17 Jan. 2020 "New Year, New You, New Scotch"
SMWS Codename : 7.226 “Japanese orange on a kotatsu”
Distillery : Longmorn
Country/Region : Speyside
ABV : 59.0%
Cask : 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon
Age : 15 Years (Distilled 2004)
Nose : Melona, Japanese pears, and apricot jam on one side and buttery pastries on the other. The fruits are joined with buttery toasted croissants and fried pie crust.
Palate : Pastries carry forward on the palate at first, almond croissants, but then goes full buttery fruit. Lilikoi butter, tangerines, and cinnamon apple sauce all come forward with a mild astringency. Sweet teriyaki sauce develops near the end.
Finish : Lingering jammy grilled fruits and citrus zest.
SMWS Codename : 96.30 “Thor’s slippers” (Aka, Old Toe Jam Bunny Slippers)
Distillery : Glendronach
Country/Region : Scotland/Highlands
ABV : 59.5%
Cask : Ex-Bourbon/First Fill PX Sherry
Age : 10 Years (Distilled Oct. 30, 2008)
Nose : Rich and syrupy. Espresso crema, cherries in pancake syrup, and a bit of soft cheese brie funk. Hints of old worn rubber slippers comes along with some sulphuric burnt rubber sherry cask funk.
Palate : Sweet and saccharine like a riesling ice wine. Dark chocolate powder is both rich and dry, while grape syrup gives concentrated sweetness. One taster reckoned it was a fruity tootsie roll.
Finish : Medium length candy sweetness and a hint of salty fish oil.
SMWS Codename : 123.28 “Joyful impressions of Spring”
Distillery : Glengoyne
Country/Region : Scotland/Highlands
ABV : 61.7%
Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon
Age : 9 Years (Distilled Aug. 29, 2008)
Nose : Christmas tree shopping: Norfolk pine, pine resin, pine oil. Freshly mown grass, a dried Christmas wreath, and a bit of menthol. There are lots of herbal-woody pine notes and just a bit of lue stick.
Palate : Oily and palate coating; menthol comes through strongly at first along with grassy soccer fields. Sorghum sugar, earthy matcha green tea, and sweet glue develop over time. If a dram could be an herbal-grass bomb, this would be it.
Finish : Medium length green apple and grassy cane sugar.
SMWS Codename : 54.64 “Vanilla song at the laundrette” (Aka, Tide Pod Challenge)
Distillery : Aberlour
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 59.6%
Cask : 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon
Age : 9 Years (Distilled May 8, 2008)
Nose : Sweet malty grains with vanilla and caramel. Breakfast cereal buffet of unlimited honey nut cheerios. A fried cream filled pie: Japanese adult cream pie. Smell of a new handbag, sour milk, and durian fruit— the maltiness gives way to stale dirty laundry.
Palate : Florals and fruits; toffee, red apple, and jolly ranchers. Beyond the fruit is a sweet but astringent soapiness. Lavender hand soap, laundry soap, and linen— the nose may have been dirty laundry, but this is all clean.
Finish : Medium length flowery soap and clean linen.
SMWS Codename : 11.37 “Cake or death!”
Distillery : Tomatin
Country/Region : Scotland/Highlands
ABV : 58.3%
Cask : First Fill Red Wine Barrique
Age : 12 Years (Distilled Feb. 2, 2006)
Nose : Big bold fruits: plums and sour cherries. Beyond is rum cake, canned vanilla cake frosting, and a big stick of juicy fruit gum. A subtle mineral or metallic note like wrought iron appears at times.
Palate : Medium bodied and quite rich, notes of rum raisin cate, dates, prunes, and brown sugar give this a dense sweetness. The sugars become a bit artificial near the end and the fruits more like a dry red wine.
Finish : Lingering sweet red wine.
SMWS Codename : 93.101 “Grand cru cod liver oil”
Distillery : Glen Scotia
Country/Region : Scotland/Campbeltown
ABV : 55.1%
Cask : Refill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Age : 14 Years (Distilled Feb. 20, 2004)
Nose : Maritime and meaty: fatty melt in your mouth tuna, hamachi, and seared ‘ahi. The fish notes have a wonderful oiliness that just explodes out of the glass. Frozen ‘opihi and oysters come along giving an almost rubbery-chewiness to the delicious maritime meat.
Palate : Medium bodied with loads of complexity. Graphite pencil lead, kelp covered logs, driftwood, dried seaweed, and a hand-full of raspberries take this dram through a whole range of distinct images. Briney grilled shrimp and sea food pasta covered in pungent salty hard cheese highlight rich umami notes.
Finish : Lingering sea side shrimp grill with a fruity cocktail sauce.
SMWS Codename : 66.154 “Robocow” (Aka, Downwind the Petting Zoo)
Distillery : Ardmore
Country/Region : Scotland/Highlands
ABV : 59.8%
Cask : Refill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Age : 10 Years (Distilled July 23, 2008)
Nose : Smoldering coconut husks and burning compost— herbal, grassy, barnyard smoke comes straight away. Funk hard cheese sweat, raw shucked oysters, and banana peel all belong either on a plate or in the fire. A bit of mineral comes through like watch oil and a strong whiff of manure, a dried cow paddy in the pasture.
Palate : Sweaty cow after a morning shower— barn, pasture, hay, and cow odor pervade the palate. Machine grease and oil give a bit of metal and mineral which develops into a lemon citrus. Earthy sweetness of hay stacks, rotting leaves, and burning grass join with wet wool to give the impression of a Robo-Sheep.
Finish : Lingering dry smoke and sweet decayed vegetation.
SMWS Codename : 16.38 “Acme ghost repellent” (Aka, Overripe Mountain Guava)
Distillery : Glenturret
Country/Region : Scotland/Highlands
ABV : 59.3%
Cask : Rechar Hogshead
Age : 8 Years (Distilled Nov. 25, 2010)
Nose : Caramel, butterscotch, dried banana, sheep, and blood. This dram goes places. Metallic-iron iodine give the impression of blood while many of the fruity notes taste a bit old and spoiled. Spoiled black banana, squashed and rotten strawberry guavas.
Palate : Autumn flavors tumble out of the glass: straw, pumpkin patch, gourds, and sheep pen. Sweet white sugar, burnt grass, and a bit of burnt fatty steak. The dram has great presence as vegetable notes give way to strawberry guava and POG (passion orange guava juice). A metallic note develops near the end like an animal fence with a bit of dirty wool caught in it.
Finish : Lingering brown sugar caramel with a slight mineral quality.
