SMWS Outturn October 2024 goes live on Friday 4th October 2024
Whisky Season is Open – 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 October 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 September 2024 outturn).
Whisky Season is Open October 2024 Outturn bottles:
1.277 – Treasure Trove of Orange and Clove
59.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 10yo ~ Speyside ~ £69.50
Delightful aromas of tangerines, carnations and toffee blended with honeycomb, cherry-scented pipe tobacco and oily hints of petrol. The palate, however, embraced ginger biscuits, salted caramel ice cream and violet-flavoured sweets topped with dark chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg and singed orange skin. Adding water unveiled Chinese five spice on hot cross buns with sultanas soaked in rum and wisps of meadow flowers and pine trees. An inviting palate retained lovely flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves but now with apple tea, dried banana chips and lemon sponge cake…read more
4.340 – Seaside Sherbert
63.1% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 12yo ~ Highland ~ £77.00
Delightfully waxy and oily textures on the nose coated rock salt, brown sugar and gentian liqueur. On the palate, however, we discovered progressive smoke that grew into spices, aniseed and thyme while vibrant plums and strawberries combined in smoked sherbet. Adding water expressed the aromas of salty sea air over an outdoor swimming pool as sugar-coated lemons and grapefruit joined shellfish, ships’ ropes and ice cream cones. Floral flavours now embraced rosewater and violets alongside sweetened earl grey tea before pineapple joined marjoram and cloves on a pine sap-tinged finish…read more
4.374 – The “Big Easy”
63.1% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 11yo ~ Highland ~ £69.50
We boarded a paddle steamer on the Mississippi river heading towards the Gulf of Mexico. On deck we enjoyed Louisiana creole cuisine with a bowl of jambalaya – cooked rice, onions, green pepper, smoked sausage and shrimp. Following dilution and after the hearty starter, there was grilled lobster with a pastis-caper butter sauce. There was plenty of sweetness on the palate, as we sat on the sun deck bypassing the “Big Easy” with a glass of ti’ punch – cane syrup, rhum agricole and lime… read more
5.117 – Satisfying Subterfuge
56.6% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 19yo ~ Lowland ~ £106.00
There was a surprising firmness about the nose on this one which discombobulated the Panel. Chalk dusters, custard slices, mineral oils, plum eau de vie and crisp green apples were all noted. A little bigger in style than usual for this classic triple-distilled lowlander, the Panel mused. With water the nose expressed cedar wood, nectarines, new leather and sunflower oil with a waft of meadow flowers. The palate was similarly thick and enticing with mechanical oils, heather ales, tangerine peel, oat and honey biscuits and impressions of aged dry riesling… read more
9.288 – Overpowering Enchantment
52.7% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 19yo ~ Speyside ~ £125.00
The nose led us through a perfumed garden to a house made of sticky toffee pudding and malt loaf, where a pipe-smoking witch lured us with fruit pastilles, pear drops and yum-yums. She indulged our palates with battenburg cake, toffee waffles and crêpes suzette – so moreish we hardly noticed the finish of spiced plums, cinnamon swirls and crystallised ginger, seducing us softly to the dark side. The reduced nose combined torments of fruit salad and lemon drizzle cake with teasements of prune juice and cedar wood… read more
12.82 – Sponge Cake on the Wine Lake
54.8% ~ 1st Fill Ex-PX Butt ~ 32yo ~ Speyside ~ £500.00
Sunshine glistened on the loch of oloroso sherry as ripe apples and pears bobbed on raspberry ripple rafts. From the banks the smell of tobacco leaves merged with clay soil and walnut trees. We paddled across the loch, passing inlets of champagne and custard, aboard our sponge finger kayaks. After a dash of water we sailed past brioche pleasure boats and chocolate madeleine cruise ships, before arriving at a pistachio cake island criss-crossed by steams of orange liqueur…. read more
