Everything Over 20 Years Old

 

The May line-up

May's tasting sold out to members within hours of it being announced, and no surprise as Martin had raided the club's stocks for a series of independent bottlings all at least 20 years old.

North British 29yo

We got straight into it with the opening dram, a 29-year-old North British grain whisky. A long-time component of lots of well-known blends, indie bottlings of North British have become more widely seen of late. This particular one came from Fragrant Drops, a brand run by former club member George Keeble, and was matured in a fresh bourbon cask.

This had a very pleasant, creamy nose. That cream was still there on the palate just about, along with a spirity hit. Honey and lemon cough sweets was one suggestion. Rice pudding with honey was another, or vanilla custard (so really going for the full school dinners experience). Not as bitter as some grains, and some felt it was actually too much on the sweet side for them. It's 50.9% and we paid £100.

Tomatin 32yo

Onto Tomatin next, a very large distillery on the Highland/Speyside border. Under Japanese ownership it has gone from a bulk producer of whisky to one that also has a developing brand in its own right, although the bottle we had - a 32-year-old from Skene Scotch Whisky, aged in a bourbon hogshead - harked back to an earlier era of Tomatin production.

Grassy, and almost like a rye on the nose, this one. But the nose promised a bit more than the palate delivered, we felt. We didn't feel this was especially memorable, nor complex and it was a bit of a disappointment for the price tag. We paid £175 from the Aberdeen Whisky Shop, but the RRP on the Skene website has this nearer £400. Admittedly, our view might have been a bit coloured once we realised how expensive it was. It's 44.9%.

Arran 21yo

Whisky three was from Arran, one of the real success stories of Scottish whisky since it was established in the 1990s. Again we were looking back in time to quite an early bottling, a 21-year-old distilled back in 1997. Things could only get better after dram two? Perhaps. This was a sherried expression bottled for the Green Welly Stop, now known as Tyndrum.

This smelt sweet, like Crunchie bars we (ok, I) thought. "Dangerously easy to drink". Not as sweet on the palate but there was a very pleasant dark chocolate, peppermint thing going on, which maybe put it more in After Eights territory. There was a mixture in the room of those who really liked it, and others who found it a little boring. Although billed as full maturation, it tasted more like a sherry finish. We paid £101 and it clocks in at 55.3%.

Tullibardine 29yo

A half-time break to recharge our glasses downstairs at the Seven Oaks, and we were back for three more whiskies.

Local favourite Chorlton Whisky brought us dram four, a 29-year-old Tullibardine distilled in 1993. Known for its good quality water source - Highland Spring is produced next door - Tullibardine is a bit of a landmark on the A9 in Perthshire, well-located if you want to break your journey north.

This bottle was dry and savoury on the nose. Almost like a wholemeal sort of flavour, or Soreen malt loaf, appropriately enough for a Manchester bottler. This again got a slightly mixed response, with some liking it and others feeling it was a bit on the average side. It's 47.5% and we paid £160.

Tormore 30yo

Two Cadenheads bottlings to finish with. Dram five was a 30-year-old Tormore, distilled in 1988 and a combination of three bourbon hogsheads. Recently taken over by Elixir Distillers, owned by the Singh brothers of Whisky Exchange fame, it'll be interesting to see what Tormore has in store for us in the coming years.

Back to this particular bottle though, and we found it nice and approachable. Not necessarily complex, but certainly nice, although it lacked the 'wow' factor you might have been looking for from something really exceptional. "A beauty" on first taste for some, but it didn't linger as it might have done. But overall, a very positive reception. It's long gone from the official site, but we paid £180 for it. It's 47.9%.

Benrinnes 23yo

For the last dram we stayed in Speyside for a Benrinnes, a distillery usually only seen officially in the Flora and Fauna range. This was a 23-year-old from 1995.

This gave us green apples on the nose, followed by a different sort of appley-taste on the palate. McDonald's apple pie was one suggestion, although a caramel toffee apple was perhaps a slightly classier suggestion. Sharp and fresh, this was delicious. We paid £80 - a bargain we felt - and it's 53.4%.

So to the dram of the night voting and a clear win for - the Benrinnes. It took 14 votes, with the Tormore second and the Arran in third.

Thanks to Martin for putting on yet another excellent tasting, all at the Seven Oaks for their hospitality and to all club members for showing their support once again.

