Uncharted Whisky Company

 

The full line-up

We had a guest tasting for our March event, with Jack from indie bottler the Uncharted Whisky Company joining us at the Seven Oaks to take us through half of a dozen of their recent releases.

Blue Collection 8yo

Based near Glasgow, Jack set up the company with partner and fellow industry veteran Dana. They say they seek out drams which are weird, wonderful and extraordinary, bottling them as and when rather than sticking to a set schedule. They use a wine-style 'minimal intervention' approach, avoiding colouring, filtration and finishing casks to present the whisky as is.

For us, we started with an 8-year-old called Blue Collection, hailing from the Aultmore distillery. A small batch single malt, Jack said this was actually more like a 10-year-old given most of what was inside the bottle, a mixture of liquid from a handful of ex-bourbon barrels.

Aberlour 11yo

This had a lot of tropical fruit going on. Tasting notes included pineapple and melon, along with vanilla from the bourbon and sweet floral notes, including icing sugar and lemon drizzle cake. Another one that came to mind was a packed of dried tropical fruit mix. It was perhaps a little on the thin side and didn't particularly get better with water according to those who tried it, but a good start to the tasting all round. It was 46% and it costs £43.

Aberlour next for the second whisky, another Speyside. Matured in Pedro Ximinez sherry casks, this was called the Ace of Speys, as they have a general policy of titling their bottlings with song references. Coming in at 55%, this costs £79.

10yo blended malt

This was certainly sweet but not too cloying, we felt. Maple syrup on pancakes in there, also dark chocolate too, but maybe just a little bit sweeter than that. "More dates than raisins" as someone suggested. This went down very well all round.

There was more PX on show for the third whisky, a blended malt aged in a refill firkin. A real mixed up dram this with bits from all sorts, including a hint of peat, but it was mainly sherried and came in at a natural cask strength of 45.7%.

It really clung to the glass. Oily and juicy. A bit weird as befits the somewhat Frankenstein nature of the drink, but not at all bad, and one or two in particular were really keen on it. Lost a bit after the first sip. It was a 10-year-old, but was only available to buy at tastings such as this one rather than going on general sale.

Highland Park 22yo

Following an opportunity to refill our beer glasses downstairs, we were back for the second half.

We were going north to Orkney and Highland Park for dram four. A lightly peated 22-year-old, this one was called Park Life. Also 55%, this costs £99.

Some club members thought this was a little different and maltier to what they'd have expected from a Highland Park. It was sweet on the nose, with hints of herbs and popcorn. As we got into drinking it, tasting notes included Horlicks and Sugar Puffs, although someone suggested it was more like off-brand cereal than the real thing. Another shout was for a warm, flat lemony soft drink. Certainly another memorable drink.

Bunnahabhain 7yo

Things were only getting more peated from here on in as we moved to Islay and Bunnahabhain for the fifth whisky of the evening. Called A Whole Lotta Rose, this was fully matured in fresh red wine barriques. No wonder it looked distinctly pink.

There was a lot going on here, we felt. It certainly didn't pull its punches. Bubblegum, kiwi fruit, lychee and jam were all suggestions from around the room. Very drinkable, and one that got more interesting after a few sips. "Delicious, really nice" and "amazing" thought those near me, as the glasses were drained very quickly. Great value for £59, this was £55.

Ledaig 15yo

Which brought us to the final drink and a Ledaig, the peaty expressions produced by the Tobermory distillery on Mull. We had a 15-year-old vatting of three casks considered 'high loss' in the sense that much of the whisky had disappeared to the Angel's Share over the years.

Super peaty this, but "not way up there" at the same time. Great on the nose, one drinker felt this was a "classic Ledaig at just the right level". The real difficulty was trying to avoid a bottle slipping into your back pocket. It was 53.4%.

Which meant it was time for the dram of the night voting. Five of the six whiskies got at least one vote and there was barely anything to choose between them, as drams two to six all got either six, seven or eight votes from the membership. But just ahead was dram two, the Aberlour, one ahead of drams three and five.

Thanks to all club members and the team at the Seven Oaks for another great tasting, and especially to Jack for sharing such a great selection with us.

Raiding The Club's Cellar

This month's line up

For the leap day tasting on February 29th, Martin went burrowing around club stocks and selected six bottles that have been sitting on the shelf for long enough. The extra part of the theme was that they were all from independent bottlers, too.

Glen Scotia 9yo

We started off in Campbeltown with a 9yo Glen Scotia, bottled for the Southport Whisky Club having been picked out for them by the distillery's master distiller. This unpeated expression had the sort of spicy, peppery notes that are a theme of Glen Scotia whiskies. Adding a bit of water changed the game, and brought out a real creaminess too. Indeed, we felt as though it needed a bit of water.

A nice, long finish and hints of apples and pears as well. Mostly people really enjoyed this in the room. It was a chunky old thing first off at 57.1% and was £58.

North Star Dalmunach

We went to Speyside next and a newer name on the whisky scene, Dalmunach. This began distillation in 2014 as Pernod Ricard's answer to Diageo's similarly big, shiny and new facility at Roseisle. The output mainly goes into the company's blends such as Chivas, so it's relatively rare to spot a bottling in the wild. The one we had was from independent bottler North Star. and was a 6yo fully matured in a ruby port cask.

That port maturation gave it a remarkable colour, almost like a glass of Ribena. It was big on the nose too with definite hints of cola, but on the palate arguably didn't even really taste much like whisky at all. Very spirity we felt, and more like a Cognac. Worth trying once but not everyone was convinced. It was 56.4% and cost £54.

Bunnahabhain 5yo

Off to Islay for dram number three and a Bunnahabhain. This was a 5yo, bottled by the legendary Cadenhead's as part of their club membership scheme.

This was spicy! Very nice, you wouldn't peg it for a young, cask strength whisky (it was 59.6%), and it was much more drinkable than that. It was a bit "angry with water" but at the same time had a smoky finish, and had an element of being light at the same time. We paid £50 for this.

After a break for half-time and a chance to recharge our glasses downstairs at the bar of the Britons Protection, it was on to the second part of the tasting and dram number four.

Glentauchers 20yo

We were back to Speyside for a Glentauchers, bottled by Bartels, known for their brands such as Highland Laird. At 20 years old we had high hopes for this one, Glentauchers being a favourite distillery of many club members, so much so that we even did one of our club bottlings of the stuff.

This was subtle and creamy at first, and for some it was maybe even - whisper it, softly - a little bit plain. But others thought it absolutely superb. As one member commented "if you don't like that, what on earth are you doing here?". So the room in general certainly gave it two thumbs up. It was 53.2% and cost us £62,

Linkwood 13yo

For number five we went to another distillery normally used in blends, this was a 13yo Linkwood, owned by Diageo and more often tasted as part of Johnnie Walker. We had a bottling from Thompson Bros, run by brothers Philip and Simon who are based in Dornoch in the Highlands, where they run their bottling brand along with a micro-distillery and bar.

This smelt terrific, like cream soda. It was light and floral and very drinkable. Others felt it had a little bit of artificial sweetener about it, almost reminiscent of aspartame. This cost £71.50 and was 54.6%.

Glen Elgin 11yo

For the sixth and final dram of the evening, we stayed in Speyside once again for Glen Elgin and a bottling from James Eadie, an old brand that was revived by the family in 2015. 

We had an 11yo matured in a first fill Madeira hogshead. It was 59.1% but if anything tasted even stronger. A bit spicy at the back, and certainly worked well with water. The finish lasted and lasted, and didn't fade. This cost £60.

Which brought us to the dram of the night voting. All the whiskies got at least one vote, a sign of a tasting of great strength in depth. But the clear winner was the Glentauchers, dram four, which picked up no fewer than 19 votes. Tied for second were drams one and three, the Glen Scotia and Bunnahabhain,

Thanks to Martin for putting on such a great tasting, all club members and those from the waiting list for joining us, and to the Britons for hosting us once again.

 

Cask Strength Islay

 

The full line up

For November's tasting we visited one of the club's favourite destinations - Islay - for an evening of cask strength drams from the home of peated whisky.

Untold Richest

With Martin guiding us through the list, we began slightly counter-intuitively, with something unpeated. It was old, 28 years-old in fact, and was a Wemyss Malts Bunnahabhain called Untold Riches. The liquid comes from no fewer than 31 casks, mostly bourbon-aged but with some sherry cask as well.