16.83 – Sweet, Savoury and Coastal
63.2% ~ Re-Fill Re-Charred Hogshead ~ 8yo ~ Highland ~ £50.00
After four years in ex-bourbon wood we transferred this into an ex-Islay, PX refill hogshead. On the nose, demerara, garibaldi biscuits and German gingerbread are overshadowed by savoury suggestions (salted almonds, brown sauce, saag aloo, smoked cheese and onion jam); there are also hints of seaweed and saunas. The palate repeats this trinity – sweet (dark chocolate), savoury (fig chutney, chorizo, roasted red peppers) and coastal (samphire, dulce)…. read more
16.88 – Dressed to Grill
62.8% ~ Re-Charred Hogshead ~ 9yo ~ Highland ~ £50.00
The nose took one of us to the Caribbean, with barbecued prawns, rum and coconut, while others reported a “farmyard funk” of hay bales, sileage, and honey and soy brushed over grilling chicken legs – take your pick. The intense, lively palate had ginger snaps, brandy butter, spiced grilled meats, apple tart and marzipan; to finish – polished wood, spiced rum and cigar ash…. read more
18.66 – Roasted Salted Pistachio Kernels
60.9% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 12yo ~ Speyside ~ £69.50
An inviting aroma of blood orange and dark chocolate madeleines, and hot chocolate with marshmallows – along with delicious crispy bacon and a whiff of salty sea air – tantalised the Panel. This was the first flavour we discovered: salted crisps, plus salty and sweet liquorice, as well as a salted caramel cheesecake. With time we had a black coffee and freshly baked mixed fruit and nut scones. After reduction, the coffee was more like a strong Turkish mocha served with toasted hazelnut marzipan on the nose… read more
28.91 – Seville Service
60.4% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 10yo ~ Highland ~ £60.00
Aromas combined Turkish delight, fresh rhubarb and pineapple in an old wooden spice box with custard powder, pink wafer biscuits and vanilla ice cream. Ginger and chillies emerged on the palate before toasted barley and fruit chutney joined dried coriander, condensed milk and spiced rum. Adding water released lavender, brazil nuts and toasted sesame seeds while marmalade was served on toast with green bananas and candied cherries… read more
35.349 – Hunky and Chunky
60.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 10yo ~ Speyside ~ £64.00
An unusually full-bodied profile for this Speyside stalwart, with lots of sandalwood, waxed canvas, oatcakes, white pepper and soda bread. We also noted some dried flowers, papaya and green orchard fruits. With reduction the nose displayed some big notes of battenberg cake, apricot jelly, pear cordial, crushed ivy and pine cones. The palate opened with pollens, canvas, mineral oils, sun lotion and toasted pumpkin seeds; this was big, hefty, sweet and satisfyingly textural… read more
41.161 – Creme de La Cask
61.2% ~ 1st Fill Chinkapin Barrel ~ 16yo ~ Speyside ~ £90.00
The cask influence was clear from the outset, but the Panel were immediately struck by just how rich, creamy and clean that influence was. We found vanilla-drenched lactones, along with strawberry granita, creamy fudge, upmarket crème brûlée, dried mint, caramelised brown sugar and warming wood spices. Adding water gave us raisins, stewed rhubarb, camphor, brown bread with dark fruit chutney, and pickled figs. The neat palate was full of sweet spiced teas, sooty coal impressions, camphor, treacle, hessian and a big note of old fashioned cocktails made with aged bourbon… read more
44.182 – Fit for an Emperor
58.2% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 17yo ~ Speyside ~ £115.00
We Panellists came face to face with a powerful nose featuring olives with chilli and black pepper, roasted chestnuts and crispy-skinned chicken. The taste was even more powerful; a wasabi spiciness tickling our noses, with tannins to the fore, as we licked a charred stave. Water rode to the rescue, releasing a warming scent of sunshine on leather, a smoking jacket in a humidor and granola bars with fruits and nuts. And what a change on the palate as we enjoyed a kaiserschmarrn: caramelised fluffy shredded pancakes with rum-soaked raisins, sprinkled with icing sugar… read more
