Whisky: Exotic Cargo 10 Year (2006), SMWS Blended Malt Batch 1

Country/Region: Scotland/Blended Malt

ABV: 50%

Cask: First Fill Sherry Spanish Oak Hogshead

Age: 10 Years (Distilled June 2006, Bottled 2017)

Nose: Stewed fruits, dried berries, caramel apples, musty sawdust and oiled leather, walnut, wood oil, and more spicy oak with time.

Palate: Medium-bodied, oily mouthfeel, stewed fruits, dried dates, finished leather, hints of candle wax, cinnamon, pepper toward the end, polished wood.

Finish:  Medium-length, slightly drying, dried fruits, oak, and spice.

Score: 5-6

Mental Image: Home Wood Shop Snack Jar

Narrative & Notes: The aroma danced between stewed fruits, figs, and dried berries— almost chocolate-covered raisins at times— and then a woody wonderland of sawdust, wood oils, lacquer, walnut, cassia bark, and oiled leather. A jar of preserved dates in a wood shop, perhaps? A hint of waxy crayons? The flavor profile featured less wood in the forward position, though it waited at the end. Medium-bodied, the mouthfeel had a lovely oily quality that became slightly drying at the back. Stewed fruits and dried dates paired with a waxy leather finish and hints of melted candle wax or even melted crayons. Cinnamon and black pepper popped at the end as the wood shop, or at least a polished dresser, arrived. The finish was medium-length and slightly drying with dried fruits, oak, and oaky spice.

I can understand the appeal of this blend and why some individuals I know went a bit crazy for it. While the whisky was fairly cask-driven, between the sherried fruits and heady oak, the flavors were generally well-integrated with a well-balanced mouthfeel. There was a touch too much oak for my taste; however, the oak never overpowered the malt or devolved into a tannic mess.

Overall, I find these cask-driven malts often taste very similar, and it takes something special to ascend to a higher plane (or catch my eye). I thought this was well put together and certain to please the sherry-inclined, but for a $100 blended malt, I want a little more.

Weekly Theme: Blended Malt

I originally intended the theme this week to be on blends broadly, but after all was said and done, I realized I had been tasting blended malts specifically. So instead, the theme this week is blended malts, a small but beloved category of whiskies that includes everything from Monkey Shoulder and Johnnie Walker Green Label to many of the Compass Box products. The Whisky Exchange has an entire page of blended malt listings, illustrating the market's diversity in age, price, maturation, and label.

Blended malts contain only single malt whiskies, which, as the name suggests, have been blended together. This is a bit different from your everyday blended scotch whisky, which contains single malts and grain whiskies. Grain whiskies can vary wildly in quality, and some whisky aficionados avoid blended whiskies because they can contain cheap, mass-produced grain whisky.

Grain whisky can sometimes take a few decades to mellow and develop into something beautiful, so while high-end blends may utilize very mature grain whisky to help elevate or complement the malt flavors, cheaper blends might contain young, spirited, and less flavorful grain whisky. This varies, and I would never write off a whisky just because it is a blend or a blended malt without first having a background with the producer or bottler. Experience is key, but in place of experience, hopefully, online reviews, mine or otherwise, can help fill in the gap.

Whether to go blended malt or just plain blend, it is, in the end, a matter of personal preference!