09/02/2024 Bowmore

Bowmore 13yo 2001/2014 (50.9%, The Whisky Agency / Three Rivers Tokyo, Refill Hogshead, 272b): nose: marvellously earthy, full of mud patties, wetlands, and salt marshes. It is only a second before we are on the shoreline, wading in wet sand, breathing the salty air. Then, it is smoked kelp and dried seaweed, damp seashells... Oh! and cut mangoes underneath it all, discreet and fleeting to a fault, yet it is briefly there. It disappears behind cockles and periwinkles, then comes back, carried by a mudslide, and accompanied by dried herbs (oregano, rosemary, samphire), gently smoked. The nose picks up a slight petrolic whiff when one tilts the glass. The second nose is a blend of petrol, herbs, and crushed glass, then paper paste, and the wafers they use to make those flying-saucer sweets (or white-flour hosts, if one is more familiar with that). Finally, we witness a small explosion of grilled and smoked fruits -- chiefly mango again, and pineapple. This time, in the distant background, one can almost spot liquorice bootlaces. Mouth: surprisingly, it is very petrolic, now; wafts of kerosene, or indeed 98-octane unleaded fuel. Dried seaweed is still there too, and grilled fruits (mango and pineapple, mostly), covered in barbecue ash. That fruity aspect grows in power, which is lovely. The second sip has a drying earthiness reminiscent of baked clay, or liquorice root, subtle, yet present. Then, a veil of smoke barely has time to introduce the same grilled fruits. In addition, this has the red-hot embers that grilled those fruits, and that have naturally been splashed with the juice of those very fruits. The sea influence is now limited to a generous saltiness, while billowing black smoke coming from the chimney of an old trawler covers the petrolic side, acrid, bitter, almost sooty, which counterbalances the delicious fruitiness, and adds complexity. Finish: woah! this is good. Unctuous, creamy or buttery finish, ripe with grilled fruits again (the same mangoes and pineapples, this time sliced), a few drops of petrol, dripping from the pump, and a sprinkle of ashes. It is a long, progressive finish, however, and, after five-or-so minutes of seemingly not much else happening, it turns out we are enjoying terracotta and grilled mud patties topped with smoked seaweed. The second gulp is borderline custardy -- a smoked-mint custard, then. Datz ryte: a minty freshness enters the scene, and brightens up the finish, until it is caught up by a ladleful of black, sticky tar that ends up coating the tongue and tonsils. Excellent dram. I can see this turning into a 9 on another day. For today, I will settle on a strong 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, elskling)

08/02/2024 Dallas Dhu

45.19 31yo 1975/2007 Foreplay whisky (45.6%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill Barrel): nose: well, that is enticing! Grape juice, cut flowers (forsythia and cornflower come to mind), followed by Turkish delights and fruit jellies of all kinds. That is not all: it has marzipan too, and a whisper of panettone crust stuck to the parchment mould. Soon, that morphs into chewy blackcurrant sweets (think Gummibärchen) and crème de cassis served with scones. How wonderful! Talking about piles of logs would be lying, yet a woody element grows in stature, certainly close to age-old, Bourbon-soaked oak staves. The cut flowers return, however, firmly yellow (forsythia, crocuses, tulips, buttercups), hand in hand with the associated pollen, and a spoonful of honey that is starting to set. Come to think of it, that subtle aroma that could be fresh plasticine is probably wax instead. Beeswax indeed. Then, we go back to fruits: green grapes, greengages, mirabelle plums, maybe lychee, mangosteen, or dragon fruit. Exciting! The second nose sees the wax and honey fuse into an almost chocolate-y paste, and if it no longer turns tropical at all, it remains fruity, with dark cherries joining the grapes. Lastly (and fleetingly) a minute note of fermentation comes and goes -- sheep or rabbit droppings or suchlike. Thankfully, it disappears quickly, because it would work less well with the rest of this nose. Mouth: mh. The initial impression is soapy. And I am not particularly sensitive to soap, as this blog's readership will be well aware. It has fruits (green grapes, less than ripe), budding flowers (forsythia), yet also stripping soap that turns bitter in seconds. That calms down and becomes more mineral, with quarry chippings and green-hazel-wood ash, before turning leafier (hazel). It remains quite bitter, though. The second sip is a little fruitier, and welcomes the return of dark cherries. It is still fairly soapy, bitter and caustic, unfortunately. Pumice, fruit-scented shampoo, green hazelnut, Turkish delights covered in green-grape-scented hand wash, sweetened plant or tree sap (hazel, daffodil, dandelion). Finish: phew! The soap has mostly gone. Hazelnut paste and crushed green hazelnut, blended with pressed grapes, a generous dose of relatively-young wood (shelves made of recently-cut hazel wood) grossly covered in dark honey (some kind of conifer, probably). One cannot escape a certain bitterness, yet it is now a far cry from what it was on the palate. The second sip is as fruity, yet now splashed with droplets of soap. That sadly wrecks it. We have a lovely sweetness, imparted by grapes and greengages, but, over time, green hazelnuts regrettably become louder, which renders the whole bitterer and less pleasant, like a mix of scented soap or shower gel, ash, and ground pumice. What a pity. This would have been an easy 9, based on the nose. The subsequent soapy notes bring it down dramatically, in my opinion. To the point I wonder if something has messed up my taste buds, today. 7/10

