27/10/2024 Horror films

For some reason, we always end up doing a tasting just before Halloween, though not always with the same people. This year's the theme is a little stricter in that it focusses on films in the horror genre, not just horror more broadly.

JS, BA and PS join me for a spooky afternoon.

Boo!

The soundtrack: Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer

JS presents: The Shining

Glenturret 1966/1987 (43%, OB ceramic decanter, 500b): nose: a very characteristic smell of vinegar and cardboard that is also sharply mineral. Mouth: behind a clear fruitiness (currants and prunes), we find a pronounced bitterness -- not horrible, but persistent. Finish: more currants, raisins, prunes. It is drying like a white wine, and, if it is not an easy dram, it is a pleasant starter. Full notes here. 7/10

PS: "Horror is not the genre I would decide to watch first. In fact, it is not the second, third, or fourth either. I don't think it's even in the top ten."
JS: "What is your favourite genre, then? Sci-fi?"
tOMoH: "Porn, obviously!"
PS: "You're both wrong. Porn sci-fi. The classic Mission to your Anus."

I tell the group how, during the morning run, I had a flash of inspiration, and thought we should have a Caledonian, for Apo-Cally-pse Now, with its famous monologue "The horror. The horror."

JS: "Have you watched Game of Thrones?"
BA: "I watched it from a distance, for a while, then I was distracted by a shiny thing, or something."
tOMoH: "Was it a bottle of Glenturret d.1966?"

The soundtrack: Various - Best Beats 2

JS presents: Prince of Darkness, and BA presents: Necessary Evil (which is not a film, but good enough a link).

StilL 630 1yo Presence of Darkness (40.5%, OB Beer Collaboration Series VII, Oak Barrels, B#2, b#524): nose: weird fruits (BA), draffy notes (PS), bins of damp cereals (PS), tutti frutti, Irn Bru, and candied papaya in cereals. Some glue too, perhaps, though it is not a particularly-grainy profile in the traditional sense. Closer to a Rye whiskey, if anything. Mouth: so silky, a cocktail of orange and peach juices turn into orange peels. Finish: oh! it is filled to the brim with orange and tangerine peels, as well as fruit juice. Lovely as ever. Full notes here. 7/10

vs.

Wire Works Necessary Evil Finish (51.3%, OB, First-Fill Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels/Thornbridge Brewery Imperial Stout Finish, B#2, issue#05-210842-26): nose: it is strangely similar to the StilL 630, in that it has chemical fruits and cereals, candied papaya or pineapple cubes, and Irn Bru. Beer casks, eh? Hoppy fruits (BA). Mouth: it is a little more stripping on the tongue, with dry wood, splintered cinnamon bark, dusty planks, leather and orange rinds so dried they crack on their own. Finish: big, it has a mound of dried citrus peels ground into dust, some ginger powder, and cinnamon, as well as dried lemon-or-lime wedges. Very good. It does turn numbing, in the long run, but manages to remain rather nice. 7/10

BA [about his cask, currently at Bimber]: "We saw it, and it had leaks at every seam. The guy took it and emptied it back into the tank, then gave it to Dariusz -- or whatever his real name is, -- because he has a flamethrower -- obvs.

The soundtrack: Zanias - Ecdysis

BA [about Wire Work]: "My cask went there, not just because they said yes, but also because I like them."

tOMoH presents: The Isle (of Jura)

Isle of Jura d.1976 (57.5%, Harleyford Manor for Geoffrey Folley, b.1980s): nose: musty, fusty (PS), animal, with some faded leather, and a kind of shampoo, if one knows to look for it. Mouth: very soapy on the palate (BA), soft, sweet, then soapy indeed. Doesnae bother me, though. Finish: a blend of sweet and soapy. Full notes here. 7/10

The soundtrack: Subskan - Drawback

BA presents: Kill Devil (not a film either, but sufficiently evil for the occasion).

