Post on 07-Aug-2020
Outturn
September 2012
Bottling List
Issue 12
www.smws.ca
One of these is not like the others...
Outturn
www.smws.ca
Each Society bottling is unique. And each can be identified by its markings. The
tasting notes give you an insight into the characteristics of each whisky, and are
the best place to start.
You may find yourself drawn to a ‘Wild west cowgirl dressed in leather’ or have a
preference for ‘A lady of the night’ (hey, we don’t judge). Maybe your instincts lead
you to a dram that’s more like ‘Candy floss in a fairground’ or perhaps akin to
‘Keith Richards meets Socrates.’
These curious descriptors are your best clue to what you’ll find within each bottle,
and are at the heart of The Society’s raison d’être.
With The Society’s monthly selection of single cask malts it’s not surprising that
some members find it hard to focus on their perfect bottlings. Thankfully it’s not
cheating to ask for help. Just call Kensington Wine Market at 403-283-8000
(within Calgary) or at 1-888-283-9004 (outside Calgary) or email us at
curious@smws.ca or scotchguy@kensingtonwinemarket.com for advice of an
expert nature.
How to use Outturn
Welcome to the September 2012 Outturn!
outturn n. 1 The number of Society bottles produced from a single cask. Varies
from cask to cask. A finite number that will, sooner or later, run out.
2 The name given to Society bottling lists, containing Tasting Notes for each
recently released Society bottling of which only a limited number are ever available
(see above).
2
Entrancing & delightful
Cask No. The nose was entrancing and delightful! Honeycomb, marmalade and cherry
liqueur; exotic fruits and flowers; polished mahogany and leather. The palate was
lively but never frivolous – brown sugar in espresso coffee dregs and Grand
Marnier flavours mingling and tingling in the mouth, “everlasting joy” exclaimed
one panellist. On the reduced nose, the orange theme developed even further –
candied orange dipped in luxurious chocolate, Jaffa cakes, orange jelly – also a
slight whisper of cardamom or something medicinal. The reduced palate had a
special, urbane, adult sweetness; toffee and spice and all things nice.
The distillery is sometimes flooded by the Lossie.
35.44 Bottle price
$253.99
After dinner - preferably wearing a dinner jacket Drinking tip:
Colour: Mandarin mahogany Date distilled: January 1975
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 55%
Age: 35 years Outturn: 167 bottles
www.smws.ca 3
Speyside (Lossie)
Speyside (Lossie)
The femme fatale
Cask No. With the initial smell, she came out of her shell, and still she promised more.
Peaches, coffee and spice were there to entice, and yet she promised more. The
flavour neat, had woodiness and heat, all the while she’s promising more. Sweet
cherry lips, plum brandy on ships, again she’s promising more. Water brought
milkshake, vanilla ice cream (no flake), and still she promised more. Toffee,
nougat, nuts and soap, on our tongues gave us hope. Surely, there’s some
more? Dear drinker take heed, of her last victim’s greed, the fellow begged for
more. He took her to task, and fell in his glass, Drink her if you dare!
39.86 Bottle price
$159.99
Drink at your peril, as a gift to yourself! Drinking tip:
Colour: Sunbed tan Date distilled: October 1990
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 45.5%
Age: 21 years Outturn: 217 bottles
35 years
old!
Low
outturn!
Men beware!
With crêpes, or any other dessert Drinking tip:
Colour: Ginger gold with orange lights Date distilled: November 2001
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 61.2%
Age: 10 years Outturn: 271 bottles
www.smws.ca 4
Highland (Northern)
Crêpes Suzettes & coffee dregs
Cask No. Reminiscent of Calvados and Grand Marnier, the nose delivered toffee apples,
pineapple, Crêpes Suzettes, Werthers originals, Edinburgh rock, custard slices
and Moffat toffees. The unreduced palate exploded with warm ginger and
orange flavours (if ever a whisky lived up to its colour!) then superior tequila
and Madeira wine in the finish. The reduced nose offered dried fruits, ginger
wine, lots of citrus (lemon meringue pie, oranges in syrup, pineapple) and
caramel gradually emerging. The reduced palate, still big, chewy and
beautifully sweet, had sugary dregs of coffee, chocolate gingers, then a dry
sherry aftertaste rounding off this fine Tain dram.
