* 19°C, today. It was 1°C three days ago. I was wearing a scarf indoors!
Kinclaith 1968/1995 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice, ID/DIB): we have been having this one a lot, lately, or so it seems. Time for proper notes. Nose: a whiff of old wood, with old books, old blotting paper and vaguely-humid bung cloth. Those hardly contain red and yellow fruits, however: dark cherries, soaked plums, prunes in syrup, strawberries. Soon, it takes on a fizzy note that is not unlike that of a sparkling red wine (that would be Fragolino, then). Furniture polish is next in line, rape seed oil, teak oil, and blotting paper, making a come-back. Pâtes de fruits, flat cola and stewed rhubarb complete the wonderful nose. Mouth: the palate continues the story started by the nose, picking up the pâtes de fruits and flat cola, adding a whisper of burnt wood, before fruit sweeps in -- raspberries, strawberries, watermelons, blood oranges, overripe peaches, rum toft, an old oak stave, covered in lichen and soaked in rum. The burnt wood mutates into charred cork, which is interesting and never becomes invading or unpleasant. The palate does, however, see a slightly bitter note of ground peach stone, mixed with ash, peppering the aforementioned fruit, which still dominates. Finish: burnt wood alright, gently ashy and, well, woody. It is softly bitter again, and, as a consequence, a little drying, without that ever becoming a nuisance. In the finish too, what comes out the most are the fruits: strawberries, smashed on toast, raspberry compote, peach, macerating in rum, and a maraschino cherry for good measure. Considering it is a 40% offering, it is also long and bold a dram. I love it. 9/10
Rare Ayrshire 34yo 1975/2009 (45.2%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection, Bourbon Barrel, C#558, 166b, b#115, 9/124): long time no see... Nose: well, whereas the Kinclaith was all about yellow and red fruit, this one is focused on yellow flowers and pastry. Vanilla custard, butterscotch, shortbread, vanilla sugar, croissant dough at room temperature, but also daffodil, forsythia, jonquil, magnolia and some pine-y/minty freshness, in the far back (Mentos?) Also to be tasted are fudge on the baking tray, gardening trimmings, cut lilac, (not quite in bloom, yet), eggshells, green tomatoes, persimmon foliage, celery leaves and raw peas. All is delicate, subtle and gentle, but, in case it is not clear, it is also amazing. Mouth: mint-flavoured milk, custard and shortbread, after only forty-five seconds in the oven, custard powder, mint sauce. On the palate too, it is an incessant ballet of flowers and pastry, with minty choux dough, cut daffodils, fir trees, ... It would be a stretch to call this woody, though: it is very much green. Mint and some spicy notes: yes; ginger and lemongrass: no. After thirty-four years, this discreet spirit has not at all been taken over by the wood. Finish: the modest ABV delivers enough power to wake one up, if needed. The finish has the acidity of pine needles (Gocce pino), the mouthfeel of almond milk, a few cork crumbs for bitterness and the flowery/bakery accents from the nose and palate, with glycerine, apple mint and laurel leaves meeting vegetable samosas, mint sauce, yellow-tomato pasties (yes, I know!), minty toothpaste, grapefruit turnover and lime juice. Exquisite. It seems much more vibrant than C#3421 which was bottled six years later -- six years too late, perhaps. 9/10
25.66 23yo d.1990 Bette Davis doing DIY (57.8%, SMWS Society Single Cask, Refill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 157b): nose: strangely quiet at first nosing, it seems to only give away jellied cucumber. Soon, a huge, grassy note appears; cut grass, cooking broccoli, laurel leaves. The nose turns strangely quiet again, though. Orange drops, perhaps? Tomato chutney? Tomato stems? Let us give it a bit of time... After a few minutes, it opens up to deliver pink pepper and daisies, quince and fig relish. The shift in ABV is very noticeable, with this one tickling the nostrils much more than the previous two drams. Water makes it more fragrant and grassier, with tomato stems, sherbet, courgettes, rhubarb leaves, dried parsley, bulrush in bloom, gorse bushes, saxifrage. A beautiful nose that requires attention. Mouth: a bit more talkative here, showcasing what most people associate with the Lowland character: honey, meadow flowers (dandelions, daisies, buttercups) and orchard fruits (a combination of ripe apples and peaches). It is also rather powerful, with a generous sprinkle of ground black pepper, a minute pinch of nigella seeds and sandalwood, seasoned with orange liqueur. It has a soft acidity that is subtle, but present. The texture is that of orange juice, with some pulp, but not much. With water, the palate is more bitter. It feels as though all the flowers have released their sap, and that makes for a slightly less convincing palate altogether. The pink peppercorns are louder, adding to the perceived lack of balance. Water not recommended. Finish: ooft! It is in the finish that this one really shines. Here are nigella seeds in honey, caraway seeds, peach slices on toasted bread and sprinkled with black pepper, celery sticks, goat's cheese, pink peppercorns, all together in a meadow full of flowers (daisies, dandelions, poppies). A basket of orchard fruits was brought to the picnic: apples, quinces, peaches. With water, the finish is a lot more expressive, welcoming a jammy take on the above, but adding the same sappy bitterness that almost ruined the palate. I like it, but I find it borderline too bitter. Careful with water! 9/10
Linlithgow 25yo 1982/2008 (59.2%, Signatory Vintage Cask Strength Collection for La Maison du Whisky Collectors' Edition, Wine-treated Butt, C#2201, 388b, b#313, 8/513): nose: this one has a depth that the previous three did not have, with lichens, musty warehouses and dusty clay floors. It becomes more mineral pretty quickly, with flint, granite and the berry bushes that would grow in the cracks of a granite cliff. The limestone layer of a deep canyon, sprayed with squashed blueberries, blackcurrant jam, spread onto rock-hard bread -- by the way: mould is starting to form on that bread. There is a fleeting sulphury note in the corner of the nostril, before smoke appears, reminiscent of the period when man discovered fire (I was still a young boy, then). Myrtles, brambles, plaster band and gauze timidly pop in as well. Not an easy or obvious nose, this, but it rewards the patient noser. Mouth: berries here too, with myrtles and blackcurrant smothering the blueberries, fresh figs, blackberries, preserved strawberries, all on a bed of stone -- limestone, this time. The depth of the fruitiness is no less than staggering, and it is supported by lichen on rum-soaked stave, Patras wine, made from sun-drenched grapes. This is warming, to say the least. A bush fire, lit bracken, cherry tree, burning in the fireplace. Finish: long and assertive, the finish welcomes back the berries and the mineral side, the strong Greek wine, and grassier tones too, at this point. Myrtles, blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, slate, limestone, flint, dusty clay, yet also black-tulip leaves and petals, violets, viola, purple primrose. Of the medicinal notes, none noticeably subsists, and there is no smoke to speak of. On the other hand, the considerably-higher ABV is integrated to perfection, yet after a few sips, one realises how strong it is: it leaves the taste buds very numb, as if one had chewed on chalk. Not as grassy as other St Magdalenes, but beautiful. I was not a fan, in the beginning, however. I must rejoice that ten years in an open bottle did such wonders. 8/10
