Chapter One introduced the The Ghost Piper of Clanyard Bay with the ‘Clanyard town’ themed release of Cool Ila. Chapter Two focuses on the Folk of Clanyard. These were hardy folk as tough as the granite rock beneath their feet. They did not complain or scare easily, but for one strange thing”. Chapter Two has seen 20 (yes, 20!) releases going back to distillate produced in 2008 through to 2015. All are Linkwood distillates matured in ex-bourbon refill hogsheads, except for one listed as ‘new wood’, for 7-13 years and released as single cask expressions at cask strength. The different releases range from 47-308 bottles each and have different global markets. This afternoon I think I am drinking the 3rd release (cask number 305604) distilled 13/10/2008 and aged 12 years. 277 bottles were filled at 58.7% on 27/07/2021 and released to the Australian, UK, German, and Danish markets. I only think I am drinking this, my sample pack says cask number 305608 and 59.1% ABV, but this is not mentioned anywhere by Fable. The Australian distributor ‘the Whisky Company’ that bottled up the samples have cask 305604 photographed in their full bottle listings on their website. So I’m going with that. A raven has been sent to the supplier to outline my outrage. N: Sweet and malt forward. Barley sugar, honied toast. Quite perfumed and woody and over time a little dried ginger and generic stone fruit keeps things slightly interesting. I’m not really drawn to this at all, it is big, but I also think it’s quite boring. P: Ooph the ABV is definitely there. Similar to my recent Pokeno, there is an effervescent/carbonated fuzz across the tongue with this and accompanied by plenty of slightly aggressive ethanol heat. Flavours are perhaps a bit bland, generic white stone fruits, smacks of barley and lightly honied toast, as per the nose suggested. Fairly indifferent body and perhaps a nutty-nougat texture and flavour late in the very minimal development. F: Medium. A little gristy, baked pastry crust and some apple crispness. Raw red chilli heat. A drop of water brings out a little sour/tartness to the nose and allows a little peachy or melon note to come out in the palate whilst also cutting the fuzz to an acceptable background. Adds a soft creaminess to the finish. Style over substance again. The art and story telling is beautiful. The liquid, less so. I was getting ready to drop a rather poor 2.25 on this, but the drop of water opened up enough agreeable texture in the finish, and sliced through the fuzz enough to reveal a little more white fruit interest that I am happy to bump to 2.5. Still, at AUD$185 that is a damming indictment from me. This is my first Linkwood, I guess this does fall into the generic Speyside camp of light and grassy with its unobtrusive flavours and slightly tart white wine fruit notes. Still, its just boring. For such a Fable we should be getting more. Blend it, mix it, cocktail it; yes. But sit around and tell stories with it, nope. Distiller whisky taste: #187 No rock tonight, instead, Fables telling of the Ghost Piper of Clanyard Bay. Again, for anyone only joining story time at chapter two. “There was once a small settlement perched on a sea cliff in Scotland’s wild southwest corner. The four compass points would take you elsewhere – east to the borders, north to the country’s heart, south to glacial lakes and west by boat across the waters - but the locals stayed put. For the land here, which should have been barren, was remarkably rich for farming (a well-kept secret). Lashed by rain, these were hardy folk as tough as the granite rock beneath their feet. They did not complain or scare easily, but for one strange thing. On stormy nights, when the moon was nearly drowned, eerie screams seemed to come from below them. There, where jarring waves met rugged bay, stood a gapping, hollow cave. The cave was left untouched until, one day as the earth was thawing, an old piper appeared with a dog. The rough hound was as grey as the beard of its owner. The piper was surely the finest in the land (as no doubt was his father before him). His bagpipes were crudely made and yet, from this instrument, came a merry sound that even stopped the crows from cawing. No one had heard such cheerful tunes. And so, accompanied by his faithful dog, the piper ventured into the cave, playing boldly as we went. At the entrance, the locals waited and listened. Hours passed and the pipes grew quieter until there was no sound at all. Suddenly the hound, once shaggy, ran out of the cave howling, without a single hair left on his shivering body. Deep underground, the piper continued to play as the fairies yelled, cursing him to leave. On he went, with a chill upon him, towards a distant light. The music soared above the terrible cries until the piper reached the cave’s centre. The piper was now in the mouth of a dreadful storm yet still he played. Furious at being bested by a human, the fairies departed, leaving a labyrinthine of mazes behind them to trap the poor piper inside. The piper was never seen again and not one settler could later recall his face. The cave’s entrance is now long gone, but hear me! Stand on that cliff in the middle of the night and a feint melody of pipes can still be heard coming from the depths below.” Fable running scores: Chapter 1 - Caol Ila 10, 2010: 2.5/5 Chapter 2 - Linkwood 12, 2010: 2.5/5