SMWS Outturn July 2024 goes live on Friday 5th July 2024
Mastering Maturation – 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 July 2024 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 June 2024 outturn).
Mastering Maturation July 2024 Outturn bottles:
4.385 – Beach Bonfire Blowout!
54.7% ~ 2nd Fill HTMC Hogshead ~ 20yo ~ Highland ~ £175.00
On the nose, we got beach bonfires, with seaweed and heather sprigs chucked on; mussels cooked in white wine (and some wine got spilled on burning fish boxes). The palate was a bonfire feast – pan-fried langoustines, salt and chilli squid, chewing the stick from a prawn kebab and a burnt bonfire potato. The reduced nose delivered roasted chestnuts, perfumed sweets in a waxed jacket pocket and cigarettes stubbed out on a parquet floor… read more
35.392 – Treacle Three Ways
58.5% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bodega Oloroso Butt ~ 16yo ~ Speyside ~ £93.00
A wonderful nose recalled brown bread spread with treacle, dark chocolate studded with sea salt, cocoa dust and delicate notes of game meats, pickled walnuts and chopped dates. This one had a super classy and classical old-school sherry profile. Reduction brought rich notes of tiramisu, treacle tart, salted almonds, artichoke liqueur and toasted fennel seed. The mouth was initially rich and on the sweeter side, with sticky toffee pudding, cranberry gravy, game salami and dark fruits pickled in aged balsamic vinegar. We also found firmer notes of aniseed and camphor… read more
36.219 – Pondering Thoughts
58.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 11yo ~ Speyside ~ £55.00
For us this one was all over the place! Mothballs in a drawer, wax crayons in a plastic tub, stripping wallpaper and how about a bruschetta with anchovies and burrata? The taste was no different as we got baklava drenched in syrup and chilli flakes on sweet lemon lozenges but also a Trappist beer called Belgian quad as well as a red wine onion gravy. Following reduction, we trimmed a hedge while, from the nearby kitchen, the smell of hot curried carrot and turnip soup made us feel hungry… read more
39.298 – Fresh!
56.6% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead ~ 10yo ~ Speyside ~ £59.00
The neat nose bristled with citrus air freshener and linen cupboard starchiness. We also noted freshly laundered fabrics, eucalyptus leaves, pineapple rings and fresh flowers in vase water. This had a lovely sense of brightness and freshness. Reduction brought weightier notes of camphor, pollens and butter bean hummus – a slightly more savoury impression overall. The neat palate opened with dried mint and tea tree oil aspects, then richer tones of leather, toasted cashew nuts and buttery, fresh cereals… read more
44.180 – A Forage Into Orange
60.1% ~ #4+ Char New Oak Hogshead ~ 18yo ~ Speyside ~ £117.00
Sophisticated and complex, the nose suggested maple candies, barley sugars and golden syrup, with hints of duck à l’orange (with a cherry on top). We found more orange on the palate – jaffa cakes, orange jelly babies and bitter orange cognac liqueur – with vanilla pod and espresso, while sugar-coated fennel seeds and crystallised ginger spiced up the finish. Wood notes strengthened on the nose with water – wooden hay barns, charcoal, sauna wood and clove. The palate combined candied orange slices and mandarin cheesecake with spiced rum, black pepper, tobacco and San Daniele ham… read more
48.170 – Persimmon Platter
62.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 9yo ~ Speyside ~ £55.00
A dollop of strawberry jam arrived, wrapped in rice paper and topped with mango purée. Our noses then walked us through a rose garden. To the palate, we found venison with fennel shavings and coriander, glazed with a mango and persimmon chutney. Introducing water offered the scent of vanilla for the first time, along with olive oil and a spoonful of mixed fruit jam and cinnamon. The palate had become much like the nose, with the emphasis on vanilla and now exotic fruits, but with a new elderflower… read more
52.45 – Seaz Breeze Through Quince Trees
51.7% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 30yo ~ Highland ~ £595.00
Fizzy apple sherbet tingled the tongue as we stood at the end of the pier, the salty sea air carrying wafts of quince jelly and singed pink grapefruit skin. Opening our lunchbox we were delighted to find a fresh pea and mint salad with dill and spicy horseradish dressing, a few toasted almonds and warm pumpernickel bread. Adding a few drops of water unveiled a new wave of juicy quince but now alongside hibiscus petals, dried mango and loose tea leaves in an old cigar box…. read more
53.472 – Islay and Jerez – Twinned!
