Old Fashioned (SMWS)

Blended batch: 5 Age: 11y/o Nose: Toffee apple, sweet wine, vanilla, ginger, oranges Palate: slightly ‘hot’ and spicy - chillies, black pepper - milk chocolate, summer berries and sweet orange. Slightly floral background notes Finish: More spices, but developing into a dry, sweet woodiness as it dissipates. A medium-long finish which slightly sours (grapefruit/citrus) on the aftertaste. Overall, this is a surprisingly drinkable dram in its own right. A little hot, but there’s plenty of layers of caramel, spice, citrus and orange, with a woody finish, to keep it interesting. This particular blend has a bit of an interesting story. It was blended and bottled by SMWS in partnership with Tempest Brew Co. SMWS provided them with a batch of ex-bourbon casks and Tempest used them to cask their Rye Double IPA. Once the beer was done, SMWS then used the casks for a blend of malts (previously from 1st-fill hogsheads) to be finished for 14 months. As a final note to this one, it would only be fair to mention that I had to try it in an Old Fashioned (as was intended - the clue is in the name!): 60ml SMWS Old Fashioned blended 10ml maple syrup 2 dashes orange bitters 2 dashes aromatic bitters Stirred over ice Applewood smoked under a cloche for (around) 1 minute Verdict: It makes a damn fine Old Fashioned! Better than most bourbons (to my taste) and very moreish!