14/10/2026 Industry Giants: Dave Broom at the SMWS

Rescheduled at last, after the main guest did not show up on the original date (because of trains issues, not neglect). GT, Dr. CD, PS are here already, and YM and cavalier66 soon join us.

Broom opens the ball by saying how awkward it is for him to talk about his life ("Scots don't really like talking about themselves"), and says it feels like a self-promotion. All the same, he will spend the next couple of hours sharing anecdotes and insights with his usual charisma, much to the audience's delight. He worryingly concerts with JPM too: he chose the (SMWS) drams because of the distillery they represent, so he can talk about the distilleries themselves, and is it alright to reveal the distilleries? (It is)

With that in mind, it is not really a blind tasting, for once.

The Blenders Notebook 18yo 2007/2026 (50%, SMWS, 2nd Fill & Refill Bourbon, PX & Oloroso, B#44)

Nose: lovely toffee, a bit of encaustic, a honeyed patina on rustic furniture. The second nose may well bring copper coins.

Mouth: a lick of caramel and that same honey-like patina. It has a tin box of moustache wax too.

Finish: honey-glazed nuts, toffee and caramel sweets. It turns dustier at second gulp -- like a more-ancient blend, in fact.

Comment: takes me to a smoky pub with wood panels and corduroy armchairs.

Score: 8/10

78.101 8yo 2007/2026 Apples dumped in hay bales (61.1%, SMWS Society Cask, 2nd Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 234b)

Nose: a walk in a pine forest in autumn, with slightly-damp forest floor and a little dash of lemon juice.

Mouth: reminiscent of generic whisky. Cardboard, caramel, a whisper of mocha, after a while.

Finish: a tad sharp, it slowly acquires custard, but that is virtually submerged by ground white pepper.

Comment: takes me to a harvested corn field in late summer.

Score: 7/10

4.406 14yo 2012/2026 Sweetly soothing smoke (64.4%, SMWS Society Cask, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill ex-Bourbon Barrel, 220b)

Nose: this has a comforting, warming peat smoke of a farm-y character. Cow stables and cattle pastures.

Mouth: smoked caramel, roasted toffee and tractor fumes as one chews. It feels less smoky than on the nose, sweeter and more greasy.

Finish: the stones of a campfire, licked by flames and somehow impregnated with smoke.

Comment: takes me to countryside pastures. It will remain my favourite of the night.

Score: 8/10

Dave talks about yeast. 

Punter: "Is there any whisky distillery that uses wild yeast?"
DB: "Err... Dornoch! If you have a question of that kind and you're not sure about the answer, usually, Dornoch is a correct answer. They try all sorts of things."

[In a couple of days, a friend from Dornoch distillery will confirm they tried it in Spring 2026, if not before]

53.527 12yo 2013/2026 Seraphic sea symphony (59.7%, SMWS In Celebration of Robin Laing the Whisky Bard, 2nd Fill STR Oloroso-Seasoned Barrique, 276b)

Nose: this one is very smoky and a lot drier, akin to a wood-fire smoke lingering low on cobblestones. It also has ashes and lichens. Dead leaves join, as does cherry tart. Huh!?

Mouth: embers and a touch of ashes. It is glowing hot, not burning. Actually, it is extremely comforting. Mulch smoke comes out.

Finish: big, long and welcoming too, rich and sweet, while earthy and smoky, it is also greasy.

Comment: takes me to a warm pub after a day's hiking in the great outdoors.

Score: 8/10

DB: "Skye is more dramatic. Mull is more dramatic. Islay... gets you."

19.116 13yo 2012/2026 Home for a Christmas Sherry (58.7%, SMWS The Winter Series 2026, ex-Bourbon Hogshead finished in 1st Fill American Oak ex-Oloroso Hogshead)

Nose: brownies, baking and still moist inside. There is a pinch of rosemary followed by smoked berries smashed into a paste. cavalier66 detects flat cola.

Mouth: soft and round at first, it explodes with rubber, after a moment, then settles for plasticine, chewy and a trifle bitter, like flavoured liquorice allsorts.

Finish: liquorice. It is fairly sweet too, and reminds me of cough syrup, with blackcurrants sweets and camphor.

Comment: takes me to the pews of a church, for some inexplicable reason.

Score: 7/10

DB: "Glen Garioch were using their heat surplus to grow tomato plants."
GT: "Did they try to distill tomato juice?"

The final dram is from Broom's collection.

Komagatake 7yo 2015/2022 Yakushima Aging (53%, OB Single Cask distributed by Japan Import Systems, Sherry Butt, C#2026, 602b)

Nose: it is gently smoky and sherried, but extremely floral all the same. The smoke disappears in no time, leaving us with pressed raisins and fewer flowers (lily-of-the-valley, white lilac). Later on, we have hinoki peeking through. Coffee notes appear at second nosing.

Mouth: rich, oily. This has dark, pine-y honey, mahogany oil, and other tropical-wood essences. The second sip feels thinner and fruitier, with lychee and rambutan.

Finish: a noticeable lick of chocolate. cavalier66 finds it savoury. He is clearly not in a state to drive.

Comment: takes me to a far-eastern public baths, enjoying dark chocolate while soaking in the tub.

Score: 8/10

Not life-changing, but a pleasant little session.