NEW RELEASES WILL BE ONLINE AT MIDDAY AEST, FRIDAY 6TH MAY
Outturn Let’s Party: Friday 6 May Issue 04, 2022
JOIN THE SMWS FESTIVAL FLAVOUR HUNTERS! Finally, whisky festival season is back in Scotland, and we’re bringing the fun and flavour to Aussie members this month!
JOIN THE FLAVOUR HUNT AT SMWS.COM.AU
Contents The festival fever Matt Bailey......................................................................................... 4 The dilemma & dramas of drams in demand… Andrew Derbidge........................................................................... 7
OUR BOTTLINGS YOUNG & SPRITELY Cask No. 48.125 Serenity waltz of sweetness and wood.........................
DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS
15
SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW Cask No. 9.207 A sweetie shop in a garden..................................................
Distillery 36 Rare Release A reward for patience.............................................................. 31
JUICY, OAK & VANILLA
15
Distillery 5 Rare Release Lime and thyme......................................................................... 32
SPICY & SWEET Cask No. 46.109 Table talk dram........................................................................... 18
Cask No. 26.173 (Malt of the Month) Galloping through lush meadows ................................... 12
OILY & COASTAL Distillery 93 Rare Release Changes faster than a chameleon................................... 33
PEATED
Cask No. 35.294 Willow wood in the sun.......................................................... 16
Distillery 3 Rare Release Fruity time travel....................................................................... 34
Cask No. 18.36 Depth of flavour.......................................................................... 18
Distillery 53 Rare Release Throw the cork away!............................................................ 35
SPICY & DRY Cask No. 44.141 Heart-warming!......................................................................... 16 Distillery 19 Rare Release Hazelnut bubble gum............................................................. 30 2
Cask No. 137.10 Smoky, sweetie, meaty............................................................ 19
SINGLE CASK SPIRITS Cask No. R9.9 Challenging conventional wisdom.................................. 19
Euan Campbell............................................................................. 24
SOCIETY EXPERIENCES
The Whisky Champs
Events in your state................................................................... 20
Adam Ioannidis........................................................................... 36
Festival Fever Virtual Tasting.............................................. 21
Hunting down the Society’s rare releases
BUNDLE OFFERS SCRAMBLED FRUIT BOMB ........................................ 22
TUSCAN HIGHBALLS ....................................................... 23
Cask No. 82.37 Chewing pencils in a barbershop
Cask No. 39.215 Highball diluting juice
Cask No. 28.57 Scrambled heather
Cask No. 46.109 Table talk dram
CHEESE PLATE AT THE BEACH ............................. 22
Cask No. 48.132 Tuscan tales
Cask No. 28.50 Brazilian beach hammock sundowner
SHEER ELEGANCE ............................................................. 23
Cask No. 94.13 Follow the furry cheesemonger...
Cask No. 9.211 High tea in the garden Cask No. 2.120 Spinneys and hedgerows
NEW RELEASES WILL BE ONLINE AT MIDDAY AEST, FRIDAY 6TH MAY. FESTIVAL BOTTLINGS WILL BE RELEASED WEEKLY - SEE THE FESTIVAL SECTION FOR RELEASE DATES (PAGES 28-36)
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AMBASSADOR’S ADDRESS ARTICLE
The last two years has been something of a real fog. Time became meaningless, days melted into weeks, months into years, and that event you went to was suddenly not “the other month” but now closer to “that thing years ago”.
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T
hat’s certainly the case for me when I realised the Festival Casks were coming up again in 2022, and I thought to myself, “Wow, how that brings back memories of hosting the annual casks the other month in …. in… oh wait that was 2019!”. Back in May 2019, I hosted what would become an absolute career highlight for me in hosting the full festival tasting for guests at Islay House in Islay, something for which I’m eternally grateful for the UK team to have that faith in me to pull off!
“The festival spirit, even through a global pandemic, has been boiling under the surface, and members are keen to get back into it.”
And pull it off we did. It somehow all came together amidst all the madness. Stock was misplaced, glassware was in limbo, the venue ran out of napkins, the dining room was under construction, and the lower floor bathrooms had scheduled plumbing maintenance on the same day as their biggest whisky fair of the year. Timing! But in the end, it all came together: guests had glassware, whisky in said glassware, and a tremendous lineup that I’ll remember hosting forever. I won’t remember how much of it tasted however as I had the most ferocious head cold I’ve ever had and couldn’t smell a damned thing. Elsewhere in the surrounds of Islay House was the Highland games taking place with a bit of archery, stone put, tug-o-war, and a piper to add to the atmosphere and celebration. I can safely now say that my self-estimation of my archery skills has dramatically shifted since that day, and I can’t hit the broadside of a barn, let alone anywhere on the target. We could, however, host a whisky tasting, a nice look at the festival spirits we’d arranged for that year, and manage the mad rush we saw for casks out of our little tent on the day. The festival is so much more than the whisky. It’s the spirit of the place, a celebration of the regions of whisky production, the faces and places that are involved, the people who get around it, and of course that thrill of securing that rare and special release. You then get to take It home, share it with friends, and re-live that festival feeling over and over.
