Tobermory 15 Year (SMWS 42.68 "An Atlantic Morning Dip")

 

This 15 year Tobermory, a single cask bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") to celebrate Summer 2022, caught my attention right away because it's an older expression and categorized by the SMWS as "oily and coastal," which is probably my favorite of their categories. Tobermory, situated on the Isle of Mull, makes both peated and unpeated whiskies, and this is unpeated. The peated stuff, released under the name Ledaig, is uniformly excellent. 

Edradour Ballechin Discovery Series #3 - "The Port Casks" (NAS)

 

When Edradour - the smallest operating distillery in Scotland - peats their spirit, they release it under the label Ballechin, honoring a long-dead distillery of the same name that operated from 1810 to 1927. The original Ballechin was one of the original seven distilleries in Perthshire, Scotland - now, only Edradour is left. 

They only started this heavily peated project in 2003, and this bottle is their third official release, from 2008. It's aged an unknown number of years, matured fully in port casks, bottled without coloration or filtering at 46% ABV. One of only 6000 bottles. 

Glen Scotia 12 Year (Gordon & MacPhail, Cask Strength, distilled 1992)

 

Sadly, The Wine Specialist on 20th St NW here in Washington DC is leaving their current location on July 30, 2022. They told me they'd be returning in 2023, but probably not at the current location - a shame, they were one of the friendlier spots down in the Dupont/Farragut Square neighborhoods to find decent sherry, port, cordials, and sometimes single malt scotch. I particularly miss the older gentleman behind the register who listened to loud jazz all day. Kindred spirit. 

Glen Scotia 8 Year (SMWS 93.173 "An Absolute Bruiser")

 

I've had quite a few Glen Scotia bottlings over the last two or three years, and I can safely say with full confidence: this is one funky distillery. Owned by the Loch Lomond Group - which is absolutely unafraid to experiment rather radically with their whiskies - Glen Scotia is every bit as funky as its Campbeltown brethren at Springbank and Kilkerran. 

This independent bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") is heavily peated and aged eight years in a first fill bottle. While I am a bit leery of younger bottlings from the SMWS (ten times bitten, eleven times shy, or something like that), it's somewhat common knowledge that heavily peated spirit is at its most muscular, brash, and aggressive at younger ages, and the peat tends to fade away relatively quickly as the spirit enters its mid- to upper-teens. A great example of this is drinking Lagavulin 8 year back to back with the 16 year expression. The 16 year is lovely stuff (despite some recent batch variation) but is quite muted and suppressed compared to the "outspoken" 8 year. 

Dailuaine 11 Year (SMWS 41.145 "A Pilgrimage of Flavor")

 

It's safe to say at this point that I'm an enormous fan of Dailuaine, and will buy almost any bottling for their spirit that I find. The last bottle I had, a 9 year from Single Cask Nation, was just lovely front to back. The last sherried version I had, a Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") bottle nicknamed "Jam-Packed With Darkness" was amazing, as it featured the signature "watermelon Jolly rancher"/"Sour Patch kid" note I get with Dailuaine, but with tons of rich sherry notes overlaid on top, which was surprisingly successful.

GlenAllachie 10 Year Cask Strength Batch 1

 

(Editor's Note: 10 days after covid, my sense of taste and smell seem to be restored. I have sampled a variety of foods and drinks that I know very well, and finally they all smell like they are supposed to, with a full array of richness and variety. Strangely, the thing that took the longest to come back was ketchup - go figure.)

Master Distiller Billy Walker is a highly divisive figure in scotch whisky. A former research chemist, he began overseeing the distilling process at BenRiach in 2004, and moved on in the 2010s to resurrect Glenglassaugh and - famously or infamously - GlenDronach. 

His time at GlenDronach is fairly well known and also somewhat notorious: he added old stock to the various GlenDronach bottlings to enrich the flavor and build the brand's reputation... but when the old stock ran low, he purportedly began re-racking lower quality stock into fresh sherry casks, but not disclosing it. People noticed that the various age statements were tasting thinner and thinner, and some bottlings were noticeably worse than before. 

