Whisky Tasting : Fifty years old

A 50 year old whisky as the focus for a tasting? well ok, I guess I could manage that ... 

Seven Star Cadenhead ?? Blended

• N: leather, ink, brine, sweet, biscuity, musty, acetone
• P: light, aniseed, flat, burnt sugar, dull, 
• F: mediu, dull

7/10 for me. Now I'm not entirely sure what this was, it was the mystery but my handwriting is appalling. It came 3rd with 8.47 and retails for $92 if that helps :) And I can read the 'blended' so there's that ... 

Glenglassaugh Octaves Classic #2 44%

• N: lovely, fruit salad, coastel, acetone (light), caramel, pears, lime
• P: syrupy, thin, orange, decr alc, hint of salt, green tea, salty marmalade
• F: med-long, salt

8.5-9 / 10. I liked this, I do have a soft spot for Glenglassaugh (even tho' I didn't pick it in the lineup) came 7th with 7.68

Highland Park 16yo 44.5% Wings of the Eagle

• N: sulphur, mandarin, shoe polish, grapefruit, dusty, waxy
• P: thick, chocolate, mandarin, chewy, sulphur, sour, sherry
• F: med, sulphur. heat grows but nicely

8-8.5/10 Enjoyed this one too, more sulphur than you normally get in an HP (probably why I diidn't pick this one either), and good to see HP continuing their silly naming. Came 5th with 8.02

Bunnahabhain 18yo 46.3%

• N: dark chocolate, salty, dry, stewed apple, strong nose,wet wool, ink
• P:  thick, toasty, balanced, herbal, oily, dry
• F: med, peppery

8/10 Interesting and reasonably easy to pick as a Bunna. Came 4th 8.35

Old School Single Malt Coastal Edition 50yo 43.1% Signatory Vintage 2025 Batch #3

• N: acetone, custard, strange, sour, rodenbach grand cru
• P: dry, oil, aniseed, strange, sulphur
• F: long, salty

7/10. Not really a fan, although tasting like a Rodenbach Grand Cru (one of my favourite beers) was interesting. Came 6th with 7.95

Tobermory 21yo 46.3% Oloroso Cask Finish

• N: salty, brine, fruity, olive oil, damp leather, vigorous, sulphur
• P: tasty caramel, aniseed, fruity
• F: long, spicy

9-10/ 10. I loved this. Ticked an awful lot of boxes for me, and it appeared everyone else did too - it came 1st with 8.68

Springbank 15yo 46%

• N: complex, match heads, smokey, dirty, smoked fish, cigars
• P: spicy, rubber, dry, salt, marmalade
• F: med salt, dry, ash

7/10 meh, good without being great. Came 2nd 8.59 so what would I know :D

Nothing bad in this tasting, and if nothing else it's saved you forking out for a 50 year old whisky. 

Keyboard Restoration - J. Busilacchio Chord Organ #1

 A couple of months ago I picked up a ?1960s? electric keyboard - J. Busilacchio Chord Organ for a tenner as half of the keys didn't work. Figured at the worst it was a pretty, very Italian, case and at best if only half the keys didn't work it should be fixable.

There's not a lot on the web about them, or rather not a lot about how to identify models. And having taken it apart, there's very little in the box to identify model or date. It also looks like there's been some mods to change the power socket a bit too. 

It's essentially a reed organ (like my pump organ), but with an electric fan pushing the air over the metal reeds. The chord section is all working, and it sits on four, currently very unstable, legs.

The fan is working, the chords all work, and as advertised, half the keys work. There's some veneer damage, and the lid isn't attached. I've now got it to the point where it's disassembled and I can start cleaning the reeds to see what happens. I'll be replacing the baseboard which has had a large number of holes drilled in it, and stripping back the paint that's been put over the sound board etc. 

this should pop up just after the Whisky on Saturday. See how organised I'm being?

me

Whisky Tasting : Regional - Whisky Tour

 Hi all, reasonably good chance of two posts - mainly as I'm playing with timed posting ... 

