July Outturn 2023

YOUR SOCIETY

Not a Monday rant

Ihad a fascinating discussion with some members just the other night about some of the differences in how they enjoyed some of our content during Covid vs now, what’s changed, and what the future might look like.

We’ve said it before, we take member feedback very seriously at The SMWS. We love hearing your suggestions and requests as to how to best improve the offering. That ‘offering’ is of course well beyond just the bottlings, but everything else like Unfiltered, Outturn, livestreams, articles, events, Partner Bars, and more. During this candid discussion, one of our members remarked that we aren’t doing any of those big Zoom lives anymore where members all piled in (and sometimes got out of hand), to which another member replied “Sure, but they were very much a product of their time”.

This got me thinking. A product of their time What content, what mediums, and what platforms are best suited to complement whisky and general member chat, in 2023? We’re now more than a full year past the darkest part of lockdowns, so that prompts asking what’s changed, what’s returned to normal, and what are we missing? These are all pretty big questions. It’s been a long time since I did the nightly livestreams, including the classic “Monday Rant” that was always a

favourite for me and for guests. I’m certainly not keen to rekindle that kind of schedule, but at the same time, I’m keen to find a nice middle ground and see what that looks like.

One of the strongest metrics we have to gauge all of this, is to evaluate interest, both in sales and in viewership. We pivoted very quickly back in 2020 to producing regular virtual tasting kits each month, sometimes twice a month. We had already produced tasting kits before the pandemic, but we doubled down in 2020 with regular tastings (and continuing the nightly livestreams which had been a feature for already 16 months at that point). That’s certainly one of the benefits of being the ‘small guys’ when it comes to whisky: the ability to pivot fast and adapt to the fast-evolving world. What’s been interesting to see lately is that as soon as the world started re-opening, our virtual kits suddenly lost a lot of sales, but our physical ‘in-person’ events really exploded. This is predictable. But what we didn’t predict lately was that in the last 3 months or so, our virtual tasting kits have really jumped in demand again. Maybe a perfect storm of living costs, interest rates, etc. Or maybe it’s just the whole at-home experience of tasting many flavours is evolving.

This then prompts us to ask: “how does the whole at-home experience of the SMWS work for our members, and how do we measurably improve on that?” We have a few ideas already here, which you’ll see as early as this Outturn, but we always love hearing your suggestions as to how we can improve every aspect of your Society enjoyment: this club wouldn’t be anything without its members enjoying every aspect of it, so please feel free to reach out.

So where does that leave us so far? Well, some of the small changes you’ll see rolling out are in this very issue of Outturn. Our virtual tastings are now involving more of our members in the process, formats are evolving, and our weekly content will be shortly changing too. Whisky

isn’t meant to be complicated, it’s meant to be fun. Colourful bottles, incredible flavours, and simply sharing and enjoying the alchemy and magic of single-cask whisky.

Speaking of colourful, it’s our artists month, and some best of 2023 so-far bottlings, along with some tasty new releases. Much of the Society’s history is rooted in art and artists, like the work of Bob Dewar that adorns the ceiling of the Vaults in Leith, and our cover this month.

Dive into July, and show us your art!

Cheers, Matt

Matt Bailey ~ Branch Director, SMWS Australia

WINTER PEAT EXPLOSION

There’s never a better time of year to tuck into some really REALLY good peated whisky. For July, we’ve picked out an absolute belter in the darkest flavour profile we have: Heavily Peated. It gets even stranger, though, and in our Maverick year, this is what it’s all about. Pushing boundaries. Going BIG. Cask 135.39 Smoked scrunch munch is heavily peated, not from Islay, and from one of the most innovative Scotch whisky distilleries to exist. Double swan-neck stills, heavily peated spirit runs, and a 2nd fill ex-bourbon barrel that lets everything shine. #TeamRefill. Best enjoyed with some friends around the table, or around the fireplace in this wintery season. Slainté!

