Distillery 19 Highland Rare Release: Hazelnut Bubble Gum!
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending The SMWS May Virtual Tasting on Facebook!
Host Madeleine Schmoll was joined by Society favourites: Master Brand Ambassador, John McCheyne & SMWS Benelux Country Manager, Bob Wenting to guide us through five rare distillery drams!
The drams tasted on the night were:-
■ Distillery 5 Lowland Rare Release: Lime and Thyme
■ Distillery 19 Highland Rare Release: Hazelnut Bubble Gum
■ Distillery 36 Speyside Rare Release: A reward for patience
■ Distillery 93 Campbeltown Rare Release: Change faster than a chameleon
■ Distillery 53 Islay Rare Release: Throw the cork away!
So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …
■ Distillery 5 Lowland Rare Release: Lime and Thyme
Cask Type: 1st.fill ex-bourbon barrels
18 years old
55.8% ABV
Distillery: Auchentoshan
 Nose: Apples, citrus and tropical fruits with some additional toffee thrown in. Palate: Cane sweetness, fruity toffee and coconut chocolate coupled with a full bodied savouriness. Finish: A dry finish with a fair bit of spice coming through and white woodiness. |
| Sadly, Not available to buy – But – See All That The SMWS Has To Offer! |
■ Distillery 19 Highland Rare Release: Hazelnut Bubble Gum
Cask Type: 1st.fill ex-bourbon barrels
18 years old
55.6% ABV
Distillery: Glen Garioch
 Nose: Crisp green apples, dried mango slices, vanilla custard with sweet biscuit & there’s hints of woodiness in there as well – WoW! Palate: Creamy with an oily mouthfeel. Palate of banana and custard cream biscuits. Finish: Very smooth finish with a building hint of spice to counteract what is a pretty sweet dram! |
| Sadly, Not available to buy – But – See All That The SMWS Has To Offer! |
■ Distillery 36 Speyside Rare Release: A reward for patience
Cask Type: 2nd. fill oloroso & bourbon barrels
10 years old
57.6% ABV
Distillery: Benrinnes
 Nose: Sweet mashed banana big time! Tropical fruits follow along rather sheepishly. Porty red wine and ginger spice come along later. Palate: Banana with porty red wine, ginger and sweet, dark chocolate. Finish: Sweet, astringent finish. |
| Sadly, Not available to buy – But – See All That The SMWS Has To Offer! |
■ Distillery 93 Campbeltown Rare Release: Change faster than a chameleon
Cask Type: 1st.fill ex-bourbon barrels
8 years old
59.7% ABV
Distillery: Glen Scotia
 Nose: A subtler nose for me but I eventually get lemon, citrus and oatmeal. Palate: The palate is completely different from the nose! Slightly oily and creamy, throat lozenges, toffee and salt. Finish: Gloriously creamy, sweet finish with some peppery spiciness. |
| Sadly, Not available to buy – But – See All That The SMWS Has To Offer! |
■ Distillery 53 Islay Rare Release: Throw the cork away!
Cask Type: 1st. fill ex-oloroso hogsheads
8 years old
58.4% ABV
Distillery: Caol Ila
 Nose: Gorgeous savoury smokehouse! Sweet peat, liquid oily smoke, burning embers and a rush to the kitchen for snacks! Palate: Tasty smoke, peat and I especially love the way the peaty brine combines with such treacly sweetness! Finish: Basically the palate continues with an additional salty, antiseptic and tar finish. |
| Sadly, Not available to buy – But – See All That The SMWS Has To Offer! |
On the night I most enjoyed “Distillery 53 Islay Rare Release: Throw the cork away” – just gotta’ Love the peat!
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.
