We’re back with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s November 2025 outturn, and it’s Christmas! That means only one thing - a boatload of new bottles to entice you. 46 new releases by our count, although there may be additional bottles appearing over the next month.
Unfortunately we weren't able to try all of the releases at the outturn preview tasting due to a new dram limitation that was imposed, however we got through a respectable 38 bottles. This does mean there may be a few gems that we didn't manage to try, but we'll attempt to post reviews over the weekend. Check out our social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) to get updates on the mid-month bottles and heads up on our other reviews.
The scores below are based on our initial impressions. For full disclosure, we won't spend as much time with a dram as we usually do for a full review, but we hope you'll find the scores useful.
- 10 - Perfection. One in a million
- 9 - Outstanding. Exceptional whisky.
- 8 - Great. Would seek this out.
- 7 - Good. Quality whisky.
- 6 - Above average. Happy to have a dram.
- 5 - Average. Drinkable whisky.
- 4 - Below average. Passable.
- 3 - Flawed. Noticeable negatives.
- 2 - Defective. Significant faults.
- 1 - Offensive. Pour it out.
Onto the bottles...
1.296 - Glenfarclas Distillery
Name: Mistletoe and Whisky
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 58.7%
Age: 13
Price: £98.00
The nose opens with a little cherry and chocolate, merengue, almond, whipped lemon cream and apple pie. The palate has cinnamon sugar, cherry juice, ginger spice, toffee apples, and some pear too. It’s pleasant, not overly sherried but relatively well integrated, with a peppery finish. A decent dram.
Score: 7/10
Value: Definitely a few pounds more than we'd like to pay.
2.140 - Glenlivet Distillery
Name: Mr Smith Does Bake-Off
Flavour Profile: Spicy & Sweet
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-oloroso butt
ABV: 62.1%
Age: 17
Price: £120.00
Instant sherry funk on the nose, a little cherry cola, grape must, soft vanilla, raspberry jam and a little toffee crisp too. Air really starts to mellow that sherry - it was a bit powerful at first. The palate has more upfront spice, with ginger, cinnamon, cola bottles, chocolate biscuits and too warm of a finish - we’re left with a lot of black pepper on the finish. Pleasant sherried dram for by the fire.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: We do wish this was a few pounds cheaper, but that’s today’s whisky market.
3.354 - Bowmore Distillery
Name: The Crown Jewels of Ancient Kings
Flavour Profile: Smoky & Fruity
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 56.3%
Age: 20
Price: £199.00
Classic Bowmore nose, soft peat, sweet vanilla, a little icing sugar, a little bit of cured meat too. It feels well integrated, and air brings out more classically peated notes of iodine and sea spray. The palate has more of a medicinal peat kick, but the peat is still soft in the grand scheme of things. There’s a good mouthfeel and a little hint of raspberry as it lingers, almost bringing it back to life. The sherry cask has given only a subtle amount of influence here, but it’s worked quite well. We’d love to spend longer with this.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: Priced competitively against other indie bottlers releases.
4.398 - Highland Park Distillery
Name: Tugboat Tiramisu
Flavour Profile: Oily & Coastal
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill STR ex-PX barrique
ABV: 63.4%
Age: 19
Price: £150.00
The nose has honeycomb, Black Forest aromas, chocolate buttons, coffee grounds, and a little bit of meatiness in the background. It’s a little muted for what we’d expect from the cask, but there’s enough coming through. There also some fudge and caramel showing through. The palate has a silky mouthfeel, more honey, toffee, chocolate, and dirty earth, it’s actually quite nice. A subtle pepperiness follows into the finish. Solid but not exciting, a good dram.
Score: 7/10
Value: You can find better value "Secret Orkney" releases.
4.400 - Highland Park Distillery
Name: Savour the Sweetness
Flavour Profile: Lightly Peated
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 62.2%
Age: 15
Price: £95.00
On the nose we're getting saltwater, engine oil, a little rubber, wafer biscuits, honey and bran flakes. There also the lightest peat smoke in the background. The palate has lemon balm, honeycomb, light earthy peatsmoke and quite an oily textured mouthfeel. It’s simple, slightly sweet, slightly earthy, slightly thin but a decent dram.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: We would have like to have seen this a little cheaper.
