juliet: (leaning on red wall)
[personal profile] juliet
As per last time, we are once again having poncey whiskybooze tasting, & there is consensus that I should once again blog it As It Happens (also this enables us to have Notes, which is good).

Present on this occasion: myself, [livejournal.com profile] dogrando, [livejournal.com profile] kitty_goth, [livejournal.com profile] catsgomiaow, [livejournal.com profile] marnameow, [livejournal.com profile] sbp, [livejournal.com profile] boyofbadgers, [livejournal.com profile] uon, [livejournal.com profile] mrs_leroy_brown, & [livejournal.com profile] katstevens who is sitting by herself in the Gin Corner as she doesn't drink whisky.

Glenmorangie 1975 (but only 28 yrs old), matured in Maison Chapoutier claret cask: (this belongs to [livejournal.com profile] kitty_goth) Katie thinks it tastes like sherbet lemons.
Marna "it has a slightly bitter leftover", also burnt sugar. Consensus that it is rather harsher than was anticipated.
Rick: "a bit salty" (not compared to an Islay, says I, but I am told that I must not compare everything to Islay).
It is improved by a little water; becomes chocolatey & opens up rather. It doesn't taste all that clarety (certainly not compared to the Bowmore Dusk from last time!).
Katie: "This whisky has officially made me stoned" (& this only on the first one...). [livejournal.com profile] uon suggests clover.

Unsure (Scottish Malt Whisky Society bottling) - we think a Lowland: Flowery, also buttery (& thus might actually be Jura). This was Rick's Birthday Whisky. Rick thinks it is "f*king lovely" & tells us we're not getting any more. Marna thinks that there's something in the aftertaste that is not-quite-mint, but we work out that it's aniseed.

Katie wishes it recorded that after only 2 whiskies, Marna said "juniper dildo". There was, apparently, provocation.

Bruichladdich 17yo: Bec "It tastes like burning!". Well, yes, but in a good way! Bec disagrees (with the 'good way' bit). Sean thinks it's not as distinctive - it is fairly subtle, & at 46% is prob the weakest we've had so far. It's nicely salty - seaweedy tang (the westernmost distillery on Islay, fact fans). Katie says it smells like Bounce fabric conditioner sheets (thankfully she thinks it tastes not of those, but kind of honeyish).

Conversation turns to the Pop World Cup (see [livejournal.com profile] poptimists), the Turbonegro oeuvre, & Spanish gabba. Rick & Pete are arguing about the exact classification of gabba after a query from Bec.

Scapa (merchant bottling), 12 yo, distilled 1993: Indie Scapa! Katie: "it's very very sweet & tastes of bubblegum". Rick "original flavour HubbaBubba!". Apparently this is no bad thing. I am unconvinced.
Mouseboks likes that it's slightly honeyed.
Rick also thinks it smells of his Coata athletes foot powder (apparently, this is a really nice smell. O-kay). doop suggests mango. With water, it starts to taste a bit like cola cubes... Katie is rubbing it on her injured knee, which may not be quite the thing...

Scapa 14yo: Major label sellout Scapa! Hrm, doesn't taste of all that much... Better with a bit of water, apparently. [your reporter pauses to follow this suggestion] Ooh, yes, Katie is correct on this point. Still doesn't taste of that much, mind. Katie also thinks it tastes (post-water) of chips from the chippy with non-brewed condiment. Yep, non-brewed condiment I can see.
Kat The Gin Drinker has smelled it & reckons it smells of aromotherapy base oil (almond oil?). I would not buy this; tbh I wouldn't drink it again & am not sure I want to bother finishing this glass.
Rick likes it (which is good as it's his boozes) "the almondyness is a bit more pronounced & it's a bit rougher". Which is odd as it's older than the indie bottling. Marna thinks it tastes a bit like (her) Xmas cake, & also maintains it gets nicer over time (fwiw, Pete agrees that the indie grows steadily on you).

In other news: discussion on the Wikipedia page on songs about drugs (apparently Ebenezer Goode is about cocaine. Ye-es.) Apparently "none of the songs about Ecstasy have any words", say Mouseboks & Kitty. Apart, we assume, from the aforementioned Shamen number.

doop & Kitty are financial-geeking: we refer you to the malt whisky yield curve.

Port Ellen 21yo (distilled 1982, bottled 2004, sherry butt): This was Pete's birthday present from ME. We do not have sufficient for one glass apiece so are passing a glass around (this is because it is bloody expensive & I could only afford a little baby bottle). It is very nice indeed.
Marna (re. the nose) "It has a sockness to it".
Pete: "butterscotch with a spicy edge", which Marna does agree with after tasting it.
Rick "It's a bit like the kinky sex of the whisky world". It transpires that he is referring to Islay generally: "It hurts more, but the pleasure's worth it". He also comments that the taste takes several minutes to develop (into butterscotch, from a boxy sock-ness).
doop: "It smells more like socks than poppers do, but it's much nicer".
Bec: "it's a party in my mouth & none of you are invited!" [yr reporter refrains from pointing out that actually we are all tasting it]
Kat The Gin Drinker "it smells like outside". She thinks all her nose hairs have fallen out.
Katie "outside at Glastonbury with lots of log fires. Smoky paprika!" (which matches Pete's "spicy notes"). Burnt newspaper is also suggested - it tastes like Marna's & my storm kettle! We love the storm kettle! This is very, very good stuff, & you carry on tasting it for some minutes.

