08/12/2025 Tomatin

Tomatin 27yo 1987/2014 (46.3%, Morrison & Mackay Càrn Mòr Celebration of the Cask imported by The Stillman's, Hogshead, C#495, 187b, b#10): nose: boldly fragrant, the nose offers boiled cabbage, lingonberry compote, but also a delicious blackcurrant liqueur. It takes a turn for the darker and sees berries black as night. Blackberries, elderberries, chokeberries, huckleberries, mulberries are brightened up with stewed cranberries. It has a soft touch of pickled red onions too, or a drop of red-wine vinegar. That is but fleeting, however; soon, we are smelling a warm bilberry tart and concentrated tamarind paste on toast. The second nose has black ink and jelly of some kind. Jellied spinach, perhaps? As a parting gift, the nose gives us a whiff of cork. Later on, that transforms into raisins dripping with syrup, which takes us close to Sherry -- probably Pedro Ximénez. Mouth: very oily in texture, it appears shy in taste, initially. Nectarine juice? Chewing stirs up a strange concoction, part cardboard, part smashed cranberries, part chocolate, part vinegar. It works, but it is unusual. More chewing releases a dollop of Marmite on an onion beigel. The second sip has a faint tea-like bitterness that comes and goes. Squid-ink pasta with a creamy sauce and burgundy nail varnish. Retro-nasal olfaction spots bread baking in the oven. This is a funny one! Finish: silky, it has Madeira wine, a hint of chocolate, and onion relish. Is that jellied smelts? It certainly feels gelatinous, in any case, and somehow a trifle fishy. Jellied pistachios and dried dates rock up in the second gulp, still with Madeira wine. Repeated quaffing makes all converge towards pressed raisins coated in melted chocolate (55% cocoa content). We may well distinguish a spoonful of caramel coulis to be poured on top of that. This is good, but I am not sure we hear much from the distillate. I reckon the cask does most of the talking. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)

07/12/2025 Lagavulin

Lagavulin 8yo (48%, OB Limited Edition 200th Anniversary, Refill American Oak Casks, 20,000b): nose: gently-toasted barley, dry hay stacks, haybales stored in a barn, and a delicate waft of manure -- insofar as such a scent can be delicate. There are some crystals in there too, perhaps quartz, augmenting a layer of smoked yellow stuff -- straw now comes into focus. It is not complex in the slightest, but it plays its couple of notes adequately. The second nose has oily tobacco followed by an overheated room in which one smokes a lot. Mouth: punchy, it turns blue and petrolic, reminiscent of petrol drops in a puddle of rain water: pretty, but not good to drink. This, here, is less harmful, and it actually feel diluted, which is quite rich, at that strength. We have got straw set alight, cereals toasted beyond caramel (and teasing char), and petrol. The second sip is fresher; it even has apple slices. They are soon cloaked in cigarette smoke, as if someone ruined one's dessert by smoking at the dinner table. Finish: it is sweet cereals, for a second, then a frank lick of an ashtray. It has charred paper, burnt cereals, straw ashes and cigarette ashes -- thankfully not the butts. tOMoH's grandparents (on both sides) had push-down ashtrays, and this finish is strongly reminiscent of that. For nostalgia value, that makes this whisky worthwhile. Otherwise, it is for smokers only, really. Or for those who are cold, because this is warming. The second gulp is sweeter, with custard and lukewarm fruit yoghurt. And smoke. This is young, simple, yet efficient -- for those who like this profile. Me? Just the one dram, thanks. 6/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)

06/12/2025 Littlemill

Littlemill 23yo 1990/2013 (54.8%, Silver Seal, C#33, 290b, b#286): nose: the wonderful smell of custard, Madeira biscuits and ripe fruits. It starts with peaches and nectarines, and ends with kakis, papayas and mangoes. It being a Littlemill, it has a mild mineral touch, of course, closer to setting grout than to crushed Aspirin. That all plays second violin to pastry, though, fruit turnovers, choux dough, profiteroles, custard, flan. The second nose is shier: indistinct fruits bathing in chocolate milk, geraniums in a greenhouse, marzipan in the making, caramelising in the pot and sticking a bit. There is a whiff of flowers too, not sure which, and homemade gingerbread. Mouth: a nice, fruity attack brings peaches and mangoes. Five seconds on the tongue help spot caramel poured on lukewarm flan, and custard. One chew -- yes, just one -- stirs the magic pot, which triggers a bolt of mango to hit the stage. Hot on its heels are cherimoya and persimmon, ripe papaya and a drop of cherry liqueur. Those who are sensitive to it may complain about a pinch of grated Aspirin; that would be nitpicking, tOMoH says. Besides, it is closer to mocha grounds from a hot tin pot. The second sip has a slightly-more-pronounced note of Aspirin, but it remains hard to detect, overwhelmed as it is by fruits. Mango custard, baked cherimoyas, steamed papayas. It is a creamy number, overall. Finish: perfect heat and intensity. It blows up like a firecracker, then dissipates quickly to allow a myriad of tropical fruits to do a little gig. Mango, persimmon, kaki, papaya, cherimoya -- they are all here, supported by a rivulet of melted milk chocolate, or chocolate custard. It still has the minute bitterness of mocha, if not limestone dust (I believe they call it chalk). The second gulp puts more emphasis on mocha: it feels akin to a sip of lukewarm coffee into which a pinch of mocha grounds found its way. A second later, the fruit brigade has restored its own dominance. We have mango melting on the tongue, ripe peach, mushy persimmon, baked cherimoya all doused in warm pouring custard. Is it pineapple, in the back? If it is, it has come with coconut milk and chocolate in tow. Only in hindsight do I realise that the palate had grilled pineapple itself. Ha! 9/10 (Thanks for the dram JS, and thank you St Nicholas)