6.84 - Macduff (Glen Deveron) Distillery
Name: An Enticing Offering
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill 50 litre ex-oloroso cask
ABV: 54.2%
Age: 13
Price: £82.00
The nose opens with soft vanilla, caramel brownies, warm ginger cake, sponge fingers, caramel wafers and caster sugar. This is really really solid on the nose - it presents much older than it is. The palate has more of a cherry, strawberry, raspberry flavour, much more sherry, but this is incredible - bourbon flavours on the nose, sherried flavours on the palate - both balanced, both very tasty. This is.. surprisingly excellent.
Score: 8/10
Value: Just don't google Signatory Vintage and Macduff if you buy this.
9.302 - Glen Grant Distillery
Name: Perfume of the Library Bookworms
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 57.1%
Age: 21
Price: £125.00
Initially on the nose there's old wood, sawdust, apple cores, toffee, and pine. There’s also some dusty cupboards, fresh pear and a little wood varnish. The palate has a burst of vanilla and chopped apple, orange segments, oats, cream and a soft oak in the background. We want to spend more time with this.. it’s got all the hallmarks of Glen Grant from times gone by.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: Not a terrible price to have some old Glen Grant in your life.
10.289 - Bunnahabhain Distillery
Name: Savoury, Salty & Smoky
Flavour Profile: Bold & Peaty
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 2nd fill US oak ex-PX hogshead
ABV: 57.1%
Age: 11
Price: £88.00
The nose has seaweed, iodine, kippers, classic coastal peat alongside some light brown sugar sweetness, and good alcohol integration - we’re able to get deep into the glass. There’s also some cashew nuts and a hint of beef oxo cubes peeking through. The palate has lots of peanuts, salt crystals, sawn wood, iodine and a backbone of simple sugar. The texture is good and it’s a very solid representation of Stoisha. If you like this profile you’ll love this bottle.
Score: 8/10
Value: The price is in line with other Society 10s of this age, but could be more competitively priced against other bottlers.
18.81 - Inchgower Distillery
Name: Fortune favours the bold
Flavour Profile: Coastal & Maritime
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead
ABV: 55.8%
Age: 14
Price: £75.00
The nose has rich cherry, blackberry jam, currants, sultanas, and a bit of air freshener. It’s a bit musty, but very rich on the nose. The palate has lots more blackcurrant jam, a little chocolate, raspberry coulis, and cherry jam. Again, lots to love here, well balanced, solid whisky.
Score: 7/10
Value: Not a bad price given the age, distillery and cask type.
19.105 - Glen Garioch Distillery
Name: Custard Marmalade on Rye
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 52.6%
Age: 22
Price: £169.00
The nose is typical Glen Garioch, pineapple, lemon sherbet, topicality, and a little playdough. There also cinnamon sugar, cola cubes and strawberry laces. The sherry has given quite a lot to this, but we can still detect some of the spirit character on the nose. The palate has more of a cinnamon kick, but still shows tropical flavours of opal fruits, aspartame, lemon drops, sour cherry, and a bit thin of a mouthfeel. There’s more sherry here, and it feels integrated, but it’s just a bit flat overall - the cask has taken over the spirit on the palate for us.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Quite a jump in price over other recent Glen Garioch releases.
24.190 - Macallan Distillery
Name: An Enigma Wrapped in a Mystery
Flavour Profile: Deep Rich & Dried Fruits
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 62.6%
Age: 16
Price: £135.00
The nose has rich sherry aromas, dark dark brown sugars, blackcurrants, plums, raisins and sultanas a plenty. It’s not actually too warm - we expected a bit more of a bite. There’s also some cinder toffee and high percentage cocoa chocolate. The palate has some sour cherry, blackberries, currants, coffee revels and lots of raisins. It’s a good Macallan, much better than some of the others we’ve had from these parcels. The finish is hotter than we’d like and the palate is thinner than it should be but it’s a good dram, a real winter warmer.
Score: 7/10
Value: A good price for Society 24.
