Strathisla SMWS 58.17 “Not shaken, not stirred”

So as a child I was a pushover. Easily convinced of anything. Quite Naive, if you will.

And if you pronounce that as “knave”, then you can fuck right off.

Anyway, while I like to believe that I’m over that, every so often my inner child rears it’s ugly, fat little hit and makes me go along with the group.

Case in point: SMWS 58.17 “Not shaken, not stirred”. So all we know of SMWS is the distillery (based on codes around the net), they are single cask (and thus I can’t tell how they taste), and the name gives us a hint to the flavour (though some of them are downright not helpful).

So, let’s run down how I reacted when asked if I wanted this one:

It’s from Strathisla. Saying it out loud makes me sound drunk already. Also I reviewed the 12 (see below), and wasn’t blown away. Strike One.
Okay, so it’s single cask. But the type of Cask can tell us something, right? Well it’s refill ex-bourbon, so… shit, that won’t be crazy. And if you’ve read enough of these, you know I like crazy finishes. And not so much crazy people.

See, I have to be the nuttiest person in the room.

Finally we read that it’s named… after a Martini quote. And I get all loopy on Gin and act like an idiot. Not to mention I like a little dryness, not a lot.

So I was out… and then they needed a fourth and I said fuck it. Gave into peer pressure.

So now I have a young whisky from a distillery I didn’t review well. That’ll review well.

Let’s get to it then.

Price: N/A in Ontario

Outturn: 201

Date Distilled: April 2005

Age: 10 years

Cask Type: Refill barrel

Region: Speyside

Abv: 60.4%

Colour: 7.5Y 9/3

Nose: Brown sugar, cotton, caramel, coffee, cream, peach, wax

Honestly wasn’t expecting this at all. Big brown sugar notes, lots of sweets, and yet… there’s an earthy element here too. Like a good Caramel macchiato, not too sweet, not too much milk, and not too strong. You know, like I used to get, when it was Fall and all the other ladies were doing it and I went along with it.

Trust me, the Uggs were uncomfortable, but the yoga pants really showed off my dick really well. Pro tip guys.

Taste: Salt, caramel, peach, coconut milk, hot, lemon

The earth amps up after a bit, however the first thing I taste is salt. You know, like that time I went to gay karaoke and woke up the next day.

It’s quite hot, as expected for the youth (make your own joke here, I’m on enough lists as it is). Quite creamy too (again, I’m on enough lists here people).

Finish: Mandarin orange, coconut, peanut, ginger, honey

Ends with a good amount of acid. Balancing that is a light amount of spice and sweets. All of the flavours here mix really well, and makes me wonder if I could make a dessert of it.

And then I realize that while I’m good at baking, I don’t think I could pull off those… let’s say squares, shall we?

Conclusion: All in all, a really nice dram. I’m quite surprised over all. It’s full of a lot of caramel notes, has an earthy flavour, and is quite tasty.

It actually makes me want to try more Strathisla offerings. Yes, this is a single cask, and there’s a good chance the others won’t taste as good. That said, I really loved what it put out, and think that other cask strength offerings. Really tasty stuff here, and what an ex-bourbon cask can do.

80/100

Scotch review #465, Speyside review #138, Whisky Network review #760