04/10/2025 October outturn at the SMWS

I join JS, Dr. CD, AFFM for some of this month's drams.

64.164 28yo d.1996 Quince charming (43.8%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 184b): nose: lillies, jasmine and narcissi rolled up into sugared shortcrust. It is very floral and has no shortage of powdered sugar. It grows apple turnovers and a spray of perfume. Tilting the glass adds a vaguely-animal touch, closer to suede than meat. The second nose has a lemon-scented detergent of sorts, sawdust and crushed flower stems. It has more sawdust and peach peels with the addition of water. Mouth: light and delicate at first, the smallest amount of chewing injects a squeaky-clean impression of rubber gloves for washing the dishes. It has a slight bitterness of flower stems (dandelions) and windscreen wipers too. Then, flowers take back control. The second sip is bitterer yet, even a little difficult. I can see some struggling with the vicious bitterness of flower stems. Water serves peach flesh with a generous serving of cracked black pepper. Finish: a warming broth of yellow flowers peppered with sawdust, which seems to be a recurrent marker of distillery 64. The second gulp is a tad more mineral, dry, yet still a little bitter -- and certainly warming. Flower petals, plant sap and a drop of Fino Sherry. Water brings out Fino alright, though that soon makes way for wine-cured fruits (apples, orange segments, apricots). It is sweeter so. Comment: decent dram. It benefits from water. 7/10

128.33 11yo d.2013 Toffees in the hedgerow (58.3%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Tawny Port Barrique finished in 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 342b): nose: super-thick date syrup, pressed dried figs, even chocolate, to a degree. It soon turns very dry, almost earthy, .then moves back to dates, prunes and raisins. The second nose confirms: this is undeniably fruity, ridiculously sweet, with an earthy shade. The realm of dried dates, dried figs, prunes, even dried lychee. Mouth: very, very fruity, with an explosion of cured peaches, dried dates, fresh figs, maybe tamarind, though not quite that acidic. Prunes, raisins, currants... Phwoar! The second sip is more drying, and that is probably the alcohol at play. Chewy, fruity glory with an earthy backbone. Lots of prunes and currants again, augmented with chopped lychee shavings soaked in wine. Finish: huge, long, fairly punchy, but the dominant, through and through, is that lovely fruit (dried and fresh). The second gulp is, again, earthier, and punches like a liqueur with, in the long run, a hint of rubber. 8/10

We strike a conversation with the gentlemen at the table next to us. The Society member is into heavily-sherried drams. The other, a Mod obsessed with First World War graves, is here for the first time. They let me try 36.228 28yo d.1996 Tales of the Worm Tub: The snaking coil (47%, SMWS The Creators Collection, 1st Fill American Oak + PX Hogshead Finish, 222b) which I find as good as the first time we had it. 8/10

Cheeses enter

46.157 14yo 2011/2025 On a beach boardwalk (53.2%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 250b): nose: a pinch of chalk does not at all cover more cured peach and dried figs and prunes. Just as I note that it does not present dates, timid dried dates do show up, earthy and sweet. Perhaps this has a whiff of marzipan too. The second nose has citrus peels (pink grapefruit, blush orange), and that becomes more and more fragrant to reach the intensity of Kaffir lime leaves. Mouth: some rancio, here, clay floors that one ends up chewing for two days after visiting the cellar, some cork dust... And it works positively! Chewing adds a nice scented (blue) plasticine, including the dryness that comes with it. We discover chalk, in the long run. Finish: long, wide and sweet, it has soaked raisins, prunes and some clay. Indeed, repeated quaffing dispenses with the sweetness and replaces it with clay floor. This is good. It as also distilled on a tOMoH milestone, which makes it feel special. 8/10

Dr. CD talks to AFFM about JP leaving.

tOMoH: "Did I hear correctly that JP is leaving?"
Dr. CD: "Yes. To go home for the day."
tOMoH: "Ah! I heard half of a conversation and jumped to the wrong conclusion..."
Dr. CD: "And that is how one starts a rumour."

9.304 17yo 2008/2025 Citric synthesis (57%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 210b): nose: this presents a mix of gentle chalk and powdered sugar, but also citrus. Over time, that citrus grows louder and louder, with orange-flavoured tonic water and dried zest. The second nose has white-wood sawdust (birch, balsa) and yoghurt with ginger shavings. Mouth: rich, coating, this has citrus juice soon complemented with wood spices -- ginger, cinnamon sticks and a pinch of lemongrass.  It has a soft bitterness that is not at all bothering. The second sip feels narrower and comes closer to Fino (it is such a day), fruity, yet dry. Still, it has a dusting of powdered sugar to sweeten it. Finish: warm, full of sawdust in warm orange juice. It has a little too much white pepper to be a winner, but it is very decent. Repeated quaffing tones down the sawdust, keeps the pepper, and dials up the citrus -- juicy orange segments or mandarines. Good. 7/10

G17.1 11yo d.2013 Shades of green (60.9%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 261b): nose: this is supremely neutral. Cleaning alcohol, maybe, as well as camphor, porridge and watery yoghurt with chunks of fruits in it (pineapple, crystallised -- nay! frozen -- clementine segments). The second nose has elasticated adhesive bandages, which is to say plaster glue on top of camphor and gauze, I suppose. Water turns it cardboard-y, if still fruity. The strap glue is more prominent, as are dried pineapple and yellow-citrus segments. Mouth: even after four drams, it feels powerful. Peppery clementine segments, plump mandarine, apple slices coated in honey and ginger shavings. The second sip is huge too, borderline frightening. Camphor is hardly hidden behind plump citrus and a hefty dose of cracked pepper. Water makes it softer, fruitier, and reduces the gauze to a mere whisper. Finish: massive! It is a combination of the nose and palate, with lots of plump citrus, wood spices aplenty and horsepower coming out of its ears. It is very interesting how it balances fruit and almost-medicinal notes successfully, albeit in a fierce fashion. It remains numbing with water, and comes up with dried fruits (pineapple and peach). This is neither complex, nor intellectual, but it works well enough. It is also the cheapest .1 whisky that tOMoH has seen. 7/10

149.16 9yo 2016/2025 Funk on tiptoes (63.3%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 222b): for a second, I fear I made a mistake in trying the high-ABV grain before this. And then I notice the ABV on this one... Nose: earthy berries, chewy blueberry sweets, dark grapes. That veers towards purple plasticine and berry-scented clay. The second nose has a strong whiff of faux leather and charred chestnuts. Further nosing offers a wacky blend of cleaning agent, tobacco and boiled artichoke. Lastly, a fleeting scent of cheese or stinky feet. Miraculously, that has no negative impact. Mouth: much sweeter than anticipated, but then also very strong! We have chewy blueberry paste, pressed dark grapes and quite some spices. Is it stem ginger?  It is that sweet and that spicy, in any case. The second sip brings a bit of dried oranges and dried mango slices. Original. Finish: wide and generous, it delivers similar blueberry notes in a chewy paste, and a dose of spices that are hard to pinpoint, at first. The second gulp is like a slap in the throat. One that leaves the uvula throbbing with crystallised orange segments. It is very strong, this one; probably not one to have too early in a line-up. 8/10

JS: "Something savoury. I can't quite put my finger on it."
tOMoH: "I can."

Good times.