The SMWS June Virtual Tasting!
Last Thursdays I had the pleasure of attending The SMWS June Virtual Tasting on Facebook!
Host Madeleine Schmoll was joined by Society favourites: Andrew Reid and Andrew Park to guide us through the five spectacular drams in this month’s Discovery Pack. All of the whiskies in this Edition have two things in common: they are sweet in nature and all were matured in ex-bourbon barrels which make for excellent Whisky Cocktails!
The drams tasted on the night were:-
■ Cask No. 39.209, Apple aperitif
Speyside, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 9 years old, 56.5%
■ Cask No. 73.121, Meemaw’s Moonpie
Speyside, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 9 years old, 58.1% ABV
■ Cask No. 36.164, Bittersweet Xmas stocking treat
Speyside, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 11 years old, 59.6%
■ Cask No. 35.269, Banana balaclava
Speyside, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 16 years old, 60.8%
■ Cask No. 10.204, Pineapples ahoy
Islay, Refill ex-bourbon barrel, 15 years old, 56.8%
You can also still Buy the Pack we sampled: £35.00
So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …
■ Cask No. 39.209, Apple aperitif
Speyside, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 9 years old, 56.5%
Distillery: Linkwood
 Nose: Crisp, crunchy apples, toffee fudge and wisps of vanilla. Palate: Sugar cane sweetness, apples, coconut and tropical notes with toffee in there as well – altogether lovely! Finish: Palpably fiery but softened with smooth sweetness. ‘Tis a long finish as well! Overall: It certainly is what it says on the tin (or bottle) and that is … tasty apples! |
| £52.00 |
■ Cask No. 73.121, Meemaw’s Moonpie
Speyside, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 9 years old, 58.1% ABV
Distillery: Aultmore
 Nose: Woody and sweet, with green apples, but the nose is quite muted really. Palate: Rich, buttery mouthfeel, cooked apples with caramel sweetness and creamy chocolate – Gorgeous! Finish: Rich, peppery and sweetly smooth with a slight tannin dryness near the end. Overall: An excellent, flavoursome dram at a fantastic price – GO BUY! |
| £52.00 |
■ Cask No. 36.164, Bittersweet Xmas stocking treat
Speyside, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 11 years old, 59.6%
Distillery: Benrinnes
 Nose: Very slow burner this one but eventually it releases woody, sweet, tropical and orange notes. Palate: Sherbet sweetness with fruity tropical sweets – aka starburst – with the main emphasis being on orange. I also picked up shades of chocolate which was most welcome! Finish: Peppery and tannic dry but, as always with this dram selection, that ever present sweetness. Overall: Not a traditional Xmas style flavour to me but everybody else thought it was classically Christmasy – which I thought was a bit weird! |
| £51.70 |
■ Cask No. 35.269, Banana balaclava
Speyside, 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel, 16 years old, 60.8%
Distillery: Glen Moray
 Nose: Creamy banana, lilt-like tropical fruits with some white oak. Palate: Intense cane sweetness, wood sap (sandalwood the tasting notes say – which is a new one on me!) accompanied by chocolate. Finish: Sharp, peppery woodiness, coupled with syrupy apple – which is a nice way to finish! Overall: The ABV of 60.8% is, surprisingly, not in-your-face noticeable in this whisky, which makes it an amazing and very drinkable dram! |
| £75.00 |
■ Cask No. 10.204, Pineapples ahoy
Islay, Refill ex-bourbon barrel, 15 years old, 56.8%
Distillery: Bunnahabhain
 Nose: Oily and coastal … but … tropically oily and coastal! Palate: Sherbet sweetness with an orangey, choccy, smokey, peat, tropical tang! Finish: Slightly antiseptic and smooth at the end with a coastal, salty vibe. Overall: An interesting, and tasty, take on a classic smokey whisky. Tropical woodsmoke – who would have thought it? But it works! |
| 10.204 is not available to buy – But – See All That The SMWS Has To Offer! |
On the night I most enjoyed Cask No. 35.269, Banana balaclava – so different!, followed by 73.121, Meemaw’s Moonpie but it’s really hard to choose between the high standards of the SMWS drams!
Many thanks to SMWS (@SMWSUK) for such an enjoyable evening and for sending the samples!
About The SMWS
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a club unlike any other.
As well as being a place to connect with other like-minded whisky lovers, they are also internationally renowned for their mission: “to provide our members with an adventurous and fun journey of discovery of the world’s widest collection of single cask whiskies.”
Conceptualised in the late 70’s and established in 1983, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, now 35 years old, has branches and partners bars in 19 countries globally. The Society has a selection of over 500 casks every year, each cask yielding a few hundred or less whisky bottles which are unique to that cask.
Rather than name their Whiskies after the distillery, the Society has a coding system. The Society also creates fantastic tasting notes summaries for their Whiskies and other bottles. The whiskies are straight from the cask single malt, undiluted, without chill-filtration or colouring at cask strength.
More recently the Society has been named Independent Bottler of the Year in Whisky Magazine’s prestigious Independent Bottlers’ Challenge (IBC) competition.