The Arran Malt The Devil's Punch Bowl (52.3%, OB Limited Edition, Bourbon Barrels & Sherry Butts, 6660b, b.2012): powerful, it takes a while to open up. Then, we have lozenges, cinnamon sweets, and dried pineapple wrapped in suede. The second nose has some sort of berries that I cannot identify with certainty. Mouth: we have bold blush-orange segments (devoid of any pith), and a little rubber bitterness. It gets fruitier with time, with elderberry and snowberry, as well as a dollop of scented plasticine. Finish: long, powerful, but balanced. JS calls it benign. "Like the best kind of tumours -- benign," says PS. It provides a lingering numbness, and an overall plasticine-y feel that I really enjoy. Pesky Arran. Always effortlessly good. 7/10

BA: "I did a tasting in Cambridge. It all went wrong."
tOMoH: "?"
BA: "I did the tasting, they said: 'Come to the pub.' I went to the pub, started drinking, continued drinking, and missed my train. I said: 'Oh! shit.' The guy said: 'No problem: there is a Travelodge down the road.' I booked a room for £70, and continued drinking. Then I woke up in front of the police station."
tOMoH: "?"
BA: "[On the way to the hotel,] I stopped on a bench to have a cigarette, fell asleep, and woke up with dew dripping off my nose."
tOMoH: "I think there's a lesson, there: smoking is bad."

PS presents: Saw MIII (the latest in the franchise). Teh lolleZ.

G8.8 26yo d.1990 Botanic gardens and a sawmill (58.7%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 122b): "Apologies in advance," PS said when he put the bottle on the table, earlier, aware that Cambus does not like me. Nose: ester-y, metallic, then very fruity. White peach, white plum, Korean pear, and a drop of vanilla essence. I can smell that it is not going to be one of the Cambuses that agree with me, but I enjoy the nose. For the sake of scientific research, let us continue. Mouth: soft, mellow, loaded with vanilla and mint crumbles that walk towards the Boule-Magique side of things. Finish: mellow, minty vanilla, mint custard, smashed white fruits (peaches, plums, pears), and milk chocolate. I only have a sip, to avoid the headache. Will it work? To a point: tomorrow, I will have no headache, but a tongue completely stripped. Catastrophe mostly averted through careful risk management. 7/10

The soundtrack: Various - Dark Pleasures

PS presents: Is this a damson I see before me? because every horror film has a damson in distress. Flippin'eck! PS is on fire, today.

6.29 10yo d.2008 Is this a damson I see before me? (59.2%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 61b): nose: juicy plum, dark-chocolate-covered jellies, Śliwka Nałęczowska (Polish chocolate-coated prunes). It strips the nostrils a bit, but behind the abrasiveness, we find waxy fruits (physalis, Mirabelle plums), crayons, and bread dough. Mouth: Penderyn (PS), packets of Opal Fruits (or Starburst, as they are now known) smack one on the back of the head (PS). I find it drying, with crayons and soaked cinnamon sticks. Finish: a lovely plasticine drop, and cinnamon sticks, marinated in peach juice. It has a minty, cinnamon-y Boule Magique aftertaste too. 8/10

Did someone say limited?

tOMoH presents: The Wicker Man(nochmore).

The Wickermannochmore

BA and PS's eyes light up. They thought of using the Wicker Man, but could not find anything to create the link. The penny did not drop when they saw the wicker basket, earlier.

As expected, the cork breaks.

tOMoH [looking for a replacement cork]: "Wow! The cork hole is so big."
PS: "I have no polite comment to make."
tOMoH: "I found one that fits."
PS: "I have no polite comment to make."

The soundtrack: Various - Zone Mix Z

Speyburn 25yo 1977/2004 (62.5%, OB Single Cask, C#1859, b#379, L4 476 G7): the age statement makes no sense. Nose: it is obviously powerful. Tobacco, a waft of smoke, dried crusty mud, then fleshy peaches, armchairs in a smoker's living room, smoked completely encrusted in the upholstery. Waxy-fruity thing (BA), waxy-lemony (PS), flowery-waxy (BA). On the late tip, royal-blue ink comes out too. Mouth: austere, mineral, it has flint and tobacco, lichen and fleshy fruits -- peach tatters and a lick of peach stone, wrapped in smoke. Even later, we detect fermented pears and Russet-apple peelings. Finish: like a UK government, this offers more of the same austerity; tobacco, quarry chippings, ground peach stones. Excellent. Looking forward to revisiting this. 8/10

vs.

Mannochmore 18yo b.1997 (66%, OB The Manager's Dram, Refill Casks, 1800b, b#1207): nose: phwoar! This one roars too. Wild and hot, yet it does not lack in the sweet-shoppe department. Boiled sweets, chewy or not (here I come / you can't hide), and melted caramel leap out. Mouth: an assault on the gums at first, it reveals crystallised sugar, then rock salt, bone-dry lichen, and dried citrus zest. Finish: boiled sweets once more, Gummibärchen (yellow, rather than any other sort), Haribo Cola Bottles, and a slight touch of hay. Very strong, it presents a mild liquorice-y bitterness. The finish is juicier than the palate, with more boiled sweets and liquorice allsorts. 8/10

The soundtrack: Various - Body Rapture and Various - Techno-Club Part I (The Ultimate Techno Mix)

Excellent afternoon, ripe with surprising, off-the-beaten-path drams, and questionable humour.