Kanppogue Castle 10yo: (Irish, but apparently doesn't taste very Irish, but instead thinks it's Scotch). [I am not trying this one] Very peardroppy nose. Rick "It is torn between two identities!". The Simon Hughes of the whisky world.
Bec: "This tastes like Circus Peanuts the orange flavour" (a type of candy from TV's America. Not, in fact, peanuts, we are informed).

Bowmore Legend: Very nice. Not spectacular, but very drinkable. Pete mentions marmalade. We likes this. Good drinkable stuff. Katie reckons "inky". Kat TGD says it smells of "swimming pools".

Dude! It has just occurred to me that I should have taped & transcribed *this* for my discourse analysis coursework! A particularly specialist argot of interweb-enabled late-20-something London whisky-drinkers, *fascinating* opportunities there...

Bowmore Dusk: This is finished in a claret cask. It is very very good indeed. See last time. Num.
Pete "It's rich like a motherf*cker".
Katie "This is the nicest thing I've ever smelt". But then reckons it tastes of petrol. With water, mentions sherbert dippers.
Rick reckons it benefits from a smidge of water. Marna reckons otherwise. Pete yells "FIGHT!". Things may, at this point, be deteriorating slightly.
doop finishes the bottle off. I get overexcited & start saying "Buy more booze! I have the interweb! I have the technology!"

Marna nicks off outside for a fag & takes with her E M Delafield "The Diary of a Provincial Lady". Apparently it sounds like me. Am unsure whether this is compliment or otherwise. It is insisted that I read some of it out, to general hilarity. Katie thinks I should do the Vagina Monologues, but with TDofPL.

Katie & Kat are singing an electrohaus version of "When Will I Be Famous", by the band Brosh. Cackling ensues. Rick insists that I should spell 'house' in 'electrohouse' as 'haus', & declares "I'm quite drunk".

Caol Ila 18yo: Very quaffable, but (Rick says) doesn't have the little pixies tickling your frontal lobes. Pete thinks it's a bit tedious & recommends that Mouseboks hang on for the cask strength rather than refreshing his glass now.

Kitty is drawing diagrams about the Java stack for doop. Oh dear. Bec launches herself onto Kat on the beanbag. Thankfully 0 boozeglasses go flying. Rick tells us that the Young Person's alternative to lighters-in-the-air is mobile-phones-in-the-air. I laugh immoderately. Possibly I too am a bit drunk.

Caol Ila cask strength: Marna (before actually drinking any though to be fair she's had it before) "It's like living in a chimney!". Kat TGD smells it. It appears to break her. Katie imitates Kat's Yoga Breath Experience & declares it to be "like poppers" (in that she goes all giggly).
Me: "Oh man that's good stuff".
It benefits from a dribble of water (being as it is cask strength). V smoky.
Katie pulls a variety of faces (in a good way). "It's really savoury".
Kitty: "It's quite bananay". Katie agrees excitedly & adds peardrops & poppers.
Pete, being poncey, says that this just means that we have some esters in there. doop remembers the chemical formula for ester, which is one up on Pete. A Technical Discussion ensues. Yr reporter tunes out & listens to Katie singing the Whisky Song (to the tune of the Tigger Song:
"It's - tasty tasty tasty tasty
Num num num num num.
But the most wonderful thing about whisky is
It is in my tum!"
Then joins in. Er.

For the record, Kat's gin tasting notes: "It tastes of gin".

Sean's Top Pun: "Is-lay silver lining, anywhere we go"

Ardbeg Very Young (6yo): Better with water. Pete "I feel quite drunk by now" (thus has no explicit comments). I think this is rather pleasant. No one else is fit to comment. BUNCH OF INEBRIATES. Mouseboks considers it very smooth & honeyed for a cask strength 6yo. "When you smell it it is a little woody. When you drink it it takes the back of your throat off".

Rick has just created the community [livejournal.com profile] morehardcrew. BOSH BOSH BOSH.

Kitty is putting the KLF on. No, Pete, is putting Doctoring The Tardis on! It goes "bosh bosh bosh"!

Things have definitely deteriorated... Mouseboks has played us Doctoring The Tardis vs Green Day 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' (plus others), & now we are onto Cassetteboy, hurrah. MC Building Peaks = Da Bomb. I believe whisky is still being drunk, but frankly, useful comment is at this point beyond us.

I have to drive a van tomorrow morning (in order to move [livejournal.com profile] kitty_goth). Oh dear.

[updated as we go along!]
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