22 • FEATURE: GOING COMMANDO
Get your hands on what the Royal Marines tasted…
Cask No. 29.110 ‘Wild West cowgirl dressed in leather’ A boisterous 10 year old with a sumptuous sweet and smoky impact.
Cask No 26.82 ‘Soft light at sunset’ A 15 year old that evokes summer evenings round the campfire.
Cask No. 73.46 ‘Cockle-warming citric rush’ A gloriously fresh and fruity 12 year-old with a slightly minty after-taste.
the base of the shell. Choose a shot from this mystery bottle and it’s free, unless you happen to be the unlucky person who gets the very last shot that is, in which case you’ll find yourself buying the whole bottle. But there is a final word of warning to any civilians who may find themselves enjoying a whisky or two with 45 Commando of an evening, and that word is ‘spoof’. Spoof is the Royal Marines’ favourite game, and is deceptively simple as Moat explains. “Everyone involved has three spoofing coins, which could be actual coins or any suitable substitute. You all then covertly put one, two, three or even no spoofing coins in your hand before
THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY
all hands are held out, closed, and each man has to guess the total number of coins on offer.
“Guess correctly and you’re out. This process is repeated until there’s just one man
left, who has to carry out whatever forfeit was agreed on at the start of the game.” Sounds simple enough and it is, but the forfeits are often anything but. “It normally starts very civilised, say for a round of drinks, but can escalate and you never know where it will end,” Moat tells me. Illustrating this was the game where
two losers had to fly to New York and back, immediately and at their own expense. En route they had to swap clothes with a pair of air stewardesses
and, most importantly, they had to return before their deadline with documented proof – ticket stubs, photos, the lot. Among other things, this involved
a cab to Edinburgh airport, a flight to Heathrow as that was the only UK airport with available New York flights that night, and one of the pair being unceremoniously dumped by his girlfriend en route for failing to go to New York with her, but being quite happy to do it for a game of spoof. However, they made it. As Moat
explains: “There’s honour involved. If you entered the game willingly, then there’s no backing out.” So, if you’re quietly supping some of
45’s fine collection and a few Marines approach you with a handful of coins, just make sure you know where your nearest exit is. Hoofing.
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