SMWS Codename : 39.180 “Smokers on a new carpet”

Distillery : Linkwood

Country/Region : Speyside

ABV : 51.0%

Cask : 27Y Ex-Bourbon/ 2Y Heavy Toast, Medium Char Refill Hogshead

Age : 29 Years (Distilled 19 June 1989)

Nose :  An old lady’s sitting room: antique wooden furniture, dusty linens, wood polish, and dry rosin.  Faintly sweet like the wrapper off a Werther’s Original.  Bits of fruit, apples and lemons, give the impression of faded floral air fresheners.  Some muted pepper comes near the end along with milk chocolate and the aroma of a distant freshly brewed pot of coffee.

Palate : Astringent, tannic, and mellow.  Loads of tea dominate the palate— its English Breakfast tea or maybe a floral Earl Grey.  A lemon wedge for the glass, a dusty blanket to sit on, and a melona flavored pastry to snack on.  It is tea time in Grandmother’s sitting room.

Finish :  Lingering bits of slightly bitter tea and lemon hang on the palate.

SMWS Codename : 55.56 “Teucher dubstep” (aka, Springroll Dipping Sauce)

Distillery : Royal Brackla

Country/Region : Speyside

ABV : 55.2%

Cask : Refill Hogshead

Age : 11 Years (Distilled 21 Sept. 2007)

Nose : Springroll Dipping sauce!  There are hints of fish-sauce, vinegar, sugar, and Thai sweet chilis all mingling together.  A sweetness more like molasses than caramel comes through.  Slightly rancid pickled carrots and turnips give some bite.  The nose is dominated by salt and vinegar notes.

Palate : Medium bodied and slightly oily, the vinegar just runs rampant with a slightly metallic edge.  Sweet vinegar, tangy black vinegar, and pickled mangos pucker the mouth a bit.  Lovely sour apples and green apples— which almost seem pickled with the ever present vinegar.  On the sweeter side is a black sugar bun and maybe a dollop of molasses.

Finish :  Granny-smith apples come to the fore with a bit of caramel before fading toward a tart fruit cobbler.  The finish lingers and pleasantly shifts between sweet and tart.

SMWS Codename : 37.119 “Plum sauce rancio-fest”

Distillery : Cragganmore

Country/Region : Speyside

ABV : 56.5%

Cask : 14Y Ex-Bourbon/ 2Y First Fill PX Hogshead

Age : 16 Years (Distilled 11 June 2002)

Nose :  Stewed plums, sweet figs, and a rich hoisin plum sauce lead the way.  The aroma is rich and heady with whiffs of musk and fruity sangria.  At turns spices come through, mostly a sweet cinnamon and clove that give the impression of a mulled wine.

Palate : Fruity, rich, and slightly oily it is like a pungent perfume.  The sweetness of overripe berries dominates with just a bit of the spice and a touch of salt coming through.  There is an effervescent quality that gives the berries more the impression of a fizzing strawberry soda.  Overtime the sugary flavor notes build up and the dram becomes cloying sweet with artificial aspartame taking over.

Finish : Medium length mix of fruits and a heap of sugar.

SMWS Codename : 73.110 “Warm as a welcoming hug” (aka, Fruit Rollup Baked Ham)

Distillery : Aultmore

Country/Region : Speyside

ABV : 57.8%

Cask : 15Y Ex-Bourbon/ 3Y First Fill Oloroso Hogshead

Age : 18 Years (Distilled 8 Sept 2000)

Nose : Opens with a lovely aroma of rich dark chocolate and fig jam.  Sweet brown sugar, honey, and all-spice come forward with a meaty baking ham— spiral cut ham anyone?  The meatiness could be a bit like a hot dog with a line of sweet mustard and ketchup squeezed on top.  There is a bit of stink that hangs in the background— maybe a bit of sulfur, a bit of boiled egg, or Skunk Tree.  

Palate : Bold tobacco, coffee, and cocoa open things up before prominent cherry notes assert themselves.  It is somewhere between a cherry cordial, a cherry coke, or a cherry flavored hard candy.  The body is rich, thick, and slightly astringent.  It is a wonderfully bold and easy drinking.