05/12/2025 Benrinnes

36.75 17yo Curried butternut soup (58.9%, SMWS Society Single Cask): nose: strangely quiet, it has a whisper of balsa wood, not much else. Let us give it a moment to breathe... That does the trick. Now, it is a typical 'rinnes, with pine-tree branches, pine planks, resin and dark honey in the making. Deeper sniffing adds a rubber hose, or liquid tape, which is nothing else than rubber in liquid form, and tar. In fact, that rubber stretches its wings so much that I am made to think of some rums -- is it not Enmore that reeks of rubber in that way? Here, that is soon punctuated by fresh apple slices, and bitumen applied as top dressing of a felt roof. The second nose sprinkles dried lime zest on conifer branches, and serves that with a pine-cone stew. A fistful of meadow grass or hay completes the picture. Mouth: a departure from the nose, this feels fresh and fruity, if quickly lively too. It has apples again, with ginger gratings scattered on top. Chewing invites a pronounced acidity; at first, it appears to be citrus, however it is soon evident that it is actually conifer branches, sap and cones. Suc des Vosges and Ice Blue mint sweets laced with galangal to spice up the freshness. The second sip prolongs the acidity, adds the coldness of a metal blade (the one used to cut citrus, probably), and charges the whole with a sweetness unnoticed until now. It is strikingly fresh and warming, as a good cocktail can be -- for some reason, the minty citrus makes me think of a Major Bailey, even if this does not taste like gin, of course. That rallies under the conifer banner, however. Each sip presents bolder citrus, lime zest and Shaddock pomelo peels. Finish: Ice Blue mint sweets, Suc des Vosges, spearmint (yes, it is spicy) are joined by galangal paste, then crushed cloves. It is a trifle anaesthetising. It leaves the gob cool, but dry at the same time, which makes no sense whatsoever, like yoghurt in a wooden bowl. The second gulp gives fleeting chocolate, then a bold wave of minty-zesty freshness, before it all calms down with ginger peels and cassia bark. As it was on the palate, it is sweeter over time, hinting at calamansi and tangerine, without reaching their intensity: mint sweets never allow. Pretty good. 7/10 (Thanks, OB)

04/12/2025 December outturn preview at the SMWS

Once again, we join Tm, PS, DW and JS to try the new outturn. It is a quietish night for a preview night, and tOMoH is not complaining.

149.18 9yo 2015/2025 La vida es sueño (61.7%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 218b): nose: lamb marinated in herbs and oil, then grilled. It also has smoked haystacks. There are brambles behind those, a bunch of flowers from a smoky environment, and plasticine. Perhaps there is a hovering scent of laundry detergent, in a nice way. Mouth: sweet wax, lots of wax, actually. Chewing releases more and more smoke, reminiscent of dried-out Christmas-tree branches thrown on the fire in early January. It does not lose the waxiness, though. The second sip sees grilled carambola with a dusting of grated chalk. Finish: hot, this has barbecue and lots of hot wax. It has a bitter side too, cucumber-peel style. The second gulp has a strong note of silt, augmented with tart Comice pears. Pretty good. 7/10

PS [to tOMoH, about DW's Christmas shindig]: "We'll need to co-ordinate."
tOMoH: "I'll be there at 18:30, gone by 21:00. You can arrive at 21:30."

9.312 32yo 1992/2025 When orchards dream (48.8%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 102b): nose: flowery, it is teeming with cosmetic powders. Then, we have Turkish delights, face paint and beads of dried resin. The second nose welcomes moist papier mâché, strangely combined with chewy fruit sweets. Mouth: fresh, juicy, it has lots of plasticine and dental-plaster, which gives a clear bitterness, on top of being chewy. The second sip is sharper: plant sap, a pinch of quarry dust and green plants, with just a handful of timid berries in the back. Finish: long, coating, it feels like biting into a hot pastie. The second gulp is as warm and a tad greener, with succulent plants (sedum, sempervivum). It is only at the death that we perceive fleeting unripe Mirabelle plums and physalis. This is good. At £345 a bottle, it is hard to relate the quality to the price, however. 8/10

3.359 21yo 2004/2025 Jelly in a limestone sauna (56%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill ex-Bodega PX Barrique, 262b): nose: smoke, shoe polish and blackcurrants, then dark earth. There are hints of purple passion fruits, chewy blackcurrant cough drops and a nostril-singeing heat akin to sticking one's nose on the corroded bonnet of a blue tractor whose engine has been overheating. The second nose draws cut mango, some slices of which have fallen in the mud. Mouth: Chinese food, with soy sauce, sesame oil and chilli crisp. Chewing unleashes a relentless wave of dark berries -- blue-, black-, currants, maybe elder-. The second sip brings up a hot radiator, though no dust. Finish: long, purple, it has a little earth and lots of fruits: dark grapes, blueberries, blackberries, myrtles, dark cherries. The second gulp is a tad warmer. This is excellent. My favourite, so far. 8/10

DW: "Are you a Stranger Things person?"
tOMoH: "No."

DW: "You should. It's really good."

tOMoH: "I try to avoid things I may find addictive."
PS: "And yet he talks to us!"

19.104 22yo 2003/2025 Something for the sweet-toothed (54.3%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 147b): nose: a punch of leather and fruit paste (membrillo or fruit jellies). Then, it is a black- and blueberry paste augmented with fragrant rosemary. How strange! The second nose goes further and unveils purple-tulip petals. Mouth: yes, this is a slightly-chalky fruit paste, with blueberry and blackcurrant shining brightest, followed by bright-red Montmorency cherries. It is another chalky number that presents a discreet metallic bitterness too. The second sip stings a little more and announces a spicier profile. Finish: warm, it has plant stems and lots of waxy fruit paste. Again, we are talking about membrillo or blackcurrant paste. Strangely, the second gulp seems softer, lush as dark-flower petals, this time accompanied by yellow petals too, and a dash of fruit juice (part grapefruit, part apricot). Solid. 8/10

Tm and PS scan PS's collection for distillery 69.

