The one with James on, it seems

Girvan 35 year old That Boutique-y Whisky Company (45.8%)

N: sweet porridge, like honey almond oatmeal maybe, with butter and a hint of maple. Just slightly peppery

P: butter in grits or on unsweetend pancakes, some pepper, chrysanthemum tea. A little harsh actually, especially on the finish

81

Clynelish 12 year old That Boutique-y Whisky Company (45.8%)

N: mostly typical young Clynelish with waxy lip balm and grassy meadow with dandelions. There is something almost medicinal here, accenting the lip balm thing over more edible forms of wax

P: modestly sweet, lightly spicy grass and hay, and again the freshness of Carmex, just applied, both the flavor and the refreshing sting on the lips. Recognizably Clynelish, decent pour, not as good as the OB 14 year

82

Inchgower 12 year old That Boutique-y Whisky Company (45.8%)

N: Brazil nuts and hazelnut skins, polished furniture (the wood and the leather upholstery both)…maybe syrup, but ordinary grocery store stuff, not real maple

P: that’s quite salty, which I appreciate, because it’s otherwise a fairly tame moderately sherried malt with a particular focus on nuts. So right, we have a roasted and salted mixed nuts blend, heavy on the Brazil nuts and and cashews with some hazelnuts to seem fancy. Some bitterness on the finish, still in a nutty way, but now I’m thinking of Nocino

83

World whisky blend 21 year old That Boutique-y Whisky Company (45.8%)

N: we’re making progress, but slowly. I don’t know what’s in this other than that there are four countries (Ireland, Scotland, Canada, and Japan) and a sherry cask. Let’s assume, given the price and age statement, that quite a lot of this blend consists of Canadian and/or Scottish grain whisky. There is, nevertheless, a recognizably Japanese component, with that odd sweet wood note that could even be mizunara. There’s also a sherry component that is dirtier than the Inchgower. I don’t know if there’s a tiny bit of peat? Easy to hallucinate something like that in a blend 

P: sort of follows the theme of the collection—butter, syrup, porridge, pancakes or pastries—but a little more interesting than the first three. Some dirty sherry, some exotic sweet wood, some…peaches in cream? At any rate, a mild fruitiness that suggests pastry filling. Not terribly focused or harmonious, but there’re more going on here, and all of it is nice. I’m starting to feel like I’m doing a bit, adding a point to the score with each new whisky, but…

84

Bowmore 17 year old That Boutique-y Whisky Company (45.8%)

N: the best for last, naturally. Clean, sweet smoke, with marshmallow fluff, and blue flowers (violets, pea blossom) on the hills singing a duet with seaweed washed up on the shore below. That’s Bowmore

P: slightly toasted marshmallow (not burned!), slightly soapy flowers (lavender now, and garrigue more broadly), slightly coastal smoke. A nice finish where some faint cracked peppercorn joins the rest of that. Delicious. Doesn’t suffer too much from the reduced proof, though of course I register a formal complaint

87