SMWS Festival bottlings 2019

Here is my review of 5 SMWS festival bottlings.

A festival in front of my laptop

SMWS 93.109 - Let Them Eat Hake

8yo 59.7%

Cask filled 1 April 2010 - 1st fill barrel ex-bourbon

(Peated)

SMWS, Scotch Malt Whisky Society, is an independent bottler that uses number codes to identify distillery and cask. 93.109 is cask number 109 bottled from their distillery number 93. Distillery number 93 is Glen Scotia

This was bottled for the Campbeltown Malts Festival, which takes place from 22-24 May

The nose is warm and welcoming. Sweet and meaty with medium fruity touch of peat.

This whisky is extremely oily the the extend it feels like actual drinking oil. It's dominated by a touch of both peat and salt, with warm almost olive oil flavour. No, not really, but the viscosity gives me that association. Later comes  a little meaty-ness and the finish is medium with some vanilla.

Rating 88/100

SMWS 10.169 - Obsidian Salmagundi

9yo 60.6%

Cask filled 22 October 2008 - 1st fill hogshead ex-oloroso

(Oily & Coastal)

This is the 169th cask bottled from Bunnahabhain, SMWS distillery number 10

SMWS operates with 12 colour coded flavour profiles. I have added them in paranthesis.You can also see the colour codes on the bottles on the bottles. The vertical line and age statement has a dark blue-green colour. This colour is the catagory "Oily and Coastal"
Colour coded flavour profiles is probably a good idea, but for me personally I have a hard time setting up a new system to box my whisky into it. I allready have a system and it's hard to learn old dogs new tricks.

This was bottled for the Islay Festival, Feis Ile, which takes place from 24th May to 1st June

The nose is dominated by the oloroso sherry notes and some sweet wet wood notes, likes the smell of just unbunged casks. Whisky does smell different from a cask than a bottle.

This is a sweet,  a little sharp, sherry dominated flavour. It's not a sherry monster, but one of those delicate woodforward sherry whiskies. As I often find in Bunnahabhain, the spirit have quite some maltiness

The finish is long and this whisky remninds me of drinking straighth from the cask

Rating 88/100

SMWS 7.216 - Champagne and Crepes Suzette

14yo 58.9%

Cask filled 17 November 2003 - 1st fill ex-bourbon 

(Juicy, Oak & Vanilla) 

Beside the number codes, each bottle also carries a name for the whisky. This whisky has the name "Champagne and Crepes Suzette". Let's see how it fares. I really dislike Champagne, but I love Crepes Suzettes. Number 7 is Longmorn from Speyside and this was bottled for the Spirit of Speyside festival which happened in the beginning of May

The nose is very dominant on vanilla. Vanilla whisky. Tasting it, I immidiately get a lighter and less oily whisky compared to the other ex-bourbon, the 93. It's a bit simple and one dimensional, it's good that that one side is vanilla. The only other thing I can find is a very faint soapy note

The finish is medium and doesn't reallt add much to this whisky

Rating 84/100

SMWS 30.106 - Succulent, Scintillating, Substantial

21yo 57.2%

Cask filled 17 April 1997 - 2nd fill butt ex-PX

(Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits)

SMWS is an independent bottler and you need to be a member to get access to their bottlings. They were founded in Edinburgh and have two locations in Edinburgh and one in London. Beside that they have chapters and partnership bars all over the world. I can sometimes be seen helping pouring craft beers at the one in my hometown. "Mig & Ølsnedkeren" in Aarhus, Denmark

Number 30 is Glenrothes. This was also bottled for the Spirit of Speyside festival

The nose is a classic sherry bomb. I am very sulphur sensitive, but I have to really dig into this to find the faintest hint of rubber. Or maybe not. There is also a faint hint of balsamic vinegar. 

The palate is huge sherry bomb, with a lot of licorise. Add a faint hint of rubber and balsamic vinegar. It's super dry as some dark sherry bombs but more on the fruity side. 

The finish is rather long and spicy

I am probably not the biggest fan of heavily sherried whiskies but I can drink this one. If you are a sherry whisky fan I suggest you check this out. if you can find it

 Rating 87/100

SMWS 29.261 - An Evil Dutch Dentist's Dram

21 yo 50.3%

Cask filled 1st fill hogshead ex-oloroso

(Old & Dignified)

Being a member in Denmark we have these great opportunities every 2nd month to taste all the new bottlings (usually around 14-16 bottles) at outturn casual days events set in various bars around Denmark. It's always good to try a whisky before you buy.

Distillery number 29 is Laphroaig. And this Laphroaig is also a Feis Ile bottling

The nose is sweet, sherrried and very peaty

On the palate I get eucalyptus, hint of red berries and loads of peat and it's quite light on the viscosity surprisingly. 

