The #MiniTasting gang have a second night of SMWS drams, this time two Speysiders and a peated Highlander.
For this #MiniTasting @WhiskynStuff supplied 1 and @ScotchB78 2 drams for @jwbassman_ and myself to try!
The bottles the SMWS sell don't directly name the distilleries the whisky comes from, instead a numeric code is used and the bottles are given a name which tries to reflect the contents. All are cask strength, uncoloured and non-chill filtered, here are our thoughts:
| Dram | 107.14 Ginger enrobed in chocolate (GlenAllachie 10yo) | 113.17 Fruit cream delight (Braeval 8yo) | 16.36 Roasted pineapples and rejuvenated road surfaces (Glenturret 7yo) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | 58.9% ABV, NCF, Second Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead, 235 bottles | 62.7% ABV, NCF, Refill Ex-Bourbon Barrel, 251 bottles | 59.9% ABV, NCF, Re-Charred Hogshead, 325 bottles | |
| Distillery info | This has an attractively sweet nose – vanilla fudge, butterscotch, dried papaya, summer creams, orange marmalade and pear sorbet. The palate continues that tale of sweetness (toffee, brown sugar, chocolate foamy bananas) but also introduces spicy heat – sweet and sour sauce on pineapple and stem ginger enrobed in dark chocolate. With water, the nose gets cherry liqueur chocolates, Victoria sponge and French Fancies – then you start to find deeper notes of singed clove, menthol and cigar boxes. The reduced palate combines a beautiful sweetness (Belgian waffles, Battenberg and raspberry Ruffle bars) with hints of cinnamon, ginger and Victory V’s. | A sweet, fruity and creamy nose neat with plenty of mango, kiwi, strawberry and banana, all cut into small pieces and plenty of thick fresh cream and some powdered biscuits. On the palate smooth and creamy at first but soon followed by a teasing tingling of the taste buds, like a spicy plum tart with Marsala custard. Water released aromas of sweet spices with hints of aniseed and plenty of vanilla and lemon curd, whilst to taste now slightly herbal, plenty of citrus and vanilla but still very creamy almost like a herbal vanilla liqueur or indeed a Gewurztraminer. | Imagine roasting whole pineapples with black pepper and rum as well as chestnuts on the side of the road which is being repaired by laying fresh tarmac. The taste neat was like that - pineapple, sweet and juicy, but at the same time sooty and heavily charred, practically scorched! Water changed the equation somewhat; we felt we were cooking with a variety of different kind of seaweed getting salty, sweet, and smoky as well as herbal (herbes de Provence) aromas. On the palate a complete transformation as we got served honey-glazed smoked ham, salted chocolate almond toffees and a glass of smoky sweet Vermouth. | |
| Appearance | 
Photo wasn't quite in the right order....
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| Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling as a thin line turning into tiny tears before falling as slow thin legs. | Mid gold colour in the glass, swirls again leave a very thin line on the glass, beads form an inverted crown before falling as slow thin legs. | Another mid gold coloured dram, swirls bead up and fall as slow thick legs. | ||
| Nose | Brian | Lots of toffee and vanilla - some plain porridge. There's a little orchard fruit. No spice or smoke to speak of. After a while there's a little orange marmalade and foamy bananas. | Looking forward to this -it's the first I've had from this distillery! The ABV hits you here - tropical fruit, pineapple, coconut and milk chocolate. Agree with Scott about Strawberry and cream sweets & American cream soda | ABV again hits you here - wet grass / damp hay notes - a little tar and some strong citrus notes. |
| John | On first pour this nosed like a couple of the Society @LochLomondMalts Inchmurrins I've had, which I love... big toffee and vanillas... but it's evolving in the glass as we type! Getting some wet straw type notes now, damp vegetation and some slight dry sweetness... icing sugar? | A first for me too... under the radar? under-rated? or just not much of it about? Initial nose is big coconut, the insides this time... like a bounty bar, quite grassy, floral, sweet. | Lightly peated? very earthy initial nose on this, damp farmyards... | |
| Paul | Strong on the honey and porridge. I know it's suggested but I do think there is ginger in there. Little bit floral. Slight parma violets. A bit of apple in there, but the spirit has been overwhelmed by the casks. Not a nose burner but the abv is there! Been a very odd dram for me this. At 1st I thought I was chewing one of the little ones pencil rubbers. But time a lot of it, is the key here. | Very floral indeed. Pineapple, a background of menthol, quite strong on the vanilla, maybe a bit of coconut. Nice! Bounty bar! Spot on that John. Agree with that one! | It kind of seems earthy and ashy which is a bit different I think. There is some sweet fruitiness going on but it's in the background. A touch basic but its nice! | |
