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