56.8% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 10yo ~ Islay ~ £82.00
An amazing nose brought us black bun, liquorice, rum-flambaed pineapple and oysters with lemon and tabasco-pepper sauce, plus quaint hints of engine fan belts. The palate tasted like chilli lemon prawns from a beach bonfire, dried seaweed, chewing tobacco and fernet. The reduced nose offered dark sweetness (cinder toffee, cinnamon toast and cough lozenges), diesel engines in the harbour and fishermenas oilskins drying in the sun. The palate combined sweet smoke (burnt newspaper, clinker ash, molasses and apple strudel) with coastal references…. read more
59.80 – Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome
55.2% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead ~ 13yo ~ Highland ~ £74.00
This dram took us back in time to the ‘golden twenties’ of the last century in Berlin, and a certain cabaret, with those long cigarette holders, cocktails and old-fashioned perfumes. We also found a definite mineral dryness on the palate, with a teasing hint of smoke, pebble beach, driftwood and grilled langoustines with chilli, garlic and coriander. Following reduction, we were back in the 1920s, probably now on the Moulin Rouge in Paris with sweet vermouth, dry champagne, choux à la crème and a bee’s knees cocktail of gin, fresh lemon juice and honey…. read more
72.114 – No Rest for the Wicket
54.2% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 13yo ~ Speyside ~ £73.00
A light, floral nose – we imagined a cricket pavilion: linseed oil, painted wood, freshly laundered cricket whites, parched summer grass, with peaches and cream afterwards. The palate had mouth-coating sharp fruits (watermelon sweets, lemon and lime, ‘cherry lips’ sweets) and bakewell tart; then a rather drying tropical fruit-skin finish. The reduced nose wafted lemon meringue pie, lime cordial, sliced cooking apples, sugar-coated fennel seeds and laundry flapping on the line between a pine forest and the sea… read more
73.161 – Lemon and Lavender Straw Bales
58.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 11yo ~ Speyside ~ £64.00
Drops of lemon and lavender oil landed on straw bales dusted with icing sugar and double cream. Tangerine then joined the palate, as too did nutmeg and more cream. Water offered to enhance the sweetness of the nose, adding ripe banana, pine resin, aniseed balls and pear. The palate remained predominantly sweet, although now with some black tea bitterness and a white pepper that fades reassuringly quickly to finish with linseed oil and white chocolate… read more
85.93 – Sit Back and Relax
58.4% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 13yo ~ Speyside ~ £75.00
Sliced figs tumbled into a newly polished leather satchel filled with straw. The palate was full of fudge chunks, green apple and cranberries swimming in brandy butter and double cream. A small pinch of wood spice and honey made up the finish. The introduction of water offered honeycomb, cinder toffee, burnt baguette and alpine butter-soaked popcorn to the nose. The Panellists sat back and relaxed, as water enhanced the honeyed notes on the palate, while also taming the wood spice and replacing it with salted caramel dusted with cinnamon… read more
89.20 – A Rodeo Bull Ride
59.5% ~ 2nd Fill US Oak Ex-PX Hogshead ~ 13yo ~ Speyside ~ £85.00
One Panellist was off to a rodeo – polished cowboy boots, saddle and all that. Another was out on the slopes skiing and, having drunk herb liqueur from his hipflask, had now stopped for a hot chocolate. The taste also split the Panel: it was either spicy and dry, like a hot and dirty martini using cayenne pepper and spiked olives, or very playful, bringing dark chocolate biscuits, treacle and mint chocolates. Diluted, we tucked into borscht made with beets, beef shank, onions, carrots, potatoes and cabbage, and topped with sour cream… read more
94.39 – Sunflower Seed Shortbread
62.1% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 10yo ~ Highland ~ £64.00
We imagined getting the lawnmower out for the first time following a long winter. We checked the carburettor, changed the oil and filled the tank with petrol, then off we went. After all the hard work we decided on a plum schnapps or a green chartreuse with herbaceous and peppery notes as well as pine sap and citrus fruits. Following the addition of a generous amount of water, the aroma reminded us of banana slices on yoghurt, honeyed granola, sunflower seed shortbread and pancakes… read more
95.104 – To Accompany Gardening or Sketching
61.3% ~ 2nd Fill French Oak Barrique ~ 11yo ~ Speyside ~ £59.00
We sharpened pencils (erasers at the ready) to draw the nose – a still life of strawberries, apples and pears, then a deli counter with prosciutto ham and custard tarts. The gum-tingling palate ricocheted around our mouths – muscovado sugar, stewed apples, strawberry laces, blackcurrant diluting juice and honey; with vanilla, clove and almonds on the finish. The reduced nose was earthy and nutty – salami, gardening gloves, butterscotch, apple crumble, walnut whips and oak…read more
100.41 – Suck A L’Orange
57.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 17yo – Speyside ~ £97.50