PS: "69.14 Complex and delightful. Oh! They named it after me."

89.24 17yo 2008/2025 Hip hip hooray! (60.4%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 252b): nose: a slap of animal scent that hints at a Sherry maturation (and, indeed). Rabbit pelt, soaking hides, and maybe a cigar dunked in the same preparation. A minute later, we get cured fruits, apples in a leather pouch, then suede and cured plums. Water increases the leather impression and adds a wood-panelled room. Tilting the glass adds hints of scarlet cherries. Mouth: pickled fruits, tawed hides, and, finally, berries rise -- cranberries, lingonberries, bilberries, blackcurrants... and wine. The second sip is like licking sheepskin, roughness and all. Water rubs very-dry leather that comes close to smoke. It is a wineskin made of camel leather that someone is drinking from while smoking a hookah. Finish: long and fruity with a touch of wood. Cloves macerating in red wine, prunes and blackcurrant. Water improves this one: it makes it noticeably fruitier, with both cherries and berries parading on the back of a camel. tOMoH's first SMWS Tomintoul, he reckons. It is a bit of a vulgar Sherry maturation, in his opinion. Not really a success. Then again, others like it. It just about reached 7, but the second sip is less interesting -- the novelty value wears off, probably. 6/10

70.67 17yo 2008/2025 Through the window, brambles (57.7%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill Toasted-Oak Barrique Finish, 181b): nose: herbs and lamb burgers, incredibly-seamlessly integrated. It then offers pears poached in wine. All of those are presented on a zinc plate. The nose opens up to reveal a waxy, marzipan-y fruit paste sprayed with droplets of wine. Mouth: thick, rich and rancio-y. Here are elderberry, lichen forming on dark grapes, grape skins (implying a soft bitterness) and a ball of compressed resin. It has a few tree-bark shavings too, hazel or similar. The second sip has grape paste -- nay! raisin paste, with cassia bark to spice it up. And it is brilliant! Finish: dark grapes, elderberries, currants and a pinch of dark-porcini powder to keep things interesting. The wood is subtle in this finish, while the emphasis is firmly on fruits turning mouldy in a dunnage warehouse. The second gulp introduces ground cassia bark and cloves to support raisins, dark grapes and blueberries. We even spot a whiff of cigarette smoke at the death. This is good. 8/10

PS talks about auctions.

tOMoH: "Well, before you auction anything, send a list, will you?"
PS: "There won't be any Glen Albyn in it, let's face it. It wouldn't the first 69 you get from me, though..."

115.37 15yo 2009/2025 It's a knockout! (57.6%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 194b): nose: sweet, it has flour and confectionary sugar in equal measures. It develops to unveil pastry, with fruit syrup caramelised on the baking parchment. That morphs into some kind of leather belt, which is unexpected. The second nose brings a nut paste taken over by lichen (itself turning dry). There are peach skins and tobacco too. Mouth: preserved cucumber, jellied pistachios and a savagely-drying dusty wind. It is as desiccating as lichen on the sides of an empty vase, without the taste of stagnant water and sphagnum moss. Perhaps we have a drop of ink too? The second sip is soft and velvety, with hints of baked apricots or tinned peaches. It keeps a healthy kick, peppered with red-chilli flakes. Finish: yes, ink. It is no 1960s Ardbeg, but is has a drop of ink indeed that wets marzipan or kaju katli. It is quickly drying as a red wine spilled on a lichen-covered stone. The second gulp is more traditional, perhaps, warm with apricot turnovers and a spoonful of confectionary sugar on top of a hot metal plate. 7/10

tOMoH: "Hey! Is that an octopus, or is it Cthulhu?"
him: "It's Cthulhu."

JN: "Tm! Here is the IPA you ordered. Oh! You didn't order an IPA? My mistake!" [takes a swig]

I try a droplet of 58.62 14yo 2010/2025 Honey hi! (53.5%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 214b) -- not enough for notes, but a score will do. 8/10

Solid outturn. And we have only scratched the surface.

Aight, we found ourselves the Loveraft Überfan!
\(;,;)/

01/12/2025 The GlenDronach

The GlenDronach 19yo 1994/2013 (58.4%, OB Single Cask, Oloroso Sherry Butt, C#101, 628b, b#396): nose: same distillery, bottler and supplier as yesterday's, yet it could hardly be more different a dram. This is full-on drinks cabinets, mahogany cases, teak chests, polished dashboards and walnut stain. It is an elegant Sherry maturation, to put it in other words. Behind all that are a pinch of quarry dust and a brush still wet with varnish for scale modelling. Whoever is building those plastic aircrafts is sipping flat cola and munching dried figs and oily chestnuts, from time to time. The second nose adds dark tree bark, mulch and beef-stock cubes. There is not enough camphor or liquorice to call cough syrup; instead, the lasting impression is that of Oloroso and coffee poured on potting soil and prunes. Further nosing unveils dark fruits and berries stored in a black plastic container. Mouth: coating, vinous in a fortified-wine way. Mushroom water, or water used to rehydrate dried mushrooms and raisins. It is dark and earthy, yet keeps a certain sweetness too, closer to currants than to prunes. A soft bitterness emerges (the earthy side, certainly), that could be associated with mocha, or a frying pan of mushrooms deglazed with a dash of Oloroso. The second sip welcomes dried dates in a cup of coffee, sultanas and dried apricots. The earthy coffee is thinned with a generous dose of plum liqueur. Then, we find pearl onions, poached and coated in tar-black honey. Oddly, it works. Finish: a big earthy kick of Oloroso, here. It is a tad overwhelming at first, cloying. Treacle, prune syrup, old Corinth raisins clustered together, mocha custard so thick one could plant a spoon in it and it would stand vertical, and a pinch of cocoa powder. The second gulp is earthier still; caffè corretto rectified with liqueur rather than grappa, pressed raisins augmented with a pinch of soot-y earth, ground cloves sprinkled on dried dates, and cocoa powder dusted on a bowl of beef stock. We find a similar dark-honey tinge as we did on the palate, towards the death. Black sesame seeds coated in dark amber honey round all that off. Wow! This is not necessarily my preferred profile, but it is very well made. I like it better than the first time. 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, OB)