The finish is long with medicinal notes

Rating 88/100

You can find a decoding of the SMWS distillery codes here:

http://www.whiskynyt.dk/index.php/whisky-faq?id=1626

Ardmore, Tomatin and Bunnahabhain distilled in the early 90's

A set of short reviews

1. Ardmore 1992 Archives 20yo 48.6%
Cask 4764. Distilled June 1992, bottled June 2012

Nose: Nutty and peaty

Palate: Typical Ardmore, with a strong earthy peat, dry spicyness and some fruityness

Finish: Medium, with a fruity kick

A nice and wellbalanced whisky. Essential Ardmore and very drinkable. Nuts, fruits and peat

Rating 87/100

2. Tomatin 1992 20yo 53.9% 

Cask 31497, Oloroso sherry hogshead

Nose : Very fruity. Dried fruits. Mixed with a hint of rubber, raisins

Palate: oily, licorice, some rubber, this is a sherry bomb, with a dark expression. It's almost like licking a stick of licorice wood dipped in sherry. The rubber texture soons fades away and an explosion of dark dried fruits appear. And then a hint of vanilla. One for the sherryfans, and beware if you have rubber issues

Finish: Long 

Sherry Bomb. I like the long finish when the rubber has gone away. Melted raisins

Rating 87/100

Bunnahabhain 1990 Archives 21yo 52.3%

Cask 14. Distilled March 1990, bottled December 2012

Pouring this I realise this is hard to drink after the Tomatin which was just so intense. Concentration is needed. Well, I am used to it :-)

Nose: Spiced up laidback sherryness. This is very nice 

Palate: Dry, aged sherry, but still powerful. This cask tastes something mid between a firstfill and a refill.  Refill sherry is more suitable for long time maturations as the wood is a tad more gentle to the whisky and doesn't kill it. This is a perfect virtual hybrid, where you still get the ex-sherry intensity and the well aged whisky that still thrives and is not hidden by the sherry. There is a lot in whisky that reminds me of 30+ refill sherries with some strong elements added from a fresh sherry (it IS a fresh sherry cask). Dried fruits, licorise, spices 

Finish: Medium

Sherryfan: This is a bottle you wished you bought

Rating 89/100

Whiskybase part I of III

Whiskybase is a great online catalogue, were whiskyentusiasts can keep track of their collections and rate whiskies. It has in just a few years become one of the best sources of tracking whiskies on the internet.

The site can be found here http://whiskybase.com/

Just recently the guys behind whiskybase has opened a whiskyshop in Rotterdam, check the link above for their online whiskoshop. They also have an excellent facebook page where news from the whiskyshop can be followed. I know both Menno and Ras personally and as Ras and I are in a whisky society together, I had a chance to taste their products acouple of times. Whiskybase shop has existed in just months and has allready made joint bottlings with Whisky-Fässle and Silver Seal beside bottling their own range - Archives

Whiskybase shop

Archives

I will start with a couple of joint bottlings between Whisky-Fässle and Whiskybase

1. Bunnahabhain 1968 Whisky-Fässle 43.8%

Bottled 2011, 42yo, refill sherry

Whiskybase link : http://whiskybase.com/whiskies.php?merkid=85&whiskyid=25627

A delightful nose, very typical old Bunnahabhain. Some light fruityness of aples and pears

The palate is ozzing of old whisku woth a delicate pine spicyness. It's not the most intense whisky on the market, it's more of the delicate subtle specie. The finish has the, for me, typical Bunnahabhain maltiness and a little wood bitterness

This is a great old Bunnahabhain

Rating 89

2. Caperdonich 1972 Whisky-Fässle 45.0%

Bottled 2011, 39yo, refill sherry

Whiskybase link : http://whiskybase.com/whiskies.php?merkid=124&whiskyid=25576

Nose : earthy, light fruits again but not as prominent as the Bunnahabhain

Palate : nutty, slight musty. Another delicate whisky. The wood impact is almost nonexistant, as usually seen with old Caperdonichs. But the many years in the cask has mellowed and softened this whisky into a delightful smoothness

Another great 1972 Caperdonich

Rating 90

Both of these whiskies are very delicate and subtle, some would say a bit fragile. I enjoyed them much more today than the last time I tried them which was in the middle of a somewhat extended dramming session :-). Whiskies like these can be overpowered in a situation like that

Coming soon : 4 Archives 

Bunnahabhain - is it malty ?