A strong waft of orange (an orange box and orange blossom) almost overshadowed the black tea, mahogany, demerara, vanilla, figs and raisins… but not quite. The palateas initial fizz (sherbet, a bellini and orange sorbet) gave way to toasted marshmallows, rocky road and iced mocha, before finishing with clove, walnuts and cranberry. The reduced nose promised a rich, sweet, gorgeous nectarquince paste, an apricot danish, chocolate sticks with cruncy orange pieces, and chocolate brazils, plus a rose and elderflower florality. The palate was now mouth-puckering and spritzy with orange ice lollies, freshly made strawberry jam… read more
108.67 – A Plunge into Chocolate Sponge
56.4% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 14yo ~ Speyside ~ £78.00
Initial notes brought a burst of spirity fruit as ripe bananas merged with peach yoghurt and lemon drizzle cake. A delightful vanilla-tinged creaminess then developed, which became fragrant as it turned to Turkish delight and lychees. Among tingly spice on the palate we found milk chocolate and caramel wafers in lemon ice cream while a woody astringency provided backbone. Adding water released butter and coconut cream with deeper notes of candle wax and fermenting pears on lemon skin… read more
128.32 – Mesmerising Moroccan Market
61.9% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 9yo ~ Wales ~ £80.00
On the nose we got freeze-dried raspberries, pencil shavings, hay and tropical aromas of passion fruit, lemon and banana. The first sip was a burst of energy, as we found ourselves at a Moroccan market with mounds of ginger, turmeric, chilli and black pepper, followed by dried papaya and mango, before finishing with mouth-coating manuka honey. With water, it was still powerful. We got nettles tossed in a balsamic dressing, linden blossom, lemon juice, dried apricots and ripe raspberries… read more
135.58 – Bizarre Yet Bona Fide
54.9% ~ 1st Fill HTMC Hogshead ~ 16yo ~ Highland ~ £97.00
One Panellist felt like opening a closet which has not been broached for many years. Old fabric, old naphthalene mothballs, old oak – you get the picture. While another one got, redeemingly, grilled fruit skewers with a spicy cumin glaze. The taste was of a burnt herbal sausage that had fallen into the ash then covered with plenty of Texan-style barbeque sauce. Water added to the bizarre picture as we now stood next to a heavily perfumed individual while we sweated shovelling coals into the boiler of a steam train. On the palate it was now time for a Jamaican sarsaparilla root tonic… read more
140.9 – Three In One!
57.9% ~ Re-Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 5yo ~ Texas ~ £89.00
We were served an espresso with a shot of cherry liqueur and a slice of a Russian honey cake coated in that, so moreish, burnt honey icing alongside traditional Yorkshire parkin and dark chocolate raisin scones. After reduction the aroma offered the startling complexity of marzipan, brown sugar, fudge and fig syrup while to taste the unique triangle of rich dark Swiss chocolate with delectable honey and almond nougat. Following twenty-seven months in a virgin European oak barrique, it was moved for a further 14 months into a Madeira barrique… read more
R13.5 – Fragility, Impermanence and Ephemeral
61.7% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 24yo ~ Trinidad ~ £250.00
We all mentioned cherries on the nose neat, boozy chocolate coated cherries, black ‘mountain cherry’ liqueur as well as an aviation cocktail which led us all to fly high. On the palate the descriptors were not as unison and ranged from lighter fuel, marker pens and oiled leather, to pear drops and vanilla essence and finally coco beans and nutmeg in hessian sacks. Water added rough farmhouse cider, melted candles, Turkish delight and cod liver oil on the nose while to taste we flew again, in fact to the city of Zadar on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast… read more
B7.14 – Gelatissimo
57.0% ~ 1st Fill #4 Char Barrel ~ 4yo ~ Indiana ~ £55.00
Plenty of sweet aromas greeted the Panel, marzipan, whipped vanilla cream and brown sugar but at the same time a wisp of wood smoke and sweet tobacco tickled our fancy. That was followed by a floral, fruity and spicy flavour of orange oil, white pepper, cinnamon and a touch of black liquorice. After the addition of water, the scent of gorse, coconut, mango and toasted almonds appeared while the taste was delightful, sweet cream chocolate chip ice cream or as the Italians call it “gelato stracciatella”… read more
GN3.23 – Forage for Spruce Tips
50.0% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 2yo ~ Scotland ~ £50.00
The fragrance was very earthy, spicy and comforting, like primroses at the edge of a pine needle-carpeted woodland floor alongside nutmeg, liquorice and candied almonds. On the palate we initially stayed in the forest, with spruce tips and red berries, before a sweeter flavour of pear mousse with a rosemary chocolate sauce appeared. After the addition of water, a boost of juniper aromas at first were soon followed by hints of thyme and oregano and, at the same time, citrus peel… read more
Citrus Reveries
50.0% ~ 1st Fill Bourbon Barrels ~ 8yo ~ Lowland ~ £58.00
This tasty drop was crafted exclusively for Society members in partnership with our friends at King’s Inch whisky. Drawn from their truly unique lowland distillate, with a narrow cut point, Anchor DY502 yeast, matured in top quality first fill bourbon barrels. The taste was that of two great desserts – a lemon and star anise posset with a liquorice biscotti, and a chocolate chip cake with sambuca-mascarpone cream… read more