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.