Monday 21 May 2012

Whisky Discovery #108

SMWS 2.81 15 Year Old (59.9% abv, Single Cask)
Speyside Single Malt Whisky
Club bottling, not for general sale




‘Black tea in a greenhouse’ 

Rich and heady aromas of butterscotch, molasses and rum soaked raisins together with crème brulee, orange oil, geraniums and a greenhouse on a warm day. 

Toffee sweetness was balanced by balsamic and a trace of struck matches. The taste was hot, there was liquorice, black tea tannins, toffee and black pepper. 

Water improved it offering smooth buttery toffee, tobacco and balsamic. The palate was still tannic (like chewing sticks) with brown sauce bitterness but also sweet with vanilla, butterscotch and caramel. 

This Speyside distillery is close to the famous pack horse bridge.

Drinking tip: A pudding dram.  Well that's what the label said!

So what did I think?
Probably not the best  idea of starting a whisky show with cask strength whisky, but once again I found myself at the SMWS for the first dram of the day. This happens to be a Speyside from the Glenlivet distillery, distilled on 30th April 1996, filled a first fill sherry butt, and after fifteen years yielded just 500 bottles.

With a rich mahogany colour it was immediately evident that this had been matured in sherry, and a heavenly aroma that I could have quite happily nose all afternoon. The rich sherry and Christmas pudding fruits, a citrus edge to it too. Another great start to a whisky show from the SMWS and I've just checked on line, and there are still a few bottles of this left.

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