SMOKED SCRUNCH

MUNCH

HEAVILY PEATED

CASK No. 135.39

$170

REDUCED FROM $205

REGION Highland

CASK TYPE 2nd fill bourbon barrel

AGE 9 years

DATE DISTILLED 12 April 2012

OUTTURN 216 bottles

ABV 58.5%

AUS ALLOCATION 60 bottles

We must set the scene – imagine you are buying, in a petrol station, a bag of English mustard seasoned smoked pork cracklings and you cross the road, open the bag, sit on a bench watching fisherman unloading their daily catch. Huge smoke on the palate as you find in your coat pocket roasted peanuts seasoned with a smoky harissa spice mix. Thank goodness you also bought a bottle of water as you unwrap a smoked roast beef sandwich with plenty of horseradish before you finish with a scorched Scottish fruit slice aptly named fly cemetery and a strong black tea poured out of a flask.

AS NATURE INTENDED

SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

CASK No. 73.132

$180

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 10 years

DATE DISTILLED 25 March 2011

OUTTURN 228 bottles

ABV 62.9%

AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles

The initial nose suggested freshly laundered linens, citrus sherbets, pollen heavy white flowers and crisp green apples. A scattering of pear drops too. All fresh, green, bright and easy. Water enhanced the floral aspects with dried flowers in vase water, then freshly malted barley, sweetheart stout and Turkish delight. The palate when neat opened with lemon curds, biscuity cheesecake thickness and barley sugars. We also got vanilla syrup, dandelions and lemon shortbread. Reduction brought notes of limeade, mint choc chip ice cream and vanilla custard slice.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

CASK No. 9.217

$235

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 17 years

DATE DISTILLED 11 September 2003

OUTTURN 210 bottles

ABV 56.2%

AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles

The nose is a welcome waft of fragrant spring air–golden syrup, mashed banana, barley sugars, honey, fresh linen, flowers and lemon furniture polish on varnished oak. The palate’s main message is sweet lemon – lemon drizzle cake, sherbet lemons and lemon curd, with additional rainbow drops and meringues; the lingering finish has tobacco strands, ginger biscuits, chilli chocolate and liquorice sweets. Leafy notes hit the reduced nose – dandelions, nettles, basil, lemongrass and black tea. The palate now combines iced gem, foamy banana and almond croissant sweetness with hints of apricot, orange, juniper and quinine – memories of Thai curry to finish.

MILLIONS OF PEACHES

SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

CASK No. 128.17

$255

SILKY SMOOTH AND SENSUALLY SWEET

SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

CASK No. 9.240

$295

REGION Wales

CASK TYPE 2nd fill bourbon barrel

AGE 11 years

DATE DISTILLED 8 September 2010

OUTTURN 167 bottles

ABV 58.2%

AUS ALLOCATION 48 bottles

Aromas of white chocolate buttons, caramel toffee and apricot Danish, before one panellist piped up “I have that song ‘Peaches’ in my head, by The Presidents of the United States of America.” No surprise on the palate then, ‘Millions of peaches, peaches for me’, or indeed us, a Bellini cocktail par excellence. After adding a drop of water other fruits made a guest appearance, strawberries, pineapple and mango but on the taste we all agreed peaches, in the form of a tart, cobbler, jam or from a can as we went back to the song with part of the lyrics ‘‘peaches come from a can, they were put there by man.’’

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 18 years

DATE DISTILLED 11 September 2003

OUTTURN 208 bottles

ABV 57.1%

AUS ALLOCATION 30 bottles

The initial nose was slightly autumnal, with lots of nutty innuendos – flaked almonds, baklava and toasted pistachios; also some pine sap and brioche aromas. The palate was silky smooth and sensually sweet –condensed milk and honey, with herbal suggestions coming after – bouquet garni, tarragon, marjoram and lemon thyme. With water the nose continued its autumnal journey, with nut skins and apple cores, but also now picked up the sweetness of cola cubes in a paper bag. The palate was sweet, fruity and wellbalanced – fruit salad chews, fresh juicy melon and plums in syrup; finishing with a hint of muddled mint.