Indian Whisky Tasting

 

Another stellar line-up

Club member Marc took the reins for April and a welcome opportunity for him to guide us through some names old and new from the Indian whisky scene.

Indri Dru

We started with Indri, a growing maker of whisky and other drinks which recently announced plans to develop a distillery of its own in Argyll. The stuff we had in our glasses was produced rather closer to its Indian home, in its large faciility in the suburbs of New Delhi.

This Indri Dru expression was bourbon aged and was dark, pleasant and had a bit of spice to it, almost like a rye. There was also an orangey vibe, sort of adjacaent to marmalade or even Cointreau. Sticky toffee pudding was another tasting note.

That spiciness meant we felt it would go well with a plate of snacks. It was 57.2% - so not exactly holding back at the start of the evening - and cost £73.

Paul John Kanya

Paul John was next, a Goa distillery that has become one of the best known global names in whisky. We were drinking the Kanya, a 50% 7-year-old - pretty old by Indian standards where there is an unofficial rule of thumb that one year of maturation equals three years in Scotland.

It was aged in first fill American white oak. Not so big on the nose but it did have a notable palate. A bit fruitier than our opening dram, it had a long finish, and also mellowed a bit with water. A bit of smoke too maybe, certainly some burnt notes in there somewhere.

The reception was a little bit mixed in the room. We paid £100, but it now goes for more than double that, so nobody was reaching for their wallets on this occasion.

Amrut

Amrut is the other most well-established whisky brand from India, and it would probably have been remiss to do an Indian tasting without one. Marc had a big single malt for us at no less than 61.8%. It had no age statement but was presumably 4-5 years old.

We found this easy drinking and sweet for something of this strength. There was a sweetness in the aftertaste, with strong hints of candied fruits. At £70, this was not bad value at all.

There was time for a half-time break to refill our beer glasses downstairs at the Seven Oaks, before moving on with the second part of our Indian odyssey.

Rampur Asava

Dram four was from a single malt from Rampur. Called Asava, this had been matured in a mixture of ex-bourbon and ex-Cabernet Sauvignon casks.

A pleasant nose, with a distinctive hit of plain chocolate on the palate. There was a bittersweet taste at the back of the mouth. Delicious we felt, a lot of people in the room really liked it. No obvious red wine influence from the casks though, at least as far as we could tell.

So, this was not quite what we thought we were getting when we opened the bottle. Still good though. One last sideways tasting note shout: Eton mess. It was 45% and not bad value at £67.

Godawan Series 01

Whisky five came from Diageo brand Godawan, their Series 01. This was aged in bourbon and PX sherry, with some help from Indian botanicals apparently.

We felt this was a bit spicy but also a little undistinguished and not especially memorable. We didn't get much of the sherry nor the botanicals. A bit of butterscotch perhaps? Having said that, others elsewhere in the room liked it a bit more. It was 46% and £60.

Kurinji

The last of Marc's selection of six was from Kurinji, part of a new single malts of India range bottled by Amrut from smaller distilleries.

This was grassy and floral, rather more than the previous one in fact. A bit of coal fire on the palate. Easy to drink. "A breakfast whisky" someone suggested. It was £85 and was 46%.

There was just time for a seventh bonus dram, courtesy of one of the biggest domestic brands in India, Royal Challenge. A grain mix of Indian and Scottish malts, we were led to believe that only some would be what we'd consider 'real' whisky, with the rest made up of spirit made from molasses as is commonplace in India. Not the worst, certainly sweet, like cordial or rum. A dull sweetness reminiscent of flat Coke. It was £30. Like everything, it was worth a try!

All seven whiskies got at least one vote in the dram of the night voting. But there was a rare victory for the opening whisky, with the Indri Dru picking up 13 votes to 12 for the Amrut, and the Rampur claiming the bronze medal.

Thanks to Marc for choosing the whiskies and taking us on a tour of the Indian industry, and to all club members and guests for joining us in the very hospitable surroundings of the Seven Oaks once again.

The full selection

Old Malt Cask

The full line-up

For our March tasting at the Seven Oaks, we had a selection of whiskies to enjoy from well-known whisky bottler Hunter Laing, all from their Old Malt Cask brand.