Finish : Long lingering cherries, smoldering coals, and sweet spices.

SMWS Codename : 58.32 “Eye of the Fruit Loop”

Distillery : Strathisla

Country/Region : Speyside

ABV : 57.9%

Cask : 10Y Ex-Bourbon/ 2Y 2nd Fill Chenin Blanc Barrique

Age : 12 Years (Distilled 30 March 2006)

Nose :  Entry way to a classy candy store— white wine infused gummy bears, ice wine cream cookies, and sparkling apple juice.  Loads of concentrated jellied fruits along with syrupy canned peaches.  The nose is all sorts of sugars and fruits

Palate :  Tussen cough syrup— medicinal and fruity with a medium body.  It is a bit hot, but a few drops of water transform it from tussen to purple drink whose vaguely familiar grape flavor is not a huge improvement.  On the plus side bits of malty sweetness remind one of fruity pebbles and the sugar induced rambling of a five year old.

Finish :  Medium finish with loads of sugar and vague-nondescript fruity notes.

SMWS Codename : 44.105 “Al fresco dining” (aka, Dude’s Summer Dress, Vineyard Stroll)

Distillery : Craigellachie

Country/Region : Speyside

ABV : 60.6%

Cask : Refill Ex-Bourbon Barrel

Age : 11 Years (Distilled 21 Feb. 2007)

Nose :  A foggy morning vineyard full of ripe musky fruits and damp green vegetation.  Burnt brown sugar and some silky licorice give a sweet edge to the nose which is otherwise full of muted wild flowers.

Palate : Silky smooth, the body has a wonderful palate coating oiliness.  Loads of beautiful cracked black pepper, aged cheese, and pickled olives provide some spice and funk.  Floral undertones come out as it rests in the glass along with some concentrated sweet black sugar.  Salted caramel and oaky spices come out more with a few drops of water, perhaps even a bit of sweat as the funky flavors shift. 

Finish : Slightly acidic the finish lingers a while like a bitter tea and spice.

SMWS Codename : 66.141 “Roofing felt on a beach hut” (aka, Robin Hood Men in Tights)

Distillery : Ardmore

Country/Region : Highlands

ABV : 60.5%

Cask : Refill Hogshead

Age : 12 Years (Distilled 9 March 2006)

Nose : Rich caramel and butterscotch escape halfway out of the glass before being overtaken and wrestled to the ground by some delicious funk.  It is as if classic sweet notes were a gazelle and some funky dried seaweed chased them down like a lion.  Salt air and seashells take over the nose giving this dram a lovely coastal edge.  The two sides of the nose coalesce into the faintly peppery licorice of shiso.

Palate : Jungle fire on a deserted island— burning palm fronds, burning seaweed, burning coconut, the burning sweet grass of sugar cane— everything is one fire.  Charred fruits and kuromitsu brown sugar syrup follow with some lovely sweet notes which are cut by bits of citrusy lemon and orange.

Finish : Lingering caramel and vanilla, lovely burnt oaky notes.

SMWS Codename : 53.276 “Ein kleiner deutscher samurai”

Distillery : Caol Ila

Country/Region : Islay

ABV : 61.2 %

Cask : Refill Hogshead

Age : 6 Years (Distilled 7 March 2012)

Nose : Bright sunny summer day by the sea shore.  A day at the beach with a wet salty dog.  The nose is damp like a pile of leafs after the rain, burning wet wood, and mossy stones.  Perhaps the thick steam from a doused bed of coals.  Lovely salt and meat like tinned smoked oysters.

Palate : Moist compost heap on a chilly autumn day— loads of mold, dampness, and dried leafs.  It is the sweet rot of vegetation, damp bark, and a mossy pond.  A bit medicinal, a bit mineral, toward the back end the dram takes on a bit of activated charcoal soap or perhaps some sticky beach tar.

Finish :  Lingering algae infused pond water with a scoop of brown sugar.