SMWS 3.363 Andalusian Smoke 21yo Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml, 55.8% ABV)
$599.00
A 21-year-old single cask from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's distillery no. 3 - the Society's code for Bowmore, Islay's oldest licensed distillery. Released as part of the Society's Creators Collection, cask 3.363 is the kind of bottling rarely found outside the Society itself. Only 194 bottles were filled, and only 24 were sent to Australia.
Distilled in February 2004, it spent its early years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before moving into a first-fill American oak oloroso hogshead - the sherry influence behind its name. The Society's tasting panel compared the nose to an "Andalusian Smoke" cocktail of fino sherry, smoky mescal and lemon, and on the palate found a fascinating partnership of opposing flavours: ripe papaya and pineapple set against meadowsweet, heather honey and burning lavender. It's a beautiful example of what two decades in the cask does to Islay smoke, softening it into a backdrop for layers of tropical fruit.
Distilled: 16/02/2004
Age: 21 years
Cask: Ex-bourbon hogshead, then a first-fill American oak oloroso hogshead
Outturn: 194 bottles only (24 in Australia)
ABV: 55.8%
It's worth trying neat first, then adding a few drops of water to open up the flavours.
Tasting notes (below) have been supplied by the SMWS tasting panel.
Quantity
Tasting Notes
Colour:
Nose: A cocktail of fino sherry, smoky mescal, lemon juice, basil syrup and a dash of creole bitters.
Palate: A fascinating partnership of opposing flavours – ripe papaya and pineapple alongside meadowsweet cordial, heather honey and burning lavender. With water: The air filled with a mixture of incense and driftwood bonfire smoke.
Finish: The long finish is reminiscent of two green teas – Chinese jasmine dragon pearl, and Japanese hōjicha, roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoal.
Awards
About the Distillery
Founded in Edinburgh in 1983, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a members' club best known for bottling single casks and small batches from distilleries across Scotland and around the world. Rather than naming the distillery on the label, each bottling carries a code - the first number identifies the distillery and the second the cask - along with a playful name chosen by the Society's tasting panel. Bottled straight from a single cask, usually at full cask strength and without colouring or chill filtration, every release is one of a kind.
Distillery 3 is Bowmore, founded in 1779 on the shores of Loch Indaal and Islay's oldest licensed distillery. Bowmore is one of the few Scottish distilleries still malting some of its own barley on traditional floor maltings, and its famous No. 1 Vaults warehouse sits right at the water's edge. Its whisky is known for balancing gentle peat smoke and sea air with rich tropical fruit - a character that only deepens with long ageing.
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