125.62 Bottle price
$112.99
Highland (North)
Massage in a bottle
Cask No. Initial essences of beeswax and guitar polish led the panel down an extremely
aromatic path. Potpourri, scented candles and orange oil tickled our olfactory
senses, fresh laundry (maybe towels) caused us to sink into our seats. Lavender
and orange blossom emerged on the palate, coating the mouth with a waxy
chocolaty finish. Water heightened our spiritual experience as the room filled
with incense, hand cream, jasmine, pear drops and ripe peaches. The flavour
expanded to encapsulate vanilla, white chocolate and waves of oranges and
watermelons. We emerged from this dram relaxed and sweetly sedate.
26.86 Bottle price
$160.99
A dram to unwind with Drinking tip:
Colour: Flat ginger ale Date distilled: August 1990
Cask: Refill barrel, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 50.5%
Age: 21 years Outturn: 182 bottles
After dinner dram
Cask No. First impressions are meaty and herbal, roasted lamb with thyme and rosemary,
followed by a maritime freshness of a salty sea breeze and the sweetness of mint
toffee. Undiluted on the palate surprisingly sweet, slightly bitter, like a good
Turkish coffee whilst grilling succulent pork fillets. With water, more sweetness
on the nose is added, vanilla pods and black currants as well as a flinty, chalky
aroma reminding us of Edinburgh rock. The taste develops into a sweet hot
chocolate with a freshness of eucalyptus leaves and the lingering ashy aftertaste
from the bbq last night at ‘the beautiful hollow by the broad bay’.
29.114 Bottle price
$115.99
Instead of a coffee after a bbq on the beach Drinking tip:
Colour: Citrus peel gold Date distilled: February 2001
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 56.1%
Age: 10 years Outturn: 264 bottles
5 www.smws.ca
Islay
Sunset beach dram Drinking tip:
Colour: Silvery fish in a moon pool Date distilled: December 2000
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 58%
Age: 10 years Outturn: 272 bottles
Islay
Paint your own picture
Cask No. Peat smoke drifts from a nearby island across calm waters – the sun is going
down after a hot day on the beach – a driftwood fire is now lit on shingle between
rock-pools – barbecued pork ribs, langoustines, lobster, then lemon meringue pie
for dessert – nose the dram – ginger, Germolene, tobacco, boxing gloves – paint
your own picture – Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction? – taste it now – root beer, ice-
cream, bananas, Old Holborn tobacco, liquorice cigarette papers, burnt heather,
barley sugars rolled in ash – this whisky evoked all of these for us – now test your
own imagination – it’s from the Sound of Islay.
53.157 Bottle price
$133.99
www.smws.ca
Rum
Mint humbugs
Cask No. Surprisingly deep and complex for its age, we were transported to a tropical
swimming pool at first: plastic flip-flops, wicker sun-loungers, with a dusty note
(’chest of drawers’), then a rush of pumpkin-seed oil, damson vinegar and
Cola-cubes… The taste blows your socks off! Sweet and peppery, after a start of
‘water-wings’. Water softens the aroma and taste considerably: vanilla fudge,
cherry pie and Canadian cedar (with cherries) on the nose, and a clean, mint
humbug, mentholated (even clove-like) taste. One panellist produced a bottle of
Coke and a lime… Delicious!
R5.1 Bottle price
$131.99
Looking out over azure water Drinking tip:
Colour: Golden syrup Date distilled: January 2002
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 81.3%
Age: 9 years Outturn: 525 bottles
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How to order from Friday September 7th
Through The Scotch Malt Whisky Society website at www.smws.ca, which will
then take you through to the Kensington Wine Market website for final purchase.
Through the Kensington Wine Market website at
www.kensingtonwinemarket.com - search for ‘The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’
under the Scotch tab.
By phoning Andrew Ferguson at the Kensington Wine Market at (403) 283-8000
(within Calgary) or at 1-888-283-9004 (outside Calgary).
In person at Kensington Wine Market, located at
1257 Kensington Road NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 3P8.
Remember, you have to be a member to
purchase, so please have your membership number handy!
Not for swigging, glugging or knocking back! 7
But not forever!
Here’s a chance to sample some rare treats from our bottle bank of past Society
releases. Remember, Society whiskies are bottled from single casks, so they don’t
last forever. As the number of remaining drams decreases, their rarity increases.
Fortunately for you, the price doesn’t!
Past Bottlings
Wowee!