A RARE TREAT

Some members may recall we’ve had a string of these 19yo 63’s in the last 12 months, this being the third so far, and they are nothing short of phenomenal examples of rich, earthy spirit, long-aged in 1st fill wood. Sumptuous examples of how well this spirit works at both young and old, the distillate character of 63 is often notes of SPC tinned fruit, which this one has, but also oozes freshly baked bread, vanilla wafers, marshmallows, and cookie dough.

A SWEET AND TASTY TREAT

SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

CASK No. 63.92

$249

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 19 years

DATE DISTILLED 9 May 2002

OUTTURN 178 bottles

ABV 54.2%

AUS ALLOCATION 36 bottles

A freshly baked soft, fluffy and slightly sweet slice of braided yeast bread (Hefezopf or challah) topped with sugar crystals and sliced nuts spread with butter – a light and tasty treat! On the palate a rich New York cheesecake which had a dreamy creamy flavour with a hint of lemon and vanilla wafer crumbs as the crust. Following reduction we enjoyed marshmallows, chocolate limes, cookie dough and melon balls as we drank a luscious Melontini cocktail – crema di melone, vodka, Amaretto liqueur and cream all shaken, strained into a Martini glass and then garnished with melon balls - living la dolce vita!

POLISHED AND REFINED

SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

CASK No. 26.186

$190

REGION Highland

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 10 years

DATE DISTILLED 8 February 2011

OUTTURN 232 bottles

ABV 59.2%

AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles

Savoury and herbal aromas progressed towards toasted cereals and nuts while a floral fragrance supported sandalwood and thick clotted cream sweetened into fudge. Plenty of chilli, cloves and ginger on the palette softened into honey roasted cashew nuts with a squeeze of citrus before a delightful beeswax mouthfeel fused with waxy orange skin. Water immediately released more oils that suggested freshly snuffed out candles and coconut oil. Cinnamon and nutmeg now arrived with balsa wood and herbal notes of green malt.

A CURE FOR CURIOSITY

SPICY & DRY

CASK No. 12.71

$190

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 2nd fill charred red wine barrique

AGE 12 years

DATE DISTILLED 8 December 2008

OUTTURN 225 bottles

ABV 58.4%

AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles

At first we noted scented hardwoods, resins, fir wood, strawberry jam and after dinner chocolate mints. An aromatic and playful nose we thought. Water brought out an earthy potting shed vibe with mossy aspects, varnished furniture and some lovely leathery notes. In the mouth we found it immediately creamy in texture with a good level of warm spiciness. Curious notes of engine oil, ointments, herbal lozenges, liquorice and dandelion & burdock cordial. Water brought out firm notes of heather ales, miso, seasoning herbs and bergamot. Matured in a bourbon hogshead for 10 years before transfer to a 2nd fill charred red wine barrique.

HERBS ON A SPONGE CAKE

LIGHT & DELICATE

CASK No. 2.134

$245

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 15 years

DATE DISTILLED 7 April 2006

OUTTURN 141 bottles

ABV 59.4%

AUS ALLOCATION 48 bottles

Delightful aromas of heather honey, buttered popcorn and ginger biscuits merged with fresh flowers and flambeed banana on victoria sponge cake. On the palate the sponge cake had a thick layer of cherry jam and a topping of vanilla icing. Zesty limes and pink grapefruit mixed with green grass before finishing with balsa wood and oak spices. Herbal notes and liquorice emerged with water along with honeysuckle, buttery pastry and rum and raisin ice cream. Flavours of juicy orange and lemon sorbet now combined with cinnamon, fennel and tarragon before turning into menthol and fresh pine sawdust on the finish.

GRAPE-STOMPING

DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS

CASK No. 36.178

$190

Limit of one bottle per member

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill Oloroso hogshead

AGE 11 years

DATE DISTILLED 11 February 2010

OUTTURN 281 bottles

ABV 57.4%

AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles

We walked the dog on a sunny autumn afternoon through the forest collecting, in leather satchels, mushrooms and berries. We stopped for a break and enjoyed pumpernickel bread with serrano ham, sherrysoaked raisins, dark Jamaican gingerbread and Ribena, a blackcurrant-based soft drink. After a drop of water, we were transported to the Douro valley where having picked grapes we took part in the traditional grapestomping, crushing them with our feet, hard work but great fun. To keep our spirits up we were served toffee popcorn as well as salted caramel chocolate chip cookies. After nine years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 1st fill Oloroso hogshead.

