The SMWS Christmas Advent Calendar Countdown was a breathtaking run up to Christmas!
Sampling this years SMWS Christmas Advent Calendar was a truly great opportunity for me to discover new flavour profiles and taste and explore bottlings that I hadn’t tried before.
Too see what I thought of each dram my first 12 days of Tasting Notes are on this page.
And below you’ll find a round-up of Days 13 to 25 ….
If you need more info. on each whisky you can see the Society Notes for each days dram by visiting the 25casks webpage.
Many thanks to The SMWS (@SMWSUK) who kindly sent me an Advent Calendar to sample and made the run up to Christmas very special indeed!
DAY 25 Tasting Notes
– “Enter The Fruit Lair” Cask No: 38.33 (53.6%)
26 Years old
SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW flavour profile
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Caperdonich
ABV: 53.6%
On this day the Society brings you a 26-year-old whisky from a closed, never to be reopened distillery (it was demolished in 2010).
There is a great story behind it too. When they found the casks in a warehouse a few years ago, they almost had to walk away. The story goes that in 2018 maturing whisky from a larger number of casks had been married together and ‘re-racked’ into a smaller parcel of newer casks.
Consequently, this didn’t meet the definition of single cask. So they had to ask themselves – “Is this what we do?”
Fortunately, they have never been afraid to break their own rules!
So, they bought them and have been bottling them.
What you are drinking now is whisky from one of a very small handful of casks, containing a distillery spirit that will never be made again.
Merry Christmas!
 Nose: Rich tropical fruits that explode from the glass! Vanilla toffee and custard together with tart, boiled sweets and crisp green apples. Palate: Oaky and savoury with additional orchard fruits and creamy vanilla. Finish: Pleasant spiciness with salty, oaky aftertastes and a punchy dry finish. Overall: It was a real pleasure to get to sample this rare dram – it disappeared far too quickly though – admittedly, that occurance is NOT a rare thing with an SMWS whisky! |
DAY 24 Tasting Notes
– “Fruit Utopia” Small Batch 17 (50.0%)
25 Years old
SMALL BATCH SINGLE MALT
Cask Type: Bourbon barrels, hogsheads, and French oak barriques
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
ABV: 50.0%
At 20 years of age, selected bourbon hogsheads of Speyside single malt were combined and used to fill custom toasted French oak barriques from the Seguin Moreau cooperage.
Following three months of intense maturation in these highly active casks, the spirit was again combined and filled into second fill bourbon barrels, just freshly emptied of Speyside malts.
The whisky was closely monitored every six months for a further five years to develop a silk-like texture and wonderful layers of fruity complexity.
 Nose: Green bananas, toffee, rich tangerine liqueur with apricots. Hints of new white oak and hazelnuts. Palate: Oranges, apricots with tempting creamy caramel topped biscuit. Finish: Deep pepper and light salt joins the Christmas party which then jollies along nicely with the fruit! Overall: A whisky to savour and linger over when “Not a creature was stirring”. Don’t leave this dram out for Santa on his big night though as you run the risk of a lengthy interruption in present delivering! |
DAY 23 Tasting Notes
– “Thumbs-Up” Cask No: 113.43 (55.6%)
23 Years old
SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW flavour profile
Cask Type: Refill ex-bourbon hogshead
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Braes of Glenlivet (Braeval Distillery)
ABV: 55.6%
Rarely seen as a single malt until recently, this is perhaps one of the most elegant and delicate spirits in Speyside. At a mere 23 years old, this particular bottling is interesting, as it would have been distilled not long before a lengthy closure of the distillery.
Fortunately the spirit is in demand again by the blenders at parent company Chivas Brothers.