46.139 – Lifting a Beehive Lid
56.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 12yo ~ Speyside ~ £69.00
We thought this an interesting nose, and quite fresh also – rum-soaked vanilla, poached pears, sugared cornflakes and lifting a beehive lid (wood, wax, honey and secrecy). The neat palate had a mouth-reverberating intensity of set blossom honey, pears, plums and candy-coated liquorice, with a dry, woody finish of pepper, nutmeg, ginger and clean leather. With water, the nose discovered polished floorboards and a new car smell, dried banana chips, bergamot and peach schnapps…read more
48.172 – Aquatic Attributes
60.6% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 10yo – Speyside ~ £59.00
The initial aroma was that of reeds growing in the saltmarshes of a river estuary before an aromatic, fragrant, perfumed scent of tropical water lilies in full bloom developed. On the palate we found the sweetness of cotton candy as well as dusted lemon bonbons before a lip-tingling, spicy sourness emerged, almost out of nowhere, as if we were sucking on lemons. Following reduction, we got a concoction of distilled dry herbs, bark, flowers and roots found in a vermouth… read more
53.442 – Piscator’s Lunch
60.2% ~ Re-Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead ~ 11yo ~ Islay ~ £75.00
You name it, we got it: bonfire on the beach, tarry ropes, smoked lobster tails, ash-covered camembert, honey, nail varnish remover and a hint of eucalyptus and sweet lemon. The taste was sweet, salty and smoky, like olives on salty crackers, Black Forest ham, thyme-smoked mussels with samphire, fino sherry and chilli, as well as salty liquorice. Following reduction, we found salty cured bacon, smoky salt and vinegar crisps, olive brine and stuffed grape leaves with feta… read more
66.240 – Nuts and Belts and Engine Oil
53.0% ~ Re-Fill Ex-Bourbon Hogshead ~ 25yo ~ Highland ~ £195.00
Wisps of applewood smoke danced over savoury notes of olives in brine, cured game meat and fennel seeds. Then delicate flakes of ash fluttered down to settle on toasted pine nuts and roasted chestnuts. A palate that started sweet with chili sauce and boiled barley sugars gained complexity as it morphed into salted liquorice, singed orange skin and a drizzle of engine oil. A drop of water accentuated the brine and the nutty oils of walnuts and almonds. Smoked mackerel and bacon now combined with the soft leather of a belt, cherry skins… read more
68.106 – Bramble Ramble
55.1% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 14yo ~ Highland ~ £91.00
Initial nosing suggested aromatic and herbaceous scents such as wintergreen, lemongrass and dried herbs, then citronella waxes, cinnamon sugar, mulling spices and aged ruby ales. In time we also found the richness of brown bread spread with treacle. Some water revealed elegant notes of heather flowers, sultanas, pine cones and blackcurrant cordial. The neat palate opened with rich tones of camphor, heather, shilling beers, waxes and salted liquorice, plus a splash of mineral oil and boot polish… read more
78.81 – Fizzy Strawberry Pisco Lunch
58.1% ~ 1st Fill HTMC Hogshead ~ 11yo ~ Highland ~ £71.50
The Panel perused a variety of freshly treated aobjectsa such as newly polished leather boots, a newly varnished oak table and linseed oil applied to a newly aknocked-ina cricket bat. Sweet and sour notes were noted on the palate including lightly unripe strawberries and pineapple cubes at first, before sweet dark cherries and aniseed balls took centre stage. After reduction we prepared a fizzy strawberry pisco punch with orange and lemon juice, ginger ale, thyme, yellow gentian and sparkling wine. To taste, we tucked into spiced brandy snaps and a dark chocolate mousse made with a splash of bitter orange cognac liqueur… read more
80.53 – Well Worth Waiting For
58.1% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Oloroso Hogshead ~ 13yo ~ Speyside ~ £75.00
