Bottlings

The batched bottling is what makes the whisky industry turn over – as a single cask of whisky can’t really produce more than around 800-900 bottles at cask strength and volume is necessary in order to widen the market for one’s product. While giants like Glenfiddich produce millions of bottles of their flagship 12 yo bottling, where batches are made up of hundreds of casks, Smögen is however still at a very small scale with at the most around a dozen casks combined in a vatting (bottling). This in turn means that we can tailor the quality, strength of character and balance as we desire, to a very high standard indeed, while still also avoiding blurring out the character as every cask will still have an impact that can make itself felt. Thus, from just the vatting together of two single casks to make a bottling, you can find vattings of small casks from a higher number of more than a dozen casks. Strength of character, in a larger volume. As with all bottlings of Smögen and Askeim, the focus is not on repeating the exact style and character of the previous bottling of a particular stated age or type of cask, but rather to find vattings – combinations – of casks that maximise strength of character in aroma and flavour. With a new bottling of Smögen, you will always find the same high quality, while also seeing a slightly new take on the style. Variation as an asset in itself!

The Single Cask, presented at cask strength and without chill filtration or colouring, is as close as anyone can get to actually drawing a cask sample straight out of the cask in the warehouse. Nothing added, nothing taken away, no balancing of multiple casks together. Just whisky straight from the source. Characterwise, a Single Cask can divert slightly from the typical Smögen character, which means that not every cask is well suited for bottling on its own, but it also means that the extra special casks that always turn up, can be bottled as is, displaying extra good or extra interesting characters, or just extra special ones. Dive down into the wonderful world of uniqueness and enjoy the ride!