The tasting notes for Batch 11 were created by Lauren MacSween who lives in our home village of Tarbert. Lauren sat down with us to enjoy a dram and we had a good chat about the flavours and aromas she found in her glass…

“There’s toffee and caramel notes on the nose, like ‘Werther’s Original’ sweets. It also smells fresh and green to me. There’s a slight smokiness, reminding me of the trees behind my Granny’s old house which fell in an island storm, and we used the logs for firewood. When I sip it, there’s a nice pepperiness and kick of spice, and more green apple freshness. The smoke comes back if you leave it a while and the flavours are always changing. It’s subtle and light, but there’s a lot going on in the glass”

We’d love to know what you find in your glass next time you pour a good measure of our island spirit, so drop us a line to share your stories!

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Diagram: Grist Ratio

Nowadays, milling is often the first stage of the Scotch whisky production process that takes place at a distillery. The 4 roll mill is most commonly used and, as explained in this diagram, milling is simply the process of grinding dried malt through giant rollers, creating a coarse flour called grist. The grist is made up of three fractions: husk (20%), flour (10%) and grits (70%).

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Booker’s “Springfield Batch” #2024-01 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

(750ml) ($99.99)

K&L Notes: Named for the small, central Kentucky town of Springfield, the home of Booker’s birth and early life. Booker is said to have gotten his work ethic from his time as a farm hand there on the many tobacco patches and hay farms. This first release of 2024 is blended from 5five production dates across four different warehouse locations. The youngest component is 7 years, 7 months, and 8 days old. The barrel breakdown is 17% 5th floor of 9-story warehouse G, 7% from 4th floor of 9-story warehouse H, 31% from 5th floor of 7-story warehouse Z, and 45% from 4th floor of 7-story warehouse 3.

Andrew Whiteley | K&L Spirits Buyer | Review Date: May 08, 2024

Caramel, peanut butter, toffee, brownie brittle, Heath bar, Luxardo cherries, vanilla pod, tobacco leaf, brown sugar, cinnamon, coffee bean, and wood. And that’s just the nose! Aromatically, this Booker’s is off the charts. The palate, at a hearty 124.5 proof, is a mix of sweet and heat. Sweet wood, butterscotch, caramel, and cinnamon mingle with a pleasant yet prickly backbone. Savory leather and cigar box notes are here too. Cheery cherry and nougat carry into the finish, which is medium in length but big and full in presence. With four releases a year, you might think it’s easy to tire of Booker’s, but the whiskey is always so damn good.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

Equinox & Solstice Summer Edition Mortlach 16 Year Old

From Decadent Drinks’ Equinox & Solstice series, this Summer Edition of Mortlach is from a cask chosen from the stocks of revered independent bottlers Signatory Vintage. The exquisite expression has been aged in a refill hogshead cask for 16 years and is presented at 48.5% abv. A summertime sipper.

£95.00
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Free Next Day Delivery for 12 Months For just £14.95 you can enjoy free next day delivery on all your orders for a whole year! Geographic restrictions apply, see full T&Cs. Find out more ❯

DOUBLE PRODUCT RELEASE

WESTIE SPONGE ED.4 LEDAIG 1995

Our Westie Sponge series continues from strength to strength with the latest edition being a 1995, 29 year old Ledaig from a refill sherry butt. This is a terrific mature cask with great old school sherry character. It’s also pretty coastal, waxy and old style, the sort of dram that’s very hard to find nowadays. We were delighted to find this cask and thought it was the perfect representation for the Isle of Mull in our Westie Sponge series.

WHISKY SPONGE EDITION NO.95 SIDEBURN 30 YEAR OLD

This is our latest bottling of Burnside blended malt made by William Grant & Sons, which we are now calling ‘Sideburn’. It’s a multi-vintage, small batch 30 year old composed of a 1992 2nd fill barrel and a 1993 1st fill barrel, bottled at cask strength. We are extremely happy with how this one has come out, it’s a stunning, perfectly mature honey and fruit bomb that tastes pretty much exactly how you would hope 30 year old, top tier Speyside malt whisky would taste.