30/11/2025 The GlenDronach

The GlenDronach 9yo 2002/2011 (57.8%, OB Single Cask specially selected by The Nectar, Virgin Oak Hogshead, C#4522, 317b): nose: a woollen mill full of Harris tweed. This has the type of warming breath that feels logical on a late-autumn day. It soon gives a waxy vibe and that means the promise of a chewy texture more than the smell of furniture polish, in this case. Dried peach slices, dried mango slices and physalis are slowly joined by a growing flowery perfume. Lily-of-the-valley turns into jasmine, then lilac, more and more fragrant, without ever reaching heady levels. All of a sudden, it stabilises and focuses on wood -- untreated white-wood shelves, to be precise. The second nose has chocolate straight away, caramel flan, fruit squash augmented with lemon-thyme leaves and orange segments, almost too dried to eat. Wood comes back later on, with cask staves. Mouth: delicate for a second, it swiftly reveals a punchier profile in which wood stain takes over the initial peach note. Chewing pours carbonyl on chopped green chilli and red-chilli flakes, and that, in turn, makes room for relentless young wood. A quick look at the label confirms what we may have guessed: virgin oak. That reminds one why not many producers use those casks, and why those who do bottle the resulting whisky young: the wood overpowers the distillate in no time. Here, we have round white pepper, ground galangal, and ginger powder blended with a pinch of asafoetida. It takes a couple of minutes on the palate for the taste buds to finally spot a custardy touch -- a spicy custard, mind. The second sip has a puff of cigarette, then dusty old radiators in full swing. This has its share of dried orange peels, partly crispy, partly blue with mould. Again, keeping it in the mouth stirs the spices, and they become vibrant and louder than anything else. Finish: strong and spicy, it is less woody and, thankfully, fruitier. We have dried peach slices, dried physalis and dried papaya cubes, distinguishable, if coated in ground white pepper, ginger powder and grated nutmeg. It has mixed peel too, shy and seasoned with the same spices. Indeed, it is a warming, spicy number, this one! The second gulp seems a lot fruitier, with orange rinds, juicier than the ones we found earlier, and used as decoration on top of a thick caramel custard. There is sweetness on display alright, yet the dominant, now, is a pleasant bitter note imparted by orange and caramel. Not to be fooled, however: the finish still has ginger powder, asafoetida and even grated lemongrass. Simply, they are no longer as boisterous as they were, upon repeated quaffing. This is good. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)

29/11/2025 Bowmore

Bowmore 12yo (43%, OB, b.1990s): nose: thirty years later, it still procures a warm, reassuring feeling that is somehow so familiar. Immediately, it is a pleasant fireplace and a leather sofa somewhere outside of which the weather is dreary. It is grey, drizzly and windy, today, so this is particularly spot on. A cat is slumbering near the log stack that is ready to fuel the fire. A deeper sniff helps one figure out that we are not far from the sea: this has iodine and minute sea spray. It also has lichens scraped off sea rocks. Suddenly, it gains a bolder smoke note, as if someone had thrown a log on the fire and that had forced the smoke to find new ways of escaping. The second nose may have timid aromatic herbs, such as thyme or oregano. Smoked crusty bread rises steadily, as do remote mint leaves, which is nice. Mouth: mellow, as if coated in honey. All the same, if kept on the tongue for long enough, it shows more wood, embers and gentle smoke. It also pops a bubble of strawberry-flavoured gum that becomes more obvious when chewing. Yes, despite the wood smoke that is part of its character, this one does not do a good job of hiding a certain fruity sweetness. Chewing some more gives an inflatable party balloon and a few shards of cassia bark, both of which point at a soft bitterness. The second sip appears thinner. It takes chewing again to restore the pleasure of the first sip, really.  At 43%, one gets over the modest alcohol bite quickly and becomes accustomed at no cost. We may well find peppery Mokatine, after a moment. Finish: powerful to an extent, it also seems weak from another angle. We have wood embers and white ash, yet also residue from the bottom of an empty vase. The latter gives a vegetal touch in an evaporated setting that makes the whole feel weaker. It is by no means weak, nor is it under strength -- it is hard to describe. Anyway, embers and sphagnum moss go hand in hand, virtually blocking any honey from emerging, now. The second gulp definitely peddles Mokatine sweets, yet also a minuscule drop of shampoo. Although easily overlooked for some, others may find it more offensive. It dies with lingering mosses and lichens, dried to a crisp and clinging on for dear life to the sides of an empty vase. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)

