The Olympic Sessions 2


July 26, 2024

The Olympic Sessions, around the World, 2

Starting from France, as usual. Come visit France and admire our stadiums, landscapes, distilleries, the new Bugatti Tourbillon and the last true Trotskyists in the world! They are raised at (very) great expense mainly for tourists. French Trotskyist are very amusing with their shabby clothes, colourful language, constant yelling and perpetually angry expressions, you’ll see. And rest assured, they are not contagious. In fact, we are fond of them as much as we’re fond of Sartre, Derrida and vin rouge (which is kind of the same thing, mescaline having fallen out of fashion since Sartre anyway). (AFP).

Artesia ‘Fût Noir Char #3’ (46%, OB, France, +/-2023).

Artesia ‘Fût Noir Char #3’ (46%, OB, France, +/-2023)

Finished in deeply charred wood, but not quite 'alligator'. We recently sampled another excellent Artesia from northern France. Colour: gold. Nose: delightful, with notes of apple and lemon, a hint of coconut, some mango and banana, vanilla, a touch of new wood and foliage, and there you have it. Mouth: you can sense the effect of the heavily charred wood, making the spirit softer and fruitier. Vanilla, banana, apple, plums, gooseberries, with hints of cider and mild beer. Finish: long and more herbal, which surely isn’t from the extreme charring. The mystery deepens… The end of the finish is fruitier, with apples taking the lead. An apple a day keeps… Comments: there’s quite a bit of buzz around these 'deep-charred' woods globally. But it’s rather fun…
SGP:551 - 82 points.

ndeed, this one is really intriguing...

Mackmyra 15 yo 2008/2023 (55.4%, Alambic Classique, Sweden, Double Matured Selection, Cuba rum barrel, cask #23022, 229 bottles)

It's rather intriguing that Alambic chose a Mackmyra, but couldn’t this be the finest Mackmyra in the world? The second maturation in rum lasted no less than six years. Colour: pale gold. Nose: I'm not entirely sure; grapefruit, clay, porridge, banana peels, sweet paprika (light goulash) … It’s genuinely intriguing. With water: well, raw wool, clay, sourdough. Not much movement. The Cuban part isn't quite from Chucho Valdés! Mouth (neat): not certain, it’s a bit dissonant. Quite a strong bitter and herbal side. Ozzy sings Bach. With water: it’s alright, it’s pleasant, softer, a bit saltier too, but I don’t quite grasp the point of this bottle. Finish: long, a bit bitter, not very pleasant, despite the lovely lemon in the aftertaste. Comments: phew, that's a relief, as all the other recent Alambic bottles we've tasted have been very superlative (ah, the Ben Nevis!) and thus nearly superhuman. They’re humans, after all. Conclusion: strictly no one bottles only absolute splendours, and that’s perfectly fine.
SGP:362 - 78 points.

Penderyn 13 yo 2010/2023 (59.5%, OB, Wales, LMDW New Vibrations, second fill bourbon, cask #313/2010)

In my very humble opinion, Penderyn is one of the distilleries that has made the most progress. Who remembers the first batches? Hmm… Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s amusing! Toothpaste and limoncello, very ripe fresh mangoes, Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit, vitamin C tablets (Berocca from Bayer, probably deadly - of course not), then forty tonnes of vineyard peaches. I seem to recall they used to use stainless steel during distillation, which doesn’t seem to be the case anymore when you 'nose' this lovely juice. With water: gentle clays and elegantly honeyed touches. Mouth (neat): it’s fruity like a Bushmills malt. Blood oranges, papayas, mangoes, passion fruits, pink grapefruit… With water: quite magnificent, you just need to enjoy your whiskies excessively fruity. Finish: medium length, exuberant fruits, but a more herbal structure to keep everything in check. Comments: a taster who tastes a lot (perhaps a bit too much) will always be attracted to somewhat extreme whiskies, as their greatest fear is boredom. This may not be the case for a ‘street drinker’. But let’s be honest, it’s a magnificent Penderyn.
SGP:751 - 88 points.

