Nordic Whisky #162 - Smögen 2012 Single Cask #18/2012

Smögen 2012 Single Cask #18/2012, 5 YO, 61,3 %

This is the fourth single cask release from Swedish distillery Smögen. Check out the previous releases here, here and here. This release is a bourbon cask release - a 1st fill cask from Makers Mark. It was distilled in 2012, and bottled in 2017, making it a 5 YO whisky. The total outturn was 276 bottles at 50 cl.

The Smögen 2012 Single Cask #18/2012 was released for sale on 2017-06-01 and sold out in 2 seconds. The selling price was SEK 1220.

Nose: Deep, deep peat. Deep and green. Deep and dark. This is how you do a massive Nordic peat bomb. Too bad it is a single cask release, and as such hardly available at all (I only managed a sample). A touch of oak, and notes of pine wood. Pine wood smoke? A tiny alcohol bite on the nose - cannot remember having felt that on a Smögen release in a very long time. Chocolate and vanilla notes with time. Is it perhaps a little meaty as well? Hmm.. that's a new development. Not bad at all.

Taste: Rich and full-bodied. Medium sweetness. Lots of spices and a fair bit of oakiness. It doesn't feel 'young', but neither does it feel 'old' if you catch my drift. Nothing is off, but it feels like it could have benefited from 'settling' a bit more.

Finish: Medium long finish. Light, sweet, green and very peaty. It really does pack a punch right up until the very last moment. I like that.

Comments: Yet another solid product from Smögen.

Score (86/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas