78.75 Lock Stock And Two

Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Bananas is Scotch Malt Whisky Society cask 78.75, a single malt Scotch whisky from the Ben Nevis distillery (Society distillery code 78) in the Scottish Highlands. Distilled on 19 June 2014 and bottled at 9 years old, it spent four years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before transfer to a refill heavy toast, medium char hogshead that had previously held Islay whisky. Like every Society release it was bottled at natural cask strength, in this case 60.3% ABV in 700ml bottles, with no chill filtration, and the cask yielded 264 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: Smoking bananas, fresh lime, dry-roasted nuts, pine forest and smouldering autumn leaves, with ash over dried apricot and lamb tagine; water brings peat-blackened rose and tulip petals.

Serve: Taste it neat first, then add a few drops of water; at 60.3% ABV a little dilution opens up further aromas, as the Society's panel found.