Rare Batch 58

A big waft of smoky bacon crisps, peppered biltong, hot paprika, leaf mulch, strong black coffee and mushroom powder. Notes of new leather shoes, a suggestion of cordite, mint chocolate chip, salted walnuts and a rather fatty rancio note. A big, hefty, gutsy Bowmore that locks horns with the Sherry cask in a pretty thrilling way. With water there’s lots of fragrant red fruit teas, camomile, black pepper and grilling kippers.

Here the Sherry is perhaps a tad more unstable and out of kilter with the peat, although there’s still some nice notes of lightly toasted raisins, hot cross buns, cinnamon, clove and oxidative old Madeira. Salted almonds, frying pancetta, salted lemons and black olive tapenade. Water calms the dissonance between peat and Sherry somewhat, and out of that comes smoked teas, ham hock, mustard powder, sultanas and cola syrup. A big, smoky, Bovril blast at the end.

Long, lean, salty, meaty, nutty and pretty spicy.

I find modern Bowmore and Sherry don’t always dance too well, and this is a bit of a mixed bag on that front. However, the nose is great and the overall impression is a positive one of a big, gutsy and no-nonsense Islay whisky.

All at sea as Hurricane Bovril looms dark on the horizon...

Rather typical 1970s Bruichladdich with this soft, melon-centric fruitiness and notes of freshly malted barley. We’re very close to the raw ingredients here. Lots of wee notes of pink grapefruit, cider apple, sandalwood, milk bottle sweets, lemon sherbet and then notes like baled hay and straw as well. Develops further with fruit gums, pomegranate, bay leaf and sage. Very lovely. Water shifts things towards savoury breads, Earl Grey tea with lemon, and wee hints of unlit cigars.

Again a straightforward green fruit and cereal profile at first, with apples, pears, melon, a tiny hint of vanilla custard slice and freshly milled grist. Some slightly salty preserved lemon notes and a hint of lapsang souchong tea. Dilution heightens the spiciness; there’s more green pepper and green olive notes now. An element of brine betrays its coastal origins rather nicely and makes for an appetising finish...

Medium length and rather citrusy; lively coastal with a slightly green and sappy edge.

An excellent and rather textbook old-style 1970s Bruichladdich. Lots of classic distillery character to enjoy, and an easy drinker to boot. Worth seeking out.

Listening to old episodes of The Goon Show while lounging in a hot tub on Islay.

An exemplary old Caol Ila aroma of smoked green tea, shoe polish, truffle oil, hot smoky wort, German rauchbier and a kind of concentrated, oily peat note. Underneath all that there’s rather a lot of medicinal notes, such as TCP, Mercurochrome and bandages. Peat-smoked linen, razor clams on a barbecue, green peppercorns in brine and a background wash of antiseptic and coastal freshness.

Some kind of smoked mead mixed with peppered mackerel, iodine, sandalwood, brine, hot smoked bacon, tar liqueur and smoked oatcakes. Wonderfully soft peat flavours with all manner of gentle smoky complexities, medicinal aspects such as mouthwash and iodine tablets and hints of tarry rope, fishing nets, salt ‘n’ vinegar crisps and limoncello.

Long, lemony, lightly ashy, a peaty fug, with a slender coastal barb skewering everything.

Yet another great old 1970s Caol Ila. It would almost be boring if they weren’t all so great. 

Sipping limoncello between a microbrewery and a hospital.