Holiday Outturn – Late November – New offerings 

Why do fools fall in love? 

Cask No. 29.139                        $135

Islay

Here we go – coal tar soap, beach bonfire out of driftwood, charcoal, cinders, black scorched toast and roast pork belly on a barbeque next to crab and oyster shells and sea salted crisps – everything to one’s Islay heart’s content. Big on the palate; hot, ashy, embers, sweet smoke, germolene and Elastoplast. What else do you need! -toffee apples, icing sugar and a well cleaned hospital floor. Who wants to add water? Ok, diluted lead pencil shavings, honey glazed gammon, sweet and sour pork and creosote. On the taste still smoky and medicinal but less so, spare ribs with an apple sauce and how about taking an Elastoplast off with your teeth after swimming in the sea – you either love it or hate it, we loved it! 

Drinking tip: Dancing around the fire on the beach at sunset

Colour: Maize                                                                      Date distilled: April 1995

Cask: Refill barrel                                           Alcohol: 59.9%

Age: 18 years                                             USA allocation: 119 bottles 

 

Plum jam and toffee apples 

Cask No. 30.73                  $100

Speyside, Spey

We found a very interesting nose with lots going on – plum jam, peach, apricot, rose-hip syrup, cinnamon toast, honey, toffee, almond, celery leaf and fresh oak. The palate started with crisp greengage freshness, before turning to pomegranates and red toffee apples, closing with dried figs and dates, mild spice and granola cereal notes. Water deepened the nose impressions – Danish pastries, Special K with dried strawberries, rose pot-pourri, sauna wood, hay, leather and cigar boxes. The reduced palate boasted fruit baskets, tingling ginger spice, tobacco, toffee and dark chocolate with cherry pieces. The distillery is operated by Berry Bros and Rudd.

Drinking tip: Different and versatile – an unusual aperitif perhaps – or while doing the ironing

Colour: Dessert rose                                          Date distilled: March 2001

Cask: Refill port pipe                                      Alcohol: 58.5%

Age: 11 years                                             USA allocation: 90 bottles  

 

Snorkelling in the bath tub 

Cask No. 66.42                  $95

Speyside, Deveron

We were greeted by a warm wood burning fire with some heather and peat being thrown on top. Additional aromas are that of bacon frazzles, rosemary oil, gammon steak and dried cured salty salami. In the background is the smell of a plastic paddling pool in the warm sunshine. The taste was like the end of a cigar; sweet, smoky and hot. The heat was also like that of hot metal grills barbequing burgers and sausages. With water, aromas of grilled chicken with a lemon and coriander marinade next to well-used snorkeling equipment with a hint of salt and chlorine appearing. The taste is now like a citrus refresher sweetie, scented candles, Bavarian smoked cheese and an ashy charcoal note in the finish. 

Drinking tip: Setting up a barbeque next to the swimming pool

Colour: Daffodils in the sunshine                Date distilled: July 2002

Cask: Refill barrel                                           Alcohol: 54.5%

Age: 10 years                                             USA allocation: 120 bottles

  

A welcome home dram

 

Cask No. 72.25                  $225

Speyside, Lossie

Early aromas of polish, varnish and glue faded, replaced  by homely, welcoming smells of pastry tarts, shortbread and brioche, with abundant sweetness (ice-cream, marzipan, Caramac, spun sugar, honeycomb) – long maturation declaring itself through hessian, pepper, sauna wood, liquorice and humbugs. The palate was fruity, sweet and spicy (fruit cake, buttery Peshawari naan, rhubarb crumble, vanilla, poached pears, clove, Brazil nuts). The reduced nose found lemon sponge, stem ginger in syrup and gardens after rain. The palate became more delicate – lemon and camomile tea and cherry Bakewell with the light bitterness of apricot stones and willow. The distillery produces 5.5million litres.

Drinking tip: A good ‘welcome dram’ or with afternoon tea

Colour: Refracted buttercup gold                                                       Date distilled: December 1983

Cask: Refill hogshead                         Alcohol: 49.9%

Age: 29 years                                             USA allocation: 84 bottles 

 

Tantalisingly sweet and savoury 

Cask No. 78.40                  $125

Highland, Western

Tantalising sweet and savoury aromas to start with. Stewed apples with brown sugar, Madeira cake, wax polished floors and bergamot. Then bitter marmalade, honey and hay. Oh so sweet and smooth to taste: rich caramelised roast beef gravy, gooseberries, caramel and marsala wine. Adding water made the aromas sweeter. Rum and raisin (Old Jamaica chocolate), sauternes, bakewell tart, caramel and vanilla. The water made it very creamy, smooth, softer and richer to taste. Also less savoury. Now there’s tea bread, carrot cake with icing, a hint of ginger and raisins.  From the distillery named after Scotland’s highest mountain. 

Drinking tip: For after dinner or a long lunch

Colour: Door knocker brass                                              Date distilled: September 1996

Cask: Refill Sherry butt                                            Alcohol: 55.1%

Age: 16 years                                             USA allocation: 102 bottles 

 

Ode to Autumn 

Cask No. 94.4                    $195

Highland, Eastern

We were greeted by a dusty, warm and malty aroma – like a hayfield at harvest time on a sunny afternoon, or sanding a wooden floor, or dusting off a Scalextric set not used for a long time and having a first go. In the taste sweet and rich with a herbal and fruity note; Italian biscotti biscuits with hazelnuts and dark cherries as well as aniseed, lemon and orange rind. Adding water, roasted red peppers stuffed with herb couscous accompanied by a salty/tangy ginger and lime dressing and the taste salty and sweet like an olive oil and balsamic bread dip. A unique example from the distillery with a unique cooling system for its spirit still – simply running cold water along the sides. 

Drinking tip: After enjoying a lovely autumn day

Colour: Golden syrup                                    Date distilled: May 1989

Cask: Refill hogshead                             Alcohol: 52.3%

Age: 24 years                                             USA allocation: 78 bottles 

 

Iced mulled wine and Sorrento Limoncello 

Cask No. G1.11                 $150

Grain

The initial nose was a combination of oak shavings and linseed oil with sweeter aromas arriving very quickly. We discovered very ripe peaches and nectarines, toffee apple sponge pudding, Scotch pancakes, Bourbon vanilla buttercream and Terry’s Chocolate Orange. Sweet flavours dominate on the palate neat as well, but at the same time zesty as a lemon or lime rind, mouth drying and fizzy like orange flavoured Tango popping candy. Adding a drop of water increases the sweetness on the nose; orange cream fondant, tablet, caramelised sugar, vanilla pods and candid orange and lemon peel. The taste is like an iced mulled wine with cloves and cinnamon and a true Sorrento Limoncello. This is a very elegant example from Edinburgh‘s only operating distillery. 

Drinking tip: Celebrating the arrival of summer

Colour: Golden syrup                                    Date distilled: December 1991

Cask: Refill butt                                                  Alcohol: 65.1%

Age: 21 years                                             USA allocation: 90 bottles

 Please visit the Scotch Malt Whisky Society at www.smwsa.com