For a long while, the festival fever used to just extend to the Spirit of Speyside and the iconic Feis Ile. Both are celebrations of the spirit from their respective regions and the music that went along with it, but in the last five years we’ve seen the Highland Whisky Festival, Campbeltown Malts Festival, and now Lowland Spirit 2022. As each festival carefully considers the dates it runs so as to not overlap or sabotage another one, you can literally spend your entire month of May in Scotland and travel around the festivals tasting through the local food, spirit, and enjoying the events that the SMWS and others host. The festival spirit, even through a global pandemic, has been boiling under the surface, and members are keen to get back into it. These special offerings and casks that have been picked out by our spirits team and expert tasting panel are designed to celebrate each festival, each whisky region of Scotland, and share some incredible spirit around with some experiences to match. So for 2022 that’s exactly what we’re going to do: release all six festival releases and host special tastings, dinners, and experiences around Australia to match. We’re not needing to pick and choose which casks to get either: we’re getting them all. But that’s only really achievable by doing things quite different this year…
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So where can you taste these various festival casks? Various Partner Bars (check our socials)
For our May Outturn, we’ll be celebrating these festivals with the full release of every festival cask on offer this year, however, they aren’t single cask bottlings. Members who’ve been with the SMWS for a year or more may recall last year’s release of ‘Small Batch 8 Sweet, Smoked Salmon Jerky’. It was a 7 year old small batch of hand-picked casks all vatted together from distillery 10, meaning it was still a single malt whisky, just not a single cask. Not only was this a clear member favourite in the lineup, it also went on to win some rather prestigious awards later in the year across Europe and the USA. It was, by all accounts from members and panelists, the absolute gem in the lineup. For 2022 we’re taking that approach entirely. We’re showcasing a selection of festival casks, carefully and skilfully ‘vatted’ together by our spirits team with Euan Campbell and Kai Ivalo creating some truly harmonious bottlings, and we’ve picked up a very generous portion of each creation to share around this month to Aussie members. It should also be worth noting we also have a tremendous selection of other goodies outside the festival Outturn on the site now, and in this Outturn. We’ll be releasing each festival’s offering by ballot, and staggered across the month at the same time as the rest of the SMWS worldwide, however, we do ask for your patience for your ordered bottles to arrive, as we won’t be able to ship these casks until around mid-July. Cheers, and happy festival season!
Our festival virtual tasting with all 6 x releases for a very special evening A selection of events expertly hosted by the SMWS around the country
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Matt Bailey ~ SMWS National Ambassador
CELLARMASTER’S NOTE
The dilemma & dramas of drams in demand… O
ne subject or conversation topic that instantly gets most whisky enthusiasts energised is the (seemingly) outrageously cheap prices that rare or old whisky sold for just 15-20 years ago. Indeed, if you can track down bottling lists, sales catalogues, or advertisements from the early 2000’s, you’ll be amazed at how relatively little we were paying for old Macallans, rare Port Ellens and Broras, collectible Springbanks, and pretty much any Japanese whisky. Even if you take a generous 3% per annum for CPI and apply it with a nod to the Australian dollar’s exchange rate, inflation, and a host of other tangible, influencing parameters, you won’t even get close to the ridiculous, exponential price increases that have occurred over the last 10 years. 7
So what happened? What strange, allpowerful switch got flicked that turned bottles retailing for $150 into whiskies that now retail for $600-$800? What strange phenomenon occurred that turned whiskies retailing for $250-$300 bottles into malts that now retail for $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000? Why did a 1948 Macallan retail for just $350 in Sydney in 2003, but a 50yo Balvenie now retails for $58,000?
“The secondary market has always existed, however, it’s actually the internet and, specifically, online whisky auctions that have been the primary force driving up prices.”
The answer is disarmingly simple: The secondary market. The secondary market has corrupted the primary market. The secondary market has always existed, however, it’s actually the internet and, specifically, online whisky auctions that have been the primary force driving up prices, together with smaller, secondary influencing factors. And, inherent in all of that: The flipper.
whisky communities were small and isolated. There simply wasn’t the infrastructure, mechanisms, and reach that could facilitate larger audiences, drive demand, and permit peer-to-peer sales across borders and territories. Online whisky auctions – effectively
a
AGED WHISKY IS NOW RARE
DEMAND
THE WHISKY BOOM
FLIPPERS
ONLINE WHISKY AUCTIONS 8
se
nd a r y m o c
et rk
Th e
Prior to the internet and the rise of online whisky groups, forums, and social media, our
a disrupter – changed the game. One of the central pillars of business when selling a product is to charge what the market will bear. Online whisky auctions demonstrated to producers, bottlers, and retailers around the world that the market could evidently bear a lot more than they’d previously given it credit for. You can imagine the frustration and indignance of the sales and marketing team behind your typical whisky brand: After careful planning and promotion, and after agonising over what RRP to set, they launch their new product to the market and see it sell out almost immediately. Then, in the weeks that follow, many of those sold-out bottles start appearing on online auctions and private sales platforms, where they end up selling for two, three, even four times the original RRP. There are well-documented instances of sold-out products appearing on online sales platforms at greatly inflated prices the very next day after the original, official launch and retailer sold out. (It happens repeatedly at the Feis Ile festival nearly
every year!) Imagine producing, marketing, and selling your product for $190, only to see a flipper sell it for $600 just a few days later. Little wonder, then, that the brand sets a much higher price when they subsequently come to release their next product. Play that sequence out over multiple brands, multiple products and releases, multiple markets, and the aggregating effect of the last ten years….and you can suddenly see why RRP’s for high-demand whiskies have gone through the roof. We got here by way of a thousand cuts. Sadly, the stain of whisky auctions and the stench of the flipper has touched the Society here in Australia. We have, amongst our ranks, a number of members who have recently purchased some of the Society’s high-demand bottles on Outturn release day, and then flipped them for profit on a local auction site the following month. And this is where the discussion gets curly….. Yes, we live in a democracy and in a free, capitalist society. Many will argue that if you purchase a bottle of whisky, it is yours to do what you wish with it. You are entirely within 9
your rights to sell it on, notwithstanding the legal requirements around the selling of alcohol. However, for those that deliberately and strategically buy a highly-limited, members-only bottling, and then sell it at an inflated price for profit in the following days/ weeks to a market of disappointed members (and/or non-members) who originally missed out, I take a very dim view. That is not flipping. It is scalping. And it seems we have some scalpers amongst our membership. I concede that we, the Society, are in an awkward situation. We celebrate the joy of the single cask and, in doing so, we celebrate a product that is, by definition, rare, limited and finite. We deal with whiskies for which there may only be 200 bottles on the planet and, occasionally, as few as 18-24 bottles in this country. There is inherent demand from the get-go, and some will argue rarity is our currency. But I beg to differ. I can tell you from experience – 17 years now as a Director of the Society and as our branch’s whisky manager –
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“I can tell you from experience – 17 years now as a Director of the Society and as our branch’s whisky manager – that if you miss something on Outturn, there is always another gem just around the corner. ”
that if you miss something on Outturn, there is always another gem just around the corner. We are not a retailer. We are a club. We are made up of members. Members choose to join this club and, with that, comes an expectation of adhering to and abiding by the ethos of the club. Scalping bottles is not part of that ethos.
