Alcohol by volume: 63,7 %
Cask: European oak
No 1: Smögen ”Primör”, a 3 yo bottling released as the distillery’s first, in spring 2014, based on nine casks of European oak, eight of which were heavily toasted virgin quarter casks that matured the whisky very quickly. Clocking in at a respectable 63,7 % abv ”Primör” packs a punch of gristy malt, deep peat smoke and a fruity-spicy combination from the small casks.
Alcohol by volume: 51,8 % to 57,2 %
Cask: Sherry
No 2-5: Smögen ”Sherry Project 1:1-1:4”, a series of four bottlings released in 2014 and 2015 to showcase the effects of consecutively longer maturation in Sherry casks, in this case, large Sherry butts. The four bottlings are 3 to 4 yo at 51,8 % to 57,2 % abv and had respectively three, eight and fourteen months of finish in Sherry butts for the first three, while the fourth and last bottling had been fully matured in small Sherry quarter casks. The increased Sherry cask character was evidently displayed as the series progressed.
Alcohol by volume: 60 %
Cask: Single ex Sherry
No 6: Smögen ”Jubilee (2015)”, a 3 yo bottling at 60 % abv from a single ex Sherry quarter cask to commemorate the distillery’s then five years in operation. Released only to those who were present at the celebrations in August of 2015, it has been very much sought after.
Alcohol by volume: 61,1 %
Cask: Virgin French oak
No 7: Smögen ”French Quarter”, a 4 yo bottling at 61,1 % abv from five heavily toasted virgin French oak quarter casks, released in spring of 2016. A very intense and popular bottling, it offered distinctive distillate characters of gristy malt and spicy peat reek with polished old furniture, nutmeg, cherry kernels and cracked black peppers from the small oak casks.
Alcohol by volume: 62,5 %
Cask: Single ex Bourbon
No 8: Smögen ”Wee Swede”, a 4 yo bottling at 62,5 % that was drawn from a single ex Bourbon barrel, which was subsequently finished off in small bloodtub-sized (30 L) casks of virgin Swedish oak, heavily toasted and then charred, to give off plenty of oak notes and sweetness. Mature far beyond its age, the Wee Swede offered vanilla and toasted oak notes galore, in addition to the fruity malty notes of the distillate, complemented on the finish by slightly subdued peat notes. Released in the autumn of 2016.
Alcohol by volume: 54 %
Cask: First fill Sauternes barriques
No 9: Smögen ”Triple”, an experimental and much coveted bottling of a 5 yo triple distilled heavily peated malt at 54 % abv, matured in two first fill Sauternes barriques casks. Having been distilled twice through the spirit still, Triple was lighter in body and less peaty than usual, but very complex and delightfully fruity and intense in character, thanks in no small part to the sublime addition of nuances from the sweet wine still locked into the staves of the two casks. Released in the winter of 2017.