28/11/2025 Deanston

Deanston 11yo (50.1%, The Hampstead Beverage Collective Explorers & Elements Series, 1st Fill Oloroso Sherry Cask, 72b, b#72): nose: woody! A cascade of nutshells of all kinds, followed rapidly by oak and beech furniture that has just been oiled. We then have dark mushrooms (shiitake, maitaki, a cluster of brown beech) and old planks drying in a musty shed. In fact, it is woodier and woodier with each sniff, coming close to woodworm and old garden furniture. Perhaps it has roasted chestnuts, in the back, but not much else, in terms of fruits. The second nose is more welcoming, with cocoa powder with which to make hot cocoa. You know? The one in a yellow, corrugated-plastic tub. Mouth: mellow, juicy, this is full of plums and prunes, for a second. Then, a robust spiciness rises in the form of red-chilli powder. Chewing unleashes melted chocolate (45% cocoa content at most) that actually matches the intensity of the chilli. We have plain crackers slathered in a chocolate spread and augmented with a pinch of red-chilli powder. More-insistent chewing brings back a clearer woody side, but it is less omnipresent and dominant than it was on the first nose. Instead, it is chocolate that rules, now. The second sip is a little more drying than it should be, even if chocolate does most of the talking, thankfully. Maybe we find cherries soaked in chocolate liqueur, now, which is fun. Over time, the palate picks up a remote note of rubber too. Finish: sparkly! Imagine lukewarm chocolate milk blended with cherry-flavoured cola; voilà! The second gulp doubles down on the chocolate-y note. It is still milk chocolate (or chocolate milk, actually), taken with a serving of crunchy dark cherries. The death blows a whisp of wood-oil fumes, which seems the only reminiscence of the bold woody overture. The nose announced something so-so; the rest redeems it. 7/10 (Thanks, Cask Trade)

27/11/2025 St Andrew's Day Whisky Tasting

JS and I are lucky enough to be invited to another Cask Trade event -- this time in the swish Mall Galleries.

We arrive on the late tip and socialise a lot. We try to make the whiskies count.

Dailuaine 40yo 1983/2023 (54%, Wilson & Morgan Barrel Selection, 1/2 x Sherry Butt, C#701, 297b, b#017, W&M484)

Nose: it has a touch of metal, some shoe polish and membrillo spread on soft leather. Perhaps we spot strawberry coulis too.
Mouth: figs, dark quince paste, dried dates and a lick of leather. It is fairly sweet, but mostly dark -- dark dried figs, prunes and a twist of the black-pepper mill.
Finish: long, generous and fruity, it has a dried-fig paste mixed with orange rinds and a dark chocolate spread. The second sip brings a woodier note of teak plane shavings and toasted sourdough.
Comment: this is pretty good, even if JS is less taken. Hard to accept the price-to-quality ratio, though, whatever the price may be. Considering Wilson & Morgan packaged this in a classy decanter, it is probably not cheap (looking around, RRP ~2400 EUR). 8/10

Tullibardine 18yo 2007/2025 Mellow Melon (54.4%, Highlander Inn Maggie's Collection exclusively bottled for Friends With Drams, C#27, 100b)

Nose: suede and all sorts of leather-processing products, whatever solution they use to soften the hides, for example. Then, we have colour crayons and wax. Further nosing brings a whiff of unexpected sea air -- unless it is from a fast-flowing river. In any case, it is vapourised water droplets.
Mouth: Bright and waxy, reminiscent of apricot or nectarine skins, it still does not shake off its leathery side entirely.
Finish: long and fruity, with a fistful of hay and balls of ginger-cat hair.
Comment: tasty! 7/10

Ardnamurchan 5yo 2019/2025 (58.1%, Cadenhead, Oloroso Cask, 636b)

Nose: wood glue, walnut stain, carbonyl. Later on, we have decaying-wood dust and soot. Later yet, we find some plastic and a Bulgomme table protector.
Mouth: oily in texture, it is cola-like in taste, pumped with liquid gingerbread. It is at once mellow and powerful, which is odd.
Finish: earth, flat cola, crushed bay leaves and green peppermint, followed by dried twigs of lemongrass. It is a long, cola-driven finish.
Comment: my favourite, so far. 8/10

JS: "Sooty sausages? Is that a euphemism for what happens in a gay club?"
tOMoH: "Chimney-sweeping is what happens in a gay club."

Pulteney 11yo b.2025 (46%, Cask Trade Cask & Crust, Refill Barrel, C#504182)

Nose: ooft! this is cheesy. Gouda, Maredsous, Tomme des Pyrénées, Port Salut. Remarkable. The last time I met such a cheesy profile was with an Ardmore by the Thompson Bros. and it was not the same sort of cheeses at all. This has a drop of blue ink too that does not change the fact this is mostly the playground of Tomme des Pyrénées, with a whisper of smoke and some subtle farm-y peat.
Mouth: dry, squeaky as a halloumi and a bit rough, really.
Finish: a lick of wood polish and the plastic/wax skin around a medium-soft cheese (Port Salut, Tomme des Pyrénées, Maredsous, young Gouda).
Comment: what an oddball! Interesting, good, terrible... Everyone will have their opinion. The one thing it is not is boring. 6/10

Ben Nevis 15yo b.2025 (46%, Cask Trade Cask & Crust, Refill Barrel, C#900024)

Nose: peaches and cosmetic powder. tOMoH certainly did not expect such a tantalising fruitiness from something of this age.
Mouth: mellow, fruity, it has peaches and cosmetic powder again.
Finish: very fruity once more, peachy, it has the warmth of a reliable sheepskin rug.
Comment: lovely surprise! 8/10

Glengoyne 1997/2024 (46.3%, Malts of Scotland 20, Sherry Hogshead, C#MoS25033, 180b, b#176)

Nose: earthy fruits, dried dates, dried figs, empty coconut shells. The second nose injects smashed dark strawberries into the mix.
Mouth: it switches the light off, here. Dark mushrooms, cola, dried figs. The second sip adds berries -- smashed strawberries, blackcurrants, perhaps blueberries too, mildly bitter and earthy.
Finish: this finish is so earthy! Mushrooms in soil, porcini powder, which presents a subtle bitterness. It is a long finish, earthy and berry-laden at second gulp (myrtles, blackcurrants, blackberries). Repeated quaffing introduces rotting wood and cork. They are discreet, yet some may be bothered by them.
Comment: delicious... in small doses. 8/10

We are booted out along with everybody else. Actually, we were allowed inside far longer than most.

Thanks, Cask Trade! Great to catch up.