When we released the two inaugural Australian casks last year, 147.1 and 148.1, we pushed hard to make them as affordable as possible, cutting into already-small margins and absorbing costs so that as many members as possible would have the chance to share the joy. Like the many brands and producers before us, you can imagine our dismay at seeing some members miss out, only for a handful of members who did acquire a bottle to scalp them just a few weeks later for profit. So what should I do next time we release a particularly rare, highly sought-after cask? Should I increase the members’ price to a higher amount, knowing that the market can and will bear it? Will raising the price reduce the likelihood of seeing bottles scalped? Is that fair to the vast, vast majority of members who join and exist in our club for the purposes of drinking, enjoying, and sharing good whisky? To the scalpers in our midst: Is it fair that you denied other members the chance to enjoy a whisky by purchasing a bottle that you had absolutely no intention of drinking yourself? Hmmm…. The topic has been touched on occasionally in the discussions on our Facebook Group. There have been calls by some to revoke the membership of those found to be scalping. There have been suggestions by others that we should mark, de-face, or laser-etch our high-demand bottles so that they can be traced back to the original purchasing member. I’m not sure we quite want to entertain that notion at this stage, but – if I’m reading the room correctly – the sentiment amongst the majority of members seems clear: Whisky is for drinking and sharing. I’m aware this subject is controversial. I’m aware some people are reading this and strongly disagreeing with me. I am likely making myself unpopular. If you disagree with me, that’s fine; that’s your right. Equally, it’s my right to think ill of flippers. We want to share our whiskies with as many members as possible, with prices that reflect good value – not their rarity, or collectability, or “on-sellability.” The Society was founded
by a bunch of whisky lovers who gathered in an apartment in Edinburgh and shared the contents of a single cask. That is what, why, and how we exist. I will continue to champion the spirit and conviviality on which the Australian branch was founded. I’d ask all members to do the same. Cheers,
Andrew Derbidge ~ Director, Cellarmaster & NSW Manager
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THE CAT IS BACK
Distillery 26 is a member favourite for good reason: waxy jackets, candle smoke, and potpourri make regular appearances in the distillate from this desirable malt. A core component in the premium end of some blended whiskies from the Diageo stable, the spirit out of distillery 26 is hugely desired by blenders and is generally considered a “dresser” malt to really add a weight and character to the mix. To be able to get a single cask, cask strength, un-diluted version of their spirit is truly a delight and at a cracking price for Malt of the Month to boot. Enjoy!
REGION
Highland
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrel
AGE
8 years
DATE DISTILLED
23 October 2012
CASK NO. 26.173
OUTTURN
209 bottles
ABV
61.5%
REDUCED FROM $200
AUS ALLOCATION 48 bottles
GALLOPING THROUGH LUSH MEADOWS JUICY, OAK & VANILLA
$169
Limit of one bottle per Member
T MALTHE OF NTH MO
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The delicate and charming nose conveyed vanilla, lemon puffs, Turkish delight and Neapolitan ice-cream; then beeswax and hay in a horse’s nosebag. The palate was punchier than expected; juicy, fresh, vibrant and lip-smacking, with lemon zest, toffee, honey, spun sugar and coffee and walnut cake, and waxed wood and cardamom on the finish. The reduced nose was light and easy – flowers and herbs in a lush meadow, honeycomb, coconut and chamois leather – that horse now munching sugar cubes. The palate was tingly and bright – lemon bonbons, iced gems and red laces, while the finish found pepper, pickled ginger, liquorice allsorts and linseed oil.
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SERENITY WALTZ OF SWEETNESS AND WOOD YOUNG & SPRITELY CASK NO. 48.125
$150
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrel
AGE
8 years
DATE DISTILLED
12 November 2012
OUTTURN
225 bottles
ABV
58.5%
AUS ALLOCATION 30 bottles The nose kicked off with grass and sweet hay, biscuit notes and Crunchie bars, then roasted hazelnuts, cinder toffee and espresso dregs appeared, giving depth. From the wings came pine-wood shavings and candied orange and lemon slices. The initial taste encounter seemed feisty and fizzy (lemon zest, bitter marmalade, stewed rhubarb) before sweetness and wood waltzed serenely together on our palates – lollipop sticks, custard in wooden bowls and chewing twigs dipped in honey. The reduced nose combined lemon Turkish delight and orange blossom with toasted oak and toasted coconut. On the palate, toffee bonbons preceded chewed pencil-ends, nutmeg, ginger and wasabi.
