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.

Teananich is another Diageo distillery, which is 99.9% funneled directly into Johnnie Walker Red. A tiny amount is reserved for a Flora and Fauna release, and of course the odd SMWS bottle here and there. Like the SMWS releases of its Diageo brethren Auchroisk, this has had a red wine finish applied. Here are the official notes: 

After ten years in ex-bourbon wood we transferred this into a first-fill red wine barrique. The nose had a winey characters – port and Sangria, lots of red fruits (blackberry, Ribena, fruit leathers, spiced plums) and cigar box hints. The palate confirmed this with dessert wine and Lambrusco, Ruffle bars (dark chocolate, raspberry and coconut), red liquorice and stewed fruits with a drying finish of wine-soaked oak, cranberry and cinnamon. The reduced nose discovered sticky dates, sherbet, honey and tobacco leaf. The palate grew juicier with pomegranate, marshmallow teacakes, apricot jam, vanilla, meringues and chilled Sauternes; once more a dry finish like chewing a liquorice root – definitely intriguing.

Pretty good description, looking back. Bottled at 55.7% ABV, let's taste through this one:

Nose: Red grapes, oak tannins, grape must, dry wine (leather? sour prunes?), big vanilla/toffee notes on the back end. A real potent mixture of bourbon notes with dry red wine notes. 

Mouthfeel: Thinner weight.

Palate: Bourbon-like vanilla, mild pepper, red wine bitterness, leather, dunnage warehouses. A bit simpler than the nose (as is so common), but still a nice mixture of the two caskings. Didn't change much, if at all, with water. 

Finish: Hints of smoke, oak, leather. Pretty brief, which I assume is the red wine influence drying out the palate. 

Verdict: I was intrigued by this one because the two sets of flavors never *quite* came together convincingly, yet each was satisfying on its own. Was like two drams in one that way, but neither was entirely successful on its own. The whole was less than the sum of the parts, maybe. A curiosity, recommended only for adventurers and explorers who don't mind a possible failure in their quest for new flavors and scents.