FLAVOUR HUNTERS FESTIVAL 2023
This exclusive range of ‘Rare Releases‘ and Single Casks were produced for our Flavour Hunters Festival in May 2023.
“We have a great collection for festival season this year, a mixture of outstanding single cask bottlings complemented by seven small-batch products. Working with between five and 10 different casks in each case gave us the chance to experiment with different flavours. It also allows us to share these whiskies on a more global scale – after all, festivals are all about bringing people together and we want to be able to do that in slightly larger volumes this year. They are also all bottled at cask strength, and each one has its own ‘cask bill’ recipe – a different selection of casks that we’ve worked to put together to create something interesting and special.”
Euan Campbell, SMWS Head of Whisky Creation
Spirit Notes
Initial notes brought a burst of spirity fruit as ripe bananas merged with peach yoghurt and lemon drizzle cake. A delightful vanilla-tinged creaminess then developed, which became fragrant as it turned to Turkish delight and lychees. Among tingly spice on the palate we found milk chocolate and caramel wafers in lemon ice cream while a woody astringency provided backbone. Adding water released butter and coconut cream with deeper notes of candle wax and fermenting pears on lemon skin. Vanilla ice cream was now served with chocolate truffles and hazelnut praline before firm oak tannins combined with whisky cream liqueur on the finish.
| Special bottlings | Festival 2023 |
|---|---|
| Profile | juicy, oak & vanilla |
| Cask No. | 108.67 |
| Cask(s) | 1st Fill Ex-Bourbon Barrels |
| Region | Speyside |
| ABV | 56.4% |
| Age | 14 years |
| Distillation Year | 2008 |
| Outturn | 228 bottles |