In this month’s Unfiltered, we delve into a range of whisky journeys and celebrations, including the 25th anniversary of our London Members’ Room, with insights from loyal members and the team, a Society member’s literary tribute to whisky entrepreneur Joe Hobbs, our new partnership in Mexico City’s bar scene and the growing whisky culture in South Africa with Marc Pendlebury of our Johannesburg branch.

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Have a look at all of the amazing Society events happening throughout July!

ALL EVENTS

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Following our announcement of our new blend, the ultimate whisky to celebrate with, ’The Summer of Sport’… the whisky was featured on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh as one of the best spirits for cocktails at home this summer.

Inspiration has been taken from the success of other GreatDrams flavour and occasion-led releases “which is seeing our customers buying for occasions as well as great quality and taste” says Kirsty Dillon, GreatDrams co-founder.

The Summer of Sport is released to mark exactly that. Not only do we have the usual summer treats such as the Open Championship and Wimbledon, we also get to enjoy football’s Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, as well as the Olympic Games in Paris. There’s also heaps more besides!

When Greg and Kirsty, founders of GreatDrams, were looking at their release schedule “It just makes perfect sense,” said Greg Dillon, “sport is a big part of our lives, as is whisky so we put the two together.”

Kirsty continues “When selecting the casks we knew it had to be vibrant yet smooth and have the ability to stand up when made into cocktails – because who doesn’t love a summer cocktail?”

‘The Summer of Sport’ release is a 10 Year Old sherry cask matured blend with aromas of sticky dates, raisins and undertones of sweet sherry. Delve a little deeper with that first sip, and there are more sweet sherry notes, complemented beautifully by crisp orchard fruits, sweet Madagascan vanilla, and a hint of oak. The finish is smooth, mature, and full of character.

This remarkable sherry cask matured blend has been aged for 10 years in Oloroso sherry casks. The sherry influences are present on the nose from the get-go. Immediately you get aromas of sticky dates and raisins, with undertones of sweet sherry. Delve a little deeper with that first sip, and there are more sweet sherry notes, complimented beautifully by crisp orchard fruits, sweet Madagascan vanilla, and a hint of oak. The finish is smooth, mature, and full of character.

MORE HERE

GreatDrams
Brook House
Park Lane, Poynton
Stockport, Cheshire SK12 1RG
United Kingdom

The success of our historic single malt is in the safe hands of local men and women. Meet Scott Macleod, a valued member of our Warehouse and Cask Management team. Before embarking on his journey with us, Scott worked at the nearby Stornoway Airport but when he spotted a new job opportunity at the distillery his career really took off.

In October 2022, Scott began learning the art and science of oak, barrels, and cask-making while expanding his expertise in wood through visits to the esteemed Speyside Cooperage. When asked about his favourite aspect of the distillery, Scott told us…

“We are a young distillery practicing an old craft. Everyone is a good laugh and will never see you stuck.”

Thanks for all your hard work in our Ardhasaig warehouses Scott, we’ll keep the spirit flowing if you keep those casks rolling!

MEET THE HEARACH TEAM

Longrow 2003 14 Year Old Sherry Cask

A golden and elegant single malt from Springbank distillery in Campbeltown, this Longrow 14-year-old was distilled in 2003, and matured in a refill Oloroso sherry cask until 2018. The peated expression was then bottled at a cask strength of 57.8% abv. This bottle is from a private collection.

£420.00

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A.Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey – Overholt is the longest standing American whiskey brand, which just launched A. Overholt. ABV: 47.5% | SRP: $40

Scofflaw

2 ounces of Overholt rye whiskey

1⁄2 ounce dry vermouth

3⁄4 ounce grenadine

3⁄4 ounce fresh lemon juice

Orange twist, for garnish

Served up