REGION Lowland

A PASSIONATE PAVLOVA

JUICY, OAK & VANILLA

CASK No. 5.98

$240

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 18 years

DATE DISTILLED 27 January 2003

OUTTURN 203 bottles

ABV 58.2%

AUS ALLOCATION 36 bottles

We imagined entering a room smelling of French lavender fragranced potpourri as we sat down at a French polished table and tucked into a brioche French toast with peach yoghurt, berries and honey. On the palate amazingly expressive fruit flavours such as pineapple and apricots but also a zingy blackberry lemonade with mint. Following the addition of a couple of drops of water the fruits turned more tropical with guava and mango while to taste now sweet, fruity and creamy like a passion fruit pavlova, crisp meringue with a tangy lemon curd and passion fruit curd, whipped cream and melted white chocolate.

FLOWER POWER

Something rather special and fruit-driven for July with this AMWTC ‘Whisky Champs’ preview exclusive, Cask 39.239 ‘Flower power’. Aged for 21 years in a 1st fill exbourbon hogshead, this dark and beguiling Spicy & Sweet 21yo is a big, fun, juicy and floral swirl in the glass. It’s incredible to see this level of single-cask maturation, both from a 1st fill and at this price. Expect notes of oily herbs, baked pastries, apricot preserve, papaya, and melon.

See more on our YouTube Channel and don’t miss this gem.

FLOWER POWER

SPICY & SWEET

CASK No. 39.239

$330

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon hogshead

AGE 21 years

DATE DISTILLED 1 June 2000

OUTTURN 252 bottles

ABV 54.5%

AUS ALLOCATION 36 bottles

Our immediate impressions of the neat nose included tangerines, muddled fresh herbs, olive oil, peach stones and exotic flowers in a tropical greenhouse. Fresh, vivid and with a breezy, summery vibe about it. Water brought firmer notes of freshly baked pastry, apricot preserve, butter icing and flower honey. The neat palate was superb: exotic, concentrated and showing great maturity with wee notes of herbal teas, papaya and melon. Reduction brought more delicate sweetness, notes of millionaire shortbread, mineral oils and dried flowers.

SHOW US YOUR ART

WIN A BOTTLE OF THIS MONTH’S MALT OF THE MONTH, CASK 135.39 SMOKED SCRUNCH MUNCH!

July is all about celebrating the art of whisky. The colours, people, places, and art that surrounds the love of whisky. The art of making it, the art of sharing it, the art of flavour. We’ll be posting things throughout the month highlighting this beauty. In the meantime, we’d like to invite you to design your own bottle label for a chance to win!

The most creative/unique artwork as judged by our Ambassador will WIN a bottle of this month’s Malt of the Month, Cask 135.39 Smoked Scrunch Munch! 3x runner-up prizes will also receive this month’s virtual tasting kit, valued at $99.

Scan here to do it digitally

$99 PER PACK

VIRTUAL TASTING

If there’s a line we’ve touted a lot over the years, it’s how The SMWS celebrates distillery profiles and cask types that are often not the star of that distillery. As in, shining a light on distilleries through single-cask expressions, where they would usually be forgotten or ignored otherwise. The exploration of flavour drives this passion, so we’re bringing that underdog or ‘under the radar’ passion to this month’s virtual tasting.

Join us for a 5x 30ml sample set of codes that don’t usually get a core range, or aren’t often seen as single malts. You might be surprised at how good they can be, and each set includes Vaults Collection release Cask 97.24 A labyrinth for the wayward wanderer valued at $1,495.

As mentioned in the Ambassador’s Address, we’ll be mixing things up a bit this month and inviting some of you to join us on the livestream. Stay tuned here… Each set is just $99, limited to max 2x sets per member.