07/02/2024 Rosebank

Rosebank 22yo 1991/2013 (55.2%, Iain Mackillop Mackillop's Choice, Sherry Cask, C#271): nose: ooft! This is marked by the Sherry. Last time we had this, we thought it was meaty; not so today, but it is clearly not a spring-like, flowery Rosebank. Instead, we have drinks cabinets made of exotic woods (mahogany, teak, walnut), and dried fruits (dates, figs, prunes). In the background, we find earthier notes, such as ground cumin and crusty desert dirt. Then, it fleetingly evolves towards a more-traditional Rosebank profile, with tulip petals and juicy-plant stems. It is mere seconds before we step into an unusual building, part rancio-filled dunnage warehouse, part tropical-plant greenhouse. Indeed, succulent plants and flowers grow on dusty clay floors, surrounded by slumbering old casks full of maturing wines, fortified or not. The lasting impression is of dust, and the nose goes quiet, apart from that. The second nose has an old oilskin tablecloth on a walnut kitchen table. Digestive biscuits are on display, until the nose changes again, and welcomes smashed strawberry on toast -- nay! on a biscote. Eventually, it turns into toasted brans, perhaps toasted a little too long. Mouth: a big attack, it tries to be meaty, then winy, with a slightly tannic touch, then it turns all Rosebank-y, with bunches of cut flowers, their stems still dripping sap, and rich custard. That is quickly augmented with a syrupy wine-enhanced caramel coulis, and booze-pumped fudge. It is so rich on the tongue! Again, the wine influence is unmissable, and reminds one of Palo Cortado. The second sip is in line, if it feels more drying. It has a warming quality not unlike a roaring coal fire on a cold winter's night. Finish: biscuit-y, this finish is the perfect thing to follow afternoon tea. It has notes of wine and biscuit (in fact, it leaves the whole mouth in the same state as after chomping on a crumbly digestive biscuit), as well as some spices (green-cardamom pods the most obvious, yet also ground cloves), dark brans, and raisins soaked in alcohol. The second gulp is warming and comforting, and reinforces the image of a coal fire at the inn, on a sleety wintry afternoon -- perhaps with a damp dog drying itself by the fireplace. Oh! What now? Once settled, retro-nasal olfaction gives a crystal-clear note of cigar -- one that lingers forever too! All of a sudden, the state of the mouth transitions from post-biscuit to post-cigar, and one feels as though one had just smoked a Cohiba. Cigar leaves, a veil of smoke, ashes in the ashtray at arm's length, unlit cigar, lit cigar, extinguished cigar, cigar, cigar, cigar. It really is a cigar malt. Striking! This here dram is not one of the great Rosebanks (tOMoH prefers them au naturel), but it is very good all the same. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, LM)

