Aberlour 16yo b.2014 (59.1%, OB Hand Filled at the Distillery, Sherry Cask, B#A14): nose: oily exotic woods (mahogany, teak, iroko), shoe polish (dark brown), and a nutty chocolate liqueur. The next sniff brings dark furniture wax, tar-black honey and more shoe polish, soon joined by super-dark raisins, dried blackcurrants and dried mulberries. It is elegant, but very dark. Only the smell of cloves is missing to suspect this was distilled by Goths. All that wood polish ends up unveiling woodworm-riddled rustic chairs. The second nose has purple ink and pencil erasers. That spells a gently-chemical fruitiness, probably, a fruitiness that is soon joined by blackberry jam on dull toast served on tarmac. Mouth: woody, teeming with furniture polish (in a spray, this time). It is not exactly bitter, yet the huge waxiness has definitely gone beyond the gentle yellow-fruit stage. Chewing reminds us of all the raisins and currants from the nose, but, here, they sport a cloak of furniture polish. Dried mulberries, dried blackcurrants, dried cherries, raisins, a spoonful of dark wax and lots of polish for dark-wood furniture. The second sip is a tad more winy, with rancio, clay floors and a generic musty wood dust presenting elderberry and a blackcurrant paste of sorts. It gains a dose of ginger powder too. Finish: fleetingly dry and somewhat reminiscent of a beef-stock cube, it quickly unleashes a cascade of dried berries and currants more in line with the nose and palate. The alcohol bite is remarkably limited, yet, when its effect dissipates, one realises how strong this whisky is thanks to the prominence of tar, a note that was completely hidden to begin with. The second gulp adds spices (ginger powder, ground cloves, amchur) to chunky dark-berry jam. It makes for a gently-bitter-mostly-fruity finish that is hard to disagree with. This is well made. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)
Abhainn Dearg b.2023 (61%, OB X Cask Type, PX Cask): nose: to say it is an entirely-different beast would be the understatement of the week, at least! This is not merely rustic; it is farm-y, today. Moist earth and grass in an orchard, field fertiliser (yes: muck, albeit discreet), geranium plants, but also lichen on penny walls built to enclose pastures. Back to the orchard, there is a faint fruitiness at play, part tart apples, part unripe greengages, and that paves the way for crayons, followed by chewy sugar-coated, acidic cola sweet. Tilting the glass gives shoe-polish vapours on top of that. The second nose has a more-decipherable muck scent that mingles with caramel-flavoured breakfast cereals -- or is it a spoonful of chocolate paste, augmented with a few drops of Marmite? It promptly takes us to crayons and pencil erasers, however, with sappy plants in the background, chilling in a vase, and choux dough in the next room. Mouth: this too seems surprisingly mild an attack, with purple sweets and blueberries in a muffin form. Chewing pumps bitterness into the mix: crayons, scented erasers. That is supported by Tubble Gum, some kind of flexible, synthetic insulation (not rubber) and unripe berries (cranberries, blueberries, bilberries). It takes on a note of burnt baking parchment, at some point, which is unusual. The second sip is firmly in the camp of pencil erasers. It may add a succulent plant or two for a bitter freshness, and a rough ball of wax. Lengthy chewing sprays furniture polish on the lot. At a push, one may detect orchard-fruit eau-de-vie poured on caramel-flavoured cereals. Finish: big and shifting, it presents a rotating tapestry of flavours, like a kaleidoscope. Membrillo, pressed raisins, 45%-cocoa-content chocolate, blueberries, chewy sweets (huckleberry flavoured), but also diesel fumes and hot berry pies coming out of the oven (oooh!) After the palate, one may know to look for a burnt note, in which case, one may find it. Nothing exuberant; just parchment whose corners are blackened by an extensive period in the oven. The second gulp has dusty wax kept on a metal plate, a flower or three on the worktop upon which someone made sandwiches with chocolate spread, and a piece of fruit coated in chocolate -- my hunch is greengage. In any case, it provides a comforting warmth, as would the kitchen of a grandmother's home in the countryside. This is really unique and fascinating. Not easy, perhaps. 8/10
ydc, GD, adc, Psycho, Bishlouk, STL, red71, sonicvince, JS, PSc and I join dom666 in ze Heimat to celebrate his yearly shindig. kruuk2 sadly calls off, due to an emergency, and ruckus is climbing mountains somewhere.
