SMWS Outturn 259 - Magical Moments

SMWS 5.57 - Strawberry summer flanIt's a big list.

No, bigger than that.

Bigger.

OK, now you're just being silly.

But it's very big. 43 whiskies big. And all of them manage to get to the London Rooms, which I'm pretty impressed by - well done whoever was doing the logistics!

Of course, size doesn't automatically mean quality - but you don't have to worry there. The SMWS has evidently been keeping a number of these hiding for a while! In terms of scores, there were TWENTY 4s, EIGHT 4.5s and a well deserved 5. That's more than half the list getting a great score!

There's also some distilleries that we don't see very often at the SMWS, but I'd like to remind members that we should focus on the flavour not the provenance!

The highest score of 5 went to the Auchentoshan - a wonderfully fruity, strawberry burst of flavour. Sadly, there really wasn't much available in the UK - congratulations if you got a bottle! (I almost feel guilty giving a top score to something so hard to find, but the score is what it is. Rarity isn't a factor in scoring!)

In the 4.5s, we have a superb floral and fruity Glen Moray, a finely balanced Mannochmore, an elegantly fruity Glenlivet, a sweet (in both senses!) Linkwood, a citric Aultmore, a wonderfully floral Glen Grant, a superbly smoky Highland Park and a heavily peated Bunnahabhain.

I am not listing all twenty of the fours. I have a life to live. My recommendation is to get yourself to an SMWS bar, and start drinking. Many of these won't last long!