Outturn February 2020

Outturn Swing by: Friday 7 February Issue 02, 2020

GET IN THE MOOD Fall in love with flavour: explore an alluring selection of new bottlings suitable for any mood and occasion.

WALTZ OVER TO SMWS.COM.AU

CONTENTS Cellarmaster’s Note Andrew Derbidge............................. 3 Malt of the Month Cask 16.39 Sweetness and spice laced with mystery............. 4 Distillery 9 Two featured bottlings.............. 8

France and Scotch A long-term love affair.............. 17 Ambassador’s Wrap Matt Bailey........................................... 18 Events Check out the latest listings........ 19

OUR BOTTLINGS SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

LIGHT & DELICATE

Cask No. 12.29 Can’t cedar wood for the apple trees . ...........................

6

Cask No. 9.168 Cedar bigger picture.................................................................

11

Cask No. 112.46 A wafer a while ...........................................................................

6

Cask No. 80.10 Champagne and roses.............................................................

12

Cask No. 44.1126 Spellbinding shortbread . ......................................................

7

Cask No. 93.117 Asian coastal delights..............................................................

SPICY & SWEET Cask No. 91.24 Rolling in fruit blossom .........................................................

OILY & COASTAL

7

DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS Cask No. 16.39 Sweetness and spice laced with mystery (Malt of the Month) ..................................................................

4

Cask No. 139.5 Midnight espresso......................................................................

12

14

LIGHTLY PEATED Cask No. 135.14 Tripping the light fantastic...................................................

14

Cask No. 66.141 Roofing felt on a beach hut...................................................

15

PEATED Cask No. 66.154 Robocow ..........................................................................................

15

OLD & DIGNIFIED Cask No. 9.167 Part of the furniture .................................................................

2

RUM & ARMAGNAC

11

Cask No. R10.2 Three spice crème brulee ......................................................

16

Cask No. A5.1 Fruit shop raid . ...........................................................................

16

CELLARMASTER’S NOTE Dear Members, I don’t know how much attention you pay to the cover of Outturn each month, but the more observant amongst you will have noticed it’s never a random/obscure image or item.

No, each Outturn has a specific theme – usually attached to a specific bottling or a global SMWS event – and the artwork ties in with that theme.

This month’s theme and cover revolves around getting in the mood. I can’t say I’ve popped the cork on too many bottles of whisky to Glenn Miller recordings, but I’ve certainly put on carefully selected music in the past when deciding to sit down with a whisky and to contemplate it. In fact, there are lots of catalysts for certain moods and the whiskies that subsequently get poured. It’s amazing how often some corny stereotypes play out: Sipping at a bourbon and popping on some blues, or even some bluegrass. Drinking Talisker or Ledaig and putting on Skerryvore. (Check ‘em out!)

I was always sceptical of matching whisky and music, but then surprised myself one day when I realised how often I unconsciously did it.

Whisky, as I’m sure you’ve discovered by now, is a very versatile drink. It can be enjoyed any number of ways (neat, over ice, with a mixer, etc); it’s a key ingredient in many cocktails; and it can be paired beautifully with a large number of foods and other beverages. Such culinary matchings are now the norm, and whisky dinners – featuring malts that are specifically matched to the food courses – are almost passe. Over time, whisky came to be paired with many different things.

I’ve hosted my fair share of Whisky & Cheese events over the years, and this also grew to incorporate many events that showcased Whisky & Chocolate, Whisky & Beer, Whisky & Coffee, and Whisky & Ice Cream. But setting a mood and achieving a “match” with whisky and music is far less tangible. It’s also particularly subjective, and how do you determine the yardstick for success?

For example, who’s to say a 12 year old Bowmore is lifted or enhanced by drinking it to Beethoven’s Third Symphony any better than it would if paired with ‘Uprising’ by Muse? Does a malt with a long finish work well with a song that has a long ending? Does a supergroup require a blend?

My experience has been that a successful match relies more on mood than it does on, say, rhythm or melody. Whisky certainly has a mood and a character – a malt can be soft or aggressive; it can be bombastic or it can be contemplative.

It can be vibrant and awakening or it can be calming/soothing. Some whiskies are even soulful. And, thus, there are musical genres and certainly songs that share those characteristics and an appropriate pairing can yield a result that is better than the sum of the parts.