 Nose: Wood shavings coupled with vanilla biscuit, pineapple and orange. Palate: Oily mouthfeel with cane sugar, pineapple, orange, syrupy cherries and lemon. Finish: Heavily peppered with some wood charring and a pretty dry, fizzy finish. Overall: A warming finish to a fruity dram and one that fits the SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW flavour profile rather well. Except, that is, for the addition of a peppery finish that’ll blow your socks off! |
DAY 22 Tasting Notes
– “Maritime Crisp Enthusiast” Cask No: 42.57 (57.2%)
14 Years old
PEATED flavour profile
Cask Type: Refill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Highland
Distillery: Tobermory / Ledaig
ABV: 57.2%
 Nose: Burning wood embers with sweet, smokey peat, shades of antiseptic, liquoric and citrus. Palate: Salty n’ sweet peat with charcoal, smoking embers and smoked margarine. Finish: A dry, briny finish with smokehouse flavours, hot chilli and punchy medicinal menthol. Overall: I LOVE a good peated dram and this is no exception. It has a lot more than just raw phenol PPM levels. This one also has character, depth and quite simply – a rockin’ good rounded taste! |
DAY 21 Tasting Notes
– “1970’s Movie Dram” Cask No: 93.179 (60.4%)
8 Years old
OILY & COASTAL flavour profile
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Campbeltown
Distillery: Glen Scotia
ABV: 60.4%
 Nose: A peaty, briny noseful! Lots of sea-salt, coastal air and sweet wood with a little antiseptic wafting in and out as well. Palate: A sweet, antiseptic peat with wisps of smoke and burnt embers. Finish: Smoked chilli and pepper, syrupy prunes, liquorice. Overall: To me, a lightly peated dram hiding behind an “OILY & COASTAL” flavour profile. This style of dram is not for everyone, of course, but I think it’s smokin’ – literally! |
DAY 20 Tasting Notes
– “Brimming With Fruity Booty” Cask No: 63.95 (50.5%)
19 Years old
SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW flavour profile
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Glentauchers
ABV: 50.5%
This classic Speyside distillery is used as a training location for new generations of distillers to study the hands-on processes of whisky making.
It’s another place where much of its whisky goes into blends, most notably Ballantine’s.
 Nose: Crisp, green apples and also toffee apples – YaY! You can also add in some lemon as well for good measure. Palate: Pineapple, lemon, apple peel and sugary vanilla. Finish: Caramel liqueur with a strong, peppery and dry grapefruit finish. Overall: A quieter nose for me with this dram but the very flavoursome palate more than made up for it! |
DAY 19 Tasting Notes
– “Secret Snacks In The Wardrobe” Cask No: 48.134 (61.1%)
17 Years old
SPICY & SWEET flavour profile
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Balmenach
ABV: 61.1%
A single cask offering from a distillery that is rarely seen, even as a single malt, given that the bulk of its production goes to the Hankey Bannister blended malt.
The distillery is prized for its contribution to the blend, with a characteristically meaty and heavy newmake that comes as the result of the distillation set up – a long fermentation, followed by rapid distillation in smalls stills without much reflux, and then a wide spirit cut and traditional worm tub condensers.
 Nose: A quiet nose initially leading to apple, custard creams, toffee, melon and polished wood. Palate: Sweet apple sauce with vanilla, blackcurrent and hazelnuts. Finish: Oaky wood with a savoury, hot chilli hit accompanied by salt and leather. Overall: With this dram you get two things – friendly sweetness and kick-in-the-pants spiciness – a partnership that performs a fine, but successful, balancing act! |
DAY 18 Tasting Notes
– “Hits The Sweet Spot” Cask No: 9.229 (55.0%)
17 Years old
SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW flavour profile
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Glen Grant
ABV: 55.0%
The stills at this Speyside distillery are perfectly designed to give big fruity ‘estery’ character.
At the neck of the still, before the spirit vapour passes into the condenser it enters a large copper chamber, known as a purifier. Here the spirit cools, and some of the heavier compounds condense and run back as liquid via a pipe to the pot of the still. So only the lighter, fruiter/floral reach the spirit safe.
One other interesting but irreverent fact – the mash tun is so big that Dr. Andy and five of his colleagues from the Scotch Whisky Research Institute once had a meeting with the distillery manager inside it!
