Whisky : Cotswolds 4 Year SMWS 146.1 “Orangudram”

Country/Region : England

ABV : 62.4%

Cask : First Fill Barrique

Age : 4 Year (Distilled 13 Feb. 2016)

Nose : Waxy fruits and cream.  An aroma loaded with apricots, tangerines, lemon peel, and blood orange.  Sweet cream and buttery notes interspersed the fruit to leave the impression of fruity ice cream or pastries.

Palate : Medium to thick body with notes of orange, chocolate, and herbs.  Toasted orange rind and brown sugar brought to mind an Old Fashioned cocktail.  Fruity notes dominated the palate with orange oil, blood oranges, tangerines, and chocolate-covered oranges.  Herbal notes appeared on the back palate with herbal-infused liqueur, eucalyptus, earth, elderflower, and the slight licorice of Thai sweet basil.

Finish :  Lingering orange, milk chocolate, and herbs.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Orange Tabby & the Catnip Cocktail

Notes :  This dram was hands down the surprise winner at a recent local tasting.  No one expected much from a four-year malt from England, yet this was absolutely delicious and drew comparisons to much older drams or the intense flavor bombs from Kavalan.  Though we struggled with different theories to understand the SMWS name— was it a reference to oranges or orangutans or some other British pop culture reference— we largely settled on the idea that it was a reference to the intensely orange notes that appeared throughout.

I loved the interplay between juicy fruits, thick viscosity, hints of chocolate, and the herbal bouquet at the end.  This dram made a lovely transition between different flavor levels and I appreciated the variety of experiences possible in any sip.  The dram came off a bit hot at times, but a few drops of water cooled it off without really changing the lovely flavor profile— maybe highlighting more of the herbal notes toward the end with a bit of menthol.

Overall, this was a wonderful experience and really primed me to try more Cotswolds.  The mental image was a reference to the cat sitting next to me, who I imagined working in a speakeasy whipping out herbal-orange bitters and slapping together an Old Fashioned for the cool cat on the other side of me.