| Scott | Fruity at first, like very sweet grape juice but also some sort of plastic/rubbery thing going on. Hint of throat sweets or some other sort of medicated lozenge. Like the inside of a chemists shop. Weird! | Strawberry and cream sweets, coconut cream, American cream soda, vanilla cream. Creamy full stop | Fresh asphalt, grilled pineapple skins, pineapple syrup from a tin, banana all flung on a pile of smoking hay. | |
| Palate | Brian | With the first sip the ABV hits you, a little orchard fruit and sweet honey on the tongue. After a few more sips the spice starts to come through but that's balanced by the sweetness. Getting the chocolate, it's quite sweet though - nice! | Sweet arrival, more of the tropical fruit - pineapple and mango then honey and spice. The more you taste the more spicy vanilla oak notes come through - nice! | Oooh - oooh - that's very nice - the peat smoke comes through here - a little honey sweetness and some drying icing sugar. There's an undernote of orchard fruit and a touch of citrus. Yummy! |
| John | Big on the palate... spicy, warming - getting a bit of a tingle but not wanting to put any water with it. For some reason I want to say coconut... but the outside. | The progression from nose to palate works pretty well, the sweetness is there initially but gets very drying very quickly... | 16.36 Probably the pick of the three for me tonight - enjoying the texture and the soft smokiness... reminds me of an Ardmore 👍 | |
| Paul | There is a touch of chocolate up front, yep ginger in there. Then milky vanilla porridge with half a tonne of honey on! Bit of wood spice but I don't find it to strong, white pepper? | Sweet, chilli chocolate, lemon sherbet, tropical fruit - pineapple. Toffee, fudge, vanilla. That's very nice indeed. Good purchase this mate! | Earthy slightly ashy peat then the cask comes in. Chocolate, burnt toffee. Slightly burnt fudge pie - if that's not a thing, it should be! Slight smoldering grass thing. But peat doesn't seem strong. Nice! | |
| Scott | Spicy, very spicy! This is all chilli, bell peppers, savoury herbal stuff and maybe even celery? Not a fan sorry.... | Very sweet. American cream soda comes through from the nose. After a while I get lemons and limes too, like supercharged 7up. Sweet and sour and quite refreshing. | Sweet smoke, citrus and maybe syrup. Smoked banana? Nice mouthfeel on this one, bit drying into the finish. More smoked hay | |
| Finish | Brian | The spice and sweetness comes through on the finish along with a little icing sugar dryness. The quality of the @TheGlenAllachie spirit is shining through here - yummy! | Spice dominates here but there's still the tropical fruit and icing sugar notes from the palate - yummy dram! | Sweet and smoky - very drying and a big kick of spice. What a yummy dram! |
| John | Not a bad start to proceedings... it's a decent enough dram but not one I'll be rushing out to buy | Seems like the wood is having a big say here even though it's refill... is the Braeval spirit particularly delicate? It's getting very drying in the finish, lots of spice - still quite enjoying it though 😀 not going to change your life but another decent dram | Lovely soft smoke! | |
| Paul | Milk chocolate, really sweet. Fruity. Finish is "normal" and very nice indeed all be it maybe a touch short. Lovely dram after a bit of time | All seems a bit calmer now. Chocolate, background tropical fruit. Icing sugar. Slightly spice but not loads. Nice, I like that | Nice and oily. Brown sugar with ash hanging around. Still got that smoldering grass thing. Chocolate, touch of chili. Very nice dram indeed that. | |
| Scott | Slightly dry, bitter celery and a lot of charred oak spice. That was wild if nothing else. | Now quite dry, lot of cask influence here more than anything. Drying oak with a hint of spice. For the price paid it's a bargain | More smoked hay, burnt fruit of some description and pretty dry. All finished actually sad to see this one go 😭 | |
| Overall | Brian | Another great #MiniTasting and this one has showcased some great drams but for me they just got better as we went along 107.14 was good, 113.17 was better, 16.36 was brilliant! #WhiskyIsForSharing #BetterDrunkWithFriends | ||
| John | Huge thanks to my #MiniTasting colleagues as always... especially to @ScotchB78 and @WhiskynStuff for the drams tonight... 16.36 the winner for me, then 113.17 and 107.14 👍 | |||
| Paul | Thanks to @ScotchB78 for the drams. Was a great tasting that one, very interesting for me. And thanks to the fellow #MiniTasters. 👍👍👍 | |||
| Scott | Cheers to fellow #MiniTasting folk @MaltMusings, @jwbassman_ and @WhiskynStuff for joining in tonight. Glad you liked my two selections and cheers to Paul for the bonkers Glenallachie. Peace out ✌️ | |||
Many thanks to the team for sharing their thoughts and Paul & Scott for sharing the samples!
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