SMWSA Cask No. 26.84
Highlands, Northern Highlands
49.1% ABV
Distilled August 1990
$145
US Allocation: Unknown
October 2012 Outturn Release
What the SMWSA Says:
We immediately noted a lightly mentholated effect, then a complex of fruity and woody scents: artificial peach, fruity syrup, varnish, natural liquorice, stripped wood, sawdust, beeswax. The taste, unreduced, is sweet, herbal and fruity (‘lime pith’), with light waxiness and white-pepper spiciness. It takes a while to open up with water, then becomes very fragrant (patchouli and vanilla, meadowsweet and elderflower) and fruity (fruit salad chews, fresh pineapple, rhubarb), with a whiff of snuffed candle. The taste is sweet and waxy; the floral note of jasmine, and the fruity element Juicy Fruit chewing gum and orange pith. The distillery stands adjacent to another of the same name, overlooking the North Sea.
Drinking tip: An early-evening dram in the Highlands, when the rain has ceased.
What Richard Says:
Nose: Lovely notes of heather, wild grass and fresh pine needles. As it opens up little whiffs of peat smoke sneak through. Water brings out a weird fruity varnish smell. I definitely prefer the nose at cash strength.
Palate: Ooh that’s lovely. Honey, vanilla, and wildflowers. Water make it fruitier and herbal.
Finish: The finish is long, lightly peated, bitter, with a flavor of raw wood (think of a toothpick left in the mouth too long). It makes you want to reach for more of the nose and palate.
Comments: I’m betwixt by this one. The cash strength nose and palate are great but it doesn’t close nearly as well. I also don’t really enjoy it with anything more than a drop of water. Good thing it’s under 50% ABV out of the cask!
Rating: Stands Out
Review sample provided courtesy of the SMWSA and is available to society members through their website or 800.990.1991.