We wouldn't have pegged this one as an Islay, if we hadn't known. It was chocolatey and spicy with distinctive notes of cereal and oats. Quite spirity too, still quite a lot of life in it despite the age and the 49.1% ABV. Certainly a great way to start the evening. We got our bottle when it was released for the RRP of £150, but these days you'd be lucky to find one at auction for anything less than £325.

Bowmore 15yo

Bowmore was next, another of Islay's great distilleries. We had a Feis Ile bottling, released for the annual Islay festival. This put us immediately in mind of last November's tasting when we had a whole series of festival drams.

The Bowmore was a 15yo released for the 2022 festival, costing £110. And it was clear from the first taste this was something extra special. Bourbon, chocolate and coffee were all over this. Really fruity, with an extra hit of coffee beans again at the end. Lovely all round. It was 54.7%.

Spiritfilled Port Charlotte

October's tasting from Spiritfilled was one bottle short due to the vagaries of the postal service, but the bottle did eventually turn up and slotted into this tasting as whisky number three. 

This was a forthcoming Port Charlotte, a bourbon cask 13 year-old clocking in at 58%. At the time of our tasting, this had a total availability of one! But this will be changing soon as it gets a broader release. This was certainly a very punchy dram, and went down particularly well with those who enjoy the big Islay peat monsters (this is a not insignificant proportion of club members!).  It's £145 for pre-order.

Caol Ila 9yo

After a half-time break, giving everyone the chance to recharge their beer glasses downstairs at the Britons' Protection bar, we were back for the second trio of whiskies.

Next up was a bottling created for the Southport Whisky Club, a 9 year-old Caol Ila. A sherried Caol Ila is a relative rarity which is what caught Martin's eye when he picked it up for us for £75 (there was a discount involved here, we think the bottle itself is probably no longer available).

This had a high ABV of 57.9% but was nevertheless very smooth. In fact it was "surprisingly chill" as someone put it. Very peaty as well, of course, with some ripe bananas at the end. This got the nod as being a "quintessential Islay", a classical sort of dram and a great example of the combination of sherry and peat.

Lagavulin

Lagavulin was dram number five. On this occasion, a no age statement bottling from 2018, consisting of a vatting of two types of cask, a heavily charred refill bourbon and an American oak.

This didn't feel like a Lagavulin to us, although "it is Laggy adjacent" as someone suggested. A really good dram, with more of a subtle sweetness than you'd expect from the distillery. A little bit muted even, but not in a bad way at all. There was something creamy about it too. It was £100 and came in at 53.5%

Kilchoman

The final dram of the night involved a visit to Islay's farm distillery, Kilchoman, and a bottle created especially for Robertson's of Pitlochry, a notable independent whisky retailer. This was a single cask whisky, aged in a refilled bourbon barrel from Woodford Reserve, then finished for a year in a French oak tequila barrel. It was £90 and 54%.

This was lovely on the nose, and in fact some thought the palate didn't quite live up to the promise. Sweet and fruity, there were mixed views on whether the tequila really added anything much to the mix here. American cream soda was another tasting note.

That brought us to the dram of the night voting, and the Bowmore ran out a clear winner with 15 votes, ahead of the Spiritfilled Port Charlotte in second place.

Thanks to Martin for selecting and presenting such a great range of Islay whiskies, to all at the Britons for hosting us again, and to club members old and new for joining us to take part.

Islay Festival Special

The line up of Islay bottlings

We had an Islay night for November's club tasting at the Britons Protection. There was a line up of bottles representing six of the island's best known distilleries. Not only that, but each was from Feis Ile - the Islay Festival - an annual event during which a series of special whiskies go on sale.

Bowmore 2019

Martin, who led us through the tasting, pointed out that the Feis Ile specials had developed a reputation some years ago for having dipped, as some distilleries put quantity over quality. This has apparently now been reversed and more recent expressions are better regarded.

The first one we had on our tables was a 2019 from Bowmore, the oldest of the island's distilleries able to trace its history back to 1779 and these days owned by Suntory.

This bottling was described as "distinctively Bowmore". Sharp and dry, enjoyable and "quite nice". Creamy on the nose, other tasting notes from the group included fruity and minty. It was £85.