The whole shindig was organiseed
for the launch of this collection

23/11/2025 Superheroes

ydc, GD, adc, Psycho, Bishlouk, STL, red71, sonicvince, JS, PSc and I join dom666 in ze Heimat to celebrate his yearly shindig. kruuk2 sadly calls off, due to an emergency, and ruckus is climbing mountains somewhere.

It takes a wee while to get going, owing to the number of bottles and the effort it takes to build a line-up, but, soon, it is all systems go.

Work.

GD and ydc brought the first bottling back from a trip to the Vosges. They explain that, with all the Anschlußing going on in the region in the past, the Vosgians could easily have become Germans, i.e. supervillains. (This is a joke, not a reflection of today's Teutons, okay?)

Meyer 6yo b.2019 Hohwarth (40%, OB, Sauternes Casks finished in Pinot Noir Casks, 950b) (ydc + GD)

Nose: it smells blend-y, which is logical. It has cured apples, wet cardboard and pickle juice. More fruits appear over time, apples and quince, followed by toffee and dried apricots.
Mouth: peppery rocket, cardboard again, gherkins and dried apple peels. It takes a turn towards dried plantain skins and blackcurrant skins at second sip, macerating in their own juice.
Finish: a bit young and grainy, it has cardboard, unsweetened cereals and a dash of grape juice or pressed gooseberries.
Comment: a decent starter that is more than a curiosity. 6/10

Bishlouk: "adc, you're on your own, at the end of the table..."
adc: "Yes, on purpose. Same at the cinema. I like being in the back. If there is no-one in front of me, even better!"
tOMoH: "That's called a television."

sonicvince: "I wonder if I have had COVID thirteen times without knowing. Mrs. sonic often tells me it smells this or that and I can't smell it."
tOMoH: "Does she say it smells of your farts? And you go: 'No, no, all good!'?"

Psycho brought a Corsican single malt matured in wine casks. He tells us it is the Black Knight, aka Bruce Winesky. Sinking to new lows.

P&M Signature b.2018 (42%, OB, 6600b) (Psycho)

Nose: pine and sugar (ydc, red71, adc), génépi, dried pine needles (adc), le Bassin d'Arcachon (ydc), pine needles on a sandy beach (sonicvince). It plays the pine-needle note to death. But, if one likes that...
Mouth: mountain-flower honey, conifer resin and daffodils macerating in a honeyed solution.
Finish: simple, it has toffee and pan-fried plantain.
Comment: divisive. I think it works, even if it is hardly whisky. 6/10

adc: "What was the name of the actress in The Horse Whisperer?"
tOMoH: "Roberta Redford."
Bishlouk:"She's dead, now."
dom666 + tOMoH: "So is the horse."

Psycho presents Ben Grimm Bracken, aka The Thing. 

He also breaks his first cork of the day, and the vacuum technique to extract the remainder cracks everyone up, as per usual.

tOMoH: "New vacuum cleaner, adc. Do you still have the other one?"
adc: "I have... [she counts] four of them."
GD + ydc [look at each other]: "We fell small, now, with only two of them!"

Ben Bracken 12yo (40%, Scotch Whisky Company for Lidl, b. ca. 2007) (Psycho)

Nose: strawberry bubble gum, dust (adc).
Mouth: maple syrup.
Comment: I know this one well (proper notes here) and spend more time socialising than taking notes. I like it. 7/10

Psycho looks for a new cork in the cork basket.
tOMoH: "Alright, Psycho? Can you find one?"
Psycho: "The thing with [the original] one is that its girth is pretty wide."
Bishlouk: "Yeah, but it is broken!"

sonicvince brought a Tomatin.
STL: "Is it for Leguman?"
No, it is a Tomatin Decades, because, sonicvince says, superheroes have been around for decades.

Tomatin Decades b.2011 (46%, OB, Bourbon & Sherry Casks, L030556, 9000b) (sonicvince)

Nose: adc finds cork and a wet wild plant. As for me, it is tropical fruit (papaya and maracuja) as well as passiflora for a delicate vegetal touch.
Mouth: it is lively, acidic, and ripe with tropical fruits, now chiefly pineapple. Chewing reveals a pinch of quarry dust, yet it is far from a mineral number.
Finish: long and bold, it explodes with tropical fruits, supported by a lick of green plant stem. The second gulp adds cut mango and includes the skin too for that extra bitter touch.
Comment: this one is always a pleaser. 8/10

Psycho introduces General Glenn(burgie) Talbot, one of The Hulk's archnemesis.

He also breaks another cork.

Glenburgie 19yo d.1995 (46%, Signatory Vintage for Direct Wines First Cask, 3 x Hogsheads, b#197) (Psycho)

Nose: dusty peaches served on cardboard plates. This gets fruitier and fruitier, juicier and juicier. Then, it peddles cosmetic powders.
Mouth: peach stones with fruit flesh still attached to them. Confectionary sugar, cosmetic powder, sherbet, flying saucers.
Finish: long, fresh and fruity, full-on peach debauchery.
Comments: this is a small masterpiece. 9/10

ydc: "I like it. Do I need to be more loquacious? Accurate?"

Bishlouk shows the next bottle: "The label looks like an American comic from the 1960s."

The Nameless One 18yo 1995/2014 (46.8%, The Whisky Mercenary, Sherry Cask) (Bishlouk)

Nose: a little gamy, it has cured meat and rancio aplenty. Then, it is leather and farm paths. The second nose is fruitier.
Mouth: fruity, if robust, it has ripe carambola leaking in a leather game pouch and bright passion fruits. The second sip adds guava and small Egyptian green bananas. Lovely!
Finish: lots of fruits again (pink-grapefruit segments, pink maracuja) and a drop of ink.
Comment: fruity drop from start to finish for this presumed Glenfarclas. Love it. 8/10

Food enters. The usual selection of cheeses, pâtés and a white pudding with bread rolls.

