10/10/2017 A few drams at the SMWS

A few months ago, the SMWS opened new venues in London and Edinburgh. They are called Kaleidoscope. They are open to non-members. Tonight, JS and I try one of them.

9.128 24yo d.1992 Scented candles on a fruit cake (51.3%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 172b): nose: alcohol burn and perfume, then apple cider, lots of meadow flowers, jasmine and lime juice. Creamy doughnut emerges (but not that Krispy Kreme shite, you know). More citrus comes out (pink grapefruit, pomelo), but the heat is still intimidating. Mouth: mellow as dough, yet beware! It has enough horsepower to knock out a pony. Green chilli, warm broth, potato peels. This mouth is rather dreary, to be honest. With water, it becomes even drearier. A drop of peach nectar in a glass of water, drowned and uninteresting. Finish: fruit comes out, here, soft, baked apples, some green wood, soft butter. Meh. Alright, nothing special. With water, it is a teaspoon of coffee in a jug of watered-down peach juice, with, perhaps, the most delicate hint of chocolate. 6/10

50.95 27yo 1990/2017 Magical moments (59.8%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 144b): nose: sweet pastry, golden but not fully baked yet. Further, it is nail-varnish remover and flowers -- is this a grain in disguise? It also has a note of cold steel, which is unexpected. It becomes juicier, after a while, with peach nectar showing up. Mouth: similar flowery/floury notes, with an alcoholic bite -- this is strong and woody. Birch splinters. The second sip is softer, more gentle, though it still presents a lot of wood. Woody yoghurt it is, then. Finish: more flowers and pastry dough, yet they are mostly buried under a lot of wood and alcohol. The second sip is more bearable, but not much happens, any longer -- just a few flowers and a little dough. 7/10

7.128 12yo Swaying palm trees at sunset (60.1%, SMWS Society Cask exclusive to Devonshire Square, 160b): Devonshire Square is the Kaleidoscope's address, you will have understood. Nose: milk chocolate, chocolate truffles, decaying cherries; this is nice and fruity, if fiercely strong. It very much swings from cherries to milk chocolate and back, like a good praline. Later, a whiff of wood varnish appears, pipe tobacco, then vanilla and Scottish tablet. Mouth: surprisingly soft, it has darker chocolate than the nose, with cherries again. Squashed raspberries join the party. Pink pepper and, still, chocolate. Finish: magnificent chocolate with raspberry coulis and strawberry stems, hot custard and crushed cardamom. This one is much more to my taste! 8/10

25.70 26yo d.1990 In a perfumed garden (58.3%, SMWS Society Cask, Refill ex-Bourbon Barrel, finished in a Sauternes Cask, 170b): this one caused a bit of a stir on social media and other circles. It is allegedly the last cask of Rosebank the society had (in light of the announcement yesterday, that Rosebank is to re-open, take that with a grain of salt) and was launched with adequate fanfare, alongside a similarly-aged Macallan. The labels are black, supposedly answering members' request for an easy way to distinguish desirable bottles on the shelf (when are they going to introduce crystal decanters and wooden boxes?, tOMoH asks thee). Both were available to prebook, and a preselected panel was meant to receive samples (paid for?) in order to further promote the bottles on social media. All that is well and not groundbreaking. There was much debate about the finishing, but the real point of contention was the price. This Rosebank retails at £875. The Macallan is even more expensive. 25.69, which was released in 2014 and was limited to 35 bottles (!) cost a whopping £160. One can imagine how a 540% price increase was received by members. It is nice, then, to be able to try it by the dram and decide. Nose: an odd mix of manuka honey, flowers and leather -- and it works. It turns dryer and dryer; after giving out scents of a pony ride at a village fair, it morphs and smells of dried flowers in an empty vase. Perfume-y indeed, with a touch of jam, after a while. Mouth: soft and milky, discreet, but spices quickly turn up -- ginger, lemongrass, galangal. Lemon drops are in the background. Actually, the lemon drops become bolder and bolder. Finish: long and powerful, with potent lemon drops, quite some drying, woody notes, dried flowers, hay bales, Fisherman's Friends. This is a decent dram with a good nose, but the price is really extravagant for the quality. Waste of money, innit. 7/10

Glad to have visited the place, if not entirely convinced by it. Music -- argh. Hip hop does go down a treat when drinking exclusive whisky -- not. Air conditioning -- argh. It dries my eyes so much I start crying, on the way back. No ice cream; they discontinued it. One of the shelves contains a couple of dozens of old-style bottlings, but they are not available for general consumption -- only for special events... and to tease punters, obviously.
It feels like a regular bar, and to a degree, that is what it is. I do think, however, that the atmosphere is not very cosy. The staff is helpful, but they hardly project an aura of passion.

As I said: not really convinced.