Year three, and, already, habits are well established. I pick up breakfast from Bäckerei Huth.
As I come back from the bakery with my loot, I discover that EG is staying in the same building. Ha! Ha!
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| "Wilkommen," he shouts from the top floor. |
Replenished and ready for action, JS and I head to the venue where we meet elskling and LsR. They are flabbergasted that I am wearing camouflage, not a shirt and a blazer. I has got to keep they on they toes.
They invite us to join them in the queue; it is a bit of a dick move, but we accept. We also know how quickly the queue moves and know it will make virtually no difference to those whom we just set back by a couple of places. Indeed, when the doors open, we are in in seconds.
JS and I skip the usual gathering place, today. Last year, we missed out on some bottlings because we were too late in the day. This year, we decide to prioritise those above anything else. That takes us to The Whisky Jury, the next to last stall in the tent, the furthest area of the festival. The staff recognise us immediately. It is quickly clear we rushed for nothing, as they have nothing for sale. At least, we can try their bottlings.
All weekend, we pour Caperdonich 11yo 1968/1979 (70° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseur's Choice) and 57.4 15yo 1979/1994 Fearsome indeed; smoky, spicy and savoury (63.1%, SMWS Society Cask). I will not explicitly mention when anymore.
Bowmore 21yo 2005/2026 (52.8%, The Whisky Jury, Refill Hogshead, C#250906, 224b, b#224)
Nose: smoky pickles followed by creamy peach in sea air. JS finds it a bit rubbery.
Mouth: smoke, gravels, pebbles. It opens to reveal passion fruits and chargrilled nut shells.
Finish: a lot of ash and char, but also lovely fruits (peach, mango, papaya).
Comment: what a way to start! Perhaps my score is too generous (especially when compared to later drams), but I am seduced.
Score: 9/10 (Thanks for the dram. TWJ)
Ben Nevis 28yo 1996/2025 (47.8%, The Whisky Jury in honour of Derek John Smith, Refill Hogshead, C#1321, 259b, b#105)
Nose: fresh, but a bit closed. Some herbs painstakingly come through. It ends up giving some fruits, mostly apples. Then, timid white peaches enter the scene.
Mouth: ah! A bit dirty, it pushes engine grease as well as unripe fruits.
Finish: a soft explosion of fruits such as peaches, plums and even persimmons. It has some dirty funk, after a while, reminding us that it is a Ben Nevis indeed.
Comment: this should improve in the open bottle. Already, it is good.
Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram. TWJ)
JS spots another Ben Nevis. Or two.
Ben Nevis 30yo 1996/2026 (45.3%, The Whisky Agency & Sansibar A Joint Bottling Collection Spring 2026, Hogshead)
Nose: toffee coated in tropical fruit juice. It smell as creamy as smashed peach.
Mouth: and creamy it is too, with a soft acidic note and a more mineral aspect.
Finish: the dirty Ben Nevis funk is overpowered by lovely peaches. JS finds it nutty to boot.
Comment: woah!
Score: 9/10
Strathmill 37yo 1988/2025 (49.4%, The Whisky Agency & Three Rivers, Hogshead)
Nose: fruit juice sprinkled onto precious wood. It has a minimal rubbery or glue-like touch that merely gives it complexity. Or is it wood lacquer?
Mouth: it is all about texture, here. The taste is good, but unremarkable, especially after that nose. Smoked peach and crushed peach stones, a dollop of glue to keep it together. However, it is the lovely creamy texture that catches the attention.
Finish: what just happened? Varnished wood? Fruit purée? A lick of rubber?
Comment: holy molly, this is good.
Score: 8/10
Strathmill 37yo 1988/2025 (45.1%, The Whisky Agency & Sansibar A Joint Bottling Collection Spring 2026, Hogshead)
Nose: jasmine, rosehip, honeysuckle and sarcococca. Then, Fraises Tagada take over.
Mouth: it has a clear woody structure, with a minimal bitterness and lignin. All that disappears as soon as a creamy fruitiness emerges to shine and shine, augmented with a droplet of fortified wine for fun.
Finish: warming and fruity, it gives peaches and persimmon in a straw-filled wicker basket.
Comment: wonderful.
Score: 9/10
Auchentoshan 26yo 1999/2025 (50.6%, The Whisky Agency & East Village Whisky Company for Birthdays United, Barrel)
Nose: a bit mute at first, it ends up peddling pomelo and pink grapefruit in a yoghurt form.
Mouth: initially soft, it gains vigour with time. Pepper, lemon and lime zest, perhaps oregano too.
Finish: creamy and chocolate-y, this has mild chocolate augmented with lime zest.
Comment: very good, if not the stunner that some other recent Auchentoshans have been.
Score: 8/10
Glenrothes 36yo 1989/2025 (44.8%, The Whisky Agency, Hogshead, 184b)
Nose: waxy and leathery, this has citrus peels sniffed off of a leather sofa.
