i'm a little late for whisk(e)y wednesday but hope it still counts for this week.
the current situation has led to many difficult decisions for many small businesses, especially those in the food and beverage lines, so it came as quite a shock to my friends and me when we found out that one of our favourite watering holes will have to close at their present location from friday onwards, until they're able to find a new location and get up and running again.
i'm not naming names this time around, since this one is a really small speakeasy that isn't active on social media as it stands.
sometimes, this is the best kind of place to be - where most of the regulars are there by word of mouth and everyone knows everyone else by name, where greetings pop up from all corners of the bar when a fellow regular walks in, and where going there for a drink feels like coming home to family. where (pre-covid restrictions) you could drop by any table to have a chat and share a pour or two even as they offered a pour from their own bottle, and build so many meaningful connections along the way.
compared to those noisy bars where the liquor's cheap but you have to stay in your own corner and only speak to the bartender when you want to order, i really feel that this is the type of bar that is hard to find nowadays, and worth supporting because of all the wonderful friendships forged over a dram or two there.
so it was with mixed feelings (and a heavy heart) that i headed down on wednesday to pick up my bottle and enjoy a final pour there with good company.
this particular bottle has great sentimental value for me, being my first bottle that i've purchased at this location. it's a Càrn Mòr 12-year-old Glenlossie (47.5% abv), which i fell in love with from the first sip.
to put it in a few words, this is pure essence of liquid sticky date pudding in a glass. the official description is spot on: "luscious, oily texture reminiscent of dark rum fermented from molasses with butter and sticky toffee pudding notes".
this one has to be taken neat to be properly appreciated, no question about it.
on the nose, the Glenlossie comes across as being really luscious, with notes of sweet raisin and dates blended harmoniously with a warm caramel / toffee. the maturation in the sherry hogshead cask really gives it quite a unique character - this is easy to drink yet refined enough to enjoy sip by sip. the red fruit and toffee notes just sing on the palate, with an extremely light finish that keeps you just wanting more. it's a great whisky that can be appreciated by newbies and veterans alike, though objectively speaking the strong sherry influence may not be everyone's cup of tea.
considering that this one was from a limited bottling run of 718 bottles, i was really glad to have been able to get one at our watering hole, and with their impending closure it was a bittersweet moment to have enjoyed a final round at the bar itself before taking my bottle home, a reminder of the lovely memories that had been (and hopefully, to come). slàinte.
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this review is of a product that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i wasn’t asked to review this as a condition of purchase and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Glenlossie, and as always, all opinions remain my own.
all information correct at time of publishing.
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