SMWS 66.155 - Big On Bacon 100ml
$34.99
This special SMWS bottling is only available in 100ml sized bottles. It was selected and bottled exclusively for our Kensington Wine Market 2019 Whisky Calendar.
66.155 - Big On Bacon
59.7% ABV
2nd fill barrel
Distillation date of 27 Oct 2010
Highland
Flavour Profile: "Lightly peated"
SMWS Panel Tasting Note: "Delicate aromas teased us with sweet yet subtle smoke and the fragrance of distant heather. Walnuts and hazelnuts combined with sawdust, before the confected realms of burnt apple crumble, lemon and vanilla sponge cake appeared. The palate however released an irresistible concoction of smoky bacon flavoured crisps with the sweet malty notes of digestive biscuits and the crumbled remains of burnt toast. A spicy tingle persisted on the tongue until dried apricots and peach melba balanced the bacon smoke. Only towards the end did we encounter a pile of seasoned wood, neatly stacked beside an old and dusty coal cellar."
So sayeth the wise and poetic folks on the Scotch Malt Whisky Society tasting panel. Now, let's dive in for ourselves and see if we can manage to come up with some even weirder notes!
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: What do you know - the bacon note on this one is definitely right up front, along with waffles in pancake syrup, and all of the rest what you would want for breakfast. Peach slices, whipped cream, lemon tarts, Hibiscus and a campfire off in the distance.
Palate: Salt, pepper, smoke and barley all over the place along with that bacon note again. Canadian Bacon in style, more meat than strips of fat. Poached pears, the zing of raw ginger, maple-glazed scallops and bacon (there is that word again), and Lemon Zinger Tea.
Finish: The salt and spice keep it from going creamy and mingle for a long time, together with a tangy sweetness on the fade.
Comment: This is a delightful Ardmore where the peat isn't the only thing it throws at you. A lot of flavour is packed into this bottle, which is par for the course when it comes to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
And there you have it! Another KWM Whisky Calendar is finish
Millstone PX Peated Single Malt 46% 40ml
$11.99
This is a 40ml bottle of the Millstone Peated PX Sherry Single Malt from our 2019 KWM Whisky Calendar. For the full-sized bottle, look here.
Produced by the Zuidam family distillery in Baarle-Nassau, Netherlands, this peated Millstone single malt whisky was aged entirely in PX Solera Sherry Casks. Bottled in small batches at 46% ABV.
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: Rich Sherry notes along with wood and spice notes. Cloves, juniper, star anise, gingerbread, trail mix with raisins and walnuts, maple syrup, and an underlying potpourri and wood smoke.
Palate: The peat comes out more on the palate, with sweet notes from the PX Sherry and a lot of nuttiness. Toasted almonds, walnuts, dates, maple syrup again, earthy tobacco, fruit leather, amaretto, Frangelico, black licorice and Montreal steak spice.
Finish: The earthy smoke from the peat and nutty notes from the sherry linger together nicely.
Comment: This is big sherry with a decent amount of smoke, but very approachable. The spice notes and the smoke keep the PX Sherry influence from going overly sweet and decadent, which is surprising. This could have been over the top, but it finds a nice balance.
Timorous Beastie Blended Malt 50ml
$9.99
This is a 50ml mini bottle of the Timorous Beastie.
Bottled at 46.8%, the Timorous Beastie, named for the immortalized creature in Robert Burns' famous poem "To a Mouse", is a Blended Malt composed of Highland Malts, specifically: Blair Athol, Dalmore, Glen Garioch and Glengoyne.
Producer Description
"The original Timorous Beastie, immortalised in Robert Burns’ famous Scots poem “To a Mouse” was a timid, little field mouse. Echoing our national bard’s wit, ours is most certainly not for the fainthearted! Inside there’s a medley of vanilla, malted barley, meringue, honey and citrus flavours just bursting to be unleashed…"
Producer's Tasting Note
Nose: Overridingly sweet initially, then warming to floral, light barley and spicy honeyed tones
Palate: Opens in a spicy style with fructiferous notes of raisin and a sugary, fudgey character
Finish: Subtle yet sweet with a real oaky flavour, hints of milky cereals and late meringue
Johnnie Walker Discovery Pack
$49.99
A gift pack of 5x50ml Johnnie Walker whiskies incluiding: Black Label, Double Black, Gold Reserve, Aged 18 Year and Blue Label!
New Riff Bonded Bourbon 50ml Mini
$10.99
This mini / 50 ml bottle was featured on Day 5 of our 2021 KWM Whisky Calendar
This high-rye Bonded Bourbon from New Riff Distillery of Newport, Kentucky is made from a mash of 65% Corn, 30% Rye, and 5% Malted Barley. Bottled at 50% ABV. Since it is Bottled in Bond, it adheres to these rules, which were put in place by the Bottled In Bond Act in 1897:
- All whiskey in the bottle must be produced by one distillery and by one distiller over the course of one distillation season.
- The whiskey must be at least four years old.