Cask No. Wowee! – a mouth-watering nose – initial waves of teriyaki, soy noodles, crispy
bacon, cough medicine and rum, followed by roast pork with apple sauce and
sultanas cooking in cinnamon, butter and sugar; also some grass, wood glue and
bubble gum. We tasted fascinating flavours of char siu pork, dried figs and
cooked cherries and apples – then a breath-taking finish of liquorice, shoe polish,
wood and posh leather. The reduced nose was sweeter and tamer – spiced onion
jam and Old English Spangles. The palate now suggested brown sugar on
porridge, maple candy and hints of grapefruit. The distillery has a musical clock
tower.
105.17 Bottle price
$189.99
Speyside (Spey)
While waiting for the pork roast to be ready - easy
on the water
Drinking tip:
Colour: Deep ginger Date distilled: September 1983
Cask: First fill sherry hogshead Alcohol: 55.3%
Age: 28 years Outturn: 310 bottles
Just 3 bottles
left!
www.smws.ca 8
Sorry!
Sold out!
Speyside (Spey)
Speyside (Lossie)
Complex and manly
Cask No. Rich, complex and delicious: fruity rum-toft, unripe plums and mellow fruits,
nuts and chocolate, unlit cigars, hard toffee, shoe polish… developing to waxy
cake tin. A big texture at full strength: sweet, waxy and meaty, with surprise
chilli chocolate and ‘cherries soaked in sweet vermouth’. With water the
waxiness increases; now shredded and glazed roast duck, gingerbread, stewed
strawberries, a trace of dusty wood behind, indicating age. Smooth and sweet to
taste; slightly waxy with tobacco traces and chocolate-covered biscuits. From
Dufftown’s first distillery.
76.88 Bottle price
$176.99
In the library, with coffee and a cigar Drinking tip:
Colour: Pale amber Date distilled: September 1988
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 51.7%
Age: 23 years Outturn: 235 bottles
Bottle price
$160.99 Nicey, nicey, sweet ’n spicy
Cask No. The nose was finely layered – old-fashioned, expensive, floral perfume on top; ap-
ple sauce, gooseberry purée and a tin of fruity boiled sweets below that; the olfacto-
ry sub-strata inhabited by patent leather and old books. The taste was sweet and
hot – opinions included tom yam soup, mango chutney, HP Sauce, chilli, crystal-
lised ginger and leather. The reduced nose added floral pot-pourri, plum chutney,
polished sandalwood and Indian food (ginger, paprika, etc.). The palate improved
but the sweet and savoury profile remained steady – toffee, honey, sugar-coated
fennel seeds, liquorice and salty lime pickle. This distillery does not draw water
from Loch Dhu!
64.35
A bit of a talking point whisky - could accompany an
Asian or Indian takeaway
Drinking tip:
Colour: Twinkly gold Date distilled: February 1990
Cask: Refill barrel, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 55.2%
Age: 21 years Outturn: 208 bottles
Only one
left!
9 www.smws.ca
After skiing with a cheese fondue Drinking tip:
Colour: Blushed apricot gold Date distilled: November 2001
Cask: Refill barrel, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 58%
Age: 10 years Outturn: 211 bottles
Scottish Heidi
Cask No. Aromas of a rock garden with a variety of herbs like sage, fennel and turmeric as
well as a floral note of Edelweiss, whilst in the background fresh tar being laid on
a road. On the palate smoky Swiss cheese with digestive biscuits then becoming
sweeter, brownies and dark mint chocolates with a trace of teasing lavender
smoke. Adding water, dry and dusty then turning fresh like a Ricola Lemon mint
followed by a nougat note of dark Toblerone. The taste with water is of pork
sausages, water biscuits with peppered cream cheese and a dry volcanic ashy
note to finish. This distillery is believed to be named after a peninsula between
Cardross and Helensburgh.
66.33
Bottle price
$112.99
Highland (Eastern)
Purchase
4.162 and
31.23
together
and save
(see page
11)! Drinking tip: A reward after a long wet walk
Colour: Pale gold Date distilled: November 1995
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 55.1%
Age: 16 years Outturn: 244 bottles
Smoker’s tooth powder
Cask No. Fresh and lightly maritime – salt crystals, seaweed, mineralic – with some
fragrant dried-floral or mixed dried herbal notes, becoming faintly medicinal and
peaty. Eucryl Tooth Powder – check it out! Sweet and citric to taste, with a smoky
finish: ‘minty chewing tobacco’, commented one panel member. With water,
solvent notes emerge, but also dried fruits - ‘sultanas in alcohol’, Madeira cake –
then bath salts, Refreshers (sherbet sweets) and burnt eucalyptus leaves. Sweet,
fresh and slightly salty to taste, with a whiff of smoke in the finish; maritime over-
all, with minty notes. An appealing example of Michael Jackson’s ‘Great
All-Rounder’.