SOCIETY EXPERIENCES

ADELAIDE FIRE & SMOKE

A super rare experience straight from the highest shelf of the bar, we’re collaborating with Shobosho for their smoked meats, yakitori, and single cask rarities from the SMWS and limited to just 10 x guests. Come share this experience with Cody Banks, our newest SA Ambassador on the 25th July.

28 July 2023, 6:30pm

Shobosho, 17 Leigh St, Adelaide

MELBOURNE THE ART OF CANAPES

An incredible evening exploring pairings like no other thanks to Estelle Bistro, Alex Moores, and SMWS whiskies. Do not miss this intimate and special evening.

27 July 2023, 7pm

Estelle Bistro, 243-245 High St, Northcote

MELBOURNE AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE!

Yeehaw! The SMWS has been busy beavering away on some new American releases, and we’re here to share them around. More than just bourbon now, come taste the innovation happening in the USA across single malt, rye, corn whiskey & more.

13 July 2023, 6:30pm

Whisky & Alement, 270 Russell St, Melbourne

ADELAIDE ART & WHISKY *POSTPONED*

Lunch, drams, charcuterie, private dining, cheese, art, whisky. Need we say more? Cody is arranging an incredible day experience with art and whisky at the centre of this special experience.

Date TBC

Fred Eatery & Bird In Hand winery

PERTH BEST OF 2023, SO FAR...

Our state ambassador, Dave Stucken, is in the enviable position of tasting a LOT of great casks from the SMWS, so he’s picked his personal favourites from 2023 so far, added some other goodies, and will be presenting them at the lush Terrarium Perth.

12 July 2023, 6:30pm

99 St Georges Terrace, Howard St, Perth

IRRESISTIBLY BEAUTIFUL HARMONY

GIN

CASK No. GN5.6

$135

REGION Scotland

CASK TYPE 2nd fill bourbon barrel

AGE years

DATE DISTILLED 23 March 2020

OUTTURN 240 bottles

ABV 49.6%

AUS ALLOCATION 48 bottles

The aroma was like a walk amid green cone pines with the alternation of lawns, groves of flowering shrubs, rhododendrons, flourishing juniper bushes and lochans (small inland lakes) - a very harmonious landscape. On the palate neat, a blackberry and Meyer lemon gin and tonic, using the much sweeter less acidic lemon with an intriguing spicy bergamot fragrant taste reminded us more of spice or herb. After a drop of water, we used the Meyer lemons to make a floral tempting homemade lemonade as well as a creamy marmalade which we pepped up with a little cracked black pepper and caraway seeds.

APPLE SHERBET CRUMBLE

JUICY, OAK & VANILLA

CASK No. 2.135

$240

IT’S A PEACH

JUICY, OAK & VANILLA

CASK No. 113.61

$180

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 15 years

DATE DISTILLED 7 April 2006

OUTTURN 189 bottles

ABV 56.5%

AUS ALLOCATION 30 bottles

Freshly baked apple crumble dusted with cinnamon and served with custard arrived with manuka honey, pink wafer biscuits and strawberries topped with macadamia nuts and mint leaves. On the palate, carrot cake made with crystalised ginger and hazelnuts joined baklava, vanilla ice cream and toasted cereals, while the lively character of apple sherbet combined with crushed nettle leaves. Water enhanced the toasty notes with freshly baked bread, oat biscuits and warm doughnuts combining with allspice, nut oils and kirsch. Flavours warmed the mouth with cinnamon and ginger, while a squeeze of lemon in Earl Grey tea developed into gin botanicals, green leaves and oak tannins on the finish.

REGION Speyside

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 11 years

DATE DISTILLED 4 Oct 2010

OUTTURN 199 bottles

ABV 65.4%

AUS ALLOCATION 36 bottles

We found ourselves in a German bakery - Windbeutel (classic cream puffs),Zimtschnecken (cinnamon rolls) and Quarktaschen (curd cheese turnover with puff pastry). Soft and mellow on the palate with silky pastry cream, coconut, mango and pineapple as well as, back in the bakery, white chocolate cheesecake. Following the addition of water an effervescent mixture of a gin and tonic with a slice of Seville orange alongside cinnamon roasted peaches with honey mascarpone whipped cream emerged before we were served that classic cocktail from Venice invented in 1948.

