Clutch and I made our way to Stourbridge by train yesterday evening. There was a tasting of Springbank Distillery whiskies happening at a specialist shop there called Nickolls and Perks.
I happen to have bought a bottle of Springbank’s 10 Year Old Longrow 100 Proof when last in Edinburgh and had loved it to bits, so I was really looking forward to the evening.
We made it to the town, and then found our way to the shop. There had been talk of food, because we were making good time and thought we’d have a chance to stop somewhere for a bite before things kicked off - but as we got to the store we saw that there were already people with glasses in their hands, and we didn’t want to miss anything.
We were hungry - but there was fine whisky on offer.
I had the distinct privelege of being with Clutch when he opened a 40 year-old bottle of Longmorn. He’s following this up with a trip to London to watch his fiancee run the Marathon, then his wedding in Scotland, his birthday, and a month in New Zealand on honeymoon. It’s sad to think they’ll all be such disappointments after this…
It wasn’t just the best whisky I’ve ever tried, I think it may have been the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Unbelievable.
I played a Game of Go with my friend Dan last night. He’s slightly better at it than I am, so although he kindly made a few silly mistakes that allowed me to gain some advantage around the edges, he pretty much took out the centre of the board and ran away with the game.
I tried to influence the outcome by giving him whisky, but since I had to drink it as well so that he wouldn’t suspect anything, the potential advantage was lost.
Still… we had a good time and have arranged to have another crack at it in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, is there nobody else in this town who plays Go? Say… someone that I’m slightly better than?
I had to show you this. If nothing else, this was the highlight of my trip to Edinburgh last weekend.
Of course, I met great people and had interesting conversations. Even bought records and did a lot of sightseeing around the city. But the Port Ellen was the bit I got most excited about, I have to say.
It had been recommended to me by a couple of people who knew I was into single malts - and it had been described in hushed tones as being ‘awesome’.
The distillery is long gone and the bottles are not cheap. Appreciating in value as they become less and less common. If you were inclined to buy me a present, and were thinking upwards of £85 seemed about right, then you could not do better than to go here and spend money.
In fact, I’m inclined to revisit that whisky blog I started last year. I’ve had a few people mention it to me. Maybe I’ll revive it as a group blog and get a bunch of friends together to do tastings and report back on the blog. Actually, why not stage virtual tastings? We don’t have to be in the same room when we try something…