A SWEETIE SHOP IN A GARDEN SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW CASK NO. 9.207
$240
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrel
AGE
17 years
DATE DISTILLED
11 September 2003
OUTTURN
204 bottles
ABV
56.2%
AUS ALLOCATION 48 bottles We were led by the nose into the distillery gardens – spring flowers, jasmine, flowering herbs, grass, beeswax and honey. We also enjoyed marzipan, sherbet lemons, polished shoes and varnished wood. The neat palate suggested custard donuts and plentiful fruit, including trail mix (dried banana, papaya and coconut), stewed apples, raspberries and cherries, cinnamon and coltsfoot after-tingles. The reduced nose offered a sweetie shop on a sunny afternoon (American cream soda, nougat, Parma Violets), tinned fruit salad, incense and handbags. The reduced palate – fresh, invigorating and zingy, had Juicy Fruit gum, Rowntree’s pastilles, sweet nectarines and honey – an eminently approachable dram. 15
HEART-WARMING! SPICY & DRY CASK NO. 44.141
$210
RA EXT URED MAT
WILLOW WOOD IN THE SUN SPICY & SWEET CASK NO. 35.294
$195
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
2nd fill charred red wine barrique
AGE
14 years
DATE DISTILLED
23 October 2006
OUTTURN
217 bottles
ABV
62.5%
AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles We imagined walking into a forest with a lumberjack, a chainsaw in one hand and balancing an axe over the other shoulder, as we trod on wet wooden earth and moss. Big and bold on the palate, warming the cockles of our hearts like a spiced rum with the addition of chipotle chillies. When we added water we detected a Teriyaki beef stir fry with soy sauce, sweet rice wine and sake on the nose. While to taste tonka beans, cinnamon sticks, blackcurrant jam and tiramisu with amaretto liqueur. After twelve years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a second fill charred red wine barrique.
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrel
AGE
13 years
DATE DISTILLED
20 August 2007
OUTTURN
229 bottles
ABV
60.8%
AUS ALLOCATION 36 bottles The nose opened with juicy red fruits, pomegranate seeds, bouquets of fresh flowers and the fragrance of sandalwood. Beyond that we found citrus rinds, lemon barley water and vanilla foam. With water there was linseed oil on a new cricket bat, milk bottle sweets, marshmallows, cornflakes dusted with icing sugar and passion fruit sours. The neat palate showed bountiful notes of lemon meringue pie, chopped parsley, white pepper, warm horseradish and dried mint. Reduction brought sweetened young calvados, cider apple baked with brown sugar, tea tree oil and green tea with lemon rind.
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DEPTH OF FLAVOUR SPICY & SWEET CASK NO. 18.36
$185
RA EXT URED MAT
TABLE TALK DRAM SPICY & SWEET CASK NO. 46.109
$150
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
2nd fill STR barrique
AGE
13 years
DATE DISTILLED
18 September 2007
OUTTURN
236 bottles
ABV
57.9%
AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles A roasty, malty and creamy aroma of cherry scones mingled with the scent of oaky vanilla sweetness from white chocolate, hazelnut and nutmeg tiramisu. Our taste buds were left intrigued by the contrast of salt and sweet as well as a hint of bitterness just like when sea salt is added to very dark chocolate. After dilution, we marinated a shark steak with soy sauce and prepared red onions roasted with balsamic and honey while on the palate sinfully sweet and succulent soft dough balls smothered in a sugar syrup called Gulab Jamun. After eleven years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a second fill shave, toasted and re-charred barrique.
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrel
AGE
8 years
DATE DISTILLED
23 May 2012
OUTTURN
214 bottles
ABV
57.5%
AUS ALLOCATION 36 bottles We imagined having cream tea in a rose garden with fresh juicy strawberries, peaches, crème caramel, butterscotch, and cinnamon spiced banana cake. A lovely tingling of white pepper on white chocolate surprised us on the palate, before honey buttered hot cross buns and orange spiced Turkish delight arrived. With a drop of water, a juicy, fruity and a lightly menthol scent emerged, cherry chocolate, mango coulis and candy cigarettes or chocolate sticks covered in white paper (oh those innocent days!). On the palate; vibrant and fresh like a green fruit salad prepared with honeydew melon, Granny Smith apples, Bartlett pears and green grapes in a honey-Dijon dressing.
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SMOKY, SWEETIE, MEATY PEATED CASK NO. 137.10
$225
RA EXT URED MAT
CHALLENGING CONVENTIONAL WISDOM RUM CASK NO. R9.9
$210
REGION
England
CASK TYPE
Refill bourbon barrel
AGE
8 years
DATE DISTILLED
18 October 2012
OUTTURN
231 bottles
ABV
64.7%
AUS ALLOCATION 48 bottles Sweet and meaty, like Frazzles and sweet chilli smoked pork scratchings and how about a marmalade made with Seville oranges smoked over ex-sherry cask wood used to mature peaty whisky. The taste was big, dark and beautiful – ‘an explosion of purple smoke!’ When we added water it was like adding fuel to the fire (in a good way!) - sweet and sour glazed smoked pork chops and on the palate smoked loin of pork with citrus, rum and raisin sauce while in the never-ending finish candied ginger, dark chocolate and heather honey. After 11 months in a new charred oak barrel, this whisky was transferred into a refill ex-bourbon barrel.
