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Only 4 Days Away – Are You Ready To Join ‘The Gathering’ For A SMWS Live Virtual Tasting?

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Get your drams set up and ready for Saturday 7 September!

Just To Let You Know We Are Now Only 4 Days Away!


Stocks Are Going Fast – Only 65 Packs Left!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is gathering!

The Vaults will be the place to be in September as part of a week-long celebration of all things SMWS at their spiritual home in Leith from 2nd. – 8th. September.

But if you can’t make it, don’t worry, you can be part of the ‘spirit’ with their online Virtual Tasting streamed live from The Vaults!

All you have to do is buy their Gathering Discovery Pack and tune into the tasting.

They’ll be streaming live on their Facebook page (facebook.com/thesmwsuk/) on Saturday 7 September from 1.00pm (GMT).

So gather friends, download a tasting mat for printing out and hold your own event!

Download the tasting mat!

Don’t worry if you’ve missed the stream or won’t be able to make it in the moment as all the content will be available afterwards on both Facebook and YouTube.

Brand ambassador John McCheyne will once again be taking the helm to guide members from the UK, Europe and beyond through five exceptional 25ml drams together.

The pack features a range of flavour profiles, 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!


The Gathering Discovery Pack includes five 25ml bottles:

107.16: Truly a fairy tale – Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits – Age 7 years

44.99: A real cracker – Spicy & Dry – Age 14 years

64.108: Something for the weekend… – Light & Delicate – Age 10 years

35.239: Sweet seduction – Old & Dignified – Age 23 years

33.137: Campfire marshmallows on singed sticks – Peated – Age 10 years

Price £35.00
Packs are limited – ONLY 65 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

‘The Gathering’ – Saturday 7 September!

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.

The SMWS Celebrates ‘The Gathering’ – Grab A Discovery Pack For A Live Virtual Tasting!

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Get your drams set up and ready for Saturday 7 September!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is gathering!

The Vaults will be the place to be in September as part of a week-long celebration of all things SMWS at their spiritual home in Leith from 2nd. – 8th. September.

But if you can’t make it, don’t worry, you can be part of the ‘spirit’ with their online Virtual Tasting streamed live from The Vaults!

All you have to do is buy their Gathering Discovery Pack and tune into the tasting.

They’ll be streaming live on their Facebook page (facebook.com/thesmwsuk/) on Saturday 7 September from 1.00pm (GMT).

So gather friends, download a tasting mat for printing out and hold your own event!

Download the tasting mat!

Don’t worry if you’ve missed the stream or won’t be able to make it in the moment as all the content will be available afterwards on both Facebook and YouTube.

Brand ambassador John McCheyne will once again be taking the helm to guide members from the UK, Europe and beyond through five exceptional 25ml drams together.

The pack features a range of flavour profiles, 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!


The Gathering Discovery Pack includes five 25ml bottles:

107.16: Truly a fairy tale – Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits – Age 7 years

44.99: A real cracker – Spicy & Dry – Age 14 years

64.108: Something for the weekend… – Light & Delicate – Age 10 years

35.239: Sweet seduction – Old & Dignified – Age 23 years

33.137: Campfire marshmallows on singed sticks – Peated – Age 10 years

Price £35.00
Packs are limited – ONLY 105 CURRENTLY AVAILABLE!

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.

Go ‘Old Fashioned’ With The SMWS Special Membership Offer!

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The ‘Old Fashioned’

Membership to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society plus a bottle of their new release Old Fashioned is just £99!

Description: “Welcoming warmth that combines chocolate, coconut, blood oranges and herbal barley sugar travel sweets. In time, cherry lozenges, candied orange and dusty sweet marshmallows are added to the mix. The palate is outrageously coconutty, with orange Muscat syrup poured on luxurious vanilla ice cream. Beautifully mouth-coating. A touch of water lightens the experience and accentuates a hoppy grapefruit note, which is complimented by fruit salad with cream and over-ripe peaches. The palate is now fruity, thick and syrupy, with chocolate shavings, almonds, marzipan, stem ginger, buttered pancakes and scones.”

Price: £99.00

Until stocks last!

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.”

Sampling ‘Virtually’ – The SMWS Campbeltown Malts Festival Tasting!

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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.

