PBMichiganWolverine
Keeping the Fire Stoked 53.327 (SMWS)
Single Malt — Islay , Scotland
Reviewed
May 22, 2020 (edited June 16, 2020)
Wow...this one surprised me. SMWS was at one point a real good independent bottler, but of late has become mediocre. This is not one of those. This is a single cask 10 yr cask strength Caol Ila. Matured in simply refill ex-bourbon...nothing fancy.
How do you know when a whisky is a good whisky? I think it’s pretty simple: 1) reasonable price, which makes you want to open and share, rather than keep stashed away; 2) great distillate and cask quality; 3) no marketing, flying under the radar, and let the liquid speak for itself ; and 4) fly off the shelves despite lack of marketing and hype. Kilkerran 8 was one of those, at least in my recent memory. This is another. I paid barely $60. In minutes it was sold out.
I had to dilute with some water, which is generally the case for me and CS whiskys. But the aroma...wow. Lemons grilling over a flame. Taste is grilled lobster, eating it in an old style diesel operated fishing boat. It’s simple and straightforward, just well crafted Islay.
At USD $60..BUY on sight. Skip the hype and price gauging from others, and go for this instead.
60.0
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per
Bottle
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@PBMichiganWolverine yeah and so far I only had good experiences. I got a lot of samples from so called “bottle sharing” and a few full bottles as well. I still wouldn’t buy bottles to stash because I need to make sure that bottles I buy actually aren’t fake. But even that I haven’t heard of from anyone. Strange you guys are not allowed to use eBay to sell and purchase alcohol privately. Here there are hundreds of new whiskies every day. But prices most of the time are the same as in regular retail. But you can get rare or discontinued bottles you otherwise wouldn’t be able to acquire. (Like lots of old Glendronachs and Highland Parks for example)
@Jan-Case wait...in EU, you’re able to buy from eBay!!?? Wow. Idiotic US regulations....
@PBMichiganWolverine as for this Whisky. I have an also independently bottle single cask Caol Ila but it is 15 years and from G&MP ... and this one of the best whiskies I have ever tasted. It was an retail for 104€ but sold out right away so I got it about 6 months later from someone if eBay for 150€ - which is still a good price for that fantastic bottle. I had a sample of it before from someone I know and after that I had to have it and I would have been ok with a higher price as well - that’s how gods Caol Ila can be.
@PBMichiganWolverine well the fee is to pay the people who work there and run the social and administrative part of the society - the people working in the actual independent bottling area are payed by bottle sales. I am planning on joining once they return to their regular events. In two weeks there is a public whisky picknick here in Berlin (which is free btw) where I’m plan on getting to know the local members. I think it is a nice thing. A friend of mine is part of the Irish Whisky Society and they do all sorts of stuff. Distilleries visits, trips, public & private tastings, themed events, barbecues, anniversaries, pre-releases, bar tours and other stuff. These kind of things need to be run by people and as long as the community is active and you can actually participate in events I think like 10$ a month is not that much really. The SMWS also has exclusive member rooms which I heard are really a experience for itself. If for anything this exclusivity works for whisky.
Good stuff. Looking forward to this one
@PBMichiganWolverine yup i agree I really don't know why they see their offerings as special enough to warrant such a fee
@Soba45 i don’t like their business model...in order to purchase a bottle, an independent bottler, we have to pay a fee. There’s nothing special in that offering...not like they’re getting a hold of rarities. So, why charge a fee?
@cascode this is my 1st SMWS only—-never joined. But I do have another SMWS somewhere...a 24yr Macallan. @Richard-ModernDrinking no, never joined...never had the desire to, but purchased this from a private party.
@PBMichiganWolverine are you a member? I’ve never been convinced that I need to join
SMWS releases at least one distillery #53 (i.e. Caol Ila) every month in every region. They have ongoing contracts and rack the juice in their own selected casks. They vary, but are usually pretty good and I think you'd be safe buying any you see like this at 8+ years for that price. Their distillery #10 (Bunnahabhain) releases are the same - almost monthly and invariably good value. BTW, you have to pay to join initially but after that although you still pay a yearly membership fee, if you have spent over AUS$1,000 in the past year you receive a credit for the same value as the membership fee.
Yeah I had a couple of crackers from them at Dramfest but the price for the one i wanted was $120USD so thought hmmm maybe not as I think I had to psy another $40 to join to buy