Caol Ila 2019

We moved on next to Caol Ila, by far the biggest distillery on Islay by volume, which much of its output going into Diageo's blends such as Johnnie Walker. The expression we were trying also dated from the 2019 festival and was the priciest of the night at £130 (although good luck getting any of them for close to the RRP these days, as hinted at earlier these festival bottlings are highly collectible).

This got a great reception from the room. Some sherry in there, and all round a bit of a beast of a dram that really kept going. A bit of water took off the top end but added to the general warmth. Terrific!

Bunnahabhain 2021

Dram number three came from Bunnahabhain, which until recent years bucked the Islay trend by generally producing unpeated malt. Even today, it perhaps shies away from the big peat monsters seen elsewhere on the island.

Our bottling was from the 2021 festival, and had a red wine finish. This went well with the hint of peat, we thought. A great nose, and a nice mouthfeel and aftertaste too, although maybe lacking a little bit of oomph in the middle. There was something musty about it, and someone also detected Parma Violets. A bit dry but also sweet, this was £85.

Ardbeg Kelpie

After a half-time break and a chance to recharge our beer glasses at the bar of the Britons, it was back for another trio of Islay whiskies. Number four took us to Ardbeg, a distillery that is a firm favourite of many club members (but, it's fair to say, not others!). We had the 2017 festival bottling, known as Kelpie, the twist here being the use of virgin oak casks from the Black Sea.

We wondered on trying it whether those casks had actually knocked some of the peat out this. It tasted soft, or as someone suggested, "like whisky squash". There were some floral notes, but not all of us liked it all that much. It was £98.

Lagavulin 2017

Lagavulin was our fifth stop of the evening, another Diageo distillery best known for its ever popular 16-year-old. We had a 2017 festival bottling on this occasion, a cask strength version of the 16yo finished in Moscatel, with casks previously used by Caol Ila.

And it smelt really fantastic on the nose. It was lovely on the palate too, albeit rather muted. A good all-rounder, we thought. Easy drinking all things considered. It was £125.

That brought us to the end of the evening. And any Islay tasting can only really ever end with the biggest beast of them all, Laphroaig. We had a 2019 bottling of Laphroaig Cardeas, at 59.5% one of the stronger expressions of the night.

Laphroaig 2019

All dark chocolate and leather, this is "good expensive stuff" as someone said. It wasn't quite as expensive as some of the other drams though, not bad value at £85.

It was enough for third in the dram of the night voting for the Laphroaig, but it finished behind the second-placed Lagavulin and the overall winner - dram two from Caol Ila. A victory for one of the perhaps less fashionable distilleries on the island.

Thank you to Martin for taking us through another great evening, and for sourcing and keeping these bottles for us down the years. Thanks again as well to all club members for attending, and the team at the Britons Protection for hosting us.

A Virtual Trip To Islay

Another Zoom tasting!

For our tasting in October we went far away from our locked down homes in and around Manchester, and took a virtual trip to one of the homes of whisky, Islay.

Jade's Cask

Adam had five drams lined up for us, along with a sprinkling of the unique history of the whisky island and its classic peated produce.

The first whisky was actually acquired a little closer to home, though. The Wee Dram in Bakewell is one of the best independent booze shops around. The owners produced their own 15-year-old bottling of Bruichladdich back in 2017 in honour of their daughter, Jade, and this was it, simply called 'Jade's Cask'.

We were trying all of them blind and playing a bit of 'guess the distillery' and for this bottling, the smoothness and lack of very strong peat left some speculating it might be a Bunnahabhain, before Adam revealed the correct answer.

Caol Ila

Very sweet on the nose and the palate, with notes of marshmallow and a bit of a kick at the end, we thought this was very nice indeed. It was 50% and cost £53 directly from the shop, although it's no longer available.

The next dram was much more spicy, with pear drops on the nose, although that rather gave way to a bit of Christmassy sweetness on the palate, with raisins and a touch of mince pie. Some with longer memories even suggested Parma Violets.

There certainly wasn't much smoke around, and that was confirmed when the bottle was announced as an unpeated Caol Ila, in the form of a 2017 Diageo special release. It was 18 years old and clocked in at a hefty 59.8%, although it didn't really taste quite that strong.