If you’re interested in joining the SMWS and taking advantage of their great whiskies you can find everything you need 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Only 8 Days Away – Are You Ready To Join The SMWS Campbeltown Festival Live Virtual Tasting?

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Set The Date: Wednesday, 22 May at 7.00pm

Just To Let You Know We Are Now Only 8 Days Away!


Stocks Are Going Fast – Only 96 Out Of 300 Packs Left!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is bringing together Society members from across Europe as they host their second Virtual Tasting!

Streamed live from the Ardshiel Hotel at the Campbeltown Malts festival. John McCheyne will be 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, of course, Campbeltown.

Join in on the festival celebrations at home, buy their Festival Discovery Pack and tune into the tasting. Or better still, gather friends at home and hold your own event. They’ll be streaming live on their Facebook page on the night.

The tasting will happen live on Wednesday, 22 May at 7.00pm (GMT). Don’t worry if you’ve missed the stream or won’t be able to make it in the moment as all the content will be available afterwards on both Facebook and YouTube.

Hurry – Only a limited number of sample packs are available!


The Discovery Pack includes five 25ml bottles:

9.161 Cream tea at the patisserie Flavour Profile: Sweet, Fruity & Mellow Region: Speyside Age: 11 years

10.168 Cuquillo black olives Flavour Profile: Oily & Coastal Region: Islay Age: 13 years

29.260 A visceral, elemental experience Flavour Profile: Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits Region: Islay Age: 19 years

30.106 Succulent, scintillating and substantial Flavour Profile: Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits Region: Speyside Age: 21 years

93.108 Earthy and masculine Flavour Profile: Lightly Peated Region: Campbeltown Age: 10 years

Price £35.00
ONLY 300 AVAILABLE — NOW ONLY 96 LEFT!

For those of you lucky enough to be at the festival, you can join this special tasting in person, where one of their amazing ambassadors will be on hand to help you through the drams. Tickets include their Festival Discovery Pack with five celebratory drams from their Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay festival bottlings.

To join in – Simply buy a pack, or sign up to membership with the 5 dram tasting pack. Make sure you and your friends are all set with your glassware and download a tasting mat for printing out!

Join The SMWS Campbeltown Festival Live Virtual Tasting!

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A pack of goodies for the virtual tasting event at the Campbeltown Tasting!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is bringing together Society members from across Europe as they host their second Virtual Tasting!

Streamed live from the Ardshiel Hotel at the Campbeltown Malts festival. John McCheyne will be 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, of course, Campbeltown.

Join in on the festival celebrations at home, buy their Festival Discovery Pack and tune into the tasting. Or better still, gather friends at home and hold your own event. They’ll be streaming live on their Facebook page on the night.

The tasting will happen live on Wednesday, 22 May at 7.00pm (GMT). Don’t worry if you’ve missed the stream or won’t be able to make it in the moment as all the content will be available afterwards on both Facebook and YouTube.

Hurry – Only a limited number of sample packs are available!


The Discovery Pack includes five 25ml bottles:

9.161 Cream tea at the patisserie Flavour Profile: Sweet, Fruity & Mellow Region: Speyside Age: 11 years

10.168 Cuquillo black olives Flavour Profile: Oily & Coastal Region: Islay Age: 13 years

29.260 A visceral, elemental experience Flavour Profile: Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits Region: Islay Age: 19 years

30.106 Succulent, scintillating and substantial Flavour Profile: Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits Region: Speyside Age: 21 years

93.108 Earthy and masculine Flavour Profile: Lightly Peated Region: Campbeltown Age: 10 years

Price £35.00
ONLY 300 AVAILABLE

For those of you lucky enough to be at the festival, you can join this special tasting in person, where one of their amazing ambassadors will be on hand to help you through the drams. Tickets include their Festival Discovery Pack with five celebratory drams from their Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay festival bottlings.

To join in – Simply buy a pack, or sign up to membership with the 5 dram tasting pack. Make sure you and your friends are all set with your glassware and download a tasting mat for printing out!

The SMWS Virtual Tasting 35th Anniversary – Celebrating & Sampling!

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A 35th Anniversary bash with an online Virtual Tasting!

I always love an anniversary so I was greatly looking forward to Celebrating The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s 35th Anniversary bash with an online Virtual Tasting!

The evening was hosted by master brand ambassador John McCheyne at The Vaults. He introduced five hand-selected Society drams, each with a different flavour profile.

