NOTES: Honey and beeswax, the bees worked hard on this whisky.  Honey drenched cakes, pound cake covered in vanilla bean and crème anglaise, and a pot of English breakfast tea— a fortifying breakfast to start the day or crash back to sleep. Medium-bodied and oily on the palate, the flavor profile was again dominated by honey: honey cakes and vanilla cream, golden syrup and short cakes, or pound cake in syrup. It was sweet and moorish at every turn, decadent with frangipane and an apple tart. The finish was medium-length and sweet with almond cakes and honey.

SCORE: 7 (84)

IMAGE: Golden Treasure of the Bees

THOUGHTS: Moorish and sweet, this was incredibly decadent. It was unlike any Glen Grant I have had, leaning so far in the direction of caramelized sugars and honey that there was very little to find otherwise. While it could be a bit simple, it played its one note very well and the dram practically commanded me to sit back on the couch, kick up my feet, and just relax.  Overall, a whisky for relaxing.

NOTES: Rich and sweet with caramel, dates, macadamia nuts, and pancake syrup poured over melting butter. The sauternes cask was strong as orange liqueur, aniseed, and a bit of rubber slipper appeared. Medium-bodied on the palate, orange and aniseed led off this time with some toasted orange peel and a touch of bitter tea. Black pepper provided some spicy contrast with maple syrup, melted butter, and pancakes blanketing a tease of rubber slipper. The finish was long and drying with plenty of fruit, herbal tea, and orange cake.

SCORE: 7 (81)

IMAGE: Old-Fashioned for Breakfast

THOUGHTS: Weird and wild— I imagined pancakes and an old-fashioned blitzed in the blender to make some mad smoothie or milk shake. The sauternes cask was always in control with a bit of rubber slipper and sulfur that might offend some. It was otherwise well-composed and the spirit well-integrated.  The flavors did not have a lot of depth, but for a thirteen year old dram it was right in line with the norm.  Overall, breakfast whisky?

NOTES: Sweet confections blew in with powdered sugar donuts and yellow box cake mix. The sugary aroma gradually became more candied with pink bubble gum, white gummy bears, and fruit punch gushers.  Medium-bodied on the palate, the whisky was peppery, spirited, and loaded with fruits. Dried fruit leather, pink bubble gum, jammy floral fruits, cassis, and a bit of white rabbit and white chocolate candies.  The finish was quite long and lingered with fruity floral candies and fresh fruit stuffed mochi.

SCORE: 7 (83)

IMAGE: Birthday Cake Design Studio

THOUGHTS: This whisky was the first SMWS Penderyn to have been double distilled on a typical pot still instead of the Faraday still used for 128-series. A friend offered this up, hoping it would hit the same fruity heavens as a much earlier SMWS cask— 128.8 “Fruity Delight.” We have been chasing that high since 2020 with only a handful of drams getting close.  This was one of the closest yet, though it did not quite show it on the aroma, the palate was explosively fruity.  It felt a touch unfinished with all the spirited pepper and prickle, but a few drops of water seemed to tame much the heat. It thankfully lacked some of the ethanol and Sharpie pen elements that sometimes appear on the 128 faraday still malts.  The bottle had only been opened a short time when I tried it, so this is likely worth a retaste once the whisky has had some more air and time to settle.