A pack of goodies for the virtual tasting event at the Campbeltown festival!
On Wednesday night The Scotch Malt Whisky Society brought together Society members and Whisky fans from across Europe (& the World!) as they hosted their second Virtual Tasting!
Streamed live on their Facebook page from the Ardshiel Hotel at the Campbeltown Malts festival. John McCheyne was joined by his “glamourous assistant” Matt Bailey – all the way from their Australian branch – to host a tasting of five exclusive festival bottlings from Speyside, Islay and last (but not least) Campbeltown.
The drams to be sampled and savoured were contained in The Scotch Malt Whisky Societies’ Festival Discovery Pack and they were:-
- SMWS 9.161 Cream tea at the patisserie
- SMWS 30.106 Succulent, scintillating and substantial
- SMWS 29.260 A visceral, elemental experience
- SMWS 10.168 Cuquillo black olives
- SMWS 93.108 Earthy and masculine
If you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the whole event here.
So, what did I think?
Here are my tasting notes … and the one which was my favourite on the night!
Tasting Notes – SMWS 9.161 Cream tea at the patisserie (60.9%)
A Speyside (Glen Grant Distillery) 11 year old, 2nd. fill barrel ex-bourbon.
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Nose: Heathery, lemon, apples, sweet fudge & tropical fruits. Palate: Vanilla, fudge, apples, lemon and some surprising tropical fruits. Finish: Heavy, spicy, peppery finish with well balanced sweet syrup. |
| Buy The Festival Discovery Pack |
Tasting Notes – SMWS 30.106 Succulent, scintillating and substantial (57.2%)
A Speyside (Glenrothes Distillery) 21 year old, 2nd. fill butt ex-px.
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Nose: WoW! Luscious sherry, hints of port, plump raisins, oranges and creamy, vanilla pastries! Palate: Oily mouthfeel and basically all the flavours present in the nose which is unusual! i.e. luscious sherry, hints of port, plump raisins, oranges and creamy, vanilla pastries. Finish: Very smooth finish, the palate flavours carry on through to the lovely finish and there’s no spiciness at all – lush through and through! The nose on this dram gets better and better as time passes. the only problem is resisting the urge to sample it all! |
| Buy The Festival Discovery Pack |
Tasting Notes – SMWS 29.260 A visceral, elemental experience (56.9%)
An Islay (Laphroaig Distillery) 19 year old, 1st. fill butt ex-oloroso.
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Nose: An amazing treacle-like colour! On the nose there’s rich peat with hints of smoke and charred wood – Yum! Pleasantly antiseptic. Palate: Peaty with smoke catching the back of my throat, oily, liquorice, sugary. Finish: All the classdic, distinctive antiseptic flavours (typical of a Laphroaig), tanin, tobacco, old leather married with a treacle sweetness. Cheeky flavours of chilli at the very end – very morish! |
| Buy The Festival Discovery Pack |
Tasting Notes – SMWS 10.168 Cuquillo black olives (61.8%)
An Islay (Bunnahabhain Distillery) 13 year old, 2nd. fill barrel ex-bourbon.
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Nose: Pineapple and grapefruit straight off! A little wood and smokiness with tantalising peppermint. Palate: Sherbet, syrupy sweet with developing grapefruit. Finish: Sharp, dry finish with some punchy pepper. |
| Buy The Festival Discovery Pack |
Tasting Notes – SMWS 93.108 Earthy and masculine (58%)
A Campbeltown (Glen Scotia Distillery) 10 year old, 1st. fill barrel ex-bourbon.
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Nose: A bit subtle at first … patience required! And then dried pineapple chunks! Small amount of woodiness. Palate: Rich, sweet and feisty pepper spice. Finish: Suprisingly salty – tasty, salted caramels on the finish. |
| Buy The Festival Discovery Pack |
My Favourite On The Night
All very subjective, of course, but out of the five, I think it’s got to be the 30.106 Succulent, scintillating and substantial followed by 29.260 A visceral, elemental experience as my Top Two.
Many thanks to SMWS (@SMWSUK) for sending the samples and for a great dram evening!
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