Interestingly, I believe Scotch whisky is more difficult to match to music than other whiskies or spirits. Other drinks seem to have natural musical partners. For example, there’s something intrinsic about, say, bourbon and blues. Similarly, rum and reggae just “works”. Perhaps it’s simply because the bagpipes aren’t the most universally appreciated instrument, but – outside of a Burns Supper – there’s less of a link between Scotland’s national drink and its national instrument and music. For most people, we have a favourite whisky and we have a favourite artist, and we’re happy to enjoy both at the same time. But does that make it a pairing or a match? Or is it just multi-tasking?

Society whiskies are another category again: Cask strength, non-chillfiltered, single cask, single malts. That’s a good mood all in itself!

Andrew Derbidge ~ Director, Cellarmaster & NSW Manager 3

MALT OF THE MONTH DARK MYSTERY A testament to how utterly unique single casks can be, especially when last month’s 16.38 can be followed by this month’s 16.39, and they are worlds apart in every aspect. A wild and untamed cask with some significant age from one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries, this Sweetness and spice laced with mystery is precisely that. A mysterious Deep Rich & Dried Fruits 18yo bottling that spent 17 years in a port pipe cask which we then re-racked into a second-fill, high-toast/ medium-char European oak puncheon. Try saying that after a few drams!

Read more about this distillery, this cask type, and more on our Whiskywise blog at smws.com.au/news

SWEETNESS AND SPICE LACED WITH MYSTERY DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS CASK NO. 16.39

$215.00

REDUCED FROM $270 CIAL SPE NISH FI

4

REGION

Highland

CASK TYPE

2nd fill HTMC puncheon

AGE

18 years

DATE DISTILLED

30 March 2001

OUTTURN

672 bottles

ABV

55.2%

AUS ALLOCATION

36 bottles

The dark, brooding nose has chocolate and marmalade cake, dark cherries, cinder toffee, orange muscat wine and bramble liqueur; maybe some leather. The palate finds earthy, fruity flavours – fruit cake, damson jam, orange peel, Old English Spangles, cinnamon toast and cough syrup. The reduced nose gradually surrenders its secrets – spiced plums, orange Aero, sandalwood, mango stone, espresso, Peshawari naan, Cherry Tunes, etc. The reduced palate is like a metaphor for living – sweetness and spice laced with mystery – petits fours, moist ginger cake, Grand Marnier and tiramisu.

After 17 years in a port pipe we re-racked this into a second-fill, high-toast/medium-char puncheon (made from European oak).

5

CAN’T CEDAR WOOD FOR THE APPLE TREES

REGION

Speyside

CASK TYPE

1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE

9 years

DATE DISTILLED

29 September 2009

SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

OUTTURN

191 bottles

CASK NO. 12.29

ABV

58.9%

AUS ALLOCATION

18 bottles

$165.00

The nose opened with bursts of solid cedar wood encasing sweet butter, custard and malted biscuits. Fruits rapidly followed with a pleasing display of pineapple, honeydew melon and caramelised pear doused with a splash of citrus.

A peppery tingle brought the palate towards deliciously sweet flavours of toffee apples and crème brulee dusted with Demerara sugar and orange blossom. Water enhanced the cedar tones with lots of sweet wood and its welcomed companions of coconut and vanilla ice cream. Herbal elements teased at the edges but it was a boost of tangerine, caramel and pineapple puree that seized the show. Fluffy candyfloss and baked Alaska furthered the sugary delights before cereals, ripe apples and plenty of oak bound the finish.

REGION

Highland

CASK TYPE

1st fill Moselle oak hogshead

AGE

14 years

SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW

DATE DISTILLED

19 October 2004

CASK NO. 112.46

OUTTURN

368 bottles

ABV

56.7%

AUS ALLOCATION

24 bottles

A WAFER A WHILE $200.00

6

CIAL SPE NISH FI

As the sun warmed our skin we drifted away to the smell of 1980’s suntan lotion and salty sea air. Oil and buttery notes combined with creamy strawberry yoghurt, that chilled down to multiple scoops of vanilla ice cream precariously perched on a crunchy caramel wafer. Confected fruit passed by as bubble gum merged with sticky fruit pastries, and joined the malty sweetness of breakfast cereal. Milk chocolate and praline delivered us to a palate of deliberate funk as fermenting fruit wandered helplessly towards scrumpy cider. The fruit matured into cool white wine loaded with ripe banana and mango flavours, just as we awoke to find an empty wafer cone and melted ice cream on the sand. Twelve years matured in an ex-bourbon hogshead before transfer to a French oak hogshead.