It takes a wee while to get going, owing to the number of bottles and the effort it takes to build a line-up, but, soon, it is all systems go.
Work.
GD and ydc brought the first bottling back from a trip to the Vosges. They explain that, with all the Anschlußing going on in the region in the past, the Vosgians could easily have become Germans, i.e. supervillains. (This is a joke, not a reflection of today's Teutons, okay?)
Nose: it smells blend-y, which is logical. It has cured apples, wet cardboard and pickle juice. More fruits appear over time, apples and quince, followed by toffee and dried apricots. Mouth: peppery rocket, cardboard again, gherkins and dried apple peels. It takes a turn towards dried plantain skins and blackcurrant skins at second sip, macerating in their own juice. Finish: a bit young and grainy, it has cardboard, unsweetened cereals and a dash of grape juice or pressed gooseberries. Comment: a decent starter that is more than a curiosity. 6/10
Bishlouk: "adc, you're on your own, at the end of the table..." adc: "Yes, on purpose. Same at the cinema. I like being in the back. If there is no-one in front of me, even better!" tOMoH: "That's called a television."
sonicvince: "I wonder if I have had COVID thirteen times without knowing. Mrs. sonic often tells me it smells this or that and I can't smell it." tOMoH: "Does she say it smells of your farts? And you go: 'No, no, all good!'?"
Psycho brought a Corsican single malt matured in wine casks. He tells us it is the Black Knight, aka Bruce Winesky. Sinking to new lows.
P&M Signature b.2018 (42%, OB, 6600b)(Psycho)
Nose: pine and sugar (ydc, red71, adc), génépi, dried pine needles (adc), le Bassin d'Arcachon (ydc), pine needles on a sandy beach (sonicvince). It plays the pine-needle note to death. But, if one likes that... Mouth: mountain-flower honey, conifer resin and daffodils macerating in a honeyed solution. Finish: simple, it has toffee and pan-fried plantain. Comment: divisive. I think it works, even if it is hardly whisky. 6/10
adc: "What was the name of the actress in The Horse Whisperer?" tOMoH: "Roberta Redford." Bishlouk:"She's dead, now." dom666 + tOMoH: "So is the horse."
Psycho presents Ben Grimm Bracken, aka The Thing.
He also breaks his first cork of the day, and the vacuum technique to extract the remainder cracks everyone up, as per usual.
tOMoH: "New vacuum cleaner, adc. Do you still have the other one?" adc: "I have... [she counts] four of them." GD + ydc [look at each other]: "We fell small, now, with only two of them!"
Ben Bracken 12yo (40%, Scotch Whisky Company for Lidl, b. ca. 2007) (Psycho)
Nose: strawberry bubble gum, dust (adc). Mouth: maple syrup. Comment: I know this one well (proper notes here) and spend more time socialising than taking notes. I like it. 7/10
Psycho looks for a new cork in the cork basket. tOMoH: "Alright, Psycho? Can you find one?" Psycho: "The thing with [the original] one is that its girth is pretty wide." Bishlouk: "Yeah, but it is broken!"
sonicvince brought a Tomatin. STL: "Is it for Leguman?" No, it is a Tomatin Decades, because, sonicvince says, superheroes have been around for decades.
Nose: adc finds cork and a wet wild plant. As for me, it is tropical fruit (papaya and maracuja) as well as passiflora for a delicate vegetal touch. Mouth: it is lively, acidic, and ripe with tropical fruits, now chiefly pineapple. Chewing reveals a pinch of quarry dust, yet it is far from a mineral number. Finish: long and bold, it explodes with tropical fruits, supported by a lick of green plant stem. The second gulp adds cut mango and includes the skin too for that extra bitter touch. Comment: this one is always a pleaser. 8/10
Psycho introduces General Glenn(burgie) Talbot, one of The Hulk's archnemesis.
