53.471 Bacon Baked In Treacle Fruitcake

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 53.471, Bacon Baked in Treacle Fruitcake, is a 15 year old small-batch Islay single malt from the Caol Ila distillery (SMWS distillery code 53). Distilled on 1 September 2008, it was built from two bourbon hogsheads: one was moved at eleven years old into a first-fill American oak Pedro Ximénez hogshead and the other at ten years old into a refill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead, and the two were married before bottling. Bottled at a cask strength of 58.5% ABV, it yielded 478 bottles. In the Society's Peated profile, the Tasting Panel found coal tar and smoked stone fruit with figs and barbecued brisket, then heather smoke, treacle and bacon with water, finishing on ginger cake, walnut brioche, blackberry jam and coffee. Like every SMWS bottling it is unchill-filtered at natural cask strength.

Nose: Coal tar and beech-smoked nectarine stirred into chamomile syrup, then hickory-smoked figs, sweet mustard, orange segments and barbecued brisket; water brings burning heather, treacle-dipped bacon rind and bubbling pineapple skin

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