In preparation for tonight, you understand.
Bowmore 20yo 2005/2026 Ronald's Choice (56.5%, Cadenhead Barrel Royale, Bourbon Barrel): nose: bacon and wood stain. Yup, here are Frazzles, Grills, Walker's recent-ish bacon crisps (certified without bacon, I am convinced) juxtaposed with Carbonyl, Ronseal, and other wood oils for decking. Further nosing does away with that and replaces it with warm plasticine and flowery shrubs (lilac, magnolia). That latter note is not very bold and it soon recedes to allow bacon back. This time, it is crispy rashers on a toasted onion beigel. What do you mean, "it makes no sense"? It is heady and ester-y, maybe has a hint of pickled pearl onion, which goes well with the dominant bacon. Is it a drop of black ink, in the back? The second nose has fleeting purple fruits that soon open the door to earthy aromas: clay floors and mounds of dug-up field earth strangely go back to blueberries in seconds. It seems to settle for brambles, hawthorn and other berry-bearing bushes, which is very nice. Mouth: warm, almost hot, it is ink that is reaching boiling point and warm Ronseal wood stain. It cools down a bit after spending some time on the tongue, which allows plasticine to take over -- plasticine filled with wood oil or wood stain, surely enough. Against all odds, chewing releases tropical fruits, yet they may not be fresh. Instead it is chewy mango-flavoured sweets, as if Gummibärchen came in mango flavour (do they?) That is enhanced with a drop of crisp citrus juice (Ugli fruit or sweet grapefruit) and a generous dose of wood oil, still. The second sip is pretty punchy again, acidic and fruity, perhaps with less wood stain. Chewing seems to revive that, but, in fact, it is now much closer to gooseberries, currants and myrtles. The bitterness has shifted from wood oil to brambles and no-one is complaining. Stubborn chewing brings forth some earth, but it is now a fruity number. Finish: quite the rollercoaster, it starts off farm-y, would you believe?, continues with tropical fruits (mango and papaya, mostly) coated in melted cheese (Appenzeller -- go figure!) and witnesses bacon squirting wood oil and Carbonyl from the side line. Waxy cheeses such as Gouda and Jarlsberg keep growing after that, which is as sticky as it is mesmerising. Highly unexpected. 'Barrel Royale with Cheese', they should have called this! The second gulp dials down the cheese to 0.5 and focuses on earthy berries, not quite ripe, at that. Blackcurrants, elderberries, blackberries, sloe berries. It is a trifle bitter, but it remains acceptable. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, SOB)
Next, we will have a younger one that is actually older. Are you following?
3.217 16yo 1997/2014 A delicatessen shopping basket (55.6%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill ex-Sherry Butt, 609b): nose: big, musk-ular Sherry maturation, wet cat's hair and fox's skin in the drizzle. It has bruised and cured quince and apples, lukewarm caramel and a spoonful of melted chocolate, perhaps. Fig paste spread on overly-toasted bread or Biscotte, and open bottles in a teak drinks cabinet. This is really a bold Sherry cask and one would be tempted to guess Oloroso. Deeper nosing unearths (pun obviously intended) rancio, before taking us back to animal scents -- lynx, fox, wolf, hyena. However, at this stage, those animals have been rolling in fig relish, Corinth raisins and dried dates, then sprinkled with cocoa powder. They have enjoyed it too. No need to call the RSPCA. The second nose has gooseberries and unripe redcurrants, a tad green, and promising to be bitter, yet that is counterbalanced by currants and candied citrus segments (green grapefruit and oroblanco). How far we have come from wet foxes, eh? Deeper nosing brings up some kind of green tart; not apple, not greengage. Gooseberry tart? Does that exist? Of course! Water increases the pickled-pearl-onion smell and the musk. Ammonia? To be fair, it smells sweeter too, but all in all, it is a trifle less interesting (to tOMoH). Mouth: somehow, this is reminiscent of Greek wines (Udo Jürgens to the rescue). It is strong, assertive more than bold, and sweet, yet not as syrupy as Sherry. It has chewy sweets and dried currants, notes that chewing magnifies. It verges towards blackberry cough drops or even chewy liquorice sweets, yet those currants are never out of sight. The second sip rolls out fig paste punctuated with droplets of melted chocolate (low cocoa content) and berry liqueur. It is small enough quantities to not come across as liqueur-like, but it is there. Chewing, again, propels raisins to the fore, soaked in hot water, and said hot water served alongside. Wet animal fur is right behind, albeit less musky than on the nose. The bitter aspect turns almost rubbery with water, which one could take or leave, based on preference. You like chewing a dandelion stem or a car window seal? This is for you! You do not? Well... Finish: a lot fresher than expected, it still is a big Sherry cask full of chewy sweets and currants, yet, instead of the musk from the nose, we have black liquorice bootlaces and an almost-minty mouthfeel akin to caramelised fennel or lovage seeds. It is a very-long finish, by the way -- the kind one knows immediately that a few sips of water will not dissipate. The second gulp shows just how earthy this can be: beside a strong alcohol kick, it piles on a few shovelfuls of fertile-but-dry earth. There is a general impression of burning that could be construed as a heap of peat by an open fire, but I do not think it is peat. It is earth by a fire, the fuel for which is undetermined, but could be oil. Water improves it by peddling prune ice cream or beetroot sorbet served with a dash of elderberry liqueur that one enjoys while sitting on a tyre. It is weird enough to work! 7/10 (Thanks for the dram, EG)
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