Royal Brackla 12yo

The Laing name has been associated with whisky for decades through Douglas Laing, the family business and its impressive catalogue of whisky splitting in two back in 2013, with the new Hunter Laing keeping Old Malt Cask as part of the bargain.

We got going with a 12-year-old Royal Brackla, which has had a royal warrant since 1833 and the days of William IV (Royal Lochnagar are the johnny come latelies in this particular battle, having won over Queen Victoria a little later on). This expression was from a single refill hogshead.

Sweet on the nose, we got Parma Violet and Fruit Salad sweeties, along with a creaminess and citrussy notes, like grapefruit. There was quite a strong and distinctive taste, more powerful than we might have expected. Water brought out the oiliness, as well as doses of apples and pears.

Old Pulteney 20yo

At £79 we thought this was a good start to the evening, although the jury's out on whether the extra expense over the distillery bottling would really be worth it.

Sticking with Highland whiskies, Old Pulteney is a distillery we've visited relatively rarely at the club. We've had a few over the years, but none for a while. This was a 20-year-old expression, which set us back a cool £150.

There perhaps wasn't much on the nose here but it had a great flavour. Citrussy again, oranges and grapefruit, the sorts of notes Old Pulteney is often noted for. There was also an oily element, almost like parmesan someone suggested. Lime marmalade was another shout (I can't say I've ever had lime marmalade by way of comparison, but I knew what they meant) as was a peachiness. A nice, easy drinker, but most members felt they wouldn't pay the price tag.

Mortlach 14yo

Off to Speyside for dram three and Mortlach, with a 14-year-old fully matured in cream sherry casks. Harvey's Bristol Cream? Almost certainly not. Besides, we cannot hope to match these levels of refinement in Manchester Whisky Club.

You could smell the sherry a mile off though. It should be sweet and it was. It should be creamy and it was all of that too. A "turbo sherry" as someone described it. A bit of coffee on the palate as well. One for your nan, or perhaps to keep to yourself. It was £100.

After a break to recharge our beer glasses downstairs, it was back for the second half.

Linkwood 22yo

The fourth whisky was a Linkwood, a distillery known for producing a relatively light spirit. We were intrigued by this bottling, which after 22 years of full maturation in refill Pedro Ximenez sherry, might offer something different.

Lots of people liked this one a lot. The PX was a good addition for many, with drinkers feeling it helped smooth things over and tie the dram together very well.

Others who knew Linkwood well reckoned it was a little bit overpowering and something was lost in the maturation. As someone else concluded: "It's not shit though". It was £159.

Ardmore 12yo

Time for peat with dram five and a 12-year-old Ardmore, from a refill bourbon cask, courtesy of Paul the brand ambassador (thanks Paul!), who had been due to join us for the tasting but sadly couldn't.

We liked this one. Subtle and easy to drink, but you got the peat on the nose and it carried through to the palate as well. A consistent drink throughout from the nose onwards. It was £79.

Whisky: model's own

Which brought us to the last dram of the night. A sherried 12-year-old Caol Ila, offering the always alluring promise of a blend of sherry and peat.

This was matured in a Manzanilla cask and certainly didn't taste like a normal Caol Ila. A little bit sweet with a consistent hit of peat throughout, this was well balanced and very nice all round. It cost £109.

The dram of the night voting was quite evenly split, with only the first whisky of the night not picking up at least four votes. But it was a win in the end for that Caol Ila, with ten votes, just one ahead of the Linkwood.

Thank you to Martin for leading us through the whiskies and to all club members and guests for attending another sold out evening.

Annandale Distillery Tasting

The full line-up

We had a packed crowd upstairs in our new surroundings of the Seven Oaks for February's tasting, a visit from the Annandale Distillery. Not too far over the border, it's only a couple of hours away on the M6 making it one of our closest distilleries. As is often the case, it's a 19th century distillery which closed in the 20th, but which has been revived in the 21st as part of the whisky boom.

Unpeated bourbon cask

Ambassador John had brought with him a mix of cask strength expressions showing off their unpeated (Man O'Words) and peated (Man O'Sword) range, and we added two bottles of our own from the club stocks for good measure.

So with eight drams to try we got straight into it, with an unpeated Man O'Words matured in bourbon casks. We certainly got the hit of vanilla and cream with this one. It tasted strong, you really felt this one in your chest on the way down, as well you might at 59.8% (no calibration drams here, clearly).

