Outturn April 2012 Bottling List Issue 7
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A bushel of bottles to fill your basket. Outturn April 2012 Bottling List Issue 7 Welcome to the April 2012 Outturn! outturn n. 1 The number of Society bottles produced from a single cask. Varies from cask to cask. A finite number that will, sooner or later, run out. 2 The name given to Society bottling lists, containing Tasting Notes for each recently released Society bottling of which only a limited number are ever available (see above). How to use Outturn Each Society bottling is unique. And each can be identified by its markings. The tasting notes give you an insight into the characteristics of each whisky, and are the best place to start. You may find yourself drawn to ‘flowers on a breakfast table’ or have a preference for something ‘immense, manly, meaty and peaty.’ Maybe your instincts lead you to a dram that’s more ‘well-integrated, dignified and gentlemanly’ or perhaps like ‘Sophia Loren in a mink coat.’ These curious descriptors are your best clue to what you’ll find within each bottle, and are at the heart of The Society’s raison d’être. With The Society’s monthly selection of single cask malts it’s not surprising that some members find it hard to focus on their perfect bottlings. Thankfully it’s not cheating to ask for help. Just call Kensington Wine Market at 403-283-8000 (within Calgary) or at 1-888-283-9004 (outside Calgary) or email us at [email protected] or [email protected] for advice of an expert nature. www.smws.ca 2 Speyside (Spey) Saloon of a classic yacht Bottle price Cask No 37.51 $144.99 Gorgeous colour and an immediate impact of sherry-related aromas: dried fruits, figs macerated in dark rum, strong black tea, crème caramel, polished oak and waxed leather – the image of a classic yacht sprang to mind. The taste is bitter-sweet, with burnt salt taffy and ginger cake, but also herbal and spicy notes (tarragon and mouth snuff) and chilli chocolate in the long finish. Immediate sulphur notes with water, but these soon give way to crème brulée, fruit cake, dried figs and old furniture. Still bitter-sweet to taste (burnt raisins, caramel); at once cooling and warming, with a hint of blackcurrant in the finish. The distillery was built by a very large man named John Smith. Drinking tip: A reward for the crew who won the race Colour: Deep mahogany Date distilled: March 1993 Cask: First fill sherry butt Alcohol: 60% Age: 18 years Outturn: 583 bottles Speyside (Lossie) Antics of a prankster Bottle price Cask No 64.33 $116.99 This dynamic nose started out with pears, fabric cleaner and swimming pools – then opened up genially – ginger and cinnamon cake, tablet, toffee, fudge, Battenberg cake and a bower of roses – eventually tobacco and oily rags appeared. The palate was enjoyably big and complex – sweet barley, green apple and sherbet stood beside dry sawdust and menthol and tobacco heat. With water the nose turned more citric, also uncovering vanilla, unripe bananas and tarry ropes – very interesting! The reduced palate seemed very tasty for its age – its youthfulness suggesting a teenage prankster’s forgivable antics. Bottlings from this 1971 distillery are very uncommon. Drinking tip: For frivolous moments - like going out to a fancy dress party Colour: Mustard gold Date distilled: June 2003 Cask: First fill barrel, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 62.3% Age: 8 years Outturn: 218 bottles www.smws.ca 3 Speyside (Lossie) Rabbit, ginger & treacle tart Bottle price Cask No 71.34 $121.99 Big rich sweet aromas accosted the Panel – ginger cake, strawberry Chewits, treacle tart, cinnamon, malt loaf but also earthy mushrooms, Marigolds (the gloves not the flowers), leather and musky horses; this was when one Panellist pictured herself riding a spice-bag-laden Andalusian horse through orchards wearing leather chaps. Warm, sweet, savoury on the palate, hot and tannic with rosemary & sage, saddle polish, rabbit paella, warm chocolate sponge, dried cranberries and hazelnuts. Diluted, aromas of olive groves, red apples, hay and grilled rabbit with smooth, creamy tastes of oranges, prunes, strawberries, apricots and more rabbit. Founded as Kinflat distillery in 1810. Drinking tip: While riding through the orchard on hot summer days Colour: Veiled bronze Date distilled: March 1998 Cask: First fill sherry butt Alcohol: 56.8% Age: 13 years Outturn: 830 bottles Speyside (Lossie) Spiced infused Bottle price Cask No 72.22 $161.99 With aromas of bath bombs, Murray Mints, rosemary, vinegar, and a musty perfumed scent (likened by one Panellist to a sweaty farmworker) this evoked considerable discussion. The palate was hot, sweet, juicy, with damson jam, orange-oiled oak, but left a dry, tannic, musty aftertaste. Water (much needed) brought out baked apples, wine gums, black jam, orange shortbread, and mulled wine spice. To taste it was still juicy, hot and tannic but floral notes and peaches, nectarines and strawberries (with the bitterness of apple skins) and a light spiced-infused-milk made it very