SMWS Outturn June 2024 (Vaults)
I absolutely love going to the SMWS Outturn events! As someone who loves variety and trying new things, it’s a MUST DO. We’ve been to the Vaults and to the Queen street outturn sessions before (but not to others). The Vaults is £5 more per person. The big difference is that you get a welcome dram at the Vaults (sometimes it’s part of the outturn, sometimes not), they plan where you sit at the various tables, and the event tends to go a bit longer. At Queen street, seats are first come, first serve and it’s a bit smaller of an experience. Oh and another important detail about these two venues- The Vaults prints out a spreadsheet for the attendees with each of the bottles available whereas Queen street gives you the pamphlet (which will be the venue menu as well, with all tasting notes).
The way this tasting goes is that at 7pm, you walk up to the bar (really the queue can get long), and you tell them what number bottle you want to try. You get two dram glasses so you can try 2 at a time. And you go back and forth to the bar as many times as you want. You can drink it or pour it out. At 8pm the food comes and you have supper. But, then the tasting resumes and you have the rest of the night to make purchases (but this is usually until 9:30 or 10, depending on the venue).
I like to arrive about 15 minutes early (at least) in order to look through the spreadsheet and set a game plan to know what whiskies I want to taste in which order. I want to make sure to try the ones I’d consider buying as soon as possible as you can reserve them throughout the night (though some have limited numbers). Just look at the preview spreadsheet for June below, and this has some of my notes.
The whiskies!!!
When I plan out my lists, I look at the wood type (I prefer sherry or novel casks, like wine). I also look at the cask number, as I have my favourites. The cask number reflects the distillery. 4 is Highland Park, and is usually quite tasty, so I tend to note this one to taste. Other things I look for is flavour profile and price. Why not try the pricier ones that you wouldn’t necessarily buy? I tried a £3,500 bottle of Macallan in an outturn last year, and it was not worth the price. But, I did get to try it! And, I love that the SMWS does flavour profiles, as it makes it easier for people new to whisky or even people who know what they like to drink to pick out ones to try. I prefer Peated; Deep, Rich, & Dried Fruits; Oily & Coastal.
This outturn, as soon as I saw a Balcones whisky (140), we put it on reserve to buy (£85). It’s a three-year old and most whisky connoisseurs might scoff at that age, but in hot climates (like Texas, where Balcones comes from or South East Asia), whisky aging occurs more rapidly. So, they tend to taste a bit more complex more quickly. Speaking more about this whisky, I love the name! Cocoa Habanero! Yum!
Unfortunately, some were missing and would be released later in the month but I still made my list, with my top to-try (with reason) as listed by distillery (and bottle number)
Balcones (it never disappoints and sometimes is aged in some really cool casks, like tequila)
Highland Park 4.355 (it’s peated and has a fun name Gorgonzola Burning!)
Glen Grant 9.268 (I usually love Glen Grant for it’s subtle complexity)
Caol Ila 53.450 AND 53.457 (3 were listed in this tasting but only 2 were available; this is a peated whisky and usually quite good- a sweet peat)
Ardmore 66.250 (I got a tip at the bar that this was a great dram; it’s also 25 years old! Plus, it’slightly peated and up there in price)
Dailuaine 41.173 (I’ve tried a few that have a bbq peppery spice, and I wanted to see if that’s the case with this one, plus it’s PX cask- the sweetest of the sherries)
Craigallechie 44.178 (I love the savoury notes from this distilery, also has a heavily charred cask, which is innovative)
Mannochmore 64.150 (ex-PX barrique)
Japanese whisky 160.1 (this was the very first time SMWS released whisky from this distillery!)
Loch Lomond 112.121 and 122.52 (this is a hit or miss distillery for me, sometimes I love what they do and other times I am disgusted. But I will always taste their drams!)
Glen Scotia 93.209 (All drams put out from SMWS from this distillery have been delicious, plus it’s oily & coastal)
We ended up buying 4 bottles this month, though we were happy with the prices we paid! None were that expensive- Loch Lomond (112), Highland Park (4), Glen Scotia (93), and Balcones (140).
While I did quite enjoy the Ardmore, we spent quite a lot at the Feis in Islay so we weren’t prepared to drop another £245, even if a very good whisky. I would also say that the price is a bit high for an independent bottler and being an Ardmore. But it was a lovely dram! The other conversation we had was about the Loch Lomond (112) bottle. While it wasn’t my favourite, S loved it and we bought it.
