SMWS Outturn October 2023 goes live on Friday 6th October 2023
Spookily Good Spirits – 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. Below is a full list of what the SMWS Spookily Good Spirits October 2023 Outturn has to offer. This outturn is released on Friday 6th October 2023.
See below the full list of bottles being released for the October 2023 outturn. (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 September 2023 outturn).
Spookily Good Spirits October 2023 Outturn bottles below:
4.380 – Waves of Aromatic Smoke
62.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 13yo ~ Highland ~ £82.00
One Panellist created an image of grilled pineapple, plus chocolate bananas from the campfire with a dusting of cinnamon and some remnants of charcoal. On the palate neat there was plenty of smoke as we puffed colourful cocktail cigarettes at the harbour and tucked into a boozy amaretto tiramisu. After a drop of water, the aroma offered hay-smoked cream, dried cut grass and sweet compost, alongside pickled onions plus fish and chips… read more
RW3.6 – A Truly Flavour Bomb
58.9% ~ American Rye Whiskey ~ 5yo ~ New York ~ £65.00
We found ourselves picking bright red apples in an orchard and as we collected them in a smooth leather satchel, we imagined how they would taste in a cider brandy. Deep and dark, an oily and spicy sweetness on the palate neat, very intriguing – Demerara sugar infused with Madagascar vanilla beans or maybe orange-glazed barbequed acorn squash?.. read more
12 Drams of Christmas
00% ~ Variety of Cask Types ~ yo ~ Regions ~ £140.00
SAVOUR THE 12 DRAMS OF CHRISTMAS, This year we’re kicking things off on Wednesday, 13 December with The 12 Drams of Christmas, a stunning selection of 12 hand-picked single casks ready to take you to Christmas Eve. This year’s Christmas countdown has 50ml drams, a very special prize giveaway and the opportunity to purchase a full-size bottle if you fall in love with any of these delicious drams… read more
6.66 – The Devil’s Call
59.1% ~ 1st Fill French Oak Jamaican Rum Barrique ~ 13yo ~ Speyside ~ £81.20
A frightfully sweet and generous nose came full of Jamaica cake, parkin, glacé cherries, rum and raisin ice cream, and cinnamon pastries at first nosing. We felt it showed depth as well though, with some lovely nuanced aromas of candied fruit peel, citrus marmalades and raisins macerated in old armagnac. Reduction brought out heather honey, aged cognac and hints of ginger beer and stewed rhubarb. When neat, the palate was similarly sweet but also more perfumed, with gentle flavours of roasted almonds, mixed peppercorns, mandarin liqueur and then some unlit cigar tobacco impressions… read more
10.254 – A Real Boisterous Dram
61.1% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bodega Oloroso Butt ~ 18yo ~ Islay ~ £137.90
Imagine a sunny autumn day and a group of lumberjacks walking off the CalMac ferry at Port Askaig. They head straight into the woods to start cutting trees with axes and well-oiled chainsaws. The first sip on the palate made us all sit upright but not uptight! A real boisterous dram, with peanut butter on burnt wholemeal toast and maraschino cherries soaked in Guyanese rum. Diluted, spice and sea collided – a smoked paprika-seasoned chicken barbecue on the beach and a sticky toffee pudding as dessert… read more
11.45 – Ruddy-Cheeked Old Fruit
60.2% ~ 1st Fill Toasted White Wine Barrique ~ 8yo ~ Highland ~ £59.00
At first we found an intriguing subtle earthiness that suggested white mushrooms and red ales. Then it became more classically sweet and rich with dates, sticky toffee pudding, malted milk chocolate and dark fruit cordials. With water we found a lovely musty sweetness akin to aged sauternes, along with hints of old leather bound library books, strawberry syrup and preserved dark fruits… read more
35.381 – Meticulously Mesmerising
56.3% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 31yo ~ Speyside ~ £450.00
The subtle scent of a nutty sponge cake moistened in a light lemony syrup, topped with pastry cream, walnuts and cinnamon combined with a glass of orange muscat, wafted through the air to mesmerising effect. The taste was that of a Waldorf salad made with rocket for a peppery bite and topped with toasted walnuts and juicy grapes enveloped in a creamy lemony dressing. Following reduction, we found Christmas spices, stem ginger, walnut cake and a sweet espresso on the nose… read more
39.286 – In A Cool Spring Garden
61.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 11yo ~ Speyside ~ £68.40
The Panellists contemplated lilies in a cool spring garden, savoury-sweet and calming. The palate, however, was clearly peanuts soaked in sugar syrup, until a wave of horseradish spice pounced forward only to be swiftly subdued by tinned peaches and freshly cut grass. Water pulled out more oak on the nose, along with nettle beer, lemongrass and white wine spritzers. To finish, the palate became focused on vanilla and nutmeg-infused honey, the spice having now been tamed, with the prevailing finish offering cola and eucalyptus… read more
41.171 – Sweet and Savoury Synthesis
57.1% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 13yo ~ Speyside ~ £80.50
After nine years in ex-bourbon wood, we transferred this into a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead. The nose was rich with venison in a red wine reduction, plus sherry trifle, bramble jam, hard toffee and chocolate brownies, perfumed cigarettes and oak. The palate had a sweet and savoury synthesis – mouth-watering red fruits (strawberry, cranberry) led into mulled wine and coconut Peshawari naan, then a finish of salted nuts, dark chocolate and oak… read more
44.166 – Fantasy Island, Daydream Inspiration
59.6% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 18yo ~ Speyside ~ £116.20
After 14 years in ex-bourbon wood we transferred this into a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead. The result is Andalucía in a glass – evocative of figs, dates, walnut trees, orange blossom, charcuterie, cigars and a sherry bodega. The palate is super sweet, earthy and pungent – gingerbread and sticky toffee pudding, dried fruits, sherry-soaked oak, chilli chocolate and a finish of nicotine tar, orange peel and spices… read more
46.149 – Field to Fruit Bowl
59.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 12yo ~ Speyside ~ £69.00
The neat nose suggested new leather, shoe polish, mineral oils and heather honey with a glug of grassy olive oil. This was rich, lean and peppery with a wee tang of fruit acids. Water brought gorse flower, putty, lemon-infused olive oil, flower pollens and green tea with sugar, as it became fruitier, and more open and playful. The palate when neat displayed an initial peppery quality before moving towards exotic fruits, juicy fruit chewing gum, mango sorbet and notes of kumquat and lime cheesecake… read more
48.162 – Mint Chocolate Granola
50.5% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 14yo ~ Speyside ~ £78.00
There were plenty or aromas on the nose neat, ranging from elderflower, gorse and lilies to vanilla slices, cinnamon buns and doughnuts, then finally shoe polish, dried barley and aniseed. On the palate the aniseed was in a cup of herbal tea together with fennel and cardamom next to rich tea biscuits and maple wheatgrass pancakes. Following the addition of water, the scent of fresh cherry and sandalwood appeared at first before we were served a hibiscus tea… read more
53.459 – Steely, Smoky, Sweet and Spicy
60.6% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead ~ 11yo ~ Islay ~ £78.50
Big smoky notes were married with a sweeter side and a hint of spice – imagine burning old fish boxes for a barbecue on the beach as you throw cloves, aniseed and vanilla pods into the flames. Big and bold, steely, smoky and spicy – this was quite a surprise after the nose, as we had a dry white wine with spicy nuts and salted caramel. Following reduction, we noted more sweetness as in cold-smoked salmon, grilled pineapple and pipe tobacco… read more
55.88 – Christmas in Jamaica
54.0% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 15yo ~ Highland ~ £98.30
The nose was sweet and toasty – roasted nuts, cherry jam on burnt toast, egg custard tart and spiced cola, with hints of leather and charred wood. The palate had golden syrup and sherry trifle sweetness, coconut, cranberry and Christmas spices; finishing with dark chocolate, chilli and dry wood. The reduced nose discovered tea chests, molasses, burnt fruit cake raisins, smouldering embers and a shoeshine in a wooden corridor… read more
59.73 – Discombobulation at 40PPM
55.8% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead ~ 12yo ~ Highland ~ £69.00
A really surprising nose! We double checked the sample bottle and even emailed Euan to be sure we had the right cask sample. This was just brimming with clean, sharp and brittle peat smoke, along with crushed sea shells, medicines, bandages, tinctures of iodine and wood ashes. Surely we were on Islay? With water we got cullen skink with dookers of salt ‘n’ vinegar crisps, plus refreshing seaside botanics, squid ink and anthracite soot. The neat palate was similarly sooty, oily, gently but firmly peaty, and showed lovely refreshing notes of lemon juice and pickled gherkins… read more
68.117 – What Might The Future Hold?
