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Sampling The SMWS 58.31: “Berried Alive” – Berry Fruity As Well!

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The SMWS 58.31: “Berried Alive”

It’s Month 5 of my regular samplings of The Scotch Malt Whisky Societies’ selection of recently released drams.

November’s dram-a-month, this month, is their SMWS 58.31 “Berried Alive”.

The 58.31 is a Speyside dram and of the original 244 bottles released – only a fifth remain to be sold – SMWS bottlings don’t hang around for long!

The SMWS (@SMWSUK) has very kindly sent me a sample to try – thanks SMWS!

So, what did I think?

Tasting Notes – SMWS 58.31 “Berried Alive” (59.1%)

A Speyside Dram (Strathisla Distillery) 12 years old, distilled on 30th. March 2006. Matured for 10 years in Ex-bourbon hogshead and then in 2nd. fill Chenin Blanc Barrique barrel for the remainder.
244 bottles were released.
(53 BOTTLES IN STOCK AT PRESENT!)

Nose: Creamy, fudgy, caramel with some fruity floweriness. There’s wisps of lemon in there as well.

Palate: Slightly tropical plus there is loads of fruity, plump raisins and vanilla sweetness – all contained in a slight creaminess.

Finish: Smooth finish with some medium spice, leather and a grapefruit dryness at the end. In fact there’s quite a lot of tannin there.

Overall: A nice dram though a bit dry for me at the finish which I struggled with. But then, I’m not a fan of very dry white wines either while my partner loves them!
As ever, horses for courses, but there’s no denying this is another quality SMWS whisky!
Buy SMWS 58.31 “Berried Alive”
£59.00 to Members


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.

Sampling The Lakes Distillery ‘Whiskymakers Reserve No.1’ – A Cracking Dram Created By A Whisky Extraordinaire!

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The Whiskymakers Reserve No.1

Well the Lakes Distillery ‘Whiskymakers Reserve No.1’ has now sold out at their Distilleries Shop (and a lot of other stores as well!) which kind of took me by surprise really as I was just about to blog about my sampling of it!

Dhavall Gandhi

Never mind, I still think think it’s worth sharing my tasting notes as the No.1 is still available elsewhere (see below) and it’s a cracking dram!

You’ll find a description of The Whiskymakers Reserve No.1 here.

I think what stands out to me is The Lakes Distillery whisky blender extraordinaire Dhavall Gandhi. He is a Gent that likes to experiment and do things a little differently – as proved by a visit I was lucky enough to make last year.

At one point a group of us were sampling the various stages their whisky goes through before arriving at a saleable product. We were all very surprised when he just up and took us into their warehouse to sample other various whiskies straight from the barrel to demonstrate different flavour profiles!

Never would any other whiskymaker else do that – what a star!

Dhavall Gandhi takes to some barrel climbing!

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Lakes Distillery – ‘The Whiskymakers Reserve No.1’ (60.6%)


Nose: Crisp green apples, creamy vanilla and caramel. Sweet oranges, raisins and a little chocolate. Give it time though – some of these aromas take a little time to develop. Well worth the wait though!

Palate: Orange, apples and smooth vanilla but watch out for that alcohol!

Finish: Powerful, punchy spice with a long fruity, oaky finish which has some welcome sweetness to it.

Overall: 60.6% shows it’s muscle here and it’s quite intense!
Adding a little water retains that alcohol hit (if that’s what you want) but it does release more of it’s flavours. This lessens the punch to give a pleasanter spice and bringing out a creamier finish. In fact, for the first time, I added more water than my usual few drops and No.1 held it’s own nicely – lovely and creamy!

All-in-all a lovely dram. Lakes Distillery drams just keep on getting better and better!


Currently, The Whiskymaker’s Reserve No.1. can be bought online from:-
□ @house_of_malt

□ @HarveyNichols

And is available for collection from:-
□ @TheWhiskyShop

I don’t doubt this will change fast though!

Many thanks to Lakes Distillery (@LakesWhisky) for sending me the sample and I’ll try to be a bit quicker off the mark next time!

