The Power of a Barrel - Comparing Two Single Cask SMWS Clynelish 10 Years
The Power of a Barrel - Comparing Two Single Cask SMWS Clynelish 10 Years
A fun little experiment today - we're looking at two 10 year old single cask SMWS bottles which were distilled at Clynelish. We want to look at the nuances that separate individual barrels add to a spirit, especially when the spirit has essentially the same specifications other than the singular barrels. How much difference does a unique barrel really create in a whisky?
The releases have the usual fun SMWS names: 'Afternoon Baking' and "Bish. Bash. Bosh!'
These two releases ended up being the perfect pick for this experiment, as they are from the same distillery, aged the same amount of time, aged in the same type of cask (first fill ex-bourbon barrels), and come in at very similar strengths (59.5% and 59.1%). In fact, it gets even better - these two single barrels of spirit actually came from the same distillation run, completed on February 8th, 2011, and were released within a month of each other, meaning the maturation time was almost exactly the same. Truly, the only difference between these whiskies is the specific unique staves of oak that comprised their casks.
Interestingly, despite all of these similarities, these two bottles were actually released in different SMWS 'flavor profiles' - 26.192 ('Afternoon Baking') comes from the Juicy, Oak, & Vanilla profile, while 26.194 ('Bish. Bash. Bosh!') is from the Sweet, Fruity, & Mellow profile. This seems to imply that we're going to see some real flavor differences in our tastings.
SMWS 26.192 'Afternoon Baking' - Clynelish 10 Year;
SMWS 26.194 'Bish. Bash. Bosh!' - Clynelish 10 Year
Scotland/Highlands - Single Malt
Price Paid (per 750ml): USD 135 each (2022)
Current Locally Available Price (per 750ml): No longer available
Age Statement: 10 Years
Strength: 59.5% ABV (Afternoon Baking) and 59.1% ABV (Bish. Bash. Bosh!)
Cask Makeup: Both fully matured in first fill ex-bourbon barrels
Details (Afternoon Baking): 1 of 231 bottles, distilled February 8, 2011
Details (Bish. Bash. Bosh!): 1 of 186 bottles, distilled February 8, 2011
Tasting Methodology: We reviewed each bottle 5 times over the course of about 3 months, sometimes blind, sometimes not blind, and often in direct comparison to each other. The fill levels of the bottles ranged from 100% full to about 70% over the course of the reviews. As always, they were tasted in a Glencairn glass each time, rested 10-15 minutes (occasionally a few minutes more). We did sometimes add water, as well
Nose (26.192 Afternoon Baking): True to its name, we start off with lots of baking notes: brown sugar, vanilla bean, sugary cereal notes, and honey come to mind. We have spices, too: nutmeg, cardamom, and peppercorns, along with a bit of bubblegum and some sharper grain. It's pretty potent overall, and past the baking elements, we have some mild candle wax and a bit of perfume. There is a little bit of fruit here, too: light tart lemon curd, or a meringue, some mild creamy orchard fruit, and strawberry hard creme candies. The oak is sugary but dry.
Nose (26.194 Bish. Bash. Bosh!): While this shares some of the baking spices on the nose, like cinnamon, strong brown sugar, and a hint of white pepper, this one is definitely more fruit-forward. We get creamy tropical fruit, tart lemon, pineapple, even some berry fruit mixed in. There's banana, sherbet, pear, and some peach stone fruit as well. The oak is rich with a hint of polish, and the experience overall is rich and dense, even slightly closed up at times. There's a mild spirit note, and we end with some syrupy lemon cake and some flowers.
Palate (26.192 Afternoon Baking): The baking theme is even stronger on the palate; in our tastings, we found lots of vanilla, burnt sugar, butterscotch, and some mild black pepper; there's also brown sugar, flour, mint, cardamom, and white pepper. The only real fruit influence is in the form of sherbet, the brightness of which goes hand in hand with the tingly spirit influence, which is pretty punchy when undiluted. The mouthfeel is thick and oily, and with more time, some perfume notes and heather come forward, even wildflower honey. There's lots of wood sugar, and it's really a saccharine sweet experience overall, syrupy and slightly grainy. We finish up with creme brulee.
Palate (26.194 Bish. Bash. Bosh!): Lovely tropical fruits of pineapple, lemon, orange, and peach ring candies; orchard fruits of juicy pear and tart lemon preserve as well. This one is also pretty rich and warm, with a heavier emphasis on floral and perfume notes, as well as some hay and a bit of mild bubblegum. The baking spices are here, too - sweet vanilla bean, light brown sugar, black and white pepper, and some caramel. We have bits of char and cinnamon from the oak, which is stronger and more drying than the other bottle. The mouthfeel is thick and buttery, and we have some candy notes as well as a lingering pastry flavor.
Finish (26.192 Afternoon Baking): Generally sweet on the finish, with a lot of those same baking and cooking notes: vanilla bean, sweet mint, brown sugar, hot honey, cinnamon, cardamom, and sugar cookies. The oak is plentiful and dry, and lends some perfume and light floral notes as well. There's mild bubblegum and some heather, and later, and interesting petrichor note. After some sweeter notes of granular sugar and pear, there is a tart fruity side, with lemon drops and hot peach jam; it's a medium-long finish, quite warm.
Finish (26.194 Bish. Bash. Bosh!): A lot of the same fruit we found in the finish of the other bottle - lemon candy, poached pear, and some sweet peach, but we also get tart pineapple and a hint of orange. The baking notes are toned down, with honey and cloying clove, maybe a bit of mild pepper. The interest here is really in the texture and wood notes: it's a medium-long finish, floral and strongly perfumed, oily and buttery, too. The oak seems dark and wet, and we finish with some soft flowery wax.
Final Note: Both of these are pretty tasty, with plenty of flavors to keep you busy in a tasting, but the juicy fruity tones of 'Bish. Bash. Bosh!' really pulled us in. That bottle felt a bit more refined as well, with a little less sharpness to the alcohol and nicer creamy texture. It has a stronger floral perfume in the finish as well.
We can see why these two bottles were allocated to separate flavor profiles by the SMWS; there is definitely some overlap, and you can find the distillery character in each of the bottles, but they had their own directions from the casks, heavy on either baking spice or fruit. We're happy to have both of them, but we have to give a slight edge in the score to 26.194 'Bish. Bash. Bosh!'
Average Rating (26.192 Afternoon Baking): 7.6 / 10
Average Rating (26.194 Bish. Bash. Bosh!): 7.9 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating (26.192 Afternoon Baking): 5.93
Value Rating (26.194 Bish. Bash. Bosh!): 6.12