29.301 - Laphroaig Distillery
Name: To your Heart's Content
Flavour Profile: Peated
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 1st fill STR ex-oloroso barrique
ABV: 50.3%
Age: 27
Price: £495.00
The nose is meaty - beef olives soaked in gravy, chocolate coins, but a very light peat smoke. There also raisins, sour plum jam, dry smoked hay and a bit of seaweed. It envelopes the nose, it’s lovely.. we’d love to just sit with this nose for hours. The palate is sour, lots of plum and cherry, and it leaves a real lingering acidity. There’s also rancio, but the mouthfeel is a letdown.. thin?.. but there also a punch of flavour that appears on the latter palate. It feels a bit disjointed on the palate but the nose is to die for.
Score: 7/10
Value: Given the fall in prices of older whisky, we were hoping that this would be cheaper.
30.128 - Glenrothes Distillery
Name: A Whizz Around the World
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 50.1%
Age: 33
Price: £395.00
Ahhh... Old whisky, it’s got a mixture of well aged spirit mixed with quite a fresh sherry hit - lots of raspberries, strawberries, cherry jam and a little rose wine too. It’s a modern style of sherry - American oak, sweet, fruity, vibrant. The palate has a reasonable texture, and drinks like a very nice carbonated drink - lots of artificial cherry, strawberry and raspberry again. It’s bloody, bloody good - but in a modern whisky way. We could, ahem, arse a bottle of this in a single night, but we’d be considerably poorer, both our wallets and heads the next day.
Score: 8/10
Value: The price on older whisky has been coming down, but this still feels a little high.
35.403 - Glen Moray Distillery
Name: All kinds of Treats
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 55.2%
Age: 12
Price: £65.00
The nose opens with peach, a fair kick of ethanol, it’s got a vodka-esque bite, orange peel, lime leaf, and green apple. Feels quite aggressive on the nose. The palate has a nice candied orange opening, moving into digestive biscuits, lemon posset and foam sweets. It’s nice but it’s just too alcoholic for us - with a bit of a bitter finish. Surprising for only 55% ABV.
Score: 6/10
Value: Not a bad price given the age, distillery and cask type.
44.193 - Craigellachie Distillery
Name: Deep, Rumbling Intensity
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 58.1%
Age: 20
Price: £149.00
The nose has a flintiness, a slight meatiness, a little bit of beef stock too. There’s also an acidity, crystallised ginger and a little foost. The palate has more of an upfront sherry character, orange, ginger, angostura bitters, grapefruit peel and foosty banana skins. It’s a tad warm on the finish. We’re known for our ... challenges with this distillery, but It’s fine, not the best, not the worst.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Feels more than a little expensive to us.
46.162 - Glenlossie Distillery
Name: Hardwood Hedgehog
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: HTMC barrel
ABV: 61.8%
Age: 12
Price: £65.00
The nose has red kola, cinnamon sugar doughnuts, caramel shortcakes.. very dessert-like dram. The alcohol is reasonably well integrated too. The palate has a good texture, with more of that caramel, fudge, toffee.. all those classic sweet toasty bourbon cask flavours. Very pleasant, a decent whisky.
Score: 7/10
Value: Not a bad price considering the cask finish.
48.181 - Balmenach Distillery
Name: The Huckleberry Suite
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 63.0%
Age: 10
Price: £60.00
The nose opens with fudge, pine, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla essence, and caramac bars. Simple classic bourbon aromas.. more actual bourbon whisky-like than malt whisky. The palate has good alcohol integration and a nice texture, slightly oily, with more vanilla, fudge, caramel and brown sugar. Classic Speysider in bourbon, a pretty solid dram.
Score: 7/10
Value: Not a bad price for the distillery.
53.499 - Caol Ila Distillery
Name: Peat and Meat
Flavour Profile: Bold & Peaty
Region: Islay
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-oloroso hogshead
ABV: 55.5%
Age: 13
Price: £99.00
The nose has Arbroath smokies, lightly roasted coffee, chocolate, peanuts and seaweed. There’s also worchestersire sauce, and balsamic vinegar, it's quite acidic. The palate has brown sauce, chocolate, tar, cashew nuts and overcooked gingerbread. The peat is punchy, but appears more on the latter palate than anywhere else. It’s good, but perhaps the sherry is pushing the spirit too much - cask overpowering the spirit.
Score: 7/10
Value: In line with what most other IBs are charging for Caol Ila.