FROM COAST TO KILN

LIGHTLY PEATED

CASK No. 4.319

$199

PORTENT OF DECEPTION

LIGHTLY PEATED

CASK No. 66.196

$350

REGION Highland

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 10 years

DATE DISTILLED 27 January 2011

OUTTURN 237 bottles

ABV 63.3%

AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles

The aroma for this one was typical and excellent. Heather flowers, aniseed, herbal cough syrup and mineral oils. Also wee touches of beach pebble, hessian and coal tar soap. Coastal and superbly fresh. With water we found acrylics, some emergent sharp smokiness, chalk, beach foam and bonfire embers. Reduction brought dried herbs, smouldering beach wood, hot smoked salmon and a sharp tang of seawater. A 6 years of age, we combined selected casks from the same distillery. We then returned the single malt into a variety of different casks to develop further. This is one of those casks.

REGION Highland

CASK TYPE 2nd fill Port hogshead

AGE 23 years

DATE DISTILLED 23 October 1997

OUTTURN 253 bottles

ABV 53.5%

AUS ALLOCATION 54 bottles

A stunning nose! We found an immediate density of sweetness, like smoked honey infused with heather ales, wild forest flowers, petrichor and tree bark. The denseness of fatty game meats, damp mosses, earthiness, herbal teas and fragrant jasmine. Water brought a brittle, metallic peat smoke, black pepper, anchovy paste and hessian. The palate was thick and sweet, like aged mead and notes of herbal cough medicines, natural tar extracts and punchy herbal bitter notes - like a 1950s bottle of Fernet Branca. Matured for 21 years in a bourbon hogshead before being transferred to a second fill port hogshead.

SOUND OF SINGING SAND

PEATED

CASK No. 10.241

$279

FESTIVAL BOTTLING

THE EDGE OF MIDNIGHT

PEATED

CASK No. 53.447

$325

FESTIVAL BOTTLING

REGION Islay

CASK TYPE 2nd fill PX hogshead

AGE 9 years

DATE DISTILLED 17 October 2013

OUTTURN 287 bottles

ABV 58.8%

AUS ALLOCATION 102 bottles

We were all in agreement nosing neat – a bowl full of herby chicken and bacon lardons with a red onion mash next to a green lentil curry. On the palate, we sat on lovely sun-warmed stones at the beach listening to the calming sound of “singing sand” and eating salty crackers with a smoked tuna dip. Dilution delivered an aroma of peat-smoked marshmallows and charred lobster meat combined with an emerging freshness of sea salt and citrus. Following five years in an ex-bourbon hogshead we transferred this whisky into a second fill PX hogshead.

REGION Islay

CASK TYPE 1st fill American oak PX hogshead

AGE 14 years

DATE DISTILLED 27 May 2008

OUTTURN 277 bottles

ABV 57.6%

AUS ALLOCATION 132 bottles

Gorgeously sweet and syrupy peat aromas at first nosing, it was an immediate hit with the Panel. With a little time we also found gallons of natural tar extract, iodine drops, bacon jam and smoky black coffee aromas. The sweetness of long-aged PX sherry mixed with hessian, cocoa and peat embers in a sooty hearth – just gorgeous! With water it became superbly resinous and aromatic, giving off intricate notes of sawn rosewood, smoked paprika, homemade spiced ketchup, lanolin and herbal cough syrups. A waft of pure peat smoke from a kiln.

HONEYSUCKLE PETRICHOR

PEATED

CASK No. RR53

$329

FESTIVAL BOTTLING

THE FINESSE OF A FRAGRANT FURNACE

PEATED

CASK No. RR3

$499

FESTIVAL BOTTLING

REGION Islay

CASK TYPE

1st fill & refill American oak PX & bourbon hogsheads

AGE 14 years

DATE DISTILLED 27 May 2008

OUTTURN 2,125 bottles

ABV 56.8%

AUS ALLOCATION 126 bottles

Honeysuckle came glazed with a cocktail of rose water, bacon jam and barbecue sauce, plus a side dish of crab meat plucked from a vat of clarified butter. Need we say anything else? To the palate, this dram gifted smoked prune juice and cherry fondant served on driftwood. We also found crushed figs, apricot and brambles singed by a travelling firestarter intent on promoting the skills of cold smoking with peat. Introducing water elevated a smoked apple pie encased in a soft leather satchel, along with potted crab and rye bread.