There was a caramel sweetness too, as part of a really long aftertaste. This was £75 and was nothing if not a serious start to proceedings.

Unpeated oloroso cask

Next a version aged in oloroso sherry, and even stronger at 61.5%. Again there was no mistaking that sherry, with plenty of spice, fruits, raisins and sultanas evident on the nose, which was a cracker and made us want to move quickly on to drinking the thing.

Those spices came through again on the palate, especially nutmeg, with a definite hint of ginger biscuits. Buttery shortbread was another shout. It was £85.

Unpeated fino cask

Completing the Man O'Words core range was dram three, matured in ex-fino sherry. The single cask fino makes this a unique whisky, John reckoned. This was different again, with yeast or bread on the nose. This gave way to something more cake-y on the palate, with a mixture of sweetness and almonds, so a Bakewell tart was an obvious tasting note.

Others picked out dark chocolate as well as other nutty flavours. Extremely pleasant again, and it came in at 60.4% and £95.

The fresh-filled bourbon

Before moving onto the peated core range, there was time for a detour via two bottles of Annandale sources from the club's back catalogue.

Again cask strength, whisky four was a 59.6% fresh filled bourbon. This did not taste quite as strong as the others or its ABV would suggest. Indeed, it had more of a "straight down the line" feel about it and was very pleasant and approachable.

The STR

Tasting notes included buttery again, along with "grainy" and a bit of sweetcorn. It took water well, too, apparently.

Dram five was an STR, the now familiar technique of shaving, toasting and re-charring, used by many younger distilleries to rejuvenate red wine and other casks for the maturation of whisky.

This got some mixed views in the room - some feeling the palate fell a bit short, but others really enjoying it. I fell into the latter camp and have written down the suitably vague "moreish" in my notes, so you'll have to make of that what you will. It was 59.2%.

Peated bourbon cask

Back to the distillery's core range for their three Man O'Swords peated drams, once again with bourbon, oloroso and fino cask expressions.

Dram six was matured in fresh bourbon. This was smoky on the nose, like a campfire barbecue, but not medicinal like some peat monsters can be. The PPM was 28-30ish, and we felt this was pretty approachable as these sorts of drinks go. "Delicious" was one view, and that it was great as it was, with no need for water.

Peated oloroso cask

This was 59.6% and was £75 (full disclosure: I bought one).

We were going in the same order as before, so it was oloroso next for a blend of sherry and peat. As you might expect, this made the whisky "very complex". Someone suggested it was more like a peated mead than anything else, although whether the Lindisfarne monks themselves ever needed to use peat to make their booze may be lost to history.

This was £85 and 61.1%.

If you think that the tasting notes recorded here might be getting shorter as the night progressed, you'd be right, but that's how it goes on an evening of eight cask strength whiskies. To finish we were treated to a peated version of the fino. It got an "ooh!" on the nose. We liked it, but amid stiff competition it perhaps wasn't quite the dram of the night. Nice, but maybe too peaty for some in the room.

Peated fino cask

Again it was 61%, and clocked in at £95.

As for that dram of the night voting, no fewer than seven of the eight whiskies got at least one vote, always a sign of a strong line up. The clear winner though was dram three, the unpeated fino cask Man O'Words, with an impressive 18 votes! The unpeated oloroso was second, with the peated bourbon and fino joint third.

Thanks to Martin for raiding the club stocks for those two additional bottles, and special thanks to John from Annandale for making the journey to see us and bringing such a great line up of drams to share.

New Year, New Home!

 

The line-up

Our 2025 programme of tastings got off to a bit of a different start for a couple of reasons. The first was a week's delay due to a previous booking at our new venue, meaning our January tasting actually took place on the first Thursday in February.

North British 18yo

But I've already given away the second. After spending most of our decade-plus history at the Britons Protection (longer serving members might recall our earliest days in the Lass O'Gowrie then the Castle, but these memories are understandably hazy), events at the start of January meant Star Pubs/Heineken finally took control of the place following a long battle. Changes afoot there, not least the departure of the whisky stocks that made it such an attractive place for us for so long, meant we were briefly homeless.

In stepped another Manchester landmark, the Seven Oaks in Chinatown. Their upstairs room is an ideal size for us, and so that's where we assembled for Martin to take us through six assorted bottles raided from the club's stocks.