REGION
Panama
CASK TYPE
Refill bourbon barrel
AGE
13 years
DATE DISTILLED
28 February 2008
OUTTURN
234 bottles
ABV
63.0%
AUS ALLOCATION 24 bottles This rum sample, from the country mainly known for a canal that gave the name to a famous hat, was certainly challenging conventional wisdom. On the nose neat, yes we did get Muscovado sugar (with that strong scent of molasses), coconut cream and raisins but then we also noticed slightly smoked lemon, nail varnish remover and wheel bearing grease. Good fun on the palate neat, super sweet with a complex layer of toasted oak and citric tartness for an ideal balance. With water, we were served a hot grog cocktail with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, honey and lime juice while the taste was enigmatic, stewed rhubarb and herbal notes of fern, sweet and dry – certainly bucking the trend. 19
SOCIETY EXPERIENCES SYDNEY THE SCOTTISH WHISKY FESTIVALS COME TO SYDNEY
MELBOURNE FESTIVAL CASKS DINNER
A full festival casks experience with Andrew Derbidge.
3 x course dinner, 6 x course drams, 1 x amazing night at the classic Kelvin Club.
FRIDAY 13 MAY, 6:30PM FOR 7.00PM
SATURDAY 21 MAY, 6:30PM FOR 7.00PM
ADELAIDE
HOBART
Royal Automobile Club 89 Macquarie St, Sydney
SCOTLAND IN ADELAIDE
The Kelvin Club 14-30 Melbourne Pl, Melbourne
HOBART FESTIVAL FEVER!
All the festival casks, all the good times with Jenny!
A full festival feast of casks, food, and good times at our Partner Bar.
FRIDAY 6 MAY, 6:30PM FOR 7.00PM
SATURDAY 14 MAY, 6:30PM FOR 7.00PM
BRISBANE
PERTH
Gilbert Street Hotel 88 Gilbert St, Adelaide
FESTIVAL CASKS DINNER
3 x course dinner, 6 x course drams, 1 x amazing night at the classic Brisbane Club.
FRIDAY 27 MAY, 6:30PM FOR 7.00PM The Brisbane Club 241 Adelaide St, Brisbane
New Sydney Hotel 87 Bathurst St, Hobart
PERTH FESTIVAL CASKS & BEER
Join David Stucken and the full festival casks experience from Scotland for a Sunday arvo of rare whisky, fresh beer, and plenty of food.
SUNDAY 29 MAY, 2:00PM
The Seasonal Brewing Co. 175 Guildford Rd, Maylands
FOR OUR NGS ENT LISTI IT V E T S E T A L NLINE VIS O K O O B AND TO EVENTS / U .A M O SMWS.C 20
VIRTUAL TASTING
Festival Fever NC
LUDES
PL
ES
I
ALL 6VAL I F E ST S K S A C
M IN 3 0ML SA
* 0 2 $1CH SET EA
JOIN US LIVE! WEDNESDAY 25TH MAY, 7PM AEST The Scottish whisky festivals are back into full swing, so we’re bringing the full festival fever to our big monthly virtual tasting for May. All six festival single malts, the full lineup, shared and enjoyed in the comfort of your home.
CHANGES FASTER THAN A CHAMELEON
HAZELNUT BUBBLEGUM
FRUITY TIME TRAVEL
THROW THE CORK AWAY!
Oily & Coastal
Peated
A REWARD FOR PATIENCE
Deep, Rich & Dried Fruits
Spicy & Dry
Peated
LIME AND THYME
Sweet, Fruity & Mellow
Tune in live on Facebook & YouTube on Wednesday 25th May, 7PM AEST. Or watch at your own leisure after.
GRAB YOUR VIRTUAL TASTING KIT AND JOIN IN THE FUN! SMWS.COM.AU/SHOP *Includes 6 x 30ml drams of the above bottlings, two tasting mats and full tasting notes. 21
BUNDLE OFFERS SCRAMBLED FRUIT BOMB
$234
10 available
Fruit baskets and Highland picnics, this duo is just the ticket to liven up your exploration into incredible whisky. Jump into our scrambled fruit bomb of a bundle and save on unique Society spirit. Limit of one bundle per member
CHEWING PENCILS IN A BARBERSHOP SPICY & DRY
SCRAMBLED HEATHER SPICY & DRY CASK NO. 28.57
$299
5 available
Funky cheese and fresh sourdough while at the beach was imagined for this duo. Be instantly transported to another dimension through these funky flavours bundled together. Limit of one bundle per member
BRAZILIAN BEACH HAMMOCK SUNDOWNER LIGHT & DELICATE CASK NO. 28.50
FOLLOW THE FURRY CHEESEMONGER... SPICY & DRY CASK NO. 94.13
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SAVE
$71 AS A BUN
$66 AS A BUN
CASK NO. 82.37
CHEESE PLATE AT THE BEACH
SAVE
DLE
DLE
BUNDLE OFFERS TUSCAN HIGHBALLS
$470
13 available
Worm tubs and wild times, this trio of fascinating spirits will awake the senses with a mixture of old school spirit production that in all three casks harks back to another era of whisky altogether. Limit of one bundle per member
HIGHBALL DILUTING JUICE JUICY, OAK & VANILLA CASK NO. 39.215
TABLE TALK DRAM SPICY & SWEET
SAVE
CASK NO. 46.109
$80
TUSCAN TALES
AS A BUN
SPICY & SWEET
DLE
CASK NO. 48.132
SHEER ELEGANCE
$364
8 available
Iconic distilleries, elegant spirit, presented at cask strength. Roll either of these spirits around the glass and watch the oils cling to the sides of the glass for these elegant selections bundled together. Limit of one bundle per member
HIGH TEA IN THE GARDEN JUICY, OAK & VANILLA
SAVE
$71 AS A BUN
DLE
CASK NO. 9.211
SPINNEYS AND HEDGEROWS SPICY & SWEET CASK NO. 2.120
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Hunting Down the Society’s Rare Releases BY EUAN CAMPBELL, SMWS SPIRITS MANAGER
The Society is ready to let loose six exclusive festival bottlings. Spirits Manager Euan Campbell explains how we created them, and why you should try and grab a dram….
