11 & 18 April 2020 "Homework"
SMWS Codename : Big Swirl 10 Year, Batch 07
Distillery : Blend
Country/Region : Scotland/Blend
ABV : 50%
Cask : First fill Spanish Oak, Ex-Bourbon, Ex-Sherry American Oak
Age : 10 Years
Nose : Rich notes of chocolate and fruits. Fruity notes of root-beer and maraschino cherries builds over time, as do sugary notes of pastry icing and sticky cotton candy.
Palate : Light to medium body with a straight forward cask driven range of flavors. Dried fruits, berries, and blood orange are accompanied by just a hint of bitter sulphur. A bit deeper in and tobacco notes begin to emerge.
Finish : Medium length with a mild astringency and wood spice.
SMWS Codename : 95.29 “Tossing the bouquet” (aka, Red Headed Wedding Cake)
Distillery : Auchroisk
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 57.9%
Cask : Refill Ex-bourbon Hogshead
Age : 11 Years (Distilled 31 Oct. 2007)
Nose : Sweet tropical fruits and a creamy twang. Overripe pineapples and rambutans at the Farmer’s market or old Dole pineapple cannery. The creamy side comes through as vanilla bean creme cheese frosting, butterscotch, grocery store cake, and rich cheesecake. Ginger ale and lemon drop candies develop near the end.
Palate : Sweet ginger desserts dominate the palate: ginger soda, ginger ale, pineapple ginger juice, citrus zest, and a tonic water with a lemon twice. The ginger and lemon combine with faint herbal notes like a mildly astringent cough drop. Cream comes through in the background as cream cheese or rich butter cream cake frosting.
Finish : Medium length slightly dry botanical gin and tonic along with some minty ginger ale.
SMWS Codename : 46.84 “Velvet Complexity” or “Sipping from a velvet Tardis” (Aka, Raiding Grandpa Sanada’s Cabinet)
Distillery : Glenlossie
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 58.7%
Cask : 15 Year Ex-Oloroso Butt, 2 Year 2nd Fill Spanish Oak Oloroso Butt
Age : 17 Years (Distilled 31 May 2002)
Nose : Rich sherry notes overwhelm the senses with chocolate, rich dried fruits, nuts, coffee, and old supple leather. Deeper in sits rich lumber notes, old varnished cabinets, antiques, and lamp oil.
Palate : Rich and syrupy the profile is balanced between wood and fruit. Coffee, cola, tobacco, and a rich fruity Christmas cake all come through. Rich wood notes of a poorly ventilated attic in the summer come alive with lamp oil, hot wax, and a burning wick.
Finish : Long and lingering dark chocolate and cherry.
SMWS Codename : 44.116 “Pirate ship in a storm” (aka, Enough to Make Carli Cry)
Distillery : Craigellachie
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 68.2%
Cask : 2nd Fill Oloroso Butt
Age : 8 Years (Distilled 20 April 2011)
Nose : Funky assault on the senses— boiled eggs, burnt coffee, stomach bile, and furrowed eye brows all come to mind. More pleasant notes come through of an extinguished candle wick or burnt rubber after throwing on the E-break to drift around a hairpin turn.
Palate : Roasting coffee and the parchment envelopment around the bean burning off. Hints of minerals, dried fish, a citronella mosquito candle, and a rubber tire fire all come through. One taster reckoned it tasted of Wildfire and the destruction of King’s Landing from Game of Thrones.
Finish : Lingering rubber pencil erasers and salty dried fish.
SMWS Codename : 12.29 “Can’t cedar wood for the apple trees” (aka, Nutter Butter on Horseback)
Distillery : Benriach
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 58.9%
Cask : First Fill Ex-Bourbon
Age : 9 Years (Distilled 29 Sept. 2000)
Nose : Nutty and herbal aromas drift out—creamy peanut brittle, Nutter Butter, cookie dough, and vanilla extract. Herbal lemongrass, green strawberries, sun baked moss, and licorice.
Palate : Palate coating oily body with heaps of malty florals coming through as boiled peanuts, morello cherries, oat bran, and oak cakes. Slight astringency builds on the back end along with grassy sweetness.
Finish : Lingering floral sweet tea.
SMWS Codename : 108.17 “As balanced as a ballerina” (aka, Barnyard S’mores)
Distillery : Allt-A-Bhainne
Country/Region : Scotland/Speyside
ABV : 61.6%
Cask : 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel
Age : 7 Years (Distilled 2 Nov. 2011)
Nose : Wild blend of nutty, herbal, dessert, and brine notes. Starts off with rich almond or peanut butter cookies, caramel drizzle, chocolate covered almonds, and cake batter. Toasted herbs— fresh rosemary above all, grassy dried hay, salty olives, and agave. Briny pickle juice, olives, and sugary citrus 7-Up emerge over time.
Palate : Medium bodied with notes of toasted cacao, herbs, and nuts. Toasted marshmallows over a kerosene stink campfire, hot road tar, malty graham and grains, bitter chocolate, and burnt hay. The overall impression is one of dark bitter chocolate and burnt marshmallows s’mores by the campfire.
Finish : Long with astringent woody spice.
SMWS Codename : 16.41 “Cozy contentment” (aka, Babar’s Special Chocolate Cookies)
Distillery : Glenturret
Country/Region : Scotland/Highland
ABV : 61.4%
Cask : Re-char Hogshead
Age : 9 Years (Distilled 16 Dec. 2009)
Nose : Thick funk, salt, and sweet— seaweed, brine, vanilla, and the elephant exhibit at the zoo. Dirty barnyard straw, sweet elephant dung, brownies, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and soapy bubbles. Sweet juicy ripe fruits, orange, and lemon skins lie beyond the elephants.
Palate : Thick and viscous mouthfeel with candied oranges, chocolate chip cookies, and creamy nougat. Lovely rich smoke notes come through as charred coconut husks, burning hay, charcoal, smoked nuts, and burnt pie crust.
Finish : Lingering char, chocolate, and oily smoke.
SMWS Codename : 16.42 “Top notes of covfefe”
Distillery : Glenturret
Country/Region : Scotland/Highland
ABV : 63.7%
Cask : Re-char Hogshead
Age : 9 Years (Distilled 16 Dec. 2009)
Nose : Heady and rich— dark roasted coffee, butterscotch, and cream cheese brownies.
Palate : Tobacco smoke and a wooden fired pizza oven. Fresh asphalt, burnt coffee, and charred herbs. Sweet citrus oil builds toward the end.
Finish : Lingering chocolate and mild astringency.