- It must be bottled at least 100 proof / 50% ABV
- The whiskey must be aged in bonded warehouses under United States federal supervision.
- The label on the bottle has to state which distillery it comes from and also where it was bottled.
Shelter Point Rye KWM Cask 50ml
$10.79
This KWM Cask Rye from Shelter Point was featured on Day 15 of our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar. Also available in 50ml Mini Bottle form.
This is our second cask of Shelter Point Rye... by which we mean Alberta Distillers 'premium' Rye, matured 5 years in Alberta, and another 6 years on Vancouver Island near the Oyster River. This is the 3rd cask of whisky bottled for us by the good folk at Shelter Point Distillery. The colour is insanely dark for 11 years of age, and the profile is rich and jammy. It may not have been given an award by a fedora wearing Englishman with a twinkle of sulphur in his eyes and a penchant for childishly sexist language, but it is dam fine whisky. Produced from a mash of 100% rye and bottled at 58.8%.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: silky, nutty and syrupy with firm spices; quince paste and fig jam; Panda Brand Licorice; vanilla icing sugar and smoked maple syrup; maraschino cherries and candied orange; sipping old fashioneds in firm plush leather chairs while smoking Cuban cigars.
Palate: sweet thick and very toasty; starts silky building to musty old oak, barrel aged maple syrup and cola cubes; brown sugar, waxy Strawberry Twizzlers, more quince paste and fig jam; more candied orange and maraschino cherry; old fashioned licorice, amaretto and Armagnac; plush leather chairs, Cuban cigar tobacco and old fashioned cocktails.
Finish: long, coating, warming and spicy; like the after taste of an old fashioned cocktail and a Cuban cigar enjoyed in an old fashioned lounge; late spices: clove, fennel and Panda Brand licorice.
Comment: sweet, jammy and fruity with loads of soft oak tones and crisp spice; forget the bitters, ice and orange peel; just pour a couple of measures of this, tuck in and enjoy; it comes with the added bonus of no bad PR!
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: Lemons and limes, tobacco leaf, furniture polish, cinnamon sticks, cedar planks, oversteeped tea, burnt sugars, chilli oil, and a combination of dill pickle plus salt and vinegar potato chips.
Palate: Explosive! Hickory, cinnamon heart candies, fresh ginger, maraschino cherries, licorice tea (oversteeped again) vanilla extract, candy canes, Angostura bitters, fresh stalks of dill and fennel, along with a touch of chili oil and apple cider vinegar.
Finish: Big and chewy with plenty of oak, spices and caramelized sugars sticking around.
Comment: Our first Shelter Point Rye cask was big too, but had the balance and finesse of a ballet dancer. This is one is more akin to a bull in a china shop. It isn't about balance, it is about devil may care boldness and crazy fun.
SMOS Caol Ila 8YR KWM Cask 50ml MINI
$10.99
This bottle was featured on Day 14 of our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar. Full-sized bottles can be found here.
Selected by and bottled exclusively for KWM, this 2011 Sherry Butt (Cask 300161) of Caol Ila was bottled after 8 years at a cask strength of 61.2%.
Boutique-y Bunnahabhain 10 Year Old 50ml
$16.99
This bottle was featured on Day 22 of our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar.
We did not receive any of the 1287 500ml bottles of this 10 Year Old Bunnahabhain from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, but we did get some 50ml mini bottles of it! This 10 Year old was bottled at 50.5% ABV.
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: Salted toffee, honey, splashes of sea spray and ozone, custard, apples, green bananas, rising bread dough, limes and the coconut, plus a touch of olive oil and malted vinegar.
Palate: Oily and salty with a peppery bite before giving way to fresh-baked pretzels, pears, apple juice, green grapes, macadamia nuts, vanilla and cocoa butter.
Finish: Oily and salty on the finish as well, with a touch of walnuts and very soft fruit.
Comment: You may not be used to Bunnahabhain like this if you are only familiar with the official unpeated bottlings. Stripped of that heavily sherried influence, it is still a robust malt with pleasant salty, floral and doughy notes.
Boutique-y Cambus 27 Year Old 50ml
$15.29
* This bottle was featured on Day 3 of our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar. Full-sized bottles are not available at this time. *
999 bottles in 500ml form were produced of Batch 10 of this Cambus Single Grain Scotch by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. We only managed to get it in mini bottle form for or Whisky Calendar, and only a few extra minis remain! Bottled at 50.7%.
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: Vanilla and polished furniture, burlap sacks, apple and pear slices, strawberry and rhubarb pie, cherry danish and shortbread cookies.
Palate: Smooth and sweet with tingle of spice. Fizzy cherry cola, candied ginger, Maynards Fuzzy Peach candies, and candied almonds.
Finish: Soft and smooth with lingering peach and cherry sweetness wrapped in a pillow of smooth, drying oak spices.
Comment: This Cambus is a very approachable single grain that exhibits plenty of candy and confectionary notes. The 50.7% lends a bit of spice but doesn't make it too hot in the slightest, as the sweet notes power on through.
