A new code for the Society emerges and is released this month! G15.1 ‘Lead us to temptation’.
This is a 9 year old single cask, single malt, grain whisky made from 100% malted barley. What?! You read that right. G15 is a unique whisky, produced in a distillery unlike any other in Scotland. It’s legally a grain whisky, but using malted barley, and this is the result of a protracted legal battle the Scotch Whisky Association had with the distillery over them using non-traditional squat column stills to create this spirit. The massive site’s set-up allows for the production of both malt and grain whisky at one location, with a mix of still types. G15.1 is the result of distillation in a continuous Coffey still, but instead of running a grain distillate the stills are fed with a 100 per cent malted barley wort. These particular stills are quite short in height compared with most Coffey stills, and it’s mostly peated spirit for their in-house runs.
In this case the wort going through the Coffey still is unpeated, which is rare in and of itself, resulting in a sweet and juicy grain whisky which delighted the Tasting Panel with its notes of mirabelle plums, fresh strawberries and sweet cherries on the nose, along with cream covered banoffee pie, richer notes of caramel, ground coffee and the sweet nuttiness of hazelnut spread. On the palate, the Panel found pink wafer biscuits, baked apple rings and dark chocolate with chilli but also fragrant violets and spicy ginger cake. The addition of water enhanced the whisky’s floral feel, with lavender and soft pear, and the finish was sweet and juicy with the tingle of salted popcorn and the spicy prickle of Szechuan peppers.
G15.1 ‘Lead us to temptation’ is 9-years-old and was aged in a second fill ex-bourbon barrel, with a strength of 58.6% abv, and will be available to Society members in our April 2018 Outturn at a price of just $165.
A truly fascinating piece of innovation again from the SMWS and one that we hope you enjoy!