STL shows us three pictures. They are clues that hint at three names of heroes (not super-, but hey!) We find them easily. Those three names are written on the label of the next bottling.

Clockwise: Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford), Maverick, City Hunter

Waterford 3yo 2019/2022 Heritage: Hunter 1.1 (50%, OB Arcadian Barley, 45% First-Fill US Oak Casks + 18% Virgin US Oak Casks + 21% French Oak Casks, B#HE01E01-01, 9048b) (STL)

Nose: heavy and woody, deep, soaked. Here are mahogany drinks cabinets in which the drinks have leaked for years, oily and oiled oak, precious and exotic woods. This is heady!
Mouth: fairly bitter on the tongue, borderline plank-y, which is in line with the nose, yet very unexpected of something so young. Bitter, bark-y, though it gains pressed sultanas, in the long run.
Finish: long and woody.
Comment: my first Waterford. I knew it was a divisive distillate, now I feel I can emit an opinion. It is not really my thing. 6/10

sonicvince presents the figure of authority in Batman: Commissioner Gordon (& MacPhail).

Glen Keith 28yo 1993/2021 (51.8%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength UK Exclusive, Refill American Hogshead, C#97142, B#21/143, 230b) (sonicvince)

Nose: sawdust and crushed dried strawberries.
Mouth: lightly acidic (Psycho), it has beefed-up strawberry yoghurt and peppery sawdust.
Finish: long, spicy and fruity.
Comment: we tried this in August 2024. It is just as good today. Maybe, one day, I will spend enough time with it. 8/10

JS proposes a bottling by the Silver Surfer Seal.

Littlemill 23yo 1990/2013 (54.8%, Silver Seal, C#33, 290b, b#286) (JS)

Nose: grapefruit rinds, hot pineapple purée, dried mango slices. It becomes juicier at second nose, though sonicvince finds honey.
Mouth: a crescendo of acidic fruits, starting with mango and ending with grapefruit.
Finish: PSc detects loads of vanilla, whereas all I have are explosive fruits.
Comment: JS served this for the same occasion, ahem, seven years ago, and we have not had it since. It is still cracking and I am looking forward to spending more time with it. 9/10

sonicvince: "Anyone wants half a roll with me?"
tOMoH: "Only a wimp would take half a roll!"
Bishlouk: "I'll take half a wimp roll, thank you."

red71 unveils a Bowmore and tells us that inverting the syllables gives Morebow -- and more bow points at Green Arrow.

Bowmore 12yo 2001/2013 (52.9%, The Whisky Agency Liquid Library, Refill Butt, 484b) (red71)

Nose: "Fifty Shades of Islay, at first dusty, then very good" (PSc) tOMoH points out that is only two shades. It is farm-y, with ploughed fields all round. Soon, violent fruits rise, as do cold ashes (PSc).
Mouth: it showcases very-dirty farmland, with muck on the side of the paths, and torched soil in planters. Chewing shows fruits again (peaches, nectarines). The second sip adds a pinch of chalk and metal filings.
Finish: another mix of scorched earth and torched fruits, this also has red chillies and fiery ginger.
Comment: what a class act! 8/10

ydc polls the audience to know what the name is of the prison where the villains are jailed, when caught by Batman. It is, of course, the Arkham-urchan Asylum.

sonicvince: "I would have said April O'Neill, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
red71: "That's not worth Leguman, but..."

Ardnamurchan 5yo b.2022 Second Release (53.2%, The Whisky Exchange April Fool, First Fill Bourbon Casks, 1575b) (ydc + GD)

Nose: a pinch of moist clay and lovely strawberry sweets. Fruit stones are next, maybe a mineral touch, and a pinch of cinnamon powder.
Mouth: yup, clay and strawberries. This is delicious, viscous, chewy. It then develops scorched earth. It feels chalkier at second sip.
Finish: long, acidic, earthy. It has dark, inky algae in the back. It gives me the impression of licking black ink off the bottom of an empty vase -- yes, one would need a long tongue to know.
Comment: excellent. 8/10

First cake.

ydc on shanking duties

dom666 brought something from Campbeltown, near the Hulk of Kintyre. Groan.

Springbank 21yo b.2000 (46%, OB imported by Fourcroy) (dom666)

Nose: Dr. Pepper, flat cola, grated cinnamon, crushed dried raspberry. What a nose!
Mouth: fantastic rancio with parched mud, tarry mud patties caked on tractor tyres and bitter blackcurrants.
Finish: slightly-drying finish with tons of fruits. Cream Sherry, which is to say the dryness of Oloroso and the sweetness of PX combined.
Comment: fares so much better today than at Burns' Night 2023 when it faced an ancient twelve-year-old and another twenty-one-year-old. Today, it shines on its own. 9/10

We talk about my misadventure with a bottle of Laphroaig.

tOMoH: "We had the real deal at hand, which is genuine without the shadow of a doubt."
dom666: "Yeah, I'd bought mine from La Maison du Pékèt [instead of du Whisky]."
Laughter all round.

tOMoH introduces a distillery no-one has had apart from JS and adc. Abhainn Dearg, pronounced Aveen Djarek for the Aveendjers or Avenger-eks. (Thanks for the inspiration, JS)

Abhainn Dearg b.2023 (61%, OB X Cask Type, PX Cask) (tOMoH)

Nose: baked breadstick (Psycho), fish (Bishlouk), burnt peach pastry, some rubber, industrial glue and a hot plastic bag. The second nose sees melted chocolate and strawberry filling in a chocolate biscuit.
Mouth: oh! yeah, this feels plastic-y alright, rubbery, a little drying. Then, the alcohol becomes desiccating and peppery. The second sip is softer-ish (it is still a brute), creamy and chocolate-y.
Finish: long and chocolate-y. This goes from challenging to delicious over the space of fifteen minutes. It will likely benefit from breathing in an open bottle too.
Comment: as expected, it is not as good as it was at the distillery, but what a nice souvenir. Bishlouk disagrees, who empties his glass in the sink (and will consequently never be invited again). 7/10

adc is relieved that it is her turn, at last. She produces her bottle -- a bottle wearing a cape!

