SMWS 2.89 Slow cooked beef stew (Sample Box No 1, whisky #1)

For Christmas 2015 I got my hands on the SMWS Sample Box No. 1, a sampling of 25 different whiskys from Scotch Malt Whisky Society. This was meant to be my malty Christmas calendar, but somehow I never got around to tasting the whiskys throughout December. It is now December 27 when I write this, and I have some catching up to do! All the whiskies in this sample box were tasted completely blind. The box came with no info on the contents whatsoever, just 25 numbered sample bottles.

SMWS 2.89 Slow cooked beef stew, 20 YO, 50,7 %

The following facts were made available to me after I had tasted the whisky:

Robust like a beef stew packed with junks of root vegetables and a splash of red wine. Spicy flavours of a roast beef and fruit chutney wrap. A drop of water turned the aroma into salty caramel and slightly burned toffee.

Matured in an ex-bourbon  refill hogshead. It was distilled on 1993-09-16, and bottled in 2014, with a total outturn of 332 bottles.

The price for a bottle of 2.89 Slow cooked beef stew is about GBP 100.

Nose (20/25): Soft, with some oaky notes. A bit sugary, but the sweetness has an edge to it, which I cannot quite place. I is a bit meaty perhaps, like vegetable soup with some meat in it? I really have no idea what this could be, as I am nosing it.

Taste (20/25): I find the same edgy sweetness here. Some tannic notes in there as well. Caramel and earthy notes.

Finish (20/25): Medium long mouthfeel. Rich sweetness now, like honey - but at the same time there's that edge still. Something a bit oaky, a bit dry-ish, bordering on bitter. Finishes with bitter mint and other herbs.

Balance (20/25): A bit odd really. Not quite sure what to make of this.

Score (80/100)

Sláinte! - Thomas