Having just buffed our oak table to a high sheen using quality wax polish we felt we deserved a treat in the form of thin slices of pata negra (Iberian Spanish ham) from the tastiest part known as ala mazaa. Other flavours were those of spiced fig jam with red wine, cloves, black pepper and carob-coated brazil nuts. Water lightened the scent a little as we got roasted pumpkins, chocolate-cinnamon brioche, plum jam and gingerbread on the nose… read more
93.200 – The Westerm Shore of the Kitchen Sink
61.5% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 9yo ~ Campbeltown ~ £62.00
A familiar impression of swimming pools, distant shorelines, plasters and washed linens drying by the sea; classic and typical of this lovely make. We also noted pink sea salt and a tang of citrus marmalades. Reduction brought a richer and more savoury profile that included miso butter, anchovy paste, sandalwood and dried seaweed crackers, with a little heat of mustard powder in the background. The palate opened with mechanical oils, tangy pink grapefruit and coastal notes of seawater, plus some medicinal bandages too. We also noted fruity shisha smoke, fir wood resins, dried tarragon and salty Dutch liquorice… read more
95.101 – Sizzling Spicy Szechuan Stir Fry
59.7% ~ 1st Fill HTMC Hogshead ~ 11yo ~ Speyside ~ £60.00
We joined Beltane, an ancient Celtic celebration to mark the beginning of summer with music, dance and the burning of a giant wicker man. This was very spicy on the palate, delivering pan-fried cod with wasabi, soya sauce and an olive oil dressing. The finish was dry, bone dry, like pumpernickel bread with orange marmalade. Water changed the complexion somewhat as a sweeter note emerged such as that in an old fashioned cocktail or a heavily stewed earl grey tea with that citrus edge of the Sicilian bergamot orange… read more
121.106 – A Tropical No-Brainer!
62.3% ~ 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 9yo ~ Highland ~ £59.00
The Panel were surprised at just how much we all enjoyed this one from the off. The neat nose was superbly clear, bright and focused around citrus fruits, lemon jelly, sweet malt extract and wee inflections of coastal flowers, sea greens and gorse flower. It had a superb sense of juiciness and poise. Water enhanced the floral notes and brought more honeys, pollens and also a sense of petrichor and potting-shed earthiness. The palate was full of pineapple sweetness, juicy fruit chewing gum, boiled fruit sweets and crystallised tropical fruits… read more
GN7.2 – Piny, Citrusy Potpourri
50.2% ~ 2nd Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrel ~ 1yo ~ England ~ £52.00
Oh yes, the typical juniper scent: piny and citrusy, with a hint of spice and sweetness like a steaming hot cup of juniper berry tea. We also found candied oranges, coriander seeds and cumin. On the palate it was dry and spicy, which reminded some of mescal, that rich, earthy flavour mixed with freshly cut peppers but also tropical fruits. Water changed the earthiness into a sweetness found in gardening using grow bags, yet at the same time we smelled a pumpkin potpourri… read more
RW4.1 – Deeply Satisfying
55.8% ~ Charred New Oak Barrel ~ 5yo ~ Kentucky ~ £80.00
The initial nose neat was like unwrapping cinnamon flavoured chewing gum which was followed by charred coconut flakes, buttered sweet popcorn and orange oil. On the palate a big slice of a sticky ginger cake with cranberry jam and a cup of bold brewed and stewed loose leaf Assam tea. Following dilution aromas of white pepper, caramel and oak spices emerged, while to taste a candied fruit Vollkornbrot (German for ‘whole grain bread’) with toasted nuts, chocolate chunks and, of course, candied fruits… read more
RW4.2 – Second to None
54.5% ~ Charred New Oak Barrel ~ 5yo ~ Kentucky ~ £80.00
A cascade of descriptors which included banana bread, fudge, butterscotch, figs, bramble jam, brown sugar, gorse flowers, toasted oak and marmalade were mentioned on the nose neat. A dark juicy earthiness on the palate, flambéed pineapple rings, singed orange peel and toasted coconut panna cotta alongside a black cherry berry tea. Diluted like a warm prawn and seaweed salad, melted salted butter as well as maple-orange spice coated macadamia nuts… read more