Field Briefs: SMWS Bonus Drams
At the end of tastings, and sometimes before, or even during, there are always bonus pours going around the table. People always bring bottles to share, kill, or open for the very first time with friends and colleagues. I firmly believe the best whiskies are those that bring people together. The following drams were three bonus pours that I took the time to jot down some basic notes on before I set aside the notebook and simply enjoyed whatever was passed, or shoved, my direction.
Whisky Details: Glenlossie 21 Year (1997), SMWS 46.79 “Chocolate, cream and malted Bali”
Nose: Big and tropical with tons of fallen fruits, white rabbit candies, chalky minerals, weathered woody rattan furniture on an outdoor lanai, botanical garden with hints of florals and more woody-earthy mulch.
Palate: Medium-bodied with woody rattan and old newspapers, sandalwood chests, pepper, tropical fruits and malty pastries, floral passion flower tea, white chocolate.
Finish: Medium-length with herbal, floral tea and tropical fruits— mostly dried pineapple or mango.
Score: 7 (83)
Mental Image: Antiques from Old Hawai’i
Narrative & Notes: This was a wonderfully fruity and malty affair, with the sort of mild spirit and diverse flavors one expects, or at least hopes to find, on a twenty-something year old malt. It was perhaps a bit light, and a touch too woody for my taste, as if the spirit had taken on the quality of an antique— a quality I find more common on long maturations from big bulk blending distilleries, often in fairly inactive wood (Glenlossie is rarely bottled as a single malt by Diageo). I have a similar unopened bottle at home and this had plenty of the lovely tropical and botanical elements I hope to find on mine.
Whisky Details: Glenfarclas 12 Year (2012), SMWS 1.288 “What the bells of St. Clement’s say”
Nose: Salted caramel candies and dried fruits arrived with hints of lavender and fresh spring florals in the background, lacquered wood and cacao nibs moved in a slightly bitter direction, hints of bubble gum.
Palate: Medium-bodied, musty wood and charred herbs, salted caramel, spearmint and herbal delights led to bubblegum, fudge and chocolate with dark fruits, molasses cake and ginger, sweet pipe tobacco and hints of candied cigarettes toward the end.
Finish: Medium-length and slightly drying with fruits and herbals spice.
Score: 7 (84)
Mental Image: Experimental Caribbean Chocolatier
Narrative & Notes: One of our intrepid troop that travelled to Campbeltown last year brought this bottle back from their visit to the SMWS vaults in Leith— this was a leg of the trip that I sadly missed, or maybe just saved for next time. This Glenfarclas showcased the weightier side of the spirit that allows it to stand up against hefty maturations— or in this instance, a finish in a first fill American oak oloroso hogshead. That kind of cask can blow out more subtle or delicate whiskies, but not Glenfarclas, which is distilled to handle big sherry cask maturations by taking a larger cut of the tails— that is very much the house style there. Normally, I am a bit suspicious of SMWS’s use of this loud cask finishes, but some malts handle it well and the results are wonderful. This was one such case.
Whisky Details: Loch Lomond Organic Inchfad 21 Year (2000), SMWS 135.49 “Jack-in-the-box”
Nose: Fermented tropical fruits on the ground, strawberry guava, longan, rambutan, black vinegar, brown sugar cakes, finished wood and canvas.
Palate: Medium-bodied, tannic and slightly drying, fruit punch with orange, lime, guava, and longan; herbal teas with hints of mint shifted toward jackfruit; more herbal spice arrived with cardamon and fenugreek, perhaps even ras el-hanout as hints of floral rosebud appeared.
Finish: Long and lingering, drying, with dry herbs and jack fruit.
Score: 6-7 (79)
Mental Image: Unexpectedly Savory Fruits
Narrative & Notes: This was another dram that I selected because I have a very similar to one unopened at home. Though the label doesn’t specify, this was in fact an organic barley Inchfad— and not the heavily peated version of Inchfad that was once produced (the name was repurposed for a different line, much like Rhosdhu and old Rhosdhu… I imagine some of the mutability is due to these being internal trade names rather than public facing product lines— there is no brand identify).
Beyond any confusion around naming conventions for the multifaceted distillery— this whisky was quite nice with a lovely tropical quality, but a bit too much wood for my taste. That is certainly more of a risk when something spends its entire life in a first fill barrel, due to greater wood interactions in the smaller container. Hopefully with a bit of time those qualities soften, but that is not guaranteed and this was not a freshly opened bottle.