Other Lakes Distillery Whiskies & Gins are available to buy from these Merchants:-

Sampling The Glen Moray “Old Fashioned” Masterclass – Be Not ‘Bitter’ – Just Be There!

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The Glen Moray Old Fashioned Masterclass Winners With Neil & Joel!

If ever you get invited to a Glen Moray Old Fashioned Masterclass – grab it with both hands!

A table Groaning with Bitters & Sweetners!

I recently had the happy pleasure of attending one such event, hosted by the very able duo of Neil Ridley and Joel Harrison of World’s Best Spirits.

And what a time we had!

Fired Oak Cocktail!

We arrived to a long table laden with various styles of Glen Moray and the polished wood was also groaning with cocktail bitters of every description.

Not just your classic Angostura but also bitters exuding such aromic delights as chocolate, cherry, clove and much. much more! There was even Glen Moray’s very own specially made bitter!

I wasn’t aware there were so many styles of bitter available – if I had them all I wouldn’t have any space left for spirits!

We were there to try our hand at making, and experimenting with, the classic Whisky ‘Old Fashioned’ cocktail. A famous blend of Whisky, a little water, bitters and puddled (i.e. smashed up with a spoon of some sort) sugar.

Cherry Bitters Cocktail!

There was also a selection of sweetners including various sugars and syrups, even including marmalade – for a bitter sweet orangey hit!

Anyway, here are the cocktails I came up with:-

Fired Oak Cocktail

  • 50ml. Glen Moray ‘Fired Oak’ Whisky.
  • Angostura bitters.
  • Maple syrup
  • A little water.
  • Plenty of ice (because a cocktail is nothing without ice!)

Neil & Joel give us inspiration!

Cherry Bitters Cocktail

  • 50ml. Glen Moray ‘Port Cask Finish’ Whisky.
  • Cherry bitters.
  • Brown sugar.
  • A little water.
  • Plenty of ice (because a cocktail is nothing without ice!)

Classic Old Fashioned Cocktail

  • 50ml. Glen Moray ‘Elgin Classic’ Whisky.
  • Pure Cane Sugar syrup (because muddling is not as much fun as it sounds!)
  • Glen Moray Bitters.
  • A little water.
  • Plenty of ice (because a cocktail is nothing without ice!)

The joy of a Masterclass!

The tricky thing I found is to balance the sugar/syrup ratio with the rest of the ingredients so that there isn’t too much sweetness at the end of the cocktail.

I failed!

One thing to remember is – syrup sinks to the bottom of the glass – so maybe that’s why puddling is so popular as that problem doesn’t arise.

It’s a whole lot of fun and getting it wrong, as they say, is the best way of learning how to get it right!

Glen Moray Bitters

Many thanks to Glen Moray (@GlenMorayDist) for the invite and a great evening and (@joeldram) / (@NeilDram) for entertaining and enlightening us!

The winners of our mini-masterclass competition were cocktails made with Glen Moray ‘Fired Oak’ Whisky and a Whisky and chocolate bitters concoction which was amazing!

You may have spotted Harp Mannn amongst the two winners – not surprising really as he is a Drink Content Innovator, Inventor, Reviewer and Presenter on Instagram!

Glen Moray is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

Sampling Bermuda’s Finest – Goslings Rum!

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Bermuda’s Finest – Goslings Rum!

Wednesday nights @TweetTastings, which was once again ably hosted by Steve from The Whisky Wire, gave us the opportunity to sample Bermuda’s very own Goslings Rum.

In the spring of 1806 James Gosling, the oldest son of William Gosling, wines and spirits merchant, set out from Gravesend, Kent, England on the ship Mercury, with £10,000 sterling worth of merchandise, bound for America.

After ninety-one desperate days on becalmed seas their charter ran out and they put in at the nearest port, St. George’s, Bermuda. This is where their Rum story began.

In 1857, the firm then known as Gosling and Son, was renamed Gosling Brothers. In 1860 the first oak barrels of rum distillate arrived in Bermuda.

After much experimentation in the blending process, their distinctive black rum which would eventually become Black Seal was formulated and offered for sale.