SPELLBINDING SHORTBREAD SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW CASK NO. 44.112

$215.00

CIAL SPE NISH FI

REGION

Speyside

CASK TYPE

New oak heavy char hogshead

AGE

15 years

DATE DISTILLED

27 June 2003

OUTTURN

294 bottles

ABV

59.9%

AUS ALLOCATION

18 bottles

Plenty going on from the word go – candlewax, balsamic vinegar, honeycomb, figs, and plums made this a real nosing dram neat. On the palate rum soaked cherries, salted dark bitter chocolate next to sweet barbequed ribs and raspberry plum jam and to spice things up a little - Indonesian long pepper. When we added water teriyaki sauce appeared and then creamy mushroom gravy made with plenty of Marsala wine.

To taste now honey-caramelised pears and long pepper and vanilla bean shortbread cookies. After thirteen years in an ex-bourbon hogshead we transferred this whisky into a heavy charred new oak hogshead.

REGION

Speyside

ROLLING IN FRUIT BLOSSOM

CASK TYPE

1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE

9 years

DATE DISTILLED

07 July 2009

SPICY & SWEET

OUTTURN

215 bottles

CASK NO. 91.24

ABV

59.8%

AUS ALLOCATION

18 bottles

$160.00

An abundance of rose petals rained down and covered a juicy selection of tropical fruit that fused pineapple, mango and banana. A selection of freshly cut flowers brought a perfumed bouquet that touched on heady notes akin to hairspray and boozy fruit punch. Fresh ginger then tingled on the tongue but was soon joined by clementines and sliced red apple before honey was served on rye bread.

With water we discovered sandalwood and green sapwood that became balanced by apricot and ginger marmalade on toast. Floral notes of orange blossom and poached pears then merged into cherry liqueur and a zingy glass of grapefruit juice. A sprinkling of sugar cane gave a final layer of sweetness that seamlessly faded into dry wood on the finish.

7

Happily placed within the first 10 distilleries the Society had a working relationship with since 1983 after Pip Hills kicked off his syndicate, now global award-winning whisky club.

Nestled inconspicuously in Rothes, in the Speyside region in Scotland, distillery 9, which we might also call Glen Grant, is both a staple and enigma of the single malt scene of Scotland.

A distillery that is equally comfortable at young and old, and continues to this day to produce some of the most consistently fruity and fun spirit in the land.

Founded by brothers John and James Grant in 1840, it was the first distillery back in 1861 to install electric lighting; quite an achievement back then. It wasn’t long before the requirement for their malts in blends was exceeding their production capacity and thus the imaginatively named ‘Glen Grant 2’ was built across the road, which would later be renamed Caperdonich. Both Glen Grant and Caperdonich would, over the following hundred years, have all sorts of hardship and different owners, but it wasn’t until 1953 that they would merge with J.G. Smith of Glenlivet and form Glenlivet & Glen Grant Distillers Ltd. These were boom times, after all, and the owners had the foresight to lay down significant stock for aging, whilst also supplying blenders with spirit from both their Glen Grant and Caperdonich plants.

From growth to success, Glen Grant for a long time in this period was the best-selling single malt in Italy, as early as 1961, thanks to a gentleman named Armando Giovenetti and his local market influence. And then in 2006, the whole site was sold to Campari and has since been an integral part of their blending and single malt structure, even if it makes up less than 1% of their total sales now as a single malt.

8

FEATURED THIS MONTH CASK NO. 9.167

CASK NO. 9.168

PART OF THE FURNITURE CEDAR BIGGER PICTURE OLD & DIGNIFIED

LIGHT & DELICATE

What I find rather fascinating about these two very different unique single casks on offer in this Outturn are that they are both distilled pre-Campari buyout, are from an era of shifting sands in spirit, and provide unique and delicious profiles.