He also breaks another cork.
Glenburgie 19yo d.1995 (46%, Signatory Vintage for Direct Wines First Cask, 3 x Hogsheads, b#197) (Psycho)
Nose: dusty peaches served on cardboard plates. This gets fruitier and fruitier, juicier and juicier. Then, it peddles cosmetic powders. Mouth: peach stones with fruit flesh still attached to them. Confectionary sugar, cosmetic powder, sherbet, flying saucers. Finish: long, fresh and fruity, full-on peach debauchery. Comments: this is a small masterpiece. 9/10
ydc: "I like it. Do I need to be more loquacious? Accurate?"
Bishlouk shows the next bottle: "The label looks like an American comic from the 1960s."
The Nameless One 18yo 1995/2014 (46.8%, The Whisky Mercenary, Sherry Cask) (Bishlouk)
Nose: a little gamy, it has cured meat and rancio aplenty. Then, it is leather and farm paths. The second nose is fruitier. Mouth: fruity, if robust, it has ripe carambola leaking in a leather game pouch and bright passion fruits. The second sip adds guava and small Egyptian green bananas. Lovely! Finish: lots of fruits again (pink-grapefruit segments, pink maracuja) and a drop of ink. Comment: fruity drop from start to finish for this presumed Glenfarclas. Love it. 8/10
Food enters. The usual selection of cheeses, pâtés and a white pudding with bread rolls.
STL shows us three pictures. They are clues that hint at three names of heroes (not super-, but hey!) We find them easily. Those three names are written on the label of the next bottling.
Clockwise: Indiana Jones (played by Harrison Ford), Maverick, City Hunter
Waterford 3yo 2019/2022 Heritage: Hunter 1.1 (50%, OB Arcadian Barley, 45% First-Fill US Oak Casks + 18% Virgin US Oak Casks + 21% French Oak Casks, B#HE01E01-01, 9048b) (STL)
Nose: heavy and woody, deep, soaked. Here are mahogany drinks cabinets in which the drinks have leaked for years, oily and oiled oak, precious and exotic woods. This is heady! Mouth: fairly bitter on the tongue, borderline plank-y, which is in line with the nose, yet very unexpected of something so young. Bitter, bark-y, though it gains pressed sultanas, in the long run. Finish: long and woody. Comment: my first Waterford. I knew it was a divisive distillate, now I feel I can emit an opinion. It is not really my thing. 6/10
sonicvince presents the figure of authority in Batman: Commissioner Gordon (& MacPhail).
Glen Keith 28yo 1993/2021 (51.8%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Cask Strength UK Exclusive, Refill American Hogshead, C#97142, B#21/143, 230b) (sonicvince)
Nose: sawdust and crushed dried strawberries. Mouth: lightly acidic (Psycho), it has beefed-up strawberry yoghurt and peppery sawdust. Finish: long, spicy and fruity. Comment: we tried this in August 2024. It is just as good today. Maybe, one day, I will spend enough time with it. 8/10
Nose: grapefruit rinds, hot pineapple purée, dried mango slices. It becomes juicier at second nose, though sonicvince finds honey. Mouth: a crescendo of acidic fruits, starting with mango and ending with grapefruit. Finish: PSc detects loads of vanilla, whereas all I have are explosive fruits. Comment: JS served this for the same occasion, ahem, seven years ago, and we have not had it since. It is still cracking and I am looking forward to spending more time with it. 9/10
sonicvince: "Anyone wants half a roll with me?" tOMoH: "Only a wimp would take half a roll!" Bishlouk: "I'll take half a wimp roll, thank you."
red71 unveils a Bowmore and tells us that inverting the syllables gives Morebow -- and more bow points at Green Arrow.
