16/06/2024 The afterparty

tOMoH hardly slept, for some unfathomable reason. In 2018, it was the night before the big event; anxiety at how things would unfold. This year, it is afterwards; excitement at what happened during the day. The whole day played on repeat in his head.

Anyway, it matters little. Today is a relaxing day. Well, after spending three hours cleaning yesterday's glasses, it will be a relaxing day.

We meet up with the survivors (adc, JK, JS, PG, Psycho, sonicvince, TC, WhiskyLovingPianist) at The Eagle for a roast, as seems to be the tradition. The waitress takes the orders.

JS: "Nut roast."
adc: "Pork belly."
tOMoH: "Fish & Chips."
sonicvince: "Mango salad with grilled chicken."
[etc]
Waitress: "Any allergies?"
tOMoH: "I'm allergic to fish."
[We laugh]
[Waitress leaves with a smile, then comes back]
Waitress: "Was it a joke?"
[We laugh even more]

JS's nut roast

My fish & chips

The food is mostly excellent. adc says the pork belly was better two years ago, and my chips, although acceptable, are not Belgian standard, but the fish is wonderful, and the peas (what little I get) are superb.

The waitress recommends the cheese cake for dessert. sonicvince and I decide to split one. It is indeed delicious. It is served with popcorn, which we find superfluous.

The other side of the table talks about yeast influence and companies maintaining different yeast banks.

tOMoH: "Something that is particularly practised in Israel."
all: "?"
tOMoH: "On the yeast bank..."

[Next thing you know, a picture of Israel is on the telly, as part of the news]

With food in, we head to tOMoH Tower, where Gaija joins us, for an afternoon of freestyle dramming. No detailed notes, just fun and socialising.

The Tomatin 15yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail for Il Sestante, b.1980s) (JS): full notes here  8/10

Glen Grant 25yo (40%, Gordon & MacPhail, b.1980s) (me): full notes here. 9/10

The others have StilL 630 1yo Presence of Darkness (40.5%, OB Beer Collaboration Series VII, Oak Barrels, B#2, b#524) (JS): notes here.

Psycho disappears in billowing sediments

adc tries Clydeside 3yo 2018/2021 COP26 / Glasgow (46%, OB, American Octaves finished in American Bourbon Barrels, 1500b, b.2021, CBSCS 10092) (JS) full notes here.

Linlithgow 25yo 1975/2000 (50.5%, Signatory Vintage, Oak Cask, C#96/3/14, 352b, b#9, 00/1147) (PG)

Nose: lots of fruits lead to dried flowers, then tobacco pouches, hay and smoke.
Mouth: at once juicy and austere, it has split stones and hot pear slices. WhiskyLovingPianist claims it tastes a bit like chicken.
Finish: long, spicy, with a wee bit of hot metal.
Comment: looking forward to spending more time with this! 9/10

PG lets us sniff a sample of peated Holyrood new make.
WhiskyLovingPianist:"That's a 9pm dram."

Gaija: "I wanted to do a counterpoint to tOMoH's way of drinking whisky, and show that things my age can be good too, not just things his age. But I cocked up. By the time I finally made it to London, I had turned a year older."

WhiskyLovingPianist: "Who needs Dr. Pepper?"
tOMoH: "Is it Nepalese baiju?"
Gaija: "50% accidentally, it could be a baiju."

Gaija: "It is bottled for a place you don't go to if you don't need to go."
sonicvince: "The bathroom?"
tOMoH: "The strip club?"

Dram #5 (Gaija)

Nose: Sherry and tropical fruits. We have mango, first and foremost, pepper and spice (adc), Szichuan pepper (WhiskyLovingPianist), lychee, dragon fruit, perhaps celery seeds, pineapple weed (JK and Psycho), blackcurrants. Over time, elderberry appears, certainly brought in by the (obvious) Sherry maturation.
Mouth: chamomile (JK), a definite drying, vegetal grassiness, and lots of fruits, blackcurrant out front to introduce purple passion fruit, peach, nectarine... Phwoar!
Finish: wave after wave after wave of blackcurrant and tropical fruits.
Comment: knowing our guest, I guess it is the so-called Maria Label. No. Not 117.5!? No. Ah! Teeling for Dublin Airport? Yes.

