138.23 Panel Piggies Paradise

Scotch Malt Whisky Society cask 138.23, Panel Piggies' Paradise, is a single cask Taiwanese single malt from the Nantou distillery (SMWS code 138). Distilled on 7 March 2017, it matured for 5 years in a first-fill barrel with a #3 char and was bottled at a cask strength of 58.2% ABV, with an outturn of 211 bottles. The Society lists it under Juicy, oak & vanilla, and the Panel's playful note describes perfumed, potpourri aromas with peaches, pastry, dark sugar and tobacco leaf, followed by a juicy palate of lemon sherbet, mango and cherry with sweet spice. With water, herbal Mediterranean notes, coconut macaroons, fig and caramelised oak appear. Bottled at natural cask strength without chill filtration.

Nose: Perfume and potpourri with peaches, pastries, muscovado and tobacco leaf; water brings Mediterranean herbs, chocolate, wood and orange

Palate: Juicy sherbet lemons, mango and cherries with a curl of sweet spice; water adds coconut macaroons, peach, fig and caramelised wood

Serve: Neat, then with a few drops of water to open up the aromas; at full cask strength it rewards patience.