05/03/2014 An evening at the Bon Accord

After spending a day in Cardonald (for those who know), a night in G-town seems inevitable. This one had made a good impression. Have they got anything that might tickle our fancy? Boy, do they!

Banff 30yo 1975/2006 (42.2%, Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare, C#3416, 147b): a modest dram without much interest. Nose: very perfume-y. Sandal wood, orange blossom, custard and a little bit of leather. Excellent nose, this is! Flowers (daffodils?), dill (JS), a mixture of coconut paste, pineapple juice and happiness. Mouth: milky, with a tiny, bitter note of dandelion stems. Altogether sweet and comforting. Finish: woah! Long, rich like custard, soft like peach, sweet like honey and spicy like a cinnamon pancake, mellow like a pillow, juicy like a mango, oh-oh-oh. The best Banff I have tried, so far. Must go buy. 10/10

Glenugie 25yo 1981/2006 (51.5%, Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare, C#5188, 323b): another supermarket dram. The waiter breaks the cork, argh. Nose: a completely different profile; this is an old man's dram, with pipe tobacco, chesterfield sofas and a warm fireplace, liquorice and game casserole. Roasted cocoa beans, discreet, torrefied coffee. What is it, in the back? Melon? Pineapple? Some exotic fruit, in any case. Tame, but it is there. After a while, punch emerges, with chunks of blood oranges and cherries floating in it. Mouth: turpentine, solvents, blood orange bitterness, and it is unexpectedly strong too. The second sip brings wood and enough leather to fill a saddlery. It remains creamy, still. Finish: a festival of blood orange juice spilled on a leather belt. Lots of white-peppered steak too. A great example of perfectly controlled sherry maturation. Very nice. 9/10

My preciouses

Glen Mhor 31yo 1975/2007 (41.8%, Duncan Taylor Rarest of the Rare, C#4037, 157b): they have an Inverleven and this. Since I enjoyed the Mhors on Sunday, I go for this one. Nose: this is taking the old man's whisky into tuberculosis territory: pipe tobacco, cigar, chewing tobacco, then bay leaves and black cardamom, black peppercorn, sumac, even decaying pears, probably. Mouth: slightly fruitier than the nose (pear again, not really the sweet kind), but mostly tobacco again. Definitely an old man's dram. Texture is oily and pleasant, warming and comforting. A touch of chocolate, at third sip, and even marzipan. Finish: again, ample, warming and comforting, full of chocolate. I want Mhor of it. 8/10

When I order the Mhor flight, a guy at the bar asks me what it is. He is an SWA agent, but does not seem to know this distillery. I have him nose mine, as well as the below, after he says he does not tend to like Islay malts. He goes for a Mhor as well and tells me later how much he enjoyed it. He adds, 'I'm glad I ordered that without asking the price and not [the below] without asking the price!'

Ram-pam-bum!

There's nothing in the world as black

Black Bowmore 42yo 1964/2007 (40.5%, OB The Trilogy, Oloroso Sherry Casks, 827b): hehe. Nose: an oil slick (JS). Right. White Bowmore was top of the shelf, last night? This is on the same level -- perhaps even higher. Some sherry influence (no shit, Sherlock!) and tons and tons of fruit. Stupid amounts. Litchis in full force, mango, papaya, super juicy quince and a faint peat smoke, hardly noticeable. What is noticeable, on the other hand, is a rubbery note -- but it is far from annoying. Barbecued pineapple, roasted jackfruit, ash, to some extent. Such complexity! Mouth: now, the rubber is becoming more assertive, but it is still in check. With it come many fruits again, starting with blood orange and ripe melon (cantaloupe, this time), then passion fruit, decaying pears and stewed prunes. Very creamy and so, so beautiful! Finish: picking fruit at high speed and burning tyres (JS). A perfect balance of fruit, sherry rubber and black tea. Absolutely amazing. Black pepper, liquorice, some smoke that lingers on for a long while, alongside strong coffee, black tea and, indeed, stewed prunes. Excellent dram, very special. I give it a 16/10 too.

We are joined by two maltless friends, one of which notes that whisky is now priced for Russian Elton Johns. JS observes NYC has become so Disneyfied, since 1998.
For supper, we have a lasagna and chips (hi dom666) and steak & ale pie and chips, all very good.

The Disneyfication of the dram of God