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| Hi, this is one of our (almost) daily tastings. Santé! |
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February 1, 2026 |
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The Rum Sessions, no rum today but rum will be back |
Well, I was planning to share a few more rums this Sunday, but something unexpected caught my eye: a large forum — which I won’t name, out of simple goodwill — rather reminiscent of the old Usenet or Yahoo groups in their lively days. There, a handful of anonymous posters had taken the opportunity to express some fairly critical, and at times rather sharp (right, insulting), opinions about this small website and one of our humble rum posts. |
| Honestly, it isn’t such a bad thing. A fully commercial web filled only with praise or even neutrality or consensus would hardly be something to strive for, and a little disagreement is part of what makes independent spaces interesting. Plus, as Courteline once suggested, though expressed in far harsher terms, being judged foolish by someone lacking perspective can almost feel like a quiet compliment. |
| Still, I’ll admit it did leave me feeling a touch deflated reading those remarks. More importantly, it put me slightly off enjoying another glass of rum today — a fortiori five or seven of them — though I’m sure the pleasure will return soon enough. |
| In any case, let’s all take a breath, stay kind, and send a little warmth even to those poor anonymous souls. |
| Hugs and kisses to everyone. |
| See you tomorrow with more whisky... hopefully. |
| Yours, |
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P.S. I've just realised that this January may well have broken a record — or so it seems, though I don’t really keep an eye on our stats, as I firmly believe the quality of our readership matters a thousand times more than its size (which only really concerns those with something to sell — if that).
So exactly 930,570 unique visitors in January, talk about a Dry January! (official figures from our provider - and not visits, hits, extrapolations by third parties, or what have you). Screen copy on request.
I must humbly admit, that does warm the heart a little. After all, we could even have savoured a few rums today, but it's too late. See you. |
Hold on a second, since you're here, we might as well publish a couple of wee whiskies, even if it is Sunday. Why not these ones… |
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WF's Little Duos,
two very young Auchentoshan to ease into spring, plus bonus |
Alright then, there are still a good six weeks to go before spring arrives here in the northern hemisphere – although, according to the new orthodoxy from D.C., we now talk about eastern and western hemispheres rather than north and south. I suppose the Earth will be flat any day now. Anyway, all the more reason to enjoy two young Auchentoshans… |
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Auchentoshan 9 yo 2016/2025 ‘Waiting for the Sun’ (46%, Uncharted Whisky Co., 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #UC0149, 617 bottles) 
Have you seen the name of this baby? If that’s not a whisky for the times… That said, 617 bottles from a single cask, even at 46% vol, that’s jolly robust. Must be a vatting of two or even three barrels. Colour: very pale white wine. Nose: extremely youthful, very spirity indeed, but also fresh as a daisy and nicely fruity, this is truly classic Auchentoshan of yesteryear, when the triple distillation profile was still front and centre. Haribo jellybeans and the like, limoncello, banana foam, touches of cologne water, citronella... In short, I’ve no idea whether it keeps mosquitoes at bay, but it’s remarkably faithful to the raw distillate and we’d take that any day over oodles of oak or clumsy wine seasoning. Mouth: splendid bitterness, and above all, lashings of fruit eau-de-vie—damson, mirabelle, pear, kirsch, rowanberry and such. Right, and barley too, the whole thing having seemingly aged in a demijohn for ten years or so. But you see, we do love our fruit spirits, so we’re entirely on board with this naked Auchentoshan. Finish: of moderate length, stems and leaves bobbing back up to the surface. In short, fairly herbaceous and bitter. Comments: pure, unvarnished young Auchentoshan, in its birthday suit. It’ll surely climb the ladder once it packs in a few more years…
SGP:660 - 84 points. |
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Auchentoshan 13 yo 2011/2025 (60.6%, Single Cask Nation, Online Exclusive, 4-month in 2nd fill peated bourbon barrel, cask #160463, 198 bottles) 
Online exclusive? That’s cool, we are online, aren’t we. That said, we’re awfully curious to see how peat, even just a trace, behaves on something as lean-bodied as Auchentoshan. Shall we? Colour: gold. Nose: how amusing, it initially noses like smoked rosewater, but what’s even funnier is how rapidly the distillate—slightly fattier than usual here—drives off that smoke by brute force, leaving only the faintest wisps. Still, that’s enough to garnish the Juicy Fruit chewing gums, fresh fruits and sweeties, especially... raspberry. Mind you, that raspberry note may well stem from the lofty ABV, so beware… With water: smoked raspberry eau-de-vie, that’s the one. Mouth (neat): borderline virulent, and unmistakably peaty, yet it works a treat. No dissonance whatsoever—in fact, it’s a superb in-cask blended malt. Well, you know what I mean. At any rate, it’s far peatier on the palate than on the nose, and it does faintly evoke cousin Bowmore. With water: it’s uncanny how natural this feels, ticking all the right boxes and showing the coherence of a proper single malt. Oranges, smoked salmon, lemon, three drops of seawater… Finish: long, fresh, elegant, lemony, peppery and smoky, much like a Talisker in fact. Comments: seriously though, Auchentoshan’s markers are present and correct here too. Could we get a thousand palettes of precisely this malt?
SGP:564 - 88 points. |
PS: pour that one blind, no one will believe it is what it is. Hang on, while we're at it, a little bonus... |
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Secret Lowland 11 yo (57.1%, Dràm Mor, refill oloroso sherry hogshead finish, cask #105, 324 bottles, 2025)
In theory, it’s Glenkinchie, several anonymised casks of which seem to have made their way onto the open market. The snag, as ever, is that Glenkinchie is so scarce it’s rather tricky to pin down any clear markers or to define a proper style, unless of course one happens to be one of Diageo’s master blenders. Colour: pale gold. Nose: it’s fairly full-bodied, leaning towards sourdough and soft white bread dough, even brioche, with porridge not far behind, then a gentle waft of fresh aniseed and spearmint, with wee white and yellow fruits chiming in quietly. The sherry influence is restrained. With water: little change, though orange drops do appear, along with a rather Auchentoshan-esque brightness. Well well! Mouth (neat): more obvious sherry-led nuttiness, plus preserved citron and candied angelica. Notes of Thai bouillon, coconut milk, and coriander lift it nicely. Even a touch of soy shoots and a mild bitterness that adds welcome tension. With water: very good. Splendid balance, oranges, pink pepper, and still that Thai bouillon showing through... Finish: rather long, heavily orangey, with persistent Thai inflections. Comments: very excellent, and a perfect sparring partner for the second Auchentoshan.
SGP:651 - 88 points. |
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