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SMWS 93.38 - Stirs the atavistic soul

Average score from 2 reviews and 3 ratings 89

SMWS 93.38 - Stirs the atavistic soul

Product details

  • Brand: Glen Scotia
  • Bottler: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
  • ABV: 58.1%
  • Age: 17 year old

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@Pierre
SMWS 93.38 - Stirs the atavistic soul

Pull up to the bumper baby!

Nose: An awful lot going on here - this is not the most accessible bouquet I've come across but that's not to say I don't relish a challenge! There's an underlying sweetness with some burnt rubber. I have no idea where this whisky is from. Spice, sweetness, something medicinal but not an Islay medicine, more cough lozenge. The nose gives me few clues what to expect on the palate. Believe it or not I am enjoying this!

Palate: More focussed than the nose - I'm starting to understand some of what I've been smelling. Menthol or aniseed with some charcoal smoke wafting around, a little curry spice and pepper wrapped up in a candy coating. Nice. I think. Actually yes - very nice.

Finish: Long- very long. Aniseed then some dark ale or stout followed by curried cough sweets and at last a wisp of smoke.

Balance: I'm not sure what needs to be balanced with what, this isn't that sort of whisky. This is a rollercoaster of smells and flavours, wait a minute... not a rollercoaster its like the dodgems!

Bumpy, exhilerating, fun, confusing - BUMP - what just happened? Who hit me?

I recently took my four year old son on the dodgems for the first time, he loved it, he was scared and excited at the same time. When we finished he wanted to have another go straight away. I know how he feels.

@Piero

Thanks for a great review. Similar findings to our own Tasting Panel....

93.38 Stirs the atavistic soul Something on the nose stirred our atavistic souls, such a fascinating combination of challenging aromas; charcoal, nectarines, wool, leather, lawnmowers and Victory V’s. The unreduced palate was even more challenging; salty, treacly, charred chicken, burnt twigs, dry smoke, dark chocolate, liquorice, caramel – “like being hit in the face with a basketball” someone said. The reduced nose had the smoke, salt and char of a beach barbeque, with cinder toffee for afters. Even watered down, the palate was powerful, dry and smoky; inspiring comments like “dragon breath” and “like trying to smoke a rolled up newspaper”. The distillery name contains Scotland

Nice review @Piero. You're not the first to find the Glen Scotia expressions strange... See the review of the 14 year-old 1991 here, for instance: www.maltmadness.com/whisky/glen-scotia.html

I'm curious, though: as a Québec resident, how did you get to sample an SMWS bottling? I live in Ontario and would sure love to join the SMWS, but it doesn't seem to be possible. Am I missing something?

@scribe

Reading my notes back for this whisky, I'm convinced its one of those bottles that a) you would never expect, b) would probably never choose to taste based on your own notes, and c) you're so glad exists once you've tried it. This was bottle number 2 in the SMWS' May "flight" (4 samples of whisky from their May out-turn). I'm just going to list my tasting notes and see what you reckon:

Nose: Marshmallow, talcum powder, delicate peaches and pears, with slight smoke and incense. Cloves? Yeah, dusty, clovey lemons. Rubbed on the hands, a leathery dry straw tone comes through. Musty attics. A few minutes to breathe, and more caramel comes out to play.

Body: The atavism is more present here. Alongside the smokiness, there's a spiciness. Curry, black pepper, red wine - a good switch of flavours, totally unexpected except for the tanned leatheriness from before. Pretty fascinating what's in here.

Finish: Drying, one of those drams that sucks all the moisture from your mouth like the dregs of a red wine bottle.

Overall, I put this in the "curiosities" department. It's a little haphazard, and the dryness to the finish makes it one to have in small bursts. But it's also interesting, distinctive, and unique. If you're serious about whisky, and get a chance to taste it, go for it.

@Scibe

Thanks for the review Scibe - interesting that you got the curry note same as Piero (something our own Tasting Panel didn't pick up on)

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