SMWS "Festival" Three-Way Whisky Review!

"Festival Three-Way" actually sounds a bit like an SMWS bottling label, doesn't it? But no, this is a three-for-one review of three different SMWS bottlings from their 2022 "Festival" releases. 

Why am I putting the word "Festival" in quotation marks? Well, because the concept is a bit of a stretch, in my anal-retentive / anorak opinion, and an unnecessary one at that. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a.k.a. SMWS or "The Society" is an independent bottler, who sources casks and/or spirit from distilleries, brokers and other companies from around the world. To be fair, many other independent bottlers also release special bottlings for various whisky festivals, and they often host events during those festivals where they launch or at least feature these particular bottlings. For 2022 the SMWS has released six single malt whiskies as "Festival" bottlings, covering each of the official Scotch whisky production regions, while also doubling-up on Islay. They also departed from their standard operating procedure of (mainly) single cask bottlings by releasing all of these whiskies as vattings / batches of single malt, each consisting of 1,100-2,600 bottles. I have no issue with that myself, although some of the Society's more dyed-in-the-wool members might. Single cask releases are extremely variable since no two casks are ever exactly alike, and while that natural inconsistency forms a large part of the appeal of single cask independent bottlers like the SMWS. Releasing small batch bottlings / vattings of single malts instead gives their blenders a chance to work their magic, and when done well the result can become more than the sum of its parts. A cynic might think that those blenders have just thrown some casks together and hoped for the best, or even that some (or all) of those casks weren't up to the standard required for a single cask bottling. But that's not likely to be the case here given all of these SMWS "Festival" bottlings featured the same cask types, and all carried age statements. So it's more likely that they found / were offered larger parcels of casks from a broker or brokers, were able to play with some of them in the blending room, and then release them simultaneously around May/June 2022. 

The three SMWS bottlings that I'm reviewing here are from two different regions; the Highlands represented by an 18-year old Glen Garioch (a.k.a. distillery 19 in SMWS code), and Islay, represented by both a 17-year old Bowmore (a.k.a. distillery 3) and an 8-year old Caol Ila (a.k.a. distillery 53). All are cask strength, non-chill filtered and natural colour, and with age statements. Unfortunately these "Festival" bottlings don't have cask details printed on the labels like the rest of the SMWS range, but a quick google search remedies that - just like a quick google search remedies the code system that the Society uses! Speaking of which, for obvious reasons these small batch bottlings don't have cask / bottling codes like the single casks do, they only have the distillery code and their typically evocative SMWS names; in this case "Hazelnut Bubble Gum", "Fruity Time Travel", and "Throw The Cork Away!". There's also some rather abstract artwork in place of the usual tasting notes and cask information. Yes, I would've preferred the latter instead. Let's get this three-way underway! 

And my apologies for the whiskybase.com images. 

Glen Garioch, pronounced "Glen Geery" is a largely underrated distillery, particularly here in Australia where Beam Suntory's importer - a tiny little company called Coca Cola Amatil - chooses not to bring any into the country, at least on a regular basis. Just like they don't bring us any Laphroaig Cairdeas or Cask Strength 10-year old, or any age statement Ardmores, or any special release Bowmores... A few enterprising retailers do parallel import some Glen Garioch official bottlings, mainly of the core range, but if you're looking at a Glen Garioch single malt in Australia, it's probably an independent bottling. The distillery actually got some financial investment and media attention recently, both possibly for the first time in its 225-year history, when the floor maltings were reinstated and the wash still was converted back to direct-fire heating. Obviously it'll be at least a few years before we see any of the results in liquid form - if any make it to Australia at all - but it's still exciting to see. This SMWS Glen Garioch release for the 2022 "Festival" is an 18-year old, distilled in February 2003 and matured in first-fill ex-bourbon barrels, and dubbed "Hazelnut Bubblegum". Pricing for this one was around $270 AUD, which I wouldn't exactly call a bargain, but isn't terrible considering what this independent bottler and many others are now trying to charge for "sexier" distilleries at similar ages. 1,128 bottles were released at a cask strength of 55.6% ABV. 

Colour: Medium gold. 

Nose: Nutty, dry, minty & oily. Dry-roasted hazelnuts & almonds, new stone pavers, spearmint bubble gum & fresh grapefruit rind. Hints of clean earth and toasted oak. Time brings out strawberry & cream lollies (Allens), some dry wood spices and a flash of bitter dark chocolate. 

Texture: Medium weight, oily, dry & spicy. No heat at all. 

Taste: Dry-roasted nuts again, but adding a few peanuts this time. Touch of savoury honey and dried mint, unsweetened bubble gum. Fresh grapefruit rind around the edges. Clean malty oils and drying wood spices. 

Finish: Short length. More malty oils, wood spices, and dry-roasted nuts. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. 

Notes: This is actually the second time I've tried this whisky, and while my palate was definitely the worse for wear on the first occasion I also think it's opened up considerably since then. Never forget folks, breathing time, both in the bottle and in the glass, can have a huge effect on many whiskies! This is a lovely spirit-driven, dry & oily dram. It's not hugely complex, but it "does what it says on the tin" - Hazelnut Bubble Gum is definitely a fitting name. The nose is certainly the star of the show, and the palate doesn't disappoint, but the finish does. Unfortunately it just doesn't have the stamina or staying power that I would've liked. Hard to believe this whisky has spent 18-years in first-fill bourbon casks too, there's no vanilla, caramel or coconut to speak of, and it's very much spirit-led. But that's not a complaint by any means, merely an observation - whatever those casks did or didn't do, they've let the spirit shine through nicely. Official bottlings of Glen Garioch do tend to be quite wood- and/or cask-heavy, so this is a refreshing change of pace! 