Blog Pause (Covid)

Sadly, I got the dreaded coronavirus last weekend, and after laying waste to my flesh and blood, it has scrambled my sense of smell (and presumably taste) as well. 

Tomato-based sauces like ketchup currently smell horribly burnt and acrid to me. Coffee tastes muted. Potato chips taste like metal. 

And scotch? Well, this last bottle of Craigellachie I bought from the SMWS - the 8 year sherry-matured one, at 67.9% ABV - went from a rich, explosive dram to an oddly powerless spirit. All I can scent is malt barley and chocolate, and only barely. All I can taste are chocolate and blueberries. None of those were present in my first tasting. 

Strangest of all the gigantic wash of alcohol I got when my sinuses were free and clear is totally missing. It's like the glass was left out for several days and went flat. It's the oddest thing.

So until things are tasting normal again, I can't review anything in good faith. Otherwise I'll be famous across the internet as the guy who said Macallan tasted like Laphroaig, and Laphroaig tasted like dishwater, and dishwater tasted like paperclips fried in old hair clippings. 

Cross your fingers that this passes quickly, and enjoy a dram on my behalf in the meantime. 

P.S. The last three reviews were all scheduled to release long after the bottles were in hand, so don't worry about those being "tainted" - my tongue and nose were still in service when those were done. 

Highland Park 10 Year (SMWS 4.282 "A Bothy Amongst Mountain Heather") - Full Review

 

I can't resist Highland Park independent bottlings... or, for that matter, their official cask strength expression. They have a very specific, particular set of flavors - heather, soft smoke, soft fruit, minerals, salt/sea spray - that I quite care for. I had this as a quick sample at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June Outturn event at the Jack Rose Saloon - I liked it enough to buy a bottle - this is the full, extended review. 

Aultmore 10 Year (SMWS 73.129 "In the Fields")

 

I haven't had a ton of Aultmore... in fact, I've only had one sample, of an independently bottled 11 year, which I liked. This bottle in front of me is from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), matured 10 years in a second-fill ex-bourbon barrel. It's bottled at 58.6% ABV, and here are the official notes:

Craigellachie 8 Year (SMWS 44.147 "Worm Cinders")

 

Ah, sweet Craigellachie - how I love thee. Applesauce and porkchops, in a glass. The official bottling is good, the independent bottlings are better, and even at its worst (looking at you, Five Lions), it's intriguing. So here is a bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") that I jumped on immediately - eight years matured in two different Oloroso casks (!), bottled at 67.9% (!!!)... and a companion to another eight year sherry-matured Craigellachie I had a couple months back that was like drinking a pork and sulfur smoothie (!!!!). 

Highland Park Cask Strength Release No. 2 (NAS)

 

This is a review of the second release of the much-respected Highland Park Cask Strength bottling. As many missteps as the official Highland Park core expressions have seen in their blitz of Viking-forward marketing (and what many regard as a lapse in quality of many of their whiskies), the Cask Strength line has received almost unanimously good reviews. 

Bowmore 17 Year (SMWS Rare Release, Islay Festival 2022 "Time Travelers")

 

This was a "bonus" dram at the end of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June outturn event at the Jack Rose Saloon, along with the 18 year Glen Garioch. I have had a few of these 17 year Bowmores from SMWS now, and they are all quite good, albeit slightly pricy for what they are. Eh, you pay for the name and the scarcity, I suppose - along with the fact that you'll never find a distillery bottling this good from Bowmore itself. 

Glen Garioch 18 Year (SMWS Rare Release)

 

This is a special 18 year old release of Glen Garioch from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") as part of the 2022 Highland Festival. I don't know a lot about Glen Garioch (pronounced "Glen Geery") ... Wikipedia tells me it's owned by Morrison Bowmore, which itself is owned by Suntory, the international beverage giant. Apparently production stopped for a few years in the late 60s/early 70s when their water source ran dry; they found another on a neighboring farm called "the silent spring" because it was silent and invisible (?!). 

