Whisky : Strathclyde 14 Year SMWS G10.26 “The art of the sear”

Country/Region : Scotland/Lowland (Single Grain)

ABV : 62.7%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon (11Y), 2nd Fill French Oak Barrique (3Y)

Age : 14 Years (Distilled 12 July 2005)

Nose : Bountiful dark sugars, wood, and fruit.  Flaky pastries stuffed with brown sugar, vanilla custard, chopped hazelnuts, and banana cream.  Sticky buns and coffee enjoyed among towering cedar beams in a grand rural lodge.

Palate :  Thick and viscous with a hearty tannic structure.  This opened with a sweet melange of baking spices, brown sugar, and almond pastries.  A bakery’s worth of marzipan sweets, macarons, and almond croissants presented themselves along with sweet cherry filling and cinnamon.  The feeling of sweet satisfaction after waving down the dessert cart.  Water brought forth more fruit with cherries taking center stage and a mellow cola note off to the side.

Finish :  Lingering buttery croissants.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Breakfast at the Lodge

Notes :  Strathclyde continues to be my favorite distillery when I feel a hankering for single grain.  Even at fourteen years, a young age as far as single grain goes, this was wonderfully complex and absolutely brimming with the pastry and custard notes I love so much.  This had a wonderfully fragrant nose, a sweet thick body, and a finish that went on and on.  The dram definitely needed time to breath, its youth was evident when first poured, but time was good to this dram and it opened up nicely.  A few drops of water brought out syrupy cherries and cola while taming some of the tannins and heat.

Overall, this was a blast and my favorite of the evening when we tasted it with our local group.  SMWS has put out a few of these young Strathclydes with oaky finishes and I definitely like what the distillery and bottler are up to.