As part of our tasting, the Rums sampled were:-

  • Goslings Rum Black Seal
  • Goslings Rum Gold Seal
  • Goslings Rum Family Reserve
  • Goslings Rum 151 Proof Black Seal

If you want to catch up on what all the tweet tasters had to say you can view their comments by searching for the hash tag #GoslingsRum on Twitter.

So, what did I think?

Here are my tasting notes … and the one which was my favourite on the night!

Tasting Notes – Goslings Rum – ‘Black Seal’ (40%)

Made from a Gosling’s family recipe dating back over two centuries. A blend of 3 to 6 year old pot and continuous still rums, made from molasses and aged in ex-bourbon barrels.

Black Seal Rum takes its name from the black wax that was originally used to seal the bottles, but now there’s an actual black seal on the label.

Nose: Amazing colour – and bursting with fruits and muscovado sugar!
VERY ripe bananas with malt loaf, molasses and black treacle. Add in golden syrup and blackcurrant and you’ve got a recipe book!
There’s also a little liquorice and mint (which I get hints of in a lot of nosings!)

Palate: Creamy rum with sugary explosions – lots of treacle, malt and sweet blackcurrant.

Finish: Pleasantly peppery with quite a dry leather finish.

Overall: An excellent rum which tastes fantastic, even without a mixer. A fantastic drink is their Dark’n Stormy illustrated below.


There is also a very handy ready-to-drink Goslings Dark’n Stormy, available from Waitrose.

Goslings Rum is available to buy from these Merchants:-

Tasting Notes – Goslings Rum – ‘Gold Seal’ (40%)

A blend of 3 to 5 year old pot and continuous still rums, made from molasses and aged in ex-bourbon barrels. Released in 2016, Goslings Gold Seal Rum was the first new product to be launched by the brand in over 100 years.

Nose: A little shy this one – but I’m getting popcorn which seems very similar to new-make whiskey to me.

Palate: Creamy vanilla with some white wood and pleasant spiciness – it tastes more like a dram than a rum!

Overall: Wasn’t that thrilled with this one to be honest – more like a rum trying to be a whisky which I couldn’t quite get.
Though the other Tweeters were well impressed with this one so it’s very much a matter of taste. I was well advised that this is another good one for pairing with Ginger Ale!

Goslings Rum is available to buy from these Merchants:-

Tasting Notes – Goslings ‘Family Reserve’ (40%)

A blend of 16 to 21 year old pot and continuous still rums, made from molasses and aged in ex-bourbon barrels. This should be tasted last really but the 151 might blow those tastebuds away!

Nose: Big citrus hit! Bags of tangerines, pineapple and lemons! Add in bananas, liquid treacle, liquorice, stewed fruits, creamy vanilla fudge, waxy furniture – have I left anything out? Probably!
I could nose this till Christmas!

Palate: Ooh! That’s so smooth and creamy. Lovely tropical fruits with vanilla and Xmas cake fruits with added banana and all the treacly trimmings!

Finish: Oaky dryness on the finish – superb – sure makes me wish it was a magic sample!

Overall: This is a ‘sipper’ and no mistake – don’t ruin this in a coctail. Enjoy as it was meant to be enjoyed – on it’s own.

Goslings Rum is available to buy from these Merchants:-

Tasting Notes – Goslings Rum – ‘151 Proof’ (75.5%)

Uses the same blend of 3-6 year old pot and continuous still rums as the standard Black Seal bottling, but bottled at a higher ABV – 75.5%!

Nose: Seems quietly understated – luring us in eh? Light molasses, banana and some herbiness but be careful of that alcohol burn!

Palate: Well it’s a kicker for sure but very flavoursome – that is before my taste buds surrendered! There’s Xmas cake, treacle and vanilla. Adding water smoothes this along quite considerably and allows the flavours to be appreciated without the bulldozing alcohol.

Finish: A savoury finish that almost feels like I’ve had a meal!

Overall: This rum has a considerable alcohol strength but it’s not as bad as a whisky of a similar strength. An experience to be sure but some water addition is really a necessity.