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T
he Scotch Malt Whisky Society was formed to celebrate the joy in sharing exceptional whisky – and there’s nothing quite like the festival month of May to demonstrate that our founding principle is not only alive and kicking – it’s bigger and more all-encompassing than ever. A lucky few from our global membership will be heading to the different whisky regions in May to take part in tastings, dinners and parties, celebrating the contribution each of these areas has made to the wider world of whisky. The Society will be there, of course, but we wanted to make sure that as many of our members as possible – whether they are physically present at the festivals or not – could get to share the experience in their glasses, wherever you might be.
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“We wanted to make sure that as many of our members as possible could get to share the experience in their glasses, wherever you might be.”
AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH
With that in mind, we’re taking a different approach this year with our exclusive range of ‘Rare Releases’ festival bottlings, creating a series of six small batch single malts that we’ll be able to share in greater quantities across our global membership than we could ever hope to do with bottlings from a single cask. And we’re not only celebrating the physical festivals taking place again throughout May this year in Speyside, Campbeltown and Islay. Even if the Highlands and Lowlands aren’t holding their own events, we didn’t want to neglect these regions, and have bottled single malts from both areas so that we can offer festival bottlings from across the five whisky regions. 26
EXPANDING HORIZONS
All six whiskies are single malts from different, individual distilleries, bottled at their natural strength and across a range of flavour profiles – even the two Peated bottlings from Islay show distinct characteristics. In the development of each, we decided what flavour profile we were looking to showcase and then looked at how we were going to achieve it by working with loads of samples, nosing and tasting our way through them, grouping them and then deciding what we thought worked best. We’ve been able to work with a wide variety of cask types to nudge our recipes in the right direction as well, and these small batch single malts are great examples of how that variety of wood types also helps to give us an infinite number of flavours to play with. That could be in some examples by getting the full impact of one cask type, or in others by using a mix of bourbon and sherry wood to create something
completely different. Characterful spirit and characterful casks make for an incredible combination and helps us to continue to expand our horizons.
A FESTIVAL WITHIN A FESTIVAL You can think of it as a ‘festival within a festival’, where we’re hunting down flavours and characteristics from across the regions. You can judge for yourself how typical or not they may be of the regions they come from – or whether that’s of any importance. What matters to us is that as many of you as possible, from Scotland to Australia, Japan to the United States and beyond, get the chance to share these sensational drams – and if you can’t make it over here this year, at least you’re getting a taste to transport you. Cheers, Euan Campbell SMWS Spirits Manager 27
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L A V I T S E F S G N I L T BOT K2
WEEK 1
D HIGHLANM & ALT L A V I T S E F ONTH OF THE M Y A FRI 6 M
WEEK 3
OWN CAMPBETLIVTAL FES
MAY FRI 20
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SPEYSIDLE& FESTIVAESTIVAL F LOWLAND AY M FRI 13
WEEK 4 ISLAY FESTIVAL
MAY FRI 27
e lays, th e d g n i ll p to ship layed and wi e u d t a e y. been d note th ntil Jul u s have Please g h c n t i l a t t disp l bo Festiva available for e not b
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HAZELNUT BUBBLE GUM
ND HLAVAL G I H ST I FE
SPICY & DRY Distillery 19 Rare Release
$269
AWN
DR LOT BAL
MAY 6 I FR
Limit of one bottle per Member
REGION
Highland
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrels
AGE
18 years
DATE DISTILLED
17 February 2003
OUTTURN
1,128 bottles
ABV
55.6%
AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles The complex nose immediately evoked a generous helping of hazelnut spread. There were bars of nougat, flaked almonds, and sweet peanuts. “This is nuts!”, exclaimed one humorous panellist. In time, it became more oily, chamois leather, over-ripe peaches, and nectarines as well as a leafy note, with eucalyptus and tea tree oil. To taste, we found salted caramel and white chocolate mice. Still oily, peppery nasturtium leaves, Sichuan pepper, citrus peels, and assorted gin botanicals. With water, “that’s a fat distillate!”, we all agreed. Sweet & creamy, a hessian sack full of barley, rum fudge, boiled toffee sweets and apple and peach Tart Tatin. The amateur baker among us picked up notes of wholemeal bread drizzled with honey and buttery brioche. The taste was full of expressive esters; pink bubble gum, red apple skins, pear drops and raspberry sherbet. We walked through an old sweetie shop, then kicked through autumn leaves before polishing antique furniture in a country manor.
SCAN THE QR CODE to submit your ballot entry 30
A REWARD FOR PATIENCE
E YSIDAL E P S ST I V FE
DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS Distillery 36 Rare Release
$199
AWN
DR LOT BAL
MAY 3 1 I FR
Limit of one bottle per Member
REGION
Speyside
CASK TYPE
1st fill Oloroso quarter casks & 2nd fill bourbon barrels
AGE
10 years
DATE DISTILLED
4 May 2011
OUTTURN
1,391 bottles
ABV
57.6%
AUS ALLOCATION 78 bottles A robust and toasty aroma that incorporated buttery shortbread, caramelised oatmeal, brown toast and thick cut sticky malt loaf. Also hints of treacle, tea biscuits and wintergreen with a tang of hessian. Reduction brought freshly baked brown bread, toasted sunflower seeds, mustard oil and orange vitamin tablets. Autumnal, earthy and with sweeter tones of caramel, tamarind and ginger. The neat palate opened with plum and nectarines stewing in Armagnac, charred wood embers, brisket ends and pears poached in dessert wines. Some nut infused chocolate, camphor and pineapple cake. Lots going on! Water brought a nice bitter herbal quality, more toasted nuts, dark boozy fruits and things like spiced damsons, fig paste, plum wine and maple syrup.