Regional Wines March tasting 'Whisky Tour' which was based around a number of interesting things Daniel and John wanted to try. It's complicated like that.

Glenburgie First Edition 2007 16yo 2007 53.1%

• N: hint salt, sweet, acetone, apples, no peat, sulphur
• P: warm, apples, pear, spikey, sweet n sour, bitter wood
• F: grassy, long and hot, sweet

9-9.5 /10. I like this, a lot. What a great way to start the tasting, really great balance, maybe a touch more in the cask for complexity, but great. Admittedly, it only came 6th with 7.22 but there's no accounting for taste.

Ben Nevis North Star 2012 12yo 58.6%

• N: big, menthol. sweet, powdery, peaches, leatheer, bourbon + oloroso
• P: fruit salad, big apples, candied fruit, sweet, oily, woody
• F: med-short.

8/10 tasty wee number. North Star seem to be on a bit of a role with their bottles, worth checking out. Came 3rd with 8.36

Deanston Old Particular Midnight Series 15yo 60.2% refill 667

• N: walnuts, pepper, sherry, leather, acetone, dark chocolate, aged, spikey. 
• P:fruit slad, salty, peppery
• F: long, spicy

8/10. Another I liked, I am a bit of a fan of Old Particular bottlings and this one was good. Again with the silly others in the room, it came 8th with 7.47. I also suspect that Neil has convinced me about Deanston. 

Lochlea Cask Strength Batch 1 60.1%

• N: toilet air freshner, jasmine, heather, banana, light 
• P: light, sherry, salty, 
• F: gets very hot

6/10. I didn't like this, I didn't like the balance and it just seemed wrong. It appears others agreed as it came 7th with 7.66

Kilchoman 17yo Excl Blackadder 52.3% Fresh bourbon cask #08/194

• N: peat, salt, bacon, medicinal, smoke, suppurating wound, sweet, antiseptic
• P: peaty, smoke, sounds
• F: long, nice balance

8.5/10 good stuff, I'd picked this as a Ledaig, but Kilchoman makes sense too :) oddly it's bottled for Blackadder, but in in a Kilchoman bottle (rather than the Blackadder bottle).  Came 5th with 7.76 

Signatory Ardmore 14yo NZ bottling 58.4% full oloroso - Mystery Whisky

• N: warm sweet, menthol, aged old leather, soft, gentle, sugary Demerara 
• P: chocolate, cake, burnt orange, leather, aged, integrateed
• F: med-long, sweet, pepper grows

9/10. I liked this, strong coastal flavours but wihtout it being silly. Also, ridiculously good value. why yes, I did walk away with a bottle. Came 2nd 8.78 

Ledaig Blackadder 17yo 2008-2025 57% Raw Cask PC Sherry Cask #700302

• N: peat, soke, sweet, rubber, sulphur, bacon, sultanas
• P: peaty, port, bourbon, bacon rubber
• F: long, hot, ?too young? 

8/10. I liked it, but it didn't rock things for me. the rest of the group were more in favour, it came 1st with 9.4

Ardbeg 10yo 2026 Cask Strength 61.7% Committee Exclusive

• N: lightly peated, smoke, gentle, sweet, slightly medicinal
• P: coastal hobo, dry, ashy, complex and well balanced
• F: long, hot, grows

8.5/10 for me Ardbeg are very hit and miss at bottling good drams. The independents seem to do a better job, but this was very good. Possibly my favourite I've had since the Black Sheep? Came 4th with 7.9

Really really good tasting, variety, excellent drams, everything you really want in a tasting. 

Slaints

Whisky: Blair Athol

First Regional Wines tasting of the year, Blair Athol isn't usually seen as a single malt as most of their product is destined for blending (ding dong!). therefore, aside from the rare distillery only releases, you'll only find Blair Athol single malts from independent bottlers. Which is what we've got here ...

Blackadder Raw Cask 13yo NC2 51.7% 10.7.2009-12.2022 Hogshead 304826

N: floral, sweet, citrus, spicy, mahogany

P: fruit salad, prickly, sweet, rosemary

F: long and hot

7.5/10 I liked this, the spicyness possibly overpowered the interesting fruit salad flavours, suggesting it may have needed a few more years in cask? Overall, typically good Blackadder bottling, 3rd 8.12

Single Malts of Scotland 47.1% #40245 2.8.2006-24.4.2025 NC2 18yo PX Sherry Hogshead

N: sweet, older, grassy, bourbon?, prickly, metallic

P: sweet, tangy, creamy, vanilla, light, vanilla, fruit salad

F: spicy, medium

6/10 not a lot going on (contrary to the description!) it all felt kind of flat to me 6th, 7.56

James Eadie NC2 55.3% #307364 17.11.2009-2024 14yo re-charred hogshead

N: light, sweet, butterscotch, caramel, creme brulee, salt, vanilla

P: creamy, vanilla, sweet, salty

F: salty, dry on finish, med-long

7.5/10 Our tasting last year for the JE bottles wasn't a favourite, but this bottling was ok, interesting but still quite spiky on the finish. Came last (7th) 7.31

Adelphi 13yo 2011-2024 1st fill bourbon barrel 56.6% 305328

N: prickly, brandy butter, parmesan, savoury

P: pear, apples

F: spicy, increasing heat, but quite short finish

8/10 I liked this, another good Adelphi, the palate was particularly nice. Came 5th 7.58

Signatory 13yo NC2 30.9.2011-23.5.2025 1st fill Ruby Port hogshead 57.5%

N: banana, tobacco, sweet, tannins, peach tea, meths, malt vinegar

P: raspberries,

F: long, hot, big

8/10 Good dram, and interesting the port finish, 4th (8.11)

BBR 14yo 2009 Hogshead PX Finish 55.6%

N: sherry, sweet, roses, chocolate, molasses

P: metallic, cloying

F: astringent, short

6/10 Did not like this, not very interesting and again seemed a bit young. Came 2nd (8.26)

Mystery [Glengoyne 59.5% Cask Strength 12yo].

N: peat ?, light, sweet

P: bourbon (hints), sweet

F: spicy, medium

5.5/10 oddly low for a Glengoyne for me, but I felt this was a very one dimensional bottling.  Came 1st (8.53)

Overall, interesting without being great. There is a house style, which is light, floral with fruit salad in the palate. But the spirit does seem to pick up cask flavour very easily. 

Beers of 2025 : the Liver and Alec

 In the ongoing series of how much have Alec and I drunk, here's the 2025 summary. For those wanting context, 2024 is here. 

For the first time, I'm now below Alec in absolute numbers of booze consumed. Damn he's a lush. He's also now well ahead of me in unique beers and badges. Life is terrible.

Looking at 2024 - 2025, it appears I only drank about 300 beers, Alec bless his damaged liver, hit around 700. that's beerfests for ya.

our top beers are still reasonably similarm, but are continuing to diverge over the years. Obviously it's because i'm not there to lead him on the straight and narrow. Mine has the Craftwork, unsurprisingly. 

Last.FM 2025 notes

 There isn't much new in this post, but it is a summary of the 2025 listening stats, thanks to last.fm sending me a summary of that sort of thing.

Regular readers will already know 2025 was my biggest year, per track numbers, since last.fm and I cuddled up in 2006. 

 

top artists? predictable. Top album, I see there are a number of compilations in there from Moochin' About, one of my favourite labels. Top track, no surprise there either. It does turn up on most of their live albums ...

I had a feeling I hadn't listened to as much new music last year and the stats support that. But the ones it calls out are great, that Steve Rothery/Bioscope is brilliant. and new Steve Wilson is most enjoyable.

apparently i didn't love many tracks last year, but i did listen to a fuck load of music each day. 

there ya go, next up in post land, comparison on the Alec and Bruce damage their liver expedition.