Glen Scotia 8 Year (SMWS Campbeltown Festival 2022 Rare Release "Changes Faster Than a Chameleon")

 

Glen Scotia is a distillery I really like. "The other Campbeltown distillery" has long been in Springbank's shadow, but general awareness has really blossomed in the last few years, especially as Springbank becomes totally unobtainable. Owned by the Loch Lomond group - who have been doing really ambitious and great things these last few years - they are one of just a handful or less of distilleries in Campbeltown - once one of the busiest scotch areas. 

Caol Ila 8 Year (SMWS Islay Festival 2022 Rare Release "Throw the Cork Away!")

 

Released as part of the 2022 Islay Festival by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), this 8 year Caol Ila has been finished for two years in a first fill Oloroso barrel made of American oak (!!!) by the Tevasa cooperage that SMWS works with. Wow, ok. 

Caol Ila is a behemoth of a distillery, and one of the most ubiquitous distilleries - especially in terms of Islay productions - bottles to find on the independent scene. My good friend Rob often - and correctly - jokes that "10 year Caol Ila" should be its own category of scotch. 

Worthy Park 7 Year Rum (SMWS R11.14 "Hot Shots")

 The Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") has, for me, a pretty good track record of releasing wild, wild, wild rums. So far the ones I've had have been just completely insane - reeking of motor oil, fresh paint, gasoline, rotten fruit, wet dirt, you name it. So when I saw this Worthy Park 7 year aged rum come up - finished in a peated whisky barrel, and bottled at 67.5% ABV, no less! - I jumped all over it. 

Mortlach 19 Year (SMWS 76.149 "Flavor Maze")

 

The sixth of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. This was everyone's favorite of the entire event - every single person raved about it, including the bartenders. A 19 year Mortlach with a two year sherry finish (first fill Oloroso hogshead) with a massive mouthfeel... how can you go wrong? 

Blair Athol 12 Year (SMWS 68.65 "Floral Laurel")

 

The third of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. This is from Blair Athol, one of the quasi-anonymous Diageo distilleries whose output is used for various blends - in this case, Wikipedia says it's primarily Bell's. The distillery dates to 1798, and was closed form 1932 to 1949 - then it expanded in 1973. 

Glen Moray 14 Year (SMWS 35.302 "A Quick Witted Dovetail")

 

The fifth of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. I love a good Glen Moray, which is known for delectable and rather sweet offerings. This has a very unusual two-year shaved/toasted/rechar ex-first-fill Pedro Ximenez sherry cask finish after a dozen years in ex-bourbon, and was a big winner among all the conversations I overheard at the event.

BenRiach 12 Year (SMWS 12.67 "Horseback in the Forest")

 

The fourth of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. I quite like BenRiach, who I think has had one of the most successful rebranding of any scotch in the last 20 years. Their current quadrilogy (The Ten, The Smoky Ten, The Twelve, The Smoky Twelve) is just lovely stuff. So I was quite interested in a 12 year expression labeled "Deep, Rich, and Dried Fruits" due to a red wine barrique finish. 

Highland Park 10 Year (SMWS 4.282 "A Bothy Amongst Mountain Heather")

 

The seventh of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. A 10 year Highland Park from, presumably, the same vatting project that almost all the SMWS Highland Parks have come from, this one was pretty popular at the event, at least by word of mouth.

Inchmoan 9 Year (SMWS 135.39 "Smoked Scrunch Munch")

The ninth of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. From Inchmoan (one of the many Loch Lomond imprints), this is always interesting stuff - they aren't afraid to take chances at Loch Lomond, and it almost always pays off. This is a heavily peated 9 year old, bottled at a nice, full 58.5% ABV. 

Allt-a-Bhainne 11 Year (SMWS 108.41 "Burnt Dust")

 

The eighth of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. Allt-a-Bhainne is a really wacky, kooky distillery - I've only had two bottles from them (both independent), and both were unusual. One had flavors of latex and breakfast sausage (!); the other was pungent and funky and meaty, metallic, earthy. So I was very curious about this peated version.

