SMWS Teaninich 59.69
Exotic Tantalisation | 54.5% ABV
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
Pricey but delivers excellent value
Birthday Joy! Treating oneself once more.
As I mentioned in my review of Booker’s not too long ago, sometimes you ought to treat yourself.
My wife, thankfully, is almost as much a whisky geek as I. Last year we saved up and gleefully made our way to Scotland. We were keen on exploring the countryside, meeting new people, and making our way through the scotch whisky landscape.
As to that last item, in addition to making reservations for distillery tours here and there, I joined the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Why would I part with $99.00 for its membership fee? The lapel pin wasn’t the hook, no.
The answer is that my wife and I planned on treating ourselves to a lengthy luncheon and whisky tasting at the Queen Street location in Edinburgh during our trip. We had saved up, and we were treating ourselves. Membership allowed us to avail ourselves of the members’ sections and benefits, and the SMWS experience did not disappoint. The food was brilliant and, with the exception of one bottle, which wasn’t bad by any stretch, the flights of whiskies were utterly tremendous.
I have kept the SMWS membership for the past year and wondered if I was going to renew before the expiration date at the end of June. I have now done so, and the events and reasoning that led to the renewal and the manner by which I did are worth repeating here.
My birthday is in May. My wife (did I mention she is a wonderful whiskey geek?) surprised me with a card that contained two folded printouts. The card was wonderful, and the printouts were a complete stunner. My wife had secured two seats for a whisky tasting in New York City through the SMWS. It was the “June Outturn Preview Tasting.”
At the time of receiving my birthday card and surprise gift the bottles and expressions were not available. However, SMWS has since released its June outturn bottles. The event, on June 5th, using those June outturn bottles, was formally called A Rare Scotch Whisky Tasting Experience.
I didn’t know how much the tickets cost, but they were unavailable unless you were a member of the SMWS. We were members, and my wife capitalised on it. Very glad to use the membership that had been sitting dormant since last October.
I was excited for the tasting event. We live roughly two hours by train and subway from the event, so we booked a hotel near the tasting site. On the day of the event, we arrived and walked around the Tribeca neighbourhood, and then over to the Brandy Library. Upon entering, the scene was stunning for a whisky geek. The Brandy Library’s three walls that face its impressive bar are lined with several hundred bottles of different single malt as well as a few bourbon expressions. We took stock of the room and selected our two seats.
We noted that there were seats for almost thirty whisky aficionados and each had a small pour of six whiskies. After chatting with some of the folks near us, the SMWS ambassador started the evening. Introductions were made and then we were on to the tastings. We were all provided with a long card that focused on the unknown and unlabeled six drams before us. We were tasked to smell and taste each sample, in turn. For each dram we were charged with the task of estimating the whisky’s age, the ABV, and what type of cask; ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, other, 1st fill, 2nd fill, refill etc. Finally, we were to choose which distillery, from among five possible options, did the dram originate.
Once I read the card and saw what we would be quizzed on, I have to admit that I had a slight apprehension strike me. To be clear, I am no sommelier nor someone who has the flavour profile-bandwidth knowledge of the majority of scotch distilleries. There may be no one who can match my appreciation for Scotch single malts, but as Clint Eastwood once said, “a man has to know his limitations” and as far as being familiar with all of the scotch distillery flavour profiles, I know I am no Wally Macaulay. That brief apprehension, however, quickly passed as the excitement and curiosity filled my sails.
It was a great time of over two hours of whisky entertainment and enjoyment. Despite the fact that I have not yet been acquainted with the liquid from a good number of Scotch distilleries, this was pure fun. I am glad to report that ol’ Ogilvie held his own. Yes, there were a good number of swings and misses, but there were plenty of times I hit the ball out of the park. Great whiskies. Great to chat with the folk around us and a great evening.
Comprising the six whiskies were wonderful cask expressions from Glenfarclas, Tomintoul, Teaninich, Auchroisk, Dailuaine, and Ledaig. All were treats, but of the six, two stood out to my wife and me. And, as I will note below, due to a fortuitous bit of grease to the wheel, we decided to make this birthday complete by buying the bottle that moved us the most.
Review
SMWS Teaninich 13yo, Cask no. 59.69, Exotic Tantalisation, SMWS USA Release, 54.5% ABV
USD$140 (shipping & tax to US $180), £103/USD$130 paid.
Score: 8/10
Something special.
TL;DR
Pricey but delivers excellent value
Nose
A delight. Buttery. Sweet oatmeal. Honey. Blood orange. Marmalade and toast. Malt. Hint of roses.
Palate
Floral and honey. Croissants with butter. Spicy ginger-esque background that becomes more peppery toward the finish. There is a slightly oily mouthfeel that is gorgeous. The vanilla creme from the 11 years in an ex-bourbon cask is present. There is also a slight berry note, as well as over-ripe apricot.
I imagine the finish from the second-fill red wine barrique shows itself with the subtle fruit flavours. I also imagine this barrique gives the liquid its wonderful building spiciness. Despite the building spice, that buttery and honey and floral profile remains all over the tongue. A semi-long finish provides a slowly drying feeling with some pastry and cashew notes.
The Dregs
I had never before had the pleasure of sampling whisky from Teaninich. Of course, as a Diageo distillery, the majority of its output is kept away from the public. It is a massive distillery, and its whisky is used for blends. To my knowledge, there have been only two official bottlings released (a Flora and Fauna and a 17 year old that was part of Diageo’s “Special Releases” 2017 collection and reviewed by Wally last year). Having this Teaninich, then, as an independent bottling, is a treat.