Casual Dram #20 : Dec 2025

 Last Casual Dram for 2025, which seemed reason enough to turn up.  Always an enjoyable session, and Mean Doses is an excellent venue for a relaxed tasting.

SMWS 2.138 Glenlivet 'Raisin Toffee Jam' 16 yo 55.0% 1st fill ex-oloroso sherry butt

• N- xmas cake, dry, manuka honey, hint of salt, burnt sugar, caramel
• P- warm, honey, sherry
• F-long, very very long.

9/10. Probably not a surprise that I liked this. 

Glenfarclas 'Family Cask' 2009 15yo #1117 61.5% Sherry Butt

• N- sweet, marshmallow, floral, hint of mint, perfume
• P- dry, sherry, spicy, banana, ?citrus, 
• F-hot, long, pepper, 

8.5/10 tastier than most Glenfarclas' drams. maybe they ain't too bad :)

Mystery Whisky

• N-hint smoke, bourbon, light
• P-light, no flavour, pepper grows on palate.
• F-short

6/10 not a lot going on, and I didn't pay attention to what it was either.

Benromach 'Dramfest' 2025 #626 2014 59.8% 1st fill sherry hogshead

• N-salt, bacon, medicinal, sherry
• P- salty, incr pepper, sherry
• F- grows in heat

7/10 not amazing, but not bad. 

Caol Ila 'Adelphi' 2014 10yo #326024 55.4% 1st fill oloroso sherry hogshead

• N- suppurating wound, coasstal, rose water, chocolate
• P-sherry, medicinal, complex, salty, coastal
• F-long complex and very tasty

9/10 hey its a sherry caol ila of course I liked it. Actually there's a bottle of it in my cabinet 

me

Last.FM #8 the Final Data

 I know the surprise reveal has already happened, that yes I did hit my 20,000 tracks target. The only remaining question is what number did I end up with, and did I hit the unexpectedly high 25,000 ?

Total for the year : 24,208 tracks

Average number of tracks per day: 66.51

No, I didn't make the 25,000, I did some quick analysis in the middle of Dec to work out how many tracks per day I needed, and it was high. By the last week of Dec it was ridiculously high:

How did this compare with other years of last.fm scrobbling? Quite well it turns out, the most tracks I've ever listened to:

I don't think I'll be as single minded this year, it was a fun and interesting exercise. I do feel that I was sometimes selecting tracks/albums with lots of short tracks (eg jazz film soundtracks, or funk compilations) but then again, I do listen to them a lot anyway. Avoiding bollocks like Transatlantic with their long windy tracks was a good plan, and probably helped sanity as well.

Next up in the posts, a more detailed exploration of my listening in last.fm for 2025, a whisky tasting and a review of the untappd year in competition with Alec.

me 

Last.FM #7

 I'm sure you're all avid readers and don't need reminding, however:

>

* Target for the year was to hit the 20,000 individual track plays for the year, to which end I'd set up a spreadsheet to analyse how things were going, what my current run rate was, and what I had as a required run rate. My aim was to try and hit 20,000 by end of October as that gave me a couple of months if I needed them. Also, 2000 tracks a month was a nice round number. 

<

So how are things going at the end of Nov? As you know, I achieved the 20,000 tracks in late October, track numbers have reduced in absolute numbers, but I did hit 22033 at the end of Nov. 

And this update is brought to your by M.Ward 'Transfiguration of Vincent' 

b

Last.Fm #6

 number 6? my, who would have thought I'd follow through on a series!

>

* Target for the year was to hit the 20,000 individual track plays for the year, to which end I'd set up a spreadsheet to analyse how things were going, what my current run rate was, and what I had as a required run rate. My aim was to try and hit 20,000 by end of October as that gave me a couple of months if I needed them. Also, 2000 tracks a month was a nice round number. 

<

Well the good news is that I've hit the years target of 20,000. This auspicious moment happened on the 25th of October, and involved Marillion. Just to keep it, you know, predictable. 

As of today (220pm on the 30th Oct) I'm sitting 20320, so everything is continuing on. No rest for the tuning. Or something. 

me