Goslings Rum is available to buy from these Merchants:-

My Favourite On The Night

Out of the 4, I think it’s got to be the Goslings Rum Family Reserve followed by the 151 Proof – a great taste but but even with water added my taste buds may never forgive me!

Many thanks to Steve at The Whisky Wire (@TweetTastings) for a great evening and Goslings Rum (@TheBlackSeal) for sending the samples and without whom!

My fellow Tweeters were:-


@GaryMills01 @TheArtpunk @iheartwhisky @LeedsWine @MashtunandMeow @FiShoop @Whisky_And1 @rumcompass @PhilScott101 @rodbodtoo @MaltMusings @JasonGilluley @RUMDOTLV @thedramble @T_M_Cocktails @JoBlogsRum @Ardbaggie @ocdwhisky @2rumheads @The_Lady_Sybil @TheWhiskyphiles @RumDiariesBlog @SpiritAndWood @whiskywings

Sampling The SMWS 41.115: “Scottish Lemon Preservation Society” – Excellent But You’ll Have To Take My Word For It!

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Excellent But You’ll Have To Take My Word For It!

It’s Month 4 of my regular samplings of The Scotch Malt Whisky Societies’ selection of recently released drams.

Bit of a sad one this as the dram in question is now Out Of Stock so this will be more of a retrospective sampling. It just goes to show though how popular their drams are. Best to grab them quick!

October’s dram-a-month, this month, is their SMWS 41.115 “Scottish Lemon Preservation Society”.

The 41.115 is (Oops was!) a Speyside dram and very fine it was – but I’m afraid you’ll have to take my word for that!

The SMWS (@SMWSUK) very kindly sent me a sample to try – thanks SMWS!

So, what did I think?

Tasting Notes – SMWS 41.115 “Scottish Lemon Preservation Society” (62.4%)

A Speyside Dram (Dailuaine Distillery) 10 years old, distilled on 9th. April 2008. Matured in a refill Ex-Bourbon barrel.

211 bottles were released.

Nose: Sweet, fruity, vanilla fudge. There’s a hint of citrus but I mainly get green apples.

Palate: Intensely sweet – almost like sugar cane – which gives way to vanilla and muted apple. Some furniture polish and a little orange come along later.

Finish: A fine peppery spice hits you right between the taste buds but the sweetness battles it out and, to be honest, it finishes as a draw!

Overall: Don’t be too put off about it being over sweet. It IS sweet but the pepper more than balances this dram out and the two together produce a fine flavour!
As ever, another consistently good SMWS whisky!


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.

Sampling ‘The Gathering’ – A SMWS Live Virtual Tasting You Can STILL Enjoy!

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Five Drams – The Joy!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society gathering has come … and gone.

The Vaults was the place to be in September as part of their week-long celebration of all things SMWS taking place at their spiritual home in Leith.

Brand ambassador John McCheyne once again took the helm to stream live on their Facebook page (facebook.com/thesmwsuk/) to sample through five exceptional 25ml drams.


The Gathering Discovery Pack’s five 25ml bottles:

  • SMWS 107.16
  • SMWS 44.99
  • SMWS 64.108
  • SMWS 35.239
  • SMWS 33.137

The pack features a range of flavour profiles with some casks bottled exclusively for The Gathering and an extra special bottling which will only be available by the dram, to be shared through The Gathering week – and the Discovery pack!

So, what did I think?

Here are my tasting notes … and the one which was my favourite!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 107.16 – “Truly A Fairy Tale” (67%)

A Speyside Dram (Glenallachie Distillery) 7 years old, distilled on 4th. April 2011. Matured in a 2nd. fill toasted butt.


Nose: Rich and plummy, stewed fruits with aromas of wood toffee & chocolate orange – yum!

Palate: Stewed fruits, toffee, caramel and creamy vanilla.

Finish: A rich, but not too harsh fire! Adding some water makes it gloriously smooth.

Overall: This is fantastic for a 7 year old cask – a revelation!
Price £35.00
Packs are limited – ONLY 30 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 44.99 – “A Real Cracker” (55.9%)

A Speyside Dram (Craigellachie Distillery) 14 years old, distilled on 9th. June 2004. Matured in a refill Ex-Bourbon barrel.