It’s a spirit profile that continues to amaze at every age and profile, but in my personal opinion, excels out of ex-bourbon casks.” ~ Matt Bailey, SMWS National Ambassador 9

10

PART OF THE FURNITURE

REGION

Speyside

CASK TYPE

Refill bourbon hogshead

AGE

23 years

OLD & DIGNIFIED

DATE DISTILLED

25 April 1995

CASK NO. 9.167

OUTTURN

218 bottles

ABV

55.0%

AUS ALLOCATION

18 bottles

$310.00

Fat, glistening, syrupy green fruits brim from the glass.

Yellow herbal liqueurs, tropical fruit chunks, aged mead, citrus oils, herbal resins, roasted chestnut, old dessert wines and camphor. Water shifts things towards salted caramel, white chocolate mousse, eucalyptus oils, pine cones, cough mixtures, red liquorice, charcoal, old leather-bound books, damp sackcloth and melon sweeties. The palate opens on grape must, aged white madeira, pomegranate molasses, strawberry syrups, mango jelly, lime cordial, soft waxes, dried mint, light rancio and hessian. With a delicate drizzle of H2O there’s pot pourri, barley sugar, wax, muesli, fruit jams, grapefruit pith, orange cocktail bitters and butter biscuits.

CEDAR BIGGER PICTURE

REGION

Speyside

CASK TYPE

Refill bourbon hogshead

AGE

15 years

LIGHT & DELICATE

DATE DISTILLED

02 March 2004

CASK NO. 9.168

OUTTURN

272 bottles

ABV

57.1%

AUS ALLOCATION

24 bottles

$215.00

Aromas arrived with a thick frame of cedar wood that echoed elements of eucalyptus with a fresh and lively spirit. Peering through the frame we discovered a scene of dried flowers and brandy snaps as sweeter notes of white chocolate, caramel and custard came into focus.

The palate reflected elements of raspberry jam but quickly became drier as fennel seeds, lemon and chilli came to the fore. Suggestions of burnt orange skin encouraged pancakes with bacon to merge into sweet malted barley. With water came cranberry juice and limes with crunchy green leaves. Sweetness wafted around like pink wafers but became bound by forest logs, green peppercorns and a bitter coffee finish.

11

CHAMPAGNE AND ROSES LIGHT & DELICATE CASK NO. 80.10

$175.00

REGION

Speyside

CASK TYPE

Refill bourbon hogshead

AGE

11 years

DATE DISTILLED

09 October 2007

OUTTURN

296 bottles

ABV

55.8%

AUS ALLOCATION

18 bottles

The nose was clean and easy – lemon bonbons, rhubarb rock and pineapple cubes, with the sweetness of chocolate teacakes, meringues and butter icing; also faint fizziness (reminiscent of vintage champagne) and given time, hints of expensive shoe leather. The palate was sweet, viscous and tasty, with vanilla essence, hazelnuts in milk chocolate, Eccles cake and Jamaican ginger cake; hints of orange peel and grapefruit on the finish. Water shifted the nose to a fresher, more floral level – roses, crème patisserie and Liquorice Allsorts. The palate (delicate enough to need very little water) now delivered marshmallows and dark chocolate mints – very quaffable indeed.

MIDNIGHT ESPRESSO

REGION

Taiwan

CASK TYPE

1st fill port barrique

AGE

NAS

DEEP, RICH & DRIED FRUITS

DATE DISTILLED

NAS

CASK NO. 139.5

OUTTURN

181 bottles

ABV

57.8%

AUS ALLOCATION

30 bottles

$599.00

M MIU PRE LEASE RE

12

A potent and muscular aroma. One filled with dark caramel, peppery beef jerky, incense, seared steak and leaf mulch. Beyond that there’s damp pipe tobacco, expensive cigar boxes, baked raisins and grape botrytis. Immensely concentrated and satisfying. A splash of water reveals star anise, fennel seeds toasting in a pan, treacle pudding, herbal tinctures and tannic black teas. The palate is skewered by lean and pointed sweetness. Around which gravitates sauteed wild mushrooms, game meats, aged pinot noir, beef boullion, autumnal leafiness and sultana-studded gingerbread.

With water there’s a leathery mutton note along with grippy tannin, freshly shaved pencils, egg custard, old Armagnac and ash-rolled goats cheese. Some blood orange marmalade and old boal madeira in the finish.

13

ASIAN COASTAL DELIGHTS

REGION

Campbeltown

CASK TYPE

1st fill bourbon barrel

AGE

13 years

OILY & COASTAL

DATE DISTILLED

06 March 2006

CASK NO. 93.117

OUTTURN

154 bottles

ABV

60.3%

AUS ALLOCATION

24 bottles

$210.00

A soft and gentle nose neat with aromas of hay, floral meadow, lime cordial and in the background a hint of roasted sea salted and vinegar almonds.

Spicy hot, but at the same time sweet & sour like a Chinese stir fry with duck scratchings adding pineapple and a good dose of Sichuan pepper.

After adding water we were certainly at the seaside and ordering a slice of Hawaiian pizza topped with pineapple and bacon, whilst to taste it turned into a crunchy thin crust Asian seafood pizza with shrimps, crabs, also pineapple and peppers served in a creamy wasabi honey mayo sauce.

TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC LIGHTLY PEATED CASK NO. 135.14

$200.00

CIAL SPE NISH FI

14

REGION

Highland

CASK TYPE

1st fill charred red wine barrique

AGE

14 years

DATE DISTILLED

18 March 2005

OUTTURN

247 bottles

ABV

55.4%

AUS ALLOCATION

12 bottles

A rather bonkers aroma of strawberry toothpaste, smoked mint, lapsang souchong, salt baked fruits, rye spice, caraway, smoked beer, horseradish and smoked fish. With dilution there’s medical marijuana, nutmeg, smoked salmon, hessian, smoked mussels, brine and hot paprika. The madness continues on the palate with lime oil, cured meats, concentrated peat extracts, medical tinctures, oyster sauce, preserved lemons, raspberry trifle, sandalwood, newspaper ash and cough medicine. With water there’s taramasalata, sardines in brine, olive oil, coal tar soap and salty kedgeree. A crazy yet hugely enjoyable dram that was matured for 13 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before transfered to a first-fill charred red wine barrique.

ROOFING FELT ON A BEACH HUT

REGION

Highland

CASK TYPE

Refill bourbon hogshead

AGE

12 years

LIGHTLY PEATED

DATE DISTILLED

09 March 2006

CASK NO. 66.141

OUTTURN

276 bottles

ABV

60.5%

AUS ALLOCATION

30 bottles

$180.00

The peatiness gives the nose some char and sharp smoke, like green wood on a bonfire; it also has medicinal elements (bandages, Germolene) and shell sand or sandstone dust. On the palate, marmalade and Battenberg sweetness is surrounded (though not overwhelmed) by menthol, tarry driftwood, charcoal and roofing felt on a beach hut. The reduced nose picks up liquorice, pipe dottles, burnt molasses, hessian bung cloths, salt and lime. The palate becomes much sweeter and tamer – apple tart and lemon meringue pie with a good mouth-tingling swirl of peat smoke. It ends up with a very acceptable balance indeed – eminently drinkable.

REGION

Highland

ROBOCOW

CASK TYPE

Refill bourbon barrel

AGE

10 years

PEATED

DATE DISTILLED

23 July 2008

CASK NO. 66.154

OUTTURN

210 bottles

ABV

59.8%

AUS ALLOCATION

24 bottles

$185.00

MIDM SPEC ONTH IAL

The Panel found themselves squarely in an old highland farmyard at first nosing. Bags of earth, hay, silage, soot, old tool boxes, hessian and a big medicinal aspect with notes of mercurochrome and TCP. Charred pineapple, peat oils, bacon and salty minerals also appear. With water the smokiness gets louder with notes of soy sauce, burning heather, smoked lobster and a slug of 80 shilling beer. The palate displays smoked venison, tar, gentian, a couple of iodine tablets, burnt toffee and molten marshmallows. Reduction gives aged calvados and cider apples, parma violets, smoked barley and cow sheds.

15

THREE SPICE CRÈME BRULEE

REGION

Trinidad

CASK TYPE

Refill barrel

RUM

AGE

26 years

CASK NO. R10.2

DATE DISTILLED

31 December 1991

$399.00

OUTTURN

240 bottles

REDUCED FROM $490

ABV

61.3%

AUS ALLOCATION

24 bottles

The aroma neat reminded us of a hot sweet, spicy and sultry cherry pie with a golden pastry, tender cherries and the juices oozing served straight out of the oven with a scoop of cinnamon vanilla bean ice cream.

Surprisingly mellow on the palate neat like a spiced poached pear in a hot chocolate sauce. With water the nose got even richer - if that is at all possible – a caramel apple bread pudding with a Bourbon vanilla sauce and to taste, rum and raisin fudge and a three spice (cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg) Crème Brulee.

