if there is even one. Nose: lukewarm bread, drying plaster, hay, and linen about to catch fire. Mouth: hot jam, stuck in a hot tin pot, which signifies hot metal and apricots pulp. It feels pretty hot indeed. Finish: a drying aspect that goes with the nosebleed metal. Proper dreary notes, I know: it is late. It is good whisky all the same. 7/10
Gaija: "I can't stop you saying that."
The soundtrack: The Old Man of Huy - Man to Men
St. Kilian Bud Spencer - The Legend Rauchig b.2021 (49%, OB, ex-Bourbon Casks & ex-Amarone Casks, B#2) (kruuk2): here is an unusual whisky if we ever knew one! Bud Spencer has a beard, rather than sideburns, but that will do for tonight! Nose: roasted barley, farmyard, dry earth, caked on tractor tyres, perhaps lit cigarettes too. It has smoked citrus to boot (Buddha's hand? Oroblanco? Yuzu?) Mouth: ha! Yes, dried barley and lightly-smoked malt. Finish: long, replenishing, fulfilling. More toasted barley and light smoke. It is perfect for this time of night. 7/10
 |
| Technically, that is a beard |
tOMoH: "That is why he was good in The Last Crusade: he knew how to find the cup of a carpenter."
 |
| Chilling |
We retire to the lounge for an after-party; others have Bowmore 16yo 1996/2012 (46%, Morrison & Mackay Càrn Mòr Strictily Limited Edition, Sherry Butt, 844b), but I pass (notes here).
On the other hand, upon confirming that Gaija has never had a Banff, we all accompany him with Banff 35yo 1975/2011 (42.4%, Douglas Laing An Old & Rare Platinum Selection, 158b, b#149) Full notes here. For tonight, suffice to say that it effortlessly asserts its dominance over the twenty preceding drams. As JS says: when one is in the presence of glory, one knows it.
We finally call it a night around 6:45.
 |
| The following day, Edge decides to translate Soundcloud from French to English turning "Favoris" into "Sideburns". Clearly no coincidence! |
No comments:
Post a Comment