Bunnahabhain

This particular bottle was in the old 'Highland style', made for blends, which pre-dated the more familiar single malt releases we now get from Caol Ila, making it doubly unusual. If you can find a bottle out there today it'll set you back about £100.

For whisky number three we really were going to Bunnahabhain. We got a characteristic phenolic nose, and then in the mouth a powerful tingle and dry biscuity feeling, with sweetness not far behind. A bit like a caramel flapjack, as someone suggested.

This was a Signatory single cask bottling, an 11-year-old aged in first fill sherry casks and remarkably strong, at 67.3%. A real bargain at £82 when the club bought it, but now sadly sold out.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie

We moved on, for whisky four, to a bottle from the ever-popular Ardbeg. However, this particular bottle didn't exactly have the characteristics of a typical Ardbeg. We weren't sure whether this was because it was lighter than normal, or whether that monster of a Bunnahabhain had knocked our tastebuds out of whack a bit. But we didn't get too much from this at first.

Perhaps it was a little of both. This turned out to be a new addition to the Ardbeg range, the Wee Beastie, a 5-year-old at 47.4%, making it only a little stronger than the standard 10-year-old bottling.

Some felt this a bit watery rather than showcasing the classic heavy Ardbeg taste, but those in the group who had tried this before said it was generally a lot better when it didn't have such a big act to follow, and we did appreciate the fact Ardbeg are bold enough to put an age statement on this. One to have another go at. It's 47.4% and £37.

The Dark Side of Islay

To finish, we somewhat unusually had a blend to get our teeth into. The name Octovulin, itself a long-shut Islay distillery, was used by independent bottler Malts of Scotland for the 2017 instalment in its Dark Side of Islay series. A 19-year-old, this was a blend of three types of cask from three different distilleries.

A lovely, interesting dram with plenty going on, smooth on the nose and palate and a long, warm finish. There were 1,421 bottles produced, although they are long gone!

The dram of the night voting went the way of that last bottle, the Dark Side of Islay, just ahead of the big old Bunnahabhain. Although each of the whiskies got at least a couple of votes, which goes to show what a strong line-up we had.

Thanks to Adam for hosting the tasting, and to all club members old and new for joining in once again over Zoom.

The Science of Sherry

Six whiskies and three sherries!

It was club chairman Adam's turn to lead us through January's tasting. And what a line-up he produced for us as part of his look at the science of sherry, and the particular role sherry often plays in the maturation of whisky. Yes, those are nine glasses on the (rather fetching) new club mats, six of whisky and three of sherry.

Gonzalez Byass Fino

And it was one of the sherries we began with, a 10yo Fino sherry from Gonzalez Byass. Fino is the driest and palest sherry, and along with other sherries, has featured prominently in the story of Scottish whisky for decades. The traditional popularity of sherry in Britain led to widespread availability of sherry casks, which were convenient for the whisky industry, giving many of our best-known whiskies a familiar sherry character.

The Gonzalez Byass was indeed obviously very dry, even to those of us without much sherry knowledge (sherry reached its peak popularity in the UK back in the 1970s - "around the time my nan was absolutely caning it" - as someone suggested). It was certainly distinctive, with a butteriness about it. Some drinkers liked it, some didn't. It's £40 for a 50cl bottle, and the ABV is 16%.

Deanston Fino Cask

Adam took us on to the second drink, and first whisky, of the night. And the Fino theme continued, this time with a 2006 Deanston, finished in Fino casks. It was matured for 12 years in total and this occasion the 'finish' amounted to a very decent two-and-a-half years of that time, having been in ex-bourbon casks initially. Deanston is considered a Highland distillery, although in reality it's just a short way from Stirling in central Scotland.

There was a lot going on here, with a fresh, sweet, taste. The lengthy time spent finishing in the sherry casks perhaps made it seem older than it actually was. It's true to say we liked this one very much. It's 55% and is well worth the £65 price tag.

Aberlour A'Bunadh

It was Aberlour next, for a taste of what used to be one of the best value whiskies around. I say 'used to be', because A'Bunadh, which was once available for not much over £40, will now set you back £80, much to the understandable irritation of long-term fans of this particular cask strength drop, matured in Oloroso sherry butts.