58.59 - Strathisla Distillery
Name: Raisins to be Cheerful
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill STR ex-bodega PX barrique
ABV: 55.3%
Age: 15
Price: £98.00
The nose has raisins, prunes, plums, sultanas… it’s very PX forward. There’s also Werthers originals, caramel sauce, toffee pops and some sponge cake too. The palate has a more subtle touch, but there’s plenty of toffee and caramel sweetness, perhaps a bit too sharp on the finish though. Again, another well done PX finish - not overpowering but well integrated.
Score: 7/10
Value: This definitely feels on the pricier side.
59.100 - Teaninich Distillery
Name: Cornflakes in the treetops
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill toasted oak barrique
ABV: 57.5%
Age: 14
Price: £80.00
The nose has wafer cones, brown sugar, toffee pops, cola cubes and something a touch burnt.. maybe some burnt toast. The palate has a decent texture, with more caramel, toffee but with more cracked black pepper moving into the finish. It’s fine, a bit too warm for us, and definitely outshone by the other drams this outturn.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: A few pounds cheaper would have been nice, but we're not complaining.
60.49 - Aberfeldy Distillery
Name: Crisp Sunrise
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 2nd fill ex-Jamaican rum barrique
ABV: 57.1%
Age: 11
Price: £70.00
The nose has pineapple, banana, warehouse must, brown sugar, ground ginger with a bit of spice singing our nose hairs. There’s also a bit of candyfloss in the background. The palate has a thin texture, but the rum really comes though, funky, ginger juice, cane sugar, foam bananas, and a bit of malt loaf. Not overpoweringly rum-cask but quite well integrated. We usually shy away from Jamaican rum but this well done.
Score: 7/10
Value: A little cheaper would be nice, but we're not going to complain.
63.119 - Glentauchers Distillery
Name: Contrapuntal As A Bach Fugue
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill STR ex-oloroso barrique
ABV: 59.6%
Age: 17
Price: £125.00
The nose has chocolate, candyfloss, lightly roasted coffee, brown sugar, cherry essence and soft vanillas in the background. It’s quite an endearing nose. The palate has lots of fizzy cola, chocolate coins, a bit of menthol, simple sugar and cinnamon. It’s simple, a touch spicy but a tasty whisky that we wouldn’t turn down a dram of.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: This feels pretty expensive for a 17yo Glentauchers.
64.168 - Mannochmore Distillery
Name: Apricot Jam Session
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ruby port
ABV: 55.7%
Age: 13
Price: £75.00
The nose has lots of cherries, very berry forward, it’s like trifle without the cream, custard or sponge. There’s also sour plums, citric acid and a little fabric softener. The palate has some upfront spice, but continues with the berries, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, very confectionery forward. It’s very simple, it’s one dimensional, but it’s done well - not all whisky needs to be complex.
Score: 7/10
Value: Not a bad price given the interesting cask finish.
70.60 - Balblair Distillery
Name: Homer's Delight
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st bourbon barrel
ABV: 58.5%
Age: 16
Price: £110.00
The nose has lots of caramel and vanilla, very bourbon cask forward. There’s also fudge brownies and creme brulee. There’s a hint of strawberry in the background too. The palate has a good texture, icing sugar, limoncello, and a touch of cinnamon spice in the background. Another dram that seems more bourbon-whiskey than malt-whisky forward, but very tasty. A clean, well integrated bourbon cask.
Score: 7/10
Value: The price has went up significantly since the last Balblair release.
71.117 - Glenburgie Distillery
Name: Madagascan Vanilla Caviar
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill STR PX-seasoned barrique
ABV: 59.2%
Age: 14
Price: £95.00
The nose opens with butterscotch, vanilla, poached pear, toffee, but overall it’s quite restrained. The palate has more of a dark brown sugar, caramel wafer and bitter oak flavour, but it’s well integrated and has a good alcohol integration. It’s pretty solid, one for those bourbon cask-forward lovers.
Score: 7/10
Value: This feels a little pricey given the distillery.
