My first Smögen. I’ve heard nothing but very high praise for this Swedish distillery so my expectations coming into this dram were fairly high. The distillery is on a farm and named after a nearby island, Smögen. They focus on small batch production, using entirely manual processes with full attention to the highest quality production. Hearing that, as you might imagine, they like to use local raw materials, but “this endeavor subordinates to the quality process.” I can F with that.
(Image from Decadent Drams)
Whisky: Smögen 10 Year (2014)
Cask: Madeira hogshead (8 years) + Refill hogshead (2 years)
Bottler: Decadent Drams
ABV: 57.1%
Well, that’s quite peated! Tons of BBQ and meats; earthy fire pit while enjoying your cook. Nonintrusive, but yummy, madeira fruits provide a nice glaze — orange, apricot, and a touch of fig that plays nicely with the seasoned BBQ flavor.
The palate is great. Oily and full. Hot and peppery but in a nicely integrated way, furthering augmenting the BBQ experience. More of the nose, but also woody, musty, and malty, like an aged time capsule photographing a great madeira BBQ nostalgia. And it’s essentially that, so I find this remarkably composed in a very tight and narrative sort of way. It tells a story, which wafts away on a slightly sweet smoke as a musty memory.
This was fantastic, in the moment and as a memory. However, it was not an unexpected event based on the profile, but it did it very, very well. Smögen definitely exuded craft and quality here. I tend to spike on oddball drams, but this was more of a perfected art. Again, I can F with that… as long as I have another bottle that challenges me laying around the house.
Score: 4 / 5
Mental Image: The great Madeira BBQ.