68.105 Musty Mulchy

Musty Mulchy is Scotch Malt Whisky Society cask 68.105, a single malt Scotch whisky from the Blair Athol distillery (Society distillery code 68) in the Scottish Highlands. Distilled on 5 October 2007 and bottled at 15 years old, it spent 12 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before transfer to a first-fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead. Like every Society release it was bottled at natural cask strength, in this case 57.4% ABV in 700ml bottles, with no chill filtration, and the cask yielded 239 bottles. The Society's tasting panel places it in the "Deep, rich & dried fruits" 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: Treacle on brown bread, chocolate sauce, macadamia, maple syrup, Madeira cake, leather and singed raisins; water adds caramelised apricot, walnut oil, Highland toffee, earthy mulch, plum wine and a touch of rancio.

Palate: Runny honey, sultanas and fig paste with hazelnut liqueur, rum fudge and linseed oil; with water, fresh figs, orange bitters, leaf mulch, cellar earth and black coffee.

Serve: Taste it neat first, then add a few drops of water; at 57.4% ABV a little dilution opens up further aromas, as the Society's panel found.