SMWS Gastronomic Fusion 8 Year Old 1st Fill Bouurbon & 2nd Fill Hogshead Matured Single Grain Scotch Whisky (2024) 70cl

Batch 27

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was founded in Edinburgh in 1983 by Phillip 'Pip' Hills who, while travelling around Scotland in the 1970s, fell in love with whiskies drawn straight from the cask. After he expanded his syndicate the Society was purchased by Glenmorangie PLC in 2004. In 2015, the Society was sold back to private investors. In June 2021, the private owners floated the holding company The Artisanal Spirits Company plc on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.

It has a unique code system where the first number refers to the distillery and the second refers to the cask from which the bottle comes. SMWS also offers the largest range of distilleries of any independent bottler. These curiously named drams really do have something for every whisky lover!

The SMWS are one of the Britain's most revered independent bottlers with a worldwide network of partner bars with one mission of getting as much whisky at natural cask strength without water to different nations including USA, Canada, Switzerland, UK, Austria, Germany and many others.

Sometimes you don’t see things coming and they hit you square in the tasting glass in the most surprising way. The latest among such unexpected moments stems from their clear glass ‘Heresy’ small-batch range, Gastronomic fusion. In many regards, this new arrival is a first for the Society. And whatever you’re expecting, it’s safe to say that this isn’t it! So, what remote corner of whisky’s flavour empire are they exploring this time?

TASTING NOTES

The aroma was that of the ultimate ham and cheese sandwich done the French way; a croque monsieur made using Dijon mustard and béchamel sauce – simply delicious. And so was the palate, lightly smoked porridge oats topped with slices of banana and sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. Following the careful addition of water, we got a large skillet of paella rice topped with artichokes, shrimps and spiced with sweet smoked paprika. To taste, we found fried garlic mushrooms with lightly smoked salmon and lemon-zested crème fraiche. This truly was an example of individual delicate flavours achieving that fascinating fusion of sweet, savoury and smoke.

50% ABV

70cl