This was their first ever golbal Virtual Tasting. John moved the tasting order around a bit but we got there in the end!

The malts sampled were:-

  • SMWS 35.214 Without pretence
  • SMWS 63.49 In the dark of the abyss
  • SMWS 135.6 Cones vs crones
  • SMWS 93.94 The final trawl
  • SMWS 29.249 Sweet black tea in the surgery

If you want to catch up on what all the tasters had to say you can view the whole event here: #SMWSat35.

If you’re interested in joining the SMWS and taking advantage of their great whiskies you can find everything you need here.

So, what did I think?

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

Tasting Notes – SMWS 35.214 Without pretence (55.7%)

Nose: Green apples, citrus, vanilla and fudge with a little wood. There’s also some lovely tropical fruits! The nose is intensely sweet with rich fruit and chocolate.

Palate: Vanilla, blackcurrant, apple and chocolate.

Finish: Powerful spicy chilli with a menthol finish coupled with smooth caramel!

Overall: A solid dram with plenty of fruity sweetness.

Tasting Notes – SMWS 63.49 In the dark of the abyss (60.6%)

Nose: Rich, sweet sherry – almost porty. There’s also treacle, fudge, stewed fruits and a little sulphur. After a while the nose exhibits a really powerful, creamy vanilla fudge!

Palate: Luscious mouthfeel with rich stewed fruits, orange and dark chocolate.

Finish: Smooth finish with mild spice – very tasty!

Overall: If you can wait awhile with this dram in the glass it turns into something glorious!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 135.6 Cones vs crones (57.1%)

Nose: Very powerful rich caramel toffee! Chocolate biscuit, butterscotch and popcorn.

Palate: Tropical sweetness and golden syrup popcorn.

Finish: Hot, peppery spice with a little salt.

Overall: Quite a strong taste of new-make spirit in there which makes this dram my least favourite. Maybe it’s the young age?

Tasting Notes – SMWS 93.94 The final trawl (56.8%)

Nose: Great, rich, peaty aromas – lovely smoke and burnt wood! Seaside air and smoked fish, oily and coastal which mellows into a smooth caramel seaseme halva!

Palate: Zingy citrus with a lovely woody, smokey peat! Sweet and fruity.

Finish: Tobacco finish with peppery spice.

Overall: A joy to sample this one – so rich in flavours and aromas!

Tasting Notes – SMWS 29.249 Sweet black tea in the surgery (48.6%)

Nose: Sweet, antiseptic, smokey with a little peat.

Palate: Sweet, smokey and fulfilling!

Finish: Chilli spice with a smooth finish.

Overall: Strong hints that this dram is from Laphroaig. The taste certainly seems to confirm this!

My Favourite On The Night

Out of the 5, I think it’s got to be the SMWS 93.94 – The final trawl. A powerful dram with lots of flavours!.

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

Only 2 Days Left To Celebrate The SMWS Virtual Tasting 35th Anniversary With A Membership Offer!

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The 5 dram discovery pack!

Just to let you know that the 19th September is the latest you will be able to buy the 5 dram discovery pack
and take advantage of the
Virtual Tasting 35th Anniversary Celebration Membership Offer!

On Monday, 24 September, master brand ambassador John McCheyne will host a very special virtual tasting at The Vaults. He will introduce five hand-selected Society drams, each with a different flavour profile. This will be the first ever golbal Virtual Tasting. In the lead up to this, SMWS have a great membership offer running so that you can join SMWS and take part in the tasting themselves.


Offer: Membership with 35th Anniversary 5 Dram Discovery Pack
Offer Starts: On Now!
Offer Ends: 19th September 2018 at 11:59pm
Price: Now £89.00 (Was £100.00) – Save £11.00

No code is required.


Pack includes:-

29.249 Sweet black tea in the surgery • Heavily Peated • 2nd fill ex-PX hogshead • 21 years

35.214 Without pretence • Sweet, Fruity & Mellow • 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel • 22 years

63.49 In the dark of the abyss • Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits • Refill ex-oloroso butt • 11 years

93.94 The final trawl • Oily & Coastal • Refill ex-bourbon barrel • 15 years

135.6 Cones vs crones • Spicy & Dry • 2nd fill ex-bourbon hogshead • 10 years

93.94 The final trawl • Oily & Coastal • Refill ex-bourbon barrel • 15 years

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