76.159 - Mortlach Distillery
Name: Catalan If You Can
Flavour Profile: Deep Rich & Dried Fruits
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill oloroso butt
ABV: 60.1%
Age: 17
Price: £139.00
The nose has butterscotch, almond marzipan, brown sugar, candied hazelnuts.. it's not overly sherried for us, more confectionery led. There’s also caramac bars and icing sugar. It feels quite well balanced and integrated, although it’s not giving us the meat that you’d associate with Mortlach. The palate has more chocolate, orange segments, toffee bon bons, vanilla wafers and a bit of ginger on the finish. It’s drier on the latter palate but then comes in with some light wood sugars and gingerbread. It’s a bit of a letdown for a distillery we love, a touch one dimensional although it’s tasty enough.
Score: 7/10
Value: Unfortunately Mortlach is a premium distillery and comes with a premium price.
78.95 - Ben Nevis Distillery
Name: Wham Bam! Festive Dram
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill oloroso hogshead
ABV: 58.0%
Age: 11
Price: £38.00 (35cl)
The nose has a meatiness to it, a little cured venison, warehouse must, strawberry compote - not as funky as the usual Ben Nevis’s. There’s a little flintiness and mineralality in the background. The palate has lots of cinnamon sugar, cherries in syrup, coffee cake and some grapefruit pith on the finish. It’s Christmassy, good quality, modern sherry cask Ben Nevis.
Score: 7/10
Value: Anyone looking to buy this should be aware it is a 35cl bottle.
93.226 - Glen Scotia Distillery
Name: Just Transitions
Flavour Profile: Ripe Fruits & Honey
Region: Campbeltown
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 59.0%
Age: 9
Price: £68.00
The nose has honey, buttercream icing, candyfloss, strawberries and cream, salted vanilla syrup and a little custard too. The palate has more vanilla sponge, caster sugar, salted caramel and strawberry laces. It’s pretty.. simple. It’s very pleasant, a very clean bourbon cask - pop the cork and forget about it. Not overly Glen Scotia in character but very tasty. We’re between 7 and 7.5.. in honour of Iain McAlister, it's a 7.5/10.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: In line with other society releases of the distillery.
100.47 - Strathmill Distillery
Name: Marmalade & Mint
Flavour Profile: Toasted Oak & Vanilla
Region: Speyside
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon hogshead
ABV: 55.9%
Age: 14
Price: £75.00
The nose opens with candied oranges, vanilla bean, a little eucalyptus, toffee crisp bars and pure caramel sauce. The palate has more caramel, toffee, vanilla, a little wafer cone flavour too. It has a nice texture and a decent finish.. another good bourbon cask whisky - this more on the sweet brown sugar side.
Score: 7/10
Value: A good price for the distillery.
112.140 - Loch Lomond (Inchmurrin) Distillery
Name: Berliner Beer With A Shot Of Woodruff Syrup
Flavour Profile: Fragrant & Floral
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 58.5%
Age: 9
Price: £60.00
The nose has a real brandy aroma to it, honey, grape must, caramel and toffee. We’re also getting icing sugar on uncooked pastry dough. There’s more cask influence here than spirit - we’re not getting a lot of that light fruity Inchmurrin character. The palate has chocolate chip cookies, Maryland to be specific, caramel swirl, toffee bon bons and just some simple vanilla. It’s very pleasant, simple but good.
Score: 7.5/10
Value: A few pounds cheaper would have been nice,
121.121 - Arran Distillery
Name: Sparkling Mango Lemonade
Flavour Profile: Sweet & Zesty
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 61.3%
Age: 9
Price: £60.00
The nose has something akin to a medicine bottle - maybe not peated but something a little antiseptic-like, alongside apples, wax, lemon balm, and Vicks vapour rub. The palate has a nice texture and comes through with more orchard fruits and citrus, much cleaner in the palate. The alcohol is in balance and it’s perfectly pleasant. A good Arran.
Score: 7/10
Value: In line with other society releases of Arran.
122.80 - Loch Lomond (Croftengea) Distillery
Name: Better With Smoked Bacon
Flavour Profile: Smoky & Fruity
Region: Highland
Cask Type: re-fill HTMC hogshead
ABV: 59.2%
Age: 9
Price: £60.00
The nose has a soft part mixed with sweet caster sugar, dried dirt, fresh leaves, eucalyptus, menthol and a little lime. The palate has a decent mouthfeel, more medicinal in nature, more mint leaf, thyme, wet pebbles and some sugar paper too. Slightly medicinal, slightly smoky, pretty solid. 6.5/10, Although we might stretch to a 7 on another day.
