Tag: SMWS

SMWS 65.5 Old School Speyside

smws-65-5

A fantastic old Imperial with lots of dusty and woody sugars and oodles of fruit sweetness in this one. Befitting its age this becomes drying and leathery with some great tannins too. I suspect the rechar HH was a finish here as it would have been unusual to have been the initial cask but it has worked wonders on rejuvenating this spirit. 91/100

SMWS 10.118 Enthralling pink and peat intensity

10.118_Strip_1024x1024

SMWS 10.118 Enthralling pink and peat intensity Whisky Review: A lovely mixture of sweet port influence and smoke. I was worried the palate at cask strength may have been a little overpowering but actually the sweet and peat aren’t too much. A nice earthy/turfy influence grounds this whole whisky while gentle spices fizz in the background. A pleasant surprise, a wonderful nose sets the standard for a great dram throughout. 87/100

SMWS 35.223 A Theta State of Mind

35.223-web

SMWS 35.223 A Theta State of Mind whisky review: Another lovely and well-aged dram, the Sauternes finish may have added plenty of sweetness and fruit but the impact seems really rather subtle and I suspect I can taste just as much French oak influence here as I can from the sweet Sauternes wine. 86/100

SMWS 7.130 Musky, floral, sweet perfumes

SMWS7.130_1

SMWS 7.130 Musky, floral, sweet perfumes whisky review: A delicious aged Longmorn full of fragrant and fruity notes and a good helping of complimentary woody spices. Again a very true to form whisky expression redolent of Longmorn distillery character and aged to perfection in a refill hoggie for just the right balance of spirit and cask influences, approaching perfection. 88/100

SMWS 30.98 Bring on the dancers

SMWS 30.98

SMWS 30.98 Bring on the dancers whisky review: A fairly true to form Glenrothes, I just noticed I pulled (finally) one of the same tasting notes as on the bottle in caramel apple granny! Diminishes only in the fact that the nose is the best part of this dram, drinking is nothing challenging and all very pleasing. A great example of an aged whisky from SMWS at a sensible price compared to OB’s but offering just as much. 86/100

SMWS 29.249 Sweet black tea in the surgery

29.249-web

SMWS 29.249 Sweet black tea in the surgery whisky review: OK so it is a finished whisky and my conscience still tells me that doesn’t sit right with the old ‘Product of a single cask’ statement the bottles used to carry. Finishing is not only here to stay within SMWS, but has apparently been around since 1991 according to John. So here’s to there being a little more explicit information or openness around finished casks. It only occurred to me after the tasting, but I wonder if finished casks have previously failed the tasting panel so badly they get sent for finishing? Whatever the history of this cask, it is undeniably tasty and drinkable now – in case a 21 year old PX sherry finished Islay malt hadn’t piqued your curiosity… 89/100