26/05/2024 British politics

Here is another theme that we could play with every week and not have too many repeats. Inspired by the Prime Minister's speech on Wednesday, the guests suggested JS, cavalier66, PS, YM and I revisit it.

The soundtrack: Lustmord - Much Unseen Is Also Here

A typically unambitious line-up

tOMoH presents: the current Minister for Work and Pensions is Mel Stride. You are not alone. Anyway, how could we try anything other than the Striding Man?

You know...

.

Johnnie Walker 12yo Black Label Islay Origin (42%, John Walker & Sons, b.2024): a new range that showcases regional characteristics. This allegedly has Caol Ila and Lagavulin. Nose: fruity (cavalier66), dusty (PS), sweet (YM), it has hints of smoke (cavalier66), lingonberry compote and ashes. Mouth: it is harsh for a starting dram (JS), teeming with hot compote, smoked cherries, lingonberries, charred apricots, and chewy smoked olives (not tapenade). Finish: PS finds it less peaty than the nose promised, while cavalier66 is annoyed that he likes a blend. Aside a honey-toffee note, we have burnt driftwood and smoked kelp. This is surprisingly convincing. 7/10

PS: "A lack of something, rather than a presence of something... Isn't that Suela Braverman's personality?"

cavalier66's first meal today

PS: [about the recent SMWS outturn]: "The best thing on the list was the fucking blend."
YM: "Are you going to start overly-sexualising your notes too?"

cavalier66 presents: Lochside -- a lost distillery, just like the Tories, on the 5th July, will have lost the election. Also, one is in the Rare Old collection, and the Tories in power will be rare, after the election. In addition, in an election, voters have to pick a side. Finally, the last time, prior to 1997, that Labour won an election by a landslide was in 1966, when the first of these two bottlings was distilled.

Lochside 22yo 1966/1989 (43%, Signatory Vintage, Oak Cask, C#7253-55, 800b): nose: musky (JS), more complex (cavalier66), it has a Cameronbridge level of pastry going on -- blueberry turnovers, honey-glazed choux. Burdock root (YM), earth (JS and YM), crystallised ginger and orange water (YM), and a notch of coconut, later on. JS discovers marshmallows too. Mouth: lavender and cheap violet cake decoration (PS), a chemical-artificial note, albeit an expensive one (cavalier66). Oh! yes, there is definitely a plastic-y, chemical note, flirting with shampoo, aside unripe orange, papaya, grapefruit skin, and even guava. The shampoo is not too bad, but it is there. Finish: complex, it is primarily fruity, but it also has a mild bitterness of citrus peels (grapefruit, tangerine, tangelo). Excellent. 9/10

vs.

Lochside 1981/1998 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Rare Old, no screen print): nose: ginger and cinnamon (JS), tropical fruits and freshly-baked bread (YM). Pineapple and yellow maracuja. We then proceed towards melon skins (cantaloupe). Mouth: dark honey (YM), mango juice and crushed passion fruit and pineapple flesh. It has a yellow acidity that comes from a blend of smashed mango and smashed banana. Perhaps, one may find a whisper of star aniseed too. Finish: acidic indeed, fruity to the max (mango, pineapple, maracuja), and a tad bitter, exhibiting a hint of rubber. I even prefer this one. 9/10

cavalier66: "I can smell Harold Wilson, in this."
JS: "Who is that?"
cavalier66: "The longest-serving Prime Minister other than Blair."
JS: "How long was Blair?"
PS: "Ten years."
tOMoH: "The question was: 'how long was his ten-yure?'"

tOMoH presents: Here Come the Rain Again. A clear celebration of the rain that poured on Sunak during his speech, last Wednesday. A nod to Angela Rain-er. Also, the bottler cocked up the conjugation on the label, the same way the Tories cocked up so many things, over the past fourteen years. Finally, the Islay festival started yesterday, so it is fitting that we should have a Strath-Isla.