 Nose: Apple with tropical fruitiness – and all enveloped in baked pastry! Palate: Creamy, liquid caramel with vanilla apple pie – again, in a thick pastry crust. Finish: This dram has a lovely smooth finish with only a moderate spice – all nestled within a creamy blanket of sweet fruits! Overall: A light, fresh dram with fruity sweetness through and through. A tasty insight is that this shows that all whiskies don’t always have a darker, spicy side! |
DAY 17 Tasting Notes
– “Pipe Dreams” Cask No: 36.182 (57.3%)
11 Years old
DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS flavour profile
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-PX hogshead
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Benrinnes
ABV: 57.3%
After nine years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, this whisky was transferred into a 1st fill American oak PX Sherry hogshead.
 Nose: Green apples, pears and golden syrup with added fruit cake and damp oak. Rich, porty, red wine develops very strongly in the glass with time. Palate: Tart fruits with sherried, vanilla toffee and creamy chocolate – heavenly! Finish: Sweet earthiness mixed in with punchy pepper and tobacco dryness. Overall: Once again, an SMWS dram that produces a cavalcade of flavours – you think it’s sweet, then it goes spicy – you think it’s settled in as a spicy finish – then it goes sweet again! Definitely a dram to keep you on your taste bud toes! |
DAY 16 Tasting Notes
– “A Romp In A Flower Meadow” Cask No: 73.133 (62.0%)
10 Years old
SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW flavour profile
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Aultmore
ABV: 62.0%
Much of this distillery’s product goes into two of the world’s biggest blended whiskies in the world – William Lawson’s Finest and Dewar’s. As a single cask, however, this whisky really shines through, with a robust and weighty spirit that is full of character!
 Nose: Light and fruity wine, waxy apple, orange and creamy toffee. A sense of woodiness lingers in the background. Palate: Intensely sweet with fresh fruit cocktail, caramel and golden syrup. Finish: Powerful peppery spice with a sweet and dry finish. Overall: It’s great to get a chance to sample a dram that is usually part of a blended profile – this one is full of character and flavour and well able to shine all by itself! |
DAY 15 Tasting Notes
– “Adventurously Awesome” Cask No: 71.79 (58.7%)
14 Years old
SPICY & SWEET flavour profile
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Glenburgie
ABV: 58.7%
Spirit from this distillery is usually destined to be matured off-site and then blended into the world’s second largest blended Scotch whisky – Ballantine’s.
It is rarely seen as a single malt and there are only two official bottlings. This dram is a great example of what the Society have maturing in their warehouse – destined only to be bottled as a cask strength, single cask, single malt whisky.
 Nose: Vanilla fudge with chocolate, red wine, cherries, strawberries and tangerines – a fruit fest! Palate: Tangerines, cherries, sweet toffee, syrupy vanilla fruits and coffee. Finish: Deep chilli spice with awesome pepper. Overall: Great nose, palate and finish but all are quite individual, different and special in their own tasty way! |
DAY 14 Tasting Notes
– “Sweeties In The Forest” Cask No: 46.126 (55.4%)
12 Years old
JUICY, OAK & VANILLA flavour profile
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Speyside
Distillery: Glenlossie
ABV: 55.4%
Ingvar Ronde’s Malt Whisky Yearbook states that, apart from the official bottling, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is the only independent bottler to produce an example of this whisky!
 Nose: Strawberry mousse, rose water with vanilla, sugary mint and earthy duskiness. Palate: Gentle mint ‘After Eights’ combined with floral sweetness – majestic! Finish: A growing, glowing spiciness mixed with chocolate mint and sweet biscuit. Overall: What a dram! A differing mix of flavours than your usual whisky has and all presented with great aplomb! |
DAY 13 Tasting Notes
– “Polished And Refined” Cask No: 26.186 (59.2%)
10 Years old
SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW flavour profile
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
Origin: Scotland
Region: Highland
Distillery: Clynelish
ABV: 59.2%
This whisky is revered by blenders for its rare ‘waxy’ character and is an important component of arguably the world’s most famous blended whisky.
As a single malt it is also revered by enthusiasts the world over!
 Nose: Cane sweetness with fudge, crisp apples, melon, floral notes and tropical, creamy cereal. Palate: As above, cane sweetness but with some astringency, coupled with creamy, cooked apple. Finish: Chilli spice with nutmeg and coffee to take off the edges but the sweet fudge holds its own as well! Overall: A burst of sweet and spicy joy – two very different halves of a rather perfect dram! |