06/02/2024 Longmorn

Longmorn 11yo 2008/2019 (57.9%, A.D.Rattray From the Cask hand bottled exclusively for A Whisky Lover, Bourbon Hogshead, C#800349): the mention on the label suggests the private cask of an anonymous enthusiast from the UK. Nose: a young one, with fruit eau-de-vie (plum, apple), and a certain stripping quality. It also has a spray of pinched orange peel, and a cloud of dust. In fact, it opens up and gives hardened plasticine and dried paint pots, dried nail-varnish brushes, and an old blush kit. Indeed, it turns all makeup-y, over the space of five minutes, and almost fruity from then onward, with dried peach skins. The second nose has the residue in an empty glass of pomelo tonic, which spells a hefty mix of sweetness, bitterness, and acidity. There is a faint woodiness too, rather indistinct, but likely ancient walnut shelves. Mouth: thin and punchy, it lacerates the tongue and rubs salt in the wounds. It is not merely a hyperbolic figure of speech: it is pretty salty, before suddenly turning mineral. We have granite chippings and cut limestone. After a couple of minutes' chewing, delicate milk chocolate emerges alongside a vegetal bitterness. The second sip is more generous and sweeter, thicker, even. I cannot remember coming across a dram that would change texture so much from one sip to the next. Now, we have orange juice, heavily sweetened. Given time, chocolate re-appears, as does an obvious bitter touch, half plant sap, half crushed Aspirin. Weird. The orange prevails. Just. Hot peach stones rock up last. Finish: a strange mix, here: a clear sweetness that is quite the departure from the palate, but then also a fierce bitterness that makes the whole difficult to enjoy. Imagine mentholated lozenges cut with crushed quinine tablets. The result is desiccating as a chunk of chalk doused in lime juice. Further sips add orange juice here too, and an interesting woody, chocolate-y lick. Cocoa beans, perhaps? It is quite anaesthetising too, clearly the numbing alcohol. This has redeeming qualities, but it is not something that I will seek out. 6/10 (Thanks for the sample, A.D. Rattray)

01/02/2024 Glen Garioch

Glen Garioch 21yo d.1965 (43%, OB imported by AUXIL): nose: a dusty one, with all sorts of lint and fluff that quickly turn out to be smoky. Indeed, we have smoked ham, cured dry sausage, and sliced horse fillet. It also has wood, dusty shelves, as well as lacquers and oils. Further back, deeper nosing reveals spearmint, or dried-toothpaste crumbs -- maybe the lichen from the first time we had this. A delicate smoke lingers, almost imperceptible, at times close to solvents, as if acetone could be smoky. Lastly, we detect an interesting mix of potting soil and plasticine. Sadly, fifteen minutes in the glass seem to be enough to disperse those aromas in the wind, and the nose goes ridiculously quiet. The second nose is smokier, a garden fire fuelled by dried cut grass and felled bushes (dried bramble, honeysuckle branches). Soon, dry sausage comes back, spicier than before, although not chorizo by a long shot. Csabai Kolbász, at a push, though I reckon tamer than that too. Mouth: a fruity attack, full of wild strawberries, is joined by cocoa beans, cinnamon powder, and walnut paste. It is unctuous on the tongue, elevated by clear wood spices (ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger powder), but well behaved. Bring the glass close to your ear, and you will hear half of France cry: "Imagine this at cask strength!" It has a dash of cola too, copper coins, and little smoke to talk about. Roasted cocoa beans have taken its place. The second sip is earthier, potting soil, wet coffee grounds, and definitely ground cloves. It cannot shake off stained-wood-shelf splinters, and that is fine. Finish: a little indistinct, honestly. It does stay in the mouth for a while, and, with time, one can pick walnut paste, cinnamon sticks, a few grains of powdered ginger, and 55%-cocoa chocolate from this finish, yet that requires a lot of work and careful analysis. Casually sipping this, one would likely only notice a pleasant warmth, and a gentle bitterness. Burnt-shelf smoke is my guess. The second sip is in line: burnt shelves extinguished with chocolate milk. Very late, the last surviving touch is that of smoky varnish: glossy, sweet, solvent-y, and smoky. Original. I could go down to 7, but that would be unfair. It is a very good drop, even if one would be excused for expecting more of something with this pedigree. 8/10 (Thanks for the sample, OB)