Whisky : Big Swirl 10 Year, Batch 07

Country/Region : Scotland/Blend

ABV : 50%

Cask : First fill Spanish Oak, Ex-Bourbon, Ex-Sherry American Oak

Age : 10 Years

Nose : Rich stewed fruits and milk chocolate.  Fruity notes of root beer and maraschino cherries build sugary notes of pastry icing and sticky cotton candy.

Palate : Light to medium body with a straight forward cask driven flavor range.  Dried fruits, berries, and blood orange cream soda are accompanied by just a hint of bitter sulphur.  A bit deeper in tobacco and cherry dark chocolate truffle notes emerge.

Finish : Medium length with a mild dryness and sweet wood spice.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Chocolate Truffle Shopping

Something Better : Bunnahabhain 9Y; Lady of the Glen (similar orange & dried fruits, more chocolate)

Something Similar : Kirkland Signature Speyside 20Y (similar leather/fruit, more wood/spice, less body)

Notes : A light and easy drinking blended malt from SMWS.  The flavor profile was cask driven, but when you have an itch that only sherry can scratch, this makes for a good friend.  The tannic and chocolaty Spanish Oak worked stood out among the the combination of PX, Oloroso, and ex-Bourbon American oak casks that complete this blend.  There was just enough body that this can easily be enjoyed as is, or mixed in to create a highball or delicious whisky sour.  This was a versatile blend and I appreciated how friendly it was.  There were no real sharp edges or corners to it.  It did not have the depth of an older sherry forward blend, or the richness you might find in a single cask of the same age.  Yet, this bottle was not pretending to be on that same level— rather, it sat just above some of the mystery sherry finished Speysides you might see at Costco or Compass Box’s Spaniard.  I enjoyed all of those bottles for what they were, but this has a bit more complexity and, like the Spaniard, a better balance between flavors.  

So, if you love an easy sipping sherry forward malt, Big Swirl might work well.  It definitely suits a mood when you just don’t really want cask strength or you want to introduce someone else to whisky.