02/05/2024 May outturn at the SMWS

Joining MJ at the old haunt for drinks. It happens to be the outturn preview, tonight. PS is here, of course, and so are JS and YM.

The first impression is that I do not recognise any of the staff. The second is that the music is loud and hardly adequate. 1980s sing-alongs by Bon Jovi, White Snake, The Communards, Village People? And the staff is, indeed, singing along? How this place has changed!

We select our whiskies from the new outturn, and I catch the waiter pouring all nine of them in one sitting. Some may want to go back and forth during the session, but it feels strange to force that, rather than give the choice. I interrupt him, and we receive one dram at a time. Phew.

2.139 17yo d.2006 Feeling peachy (57.5%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 154b)

Nose: sweet, with nougat and almond cake, βανίλια (that is Greek vanillia), and a slice of stem ginger, in the back, dripping with syrup. Dried pine needles appear on the second nose.
Mouth: citrus-y, sparkly, and a bit spicy (ground cassia and sawdust).
Finish: the heat grows and grows, carrying with it pickles and stem ginger. The second sip has baked grapefruit segments, still steaming. 8/10

Distillery 149 Rare Release 8yo d.2015 Furtive Gherkin (62.4%, SMWS In celebration of the Highland Whisky Festival 2024, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrels, 1764b)

Nose: far peatier than expected, this has mud and tractor tyres after a rainy day in the fields. Then, timid fruits show up, plums, trampled in mud, and plasticine. The second nose has maracuja in mud.
Mouth: chewy, coating, more plasticine and damp modelling clay, before the arrival of a soft smoke.
Finish: long, warming, and maybe a tad bitter. Mace and heated stem ginger rock the place, here.
Comment: this has got to be a vatting of ten casks or so. unless it is the biggest barrel one has ever seen. 8/10

Distillery 4 Rare Release 20yo d.2003 Take me to the chippy (54.7%, SMWS In celebration of the Highland Whisky Festival 2024, Refill ex-Bourbon, HTMC & Oloroso (ex-Islay) Hogsheads, 924b)

Nose: ethereal pine-forest scents, dried needles, heather honey. We have pollen and propolis, over time, and furniture polish spouted out of spray can.
Mouth: mellow, teeming with honey and cut fruits of the tropical variety: papaya, jackfruit, ugli fruit, guava.
Finish: long, acidic, it has pine needles and citrus peels. JS finds it spicy, but I do not. The second sip is even more-spectacularly fruity, with jackfruit and mango now in the lead. 9/10

PS butts in on his way out. With a dram, as he does.

Irish Single Malt Whiskey 11yo Shimmering Silk (50%, SMWS, ex-Bourbon Barrels and First Fill Pedro Ximénez Hogsheads)

Nose: sultanas, raisins, dried dates, dried figs, and a metallic touch -- iron.
Mouth: Irn Bru, avocado skins (the bitterness more than the buttery flesh tatters).
Finish: juicy currants, golden sultanas, Lyle's Golden Syrup.
Comment: this is good. Maybe a bit one-note, and maybe it becomes slightly vulgar, with repeated sipping. 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, PS)

Distillery 5 Rare Release 20yo d.2003 Philosopher's stone (54%, SMWS In celebration of the Lowland Spirit 2024, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrels, 427b)

Nose: sweet and fluffy, here is one pillow-y number that dishes out confectionary sugar, cotton candy, and juicy orange slices covered in sugar. The second nose has pink-grapefruit peels, then split stones.
Mouth: fluffy here too, this is like chewing on a freshly-washed pillow. The sweetness comes out shortly after, Turkish delights, tutti frutti, orange jellies, and a minute bitterness alongside candied papaya cubes.
Finish: big and sweet again, if less extreme on that front. Fruit juice with a wider acidity (orange juice), and a dusting of confectionary sugar.
Comment: according to the distillation date and age, this one was bottled at least five months ago. Again, considering the number of bottles, it is clear this is not a single cask. Anyway, it is good. 8/10

"Good one. Let me write it down."

MJ: "I smoked Gauloises, briefly, in my early teens, until a girl I fancied told me I looked like a dickhead with a cigarette in my hand. I stopped. The irony is she went on to become a smoker."
tOMoH: "Was it Alanis Morissette? Because that is really ironic." 

Despite the initial moaning, it was a good night out. Great to catch up with old friends, and refreshing to see that, despite change and price hikes, the Society still bottles decent things.