Nose: "Fifty Shades of Islay, at first dusty, then very good" (PSc) tOMoH points out that is only two shades. It is farm-y, with ploughed fields all round. Soon, violent fruits rise, as do cold ashes (PSc). Mouth: it showcases very-dirty farmland, with muck on the side of the paths, and torched soil in planters. Chewing shows fruits again (peaches, nectarines). The second sip adds a pinch of chalk and metal filings. Finish: another mix of scorched earth and torched fruits, this also has red chillies and fiery ginger. Comment: what a class act! 8/10
ydc polls the audience to know what the name is of the prison where the villains are jailed, when caught by Batman. It is, of course, the Arkham-urchan Asylum.
sonicvince: "I would have said April O'Neill, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." red71: "That's not worth Leguman, but..."
Ardnamurchan 5yo b.2022 Second Release (53.2%, The Whisky Exchange April Fool, First Fill Bourbon Casks, 1575b) (ydc + GD)
Nose: a pinch of moist clay and lovely strawberry sweets. Fruit stones are next, maybe a mineral touch, and a pinch of cinnamon powder. Mouth: yup, clay and strawberries. This is delicious, viscous, chewy. It then develops scorched earth. It feels chalkier at second sip. Finish: long, acidic, earthy. It has dark, inky algae in the back. It gives me the impression of licking black ink off the bottom of an empty vase -- yes, one would need a long tongue to know. Comment: excellent. 8/10
First cake.
ydc on shanking duties
dom666 brought something from Campbeltown, near the Hulk of Kintyre. Groan.
Springbank 21yo b.2000 (46%, OB imported by Fourcroy) (dom666)
Nose: Dr. Pepper, flat cola, grated cinnamon, crushed dried raspberry. What a nose! Mouth: fantastic rancio with parched mud, tarry mud patties caked on tractor tyres and bitter blackcurrants. Finish: slightly-drying finish with tons of fruits. Cream Sherry, which is to say the dryness of Oloroso and the sweetness of PX combined. Comment: fares so much better today than at Burns' Night 2023 when it faced an ancient twelve-year-old and another twenty-one-year-old. Today, it shines on its own. 9/10
tOMoH: "We had the real deal at hand, which is genuine without the shadow of a doubt." dom666: "Yeah, I'd bought mine from La Maison du Pékèt [instead of du Whisky]." Laughter all round.
tOMoH introduces a distillery no-one has had apart from JS and adc. Abhainn Dearg, pronounced Aveen Djarek for the Aveendjers or Avenger-eks. (Thanks for the inspiration, JS)
Abhainn Dearg b.2023 (61%, OB X Cask Type, PX Cask) (tOMoH)
Nose: baked breadstick (Psycho), fish (Bishlouk), burnt peach pastry, some rubber, industrial glue and a hot plastic bag. The second nose sees melted chocolate and strawberry filling in a chocolate biscuit. Mouth: oh! yeah, this feels plastic-y alright, rubbery, a little drying. Then, the alcohol becomes desiccating and peppery. The second sip is softer-ish (it is still a brute), creamy and chocolate-y. Finish: long and chocolate-y. This goes from challenging to delicious over the space of fifteen minutes. It will likely benefit from breathing in an open bottle too. Comment: as expected, it is not as good as it was at the distillery, but what a nice souvenir. Bishlouk disagrees, who empties his glass in the sink (and will consequently never be invited again). 7/10
adc is relieved that it is her turn, at last. She produces her bottle -- a bottle wearing a cape!
And she goes...
Kilchoman
Kilchoman
Héros de l'Univers
(Y'know...)
Kilchoman, the peaty superhero -- ha! ha!
She adds that all that American-superhero malarky is of a certain generation. Previous ones had other heroes, such as the Four Musketeers -- D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis and Port-os, hence a Port-cask-matured whisky.
Kilchoman 6yo b.2024 Port Cask Matured (50%, OB, Ruby Port Casks, 24/96) (adc)
Nose: ooft! Mud, bay leaves, cassia bark, and piles and piles of mud that turn into empty-aquarium residue. Mouth: honey and mud, smoked earth, ashes and some smoked cut slices of peach and nectarine. It is hot on the tongue, but keeps it all entertaining by not playing the mud/peat card exclusively. Finish: it is very smoky and ashy, with mud and torched chocolate. Comment: works a treat, today. Very efficient. 8/10
Second cake.