Strathisla 1999/2010 Here Come The Rain Again (46%, La Maison du Whisky Belgique, C#45530, 247b): nose: toffee and pears (YM and PS), bright (cavalier66), crisp, it has a hint of hay, and a pinch of crushed mint to augment vanilla. Mouth: fennel and caraway (PS, who is surprised at the divergence from the nose). We see some vanilla, here, but it is also grassy in an oregano way, and strongly acidic. A combination that works well. Finish: mellow vanilla walks alongside a clear Tory-like austerity. Herbes de Provence, oregano, sage. It is also quite potent, mint crumbles adding a fresh note to the headrush. 8/10

The soundtrack: Garbage - Garbage

JS presents: Tony Blair Athol in the Infrequent Flyers collection -- a name that has strong connotations of deportation flights to Rwanda, a policy that has been talked about for over a year, with no flight leaving the country to-date.

cavalier66 points out it is release 101 in that series.
cavalier66: "What is room 101, in 1984? It contains one's biggest fears. In our case, a Tory victory."

Not a frequent sight, this

Blair Athol 14yo 2008/2022 Release No. 101 (53.1%, Angus Dundee Distillers for Alistair Walker Infrequent Flyers bottled exclusively for Whisky Bible imported by MetaBev Korea, Sauternes Hogshead Finish, C#807414, 278b, CBSC4 11681): nose: Sauternes (cavalier66). It is bursting with marzipan, and drenched in syrup (not maple). It has some ash too, cigarette ash, to be precise, and plasticine. Mouth: sweet, it turns spicy quickly, with stem ginger, and cracked cinnamon sticks. The second sip has crushed menthol. Finish: long and spicy, it still has a pronounced sweetness, and lingering cigarette smoke, billowing in an automobile on a warm day. tOMoH usually hates that, but here, it somehow works. 8/10

PS [reaching for the pipette]: "May I?"
cavalier66: "Sure."
tOMoH: "Why ask? It's a pipette, not a suppository."
cavalier66: "I haven't done a fecal transplant yet."
PS: "He said: 'yet'..."
tOMoH: "It's still early."
YM: "It will change a dram."

YM presents: a 38% aged gin, full of random shit, possibly a tad watery. A bit like the Prime Minister's speech on Wednesday.

Zuidam Oude Jenever 15yo 2008/2023 (38%, OB, American Oak Barrel, C#55, 284b, b#150): nose: window-cleaning agent? Actually, it is iron liqueur, if they make such a thing (think boozy Irn Bru). This is reminiscent of rye whiskey, we all find. Mouth: lactic and very Irn Bru-like. This is indeed close to a rye whiskey, in terms of taste too. We mostly have cereal-infused water (that will be wort, then). Finish: bigger than expected for the ABV. More rye, Aspirin Junior, brand-new rubber, kumquat, bergamot, and a soft bitterness. It is surprisingly good, if disorienting. 7/10

The soundtrack: Sheila Chandra - "This Sentence Is True" (The Previous Sentence Is False)

tOMoH presents: Speyburn, for the Spey, the most salmon-rich river in Scotland. Alex-Salmond-rich river. Yes, he left the limelight a while ago. Go find us a pun around the name Humza Yousaf!

Speyburn-Glenlivet 15yo 1975/1991 (60.1%, Cadenhead): nose: apricot (cavalier66), wax and dust (YM), Listerine, cinnamon or cassia splinters, tatters of cedarwood sheet. Mouth: huge and dry, hay-like, with just a dash of squeezed apricot. cavalier66 claims it has pre-peach too. Finish: this could pass for a forever-whisky, warming, full of hot apricot compote, and long lasting. Full notes here. I prefer it today, in this sequence. 8/10

YM presents: for the last fourteen years, the Tories have presented a peachy picture of the state of the State. The public would now like a more realistic picture of the world, yet let us focus on the peach, for a while longer.

MGPI Nulu (58%, PCS Distilling Company, Peach Brandy Barrel Finish, C#B1222): nose: peach perfume. Invasive. A bit vulgar. Mouth: "so much peach it is a little bit offensive" (YM). Tinned peaches (cavalier66). This is borderline sickly. Finish: peach syrup (cavalier66), peach jelly and tinned peach. A curiosity. 4/10

YM presents: Bimber, which encapsulates what Labour did during this Tory tenure: they talked a good talk, but when it came to the delivery, it was quite disappointing.

PS [implicitly referring to Bimber's recent developments]: "I thought you were going to say it has a criminal background."

