Whisky : Glen Elgin 10 Year SMWS 85.49 “Aloha!”

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 60.9%

Cask : 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel

Age : 10 Years (Distilled Oct. 25, 2007)

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home

Nose : Custard like creaminess with overripe pineapples and mangos.  A sweet effervescent ginger and cinnamon spice rather like a ginger beer.  Dry pressed flowers with a floral vanilla and fresh cut melon slices.

Palate :  Dried citrus rinds and lemon pith give an unmistakable astringency.  Faint elderflower and menthol sweet notes are dominated by chalk and hot wax.  The sweetness on the nose is more subdued on the palate with faint ginger, brown sugar, and grilled peaches.

Finish : Medium length and very clean; fruit spice.

Score : 4

Mental Image : Hipster bar, you order a soda: mouth puckering dry lemon ginger beer. 

Something Similar : Kavalan Distillery Reserve Peaty Oak (more tropical fruit, less astringent)

Something Similar : Longrow Red 13 Year Malbec (similar citrus, but more smoke and meat to balance)

Something Worse : Johnnie Walker Platinum 18 Year (similar cream/citrus notes, less body, less finish)

Notes : There was no way our little whisky tasting group could miss out on an SMWS bottle code named “Aloha!”  Did the bottle embody Aloha?  Did have tropical aromas?  Fruits?  Pineapple? Beachside BBQ?   Delicate florals?  Earthy smoke or salt?

No, not really.  My opinion of this dram improved in subsequent tasting— edging from a D into C territory, but it is still a bit of a disappointment.  There are some overripe fruits on the nose, though I found for the most part that the dried flowers dominated.  The palate had none of the tropical fruit of the nose and I just do not associate citrus rinds and astringent lemon pith with my island home.  It reminds me more of a hipster/craft soda— or maybe a really dry champagne.

I think if tropical fruit notes are what you want, there are much better bottles to search out.  If you are a fan of citric not overly sweet drams, this might be more up your alley.  There were a few fans among the tasting group, mostly people who gravitate towards lighter floral notes.