Scotland/England '22: Day 12
- Bob Aron
- Jul 18, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 14, 2022
Hackney to the Moulin Rouge
It was damn warm today, hitting 100 degrees in London. Not exactly the best for a full day of playing tourist. We’ve been to London many times so I don’t feel overly compelled to ‘see the sights’, but we did anyway. On my last trip here (2018) to see some Premiere League Football, I did make a trip to the Tate Modern to see a Picasso exhibit, but none of the rest of the group had been there so off we went (see my exciting new modern gallery below ;-) ). Luckily, it was air conditioned!
With a little extra time before some high tea at the Wallace Collection, we dashed off to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian. Amazingly, though the line shown as the prime meridian that runs through Greenwich is not perfectly accurate, it is pretty damn close considering when it was marked. The true meridian is a couple hundred feet away so we took our foot photo there instead. But needless to say, it was HOT HOT HOT there and we had to keep moving to meet our next destination.
A Nice surprise was the Wallace Collection. It’s not a huge gallery but lots of interesting collections and art. I would recommend this to any museum lovers looking for something besides the Tate or British Museums. Hey, and air conditioning!
And to cap off a long day, a show. Moulin Rouge which is pretty much the movie script with added new pop hits weaved in.
That’s a long day on the go….and it’s going to be hotter tomorrow.
Tate Modern
To be sure, I have my own ideas about ‘modern art’. Also to be sure, I am not remotely the first person to create their own ‘modern’ collection of ordinary objects within the ‘modern art gallery’. But here it is all the same:
iPhone 11, Snapseed Silhouette Filter
Whisky Scoreboard:
++ Distillery Tour/Tasting
** Distillery Bar (no tour)
Glenfarclas 15 (++) - thumbs up, kind of spicy (bringing some home)
Macallan 12 Triple Cask (**) - so so
Macallan 12 Double Cask (**) - so so
Macallan 12 Sherry Cask (**) - not bad, I would buy it.
Macallan Edition No. 2 (**) - decent, alcohol forward, then kind of spicy
Macallan Edition No. 4 (**) - decent - grasslike quality, don’t ask me what that means.
Macallan Edition No. 6 (**) - ok, I’ve been drinking all day, it seemed ok now in hindsight
Speyside Braden Orach - not bad, alcohol forward
Singleton 12 - definitely drinkable
Knockando 12 - not bad
Glenrothes Whisky Makers Cut - after so many whiskies I’m not sure what to make of it. So different than the others, it is hard to be objective. Different for sure and I think decent. Might have to try again!
Ledaig Sinclair - I like this one and it seemed to be perfect to go with a Smokey BBQ. It was Smokey for sure, but I like those kinds of whiskies.
Caol Ila DE - Smokey but not a lot of body. There are better options for something similar. Still drinkable though.
Singleton 12 (Dufftown)(++) - ok, tasted better before trying the nest 2 on the list
Singleton 15 (Glendullan)(++) - the best of the 3 Singletons we tried at the distillery.
Singleton Celebratory (Glen Ord)(++) - great nose, kind of spicy, only 3 thousand bottles made, would be nice around the holidays
An Cnoc (Knockando Distillery) - Smokey and nice!
GlenGrant 10 (++) - Not special, but also not bad. I’ll drink it if you serve it to me.
GlenGrant Arboralis (++) - Light, perfect for summer Scoth drinking, if there is such a thing. Also really inexpensive for the bonus (bringing some home)
Dailuaine 16 - Nice but not awesome. Alcohol forward then the sweetness from the sherry casking
BenRiach 12 Sherry - We have drive past BenRiach so many times this week it seemed necessary to try this one. I actually liked this better than the Dailuaine 16.
Glenfarclas 105 (++)
Cragganmore 12 (++) Decent, great nose, modest flavoring compared to the others we tried (bringing some home)
Cragganmore Distillers Edition (++) - Like this one and bought a bottle (bringing some home)
Cragganmore Distillery Reserve (++)- Liked this one as well but it is a higher proof which I do not prefer
Glengoyne 12 (++) - Decent but not overly flavorful
Glengoyne 18 (++) - Really nice, we’re bringing some home
Deanston 12 (++) - Alcohol hit upfront and on the backend, decent but again having trouble rating because my taste buds are getting confused
Deanston Virgin Oak (++) - Did not really care for this one. It was made using a blend of 16 yr and 6-8yr
Deanston 18 (++) - Drinkable, but felt like a decent 12, not an 18
Lock Lomond 12 - Really nice actually. Only tried it because we took a lunch at Loch Lomond on our tour yesterday. But, I would buy this one. Smooth and a hit of sweetness up front. FYI, there is a Lock Lomond over the hill in Santa Cruz county, great hike. Not sure I can get this in the US, but we have too many bottles already to pack another…..
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