THE KNOWLEDGE
Casks of curiosity
It’s generally easy to break with convention, but it takes skill to do it tastefully. The Society has been an incubator for ideas and out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to whisky creation for some time now. It encourages us to take our taste buds into uncharted territories and discover the range of weird and wonderful flavours our beloved drink has to offer. Join Julien Willems as he retraces some of the most unusual casks and flavours the SMWS has had to offer
PHOTOS: PETER SANDGROUND AND MIKE WILKINSON
ABOVE: Seguin Moreau cooperage
HTMC: THROUGH FIRE AND FLAME
HMTC are four letters that have been well represented in the Society’s cask profile since 2016. I remember working at the Queen Street bar when the first bottles aged in heavy toast, medium char casks landed on the shelves. It was a mixed reception at first, members were once again split between those who embraced novelty and those who were committed to the refill bourbon dominated landscape. Not that there’s anything wrong with refill bourbon casks, but it’s understandable to get excited by something out of the ordinary. I can still taste some of those first-generation bottlings like Cask No. 44.74: Bridge of spice, or Cask No. 35.204: A squirrel’s dream. The latter is particularly unforgettable. But how did this come to be? In 2014 head of whisky creation, Euan Campbell, was debating the virtues of toasting levels in casks with a distillery manager from the Highlands. He decided to place several orders for casks with custom toasting and charring to create whiskies with deeper character, spices and a creamier texture.
Far from being just a fad, these have proven themselves reliable, active and delightful. Even the most sceptical Tasting Panellists have come to appreciate their unctuous and spicy opulence.
HYBRID CASKS: ZEBRAS IN A ONE-HORSE RACE
On the back of the first experiments with HTMC casks Euan and Kai Ivalo, the Society’s whisky director, came up with an idea. The concept was a zebra cask with a white coat of American oak, known to yield vanilla and coconut flavours, and interlaced ‘stripes’ of European oak, bringing a layer that’s darker, more tannic and spicier in nature. While this is not a realistic representation of how these casks are built, the analogy is valid when considering the results. A great example of these hybrid bottlings was Cask No. 64.138: Perfect for tannin'. Only a handful of these vessels were commissioned. As we speak, they are maturing whisky as second fills, so keep an eye out for the second range of these entirely unique Society casks.
GONE COCONUTS: HIGH LACTONE HOGSHEADS
High lactone hogsheads are American oak made to our specifications at Seguin Moreau cooperage in France, where coopers selected only oak staves that have a higher lactone content than average. For those not familiar with oak lactones, they are a compound that oak is generally rich in, but that varies from tree to tree and species of oak. These molecules are very important for a number of reasons, but most notably because of their coconut and gorse flowers aromas. These casks were mainly used in Batch #12 Clementine confit, with its smooth oaky sweetness and omnipresent coconut and mango undertones. For Cask No. 80.33: An Advocaat snowball, the result was more obvious with coconut aromas and flavours permeating every stage of the Tasting Panel.
ABOVE: Euan Campbell inspects a sherry butt
SMOKED BARLEY WINE CASKS
While we’ve not seen a lot of these, they are the cornerstone of Batch #19 Frazzle dazzle. Smoked barley wine casks are a tad misunderstood and can be a bit much for some members. I would classify this as a true Society release. These unusual flavours reached new levels of madness. It combined warm spicy hoppiness and smoked frazzles (bacon flavoured crisps) from the smoked stout, with the fruitier exotic flavours of Speyside malts. It divided opinions, delighting some and perplexing others. But generally, it stimulated conversations among members about how off-the-wall it was.
If that doesn’t tick all the boxes for challenging expectations, I’m not sure what will.
NO HOPS? NO PROBLEM!
Batch #28 Spruce on the loose is possibly one of my favourite ‘Heresy’ small-batch releases. It’s got a rich background of brewing, rediscovery, and reinvention, coupled with an outstanding profile of well-aged malts. It’s classy and elegant and the wood recipe can never be exactly replicated. Wasted Degrees Brewing used fresh Society casks to age a dark stout beer which used spruce tips rather than hops. After the casks were emptied of the stout, we again used them to age malt whisky. This resulted in a deliciously polished, well-aged yet fresh expression I strongly recommend you get your hands on.
WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT
What does the future hold? I can hear you asking. We all like a bit of insight and a peek behind the curtain. But why ruin the surprise? What you can know for certain, is that the Whisky Team is always searching for the next unconventional and delicious treat to bring our members.