Strathmill 11 Year (SMWS 100.27 "Colorful and Flavorful")

 

This was the fourth cask sampled at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") March outturn preview tasting at the Jack Rose Saloon on 2/28/22, and probably the crowd favorite (along with the Inchmurrin 25 year). This was the first sherried whisky of the night and the nose was as open and bountiful as the Inchmurrin was closed!

Strathmill is another anonymous Diageo distillery that mostly used to produce blend fodder for J&B (among others). The name is Gaelic for "shallow valley mill." 

Here are the official notes:

We noticed at first the deep orange red colour before we walked through a wine cellar where rows and rows of Madeira wine matured in barrels, an intoxicating scent of earthy, deep floral and woody aromas. Big on the palate neat, fennel seeds coated in bitter chocolate, roasted hazelnuts with thyme before a deep glace cherry sweetness appeared. Water added ginger wine, dark chocolate oranges and dark chocolate covered rose flavoured Turkish delight while to taste blood orange and dark chocolate fondant cakes. After eight years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, we transferred this whisky into a 1st fill Oloroso hogshead.

Interesting! They are being honest about the color - it was a deep orange. Bottled at 55.3% ABV. Let's investigate:

Nose: Very rich and sherry-forward. Leather, butter, sherry wine, assorted nuts, some floral hints, some wood notes. A very nice nose. Perhaps even a strange but distinct note of light-roasted coffee beans??

Mouthfeel: Oily, medium. 

Palate: Unfortunately for me, the 3-D nose collapses to 2-D on the palate. Spicy sherry - chocolate, herbs, nuts - but nothing that would blow you away. A bit pedestrian. My tablemates seemed to agree, although perhaps I was influencing them a bit, since I sampled it first. The palate was an order of magnitude less interesting than the nose. 

Finish: What finish? It falls off a cliff. Very brief finish of baking spices and oak that disappears basically immediately. 

Verdict: One of those odd whiskies that has a wonderfully enticing nose but no body at all, and even less finish. Like an upside down pyramid! This was my first encounter with Strathmill, and one of my tablemates said they really shine in these independent bottles - but he agrees that this wasn't one of their brightest beacons. Still, I overheard other tables that found more to love about this than I did, so I give it some credit. Maybe just not for me. Interesting, if nothing else.