Every year SMWS releases a number of whiskies in May celebrating the different regions of Scotland; it is their entry into the Festival season that sweeps from Islay across Speyside and beyond. Our local whisky group hosts a tasting most years with the SMWS Festival bottles so that everyone can give them a taste and give their thoughts— possibly expressing regret that they did not buy the bottle before it sold out since we typically do the tasting about a month after the bottles debut. For 2023 SMWS released a mix of single casks and small batches, or rare releases as they were called this year, for various distilleries. We focused the tasting primarily on the single casks with a handful of the more intriguing or unusual, small batches included.

I have split the tasting up into a couple of posts so that I am not cramming everything into a massive wall of text extravaganza. The first part covers the unpeated section of the lineup with Glasgow Distillery, Allt-a-Bhainne, and Mannochmore, while the second part turns to the peatier side of things at Glen Scotia, Bunnahabhain, and Caol Ila. A final standalone post turns the spotlight to the Bowmore release, a whisky I spent considerably more time with and revisited again at home with a takeaway sample.

The following bottles were all in the peated part of the tasting and largely the crowd favorites. These three were all single casks, and I found it intriguing that the Caol Ila and Glen Scotia each had a small batch release made from sibling casks as part of the festival lineup. If we had space on the program for more bottles, tasting the single casks against the small batches would have been fun. Of the following whiskies, the Bunnahabhain was the star of the afternoon. However, the Caol Ila and Glen Scotia had their fans as well.

Whisky Details: Glen Scotia 8 Year (2014), SMWS 93.201 “A seaside picnic”

Nose: Fresh and coastal with hints of tropical fruit, coconut and kaya jam, salted honey, beeswax, citrus, fruity hard candy.

Palate: Medium-bodied, coastal, brine, warm sandy beach, minerality, saltwater taffy and hard candies, hints of bubblegum, butterscotch, slightly creamy with coconut.

Finish: Medium-length with coconut oil and citrus— sun tan lotion.

Score: 5-6

Mental Image: Turtles Tanning at Sans Souci

Narrative & Notes: Coastal and pleasant, this was nowhere near as wild and strange as some Glen Scotia can be. I had some high hopes for the maritime nature of this whisky and hoped to find a lovely tropical edge to the oceanic brine. The coconut notes were certainly tropical but not quite the fresh fruits I wanted. The fruits that did appear were a touch saccharine and reminded me of sugary saltwater taffy or hard candies. There are an awful lot of coconut-scented or based tanning oils and suntan lotions, so the coastal and coconut notes invariably reminded me of crowded beaches and sunscreen.

Overall, this was not bad, but not what I wanted. It was too sweet and straightforward without a lot of additional depth. I am not a big fan of bubblegum notes, so I suspect that if the notes sound good, then you might appreciate this more than I did. I am no high judge handing down definitive rulings, so it would not surprise me to find out others loved this.

Whisky Details: Bunnhabhain 9 Year (2013), SMWS 10.240 “No naked flames”

Nose: Maritime, dried grass, kelp, campfire, fish smoking shed, hints of tobacco, minerality— rocky shoreline and tide pools, subtle metallic iron or rust, tar, shoyu, barbecue, slight vinegar twang on occasion.

Palate: Medium-bodied, rich smoke, burning medicinal herbs, camphor, sage, coastal and salty, beachside campfire, hints of fruity plums or tomato chutney.

Finish: Medium-length with salt, barbecue smoke, and dry grass.

Score: 7

Mental Image: Salmon in a Smoking Jacket

Narrative & Notes: Now, this was more like it. I heard from multiple people that this was their favorite bottle at the Festival tasting— or at least their second favorite behind the Bowmore. I have not always loved the heavily peated Bunnahbahain from SMWS; they have sometimes felt sweeter, almost praline-like, compared to releases from other bottles. I have no idea if that was a product of the fermentation or distillation on the days SMWS contracted to fill their casks or some other factor. However, there have been some real gems, and this was undoubtedly one of them. The final four-year maturation in a second-fill oloroso hogshead elevated some of the peated malt's richer, almost umami-like qualities without overpowering or dominating the experience. I love a good refill cask, especially when it accentuates rather than overwhelms the experience.

Whisky Details: Caol Ila 14 Year (2008), SMWS 53.447 “The edge of midnight”

Nose: Tar, brown sugar, spiral ham, mellow maritime brine, slightly acrid with coal soot, hints of sarsaparilla and cherry.

Palate: Medium-bodied, industrial with coal soot, tar, and subtle iron; burnt nori with hints of earthy mushroom, meaty, caramelized unagi on a charcoal grill; hints of lemon, pine, and medicinal herbs or antiseptic cleaning agents.

Finish: Medium to long with ash, lemon, and salt.

Score: 7

Mental Image: Barbecue Competition Outtakes

Narrative & Notes: Dirty but sweet, this Caol Ila had everyone debating which barbecue sauce it most resembled— was this the McRib in whisky form? Meaty, maritime, and loaded with sweet caramelized sugars and fats, I thought this was an excellent variation on the typical Caol Ila profile. The notes you would expect from Islay’s biggest distillery were all there to one degree or another: ocean, brine, citrus, and medicinal herbs. The cask added additional layers and elevated some of the meaty and sooty elements of the malt. The flavors did trip over themselves a little bit on the palate as they battled for supremacy. I suspect that, of all the bottles we tried, this one is most likely to slowly evolve and change as some of the more aggressive elements mellow out over time. Indeed, just a few weeks after the tasting, I had a chance to revisit the bottle, and it was already much jammier and less acrid, though it had also lost a little of the lovely meatiness.