Score: 6.5/10
Value: Good price for a hit of peat.
138.29 - Nantou Distillery
Name: Sea Sand & Sausages
Flavour Profile: Bold & Peaty
Region: Taiwan
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 58.3%
Age: 5
Price: £69.00
The nose opens with a very bourbon forward aroma.. toffees, brown sugars, menthol, quite overpowering. The alcohol is hiding behind this, but it’s an intense nose. The palate has a decent texture, lemon balm, mint leaf, warm alcohol spice and eucalyptus.. very overpowering. Too much cask, too much mint.. disappointing.
Score: 6/10
Value: Nice to see this is cheaper than the last release from the distillery.
146.4 - Cotswolds Distillery
Name: Perfumer's Jelly Donut
Flavour Profile: Sweet & Zesty
Region: England
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 60.8%
Age: 9
Price: £99.00
The nose opens with a heap of soft fruits, peach, light berry aromas, and soft orchard fruits. There’s also some caster sugar and vanilla essence in the background. The palate has more orchard fruits, a little strawberry, apricot brandy and more vanilla and brown sugar from the cask. Solid, really solid.
Score: 7/10
Value: We remember .1 being around £65 making this feel very expensive.
149.17 - Ardnamurchan Distillery
Name: To Sup By Starlight
Flavour Profile: Dried Fruits & Spices
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill Spanish oak ex-PX butt
ABV: 61.7%
Age: 9
Price: £85.00
The nose has a lot of rancio, cured meats, black fruits and clove spice. The sherry cask is really quite punchy here, we’re not getting too much Ardnamurchan spirit. There’s also some gingerbread and prune juice. The palate has more of a cherry, singed orange peel and chocolate flavour to start, moving into raisins, sultanas and Christmas cake. There’s virtually no Ardnamurchan character left after all of the sherry, but at least it’s good sherry.
Score: 7/10
Value: Good price compared to the distilleries own offerings.
164.1 - Penderyn (Double Distilled) Distillery
Name: An Embarrassment Of Riches
Flavour Profile: Fragrant & Floral
Region: Wales
Cask Type: 1st fill STR barrique
ABV: 61.8%
Age: 10
Price: £80.00
A little primer - we're led to believe this is from Penderyn's pot stills rather than Faraday stills, hence the new SMWS code. The nose has tons of vanilla.. lots of buttercream, custard doughnuts, cream soda, wow, it’s a pleasure to nose. A little one dimensional, but the right dimension. The palate has more upfront vanilla, sugar syrup, esthery apples, lemon zest.. again, it’s simple but it’s crafted well and a really appealing profile. We want to spend some more time with this so we grabbed a bottle.
Score: 8/10
Value: In line with what you'd expect to pay for the distilleries single casks.
165.1 - Wolfburn (Peated) Distillery
Name: Smoked Thai Holy Basil
Flavour Profile: Smoky & Fruity
Region: Highland
Cask Type: 1st fill ex-bourbon barrel
ABV: 52.8%
Age: 8
Price: £80.00
The nose has some topicality to it, mangos, papaya, and a light peat smoke, along with some limoncello. There also some soft lemon cream aromas - it’s incredibly pleasant to nose - well balanced, well integrated. The palate has balanced alcohol, basil oil, lime leaf, gentle peat, soft vanilla sponge and a good texture. The smoke is slightly astringent but the earthiness balances well with the cask. An exceptional 8 year old whisky.
Score: 8.5/10
Value: Good price compared to the distilleries own offerings.
Batch 34 - SMWS Blended Malt
Name: Smouldering Mojo
Flavour Profile: Small Batch Blended Malt
Region: Blend
Cask Type: 1st fill Mezcal-seasoned barrique & refill bourbon & sherry casks
ABV: 50.0%
Age: 10
Price: £60.00
The nose opens with a bit of tequila funk, sawdust, apple cores, lime leaf, tomatillo and tomato water. It feels a little weak on the nose too. The palate instantly hits with the tequila cask - ginger, lime, sawn wood, alcohol must.. we’re not really tequila fans. The mouthfeel is actually alright but the rest of the dram doesn’t really jive with us. So many better options this outturn.
Score: 5.5/10
Value: Not bad given the funky cask type and age.
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