55.7% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Peated STR Barrique ~ 12yo ~ Highland ~ £77.00
This was transferred from ex-bourbon wood into a second fill barrique, previously inhabited by whisky from distillery 53. The nose delivered smoked cured meats, cask char, pink antiseptic ointment and carbolic; charentais melon, toffee and golden syrup on burnt toast. The neat taste conveyed overdone fruitcake, honey, burnt lavender and heather sprigs, before apothecary notes on the finish. The reduced nose evoked log fires – toasting marshmallows, roasting chestnuts and s’mores; but someone’s brogues were too near the fire… read more
70.59 – Rum ‘n’ Raisin Spice Cream
55.5% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 15yo ~ Highland ~ £89.40
Deep, rich brown sugar melted into navy rum and was poured over sweet-scented tobacco and bay leaves before a fresh wave of menthol vapour rub coated new oak. Golden sultanas, mulled wine and light oils tumbled over the palate before sandalwood, cloves and nutmeg tingled the tongue. With water came sweet porridge served with rum ‘n’ raisin ice cream, candied walnuts and plenty of runny honey. Strong aromas of cinnamon merged with wood resins… read more
73.157 – Fresh and Haerbaceous
62.1% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 12yo ~ Speyside ~ £75.00
This was very green and herbal at first, as notes of freshly cut meadow grass in spring merged with an orchard bringing fruity notes of crisp green apples and cherry blossom. We then bit into a tangerine to start peeling away the skin – a really juicy, sweet and zesty burst of flavours, with a hint of white pepper in the finish. Following reduction one Panel member climbed a limestone cliff before jumping into the sea, while another held a wedding bouquet of white roses… read more
78.73 – A Maze of Amazement
58.8% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-PX Hogshead ~ 9yo ~ Highland ~ £68.20
Devoid of a map, or any notion of destination, we followed our noses through rum and raisin fudge, old yet soft leather and seasoned logs from a eucalyptus tree. We turned a corner to find a wondrous route among orange chocolate, cinnamon swirls and fennel seeds on singed currants. With a dash of water, and to our surprise, we stumbled over butterscotch sweets buried under autumn leaves and fragrant tobacco leaves laced with lemon zest… read more
85.87 – Clean As A Whistle
57.7% ~ 2nd Fill Limousin Oak Hogshead ~ 15yo ~ Speyside ~ £84.00
The nose picked up pleasant sweetness (barley sugars, brownie, tinned fruit salad) and clean notes of freshly ironed laundry, expensive new carpets and soft leather gloves. The palate combined orange blossom honey and marmalade with caramelised almonds, marzipan and apricot iced tea; finishing with fennel, eucalyptus and tart fruit skins. The reduced nose had apple blossoms falling on waxed jackets, rhubarb rock, sherbet lemons and tinned lychees…. read more
95.87 – Frolics On The Forest Floor
58.1% ~ 2nd Fill Moselle Oak Hogshead ~ 17yo ~ Speyside ~ £93.00
The nose combined peaches, plums, red wine and plump sultanas with candy floss, vanilla slice, sugared almonds, honey and pine cones. The palate’s toasted marshmallows, candied orange and hot plum tart played second fiddle to earthier notes of roasted chestnuts, espresso and oak, with dark chocolate, cinnamon, ginger and fernet. The reduced nose found a pine needle forest floor, coconut fibre doormats, liquorice lozenges, Seville orange marmalade on burnt toast and Moroccan spice markets… read more
G15.37 – More Like Ros Buidhe
62.5% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 8yo ~ Highland ~ £50.50
At first we found freshly laundered and starched linens. Then it evolved notes of aged citrus peels, aniseed, young calvados and cut green apple. Some slightly firmer, dusty tones underlaid those initial aspects. Water brought much more playful notes of cream soda, myrtle, pine sap and candied oatmeal with a slug of creamy custard. The palate when neat showed a generous profile full of yellow fruits, plum jam, mint, heather ales and runny honey… read more