Nose: Apples and vanilla with a hint of mint.

Palate: Sugar candy sweet with some spicy vanilla and stewed fruits.

Finish: A short spice with some fruity vanilla at the end.
Price £35.00
Packs are limited – ONLY 30 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

Packs ARE STILL CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 64.108 – “Something For The Weekend” (61%)

A Speyside Dram (Mannochmore Distillery) 10 years old, distilled on 5th. March 2008. Matured in a refill Ex-Bourbon barrel.


Nose: Plenty of banana, tropical fruits and vanilla! Some white new wood.

Palate: Creamy and spicy with lovely tropical fruit flavours. There’s some creamy, sweet banana with hints of citrus.

Finish: Some nice spice there as well! Treacle is in there as well as tobacco. Addition of water brings out lots of full flavours.
Price £35.00
Packs are limited – ONLY 30 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 35.239 – “Sweet Seduction” (52.9%)

A Speyside Dram (Glen Moray Distillery) 23 years old, distilled on 27th. October 1995. Matured in a 1st. fill Ex-Bourbon barrel.


Nose: Polish and old leather – dusky libraries! Fruity with sweet apples & rum – heaven!

Palate: Sweet, rich, fruity and slightly oily with licourice and treacle.

Finish: A super smooth finish with rich pepper but it’s a lovely, syrupy dram to be sure!
Price £35.00
Packs are limited – ONLY 30 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 33.137 – “Campfire Marshmallows On Singed Sticks” (59.9%)

An Islay Dram (Ardbeg Distillery) 10 years old, distilled on 27th. November 2008. Matured in a 1st. fill Ex-Bourbon barrel.


Nose: A massive hit of peat, smoke, salt and charcoal – like fires on the beach – glorious!

Palate: Peaty, antiseptic and sweet. Creamy fruits infused with smoke.

Finish: More of the same with the sweetness beating the peat leaving just a few whisps of smoke!
Price £35.00
Packs are limited – ONLY 30 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

My Favourite

Out of the 5, I think it’s got to be the SMWS 35.239 – “Sweet Seduction”. A great, syrupy, sweet, fruit joy with some un-expected and welcome licourice.
I must mention SMWS 33.137 – “Campfire Marshmallows On Singed Sticks” though. This dram will be loved by all Peat lovers, myself included!

Many thanks to SMWS (@SMWSUK) for sending the samples and for a great afternoons dramming!

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.

Sampling The Kilchoman 100% Islay 9th. Edition – What Could Be Better?

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The Kilchoman 100% Islay 9th Edition

Kilchoman has released their latest edition in their 100% Islay range, Scotland’s only Single Farm Single Malt.

The Kilchoman 100% Islay 9th Edition has been distilled from their 2007 and 2009 barley crops and is a vatting of 43 ex-bourbon barrels matured for over 9 years in their on-site dunnage warehouses.

Available Now!

Bottled at 50% abv with a total bottle release of just 12,000 bottles this Edition is bound to be popular AND disappear off the shelves quickly!

The 100% Islay range has been released annually since 2011 and their whiskies are distilled solely from barley grown in the distillery’s surrounding fields.

This barley is then malted, distilled, matured and eventually bottled – ALL on site – an unmatched, unbroken chain of creation from barley to bottle!

With barley origins, varieties and farm distillers one of the industry’s hot topics, their 100% Islay range remains Scotland’s only Single Farm Single Malt.

The 9th Edition marks a return to the bourbon barrel maturation of previous 100% Islay releases. (Last year’s 8th edition contained roughly 50% sherry maturation.)

Our 100% Islay spirit pairs seamlessly with ex-bourbon barrels. The lower peating level (20ppm) allows the natural floral sweetness of the spirit to shine through whilst a higher age profile adds layers of overripe tropical fruit and stewed plums whilst the high ABV makes it no lightweight.

I’m delighted with how the 9th Edition has come together and as ever, I look forward to hearing people’s opinions.
– Anthony Wills: Kilchoman Founder and Master Distiller

The Kilchoman 100% Islay 9th Edition will retail for approximately £71.94 and is available now.

