66.240 Nuts And Belts And Engine Oil

Nuts And Belts And Engine Oil is Scotch Malt Whisky Society cask 66.240, a single malt Scotch whisky from the Ardmore distillery (Society distillery code 66) in the Scottish Highlands. Distilled on 23 October 1997 and bottled at 25 years old, it matured for 25 years in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead. Like every Society release it was bottled at natural cask strength, in this case 53.1% ABV in 700ml bottles, with no chill filtration, and the cask yielded 222 bottles. The Society's tasting panel places it in the "Lightly peated" flavour profile. SMWS labels carry a number rather than the distillery's name, because a single cask often tastes quite unlike the distillery's usual house style.

Nose: Applewood smoke over brined olives, cured game and fennel seed, with ash settling on toasted pine nuts and roasted chestnuts; water adds brine and walnut and almond oils.

Palate: Sweet chilli sauce and barley sugar turning to salted liquorice, singed orange peel and engine oil; with water, smoked mackerel, bacon, leather, cherry skins and snuffed-candle smoke.

Serve: Taste it neat first, then add a few drops of water; at 53.1% ABV a little dilution opens up further aromas, as the Society's panel found.