Member's Choice Night

The Cabinet met again last Thursday evening, this time for a "Member's Choice" night. Usually Al (the Chair) and myself (the Secretary) determine the themes and the whiskies to be sampled, so for the last meeting of the year we decided to instead invite the membership to make the selections. We began with the Penderyn from Wales, chosen by Ivan, then moved on to the Yamazaki 18 from Japan, chosen by Grant. From there we went on to Trevor's selection, the Old Pulteney 21 and then finally finished with Michael's pick, the Lagavulin 16.
The sequencing was superb, from the most subtle and restrained to the most flavourful and aggressive. All four whiskies were enjoyed in their own right, but the Old Pulteney 21 was likely the favorite. It was complex enough to be interesting while being superbly balanced and thus eminently drinkable. My notes indicate estery, floral and feinty aromas, a somewhat drying mouthfeel and then definite salt on the palate, as befitting a maritime "Highland" scotch. The Penderyn actually far exceeded expectations and my more middling recollection of it and the Yamazaki and Lag are of course reliable favorites anytime.
Food was excellent as well, ranging from funky aged cheddar, through Irish whisky cheddar (we did not determine whether it was the cheddar or the whisky or both that were Irish),  edamame beans, little Glenfiddich 12 infused mincemeat pies right through to a fantastic "amuse bouche" shot glass of cold brussels sprouts soup garnished with blue cheese and roasted red pepper. This was much much better than it sounds. Honestly.
I will save description of the various constitutional debates and "honourary first member / patron saint" debates for another post.
Slainte!