Our friend F (he’s Irish) loves whisky too but couldn’t make the outturn. Even still, he was on the phone with us putting in his orders. Like I said, the outturn is a great way to try the whisky first and be the first to buy it. Sadly for F, they ran out of the Glen Scotia bottles to sell at the location, though he did nab a bottle of the Highland Park. F is a huge fan of Highland Park (good buy!). Hopefully, F is able to try the Glen Scotia at the Queen Street location, with the possibility to buy it.
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140 (Balcones)- it had coconut, grilled jalapenos, pepper jam with raisins, green bananas, BBQ plantains, adobo spice, and was quite complexgoes here
4 (Highland Park)- it was funky with a shortbread baking soda zing, french bakery goods, orchard fruits, light smoke that grows into more of a BBQ and then you get the funk again, which really is blue cheesy
66 (Ardmore)- grilled peaches, glazed donuts, apricot ice cream, orange sherbet, menthol, cherry medicine, candy cane, tasted peanuts, a bit of funk (very complex)
93 (Glen Scotia)- vanilla cookies, chili powder, grilled banana flambe with smoke, salted caramel, honey, lemon
112 (Loch Lomond)- rum raisin, grilled pineapples, papaya, tinned peaches, golden syrup, pear drops, fruit cocktail, a bit of BBQ spice, mango
77 (Glen Ord)- dark berries, baked goods, green vegetables that have been barbecued, brambles, pecans, pie crust (this was a surprise that I hadn’t expected!)
78.72 (Ben Nevis)- icing sugar, glazed donuts, banana, grilled pineapple, curry spice, sage, cinnamon, creme brulee (again, another surprise!)
143 (Copperworks, Washington, USA)- dark cherry, ganache, nutmeg, chili powder, charred walnuts, wood chips, fresh jalapenos, floral, spearmint
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Along with the stand-outs, there were some drams that were nice but not worth buying or trying again. Some might call them Breakfast Whisky (because they are easy to drink, not that complex). I would put these on that list:
26 (Clynelish)- apple pie, grassy, pear drops, very simple (this was not only the welcome dram but also it’s the Vaults exclusive release).
9 (Glen Grant)- apple pie, getting sweeter on the palate with the finish, pear drops, fruit cocktail, tinned peaches
41 (Dailuaine)- raspberry jam, croissant, floral, hay, orchard jelly, tarragon
44 (Craigallechie)- baked treats, orchard fruits, sweet tarts, eucalyptus, mustard seeds, pine, lemon, briny
53.457 (Caol Ila)- sweet peat, bbq, kippers, salt, treacle, tablet, propane, very light and quick finish
64 (Mannochmore)- lavender, sweet tarts, apple sauce, orchard fruits, anise
38 (Caperdonich)- lemon, shortbread, fennel, sherbet, rosemary, grilled steak, cocoa (This might have been better if I would have tried it earlier in the evening)
78.66 (Ben Nevis)- orchard fruit, baked goods, smarties, butter croissant, bramble jam
113 (Braeval)- sweet but tart fruits, green apple, apple O’s (the dried kind in trail mix), apple turnover, cinnamon
71 (Glenburgie)- apple orchard, pear drops, croissant, vanilla, cream soda, tablet, salted caramel
55 (Royal Brackla)- croissant, plums, baking powder zing, blackberries, salt
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53.450 (Caol Ila)- the nose was quite pleasant (BBQ, menthol, sweet peat, cherry, figs, cinnamon). But when I drank it, it tasted like something I don’t even want to TYPE!!!
122 (Loch Lomond)- lemon sherbet, orange marmalade, vanilla, cream soda, TOO much soda
160 (Japanese)- This one was interesting as I was disuaded from trying it when my table disliked it. Another table was only agreed that this was the best dram. I agree with my table! cherry, floral, fig, blasamic, chili peppers but when tasting it, there was adobo and NOTHING else.
There were many more that I was unable to try! Sadly, to try this much, I ended up pouring quite a bit out. We ran out of time. If I’m able to try any of the others over the month, I’ll make sure to share my thoughts!
What are your thoughts on this outturn? What were your top drams? Did you buy any bottles? If so, what?