Kilchoman (@Kilchomanwhisky) has very kindly sent me a sample to try – thanks Kilchoman!

So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes: The Kilchoman 100% Islay – 9th Edition (50%)

No chill filtration or colouring – peating level of 20ppm.


Colour: Pale straw.

Nose: Sweet smoke aromas with soflty burning wood, peat and tempered by crisp green apples.

Palate: A light, thin dram with some dry smoke, sweet vanilla and subtle smokey peat. There’s citrus fruits and apple in there as well.

Finish: Plenty of peppery spice comes through very quickly and powerfully! A pleasant finish with a little salt at the end.

Overall: This dram gets better and better!
The soft, smokey flavours combine perfectly with a light sweetness which is just divine.
The longer in the glass and exposed to the air, the tastier it gets.
The peat balance is perfect. A dram to savour as the nights draw in and winter comes ever closer.
My advice: turn off the television, unplug the phone, dim the lights and sit back and enjoy this dram.
What could be better?

Kilchoman is available to buy from these Whisky Merchants:-

Timeline of 100% Islay releases:-

9th Edition (2019): 43 fresh ex-bourbon barrels matured for a minimum of nine years.
8th Edition (2018): 23 ex-bourbon barrels and 7 oloroso sherry butts filled between 2008 and
2012.
7th Edition (2017): fresh and refill bourbon barrels filled in 2010.
6th Edition (2016): fresh and refill bourbon barrels filled in 2010.
5th Edition (2015): fresh ex-bourbon barrels filled in 2009 and 2010.
4th Edition (2014): fresh and refill ex-bourbon barrels filled in 2009 and 2010.
3rd Edition (2013): fresh and refill bourbon barrels filled in 2009.
2nd Edition (2012): fresh ex-bourbon barrels filled in 2010.
Inaugural 100% Islay Release (2011): fresh bourbon barrels filled in 2009.

Notable awards:-

• Kilchoman’s exceptional quality was recognised at the prestigious International
Whisky Competition (IWC) when Anthony Wills was named Master Distiller of the
Year 2013.
• In 2016 both core expressions won major awards with Sanaig named Best Single
Malt Scotch Whisky – no age statement at the IWSC and Machir Bay came first as
Best Islay Single Malt Scotch in the International Whisky Competition.
• In 2018 Sanaig was voted best peated whisky at the Whisky World Cup.
• This year both core expressions were awarded gold medals at The Spirits Business
Scotch Whisky Masters.
• Kilchoman won Malt Advocates Artisan Whisky of the Year 2011, only three years
after the first bottling was released.

Sampling The SMWS 28.42: “Zesty, Sherbety, Sweet & Sour” – Plus A Dash Of Oomph!

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SMWS 28.42 “Zesty, sherbety, sweet and sour”

I’m now onto Number 3 of The Scotch Malt Whisky Societies’ cracking selection of recently released drams.

I’m trying one each month which is, as some might say, a tough job but someone has got to do it!

Well it’s not at all tough, it’s a dramming pleasure!

September’s dram-a-month, this month, is their members only SMWS 28.42 “Zesty, sherbety, sweet and sour”.

The 28.42 is a Highland dram and with a 60.5% alcohol level it has some punch to it!

The SMWS (@SMWSUK) has very kindly sent me a sample to try – thanks SMWS!

So, what did I think?

Tasting Notes – SMWS 28.42 “Zesty, sherbety, sweet and sour” (60.5%)

A Highland Dram (Tullibardine Distillery) 21 years old, distilled on 7th. June 2007. Matured in a 1st. fill Ex-Bourbon barrel.

204 bottles released.
71 Left In Stock – BUT how many tomorrow?

Nose: Crisp, green apples with a sour zest. Fudge and caramel, balanced by hints of lemon peel. After a while there’s stewed fruits with a little wood.

Palate: Oily mouthfeel with syrupy fruits, vanilla, fudge and apples and oranges. “The alcohol is strong in this one!” and you might want to try a few drops of water!

