SMWS 121.38 Sumptuous and Stunning Review

Continuing the Scotch trend, our next whisky review is a Scotch Malt Whisky Society release: SMWS 121.38 Sumptuous and Stunning. According to the SMWS codes, 121 is Arran and I’m a big fan of Arran. I can see why my buddy Mike gave me this to try.

And this isn’t just any Arran either. It’s an Arran that’s spent 7 years in a refill ex-sherry butt. Based on the color alone it looks like whatever was in the cask before this wasn’t in there very long because this cask had a lot left to offer. I’m excited to dive into this one and I hope you are too. So let’s get on with it!

The nose has Christmas cake, figs, walnuts, sherry, lamb tangine and black olives, then spiced oak and nitty toffee with water. The palate has a sumptuous mothe -fell, with dried fruits, spicy caramelized pork, muscovado and toffee balancing acceptable woody astringency. – SMWS

SMWS 121.38 Sumptuous and Stunning – Whisky Details and Tasting Notes

Deep, heavy and leathery - this is kind of amazing. It’s a sherry bomb that still manages to pull in some of the original spirt.

Whisky Details

Region: Islands

Distiller: Arran
Mash Bill: 100% Malted Barley
Cask: Refill ex-Sherry Butt
Age: 7 Years
ABV: 61.1%

Cask Strength | Non-Chill Filtered | Natural Color

Barrel: 121.38
Bottles: 668
Name: Sumptuous and stunning

Price: NA – Auction, Specialty Store or Private Seller ($100 when released)

Tasting Notes

EYE
Deep ruddy mahogany

NOSE
Heavy sherry, musty funk, leather, hazelnuts, printer’s ink, dried dark fruit and baking spice.

PALATE
Heavy sherry, musty funk, leather, hazelnuts, printer’s ink, dried orchard fruit, dried dark fruit (leaning heavily towards blackberries and raspberries) and baking spice.

FINISH
Long -> Medicinal cherry, dried dark fruit, leather, roasted nuts and ash.

BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Great balance, heavy full body and a syrupy feel.

SMWS 121.38 Sumptuous and Stunning – Final Thoughts and Score

Aroma is the definition of a sherry bomb with the sherry pummeling through in a dark, truly, inky way; Palate carries the same heavy sherry-forward profile, but also manages to pull in some of the orchard fruit sweetness inherent to Arran; Finish gets a tad medicinal but pulls through all the dark sherry notes we know and love before fading out ashy.

This SMWS 121.38 Sumptuous and Stunning is so deep, heavy, and richly sherried it reminds me of some of the good Kavalan Solists I’ve had. This is the magic of an active sherry cask. Water brings out a deeper sweetness on the aroma and the palate gets a “dark fruit jelly” note that’s nicely paired with a deeper malty note. I’m loving this.

SCORE: 4/5

SMWS 121.38 Sumptuous and Stunning Left Label