And she goes...

Kilchoman

Kilchoman

Héros de l'Univers

(Y'know...)

Kilchoman, the peaty superhero -- ha! ha!

She adds that all that American-superhero malarky is of a certain generation. Previous ones had other heroes, such as the Four Musketeers -- D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis and Port-os, hence a Port-cask-matured whisky.

Kilchoman 6yo b.2024 Port Cask Matured (50%, OB, Ruby Port Casks, 24/96) (adc)

Nose: ooft! Mud, bay leaves, cassia bark, and piles and piles of mud that turn into empty-aquarium residue.
Mouth: honey and mud, smoked earth, ashes and some smoked cut slices of peach and nectarine. It is hot on the tongue, but keeps it all entertaining by not playing the mud/peat card exclusively.
Finish: it is very smoky and ashy, with mud and torched chocolate.
Comment: works a treat, today. Very efficient. 8/10

Second cake.

Cut by yours, truly

tOMoH somehow remembers a bottle that was meant for Burns' Night 2024 that went AWOL and that he forgot to put into this here line-up. He tells everyone that Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Bruce Wayne (Batman) are both upper Far-class.

Glenfarclas-Glenlivet 11yo 1980/1992 (59.6%, Cadenhead Authentic Collection 150th Anniversary Bottling, Oak Cask) (tOMoH)

Comment: in order to not fall behind too much, tOMoH skips this one altogether. Others seem enthused by it. My notes are here.

Psycho and PSc prepare for a duel, a battle of the groans.

PSc has an Ardbeg Uigaedal Vador (groan), or an Uigaedzilla (double groan).

red71: "Make him stop!"

Psycho has a Commissioner Gordon (& MacPhail), which was done already, so he prepared a backup link: it was distilled in 1996, a year that saw the release of a film version of The Phantom.

He is so proud of himself that he breaks the cork.

Ardbeg 1996/2005 (46%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, C#906, JE/GI) (Psycho)

Nose: barley and cereal, in pure Ardbeg fashion. adc finds it a certain sweetness. I detect a whiff of coffee, and that is not the sludge everyone else is sipping. We also have scorched earth and sands licked by a flamethrower.
Mouth: oh! This is ashy, drying. It has crushed (ground) seashells full of sands, salt and iodine. It picks up boozy caramelised custard at second sip.
Finish: a blend of sweet and ashy, confectionary or caster sugar and fine white ash. The second gulp brings smoked cereals too. Wow.
Comment: here is one we had not had for years, probably decades, as it seems to predate this little blog, and it still does the job. 8/10

vs.

Ardbeg Uigeadail b.2004 (52.4%, OB, Bourbon + Sherry Casks, L4 187) (PSc)

Nose: lots of ink, iodine, a drop of Iso Betadine, soot, cork and burnt toffee.
Mouth: ash-dusted toffee and lots of chilli. It is surprising how hot this is, after a few drams that were much higher in alcohol. Chewing cranks up the ash and ink -- so much so I find it a bit unbalanced.
Finish: it is better here, long, with clay dirt, dust and the bitterness of crushed bay leaves.
Comment: this is okay. I am less taken than others. 7/10

We talk about Skye.

dom666: "You should not go to Skye in August. Unless you're a duck."

Unbeknownst to all, a new bottle enters the party to face the last one in the line-up, that was moved in the original sequence.

dom666 open a Torabhaig -- or a Thor-abhaig. Because it is from the 57th Parallel (57.1, to be precise), whereas Talisker, dom666's favourite distillery, sits at 57.3. It is also bottled at 57.1%, but is neither fifty-seven years old, nor from 1957. At least, it is not a supermarket whisky, unlike its neighbour at 57.3. ;-)

To fight Thor-abhaig, tOMoH pours a Glen-Loki.

vs.

Boom.

Torabhaig 7yo 2018/2025 (57.1%, The Dornoch Distillery Co. for Thompson Bros., 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels) (dom666)

Nose: iodine, old bandages, followed by a big burst of farm-y scents, part ashy fields and cindered pitches, part tractor fumes. It is smokier at second nosing, with earth fields saturated with diesel fumes, and root vegetables just as gorged with the same fumes. With water, all we have is ashes.
Mouth: spicy, gingery and peaty in a muddy way. It is very powerful, even this late in the game, a tad herbaceous, but mostly earthy. The second sip is pepperier, overflowing with cracked black pepper and bay leaves that have been dragged into a field. Water pours seawater and adds a bunch of samphire.

Finish: bold, it acquires dark chocolate, maybe liquorice bootlaces (the red variety). The second gulp is creamier, with the chocolate putting on a milky coat. Water adds pan-seared algae.
Comment: a very-well-made, muscular animal that I hope to explore further in the future. Careful with water, though. Since I like it better than upon first encountering it, it will be a generous... 8/10

vs.

Glenlochy 29yo 1980/2010 (52.8%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Hogshead, C#2649, 265b, b#71) (tOMoH)

Comment: I take no notes, tonight (here they are, from another time). It is 21:15. We have been drinking around twenty drams over almost eight hours. It still slays. Universally liked. 9/10

Phew! We made it, somehow. Excellent tasting as usual. Lots of banter, nonsense and laughter, satisfying food, and a wide variety of whiskies all combined to create unforgettable moments.

Happy birthday, dom666!

Psycho was on a mission and broke 3/4 of his corks