Last time, we had the Gold Cock from the Czech Republic, and now, here's the Drunk Cats!

Drunk Cats go to Switzerland (49.4%, OB, Old Well whisky, Svach, Czech Republic, Cream sherry finish, 430 bottles, 2023)

I can’t quite recall the exact details of this one, other than it’s a Bohemian whisky, and perhaps I’m better off not knowing. It’s a sort of Czech-Andalusian-Swiss collaboration. Colour: gold. Nose: well, yes, it rather works. Orange cake, fig jam, muesli (hoppla Geisss), Jaffa cake… With water: no. New rubber boots, rather out of context. Mouth (neat): to be honest, this gets really strange. Bay leaves, rubber, a touch of sulphur… With water: turns a bit bitter while staying syrupy. Not a fan of this. Finish: long, rubbery. Comments: cats are odd creatures. Certainly, that’s true of the five mousers we have at WF HQ (Soba, Perle, P’tit Noir, Tigrou, P’tit Blanc-et-Noir), all absolute geniuses, of course. Thank goodness they don’t drink our Brora. Anyway, this feline whisky seems quite ‘artisanal’. It has its good sides, mind you, and it mostly seems to be a bottle ‘for fun’. One can’t be against that.
SGP:462 - 70 points.

St. Killian 2017/2024 ‘Small Batch Unpeated’ (52.4%, OB, Germany, double maturation PX and bourbon)

We’ve had some splendid St. Killians already. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s successful, quite fresh and direct, with a menthol note, fennel, bitter orange, and flat-leaf parsley… It smells like PX seco, and if that’s the case, I bow with deference and envy. I adore PX seco as much as I find PX dulce often vulgar and tiresome. With water: similar, with a few drops of Fanta (our apologies). Mouth (neat): very good! Curry, grey pepper, chilli, honey, blood orange juice, pink pepper… It has an ‘Indian restaurant’ vibe, to be honest, and no, we won’t make RW’s joke about ‘paperback raita’. With water: even creamier, with peach liqueur but also leaves, stems, and pits making it a bit bitter. Finish: long, herbal, a bit salty and peppery. Not the easiest part. Comments: very high highs and a few lower lows. The initial nose was quite superb.
SGP:461 - 82 points.

One last one to finish (pleonasm alert, S.)

St. Killian 2017-2018/2024 ‘Small Batch Peated’ (62.3%, OB, Germany, 455 bottles)

Hungarian oak (Ungarische Eiche), they say, but is Trump’s buddy V.O. really our friend? (whaaaat? Oh come on, S.) Colour: deep gold. Nose: we knew this would work in our book. Heavily mentholated and piney mango jam, rubber boots and trainers, brake pads, heavy thyme oil. With water: pine needles and cones, in megatistic quantities. Mouth (neat): extreme and awesome. Heavy doom black soviet metal (whatever) in a bottle, with megatons of ashes. With water: that famous full ashtray. Very extreme, piney, ashy, salty… Finish: perhaps one of the longest ever, but it’s full of bitterness. Crazy green walnuts and craziest bitter oranges. We even like this. Comments: utter madness. Be warned, don't drink this when you're alone; it's like while scuba diving, never alone.
SGP:576 - 85 points.

Current Medal Standing
(July 26, Updated Daily)

Gold		UK Bimber ‘Wimbledon’ (56.6%, OB, England, The Spirit of the Underground, Vino de Naranja cask, cask #310/5, 298 bottles, 2024)
Silver		UK Penderyn 13 yo 2010/2023 (59.5%, OB, Wales, LMDW New Vibrations, second fill bourbon, cask #313/2010)
Bronze		Italy Exmu ‘Spirit of Sardinia’ (45.5%, OB, Italy, bourbon, +/-2024)