Bimber 2020/2023 (59.4%, OB Private Cask, Peated Virgin Cask, C#202009, 28b): nose: a carpenter's workshop, with all sorts of pieces of wood and wood lacquer, teak, mahogany, super-oily wood, lacquered drinks cabinets, old-school desks, and some bacon. cavalier66 finds Bolognese sauce. Much later on, it is freshly-baked bread that comes out to tickle the nostrils. Mouth: a botanical note (YM), oily wood, splinters, crushed cloves, ginger shavings. The high strength makes it fairly drying too. Eau-de-vie-soaked raisins, mushroom water, shoe polish. Finish: potent brown soda of the cola variety, a lick of earth, and wood. JS finds it intense, and it is indeed. It has a dollop of shoe polish, dried dates, dried figs, booze-soaked prunes and raisins. Very good, in a root-y, woody way. What a contrast with the one from last week! This one seems to have more to say. Or it is a better day for it. Or I am simply more open to it. 7/10

PS: "Meat umami."
tOMoH: "Who's Mami? And where are you meeting her?"

cavalier66 uses the excuse to check his Grindr notifications.

The soundtrack: DJ Stingray - Kern

PS presents: in 1978, the Conservative party teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchi. They attacked Labour's unemployment policy with the slogan: "Labour isn't [Wire] Working".

Wire Works 2018/2024 (70.2%, OB for Melody Whisky Bar, Bourbon Cask, C#18-166, 100b, b#037): nose: apricots turn into kumquats (YM). It smells really tame, after the Bimber. A bit of faint earth and shoe polish, not much else. Mouth: YM detects preserved lemons after adding water. It is smoked preserved lemons alright, mixed-peel embers, and souped-up briny olives. It has a big fruitiness at second sip, with cured apples, baked pears, and baked kakis. Finish: lemon drops or sherbet (cavalier66). This clearly has a kick, but the ABV is hard to guess, blind. Or it makes you blind -- it depends. Disbelief all round, when PS points at it being 70+%. More baked fruits at second gulp, a pinch of earth, and still no sign of the extraordinary strength. This is staggeringly good. Hope we get to try it again. 8/10

PS presents: after the general election, we will see a Tory election. That will inevitably lead to lots-of-feuding. Bring. House. Down.

tOMoH observes that the label sports a sailboat, and could easily be used as a symbol for Stop the Boats, the Conservative's slogan to curb immigration.

Lagavulin 20yo b.2020 (54%, OB Exclusive bottled especially to commemorate Feis Ile 2020, Refill + PX/Oloroso Hogsheads, 6000b, b#0235): nose: earth patties, smoked seaweed, earth-glazed bacon. Longer nosing gives out a sweeter vibe, boiled sweets and crystallised smoked fruits. Mouth: seawater, molten rock, liquid metal (meltdown). It is hot, clearly liquid, mineral, but much less earthy than the nose suggested. Finish: long, earthy. It has some seaweed, but mostly earth -- smoked, not scorched. It is very peaty a dram that does not make me fall for this popular Kildalton distillery. 7/10

cavalier66: "I might add some water to this."
tOMoH: "You're very experimental, today."
cavalier66: "I know."
tOMoH [hinting at OB's obsession with low-ABV whiskies last week]: "Either that, or you're OB in disguise. In which case, where the fuck is the pastry?"

YM presents: Ardbeg Heavy Vapours, the Boris Johnson of whisky -- full of hot air.

Ardbeg Heavy Vapours b.2023 (50.2%, OB Special Committee Only Edition, ex-Bourbon Casks): nose: liquid smoke (YM), smoked raclette cheese, raw-milk raclette cheese, old Parmesan rind -- that spells 'butyric', does it not? That morphs into clay and smoked earth, before hot embers join the dance. Further nosing introduces surgical alcohol, alcohol swabs, tincture of iodine dripping on dry earth. Mouth: narrow and mineral (cavalier66), it has dried meat and umami (PS). Elastic peat, smoked plasticine, iodine, and a medicinal touch, especially upon repeated sipping. Finish: drying (cavalier66), ashy (YM), ripe with surgical alcohol and tincture of iodine, mercurochrome, even, alongside pilchards in tomato sauce. What pisses me off with Ardbeg is that their releases are gimmicky AF, but they are also usually quite good. 8/10

tOMoH: "SMWS has one called Cabinet of curiosities."
cavalier66: "The difficulty is finding it."
JS: "Whiskybase is the best tool to search for SMWS bottlings."
cavalier66: "I mean in my house."
PS: "I don't remember there being a Cabinet of backstabbing arseholes."

Another good one, full of dodgy puns and unusual whiskies.