As noted, I believe I can ascribe certain flavour notes to the two casks used. To the extent that if I can find Teaninich anywhere else, I am curious to sample other bottlings. I want to compare experiences to see if the same richness and those buttery and floral notes are a trait of the distillery or a function of the casks used. Regardless, this bottle will be shared and I am already looking forward to the Teaninich bottle hunt.
Whether other Teaninich expressions I find are comparable, that is a question for the future. Right now, I am focused on the SMWS dram in front of me. This is worth the price of admission.
This is squarely an eight out of ten on the Dramface scale. I was hesitant about the score, as I initially thought to knock it down a peg due to the price. But, in today’s market, getting a cask strength and fully natural bottle that is at least a dozen years old is not cheap. Our Dramface Scoring Guide says an eight out of ten is “an excellent choice and well worth purchasing at the retail price.” If I had to drop $130 on a bottle, would I rather have this or a $140 Tamdhu 15 at 46%ABV? Or a Yamazaki 12 ($160.00, 43% ABV)? An Aberlour 18 ($170.00 and 40% ABV)? Or a Kavalan Sherry Oak ($130.00 and 46% ABV)?
In my humble opinion, this SMWS bottle beats them all. Handily. And with that, as compared with official bottlings that I could have at a similar price, this Teaninich from SMWS is worth the price I paid. Eight it is; if you can get this for the price I paid.
There is a little bit more to the story. Why did I ultimately decide to toss the money at this bottle? As my due date to renew the annual SMWS membership was approaching, I received an e-mailed promotional offer from SMWS offering me $50 off the next bottle purchase. I hadn’t purchased a bottle from SMWS since October when I was at the Queen Street Member Room in Edinburgh. I had intermittently scanned the SMWS website over the last year, but I never pulled the trigger as the cheapest bottle that seemed to be up my alley, flavor-wise, registered at $110.00. That, of course, does not cover the shipping and tax charges.
As for the bottle of Teaninch in my hands, an additional $40.00 would be tacked on in shipping and tax charges. However, when I ordered it, I knew I had a $50.00 voucher in my email inbox. Happy birthday to me. I applied the voucher, and the bottle came to me for $130.00, all in. Without the voucher, I wouldn’t have made the purchase.
The renewal is upon me, and I will be renewing – it being $25.00 less than the original membership dues – as my wife and I are already booked for a trip to London this coming autumn. You can be sure we will spend a chunk of time one day at SMWS’ London Member Room on Greville Street.
I have heard the dialogue – negative and positive – about joining SMWS. On the negative side, there is the admission fee, the cost of the bottles, the additional premium fees for events, and the not insignificant cost of food and whiskies when at the Member Rooms. On the positive side, if you are going to treat yourself from time to time, membership opens doors to opportunities in whiskies you can’t easily get anywhere else – all at cask strength and all natural. Also, there are the opportunities for tastings in the UK, US, and Australia, as well as the ability to avail yourself of very nice Member Rooms in select locales. Where each person falls on that continuum of the SMWS dialogue is a personal decision. For me, it comes back to a hard lesson learned.
I turned 55 last month. Almost three decades ago, my Mother passed away at age 56. Among the many painful lessons learned from my Mother’s passing, was to ensure that you don’t put off all things. I certainly do not want to do things frivolously or pave a path to financial ruin, but every now and again, I am glad to do something special to treat myself. I don’t know how long I have, and hope I am here for many decades to come. That said, I always remember the tears and regret my Mother shared as she and my Father were, at that time, just starting to plan to travel. Many things had been put off, and they would not occur.
We all are tightening our belts, and we speak through grinding molars of the sharp up-tick of prices in the whisky market over the past few years. The pages of Dramface are filled with this sentiment from reviewers and commenters alike – my reviews and comments, included. However, I also have mentioned before, and will reiterate here, whisky is a gift and we are worth a treat or splurge every now and again.
This review is not meant to be a promotion for SMWS (though, if someone there wants to offer me a position as a whisky taster – let’s call it “Quality Control” – I would not blithely cast it aside). The point here is about enjoyment. We all gnash our teeth at the realities of the day with prices, work, and a myriad of other stressors. But we all come together here at Dramface, or at your local pub, or wherever you raise a glass with a close friend, to speak of, and be recalibrated with, the simple appreciation of enjoyment of this wonderful liquid we call whisky.
Enjoyment. Don’t over do it, but also don’t overlook it. Find whisky joy where you can and when you can.
For me, reading the articles from my fellow contributors each morning as I eat breakfast is an invigorating spark every day. For me, talking about different bottles and raising a glass with my wonderful wife is a simple yet tremendous pleasure. For me, I look for other avenues, obvious and obscure, with which to bring whisky smiles to my face.
At the end of the day, this Teaninich is simply wonderful. As with all independent bottlings, this is a rare thing. The buttery and rich dram is more than a treat, and I appreciate it tremendously. I don’t say that lightly, nor with any hyperbole. I am fortunate to have it, and would never have experienced it if I hadn’t had the mindset to treat myself. I don’t do it often, but every now and then…
Take good care of yourselves, and I hope you all find your way to some out-of-the-ordinary whisky magic from time to time.
Slàinte.
Score: 8/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. OS
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