05/09/2026 September outturn at the SMWS

Only a couple, today.

167.6 7yo 2018/2026 Tropical treat (61.6%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 205b)

Nose: sweet and flowery, this has sherbet, yellow-flower petals, but also coffee grounds. What follows is unexpected: climbing chalk and leather. A couple of minutes in, that chalky touch turns into dried lemon zest. There may be dolmas too. A clean woodiness appears at second nose, with cut thuja logs and other pine-bark slices. And whiffs of tobacco. Or is that weed?

Mouth: it is lively! It sparkles and stings. Peppery lemonade, pomelo soda augmented with green-chilli slices, Chewing adds a mild vegetal bitterness, a dandelion-stem stew or similar. The second sip adds a dried strawberry paste, for a second, then cherry-wood splinters.

Finish: big, long, explosive. It sees lime zest, then lime leaves, well bitter. It clearly has a nice fruitiness, but it is leafy and numbing. The second gulp is even bitterer and extremely leafy.

Score: 6/10

YM: "It smells really woody on the nose!"
PS: "Well, that's my Tinder profile."

149.27 8yo 2018/2026 Popcorn by the old pier (60.5%, SMWS Society Cask, 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 220b)

Nose: oh! this has 'cattle farm' written all over it. Cow stables, pastures, hay bales opening to unveil sweet tobacco, then turning to custard. It retains a farm-y profile, earthy, ashy. A campfire in the middle of a field, shrubs on the fringe of said field, and a whisper of burnt mint. Warm corduroy sofas emerge at second nose, as does a straw infusion sprinkled with ashes. Water makes the nose smokier, without making it smoky. After a second, it acquires sweaty-Gouda rind, which is unlikely. Some citrus peels appear as one tilts the glass.

Mouth: it has a twist of the pepper mill onto a leafy custard. Chewing makes it thinner -- no longer custard, rather milk and ivy leaves. Oh! It is leafy, now, if not as strongly so as the the 167 we just had. Spicy, a tad numbing, it never gets rid of flower petals entirely. The second sip puts on an orange-juice texture (no pulp). Follows a growing heat -- ashy embers take over the tongue. Water makes it softer and sweeter, it swaps the numbing, leafy vibe for sweet pomelo peels.

Finish: mint, menthol and pomelo zest. Most of the leafy character has disappeared, leaving but a mild bitterness on the sides of the tongue. Mint crumbles, with the chalky texture that implies. It is dolmades with an earth filling instead of rice. The second gulp brings the freshness of bathroom detergent hand in hand with ashes and chilli flakes. It suffers from the addition of water, which renders it woody and bitter.

Score: 7/10

Mission accomplished.