01/03/2024 North of Scotland

North of Scotland 41yo 1970/2012 Geburtstagedition 50 Jahre Uwe (47.1%, Finest Whisky, C#5, 234b, b#133): nose: dignified old grain, and the typical aromas that come with it: toasted grated coconut, cabinets made of precious wood, and custard, although it is not vanilla custard, but mocha. This mocha becomes chicory infusion in no time at all, and acquires a vaguely-herbal touch that could be sorrel. Moving from the background to the fore, we see an old yellow oilskin, kept in a closet for many years. Then, suddenly, mocha sweeps everything else off the table, and we are left with a cup of coffee, with sugar gradually more discernible. Actually, it is not a cup, but the cooling moka pot. The second nose has "pastry" tattooed on the forehead, mocha panacotta, tiramisù, coffee-infused bombe au chocolat (the kind dom666 serves each November), caramel latte, cinnamon-powder-dusted choux filled with a mocha butter cream, a mugful of caster sugar, and a fleeting hint of metal to spice things up. Mouth: drying and earthy, the palate may come sweetened, but it resolutely continues the coffee journey. It has a strong metallic vibe too, as if one were drinking coffee straight from the moka pot. That gives a pronounced bitterness, surprising, yet pleasant. We spot a dollop of moist dark earth, somewhere between forest floor and potting soil, then a growing sweetness, perhaps close to mocha chocolate. It has the same effect on the tongue as an aged rum: it stuns the taste buds with alcohol, then floods them with dark sugar. The second sip slaps the tongue with an old oilcloth, and progressively transforms that plastic-y note into mocha; coffee-soaked Boudoir biscuits, to be specific, kept in a tin. Finish: here again, we have coffee (lukewarm, now), sugar, mocha custard, and it lands on a big earth mound. Only after a couple of minutes does it settle for creamy, and then it is hard to find anything else. Condensed milk, double cream, latte macchiato, cream-based emulsion, foaming and frothing. One may go as far as calling this a melting scoop of mocha ice cream, or tiramisù, even. Still, it is difficult not to like it, even for this non-coffee drinker. The second gulp is consistent, more milky at first, then working its way back to creamy, to end up in a mocha-flavoured artisanal toffee, sticky, coating, buttery, and -- let us face it -- indulgent. Finally, it is creamy again. A delightful and original grain. 8/10

When we were in Germany last year (remember this und this?)
this picture was on the wall of our lodging. I immediately recognised
the painting that is parodied on the label of this bottle