The Holyrood

We started off with a single cask grain, an 18-year-old from North British aged in a refill sherry cask and bottled by Douglas Laing under their Old Particular brand. This had a sort of leather, waxy type vibe about it, the sort of smell you get when buffing up your car (I was taking others' word for this, I'm afraid my poor old Ford has never had a buffing, at least not from me). On the palate we got some toffee at the end, butterscotch too. Not too vanilla-y, as some grains can be.

This was good, although at our table we weren't quite sure it was worth the £67 we paid for it back in 2022. Others raved it about it though, declaring it "surprisingly good". Other tasting notes included struck matches and sulphur. It was 48.4%.

SMWS Tullibardine

Dram two went to the other end of the age scale, and a very young whisky from Edinburgh's new Holyrood distillery, which says it's the first in the Scottish capital for a century. Set up by Canadians in an old railway building, the distillery has a reputation for experimenting, and has employed an ex-distiller from Macallan to help them realise what they want to achieve.

We weren't so keen on the nose here - cheese and sweaty socks - but it was totally different when you actually drank it. Very creamy and interesting. We'd like to try more of their stuff, but not necessarily this precise expression again. It was 49.8% and cost us £70 including postage.

Arran 16yo

As someone commented on seeing the line-up of bottles at the start of the evening, "it's always a good night when you see one of these," gesturing at the familiar Scotch Malt Whisky Society livery of dram three. This expression - Blindfolds and Pipettes, 28.95 - was a 10-year-old Tullibardine.

This was straightforward and very good, we felt. Understated but chewy. Not especially memorable on the nose but it had a super long aftertaste, with distinct flavours of apple crumble, custard and a honeyed sweetness. There were mixed views on whether adding water did all that much for it. This bottle was £70 for SMWS members and it was 59%.

Aultmore

After a half-time break to recharge our glasses downstairs in our new surroundings, it was back for another trio of whiskies.

And we kicked off part two on the Isle of Arran, with a distillery exclusive 16-year-old single cask from 2022. We weren't quite sure what the cask was, although it could have been Sauternes, or fino - it was certainly very pale for something which had been aged for that long. 

It was very nice all round though, and Arran is a popular distillery among many club members who felt this particular expression helped the liquid shine. It was £95, which was perhaps a little at the top end of what we'd pay for it. The strength was 58%.

Glen Scotia

To another club for whisky five, this time the Cadenhead's Club and a 15-year-old Aultmore, the result of a vatting of several casks. This had an incredible nose and looked great too: it made you (or at least me) instantly want to drink it. 

And indeed, it lived up to expectations. Very nice, with classical old Speyside flavours, including dates and sticky toffee pudding. A great all-rounder and a favourite so far for many in the room. This was £70 and 54.8%.

Martin had a bit of peat lined up for us to finish with. A Glen Scotia bottled for Callander, this was matured in fresh bourbon then PX casks. My notes here indicate that it was billed as heavily peated, but didn't really taste all that peated, indeed I wrote "is it really peated at all?" so clearly this was causing some debate. More of a soft hint of smoke than anything else.

This was really delicious though. That hint of smoke brought to mind smoky bacon and Frazzles. "Stunning" and "terrific" were among the comments. Incredible value too, as we paid £59 for it back in 2021. It was 52.9%.

That brought us to the dram of the night voting, and despite a strong challenge from the Glen Scotia, the Cadenhead's Club Aultmore got the most votes with 13. In third place was the Arran.

Thanks to Martin for putting together our new home and this great line up of drams, and to all at the Seven Oaks for giving us such a warm welcome!

Manchester Whisky Club Christmas Party 2024

 

Here's the briefest flavour of our annual Christmas party, held upstairs at the Britons Protection. It's the night of the year when - instead of a regular tasting - we bring back any leftover drams from the year and club members bring a bottle to share, along with plenty of homemade snacks and goodies.

We're now firmly into our second decade at Manchester Whisky Club and going as strongly as ever. Thanks to everyone who has taken part in a tasting over the past year, as a presenter, member or guest, and to all at the Britons for hosting us for another year. Merry Christmas!

Spirit of Yorkshire Distillery Tasting

 

Flagship

We had a distillery tasting for our November meeting. And not just any old distillery, either, but one of the pioneers of the boom in English whisky, Spirit of Yorkshire.