Cut by yours, truly
tOMoH somehow remembers a bottle that was meant for Burns' Night 2024 that went AWOL and that he forgot to put into this here line-up. He tells everyone that Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Bruce Wayne (Batman) are both upper Far-class.
Comment: in order to not fall behind too much, tOMoH skips this one altogether. Others seem enthused by it. My notes are here.
Psycho and PSc prepare for a duel, a battle of the groans.
PSc has an Ardbeg Uigaedal Vador (groan), or an Uigaedzilla (double groan).
red71: "Make him stop!"
Psycho has a Commissioner Gordon (& MacPhail), which was done already, so he prepared a backup link: it was distilled in 1996, a year that saw the release of a film version of The Phantom.
He is so proud of himself that he breaks the cork.
Nose: barley and cereal, in pure Ardbeg fashion. adc finds it a certain sweetness. I detect a whiff of coffee, and that is not the sludge everyone else is sipping. We also have scorched earth and sands licked by a flamethrower. Mouth: oh! This is ashy, drying. It has crushed (ground) seashells full of sands, salt and iodine. It picks up boozy caramelised custard at second sip. Finish: a blend of sweet and ashy, confectionary or caster sugar and fine white ash. The second gulp brings smoked cereals too. Wow. Comment: here is one we had not had for years, probably decades, as it seems to predate this little blog, and it still does the job. 8/10
Nose: lots of ink, iodine, a drop of Iso Betadine, soot, cork and burnt toffee. Mouth: ash-dusted toffee and lots of chilli. It is surprising how hot this is, after a few drams that were much higher in alcohol. Chewing cranks up the ash and ink -- so much so I find it a bit unbalanced. Finish: it is better here, long, with clay dirt, dust and the bitterness of crushed bay leaves. Comment: this is okay. I am less taken than others. 7/10
We talk about Skye.
dom666: "You should not go to Skye in August. Unless you're a duck."
Unbeknownst to all, a new bottle enters the party to face the last one in the line-up, that was moved in the original sequence.
dom666 open a Torabhaig -- or a Thor-abhaig. Because it is from the 57th Parallel (57.1, to be precise), whereas Talisker, dom666's favourite distillery, sits at 57.3. It is also bottled at 57.1%, but is neither fifty-seven years old, nor from 1957. At least, it is not a supermarket whisky, unlike its neighbour at 57.3. ;-)
To fight Thor-abhaig, tOMoH pours a Glen-Loki.
vs.
Boom.
Torabhaig 7yo 2018/2025 (57.1%, The Dornoch Distillery Co. for Thompson Bros., 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels) (dom666)
Nose: iodine, old bandages, followed by a big burst of farm-y scents, part ashy fields and cindered pitches, part tractor fumes. It is smokier at second nosing, with earth fields saturated with diesel fumes, and root vegetables just as gorged with the same fumes. With water, all we have is ashes. Mouth: spicy, gingery and peaty in a muddy way. It is very powerful, even this late in the game, a tad herbaceous, but mostly earthy. The second sip is pepperier, overflowing with cracked black pepper and bay leaves that have been dragged into a field. Water pours seawater and adds a bunch of samphire.
Finish: bold, it acquires dark chocolate, maybe liquorice bootlaces (the red variety). The second gulp is creamier, with the chocolate putting on a milky coat. Water adds pan-seared algae. Comment: a very-well-made, muscular animal that I hope to explore further in the future. Careful with water, though. Since I like it better than upon first encountering it, it will be a generous... 8/10
Comment: I take no notes, tonight (here they are, from another time). It is 21:15. We have been drinking around twenty drams over almost eight hours. It still slays. Universally liked. 9/10
Phew! We made it, somehow. Excellent tasting as usual. Lots of banter, nonsense and laughter, satisfying food, and a wide variety of whiskies all combined to create unforgettable moments.
Happy birthday, dom666!