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31
LIME AND THYME
D LAN LOWSTIVAL FE
SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW Distillery 5 Rare Release
$245 Limit of one bottle per Member
AWN
DR LOT
MAY 3 1 I FR
BAL
REGION
Lowland
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrels
AGE
18 years
DATE DISTILLED
27 January 2003
OUTTURN
930 bottles
ABV
55.8%
AUS ALLOCATION 36 bottles A wonderful melange of aromas greeted the panel with fresh spring grass, flowering lilies, honeysuckle, melon and mango as well as buttered toast, sultanas, banana chips and golden syrup. On the palate neat a sweet, juicy, tropical fruit juice with coconut water at first appeared, to be followed by a peppery ginger spice note before ending in a delicious lime and thyme cake. After reduction we hung freshly washed linen on the line in a flowery meadow before we enjoyed banana bread, buttered oatcakes, cantaloupe melon and to drink, while some had a wheat beer others chose a peppermint tea before we all finished with a dessert wine.
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CHANGES FASTER THAN A CHAMELEON OILY & COASTAL Distillery 93 Rare Release
$190 Limit of one bottle per Member
C
BE AMP
WN LLTO L
FES
TIVA
AWN
DR LOT
MAY 0 2 FRI
BAL
REGION
Campbeltown
CASK TYPE
1st fill bourbon barrels
AGE
8 years
DATE DISTILLED
11 September 2013
OUTTURN
1,460 bottles
ABV
59.7%
AUS ALLOCATION 78 bottles A fascinating aroma awaited us; each time we went back it changed! To mention just a few - aniseed, Himalayan salt, lemon grass essential oil, seaside swimming pool, Marie Rose sauce and extra virgin rapeseed oil. The taste neat ranged from cough mixture over salted caramel lime chocolate to crispy squid and prawns in a sweet chilli sauce. The addition of water released the scent of cranberrypistachio white chocolate bark with sea salt as well as arugula salad with olive oil, lemon and parmesan cheese before, on the palate, yet again multifarious flavours of green tea, herbal liqueur, vegetable tempura with a soy dipping sauce and freshly foraged sea greens.
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33
FRUITY TIME TRAVEL
Y ISLAIVAL T FES
PEATED Distillery 3 Rare Release
$349 Limit of one bottle per Member
AWN
DR LOT
Y 7 MA 2 I FR
BAL
REGION
Islay
CASK TYPE
2nd fill bourbon hogsheads
AGE
17 years
DATE DISTILLED
16 February 2004
OUTTURN
1326 bottles
ABV
57.0%
AUS ALLOCATION 84 bottles A typically exquisite nose that screams ‘this’ distillery. Abundant soft, almost overripe, exotic fruits. Wispy peat smoke, bonfire embers, bonjella mouth gel, seawater, pink grapefruit and light antiseptic notes. Just exquisite! With water we found it became more mineral, with dried mango and guava, threads of peat smoke, ointments, dried herbs and a lovely umami richness. The neat palate opened with a slick of sweet, velvety peat. Oily in texture, with vivid notes of mango, passion fruit and guava jam. Exotic fruit salad juices pooling in a bowl with sharper tones of grapefruit and seawater. Reduction brought smoked lychees, smoked olive oil, mineral salts and stunningly resinous and herbal peat smoke. Sweet and saline in perfect balance.
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THROW THE CORK AWAY! PEATED Distillery 53 Rare Release
$199 Limit of one bottle per Member
Y ISLAIVAL T FES AWN
DR LOT
Y 7 MA 2 I FR
BAL
REGION
Islay
CASK TYPE
1st fill American oak Oloroso hogsheads
AGE
8 years
DATE DISTILLED
1 April 2013
OUTTURN
2,677 bottles
ABV
58.4%
AUS ALLOCATION 156 bottles We imagined cooking sesame peanut noodles with umami paste on an old steam tugboat with boiler smoke, engine oils, tar and mechanical rags next to aromas of camphor and creosote. On the palate smoke galore – imagine a peat smoked green olive tapenade made with olives, anchovies, garlic, parsley, olive oil, capers and lemon zest – add some Maggi liquid seasoning and wasabi – you get the picture! Following reduction, the scent was that of dry cured streaky bacon, apples baked with raisins and cinnamon as we made ourselves a Pu-erh tea. The taste now salty, sweet and smoky as well as oily, thick and tarry – terrific!
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35
The Whisky Champs Drams, friendship and whisky glory — Adam Ioannidis recounts the epic evening that was The 2022 Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship.