Based in Hunmanby close to the North Sea coast, it's home of not only Filey Bay whisky but also Wold Top brewery. Brand ambassador Amy explained the local, sustainable ethos of this independently-run business, which grows all its own barley on the farm and controls all aspects of the production process from field to bottle.

Scarborough Fair IPA

We've had Filey Bay a few times over the years, not least when its first products came onto the market in 2019 (I bought a bottle of the inaugural release which I foolishly/not foolishly drank, it's now worth a lot more than I paid for it). So it was great to be reacquainted with what is one of our closest distilleries.

We had seven drinks to try, a mixture of whisky and beer. And first up was an example of Filey Bay's core expression, called Flagship. What you can buy now is a 5-year-old at 46%. It's a very easy drinker, light and creamy. Lots of us had tried this at some point before, and it's well-liked: "It's nice".

Barrel Wave

Amy said the aim of the drink was not to copy Scotch whisky but to respect it as a marker of what they were trying to achieve, and Flagship does this admirably. There are apples and pear drops there, too.

Our first beer was drink number two, an IPA called Scarborough Fair (Filey being on the way to Scarborough, more or less). At 6% this was very hoppy and was also sweet and fruity, with lots of grapefruit notes. Very refreshing, and ideal for a hot summer's afternoon we felt.

IPA finish whisky

Amy was taking us on a journey from whisky to beer to whisky-aged beer and, eventually, beer-aged whisky. So next was another beer, Barrel Wave. It was 9.1% but did not drink like it.

Having spent almost a year in a cask, it tasted like something quite different from its golden appearance, much more like a stout or a porter. Much sweeter all round, in fact almost a bit too sweet some felt. "Great but I wouldn't want it all that often" someone suggested. On that theoretical hot summer's afternoon, this one might be deceptively dangerous to have to hand.

STR finish batch 4

And so onto that IPA finished whisky. There are a few IPA finishes around, and they are not all universally liked (if I can interject a personal opinion I remember not being wildly impressed by the Jamesons Caskmates IPA, having enjoyed the stout version quite a lot). But on trying this we were soon clear this was something rather more special.

A 5-year-old and 46% again, but seemed stronger. Nice and chewy, but retaining that grapefruit from the beer. Very refreshing all round. We loved it! And with a price tag of £65, quite a few of us bought a bottle to take home at half-time.

Peated finish batch 3

After an opportunity to recharge our beer glasses downstairs at the bar of the Britons Protection, it was on to our fifth drink and third whisky.

Amy served up an STR finish, from their fourth batch. STR is a technique pioneered and popularised by the late Jim Swan, who served as an adviser to Spirit of Yorkshire among others. It stands for shaved, toasted and recharged, and, at the risk of oversimplifying massively, acts as a way of rejuvenating red wine barrels to give a subtler flavour suitable for whiskies.

Sherry cask reserve 5

This particular bottle had spent 9-10 months in the STR cask at the end of the maturation period. Lots of red fruits and jam here, it was juicy and moreish. Well worth it again at £65.

We got a taste of peat for drink six, with batch 3 of their peated finish. It had spent the last 11 months in casks which previously held Islay whisky, long enough to give us a proper tease of peat without being too overwhelming. Nutty and creamy, but with a bit of salty brine as well.

Some of the bigger peat monsters in the club wanted a bit more of a hit from it, but having said that, it was still surprising how much peat you got from less than a year in those casks. It did smell a bit more peaty than it actually tasted though, perhaps. Again, £65.

Which brought us onto the last dram of the evening, the end-of-year special release sherry cask reserve 5. A 6-year-old full maturation in PX and ex-moscatel barrels, this was very nice indeed, and one of the oldest expressions so far released under the Filey Bay brand. Lots of justified acclaim in the room for this one, which we thought "wonderful" and "brilliant".

And that brought us to the dram of the night voting (we excluded the beers from this one). And the winner was the STR finish with no fewer than 14 votes, ahead of the IPA and sherry cask reserve which were joint second. But all of the whiskies got at least one vote, again suggesting how strong the tasting was from top to bottom.

Thanks to Amy from Spirit of Yorkshire for taking us through such a great line-up, and also thanks to all club members and guests for attending, and to the Britons Protection for hosting us once again. That was the last formal tasting of the year, with just the Christmas Party remaining. As ever, there will be a much less full report of that one!