Balmenach 8 Year (SMWS 48.130 "Yellow Smash")

 

It's no secret that I don't like mint as a flavor in my scotch (or when it's combined with sweet things in general) ... and Balmenach is the most mint-forward distillery I know. So I tend to avoid them; this was the second of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. I was curious and feeling adventurous, so I gave it a shot. 

Royal Brackla 10 Year (SMWS 55.69 "Easy Rider")

 

The first of nine whiskies at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") June 2022 Outturn tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on Sunday, June 5th. I've never had Royal Brackla! So this was a nice new experience. Royal Brackla is owned by Bacardi, and dates to 1812. It gets the word "Royal" because King William IV (the king who immediately preceded Queen Victoria) selected it as the official whisky of his court - the first whisky to be granted a Royal Warrant. It closed from 1985 to 1991, like so many distilleries. 

Ben Nevis 8 Year (SMWS 78.53 "Death in the Afternoon")

 

Ben Nevis is a distillery I know very little about; mainly I hear what everyone does - they are owned by Japanese beverage company Nikka, and the vast majority (and best) of their distillate is used for the Nikka line of Japanese whiskies. Ben Nevis is a coastal distillery at a very high elevation - Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the UK - and they supposedly source their water from the highest elevation water source in scotch whisky. 

As you may know, Japan (until very recently?) has some odd alcohol laws, including one that allows any whisky that is stored in Japan for even a very short time - no matter where it was distilled - to be called Japanese. Hence how Nikka whiskies are actually made in Scotland by Ben Nevis. Supposedly the law has been made stricter, and soon more and better Ben Nevis will be released under its own name. 

Tomatin Cask Strength (NAS)

Yet another (relatively) unfamiliar distillery - Tomatin, owned and operated by the Takara Shuzo Corporation, which is the largest manufacturer of traditional shochu liquor in Japan. I've had a couple samples of their 12 year in the past, but it's been a while. The experience is somewhat like seeing the same strange guy or girl at different parties from time to time.

Most of Tomatin's output goes into blends like Antiquary and Talisman (I've had neither). This is their no-age-statement cask strength offering, matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry. 

Highland Park 12 Year (Pre-Viking)

 

Many thanks to Rob Martin for this blast from the past: a sample of Highland Park 12 Year from before their infamous 2017 "Viking" makeover. 

Here is a list of the current offerings from post-Viking Highland Park:

Glenlivet 12 Year

 

Here is another ubiquitous scotch that you can find in almost any regular bar in the United States - and probably globally - but that I've somehow neglected. I had quite a bit of this in the early 2010s during the early phase of my scotch journey, along with Glenmorangie and Glenfiddich. But since then it's been sorely overshadowed by more colorful, more flavorful beasts. So, thanks to scotch lord (laird?) Rob Martin, it's time to revisit. 

Highland Park 12 Year (Classic Cask)

 A rare review with no picture of the bottle! I cannot source a single picture of this one - it's a Classic Cask independent bottling of Highland Park 12 year; here is the whiskybase page for it. It's no secret that I love Highland Park's independently bottled expressions. I've reviewed quite a number here on the blog, and I am very happy to add this one to the list. Thanks - many thanks - to Rob Martin for the sample. 

Mannochmore 12 Year Old (Signatory)

 

Another new distillery for me! Mannochmore is another fairly anonymous Diageo distillery, located in Elgin in the Speyside region. It's pretty young - founded in 1971 - and was shuttered between 1985 and 1989 and only resumed full production in 1992. According to Wikipedia, starting in 1995 it shared its employees with Glenlossie, and thus only produced for half the year; this was corrected in 2008, when it gained its own staff and now produces all year, every year. 

Glenglassaugh Revival (NAS)

 

Here is  a distillery I've never had before - Glenglassaugh, from the Highlands. Owned by beverage giant Brown-Forman (think: Jack Daniel's; Glendronach; BenRiach; et al), it was shuttered for quite some time, 1986-2008, but now is back in action. 