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#AMWTC2022
SMWS Australia’s newest staff member, Adam Ioannidis, recently attended his first ever Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship. Upon returning, he wrote a piece for Unfiltered Magazine, exclusively for members. This is his write-up, as seen in Unfiltered. “It’s the biggest event in our calendar”, Matt Bailey would frequently say to me; The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship — AMWTC — Champs! A glorious gathering of whisky lovers, connoisseurs and appreciators of all levels from across Australia, all trying their hand at becoming the next Malt Whisky Tasting Champion of Australia; “It’s the perfect blend of skill and luck”. Originally slated for 2020 in what would have been the Championship’s 30th anniversary, an unexpected global pandemic delayed it twice until on the 26th of March, 2022, over 180 contestants (and about a dozen spectators) flocked to The Art Gallery of NSW to give it their all.
desk and collected their name tags before enjoying light refreshments and catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Shortly after, Branch Director Matt Bailey began his speech accompanied by a visual presentation on various screens around the room. He welcomed and thanked everyone, from the guests to the incredible sponsors.
THE DAWN OF AN UNFORGETTABLE EVENING
The guests funnelled through the entrance, single file, at 6:30pm, signed in at the front 37
The speech concluded with a 30-minute timer appearing on the screens signalling the beginning of the competition. The room fell into silence as the competitors perused the answer sheet and removed the dram covers, ready to nose and taste the water of life stowed in the glasses and hoping to identify them correctly; some held their drams up to the light to inspect the colour, optimistic that the hue would reveal some information, whilst others delicately administered drops of water hoping to reveal more distinguishable flavours. EIGHT WHISKIES POURED IN FRONT OF YOU AND AN ANSWER SHEET WITH A LIST OF NINE — ONE OF THEM IS A RED HERRING. Not even 15 minutes into the proceedings and arms were silently being raised with yellow pieces of paper in hand — a signal that they were done and ready to hand in their answers. Various staff and friends would weave their way between the circular tables to collect the answers to be transported to the judges in a separate room. As the timer carried on, more and more competitors were finalising their answers and raising their hands until the screens read 00:00. The judges conferred as the competitors mingled amongst each other — comparing their notes and hoping others came to similar conclusions.
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THE TASTE-OFFS
“THIS IS FOR WOMEN IN WHISKY” After a few minutes, Matt Bailey returned to the podium and announced that there would be taste-offs between three competitors — same rules, but with three different whiskies and a five-minute time frame. The result of the tasteoffs was a rarity as two of the three competitors would progress into final taste-offs, a suddendeath round in which each competitor must guess a single whisky from a list, ranking them from most likely to least likely on the answer form in three minutes. Vanessa Wilton (who, upon announcement, stoop up, raised her dram and declared “this is for women in whisky”) and Nick Harris sat on a designated taste-off table and were illuminated by the gallery down-lights and digital art towering over them a few metres away, throwing blues and greens into the tasting space.
REVELRIES, ENTERTAINMENT AND GOOD COMPANY
Three minutes later and the final taste-off was over; the guests were encouraged to move into the next space for the after-party and award presentations — this is where the night really elevated itself. The gallery’s restaurant was furnished with lounges and seating with floor-to-ceiling windows exhibiting breathtaking nighttime views of Jeremon
Wilton, third place was taken by Simon Cook and presented by Joshua Fischer from The Oak Barrel (a $750 voucher to The Oak Barrel and a bottle of first release Coastal Stone whisky), second place went to Alex Uziallo and was presented by Ross Blainey from The Balvenie (a bottle of 26-year-old Day of Dark Barley, two handcrafted ceramic cups from designer Milly Dent and the DCS Compendium book handsigned by David Stewart).
A PERFECT SCORE OF 8/8
and Woolloomooloo Bays. Adjacent to the restaurant was an open space boasting similar views but with the added addition of the sponsors’ pop-up bars. The Balvenie were slinging Old Fashioned’s, Rob Roy’s and pouring drams from their core range, Starward were providing drams as well as Two-Fold and Tonics — incredibly refreshing and perfect for countering any of the humidity that may have snuck in. Manly Spirits, Coastal Stone and The Benriach were present and keeping guests entertained with their tasty drams; Fever-Tree also featured prominently as the official mixer for the evening. Of course, there was also The Society bar which was serving up several delicious single-cask, caskstrength whiskies. The ambience was further enhanced by the Jordan Chung Jazz Trio playing through their sets whilst guests mingled and enjoyed the two open spaces, meeting new people, exchanging details, and forging new and lasting bonds.
TO THE VICTORS GO THE SPOILS It wasn’t very long until the winners were announced and presented with their prizes: in fourth place and the winner of the taste-offs (yep, the taste-offs were to decide fourth place, not any of the top three) there was Vanessa
First place was an impressive feat as, for the first time in the modern history of Champs, a perfect score of 8/8 had been achieved, an honour that went to Seamus Carroll and was presented by our own SMWS Chairman and Cellarmaster, Andrew Derbidge. In addition to being crowned The Malt Whisky Tasting Champion of Australia, Seamus also won a round trip for two to The Society Vaults in Scotland and a bottle of Cask 7.234 Appealing Apricot Jamboree, all generously donated by The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. With the end of the evening’s formalities, the revelries continued until close to midnight when groups splintered off, deciding which bar to carry on to. The 2022 Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship, The SMWS’ largest event of the year, was a success and well worth the two-year wait. Whilst the glory of being crowned the champion carried the competitors to the event, the experience was a national gathering of enthusiasts and friends, and after two years of uncertain times, it was a well needed and well-received night that will be remembered for years to come.
CHAMPS WILL RETURN…
Adam Ioannidis ~ SMWS Marketing Assistant, and a lover of all good hifi…
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SHARE THE FESTIVE JOY AT
SMWS.COM.AU
02 9974 3046 Mon-Fri 9.00am - 5.00pm AEST
@SMWS_AUSTRALIA
AUSTRALIANSMWS
SMWS_AUS
Society bottlings are offered and sold through The Artisanal Spirits Company Pty Ltd, Liquor Licence LIQP770017428.
