Allt-A-Bhainne 7 2011 SMWS 108.14 "An enjoyable curiosity"

I bought this quite a while ago so don’t remember what I was hoping for with it, but I believe I was after more ‘farmy’ type notes when I purchased it. Also, it’s neat how with the SMWS you can get to try a single cask from a distillery that’s basically a blend component.

Allt-A-Bhainne 7, 2011 Vintage, Scotch Malt Whisky Society 108.14, Speyside Single Malt, 66.2% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on November 1, 2011 and matured in a 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel for 7 years yielding 217 bottles. This is part of the Lightly Peated flavor profile named “An enjoyable curiosity”. Enjoyed neat in a glencairn.

Color: Yellow gold; 0.5.

Nose: Bready, malty, yeasty, a bit of vanilla like a bread pudding. With water: root beer, toasted marshmallow.

Taste: Sweet, strong. Smoke and ash. With water: about the same.

Finish: Smoke, salty, bitter; a vague sense of a very concentrated dark chocolate with salt in it. Long. With water: the same.

This is nice, but hot. Water really improved the nose with some very interesting elements coming in there and at no real cost to the rest of the dram as can often happen.

Score: 81

Musical Evocation: After Forever – “Estranged (A Timeless Spell)”