4.162 Bottle price
$139.99
Highland (Islands)
10 www.smws.ca
Highland (Island)
Sugared almonds in a mattress factory
Cask No. The intriguing nose delivered dried fruits and mixed nuts, toffee, green malt,
mouse-trap cheese with a black, sooty fireplace grate somewhere in the
background. The palate was pleasantly sweet yet robust – with moist iced
gingerbread, liquorice, salt, smoke and chalky, limestone, earthy elements. The
reduced nose turned somewhat fatty and savoury, like leg of lamb or the
wrapping of a haggis supper – also cigarette papers and a mineral beach, with
salt marshes nearby. The palate now floral and sweet suggested sugared
almonds and iced gems in a coil-sprung mattress factory. The distillery, designed
by architect William Delmé-Evans, was built around 1960.
To take in a hip flask up the Paps of Jura - or any
other hill
Drinking tip:
Colour: Old gold Date distilled: September 1988
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 51.7%
Age: 23 years Outturn: 235 bottles
31.23 Bottle price
$169.99
Islay
A changeling
Cask No. All malts change in the glass - this one more than most! It begins clean, fresh
and mineralic, with a soapy edge, then gains soft toffee and charcoal, with
heather pollen, then moves towards treacle toffee, dentists’ mouthwash and…
prawn cocktail crisps! The taste, at this stage, is sweet, salty and tarry (toasted
barley; a hot kiln), with smoky bacon crisps. Water raises exhaust fumes, railway
engines, Hippie Afghan coats, goats, a smoking Bakelite plug, Plasticine, melting
vinyl records, bonfire ash; the taste now soft, sweet, salty, clay-like, with malt in
the ashy finish. From the Prince of Wales’ favourite distillery.
29.113
Bottle price
$115.99
Contemplating the sunset Drinking tip:
Colour: Pale green-gold Date distilled: February 2001
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 57.7%
Age: 10 years Outturn: 275 bottles
Purchase
4.162 and
31.23
together
and save
(see page
11)!
11
Not for swigging, glugging or knocking back!
Cognac
lovers take
note!
Purchase 4.162 “Smoker’s tooth powder” and 31.23
“Sugared almonds in a mattress factory” together and
receive 15% off (but no smoking in bed)!
Soft, spicy, rich and intense
Cask No. Wonderfully soft and perfumed yet spicy, deep, intense on the nose - hints
of sandlewood, dark cherries, toasted apple, candyfloss, oranges and spices
transported us to a late autumn bonfire (not Guy Fawkes or Halloween though).
On the palate initial intense spicy perfumed woody notes gave way to a soft
creamy taste with a hot spicy almost tannic finish. Water (and it didn’t really need
it) made it waxier with church candles and saddle soap, sweet caramel and rich
apple tarte tatin. To taste it seems even spicy - cinnamon, aniseed and clove but
still very soft and supple with a long sweet unctuous finish.
A4
Bottle price
$170.99
A perfect autumnal dram but would be fantastic as a
digestif
Drinking tip:
Colour: Orange copper Date distilled: January 1983
Cask: Refill hogshead, ex-bourbon Alcohol: 47%
Age: 22 years Outturn: 434 bottles
Armagnac
Curious? Read on!
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, founded in 1983 in Edinburgh, Scotland, is the world’s largest
single malt whisky club, with 26,000 members in 16 countries. The Society bottles in excess
of 300 casks each year from up to 128 distilleries, all at cask strength, and
available exclusively to members.
Members also receive The Society’s award winning magazine, Unfiltered, and have access to
member’s venues in Edinburgh, London, Tokyo and elsewhere.
The Canadian branch releases new single malt whiskies every month on the
first Friday of the month (“First Fridays!’).
In Canada, The Society’s exclusive retailer is Kensington Wine Market in Calgary. Membership can be
purchased for $230 plus GST (which includes the new member’s kit, pictured above) by calling
Kensington Wine Market at 403-283-8000 or visiting KWM’s website at www.kensingtonwinemarket.com.
Annual renewals are $120 (plus GST).
Only single cask, single malt whiskies that promise to intrigue, entertain and delight
our members are selected, true to our motto:
To leave no nose upturned.
www.smws.ca
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