The SMWS Advent Calendar 2023!

Palate: Ooh! Christmas in a glass – Syrupy fruits, prunes, figs, molasses, malt extract and sweet caramel toffee with sherry.

Finish: A warming sweet spice but it’s Christmas cake all the way with this whisky. Even at 60.5% you wouldn’t know it as this is so kind to the palate.

Overall: Well this must be a personal gift from Santa himself – it’s everything you’d ever want in a Xmas dram – and more so – The Nicest Christmas Dram I’ve Ever Tasted!

Palate: All of the above in a creamy heaven!

Finish: There’s some punchy spice and pepper going on here but it’s all wrapped up in a sweet syrup.

Overall: A very mature dram bursting with flavour!

Palate: Oily mouthfeel with pineapple cubes, tropical and orchard fruits with sweet chocolate.

Finish: Spicy and jammy in equal measure with creamy strawberries to the fore – a corker!

Overall: A Fruit Cocktail But For Adults is the best way to describe this dram and that can’t be a bad thing! Maybe not one of your five-a-day though ….

Palate: Thick mouthfeel with cherries, rich fruits and chocolate yuminess!

Finish: A lovely kickass spiciness with syrupy sweet fruits to keep it in check and woody muskiness.

Overall: This is a masterpiece of a dram with everything you’d ever want in a quality whisky – and a lot more!

Palate: A savoury, tangy palate and the sherbet sweet apple is also very present coupled with sweet chocolate and lemon.

Finish: Peppery with a capital ‘P’! Still the finish is sweet and ends in a very dry, woody conclusion with a little salt.

Overall: This dram is described as “lightly peated” – well I should say so – it was VERY shy indeed! Notwithstanding, a very tasty whisky indeed.

Palate: Rich, heavy mouthfeel with sweet treacle coupled with smokey peat.

Finish: Antiseptic and a warming, savoury chilli spice.

Overall: Well BOOM! That is a gloriously peated dram! Rather moreish to be sure and for peated fans a sure-fire winner. It’s a Peated ride, so hang onto your smokey hat!

Palate: Sweet, creamy Christmas cake with sherry, chocolate, syrupy figs and biscuit.

Finish: Spicy with a little pepper that grows to join the fantastic sweet cake.

Overall: A gorgeous festive whisky, perfect to celebrate the season with and if you always have a dram of this to hand, it really can be Christmas everyday!

Palate: Liquid smoke with sticky prunes and sweet liquorice with chocolate.

Finish: Growing antiseptic with added heady spice but the palate’s sticky, sweet black treacle flavours pour on through to a satisfying finish!

Overall: A gorgeous dram, enjoy with a hearty fire to gaze into. And if you don’t have a fireplace it’s well worth buying one just to complete the experience!

Palate: Sweet apple pie with crunchy sugar, some citrus with orange and then lemon comes to the fore. This is smartly followed by toffee which grows n’ grows n’ grows!

Finish: Deep, warming spice with intense pepper and a touch of dryness as a finale at the end.

Overall: “My childhood held a fairy sight—
A thousand apple-trees,
All pink and white for my delight
And humming with the bees.

“Apple-Trees”
Jessie Belle Rittenhouse Scollard (1869 – 1948)

This dram evokes the above sentiments most perfectly – with just a touch of Christmas magic added for good measure!

Palate: Sweet, sticky toffee with vanilla custard and apple with stewed fruits.

Finish: Growing, warming spice and all the above continues along at a tasty sweet Christmas cake pace!

Overall: “What crowding thoughts around me wake,
What marvels in a Christmas-cake!”
To Mrs K____, On Her Sending Me an English Christmas Plum-Cake at Paris
By Helen Maria Williams

A marvel indeed – but then a Christmas cake is pretty marvellous – and so is this dram!

Palate: There’s smoke now! Additionally, lots of lemon, sugary peat, savouriness, liquorice and antiseptic.

Finish: Plenty of hot chilli tops this hearty, moreish dram off.

Overall:
“As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow,
Surpris’d I was with sudden heat which made my heart to glow; ”
The Burning Babe
By Robert Southwell SJ

Palate: Cane sweetness with apples and stewed fruits with creamy toffee. After a while some tropical fruits and a little mint make a welcome appearance.

Finish: Fruity spice with hints of chilli which grows over time ending with a dry finish.

Overall: Brighten up your Bleak Midwinter with this warming treat – and still that “frosty wind made moan”!