It really hits the big, rich, sherried notes of fruitcake and raisins. The ABV is 61.2%. It's arguably still worth the £80, but if you know how much it used to cost, it's possibly a little harder to justify parting with the cash. The particular bottle we drank was from batch 56, although they're up to number 63 now.

Craigellachie 10yo PX

Having experienced Fino and then Oloroso, we moved on to a third well-known variety of sherry, with Pedro Ximenex (typically known as PX, in case you ever see it on a bottle and wonder what it stands for). These are sherries with a dark, juicy, intense sweetness, and the PX casks are often in real demand for certain whiskies. The dram Adam had picked out for us was a 10yo from the Craigellachie distillery on Speyside, bottled by the independent Whiskybroker.

And this certainly was fruity, although if anything perhaps a little lighter than some club members had anticipated, and it had a bit of cocoa about it as well, along with a shortish finish. It had spent most of its maturation in a sherry butt before switching to a PX octave (a small cask holding just 50l, ensuring more of the flavour transfers to the liquid inside). It was £44 although they're all gone now, and was 54.9%.

Nectar Pedro Ximenex

Next it was back to sherry and an opportunity to try some actual PX. We had a Nectar Pedro Ximenex, so sweet according to Adam, it is officially 3.7 times sweeter than even the old recipe of Irn Bru. This particular bottle was again from Gonzalez Byass, and was 9 years old.

And the proof of that came when we got to actually try it. "Like concentrated raisin juice" as someone suggested. Certainly memorable, although not exactly a session drink. At 15% and £15 (for a full 75cl bottle this time), it's one to invest in for when the family comes round next Christmas, maybe.

Matusalem 30yo

The third and final sherry was next, and we went to a 30-year-old Oloroso from Matusalem, also a Gonzalez Byass (based at Jerez in southern Spain, the centre of the sherry producing region). The grapes here were some PX alongside Palomino, a drier variety.

It was less raisiny and sweet than the PX we'd just had, and was perhaps all the better for it. This was 20.5% and £21 for a 37.5cl bottle. At this point we held, unusually for us, a 'sherry of the night' vote, and it was the Matusalem which just edged out the Nectar PX in a close decision.

Chorlton Coig Deicheadan 17yo

Not that the evening's entertainment was over. Far from it in fact, with still three whiskies remaining to try. The first, and whisky four overall, was from Manchester-based bottlers Chorlton Whisky, in the shape of a 17yo blend called Coig Deicheadam, drawn from constituent parts including Glenturret, Macallan, Highland Park and Bunnahabhain.

We didn't think this tasted all that sherried, although seeing as we'd just had two sherries back to back, perhaps it's hardly surprising some of the sherried subtlety may have got a bit lost in comparison. And besides, the Islay flavour of the Bunnahabhain seemed to come through too. It was very tasty all the same. Sadly, it's no longer available, although when you could get it, it was 46.5% and cost £75.

SMWS 10.162 9yo

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society often features during club tastings, and tonight's SMWS bottling was 10.162, entirely from Bunnahabhain and aged 9 years, having been matured in a first fill Oloroso Hogshead cask.

Considering it's an Islay whisky and clocked in at 61.2%, this was surprisingly mild mannered. It certainly didn't taste its ABV, which was no bad thing at all. This one went down very well with the membership, although again it's no longer on sale, although we picked ours up for £63. Fans of the amusing names the SMWS gives its bottlings will want to know this particular one had the official title Big Wave Sofa. No, us neither.

Cask Islay

As is often the case, the night ended on a bit of a peat monster. The Cask Islay was this month's choice, and the Cask Strength Sherry Edition from bottler A.D. Rattray.

Considering the sherry maturation, this one was surprisingly peated. Like an ashtray in fact, was one comment. It was certainly a tasty drop if not perhaps the best one we enjoyed all evening. It's 59.9% and is £44.

And so we moved on to the traditional dram of the night voting. And we had a rare tie, with both the Aberlour A'Bunadh and SMWS bottling picking up nine votes apiece, with the Deanston next on seven. In a second round of voting, the A'Bunadh beat the SMWS 14-11. Maybe it's worth the £80, after all.

