Nordic Whisky #22 - Smögen 2011 3 YO Single Cask #20/2011

Smögen 2011 3 YO Single Cask #20/2011, 60,9 %

This is the first single cask release from Swedish distillery Smögen Whisky. It was distilled on 2011-06-10 and bottled on 2014-08-15. Matured in a single American white oak bourbon barrel (cask #20/2011). It was made with peated Optic barley, at 45 ppm phenols. The total outturn of 378 bottles.

This release will be followed by a second single cask release to be bottled in March 2015. This will be a four year old matured in a European Oak Sauternes cask, and the outturn will be around the same as for this first release.

Nose (21/25): Nice bourbon sweetness. Pronounced peat, but it is all well-rounded. Vanilla and fudge feature prominently on the nose. It is malty, with some citrus. I do like the peatiness of Smögen Whisky. Here is manifests as wood smoke, wet wood to be precise, it is a cold smoke.

Taste (21/25): Pepper, berries, and creamy vanilla. Quite peaty, and slightly medicinal. Caramel and oaky spiciness.

Finish (22/25): Peppery and warm, with medium length. More spicy now and more oak. Still creamy, full and rich all the way. The finish is sweet with white sugar and caramel.

Balance (21/25): Reminds me of a young and feisty Islay whisky - possibly a Lagavulin.

Score (85/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas