{"product_id":"balmenach-17-year-old-2006-smws-single-bourbon-hogshead-1st-fill-oloroso-finish-48-164-dark-fruit-feedback-loop-speyside-single-malt-scotch-whisky-2024-70cl","title":"Balmenach 17 Year Old 2006 SMWS Single Bourbon Hogshead \u0026 1st Fill Oloroso Finish 48.164 Dark Fruit Feedback Loop Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2024) 70cl","description":"\u003ch2\u003eBalmenach 17 Year Old 2006 SMWS Single Bourbon Hogshead \u0026amp; 1st Fill Oloroso Finish 48.164 Dark Fruit Feedback Loop Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2024) 70cl\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1 of 511 Bottles produced for the international market from a single bourbon cask finished in a 1st fill oloroso Butt. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eScotch Malt Whisky Society\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ewas founded in Edinburgh in 1983 by Phillip 'Pip' Hills who, while travelling around Scotland in the 1970s, fell in love with whiskies drawn straight from the cask. After he expanded his syndicate the Society was purchased by Glenmorangie PLC in 2004. In 2015, the Society was sold back to private investors. In June 2021, the private owners floated the holding company The Artisanal Spirits Company plc on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt has a unique code system where the first number refers to the distillery and the second refers to the cask from which the bottle comes. SMWS also offers the largest range of distilleries of any independent bottler. These curiously named drams really do have something for every whisky lover!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe SMWS are one of the Britain's most revered independent bottlers with a worldwide network of partner bars with one mission of getting as much whisky at natural cask strength without water to different nations including USA, Canada, Switzerland, UK, Austria, Germany and many others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTASTING NOTES\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productView bottle js_itemPageProfile flavour-default\" data-categories='[\"No Menu Link\/Bottle Archive\"]'\u003e\n\u003carticle class=\"productView-description\" id=\"productView-description\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"productView-descriptionWrap\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe nose on this one was immediately impactful and brand spectrum, with notes including raspberry jam, a fat, rum-like worm tub funk, powdered cinnamon and ginger, and also clove-studded baked apples. We also found treacle, crushed hazelnuts and malt extract. Water brought more rum notes, pine sap, toffee sauce and dusty coal scuttles. There was a scattering of dried exotic fruits in the background too. The palate opened with rich and emphatic notes of hessian, orange muscat wines, fennel seed and salted liquorice. Reduction added dried marjoram, aged calvados, pickled walnuts and sweet rancio notes, while we found soft spices and dark fruits in the aftertaste. After 13 years of aging, we combined the contents of two bourbon hogsheads into this top quality first fill sherry butt.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout Balmenach\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"banner wrapper\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"banner-container\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"banner-content\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"banner-content-inner\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"introduction\"\u003eSituated a mile inland from the village of Cromdale, Balmenach is one of Speyside’s most traditional distilleries and makes what could be classed as an ‘old-style’ whisky.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"pagenav js-fixed\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fermentation is long, the stills relatively small and run quickly, and the vapour runs into worm tubs, rather than shell and tube condensers. This helps to produce a slow-maturing new make character which is rich and meaty, ideal for adding weight and grunt to blends, and also to be a good match with ex-Sherry casks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInver House has no plans to release this highly distinctive whisky as a single malt. The reason for this is that the make – whose style is unusual these days – is too highly-prized as fillings for blends, both by Inver House and other firms. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is an old distillery. James MacGregor took out his licence in 1824 on what was a farm after a period of illicit production. According to Robert Bruce Lockhart, this took place soon after MacGregor had received a visit from a local gauger. When asked what a specific farm building contained, he said it was simply a peat shed. “Well, I suggest you take out a licence for it,” replied the gauger. Bruce Lockhart was related to the MacGregors and his highly recommended book, Scotch, contains many fascinating details about old-style distillation as practised in Cromdale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe distillery eventually passed into the hands of Scotch Malt Distillers, DCL’s malt production arm, which expanded the plant to include a Saladin maltings. It was briefly mothballed between 1993 and 1997, when it was sold to current owner, Inver House, which also produces Caorunn Gin here.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/article\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e54.2% ABV\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e70cl\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Balmenach","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52791491985746,"sku":"BAL17SMWS48.164","price":189.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1052\/9737\/9666\/files\/Balmenach17YearOld2006SMWSSingleBourbonHogshead_1stFillOlorosoFinish48.164DarkFruitFeedbackLoopSpeysideSingleMaltScotchWhisky_2024_70cl.jpg?v=1771961640","url":"https:\/\/whiskysituation.co.uk\/products\/balmenach-17-year-old-2006-smws-single-bourbon-hogshead-1st-fill-oloroso-finish-48-164-dark-fruit-feedback-loop-speyside-single-malt-scotch-whisky-2024-70cl","provider":"Whisky Situation","version":"1.0","type":"link"}