Whisky : Glentauchers 18 Year SMWS 63.72 “Commands your attention”

Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside

ABV : 49.3%

Cask : First Fill Bourbon Barrel

Age : 18 Year (Distilled May 2002)

Nose : Loads of fruit with subtle hints of cereal grains. An explosion of fruits: melona bars, cantaloupe, honeydew, and lychee. Notes of pineapple and caramelized bananas called to mind Carmen Miranda’s luxurious fruit hat. With time the fruit mellowed to reveal musty notes of dunnage houses and birthday cake.

Palate : Full-bodied and viscous with pineapple, coconut, and banana. It was all Pina colada fest all the time with loads of estery-fruits as fresh pineapple, coconut, banana, and melon. Fruit and wood left the impression of stone fruit pits, especially rambutan and longan—subtle cream at the end like melting orange creamsicle bars.

Finish : Lingering cream and bitter orange.

Score : 7

Mental Image : Pina Colada Fest

Notes : Massively popular at a local tasting much earlier this summer, this was one of two SMWS festival bottles I gave in and picked up this year. I loved the imagery in their description, especially the whole musty fruits and dunnage warehouses. I did not quite get that on this dram— it was there a bit on the nose if you gave the dram enough time to rest— instead, this was a fruit explosion. The palate was dripping and sticky with tropical fruits; indeed, this had enough esters that I probably would have blindly thought this Glentauchers had been finished in a rum cask.

Despite the low abv on this, it could be a bit hot at times— or at least some of the bright, almost acidic feeling, pineapple notes gave the impression of heat. I did not think this did well with water, or I never could dial in an appropriate amount of water that smoothed out the rough edges without washing out all of the fruit notes.

Overall, ex-bourbon Glentauchers can be a beautiful thing. While this did not quite hit the heights I hoped, based on my notes from our original tasting and then coming back a few weeks and then months later, I do still have a bottle to sip on slowly. I may feel compelled to come back in the future to re-review the dram if things change. All that said, this was still very good, and I do not regret grabbing a bottle. It belongs in that treasured category of drams perfect for sipping on by the pool or in the bath— the kind that relaxes the body and takes the mind somewhere else. Welcome to Pina Colada Fest.