53.453 Rocking The Gravy Boat

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 53.453, Rocking the Gravy Boat, is a 9 year old Islay single malt from the Caol Ila distillery (SMWS distillery code 53). Distilled on 3 April 2013, it began life in two ex-bourbon hogsheads from the same distillery, which the Society combined at seven years old into a first-fill oloroso ex-bodega sherry butt for further maturation. Bottled at a cask strength of 57.5% ABV, it produced 612 bottles. The Society classes it as Peated, and the Tasting Panel called it powerful and concentrated: leather, tar, camphor and smoked tea over barbecue and brisket on the nose, and a gamey, salty, liquorice-and-tar palate that grows more savoury with water. As with all SMWS releases it is bottled at natural strength without chill filtration.

Nose: Leather, tar, camphor, burning pinecones and smoked tea with pickled seawater, brisket burnt ends and root-beer barbecue sauce; water adds shoe polish, mineral salts, kipper smoke and beef extract

Palate: Gamey and leathery with salty Dutch liquorice, tar, chilli game salami and smoked black tea; reduced, lambic ale, pickled tarragon, iodine and gravy granules

Serve: Neat, then with a few drops of water; at full cask strength it opens up noticeably with a little dilution.