Johnnie Walker Black 12 Year Blend

 

I'm long overdue to review this one; thanks to Rob Martin for the sample!! Johnnie Walker Black Label (aged 12 years) in a blend of almost 40 malts and grains, including: 

• Cardhu
• Caol Ila
• Oban
• Talisker
• Lagavulin
• Glenkinchie
• Dalwhinnie
• Cragganmore
• Clynelish
• The Singleton (Glen Ord, Dufftown, Glendullan)
• Royal Lochnagar
• Glen Elgin
• Knockando
• Auchroisk
• Benrinnes
• Blair Athol
• Dailuaine
• Glenlossie 
• Glen Spey
• Inchgower
• Linkwood
• Mannochmore
• Mortlach
• Strathmill
• Teaninich

Loch Lomond 15 Year (Alexander Murray)

 

Here is something of a mystery. A "Glenshiel" (which doesn't exist) from independent bottler Alexander Murray, aged 15 years. Whiskybase and Flaviar both indicate that Glenshiel in this case is a code word for Loch Lomond, a favorite distillery of mine in the last year or two. 

Alexander Murray is another independent bottler whose website waxes poetic about their incredible ability to pick exceptional casks. This particular bottle is aged 15 years in a bourbon hogshead and bottled at cask strength - 57.2% ABV. Very nice - let's see just how wild this "Glenshiel" proves to be...

Penderyn 9 Year Single Malt Welsh Whisky (Jack Rose bottle, ex-Oloroso cask)

 I've been dying to try Welsh whisky for some time now. I am something like 15% Welsh according to Ancestry.com, and that 15% includes my name, ha! There are quite a number of Welsh distilleries these days, but Penderyn is probably the best known, at least here in the US. According to Wikipedia, It is distilled in the village of Penderyn, Rhondda Cynon Taf, in the Cynon Valley, from which the brand takes its name. Here is a particularly good explanation of what makes Penderyn unique.

Macallan 12 Year (SMWS 24.160 "Baked Treats in a Humidor")

 

The second of two cask strength sherry-matured Macallan bottlings I picked up from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). This comes from a large-scale revatting project at the SMWS, where they take 10 year old sherry-matured Macallan and then age it in different sherry casks or hogshead for another two years. 

Macallan 12 Year (SMWS 24.159 "Past Glories")

 

Well, the last two cask strength Macallans I had (both from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society) were both excellent. Ultimate sherry bombs rich in both sweet and savory sherry textures. I have been hoarding my last bottle, "In a Tapas Bar," which was part of this same revatting project, where they take a large amount of 10 year Macallan sherry-matured scotch and apply a variety of different sherry cask finishes. 

Foro Amaro (La Canallese Distillery)

 

Another outstanding amaro from a small distillery in the Piemont region of Italy (in the far northwest, bordering France and Switzerland, containing the cities of Asti and Turin). I picked this up at Vitis Fine Wines and Spirits at Union Market here in Washington DC. I've never heard of Foro in my various amaro journeys, so I snapped it up. 

Dailuaine 9 Year (Single Cask Nation)

 

Dailuaine is one of those "Never heard of it" distilleries that I truly love, right up there with Ardmore and Linkwood. And, perhaps, Loch Lomond and Tomintoul. But Dailuaine is always exceedingly high quality. I've only ever seen independent bottlings of it - and this one is from indie bottler Single Cask Nation (created by the podcasters who made One Nation Under Whisky) will hopefully continue the trend. Single Cask Nation as a bottler has really blown up in recent years, and I see it constantly on Reddit.

Highland Park 13 Year (SMWS 4.283 "Selkies, Kelpies, and Peat Reek")

 

Another 13 year independent bottling from Highland Park from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). This is part of a big revatting project they've been working on for some time now - I think it's at least the fifth or sixth from the same revatting that I've had. And they have all been interesting! Highland Park is a spirit that really does well in the hands of independent bottlers. 

Ledaig 14 Year (SMWS 42.70 "Swash and Buckle!")

