Back to Glasgow to meet DH with JS. What better place than the local SMWS branch? It is Friday night and the new outturn is being launched. It is busy!
50.124 7yo d.2018 Vitality and maturity (59.4%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 328b)
Nose: winy. It has pickled onions, roast beef, wine sauce. It moves on to pan-seared mushrooms, the pan being deglazed with red-wine vinegar.
Mouth: strong and earthy, it has dead leaves, forest floor, dried pearl onions. Chewing adds a soft sweetness and a lot of horsepower.
Finish: burning-hot bread dough, Selkirk bannock, burnt Guiness cake. It really acquires a burnt note, after a while, perhaps charred beef, and a crisp bitterness.
Comment: disappointing. The previous 50, also a young one, was an excellent surprise. This one is more winy than I prefer.
Score: 7/10
76.166 20yo d.2005 Anyone for cricket? (50.9%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 176b)
Nose: very floral and juicy (not sappy). Honeysuckle, rosehip, followed by pears, quinces and apples, gooseberries and Mirabelle plums. That ends with Greek shortbread.
Mouth: soft and fruity, it has plump gooseberries, Mirabelle plums and an avalanche of Conference pears upon chewing. The second sip has mild citrus, dusted in confectionary sugar.
Finish: elegant, floral, it displays physalis and Mirabelle plums here too, unripe pears, crunchy, almost unpleasant, yet actually very good.
Score: 8/10
121,126 9yo d.2006 Midnight desires (60.9%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Sherry Hogshead, 153b)
Nose: another loud Sherry cask in action, with pickled onions, cured beef, braised shallots and red cabbage.
Mouth: sharp, spirit-y, it is akin to a strong wine spilled on earth. Rancio, roast beef, a lot of spices and dusty earth. It is really fierce, even after a few sips. Red cabbage again, augmented with cranberry sauce.
Finish: here is the best part, with a better balance, despite a pronounced winy bitterness. It feels like a bay leaf on roast beef. Time makes it mellower and sweeter, which works better for tOMoH.
Score: 6/10
Food enters.
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| Chicken supreme, roast baby gem, Caesar dressing, butter mash, bacon jam & chicken jus (DH) |
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| Harissa roast hispi cabbage, garlic polenta & tahini dressing (me) |
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| Garlic-baked mushroom burger, romesco, grilled onions, Parmesan & hand cut chips House salad (JS) |
68.141 14yo d.2011 The cooper and the croze (54.3%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill American Oak Cask, 249b)
Nose: mercilessly strong, it gives rye vibes, metal and shoe polish.
Mouth: earthy plasticine and plums. It is also really strong, with red-chilli flakes.
Finish: boozy plums, prunes, prune syrup and liqueur, and, after a moment, cherry peppers. It feels stronger than the advertised ABV, which is not necessarily a good thing. Overall, it improves with water.
Score: 7/10
tOMoH: "Have you got Bath Street exclusive bottlings?"
There is only one, it turns out.
53.512 12yo Haven in a heartless world (58.7%, SMWS In Celebration 40 Bath Street Exclusive Cask, ex-Bourbon Cask finished in Refill Charred Red Wine Barrique, 286b)
Nose: peated kimchi (DH), a lot of mud, drying pottery and clay, wet earth smeared on an oilcloth.
Mouth: smoky-prune syrup moving towards chestnut paste, nutspread, smashed blackberries and ink. Of course, ink. It is a Caol Ila, after all. It feels stronger and spicier at second sip, with more ink and fishing nets dipped in plum juice.
Finish: big, earthy, muddy. We have tarry sands gorged with sea water.
Score: 7/10
59.108 14yo 2012/2026 Veritably vivacious (57.4%, SMWS Two to One, 1st Fill ex- Bourbon Hogshead & 1st Fill American Oak ex-Oloroso Hogshead, 572b)
Nose: chocolate spread, a dollop of Marmite, rancio, Madeira. Next is a splashed wet with fortified wine.
Mouth: sweet, sweet, sweet. Tawny Port, pressed apricots. It gains a big dose of pepper over time, but the fruity sweetness does stay.
Finish: strong, fired up with black pepper, it also welcomes nuts and a lick of mahogany cabinets.
Score: 7/10
Enough. It has been a long day.
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