The Society is having a Summer Sale until August 11^th

Members receive 10% off all Society bottle orders placed through August 11^th.

Cask No. 64.50                         $180 

Impressionist oil painting 

Speyside, Lossie 

The nose neat greeted us with fresh, floral and fruity aromas in the air. Warming sunshine, turquoise sky, fluffy white clouds, lots of birds tweeting in an orchard of flowering apple and peach trees with countless daffodils blossoming in the meadow. All very delicate with a vibrant mix of colours like an impressionist painting – you get the picture. The taste, much more intense, best described as a mixture of various Indian spices together with the fragrant, sweet and warm flavour of ground cinnamon like the German ginger cake Lebkuchen. With water sweeter aromas appear, bourbon vanilla, pancakes with melted butter and maple syrup and the taste fresh and sweet like a mango lassi with ginger nut biscuits. 

Drinking tip: Picnic in the meadow 

Colour: Sauternes wine

Cask: Refill barrel

Age: 23 years

Date distilled: February 1990

Alcohol: 56.4%

USA allocation: 120 bottles 

 

 

Cask No. 3.215                                   $150 

Weird but wonderful 

Islay 

Gentle waves of smoke lapped across the nose – peat burning among sand dunes, perfumed wood smoke from a campfire – but also acid drops, chalk, hazelnut, charcoal, old leather books, sea-salt, lavender and violets – certainly complex. The unreduced palate seemed initially meaty – salty cured ham and Italian salami with caraway and peppercorns – quite delicious – then other things opened up – sweet smoke, charred oak, perfumed soap and fresh laundry. Water brought some fruit to the nose (perfumed peach, ripe Charentais melon). The palate now married a make-up bag to a first aid box; (slightly) weird but wonderful stuff from Islay’s oldest distillery. 

Drinking tip: For summer evenings in the garden – when the bats come out 

Colour: Pale primrose gold

Cask: Refill hogshead

Age: 18 years

Date Distilled: April 1995

Alcohol: 55.2%

USA allocation: 96 bottles

 

Cask No. 41.58                                   $100 

Juicy, juicy, tart and fruity 

Speyside, Spey 

Someone described the initial nose as ‘half-constructed flat-pack furniture – wood, glue and puzzlement’; then we got custard creams, jammy dodgers, vanilla, lemon bonbons, pears in custard, sugared almonds and marzipan – sweetly attractive, in other words. The palate was busy; bittersweet, tart and fruity, with gooseberry jam, grapefruit, blackcurrant, lime pastilles and dark chocolate orange – plus light perfume and liquorice tingles at the end. The reduced nose found green apple, floral notes and pepper – pretty dynamic stuff. The palate became juicy and fruity (tinned pears, sherbet lemons, Starburst) with varnished wood – the flat-pack furniture finally completed. The distillery lies near Carron. 

Drinking tip: Quite a juicy, chirpy wee number – for a garden celebration or to spice up an outdoor tea-party 

Colour: Habitat pine

Cask: First-fill barrel

Age: 10 years

Date distilled: August 2003

Alcohol: 61.5%

USA allocation: 108 bottles 

  

Cask No. 123.8                                             $120 

In the Spanish mountains 

Highland, Southern 

From the nose, we conjured an image of Spanish mountain villages – horses, hay-wains, orchards, citrus groves, rose gardens, sunshine on rosemary and rustic farm-labourers whittling wood. We also found plentiful sweetness in plum jam, juicy raisins, chocolate, toffee, marshmallows and fig rolls. Water brought out raspberry notes and Sangria. The palate was fruity, winey and tasty, with various jams, dried figs, vanilla sponge, Soreen and granola, but spicy notes of ginger, clove and chilli tweaked our tongues. Water sweetened it further resolving those tweaks into tingles –cranachan, jam tarts, Pavlova and posh Pimms. The distillery is near the West Highland Way. 

Drinking tip: Will get a conversation going, for sure 

Colour: Deep rose gold

Cask: Refill port pipe

Age: 12 years

Date Distilled: April 2001

Alcohol: 59.2%

USA allocation: 60 bottles

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