FRUIT SHOP RAID

REGION

Bas Armagnac

CASK TYPE

Armagnac barrel

GRAPE VARIETY

Colombard

ARMAGNAC

AGE

29 Years

CASK NO. A5.1

OUTTURN

600 bottles

$369.00

ABV

61.3%

REDUCED FROM $399

AUS ALLOCATION

24 bottles

Bursting through Lucozade colours of the fruit shop, you’re mugged by soft warm spice and oak.

Layers of warm Muscovado sugar mingle with caramel, cinnamon and angelica. Scraps of over ripe quince hang around for good measure. The mouthfeel is warm and inviting, the ripeness of the fruit sitting very comfortably with warm light, yet quite fresh tannins that give a somewhat misleading impression of youth. The giveaway for the age is the sheer depth of complexity and flavour, leaving an incredibly long soft oak finish.

16

FRANCE & SCOTCH: A LONG-TERM LOVE AFFAIR If there’s more than the usual feeling of love in the air during the month of St Valentine’s Day, the French passion for whisky is a year-round affair that only continues to grow in intensity.

W

hen the Unfiltered Magazine team visited Paris in 2010 to report on France’s fervour for Scotch, it was the number one export market by volume, with almost 160 million 700ml bottles shipped there at that time. Since then, the French are drinking even more Scotch, up by almost a fifth in the past 10 years to around 190 million bottles.

But why would France, already home to such a diversity of quality drinks, be so madly in love with Scotch in particular? There are a number of reasons, according to Cyrille Mald, SMWS ambassador in Paris and author of Iconic Whisky.

“Whisky is romantic because of its complexity, so of course that makes it a seductive drink,” he says.

“But France has had a love affair – for a long time – with spirits in general, so consumers were and still are used to drinking strong alcohol. So why whisky?

I think the French wanted to shift away from spirits such as cognac and armagnac because they were viewed as ‘old school’ and, above all seen as digestifs and not at all as aperitifs. Whisky is seen as both.”

In fact, whisky has traditionally been perceived as more cool and sophisticated in France, compared with its domestic spirits – a reputation that dates back to the country’s liberation in 1944, and which continued to grow in the years following the end of the Second World War. “When the Americans came, they were looked on as liberators, and in Paris young people were absolutely frantic about them,” says Martine Nouet, a French whisky writer and chef whose own love

affair with Scotch led to her relocating to the Hebridean whisky island of Islay. “The US soldiers drank blended Scotch, and that was a discovery for the French youth at the time. So whisky became very fashionable and a great symbol of freedom and liberty for teenagers and young adults.”

“To us post-war generations, whisky always meant ‘the new cool’, something more rock and roll than cognac or calvados – or even wine,” says Serge Valentin from the whiskyfun.com website. “Then we started to have enough pocket money to afford drams of single malt in what we used to call ‘American bars’. There was the ‘green’ (Glenfiddich) and there was the ‘white’ (Cardhu). They were for the cognoscenti and, of course, we were all selfstyled cognoscenti when we were 18.”

Whatever the origins of the French love affair with whisky, there’s no doubt it’s in good health, as drinkers become ever more selective in their choices.

“There has been an element of ‘premiumisation’ in the Scotch whisky world,” says Cyrille Mald.

“The French are actually drinking less in quantity now – although we’re still the world’s number one consumer of whisky – but better in terms of quality.”

Now that sounds like a love story worth celebrating.

SLAINTÉ!

17

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

I

recently again took interest in the ‘big end’ of the stick, the broad base of the market, the bottom of the pendulum. This isn’t to put the Society or what we do on any special pedestal, but realistically we’re on the ‘outskirts’ of where most whisky consumption in Australia (and indeed around the world) exists. I wrote about this a few Outturns ago with the Dunkin’ Drams article.

My renewed interest however comes from the recent announcement that Dan Murphy’s, which mid last year spun off from its parent company Woolworths along with the rest of their liquor and gambling business, is planning to open more stores in 2020, but their focus will be on “smaller, more tailored stores, with a quality over quantity approach”. My first reaction to that news was “Sheesh it’s like they’ve finally seen what we’re doing at the Society and taken notice” with some considerable tongue-in-cheek.

