If you want a nip of whisky for breakfast on a chilly morning this is the obvious choice.
”On a cold spring morning we journeyed across the bridge to the Kingdom of Fife. Our mission? To nose and select some freshly imported Australian Shiraz barrels of course! Alongside the experts from Nebb Whisky Barrels, we made our selections and went about identifying suitable whiskies to fill into the casks. We opted for some 11-year-old first-fill bourbon-matured Speyside whiskies. They were left to slumber for around three years before being blended to create this unique whisky.”
How does it taste?
”What an aroma neat – with popcorn drizzled in melted salted butter, heather and gorse flowers baking in the hot summer sun, pears poached in red wine and crimson marmalade on a slice of malt loaf. Juicy and fruity on the palate, the pleasing tartness of green apples was in perfect balance with the silky sweetness of strawberry and honey liqueur. In the finish, gentle spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg evoked the calm Caribbean Sea lapping a sandy beach. Following reduction – careful when adding water – the scent reminded us of cherry clafoutis, toffee apples and mango chutney. In the taste, a floral hint to start followed by diluted blackcurrant juice. The finish gave us white pepper.”
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society can be fanciful but in this instance they have captured just some of the complexity in this darlin’ dram.
Health Warning: drinking alcohol is a health risk, causing liver disease and linked to some cancers. Not drinking alcohol can lead to shortness of temper and bad moods.
I have been a member of the esteemed Scotch Malt Whisky Society almost since its inception and have sometimes wondered, though charmed, by the flights of fancy of its tasting committee. But the description quoted here took me instead back to my Glasgow childhood. Where else would ‘toffee apples’, ‘blackcurrant juice’, ‘melted butter’, ‘marmalade’, ‘malt loaf’, ‘popcorn’, ‘strawberry and honey’ have come from? You can take someone out of a Scottish upbringing, but you can’t take childhood nostalgia out of the SMWS tasting committee.
I will bet a dram my SMWS membership number is lower than yours and my PG Wodehouse Society number higher.