SMWS Outturn December 2023 goes live on Friday 1st December 2023
Christmas Parcels – The Scotch Malt Whisky Society releases (outturn) several single cask bottlings of Scotch, Whisk(e)y, Rum and Gin, to name a few, usually on the first Friday of every month.
See below the full list of bottles being released for the December 2023 outturn. If you are not a member, Don’t worry you can join the SMWS here but be quick several of the bottlings sell out as quickly as the day they are released.
(Here is a quick link to last month’s SMWS Outturn: SMWS November 2023 outturn).
Christmas Parcels December 2023 Outturn bottles:
6.72 – Fruitful Melliflousity
56.9% ~ 1st Fill Oloroso Hogshead & 1st Fill PX Hogshead ~ 17 yo ~ Highland ~ £115.00
The starting note for this small batch was two bourbon hogsheads of single malt Scotch whisky. At 13 years of age one cask was transferred to a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead, and the other to a first fill American oak PX hogshead. The casks were then married together before bottling. The nose majored on an array of fruits (banana, glacé cherries, sultanas, orange peel, lemon bonbons) bound together with the mellifluous sweetness of fudge, honeycomb and butterscotch…. read more
13.107 – A Fiasco of Wine with Sandy Cookies
59.2% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Cosecha Wine Barrique ~ 10yo ~ Highland ~ £80.00
We drank a glass of chianti out of typical fiasco wicker-wrapped glass bottle, bursting with resplendent black, blue and red fruits yet also fine-grained tannins and spice. On the palate we found hazelnut brittle, golden raisins and candied grapefruit peel, plus padron peppers in the finish. After reduction, a slice of marzipan cake with pears poached in red wine was followed by miso caramel ice cream. To taste there were praline flapjacks and sablé-style shortbread… read more
33.140 – The Spaniard, The American And The Ileach
60.7% ~ 2nd Fill Ex- Oloroso Butt ~ 16yo ~ Islay ~ £395.00
A deep and distinctly peaty nose – as expected, we agreed – but this example of the cult southern Islay make really did brim with peat embers, burning gorse wood, coal tar, smoked paprika and spiced beef stroganoff. Fathomless and massive. With water, we got sweeter tones of soy sauce, charred meats, black bean sauce and nori, plus touches of dunnage funk, along with rock pools and creosote. The palate was superbly carbolic and peaty, like sipping cask-strength peated wash direct from the tun room. Hot coal and embers were also noted, along with biltong and charred lobster…. read more
44.181 – Chorizo Glow
63.2% ~ 1st Fill PX Hogshead & 2nd Fill Oloroso Hogshead ~ 16yo ~ Speyside ~ £115.00
The Panel felt this one displayed an immediate and enveloping aroma of old leather and cracked wax, along with old trinket boxes, pipe tobacco, crushed brazil nuts, and touches of walnut oil and metal polish. Water revealed freshly brewed espresso, linseed oil and creme caramel. Some wonderful camphor and tobacco vibes were also noted. The neat palate burst with ginger cake, chilli oil, creamy American oak sweetness, caramelised brown sugars and Trinidadian bitters. Reduction brought out dried apple slices, trail mix, liquorice all sorts and plum juice…. read more
55.91 – Salute the Kernel
56.8% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bodega Oloroso Butt ~ 17yo ~ Highland ~ £106.90
We were transported to the countryside, strolling among pine forests, cedar trees and wild cherries, with stacks of freshly cut logs and geraniums growing here and there. Spicier images of apple chutney and tamarind paste evolved into sultanas, treacle and natural beeswax with a sprinkle of black pepper and cherries soaked in Spanish brandy. Water provided permission to open a fine bottle of oloroso sherry. Its aromas brought hazelnuts and walnut husks into the mix alongside dried orange segments and golden syrup… read more
64.149 – A Cake Walk in the Black Forest
56.6% ~ Two 1st Fill Oloroso Hogsheads ~ 17yo ~ Speyside ~ £115.00
The starting point for this small batch was two bourbon hogsheads of single malt Scotch whisky. One cask was transferred after 13 years to a first fill American oak oloroso hogshead, and the other after 14 years to a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead. These casks were then blended before bottling. The result gave us heady aromas of plums, marzipan and dark chocolate, black forest gateau, medjool dates, cinnamon sprinkled on orange and Turkish delight in a fragrant wooden box… read more
71.105 – Summer Picnic
65.3% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 11yo ~ Speyside ~ £63.60
A gentle aroma arrived at first, like black tea spilled on a wooden picnic table, hay on a hot summer day, fresh, sweet potting soil and bran flakes breakfast cereal. The taste started with a combination of fresh chilli, dry oak and unroasted raw, bittersweet cacao beans before a fruity sweetness of sliced apples dusted with cinnamon appeared. Following the addition of water, we enjoyed muesli with dried fruits and almonds, as well as a lemon raspberry cake with a cream cheese frosting… read more
140.21 – Puffs of Candyfloss Smoke
62.7% ~ #3 Char New Oak Barrel ~ 3yo ~ Texas ~ £85.00
Fragrant wood smoke and candyfloss puffed from the locomotive’s chimney as it chugged along the line. Onboard, chargrilled ribeye steak was on the menu alongside smoked ham glazed with molasses and served with a sweet cherry sauce made with thyme, bay leaves and rosemary. Smoked lapsang souchong tea was poured, finished with a thin slice of grilled lemon. Adding water enhanced the fruity tones as cherry liqueur became the choice for afternoon tea with jam sandwiches and honey… read more