Mouth: mellow, fruity (yellow fruits), with a touch of leather on the tip of the tongue.
Finish: more yellow fruits, now topped with berries. It is a creamy finish that never ends, by the way.
Comment: even this non-fan of Glenrothes is taken by this.
Score: 8/10
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| This guy's polo short makes us think of Chief-Franconian MV who sadly could not make it, this year |
Glen Keith 30yo 1994/2025 (53%, The Whisky Agency, Barrel, 263b)
Nose: funky! Straw, hay and Lederhosen. We saw a bloke wearing a Dirndl, earlier; this is that. Later on, we have a muddy herbs emulsion.
Mouth: the fruity bitterness at play is taken to great lengths. Orange rinds, grapefruit peels. Indeed, it is fruity, but not extravagantly so.
Finish: bitterness continues, almost rubbery, reminiscent of tyres.
Comment: it is delicious, if clearly not as seductive as other Glen Keiths from that vintage.
Score: 8/10
Glen Grant 26yo 1999/2025 (51.2%, The Whisky Agency, Hogshead, 203b)
Nose: deep and dark this has dark berries aplenty, perhaps honey-glazed mushrooms.
Mouth: a robust bitter Sherry maturation from what I can tell, with myrtles and blackberries on top.
Finish: it is bitter here too, though it is more pine cones than needles (which the official notes talk about) and, really, closer to dark-wood furniture.
Comment: although decent, this is much less my thing.
Score: 7/10
That is our clue to visit another stall. Oh! Here is Kirk Barleycorn.
Highland Park 24yo 1972/1996 (55.9%, Adelphi Distillery, C#1657, Rotation 96/546 PH18/96)
Nose: pickles and smoked fruits, and those fruits keep rising. Peaches, plums, kumquats.
Mouth: ooft! Powerful, it has a tonne of pepper that almost hides similar smoky, pickled yellow fruits.
Finish: creamy as smoked peaches. Pickle brine with only a whisp of smoke.
Comment: challenging and excellent.
Score: 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, Kirk)
Hello elskling, hello LsR.
Springbank 16yo d.2001 (46.8%, OB Duty Paid Sample, First Fill Hogshead, Rotation 683)
Nose: dirty, soot-y smoke gives way to juicy fruits. JS spots barbecued or grilled pork, then sulphury fruits.
Mouth: silky, soft (what?), it has some pepper, after a minute, and drying rancio.
Finish: assertive, not brash, it has rancio, droplets of Sherry and musty clay floors.
Comment: another very good Springbank.
Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, LsR)
JS comes back from an expedition and shares:
Islay 27yo b.2025 (47.8%, C.Dully Selection, Bourbon Barrel, Vatting 133159C, 316b)
Nose: ashy, it has burnt branches turning to ashes, then tobacco and warm cigar leaves.
Mouth: ashy, drying, with a little bit of fruit too.
Finish: much softer a finish than expected, it has yellow fruits and still fine ashes.
Comment: good.
Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, CD)
Karuizawa 31yo 1981/2013 (56%, Number One Drinks Company Noh Whisky, Sherry Butt, C#155, 595b)
Nose: beautiful Sherry, elegant and varnishy. It is surprisingly balanced, yet its sheer power emerges gloriously with time.
Mouth: strong, prune-y. It has a bold rancio kick.
Finish: big, muscular and earthy, it has lots of prunes and a strong rancio. Earthy fruits (prunes, elderberries) and a soft woody touch.
Comment: excellent Karuizawa. It still is not my go-to profile, but it is unquestionably well made.
Score: 8/10 (Thanks for the dram, elskling)
Glenfarclas 25yo b.1977 (70° Proof, Gordon & MacPhail to commemorate The Queen's Silver Jubilee imported by Co. Import)
Nose: pickled lychee, rambutan, mangosteen.
Mouth: jasmine and lychee rub elbows with egg white and omelette. That pickled fruit, though...
Finish: wonderful. It has many of the same fruits we found on the nose. Long and luscious finish with lychee and white peach.
Comment: have we found the dram of the show yet? GB recommended this yesterday when we bumped into him on the street. He was not exaggerating. How fitting to try this today, four days after the late Queen's birthday anniversary, and on the day German television broadcast a documentary on the subject that I watched this morning?
Score: 9/10
Caol Ila 26yo 1977/2003 (57.7%, Douglas Laing The Old & Rare Platinum Selection, 86b)
Nose: a faint smoke introduces seaweed, pebbles licked by the lapping (sea water) and marzipan.
Mouth: sweet and salty as only Caol Ila can be, it has sea water and marzipan again.
Finish: inky sea water and a shovelful of sand, before it continues with candied citrus peels.
Comment: classic Caol Ila from a certain era. The main attraction, here, is how limited this is. But even without that, it is excellent.
Score: 9/10 (Thanks for the dram, GB and thanks for sharing, elskling)
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