Sunday saw the biggest queues which The Whisky Show processed with aplomb. Long gone are the days of 60-minute check-in times. Also gone are the lines, 4-deep at the most popular stands in previous years at peak times. In 2022, numbers over the three days were never too much and not once was the venue congested. Bravo Whisky Show, nailed it!
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Is that Crazy Golf I see? Indeed, courtesy of Loch Lomond who signed a five-year deal in 2018 to become the main sponsor for the Scottish Open Golf Championship.
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As previously highlighted [WLP], good food after good drams makes one feel looked after, the icing on the cake for this superb whisky event.
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It’s time to say farewell to Old Billingsgate. Whilst us mear mortals file out for another year, I catch the VIPs singing “just one more dram”.
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Notably absent is the main man, Sukhinder Singh, who I’m told was in hospital. I wish him a full and swift recovery.
Today was also London Marathon day. Now early evening, a couple of ‘runners’ walk by. I think one is dressed as a giraffe. They look ‘spent’, a lot like me. If anything, the [now] 3-day Whisky Show is a test of endurance for both attendees and exhibitors. Supplements & tinctures, real food, water, and sleep are crucial.
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My Whisky Show ends like it has so many times before, for so many, in the pub. For others, the gig has just begun as the clear-up operation begins in haste.
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My final destination for the evening is Morden and specifically, Cafe La Lavella – the beating heart of an unknown and often misunderstood outer borough of [zone 4] South London. Cafe La Lavella is a licenced venue on a bustling street corner with table service and a diverse & very reasonably priced Middle Eastern-centric menu. Open 7-days-a-week, it’s always busy with great vibes and some banging tunes. Respect & gratitude.
Here I reflect on the last three days that started with Boutique-y on Friday evening [WLP] and all the fabulous drams I tried [82 in total].
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Of course, it’s the people that make, not just whisky, but life itself.
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And there’s more? There’s always more!
Chichibu London Edition [2022] Ob. [1861 bts] 51% WB85.50[4]
Some were saying this year’s London Edition had seen a cognac finish, but I’m told its been in sherry after bourbon, comprised of 9 casks, one peated,
- C: Good whisky [as ever from Chichibu], though being cask-led, it’s not particularly Chichibu-ey. Chichibu shines when the distillate is allowed the freedom. Here, the elements tend to compete with each other.
Scores 86 points
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Christian Drouin 2000 21yo TBWC 10th Birthday Calvados Batch #1 [btl #127/416] 41.5% [500ml]
- C: Simple in many ways, displaying the essence of brewing/fermentation. It’s wine-like too as well as being unsurprisingly pear/apple-centric with a rich delicacy. A short finish and a low-key affair, overall, yet this is one of the most congenial calvados I’ve ever tried. Frustratingly then, we end up talking prices again – this one, £175 for 500ml.
Scores 88 points
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Michter’s 20yo Ob. Limited Release Batch #21I2611 [btl #568/678] 57.1% [750ml]
I’d missed Friday’s [strictly under-the-counter] bottle but was told there would be another bottle discreetly appearing for day 2. True to their word, Michter’s came through [unlike a number of other brands who only bought lone bottles to cover three days].
- N: Bold, yet never too high-octane/intense, we’ve a rich bourbon with vanilla cream, liquidized oak,…
- T: A rich arrival, the oak is as firm as the spirit. Water brings out more and more on the flavour front.
- F: Oily yet drying with onward savoury sweet joys of this & that.
- C: Scrambling for a headline, ‘The Bruichladdich of Bourbon’ was one. In three words: perfectly uncomplicated, balanced.
Scores 90 points
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Until next year!
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