REGION Islay

CASK TYPE

2nd fill bourbon & Spanish oak Oloroso hogsheads

AGE 18 years

DATE DISTILLED 16 Feb 2004

OUTTURN 1,173 bottles

ABV 56.9%

AUS ALLOCATION 84 bottles

A fine bouquet of fragrant flowers and scorched watermelon mingled with molten wax before it dripped onto tarry ropes. There were also iodine elements of seaweed scattered on a shellfish platter. The palate had fine finesse - juicy with charred pineapple, but devilishly moreish as butter melted over toasted coconut and just a nuance of eucalyptus converged with powdery coal tar. What could a dash of water do? Now wonderfully clean smoke engulfed the maritime familiarity of walks along the beach. Flowers were dotted about the sand dunes and herbal notes morphed into sweet phenols and antiseptic cream on peach skin.

DOGS, TIGERS AND CRABS

PEATED

CASK No. 66.212

THE INLAND SHORE

PEATED

CASK No. 122.46

$210

REGION Highland

CASK TYPE 2nd fill bourbon barrel

AGE 12 years

DATE DISTILLED 21 November 2008

OUTTURN 222 bottles

ABV 59.3%

AUS ALLOCATION 48 bottles

Our noses picked up Germolene and Tiger Balm, prawn shells and crab claws in bonfire embers, Turkish delight and sherbet lemons and Frazzles dipped in motor oil. Our palate descriptors included fly cemeteries, liquorice, tobacco strands, char-grilled peppers and roasted chestnuts; beer and salted pretzels – a lovely sweet and smoky combo. The reduced nose made us think of roofing pitch, Van Nelle Halfzware Shag, leather goods stalls in Andalucía and toffee apples dropped in ash. The palate now – hickory-smoked hotdogs with English mustard, fruit pastilles and lemon zest, sweet rice paper and an aftertaste of coffee grinds, tobacco and ash.

REGION Highland

CASK TYPE Refill bourbon hogshead

AGE 15 years

DATE DISTILLED 22 March 2006

OUTTURN 277 bottles

ABV 53.6%

AUS ALLOCATION 42 bottles

The panel encountered a particularly savoury and crisp peat smoke at first. Then plenty of fresh, coastal salinity, smoked olive oil, preserved lemons, citrus air fresheners and sardines charred over hot wood embers. Water brought a zing of hot acrylic, warm vinyl, sandalwood, umami paste and a hint of seawater. The neat palate opened with bath salts, fragrant dried herbs, cured white fish, bacon frazzles and finally a waft of more grubby, organic peat coming through. Reduction added layers of complexity that suggested sheep wool oils, rock pools, dried seaweed, mineral oils, umami pasta water and an increasingly sharp saltiness.

SKINNY DIPPING IN SURSTRÖMMING

PEATED

CASK No. 151.3

$290

REGION Sweden

CASK TYPE 1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE 12 years

DATE DISTILLED 15 January 2010

OUTTURN 268 bottles

ABV 48.5%

AUS ALLOCATION 48 bottles

A big and expressive nose that brimmed with grubby coal smoke, herbal bitters and savoury smoked fish. Also herby pork sausages, charred bacon and burnt heather with hints of antiseptic cream and carbolic soap. The waft of a freshly creosoted fence. With water we noted gooseberries, elderflower, burning gorse and various varieties of smoked fish and rollmop herring. The neat palate showed a big initial slick of extra virgin olive oil, smoked almonds, campfire on a beach and seawater. Reduction brought out savoury hickory smoke, charcuterie and punchy medicinal tones.