Next up, Islay's Bowmore. This one is named "Fruity Time Travel", a 17-year old that was distilled in April 2004 and matured in second-fill ex-bourbon hogsheads. There have been a raft of 17-year old Bowmores released recently by almost every independent bottler in the industry, all from refill casks, which makes me think that either the distillery sold off a heap of casks, or a broker released a big 'parcel' of stock at once. That doesn't mean that they're not great casks or great bottlings of course, although they certainly aren't / weren't cheap, ranging from $350-500 AUD on these shores. This SMWS example was slightly more reasonably priced at $350, which is still a good chunk of money, but is just under what now seems to be the going rate for anything decent from this distillery. Bowmores tend to lean into their tropical fruit flavour profile around this age, particularly when matured in first- or second-fill bourbon casks, so once again the name of this SMWS bottling is quite fitting. As they often are, at least when the tasting panel hasn't had too much coffee - or too many drams - that day! This batch bottling consisted of 1,326 bottles at a cask strength of 57.0% ABV. 

Colour: Pale gold. 

Nose: Medicinal, fruity & buttery. Tiger balm ointment, black pepper, old bandages & voltaren gel (topical gels for muscle pain). Mango skins, coal dust, cold burnt toast and a touch of sweet pineapple.

Texture: Medium weight. Buttery, medicinal, peppery. No heat at all. 

Taste: More juicy mango skins, melted salted butter on burnt toast, briny seawater and more old bandages. Coal dust, black pepper, and more voltaren gel. Touch of sweet & acidic juicy pineapple. 

Finish: Long length. More melted butter on burnt toast, black pepper, coal dust, and acidic pineapple juice (unsweetened this time). Mango skins, and a touch of guava. Medicinal ointments and briny seawater to finish. 

Score: 4 out of 5. 

Notes: Delicious medicinal, peaty, fruity Bowmore. There's a surprising amount of peat still kicking along here, and very little cask influence, letting the spirit do its thing. This would have to be the most medicinal Bowmore that I've tasted, and one of the saltiest / briniest too for that matter. Still expensive, yes, but great stuff. Official bottlings of Bowmore, please take note! Leave your spirit alone, present it properly - higher ABV, non-chill filtered and natural colour - and without a ridiculous marketing story, a stupid-looking decanter or some fancy wine cask finishing (or, god help us, virgin oak), and it can still be magnificent. Or for an easier option, just bring back the Tempest / Dorus Mor series...

And last but not least, the second Islay bottling in the bunch, the Caol Ila. While still not exactly a bargain, at $199 AUD this was one of the cheaper bottlings in the "Festival" line-up, and the equal-youngest at 8-years of age. It was also the only cask finished / secondary cask matured bottling of the six (although another was triple cask-matured), with initial maturation in ex-bourbon hogsheads before being transferred to first-fill American oak oloroso sherry hogsheads for "more than two years". In my experience Caol Ila in first-fill sherry casks is much better served as a shorter finish/secondary maturation rather than full-term maturation, which often overwhelms the spirit and can leave it almost entirely devoid of character. Which shouldn't be the case here! 2,677 bottles were released at 58.4% ABV.  

Colour: Amber. 

Nose: Dirty, deep & rubbery. Soy sauce, beef stock cubes, and bonfire smoke. A big pile of drying kelp and salt-laden driftwood. Fatty bacon, cigar ash, salted caramel fudge. Spicy peat further in, and a touch of ginger. 

Texture: Heavy weight. Dirty, salty & pungent. No heat at all. 

Taste: More soy sauce & beef stock cubes, fried mushrooms, salted caramel fudge, and dried seaweed with extra salt. A little rubber (bicycle inner tubes) and fatty, oily bacon. Salted dried lemon behind. 

Finish: Long length. More salted caramel fudge, seaweed, black olives, and a touch of yeasty bread. Black pepper, bacon rind, and salted dried lemon. Dirty bonfire smoke to finish. 

Score: 3.5 out of 5. Only just over the line, though. 

Notes: Right on the border of the sherry casks overwhelming the spirit in my amateur opinion, and approaching the line of being a little too dirty, at least for my tastes. Mega salty too, and quite funky. Sherry influenced Caol Ila is often dirty, but I can see this one being quite divisive. At times this one feels slightly too youthful, but then perfectly mature at others, and I wouldn't have wanted any more input from the sherry casks. I don't mind a dirty, funky Caol Ila at all, but I'm not sure I'd be throwing the cork away here. In my book this is more of a final dram to finish a night or to close a session. There'll be plenty who disagree with me there, though!

Overall Notes: Three totally different whiskies, of course, and even the two Islays are worlds apart. I can see why they chose to include both in their "Festival" release line-up. The Bowmore is a clear winner from these three examples if you ask me, and it's a great example of what the distillery / spirit can do when it's left alone, and when it's properly presented. If only the distillery owners would realise that... Oh well, at least we have the independent bottlers to save the day!

Cheers!