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.