Two Years in the Scotch Malt Whisky Society

 

In the last year I've had many, many Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") drams - especially now that I the in-person tastings are back - and I want to sort through them in some kind of organized way here. 

On a general independent bottling note: this last year the Washington DC area has become a pretty decent place to find independent bottlings - I went from hardly seeing any this time last year, to seeing a healthy variety - Single Cask Nation, Cadenheads, Signatory, Douglas Laing, Hunter Laing, et al, just lots and lots are on the shelves now. 

Someone got the word out in a big way around here, but unfortunately the pricing tends to be a little on the high side - many of them seem to be positioned more as premium products rather than alternatives to official bottlings, which is especially disappointing considering how many IBs are 40-43% ABV. Therefore you get weird situations like finding Ardbeg or Laphroaig 10 for $50-55, but generic Smokehead is $70 and Scarabus $80, neither of which is better or even on par. 

As far as I know, the Jack Rose Saloon is the only bar in town that features drams from SMWS for purchase. I've had a couple - an older Ardmore and a young sherry-matured Craigellachie - that were definitely worth my time. They also sell bottles (and, I've heard, buy them as well), which is a nice bonus.  

Anyway, according to my records, I've reviewed ~70 drams or bottles from SMWS in the last year. Here are a few superlatives, in no particular order, from October 1, 2021 to October 1, 2022:

Favorite 5 Bottlings:

• Mortlach 19 Year "Flavor Maze" - Surprisingly good. Although I don't get much "beastliness" from The Beast of Dufftown, this has wonderfully mature and nuanced wood notes front to back - a really great job on the sherry finish. 
• Macallan 12 Year "Baked Treats in a Humidor"/"Past Glories" - These two bottles are basically interchangeable. The perfect examples of the full potential of Macallan, incredibly rich sherry bombs at cask strength that are chock full of deep flavor. 
• Ardmore 21 Year "Delicious and Yummy" - Wish I had a whole bottle! This was a single pour at the Jack Rose Saloon, and a really aptly named old Ardmore, distilled in '85 and showcasing the unusual house style at a mature, rounded age. 
• Auchroisk 13 Year "Curious and Alluring" - Yet another red wine finish on an Auchroisk, this one is a little older than previous offerings, and benefits greatly from it. Delicious, malty, faintly smoky, full-bodied, the red wine adds a lot and subtracts nothing. Well executed. Would like to see an even older version. 
• Highland Park 20 Year "A Punch and a Pout" - A near-definitive statement of the Highland Park house style. Gentle, smoky, floral, soft fruit, sea salt, minerals... just a fine dram. 

Most Bizarre 5 Bottlings:

• Ben Nevis 8 Year "Death in the Afternoon" - I felt like I lost my way with this one immediately after the neck pour. Had a great nose but an incredibly lackluster body and finish. Not sure what happened here. Has none of the quintessential Ben Nevis industrial funk about it. 
• Linkwood 10 Year "A Merry Dance" - I never could decide if I liked this or didn't. Linkwood is a delicate spirit, and here it is finished in an ex-peated-scotch barrel - half the time I got a nice wispy, lightly fruity dram; the other half, a totally failed experiment that didn't cohere. 
• Bowmore 17 Year "Technicolor Panoramic" - Absolutely nothing wrong with this rather lovely bottle, although there is a gentle disconnect between a rather peaty nose and a rather delicate palate ... but I'm putting this on the Bizarre list mostly as proof that something is really broken over at Bowmore. This bottle is as interesting and flavorful as the official bottles are dull and uninspired. While it's common that independent bottlings are like often better or more interesting than most official bottlings, with Bowmore it's like 100x or 1000x better and more interesting.
• Ardnamurchan 5 Year "A Peaty Peninsula" - An incredibly sweet yet deeply herbal dram that seemed not to know quite what it was; perhaps a little underbaked at 5 years (not their fault). Despite this, it was dangerously drinkable, and bodes well for Ardnamurchan in the future. Strange but in a good way. 
• Old Pulteney 7 Years "Sweet and Zesty Sea Air" - This bottle also didn't know what it was, a real identity crisis. Almost no Old Pultney notes are present - it was obvious why the distillery let this cask go - and at only 7 years old, it was too hot and the flavors too shy. 

My Least Favorite 5 Bottles:

• Glenfarclas 8 Year "A One Like No Other" - A quasi-peated version of bourbon-matured Glenfarclas, this failed on all fronts. Only the neck pour had any degree of smoke, the rest was vaguely tropical but really lacked flavor and didn't come together well. One of the bottles that formed my 10 Year Minimum Rule.  
• Balmenach 7 Years "Worm Tub Stodge" - Nothing wrong with Balmenach, I just don't like the very strong mint streak in their spirit. It's all over this one, so just not my thing. 
• Glen Scotia 8 Year "Changes Faster Than a Chameleon" - Serves me right for breaking my 10 Year Minimum Rule. Nothing essentially wrong with this - certainly drinkable all day and night - but not quite "there" yet. Needed 2-4 more years at least.
• Teanninich 13 Year "Red Oak" - A failed red wine finish that never integrated, resulting in a somewhat schizophrenic tasting experience. 
• Caol Ila 10 Year "Phenomenal"  - Not phenomenal, but a totally pedestrian Islay. Nothing wrong with it, good clean example of Caol Ila, but really not worth the price, and there are too many releases like it. 

Five Distilleries I'm Hoping to One Day Try via SMWS:

• Bruichladdich (other IBs have them, why not SMWS?)
• Kilchoman (do they even sell casks?)
• Talisker (their house style in single cask format would be glorious)
• Oban (unobtainium, I've never seen an IB of them, from anyone)
• Edradour (if Signatory even releases any casks from their tiny stocks)

Ardbeg would be nice as well, but I continue to hear that Ardbeg simply does not sell its casks off unless something goes awry; from what I understand, there have been ~135 casks of Ardbeg sold by the SMWS, but they were all before the time of my membership. Maybe I'll get lucky one day, but I'm not hopeful. 

Two Distilleries I've Seen Enough Of: 

• Caol Ila
• Bunnahabhain (peated) - although these seem to have run out for the time being. 

There is simply no shortage of casks of Caol Ila, though. 

Strangest Trend

No really strange ones, I guess. Still lots of sherry finishes, a few STR/rechar barrels, a few red wine barriques here and there... nothing too weird. I can definitely announce a Worst Trend, and that's the steadily climbing prices. 

Alcohol generally has more or less plateaued somewhere a few dollars higher than pre-pandemic ... but not whisky, which has gone crazy. Things that were $70 are 90. Springbank is unobtainable at reasonable prices. Upper age statements are beyond the realm of reality now. It's getting unsustainable, and leading to big attention for independent bottlers, as consumers seek higher quality if they are going to shell out higher prices. 

All in all, I think the Society remains a niche club for experienced whisky drinkers, providing access to some very unusual and hard to acquire bottles - at a price. Maybe the best thing, for me, are the outturn gatherings, which adds a much-needed social dimension. And on that note, thank you to the Society for finally starting an online forum for members! 

That's all until next year. Cheers, all.