Your guide to the club

We recently realised just how many new members we have at the SMWS, and sometimes navigating all that’s available within your membership and what the club does can be daunting, especially if you’re quite new to whisky in general.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a whisky club, a community, a group — flavour enthusiasts that seek full-flavoured whisky where the aromas transcend the norm and awaken the senses. We’re experiential, brazen, unapologetic — our events aren’t just tastings,

they’re experiences that stay with you forever, they’re unforgettable memories for our members. We are also an independent bottler; and our bottles, which we carefully mature and rigorously assess before release, are 100% flavour-driven: Cask strength, single cask, nonchill filtered, and bursting with flavour.

What is The Scotch Malt Whisky Society? The world’s largest whisky club, of course.

For 40 years we’ve been changing the whisky landscape by exclusively bottling our own expressions of single-cask, cask-strength whisky. That’s whisky extracted from a single cask (not blended or vatted with other casks), and bottled at the ABV it is in the cask (no watering down before bottling) — both of these ensure the most flavoursome whisky, in its most purest form: from cask to bottle. The club began in 1983 with an accountant and mountaineer experiencing his first whisky sip-iphany — it was a dram of cask-strength, single-cask whisky that changed how he felt about the spirit, and everything he ever knew about it.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a whisky club, a community, a group  flavour enthusiasts that seek full-flavoured whisky where the aromas transcend the norm and awaken the senses.

UNDERSTANDING THE LABEL

The total global Outturn of bottles from the single cask.

The cask ID: the first number is the distillery code (36) and the second number is the approved cask by our expert tasting panel (178). So this is the 178th cask from this distillery bottled by the Society.

The name of the whisky is an indicator of the flavour and gives the cask a name!

The number of total years of maturation in a cask. The proof/ ABV of the spirit.

The condensed expert tasting note of what to expect.

The flavour profile colour strip.

The date the whisky was distilled.

The region of the spirit.

The type and previous fill of the cask.

Since that day we’ve been changing the way people think about whisky, and encouraging an unparalleled flavour pursuit. We’re a club with more than 40,000 members across the globe and a thriving Australian branch with regular events across the country, Partner Bars who stock our bottlings and spread the word of The Society, incredible content, and of course, usually between 12 – 15 new bottles EVERY month. These bottles are only available through the club, and you must be a member to purchase bottles.

Because most of our releases are single cask, they’re all limited editions by nature — each cask (depending on size) will yield anywhere between 60 and 600 bottles worldwide; once they’re gone, they’re gone forever, never to be repeated again. That’s the beauty of singlecask whisky, it’s a non-recurring expression, a time capsule, even, of that time and place’s conditions.

Because most of our releases are single cask, they’re all limited editions by nature — each cask (depending on size) will yield anywhere between 60 and 600 bottles worldwide; once they’re gone, they’re gone forever, never to be repeated again.

If you’re wondering what the numbers, colours, names, and whimsical tasting notes are all about, it’s all directly tied into the flavour and identity of the cask. For various reasons (which you can read about in past issues of Outturn, Unfiltered Magazine and online on our blog ‘Whiskywise’), we do not state the name of the distillery that distilled the new-make spirit. We instead use a coding system.

The first number represents the distillery (in the order they joined our stable of distilleries), and the second number represents the number of casks that passed our expert tasting panel. For example, 14.83 is the 14th distillery to join The SMWS, and the 83rd cask to be approved by our expert tasting panel from that distillery.

This expert tasting panel also name the casks and write the tasting notes you’ll find in Outturn (an amalgamation of experiences and flavours from all panel members). The colours are indicative of one of the 12 flavour profiles we assign to each cask, which is a great starting point when looking at what a cask tastes like (you can see all of our flavour profiles at the back of this issue).

If you’re reading Outturn Magazine (our free, monthly catalogue of new cask releases, events, and articles) for the first time, welcome. If you’ve just joined The Scotch Malt Whisky Society — welcome to your first Outturn and the next step in your flavour journey! As always, we’re available for any questions you may have. Feel free to get in touch by emailing us at info@smws.com.au, or calling 02 9974 3046.

THE 12 FLAVOUR PROFILES OF THE SMWS