By Julien Willems
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Scrumptious!
There are few more exciting times to be a Society member than the release of a bottling matured in an entirely new cask type. Join Julien Willems as he uncovers the patient experiment of our latest ‘Heresy’ small-batch release, Batch #33 Scrumptious!
Picture by Peter Sandground
With so many cask types it can sometimes be difficult for our Whisky Team to choose the Society’s next experiment. We’ve been exploring sherry and toasted oak for some time now, and bourbon casks are as much ubiquitous as they are tasty and useful. But in 2019, something happened that certainly made waves across the whisky industry. A change in Scotch whisky regulation authorised casks of tequila, mezcal and calvados for use in maturation. Heated debates ensued, but whatever anyone’s opinion these casks were now a fact of life and were therefore untapped resources.
It’s not like the Society to simply jump on the bandwagon without serious experimentation, or to cut corners to be the first to do something seen as a novelty. We like to take our time and try to do things our own way. Much like a forest, the best whisky flavours usually grow organically. Some human input can have a hugely positive impact, but rushing things is never a good idea.
In early 2023, came a bit of a Newton’s apple moment. SMWS stock manager Ed Evans sourced number of casks from AlterOak cooperage including a set of shaved, toasted and re-charred (STR) casks that were seasoned with calvados (a brandy from Normandy). The goal was to research what flavours these casks could impart on a whisky, and what spirit profiles would be best paired with their influence. Ed explains: “I picked these casks, bursting with active wood and fresh cider brandy aromas, specifically to pair with this distillery, renowned for its appley aromas, to give us all the flavour of tarte tatin served with chantilly cream.” And it worked a treat!
Scrumptious! is the first Society bottling matured is calvados casks
After two years in cask, our control samples came in, and we were simply gobsmacked by the aromas. With something this good and unusual, bottling was clearly the only way forward so we decided to share the joy with as many members as possible for our first calvados cask release. We assembled a single malt using some of our STR calvados seasoned barriques and added some second fill bourbon barrels to the mix, from the exact same original parcel of casks, all originally filled into oak on the 11 March 2008 in Speyside. This last step aimed at adding more vanilla sweetness to complement the woodier tobacco notes of those STR barriques and brought the resulting whisky to the ideal flavour blueprint we had in mind.
As we first tasted this recipe, our minds were all drawn to some form of woodland or another with plenty notes of forest leaf mulch and porcini mushrooms. With a bit more time, we moved from autumn forest to orchard harvest with superbly rustic apple tarts, vintage Normandy cider, bruised apples and dried apricots. We needed a name that would do this dram justice. Ultimately, as head of whisky creation Euan Campbell explains: “Scrumptious! seemed the only appropriate option, highlighting the sheer quaffability of this dram. It also offers a reference to scrumpy (a cloudy, unfiltered, and rustic cider), and the verb to scrump, as in stealing fruit presumably from your neighbour’s orchard.”
In addition to being delicious, Batch #33 Scrumptious! also showcases what can be achieved when you take your time and let flavours evolve. While these calvados casks may not be traditional staples of Scotch whisky maturation, I would say this experiment certainly dispels any worries about those casks yielding a liquid that tastes delicious, but not like Scotch whisky. It certainly still does taste like it should and the result of this combination is so much more than the sum of its parts. Being able to present these casks to Society members with a promise they have probably never tasted a dram quite like it before is always a highlight for our Whisky Team. While this apple rich combination isn’t re-writing the laws of Newtonian physics, after 42 years of single casks, single malts and extra maturations, there are still so many untapped flavourful discoveries for us to explore! That certainly is something to celebrate.
So where to next? We have a variety of casks, never-before seen by Society members, which we are currently experimenting with, patiently waiting and taking notes. But it’s not all about casks. We have a few more surprises up our sleeve that you’ll have the opportunity to discover before long. In the meantime, let’s raise a glass to new discoveries, successful experiments and the horizons they consistently push back a little further.