Psycho was on a mission and broke 3/4 of his corks
Aberlour 16yo b.2014 (59.1%, OB Hand Filled at the Distillery, Sherry Cask, B#A14): nose: oily exotic woods (mahogany, teak, iroko), shoe polish (dark brown), and a nutty chocolate liqueur. The next sniff brings dark furniture wax, tar-black honey and more shoe polish, soon joined by super-dark raisins, dried blackcurrants and dried mulberries. It is elegant, but very dark. Only the smell of cloves is missing to suspect this was distilled by Goths. All that wood polish ends up unveiling woodworm-riddled rustic chairs. The second nose has purple ink and pencil erasers. That spells a gently-chemical fruitiness, probably, a fruitiness that is soon joined by blackberry jam on dull toast served on tarmac. Mouth: woody, teeming with furniture polish (in a spray, this time). It is not exactly bitter, yet the huge waxiness has definitely gone beyond the gentle yellow-fruit stage. Chewing reminds us of all the raisins and currants from the nose, but, here, they sport a cloak of furniture polish. Dried mulberries, dried blackcurrants, dried cherries, raisins, a spoonful of dark wax and lots of polish for dark-wood furniture. The second sip is a tad more winy, with rancio, clay floors and a generic musty wood dust presenting elderberry and a blackcurrant paste of sorts. It gains a dose of ginger powder too. Finish: fleetingly dry and somewhat reminiscent of a beef-stock cube, it quickly unleashes a cascade of dried berries and currants more in line with the nose and palate. The alcohol bite is remarkably limited, yet, when its effect dissipates, one realises how strong this whisky is thanks to the prominence of tar, a note that was completely hidden to begin with. The second gulp adds spices (ginger powder, ground cloves, amchur) to chunky dark-berry jam. It makes for a gently-bitter-mostly-fruity finish that is hard to disagree with. This is well made. 7/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)
Abhainn Dearg b.2023 (61%, OB X Cask Type, PX Cask): nose: to say it is an entirely-different beast would be the understatement of the week, at least! This is not merely rustic; it is farm-y, today. Moist earth and grass in an orchard, field fertiliser (yes: muck, albeit discreet), geranium plants, but also lichen on penny walls built to enclose pastures. Back to the orchard, there is a faint fruitiness at play, part tart apples, part unripe greengages, and that paves the way for crayons, followed by chewy sugar-coated, acidic cola sweet. Tilting the glass gives shoe-polish vapours on top of that. The second nose has a more-decipherable muck scent that mingles with caramel-flavoured breakfast cereals -- or is it a spoonful of chocolate paste, augmented with a few drops of Marmite? It promptly takes us to crayons and pencil erasers, however, with sappy plants in the background, chilling in a vase, and choux dough in the next room. Mouth: this too seems surprisingly mild an attack, with purple sweets and blueberries in a muffin form. Chewing pumps bitterness into the mix: crayons, scented erasers. That is supported by Tubble Gum, some kind of flexible, synthetic insulation (not rubber) and unripe berries (cranberries, blueberries, bilberries). It takes on a note of burnt baking parchment, at some point, which is unusual. The second sip is firmly in the camp of pencil erasers. It may add a succulent plant or two for a bitter freshness, and a rough ball of wax. Lengthy chewing sprays furniture polish on the lot. At a push, one may detect orchard-fruit eau-de-vie poured on caramel-flavoured cereals. Finish: big and shifting, it presents a rotating tapestry of flavours, like a kaleidoscope. Membrillo, pressed raisins, 45%-cocoa-content chocolate, blueberries, chewy sweets (huckleberry flavoured), but also diesel fumes and hot berry pies coming out of the oven (oooh!) After the palate, one may know to look for a burnt note, in which case, one may find it. Nothing exuberant; just parchment whose corners are blackened by an extensive period in the oven. The second gulp has dusty wax kept on a metal plate, a flower or three on the worktop upon which someone made sandwiches with chocolate spread, and a piece of fruit coated in chocolate -- my hunch is greengage. In any case, it provides a comforting warmth, as would the kitchen of a grandmother's home in the countryside. This is really unique and fascinating. Not easy, perhaps. 8/10
