Smokehead High Voltage

Danger! High Voltage! I believe it is a requirement of drinking this liquid that Electric Six needs to be playing. The Smokehead Single Malt was an enjoyable entry into this slightly gimmicky mini series of NAS, no distillery identification, and skull adorned bottlings. Now, the “High Voltage” cask strength release has me hopeful for something a level above the last - given the tag line of an all out attack on your senses. N: When we touch, this to our nose there is a recognisable thickening over the regular Smokehead, packed with a rubbery and mulchy phenolic profile. A yeasty bread joins with pepper and ash to produce something altogether a bit musty. An interesting (but not necessarily good) mineralic feel similar to a metalworks is in there somewhere. P: When we kiss, there is a punchy arrival with a thick bacon grease type texture. Barley and a toffee-cream are early, with a monstrous dose of pepper. Once you can get past that pepper there is the ashy-granular texture and presence of smoke, a little apple and caramel, and some waxy herbs from the bbq (PSA: season your grills with rosemary and thyme). Is there a medicinal brine here also, yes, but not as noticeable as the standard Smokehead. F: Long. Pepper transitions to chilli. Mineralic brine and an ashy texture. A pleasant smoke remains long after everything else has drifted off, to the gates of hell. Unsurprisingly this is a big punchy step up from the original Smokhead. However, rather than being an electrifying and vibrant delivery of the core expression it is a heavy handed and aggressive side step. There are some pleasant and interesting things on the nose, and the textures on the palate are mostly fine. But, some mineralic and metallic notes and grainy textures do slip through. I suspect these elements are a younger spirit that was slightly more subdued in the lower ABV release. The ABV here, fortunately doesn’t come across as raw spirit or intrusive ethanol burn; but it does amp up the pepper-chilli heat to an almost uncomfortable finish. A reasonably hard hit of water allows some of the brash features to subside enough to allow a delicious salted caramel through and that does redeem it somewhat. However, water also seems to have allowed some more metallic astringency through. An interesting but not electrifying pour that for the Australian market has a competitive price point for a cask strength. On special it goes as low as AUD$99, or can be up to AUD$125. So surely the responsible purchase for a high ABV smoky single malt is Port Charlotte 10 (50% ABV) at $109-115?! Distiller whisky taste #159 [Pictured here with another skull for a skull branded whisky. This time its a big skull for a big whisky: Australopithecus boisei, the ‘Nutcracker Man’. This chap was discovered in 1959 from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania and represents a unique branch on the hominid evolutionary tree from 1.75 million years ago, with a wide concave face, massive molars (4x larger than ours), huge sagittal crest and zygomatic arches. This early ancestor was designed for powerful chewing. Despite the name nutcracker man, it is likely that these guys were designed for eating grass much like modern Gelada baboons.] Smokehead running scores: Smokehead Single Malt: 3/5 Smokehead High Voltage: 3.5/5

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