A couple of weeks ago, G-LO received the following five whisky samples from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America:
- Cask No. 5.35 aka “Laundry in the bakery”.
- Cask No. 26.84 aka “Moorland after rain”.
- Cask No. 33.113 aka “Sweet, peaceful dreams”.
- Cask No. 85.23 aka “Burnt granary toast with bramble jelly”.
- Cask No. 93.47 aka “Seaweed, sushi and Arbroath smokies”.
G-LO chose Cask No. 26.84, Cask No. 33.113 and Cask No. 85.23, and gave me Cask No.5.35 and Cask No. 93.47. (Not to fear, with the Holiday Outturn, G-Lo selected two and I received three.) Having had a number of offerings from distillery no. 93, I decided that I would begin with Cask No. 5.35. But first, the tasting notes from the Society for Cask No. 5.35:
Initial nose is fresh and light, elderflower cordial, green apples and lemon puffs. Deeper and sweeter notes develop quickly, giving homely and warm feeling, like baking bread or jam doughnuts. Quite hot and lively to taste, strawberries with black pepper, turning fruity and fizzy like strawberry Creamola foam, also creamy similar to a raspberry milk shake or Macchiato coffee. That creaminess carries on when adding water and aromas of apple toffee, rice pudding, butter icing, strawberry jam and doughy bread emerge. The taste is that of dark hot chocolate, brown sugar, cinnamon and blackberry jam. And to finish, from this distillery known for distilling three times, cold peppermint tea and fresh slightly soapy laundry.
I found the “Laundry in the Bakery” to have the following characteristics…
- Appearance: Yellow gold with good legs.
- Aroma: Alcohol, citrus and floral, toffee and acetone.
- Taste: Sweet with a hint of smoke and spice (cinnamon, pepper) that lingers on the tongue. There is almost no burn and a very nice warming in the back of the throat.
- Age: 12 Years
- Cask: Second-fill Hogshead
- ABV: 54.7%
I left this one sit for a while and found that as it opened up and despite the fact that this was cask-strength, there really wasn’t a need to add water. According to whiskyportal.com, Cask No. 5.35 is from the Auchentoshan distillery. The distillery is owned by Morrison Bowmore Distillers Ltd, a holding company owned by Japanese drinks company Suntory.
The second sample was from Cask No. 93.47 and the tasting notes from the Society are as follows:
The nose seemed unusual – salted almonds and rice crackers; seaweed, sushi, and Earl Grey tea; smoked sausage, tar, hospitals, garage workshops and farmyards. The unreduced palate was enormous – tar, smoke and ash – big time; also salty liquorice, menthol, Arbroath smokies and the seaweed found in Japanese rice crackers. Adding water brought the nuttiness and sweetness forward on the nose; we also identified flying saucers, soap and dried strawberries. The reduced palate was still interesting but more tamed – vanilla sweetness, tongue-tingling ginger and cured sausage with subtle caraway and mace flavourings. The distillery is owned by the Loch Lomond Distillery Company.
I found the “Seaweed, sushi and Arbroath smokies” to have the following characteristics…
- Appearance: Pale yellow and a little thin.
- Aroma: Band-Aids, a little bit of salt, a little bit of peat and with time, a little bit of honey.
- Taste: Alcohol, peat and buttered toffee with a little spice on the tongue and a little burn at the back of the throat.
- Age: 9 Years
- Cask: Refill Barrel
- ABV: 59.7%
With water, the aroma becomes less medicinal and sweeter. The taste is still filled with a healthy blast of alcohol but with far more sweetness than peat and salt. Surprisingly, despite the 59.7% ABV, with or without alcohol there is really just a mild warming finish. I have had a number of offerings from distillery 93 (93.36 Spicy Sausage & Chocolate Sauce and 93.44 A Harbour Side Journey) and I have to say that while I may have liked the others better, this is certainly a very nice whisky. According to whiskyportal.com, Cask No. 93.47 is from Glen Scotia, a Campbeltown distillery that is a part of the Loch Lomond Distillery Company.
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Thanks again to Gabby Shayne (click here to meet The Whisky Sisters) of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of America for sending us this sample.