Finish: Dry finish with some peppery spice but the sherbety sweetness is there till the end, together with a little salt. Adding water takes some of the Whoomph! out of it and releases more fruits and to be honest, more pepper so it’s quite a fiery finish at the end!

Overall: It’s a strong dram this one – anaesthetic for the mouth!
But it’s very tasty and, as usual, bags plenty of flavours.

Buy SMWS 28.42 “”Zesty, sherbety, sweet and sour”
£56.00 to Members


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.

Sampling The SMWS 36.155: “Marmalade In A Nutshell” – But DON’T Waste It On Toast!

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SMWS 36.155 “Marmalade In A Nutshell”

I’m currently sampling one of The Scotch Malt Whisky Societies’ drams each month which is great fun. It also spreads the dram love out for a little longer instead of binging on them all at once – which is so easy to do!

My second dram-a-month, this month, is their members only SMWS 36.155 “Marmalade In A Nutshell”.

The 36.155 is a Speyside dram, quite sweet but with some nice, spiciness at the end. As usual though, stocks are limited (currently 36) so this dram will soon be taste-bud history!

A sad thing in a way, some may say. But then, in a world where everything is always available 24/7, it’s a real pleasure to savour and enjoy something which is unique and ‘of the moment’ and is not part of the standard uniformity of our consumer orientated lives.

Anyway, enough of the speeches! The SMWS (@SMWSUK) has very kindly sent me a sample to try – thanks guys!

So, what did I think?

Tasting Notes – SMWS 36.155 “Marmalade In A Nutshell” (56.9%)

A Speyside (Benrinnes Distillery) 20 year old, distilled on 15th. August 1997. Matured in a Refill Ex-Bourbon barrel.

185 bottles released.

Nose: Vanilla fudge, mint, orange and apple hit me straight away – right between the nose! Very luscious and creamy.

Palate: Much like the nose really. Luscious, sweet, creamy, fudge and vanilla with some apple and hints of chocolate with a little mint.

Finish: Some dry wood. There’s plenty of power at the end with some nice spice and pepper but it’s the lovely, smooth, creamy vanilla-ness (is that a word?) which is the highlight of this dram.

Overall: I really do like the SMWS offerings – so much flavour, punch and bang for your buck!
This particular dram delivers, once again, on all fronts.
Buy SMWS 336.155 “Marmalade In A Nutshell”
£82.00 to Members


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.

Sampling 37.119 “Plum Sauce Rancio-Fest” – The Scotch Malt Whisky Societies Latest Outturn!

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SMWS 37.119 “Plum Sauce Rancio-Fest”

It’s always going to be a good day when the SMWS release a new dram so I reckon today is officially a good day!

Because today marks the release of their latest, members only, offering: SMWS 37.119 “Plum Sauce Rancio-Fest”.

The SMWS (@SMWSUK) has very kindly sent me a pre-release sample to try – thanks guys!

The 37.119 is a Speyside dram, packed with flavour and very morish to boot as my tasting notes testify! As usual though, stocks are limited and demand will be predictably high.

Currently, there are only 39 Left In Stock!

So, what did I think?

Here are my tasting notes …

Tasting Notes – SMWS 37.119 “Plum Sauce Rancio-Fest” (56.6%)

A Speyside (Cragganmore Distillery) 16 year old, distilled on 11th. June 2002. Matured initially for 14 years in a Bourbon hogshead before being transferred to a 1st. fill ex-px hogshead.

222 bottles released.

Nose: Glorious sherry with a little port. Vanilla fudge, apples and old furniture with wisps of dark chocolate.

Palate: Plums, stewed fruits, chocolate, mint and vanilla. There’s fine cognac flavours as well!

Finish: Very smooth finish with some light pepper and a little salty dryness. But the flavoursome, fruity, sweetness dominates overall.

Overall: A muscular dram but tempered with an amazing array of fine flavours. I tried it with a little water and to be honest, it didn’t do anything for me – BUT it is a powerful dram and a few drops might suit some.
Buy SMWS 37.119 “Plum Sauce Rancio-Fest”
£75.00 to Members


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.”

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