35.331 Life-changing magnificence (Premium Malt of the Month)

Description

Some of those members who have been with us for a few years now will know that come November, we don’t just offer up a tasty Malt of the Month, but a Premium Malt of the Month, too! The last two years have seen 20-year-olds from Distillery 4, this year we’re taking it up a notch with Cask 35.331 Life-changing magnificence. Aussies love Distillery 35 and we see a good number of them come through in different flavour profiles and cask types. This is a 27-year-old single-cask Scotch whisky matured entirely in a 1st fill toasted hogshead; this cask actually shares some similar tasting notes with the 115, but with some more tropical fruit and floral notes added into the mix (and a dialled down thick, syrupiness). This cask is still rich and bursting with flavour after spending 27 years in such an active cask — remember, the SMWS whisky team don’t bottle whisky when it’s reached a certain age, they bottle it when it’s ready, and only the flavour will dictate when that is, the SMWS’ expert tasting panel decided this was ready at 27 years of age, and now we get to offer it to our fantastic Australia members for just $599.

Little did we know what a treat we were in for as initial aromas suggested tropical fruits, glace cherries and Hungarian dessert wine before coconut husk and pencil shavings joined sugar-coated almonds. The palate was delightfully concentrated and bold, as honeycomb and caramel wafers mixed with orange peel, chocolate truffles and warm apple strudel served with rum and raisin ice cream. The smallest dash of water released a heavenly blend of orchard blossom, banana and caramel while marzipan morphed into intense juicy fruit. The palate was now majestic, a unique amalgamation of custard powder on baked apples and clotted cream with maraschino cherries and old calvados.