pleasant. This distillery lies in the Glen of Pluscarden. Drinking tip: One to take to a country manor Christmas 29 years old! Colour: Golden syrup Date distilled: November 1981 Cask: Refill hogshead Alcohol: 53.7% Age: 29 years Outturn: 233 bottles www.smws.ca 4 Highland (Northern) Cosmo with perfume samples Bottle price Cask No 26.83 $111.99 One panellist got glossy magazines from the nose – “Cosmo with perfume samples” corrected another. Other comments included pineapple cubes, garibaldi biscuits, wax, rock salt and garden aromas of grass and flowers. On Be careful the palate, we identified milk chocolate and refreshers, something meaty and with water! savoury (biltong?) sharp fruits (kiwi, star-fruit), light smoke and salt. Water altered the nose (waxed lemons, green apples, rosebud tea, lemon bonbons) and improved the palate, transforming it to a deliciously sweet dram with floral elements and slivers of citrus sharpness – like rose and lemon Turkish delight. This Brora distillery commands fine views of the North Sea. Drinking tip: A fine aperitif dram - to put you in a positive mood for anything Colour: Pale shiny gold Date distilled: April 2000 Cask: Refill hogshead Alcohol: 56.8% Age: 11 years Outturn: 299 bottles Highland (Island) Amazing waves of sweetness Bottle price Cask No 121.51 $108.99 The nose flooded us with waves of sweetness – dark chocolate millionaire’s shortbread, light molasses, thick-cut marmalade, spiced fruit cake with plump sultanas and raisins, toffee, barley sugars. Water brought out some leather and nutty aromas (almond, marzipan, walnut, hazelnut) and Nutella crêpes flambéed in Cointreau. The unreduced palate was big but enjoyable – an iron fist in a velvet glove – Green & Black’s Maya Gold (spicy orange chocolate), liquorice, almonds and oak shavings drizzled in maple syrup. With water, the palate had chocolate pralines, Crunchie bars, cane sugar and rose-water – absolutely amazing. The only distillery on this Firth of Clyde island. Drinking tip: For any special occasion Colour: Orange mahogany (lion’s mane) Date distilled: July 2002 Cask: Refill butt, ex-sherry Alcohol: 61.3% Age: 9 years Outturn: 642 bottles www.smws.ca 5 Campbeltown Character and contradictions Bottle price Cask No 27.96 $121.99 The nose was sweet, nutty and buttery, with heather, fig and honey, but the salt, Swarfega, hair grease, garage and harbour aromas suggested a Campbeltown fisherman going out on the town. A splash of water made it even more aromatic – sweet barley, walnuts, pepper, oven chip trays and brown sugar-glazed, clove-studded ham. The unreduced palate was big, intense, woody and sweet, with tobacco and manuka honey in hessian bags. With water, we found Madeira cake (bolo de mel), clove, ginger, pistachios in honey Refill (baklava) and salt – a dram of distinctive character and some happy gorda! contradictions from the independent Campbeltown distillery. Drinking tip: A campfire dram - or after sailing Colour: Dark honey Date distilled: May 1998 Cask: Refill gorda, ex-sherry Alcohol: 57.2% Age: 13 years Outturn: 792 bottles Campbeltown Hot embers at the gates of hell Bottle price Cask No 93.50 $153.99 Grubby, vegetal and animalistic notes discouraged some Panellists but dark cherries, liquorice, old bike chains, black pudding & barbecued pork made for a really interesting (albeit unusual) first impression. Huge taste - blackened pork belly, schnapps & burnt meat – one was chewing hot embers covered in meat grease at the gates of hell (volcanic sulphur). Water released scorched tablecloths and burnt pig hair but with the sweetness of molten fudge and barley sugar; on the palate it was long and luxurious (but still scorched) with black pudding, tattie scones and strong sweet black tea. This Campbeltown distillery was built in 1832. Drinking tip: Not for the faint hearted Colour: Soiled gold Date distilled: April 1991 Cask: Refill hogshead Alcohol: 58.6% Age: 20 years Outturn: 275 bottles www.smws.ca 6 Islay Angel in a sauna wearing wellies Bottle price Cask No 29.108 $115.99 On the one hand, the nose had orchard fruits, sweet barley and lemon bonbons – but on the other; burnt heather, ash, carbolic, coal-dust, barbecued ribs, salt-cooked prawns and a freshly laid tarmac road by the sea. The palate was angelically sweet, with citric notes (lemon zest, chocolate limes rolled in ash) and a cedar wood sauna. With water, the nose shifted to honey and sweet cereal bars counterpointing bitumen, wellington boots, wax and smoke. The reduced palate discovered tobacco, menthol, vanilla, macadamia and pistachio, along with cheesy footballs by a swimming pool. The distillery was founded by the Johnston brothers. Drinking tip: A reward after taking a dip - whether in the sea or in a sauna plunge pool Colour: Translucent buttercup Date distilled: February 2001 Cask: Refill hogshead Alcohol: 56.8% Age: 10 years Outturn: 287 bottles How to order from Friday April 6th Through The Scotch Malt Whisky Society website at www.smws.ca, which will then take you through to the Kensington Wine Market website for final purchase.