SMWS World Record Tasting - Samples Review (39.44, 55.78, Society Batch 15)
Background
For the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s 40th Anniversary, they decided to celebrate in style- by setting a Guinness World Record for the World’s Biggest Virtual Whisky tasting. The plan was simple: order your $45 sample pack, SMWS ships you a pack of samples, then you log into the Zoom and join the World’s Largest Virtual Whiskey Tasting. That was the plan at least, from what I heard the Zoom quickly hit max capacity and things took a little while to get off the ground. “From what I heard” is a very deliberate turn of phrase in this instance, because I absolutely planned to join and then promptly slept through the 9 AM EST Saturday event. Whoops.
All was not lost though, as SMWS did set the record with 447 attendees. Congrats! Because the Guinness Book of World records doesn’t miss an opportunity to make a little extra dough, participants are able to order a Certificate of Participation at $25 a pop. I’ll pass on the cert since it would be a big fat lie for me to say I attended. However I’m still left with three samples with which I have nothing else to do, so why not review!
39.44 “Sunshine in a Wooden Bowl” (Linkwood) (11 Years, 61.5%)
Nose: It's definitely oak forward on the nose… and from there it's a touch hard to pinpoint. I want to say nectarines? There is a consistent sweetness complementing the wood
Palate: It's a bit like if you had a nice little wood charcuterie board set up with some honey and dried apricots, and then you licked the residue off the board. Wood, fruits and honey basically!
Finish: Asian Pear and dried oak. Extra oak, it does sort of ring you dry on the finish.
Good(5/10)
Overall: A little too wood forward for me though if I'm being honest. It's not bad by any means but it's a sip that arguably necessitates a drink of water afterwards. The pops of fruit and honey on the palate are what elevates this sip from something I actively wouldn't want to drink to something I like but dont need to seek out.
55.78 “What a Spread!” (Royal Brackla) (13 Years, 59.2%)
Nose: Dried spiced oranges, cinnamon sugar, anise… it has a fair amount of rich dried fruit from the PX but it's nice and spice forward as well.
Palate: Orange marmalade, anise and horchata. Pumpkin bread with all of the spices, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg… are all of those in pumpkin bread? I think so, but I can't bake so I'm guessing.
Finish: Oh wow BIG black licorice/anise vibes. I honestly was not expecting this but it's sweet and almost as if I ate a bunch of black licorice Jelly Bellys. I fucking love Jelly Bellys.
Very Good (6/10)
Overall: This is a nice spicy dram, and I think the spices cut the more standard dark fruit notes I typically get from a PX cask nicely. I can't believe how much black licorice I'm getting. Even as I type this it's like I'm still chewing on it. I don't mind it really, it's just wild.
Society Batch 15 (Blended Malt) (10 Years, 50%)
Nose: Welcome to the party, peat! Mixed berry jam, but make it smoked and add a dash of salt. Maybe a heavy dash of salt. On roughly every 4th attempt to nose this I get lox.
Palate: Grilled pears, saltwater taffy with a hint of artificial lemon flavoring. Tart blackberries and some underlying meatiness.
Finish: Extra toasty graham crackers. There's an ashy quality that reminds me of some Kilchoman products. Menthol cigarettes and brined, smoked meats.
Very Good (6/10)
Overall: Salty and sweet, sweet and smoky, berries and meats. There's a lot going on here and it's a fun blend to sit with and parse out notes. The smoke is woven in nicely, with some sips tilting more smoke and salt forward and others leading more with berry jam. I wish the finish was a little less ash driven but I like this all the same.