Teeling 28yo b.2019 (46.6%, Teeling bottled exclusively for The Irish Whiskey Collection, Sherry Cask, C#6756) 10/10

We talk about hs305's videos.
JS: "Is he serious, or silly?"
Gaija: "He's sometimes accidentally funny."
tOMoH and TC: "Would you say he is 50% accidentally funny?"

Port Dundas 35yo 1978/2013 (58.1%, Hunter Laing The Sovereign, C#HL9864) (WhiskyLovingPianist)

Nose: metal, Demerara sugar, and old shelves. Leather is in the picture too, as are cardboard and coffee, when one tilts the glass.
Mouth: rancio-y and acidic, it has citrus, Demerara sugar, and heated tins of sugar-dusted citrus.
Finish: astonishingly, the first impression is of bacon. Then, we unearth a tin of sugar, and tinned citrus slices intertwined with beef jerky. 8/10

adc: "How strong is it?"
JS: "58.1%."
TC: "Really? It feels so... mellow."
PG: "You mean smooth!"

38.22 25yo d.1992 Love letters on linen paper (51%, SMWS Society Cask imported by Spirits Imports, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 270b) (TC)

Nose: putty (JS), banana (PG), chocolate (adc), a drop of lime juice, hazelnut dunked in chocolate, white chocolate, and honeysuckle. What an appealing nose!
Mouth: sweet, chou-dough-like, it also has calamansi. It is rather desiccating, all in all.
Finish: calamansi and peach make up a buttery finish.
Comment: TC chose this because it was distilled on the 17th June, i.e. tomorrow. Another one I am looking forward to spending more time with. 9/10

WhiskyLovingPianist:"It smells to me like proper refill."

PG: "Life doesn't suck, right now!"

adc: "Did you hear the mother and child screaming, earlier?"
Psycho: "No, I only heard you snoring."
tOMoH: "It's OK. I told the neighbour we were having people over, and he might hear laughter. That'll count as laughter."

JK: "Too many good drams, today."
JS: "We can throw in a bad one in there, if you like..."
tOMoH: "Give me twenty minutes, I'll go buy something!"

Tormore 29yo 1984/2013 (53.9%, www.whiskybroker.co.uk, Barrel, C#3674, 107b, b#87) (JS): a lick of shoe polish on seasoned leather, cut fruit (peach), and crushed mint. Full notes here. 9/10

PG: "[...] Then they beat me with a plank."
TC: "They were just board."
tOMoH: "That was very witty, very snappy."
WhiskyLovingPianist: "It went with the grain."

Glenlochy 17yo 1977/1995 (61.8%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection imported by Preiss Imports, 95/250) (tOMoH): pomelo on the nose, smoky ashes in the finish, and power in the middle. TC, Psycho and WhiskyLovingPianist detect cotton candy and sherbet, which is a fairly convincing note. Full notes here. 8/10

WhiskyLovingPianist: "That makes me think of the Caperdonich, actually: the freshness, the fruitiness, the refillness…"

WhiskyLovingPianist [to JS]: "Do you remember when I told you I was amazing?"
tOMoH: "You say that every time we meet."
WhiskyLovingPianist:"I'm amazing."

Islay 25yo b.2024 (47.9%, C. Dully Selection imported by Sansibar Whisky, Bourbon Barrels, B#CD 24-88, 357b, b#9) (PG): this alleged Laphroaig is still as good as, if not better than in Limburg. Juicy, teeming with roasted peaches and pineapple. 8/10

Time to call it a tasting. It is a school night, and two hours later than the curfew. Fantastic afternoon spent talking shit and drinking great whiskies with great friends.

Boom.