Thank you to Adam for another brilliantly selected and produced evening, as well as to all club members old and new for attending, and to the staff of the Briton's Protection for looking after us once again.

Scotch Malt Whisky Society Special

The line-up.

For October's tasting we were fortunate enough to try a range of whiskies all bottled by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, and squirreled away over the years for just such an occasion. And there was another large group of club members and guests gathered upstairs at the Britons Protection for Becky to guide us through them.

Sweet, Sassy and Playful

The SMWS is one of the best known names in the whisky world, bottling a wide range of different whiskies each year, mainly in their familiar green bottles. Each goes to a (somewhat mysterious) tasting panel, which supplies the tasting notes and the famously wacky names for every bottling.

We started off with something called Sweet, Sassy and Playful, that originated at Loch Lomond, where the Inchmurrin whiskies come from. As with all of the evening's whiskies, it was cask strength, although it didn't taste much like the 56.5% on the label. That's far from a criticism, though. This 10yo ex-Madeira cask dram was a very easy drinker for the strength, biscuity and malty.

Village of the Dramned

A bit of water brought out a fruitiness as well, along with notes of plum jam, raisins, and a certain butteriness reminiscent of Murray mints (ask your parents). A very nice way to start the evening.

Next was a whisky called Village of the Drammed, appropriately enough for Halloween, and we were already taking it up a notch to 59.9%. Also apt for the time of year, this got us thinking of toffee apples, along with, rather more harshly, a bit of nail varnish remover.

This 11yo from Balblair, matured in an Oloroso sherry cask, was perhaps a bit too spirity we thought. It was certainly dry and peppery, although there was a certain marshmallow-like sweetness to it too. We weren't as keen on it as we were on the opener, generally speaking.

Dark, Menacing and Mysterious

For whisky number three we moved to one of the best value distilleries around, Glen Moray, and a bottling called Dark, Menacing and Mysterious. This had a particularly dark colour, having been matured in a cask that once held Moscatel, a sweet wine, and clocked in at 61.4%.

And very pleasant it was too. There were a whole range of tasting notes from the floor, from strawberries and dried fruit, to honey, spices and dark chocolate. An addition of water really changed things too, turning the whisky into something lovely and creamy, almost like brie. One comparison made between what it was like with and without water, was between milk and dark chocolate, and several members thought that summed it up pretty well.

Sea Salt & Smoked Peppered Almonds

After a mid-tasting break and an opportunity to recharge our beer glasses, it was on to dram four, Sea Salt and Smoked Peppered Almonds. An Islay, from Bunnahabhain as it turned out, this was a 9yo bottled back in 2017, again at a good old strength of 58.4%.

Peaty as you'd expect from an Islay, this was also smoky and salty. A lot of the club members are big Islay fans and enjoyed playing guess the distillery (to little success it must be said). With water, this developed a taste more reminiscent of something like tar or asphalt. Again, a very enjoyable drop all round.

Exotic Cargo

We switched gear slightly for the last two bottles, going from single malts to blends. Indeed, whisky number five, Exotic Cargo, was the very first blended whisky produced by SMWS. We had tried a later version at a previous tasting, but this was a bottle from the first batch.

The idea of a 'blend of blends', which is what this is, put some people in mind of the slop tray on top of the bar, but once we got past that idea, plenty of drinkers enjoyed this very much. One criticism was that it was perhaps a little less focused than some of the other bottles we had tried, but others pronounced it "beautiful". There was a bit of toffee around here, although it did disappear a bit.

Peat Faerie

The last bottle was Peat Faerie. This had a bit of peat, a bit of smoke, and even smelt a bit like strawberry. Even some of the non-peat fans in the room said they enjoyed this one, while others thought it tasted a bit like one of those heather ales beloved of Scottish breweries.

A good drink again, but perhaps not in the front rank of the ones we tried during the evening,.

There was just time for the all-important voting, and three of the whiskies got significant support: dram 1 came third, but it was dram three - the Glen Moray called Dark, Menacing and Mysterious - that just pipped dram four by a single vote. Another triumph for a distillery that remains underrated.

Thanks to Becky for another great tasting, for members and guests old and new for attending, and for all at the Britons for hosting us once again.

The six bottles, all from SMWS.