 

Peated Tobermory whisky is sold under the name Ledaig (pronounced luh-chaig, as near as I can tell), and Ledaig has been increasingly in popularity steadily over the last several years, with its current reputation hovering somewhere around vaunted peated classics like Ardbeg Ten Year and Laphroaig Ten Year. So when I saw a 14 year bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") - with the adventurous nickname "Swash and Buckle!" to boot - I pulled the trigger.

Ardmore 21 Year (SMWS 66.23 "Delicious and Yummy")

As anyone who even happens across the list of whiskies I've reviewed can tell, I am quite a fan of Ardmore. So when I discovered that the Jack Rose Saloon here in Washington DC had a last splash of 21 year old Ardmore, distilled in the 1980s, I decided to splurge. It was expensive ($30) but perhaps a last chance at seeing what Ardmore was like in former years, as well as try an older expression. I am publishing this on the same day I'm posting my review of a long-discontinued Ardmore Traditional Cask (NAS) bottle I found mummified in dust on a DC liquor store shelf. 

Ardmore Traditional Cask (NAS) Second Take

 

There are few people on earth with a love of Ardmore as pure as I have, hahaha. I'm not even really kidding, either. I discovered Ardmore through their now discontinued Traditional Cask bottling, and was so impressed that I have been seeking out their independent bottles ever since. And, as luck would have it, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), to which I belong, happens to have good access to casks of Ardmore, and releases bottles pretty regularly, so I've had a wide variety of their spirit. 

What luck, then, that tonight - after 8 years! - I happened across a bottle of that long-discontinued Traditional Cask. I have been thinking about it for years now - and it's virtually impossible to find one of the official bottles they supposedly have on the market these days.

Glenturret 10 Year (SMWS 16.60 "Entering Uncharted Paths")

 

This was the final of six samplings of the May outturn for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") - an interesting bottle from Glenturret, a peated, oceanic dram if there ever was one.  A gathering of about 30 people gathered at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC to try and guess a blind tasting of the six drams.

Strathmill 11 Year (SMWS 100.29 "Misbehaving in a Country House")

 

 This was the fifth of six samplings of the May outturn for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") - an interesting bottle from Strathmill, a respectable melding of bourbon and sherry due to an Oloroso finish. A gathering of about 30 people gathered at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC to try and guess a blind tasting of the six drams.

Teaninich 13 Year (SMWS 59.65 "Red Oak")

 This was the fourth of six samplings of the May outturn for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") - an interesting bottle from Teaninich, a yin/yang of bourbon and dry red wine. A gathering of about 30 people gathered at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC to try and guess a blind tasting of the six drams.

Glenburgie 14 Year (SMWS 71.79 "Adventurously Awesome")

 

This was the third of six samplings of the May outturn for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") - a middle-aged Glenburgie, full of vanilla, chocolate, and bready notes! A gathering of about 30 people gathered at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC to try and guess a blind tasting of the six drams. 

Longmorn 17 Year (SMWS 7.269 "Luscious, Silky, and Sensuous")

 

This was the second of six samplings of the May outturn for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") - an older Longmorn, full of buttery, grassy Bakewell tart! A gathering of about 30 people gathered at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC to try and guess a blind tasting of the six drams. 

Deanston 9 Year (SMWS 79.6 "Rough and Jumble")

 

This was the first of six samplings of the May outturn for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") - a sprightly young Deanston, full of verge and punch! A gathering of about 30 people gathered at the Jack Rose Saloon in Washington DC to try and guess a blind tasting of the six drams. 

Aultmore 11 Year (Classic Cask)

Aultmore is yet another of those distilleries I've barely encountered. Founded in 1895 by Alexander Edward (who also owned Benrinnes), from early on it was powered by a steam engine that ran day and night for ~70 years (according to Wikipedia) - what a feat! It's been bought and sold and opened and closed a number of times over the years, until Bacardi bought it (under their Dewars label) in 1998. Currently Bacardi owns Aultmore, Aberfeldy, my beloved Craigellachie, Macduff, and Royal Brackla.