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3rd June 2024 |
Review of The
SMWS 'Sherry Cask Takeover' tasting pack
which was recently released as part of the global whisky club's initiative to
highlight its sherry
cask-matured whiskies throughout 2024.
The whiskies reviewed are:
The SMWS 36.201 'Glazed With Marmalade',
The SMWS 95.67 'A Mexican Pear Belle
Helene' and The SMWS 53.457 'Coal Shards
On Clotted Cream'.
I got hold of a
'Sherry Cask Takeover' pack from The
Scotch Malt Whisky Society which they
recently released as part of their
‘Scotch and Sherry: A Flavour Odyssey’ -
a film investigating how sherry
cask-matured whisky gets its unique
flavour.
The unveiling of "Scotch and Sherry: A
Flavour Odyssey" aligned with the global
whisky club's initiative to highlight
its expertise in sherry cask-matured
whiskies throughout 2024.
My pack contained three unique single
cask whiskies, bottled at high strength,
naturally coloured and non chill
filtered, two from the Speyside region
and one from Islay. I was a little
surprised to find that there was no 100%
sherry cask matured drams in the pack,
nonetheless it contains three sherry
cask finished whiskies, in fact all
three have had a 3 year finish in their
respective sherry cask.
As is still The SMWS tasting panels
way each cask/bottling they select is
released with a whimsical set of tasting
notes which provide an indication of
what flavours and textures the drinker
can expect. Each bottle is also given a
number and a quirky and descriptive name -
in the case of these three whiskies The
SMWS 36.201 'Glazed With Marmalade', The
SMWS 95.67 'A Mexican Pear Belle Helene'
and The SMWS 53.457 'Coal Shards On
Clotted Cream'.
The SMWS policy of not revealing the
distillery the whisky originated from
still continues to this day as they never name
the distillery of origin on the label
but give each distillery a code number
and allow members to try guess from the
descriptions. These codes are well known
today and you can find a ever expanding
list of the
SMWS Distillery Bottling Codes
(Numerically) here.
Spoiler, my thoughts
on the 3 sherry finished drams from The
SMWS Sherry Cask Takeover tasting pack
below also contain the name of the
distillery, sure you would only have
looked it up like everyone does.
If you are interested in joining The
SMWS membership starts from £100 and is
available to purchase here
www.smws.com/whisky-club-membership
along with
The SMWS Sherry Cask Takeover tasting
pack as long as stocks last.
|
The SMWS 36.201 16 Year Old (AKA
Benrinnes) Review
|
Distilled at Binrinnes Distillery 22nd
August 2006. Matured for 13 years in a
Ex-Bourbon Hogshead then finished in a
1st Fill Spanish Ex-Oloroso Hogshead16
Year Old.
Bottled at 59.7% ABV.
William
Morrison's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Quite
an intense sultana and raisin sweetness
with a lovely meaty, savoury edge. A
little lemon citrus a touch of vanilla
and some almond oil.
Taste: Deliciously
citrusy and mildly spicy at first,
orange marmalade is matched by a sultana
and raisin sweetness, vanilla toffee and
honey, the spice intensifies and has
developed a bit of a hot peppery edge.
Finish: The
delicious sweet sherry notes becomes a
little meatier, some lingering vanilla,
honey and almond, these all bow out to
let the peppery oak have the final word.
Slightly drying at the end.
Comment:
A cracking example of what a quality
sherry cask can do for
Benrinnes spirit which in turn is a dram
suited to a sherry cask making for a
decent sherried dram.
SMW Whisky Score
87/100
|
The SMWS 95.67 16 Year Old (AKA
Auchroisk) Review
|
Distilled at Auchroisk Distillery 16th
January 2006. Matured for 13 years in a
Ex-Bourbon Hogshead then finished in a
1st Fill American oak Ex-Pedro Ximenez
Hogshead.16 Year Old.
Bottled at 59.7% ABV.
William
Morrison's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A
lovely sweet mix of toasty vanilla, a
touch of cinnamon, chocolate, some
lovely sherried fruitcake notes and the
hint of distant coffee.
Taste: Deliciously rich and vibrant.
Sweet burnt
raisins, ripe pear and a little vanilla
toffee with a thin coating of milk chocolate orange, some cherry, a touch of zesty lemon, cinnamon, some
lovely oak spice and
ginger
hanging around in the background.
Finish: A lovely
long lingering finish, sweet raisins,
ripe pear and toffee gives way to some
late nutmeg and mildly
drying oak spice.
Comment:
First Fill PX casks tend to be very good
with young whiskies or like in this case
a whisky finished for 3 years in a PX
cask and their really is a quality PX
cask at work here, a deliciously moreish
sherried dram.
SMW Whisky Score
91/100
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The SMWS 53.457 9 Year Old (AKA Caol
Ila) Review
|
Distilled at Caol Ila Distillery 3rd
April 2013. Matured in a Ex-Bourbon
Hogshead then finished in a 1st Fill
American Ex-Oloroso Hogshead. 9 Year
Old.
Bottled at 57.2% ABV.
William
Morrison's
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Enticing
sweet peat smoke infused with vanilla toffee,
honey and pear. A wee touch of raisin and sultana
brings a sherried fruitiness, some milk
chocolate lurks in the background
Taste: Delicious sweet peat
leads the charge and is quickly followed
by sweet creamy milk chocolate, raisin, sultana and
cherry. Then some gentle
orange and a little vanilla toffee,
just a wee touch of cinnamon
and lovely sweet oak spice.
Finish: A
long lingering finish, just a hint
of the sherried fruit which bows out
first, a delicious continuation of the
the taste where the sweet peat smoke
piggybacks on the sugars prolonging its
life long into the finish, some creamy
vanilla. Some slightly drying oak has
the final word.
Comment:
The 3 year finish in a 1st Fill American
Ex-Oloroso has given this delicious
ex-bourbon cask matured Caol Ila a
lovely sherried fruit edge, the peat and
ex-bourbon casks are the stars here but
the Ex-Oloroso cask has made it
something special, an outstanding
example of Caol Ila with a delicious
bsherried edge.
SMW Whisky Score
91/100
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