The start of 2011 hasn't been optimal from a whisky drinking perspective for me. Flu, colds, coughs, soaring head and sleepy days. Time to catch up, and I thought going through a few dregs of Bunnahabhains that has been restless on my shelves for quite a bit might be good for me. This is the first day of 3 weeks of holiday, which will include quite a bit of travel and a lot of whisky so also a reason to celebrate :-)

Bunnahabhain is one of the lesser known Islays, if saying "lesser known" for an Islay makes any sense at all. I have always felt that Bunnahabhain is one of the better known secret gems out there.

Bunnahabhain with a pap in the background

The location of Bunnahabhain (and Caol Ila) is one of the most beatiful spots on the planet earth. Next to the Sound of Islay, with the Paps of Jura breathtaking looking down on you from the other side.

 Bunnahabhain and the Paps of Jura

 The distillery has received a little more attention from the owners the last couple of years, with the standard 12yo being upgraded to 46.3% and nonchillfiltered, but also a few special bottlings getting out to us. Bunnahabhain is, unlike most other Islay's, an unpeated malt whisky. But they did a few peated batch runs, earliest one is the Moine variation from 1997. Apart from the peated malts we have also recently seen a Bunnahabhain that has been matured on fresh oak,the Bunnahabhain Darach Ur.
In 2004 the distillery released a 1968 single cask, the legendary Old Acquiantance, one of my all time favourite whiskies, since then a few older OB's has been released, together with an extension of the range with a 18yo and 25yo and so on.
Various independent bottlers has released quite a lot of Bunnahabhains over the years. So there's actually an opportunity for quite a big background catalogue if you get around these. And it's usually a very good malt in my opinion.
 I often find Bunnahabhains very very malty, and this is a little scientific research to see if this a common distillery profile tasting note!

Bunnahabhain Tour in 2001

I will go through 5 bottlings of Bunnahabhains, and try to rate their maltiness on a 0-5 scale, with 5 being very malty, 3 quite malty, and 1 sligtly more malty than an average malt. I don't find malt whiskies malty in general. I can say I would rate almost all malts a 0 on this scale. I am meaning malty in a beer/ale kind of sense.

1. Bunnahabhain 1979 Flying no. 6 Pirate 46.3%

cask 11885 (Barrel). Distilled 31/10-1979, bottled 8/9-2008

Bottled by Juul's Vinhandel, Copenhagen, 1 of 199 bottles

Juul's series of PING and Flying has become world famous legends here in Denmark :-), and this Bunnahabhain is one og my favourite Flying's

This is a light Bunna, with a lot of spice, mint and a wee bit of citrus and with quite some maltiness. 

Maltiness 4/5

Rating 89

2. Bunnahabhain 33yo Royal Mile Whiskies 45.5%

cask 6249, 1 of 201 bottles

33yo Bunna from RMW

This is a bottling from Royal Mile Whiskies, and Edinburgh specialist whiskyshop.

This is not as light as the Pirate. First thing I note is a slight sulphur on the nose. The body is heavier, some spice, and still a bit of sulphur on the palate, but probably so little that quite a few wouldn't notice

Maltiness 1/4 

Rating 86

2. Bunnahabhain 31yo Falster 2008 47.3%

Bottled by Creative (David Stirk)

Distilled 1976

This Bunnahabhain is bottled for the danish whiskyfestival Wild Whisky Weekend by DMWA

This is a very delicious Bunnahabhain, with a slight maltiness, spicy again, sweeter than the others. The best so far. The finish is longer and really delicious. I think the sweetness completes this malt. It's not a sweet malt, but the sweetness is noticable compared to the other malts. 

Magnificient dram and I do agree on The Whisky Exchanges review here : http://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2009/06/islay-festival-day-8-kilchoman-and-bunnahabhain/ and you can find a more articulate set of tasting notes in there as well :-)

Maltiness 1/4

Rating 90

4. Bunnahabhain 36yo Duncan Taylor 40.2%

03/1967 - 03/2003

cask 3325

A lot of the first Duncan Taylor bottlings were near going understrength, so there were quite busy bottling a lot of old whiskies before they went under 40% ABV. I don't think the world will ever see that amount of "cheap" old whisky on the market..oh the good old days :-)

The maltiness in this whisky is a bit different, it seems somewhat milder, as does almost everything is this whisky. The wood influence seems a lot less. There's a bit of fruit candy in this, and not particular spicy

Maltiness 2/5

Rating 85

5. Bunnahabhain 36yo Duncan Taylor 40.7%

1967 - 2004

A Duncan Taylor miniature

This is a malty Bunna, with a shot of citrus in, quite a big shot and a very delicious combo. Some sweetness and a medium finish, with a bit of spicyness as well

Maltiness 3/5

Rating 89

Verdict ?

Yes, I find the common note in Bunnahabhain to be a very malty malt, think of a low hoppped brown ale. There's quite a variation in the maltiness, but it's always there to some extent