12 March 2020 "Love in the Time of COVID-19"
SMWS Codename : 80.10 “Effervescence and roses”
Distillery : Glen Spey
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 55.8%
Cask : Refill Ex-Bourbon
Age : 11 Years (Distilled 9 Oct. 2007)
Nose : Butter lemon bundt cake and sweet lemon zest icing. Pastries, fresh lemon, butter, and whipped margarin waft out of the glass. Then, suddenly, things take a turn toward agave, tequila, and a vegetable sweetness. Lemon poppy seed muffin and a shot of tequila añejo.
Palate : Butter and sugary with a faint citrus. The agave comes roaring on, a shot of tequila, wedge of lime, and line of salt— welcome to Margaritaville. Wood varnish and tannins come near the end along with a candied sweetness.
Finish : Lingering wood notes, salt, and building astringency.
SMWS Codename : 95.31 “Slivovitz, rumtopf and Black Forest gateau”
Distillery : Auchroisk
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 58.6%
Cask : 9Y Ex-Bourbon, 1Y First Fill Barrique STR
Age : 10 Years (Distilled 29 Jan. 2009)
Nose : Blown out Birthday candles— bit of sulfurous smoke and sweet butter. Fruity syrup, caramel, and char give the impression of toast and marmalade.
Palate : Stone fruits, apples, honeycomb, and a rubbery vinyl note. Cinnamon apple, cocoa nibs, and new car leather— or maybe an inflatable inner-tube or new car.
Finish : Lingering apple custard, plastic spoon, and fresh fruit.
SMWS Codename : 39.185 “Splinter-studded spanking”
Distillery : Linkwood
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 59.4%
Cask : 10Y Ex-Bourbon, 2Y New Oak, Heavy Char #4
Age : 12 Years (Distilled 12 July 2006)
Nose : Funky hotdog water, bratwurst, and relish. Napa Auto-parts store, faint rubber, oil, turpentine, sprayed clear coat of paint, wax.
Palate : Burning napalm and bitterness. Oil, turtle wax, and Armor All keep us in the automotive department, or maybe a car wash. Slightly astringent with waxy notes of red apple skin.
Finish : Medium to short, hot spice and heat.
SMWS Codename : 54.78 “ Sugarcane flowers in Speyside”
Distillery : Abelour
Country/Region :Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 60.4%
Cask : Refill Nicaraguan Rum Barrel
Age : 16 Years (Distilled 2 Oct. 2002)
Nose : Supermarket produce section: pears, apples, kiwis, and stone fruits. Sweet grassiness of green clovers or a freshly mowed lawn— almost an earthy sweetness like wheatgrass. Funky notes of wet paint and parmesan cheese rind lurk in the background.
Palate : Medium bodied concentrate fruit juices— Sangria anyone? Sweet juicy summer fruits, fruity almond marzipan, sticky molasses, and orange infused chocolate candies. The sweet fruits have a faintly herbal and woody edge to them, the overall impression is one of a melting Rocket/Firecracker Popsicle.
Finish : Lingering woody dryness and loads of sweet fruit punch.
SMWS Codename : G7.15 “Mind-altering hugs”
Distillery : Girvan
Country/Region : Scotland/Lowlands
ABV : 57.2%
Cask : 32Y Ex-Bourbon, 2Y New Oak Hogshead, Heavy Toast/Medium Char
Age : 34 Years (Distilled 28 May 1984)
Nose : Cedar wood, lacquered wood, popcorn and butterscotch. Intensely woody with interacting kettle-corn undertones that veer between salt, arare, and caramelized corn sugars. Rich pancake syrup comes and goes along with sharpie markers.
Palate : Smell of an old wooden and rarely opened liquor cabinet. Antique furniture in a hot attic, cedar wood, wood polish, old Ryokan, and medicine cabinet. Sweet and pleasantly astringent, notes of caramel, creme brûlée, and custard linger on an oily-syrupy viscous and palate coating body. Toward the end the woody sweetness comes through like pink bubble gum.
Finish : Very long and warming with peppery sweet wood notes and bubble gum.
SMWS Codename : 42.47 “Oblivious to genius”
Distillery : Ledaig
Country/Region : Scotland/Islands
ABV : 60.1%
Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon
Age : 10 Years (Distilled 25 June 2008)
Nose : Salt, Cheetos, salted toffee, and scratch & sniff cocoa. According to one taster, it was the residual aroma of a sneeze. Applesauce along with medicinal or antiseptic cleaner notes join the funky salty aroma.
Palate : Opens with mineral and metallic notes of hard water or greased machinery. Sweet and nutty like peanut brittle, nougat, or honey roasted peanuts. Sea salt and a faint tobacco smoke come near the end along with a spritz of saline solution. The overall impression is trail mix— nuts, chocolate, and salty crackers.
Finish : Lingering lemon citrus and milk chocolate.
SMWS Codename : 29.264 “Thermonuclear pasta water”
Distillery : Laphroaig
Country/Region : Scotland/Islay
ABV : 58.7%
Cask : 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon
Age : 8 Years (Distilled 24 March 2011)
Nose : Maritime salt, iodine, and coal smoke— unmistakably Laphroaig. Industrial shoreline, tar stained beaches, hair spray, mineral oil, a dirty cold and overcast Atlantic beach.
Palate : Ash and salt, the flavors are clean and crips. Smoked cheese, burning green wood, charred lemons, mild starchiness, and sweet grassy sugar cane.
Finish : Lingering sweet sugar cane and char.
SMWS Codename : 53.305 “Totally tropical smoke”
Distillery : Caol Ila
Country/Region : Scotland/Islay
ABV : 59.8%
Cask : Refill Hogshead
Age : 10 Years (Distilled 1 Sept. 2008)
Nose : Grape fruit, grilled plantains, soursop juice, and green apple. Charcoal grill smoke follows loads of sweet tropical fruits. Tart lemon tea and blackened herbs— thyme and rosemary— make this a beautiful complex herbal smokey fruit nose.
Palate : Tropical fruits and grilled chilis— blackened shishito peppers and charred red bell peppers. Sweet caramelized sugars and a faint bitterness. Fainter notes of spearmint, salt, and herbs combined with the roasted fruits and peppers to give the impression of sizzling fajita mix.
Finish : Lingering sweet char and salt.