A mixture of online reviews, known sales data, and machine learning to build their in-store selections. Take from that what you will, but it certainly means a seismic shift away from the ‘big box’ and ‘something for everyone’ approach.

You can be sure there will be quite a stock selection difference between the Mount Druitt and Mount Martha stores!

18

Quality over quantity. That’s a top mantra.

Opting to a nice selection of quality single casks on your shelf to explore rather than the cheaper and nastier options. Better to have a dozen single casks than a slew of things you’re less inclined to enjoy. A quality selection that you’ll keep coming back to, keep changing, and forever exploring and learning. Whisky is a bit like books in that way: we all have a few that are evergreen classics for us that we talk about, yearn for, and remark on how incredible they were and if we get the chance revisit from time to time. Then we have the middle-ground of nice novels, interesting reads, supermarket selections, and generally just good books. Then we have the flimsy pamphlets and shoddy publishing paperbacks that everyone regrets getting. I like to think the ever evolving (and award-winning) Society single casks are like the clothbound classics of whisky presented as delicious hardback one-offs that will keep you learning more, discovering, and challenging your palate and brain. You can probably guess what I think the whisky equivalent of the dodgy paperback is, so I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Matt Bailey ~ SMWS National Ambassador

CO WITHNNECT MATT bail ey@ sm

@sm ws.com ws_ . mat au t

EVENTS SYDNEY

BRISBANE

SUMMER WHISKY DESSERTS

CHEESEMONGER WHISKY PAIRINGS

Pastries, Ice Cream, Whisky and Fun! Let’s kick 2020 into gear with fresh casks, new venue, and summery tastes.

Whisky & Cheese works so well, especially when specially prepared by a local cheesemonger.

SATURDAY 8 FEBRUARY, 3.00PM

WEDNESDAY 12 FEBRUARY, 6.30 FOR 7.00PM

Archie Rose Distillery 85 Dunning Ave, Rosebery

Heritage Room, Blackbird Restauarant Riverside Centre, 123 Eagle St, Brisbane

Host: Matt Bailey, National Ambassador

Host: Scott Mansfield, QLD Manager

A GRAND TOUR OF SPEYSIDE

PERTH

Join Andrew Derbidge for an incredible tour of Speyside. We’ll explore its history, its geography, its style, its place in the industry, and – of course – its distilleries and their whiskies..

FRIDAY 27 MARCH, 6.30 FOR 7.00PM Royal Automobile Club 89 Macquarie St, Sydney Host: Andrew Derbidge, NSW Manager

MELBOURNE

Delicious pizzas and sensational summery drams for a fun night of full flavour.

FRIDAY 6 MARCH, 6.00 FOR 6.30PM Chelsea Pizza Co. 145 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands Host: Jason Davies, WA Manager

ADELAIDE

SPECIAL OUTTURN PREVIEW

CHEESE & WHISKY PAIRINGS

A sampling of the Feb Outturn along with some surprises along the way.

THURSDAY 6 FEBRUARY, 6:30PM S OL Melbourne Whisky Room, O D Whisky & Alement 270 Russell St, Melbourne

WHISKY & PIZZA NIGHT

UT

Hosts: Matt Bailey & Alex Moores

WOLLONGONG SUMMER WHISKY DRAMS Let’s kick off 2020 back at our ancestral home with new cask releases, summery tastes and a delicious full supper.

FRIDAY 13 MARCH, 6.00 FOR 6.30PM Novotel Northbeach Hotel 2-14 Cliff Rd, North Wollongong Host: Fred Apolloni, Wollongong Manager

Delicious cheeses, new single casks, flavour pairings like no other.

All welcome.

FRIDAY 13 MARCH, 6.00 FOR 6:30PM Courtyard Room, Seven Stars Hotel 187 Angas Street, Adelaide Host: Jenny Forrest, SA Manager

CANBERRA

Our next Canberra event listing will be online soon.

TO BOOK IN FOR AN EVENT, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE OR CONTACT OUR OFFICE.

SMWS.COM.AU/EVENTS

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TURN UP THE FLAVOUR SMWS.COM.AU

02 9974 3046 Mon-Fri 9.00am - 5.00pm AEDT

@SMWS_AUSTRALIA

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Society whiskies are offered and sold through The Wine Empire Pty Ltd, Liquor Licence LIQP770010175.