A small batch 12-year old single malt from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, released to celebrate their 40th anniversary.
Independent bottlings can be a minefield, and while I certainly appreciate what they do and the considerable following that they have, in my experience "The Society" is no different. Whether it's one of the extremely high highs or one of the surprisingly low lows, by their very nature the SMWS is actually more susceptible to these variances. Yes, of course personal preference plays a huge role here and cannot be underestimated. But since the SMWS' modus operandi is to bottle single cask spirits, whether they be whisky, rum, gin, or brandy, they don't often have the luxury of blending / marrying / vatting casks together. Or at least they didn't, until they started doing more small batch single malts and blended malts a few years ago. The main appearances here are the "Heresy" series of blended malts and small batch single malts, and the "Festival" bottlings of single malts. As much as us whisky nerds love to find exceptional single casks, it's important to remind ourselves that that's exactly what they are; the exception. Many independent bottlers do prefer to release single casks, but most of those are much smaller than the SMWS, with far less pressure put on them in comparison. Of the millions of casks that are filled with malt whisky every year around the world, only a very small portion will ever be bottled as single malt, and a much, much smaller portion will have a chance of being bottled as a single cask. Off the top of my head, I'd guesstimate less than .1 of a percentage - i.e. less than 0.1%. And of that 0.1% that do go on to be single cask single malts, a good portion are going to be duds. Even if the spirit is good and the cask seems good, the result may not be. Nothing is guaranteed in whisky. I'm tempted to go on another rant about cask investments here, but I'll resist for now...
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was founded in 1983 by Englishman Pip Hills - who is the 'maverick' that this whisky refers to - initially as a private syndicate which purchased casks of single malt from distilleries and bottled them as-is, with no dilution, artificial colouring, or chill filtration. Famously the first distillery was Glenfarclas, which of course carries distillery code 1 in the SMWS coding system. This operation eventually turned into a successful independent bottling business, which 40-years later boasts over 35,000 paid members and shows no signs of slowing down. That year of founding is significant, because while the 1980s were a miserable decade for Scotch whisky, 1983 in particular was about as dark as they come, at least in 20th century terms. Following huge downturns in demand and some other factors, there were mass distillery closures and lay-offs, with many now-legendary distilleries closing their doors forever. Yes, the three most famous names are being reopened or have reopened and they get all the attention, but even among one company, DCL (now Diageo), nearly twenty malt whisky distilleries were closed in the first half of the 1980s, and nearly a dozen distilleries closed in 1983 alone. So that was some good & lucky timing from Pip Hills, since if the industry had been in a "boom" like they have been for the last decade or so they'd probably have told him to get stuffed. Just like many distilleries and distillery owners are saying to independent bottlers right now.
'The Maverick' is a 12-year old single malt that was sourced from an unnamed distillery in the Speyside region. It was initially matured in ex-bourbon hogsheads before being filled into first, second, or third fill Spanish oak Oloroso and PX sherry casks for the final 2.5-3 years of maturation. 2,098 bottles were released at 50% ABV, which is the "go to" strength for most of the SMWS' blended malts and small batch single malts. Naturally this single malt is non-chill filtered and natural colour. That's finishing period is a very healthy one, but the addition of second & third fill sherry casks in that finishing period is also an interesting point - there's a good chance this'll still be quite a spirit-driven whisky. And that's a good thing!
SMWS 'The Maverick', 12-Year Old Unnamed Single Malt, 50% ABV. Scotland.
Matured in ex-bourbon hogsheads and finished in first, second, and third fill Spanish oak Oloroso & PX sherry casks. 2,098 bottles. Non-chill filtered, natural colour.
Colour: Amber.
Nose: Spicy, nutty, fruity. Waxed bitter oranges & red apples, wood spices (cinnamon, nutmeg), creamy vanilla fudge. Nutty fresh oak, stewed stone fruit, rich tea biscuits. Touches of double cream & leather.
Texture: Medium weight. Nice grip in the mouth, a tad on the dry side. Spicy & nutty. No heat.
Taste: Stewed stone fruit again, more leather, fresh oak, spicy & nutty. Dried orange peel, double cream, waxy red apples. Touches of marzipan & vanilla fudge. Pinch of ginger heading to the finish.
Finish: Medium length. Wood spices, dry nutty oak, leather, and stewed stone fruit again. More marzipan, waxy red apples, and double cream. Touch of sultanas and more rich tea biscuits to close the show.
Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Notes: Nicely balanced sherried whisky, and certainly not a one-trick "sherry bomb". The Maverick is more on the drier, spicier, nuttier side of sherry-influenced malts, but that's absolutely fine by me. Maybe I'm reaching a little here given this bottler's history with the distillery, but I could see this being an anonymous Glenfarclas. Plus the SMWS has had plenty of ex-bourbon Glenfarclas releases in their regular coded single cask range, so given the flavour profile here and that it's a sherry finish, it wouldn't surprise me at all. For a $220 AUD single malt at 12-years of age and 50% ABV, I'd say it offers solid value here in 2023, and it won't disappoint any fans of sherried Speyside / Highland whisky. The cask finishing has certainly been well managed, there's a good balance to the sherry influence. I don't find any overtly PX notes in this one, maybe they've added a bit more richness and sweetness, but it's much more Oloroso-forward rather than PX-forward, to my tastes. Again, fine by me!
This is a great approachable, relatively affordable way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the SMWS. Yes, there are cheaper 12-year old single malts out there at similar strengths, but again this is still a reasonable offer in the ongoing madness of 2023. Particularly when the flavour of the month (year) for such things is to release some mega-expensive "luxury" decanter made from pure Martian vibranium which is permanently encased in the hollowed-out tusks of the world's oldest narwhals, which were sustainably slaughtered for the occasion. Which would then sell for $150,000, of course. There have already been more commemorative releases from the SMWS for their 40th anniversary and I'm sure we'll see more before the year is out, but doing both high-end releases and this mid-range small batch bottling is just the way such things should be done. You still get the "halo effect" of the mega-expensive stuff, but us regular people can still partake in the celebrations by actually drinking the stuff.
Cheers!