Today, 23 November 2017, our latest bottling, Smögen “6/6” (6 yo from two barrels of new Swedish oak), was released through one of Systembolaget’s so – called web releases. The 660 bottles that Systembolaget received out of the total 840 that remained from the two barrels, they were booked up in about five seconds. The demand for our whiskies is – nice enough! – very strong and thus it goes fast. Unfortunately, this means that many who want to buy a bottle will not have time to make a booking, or simply do not have the opportunity to sit at a computer at 10:00 when Systembolaget opens the booking of the web release.
We have several times received questions as well as direct criticism regarding the fact that we “release so few bottles”, which then leads to a type of shortage situation. We absolutely regret that those who really want our whisky / bottles do not have access to them – it is not in the long run a good business solution – but we want to clarify here why there will be so few bottles.
It all depends on our – ie my: Pär Caldenby – basic philosophy that Smögen should only stand for high quality and great character. Coupled with the equally basic fact that most barrels and especially those of normal size (200 L and up) need to take their time, this means that among our hundreds of barrels so far there are not very many barrels that are actually ready-ripened in such a way that they can be approved for bottling. They are pretty much all about to get really good, but they are only there in a few cases.
For today’s release, which was filled in barrels on June 6, 2011 and bottled a few weeks ago, only two of the more than half a dozen barrels of that type (Swedish oak, 225 L) were completely ready for bottling. They are full-size barrels, but thanks to the fact that the barrels are made of completely new, Swedish oak, these barrels have made something of a turbo-charged maturity journey. Their sister barrels with the same conditions were neither ready nor ready yet – even though they may be within a year or so.
The reasons why we have chosen to do in this way and thereby limit the volumes we can release, as well as the turnover we might have had, is that we with not a little patience and perseverance build a long-term business that should be based on the key words quality and power in our whisky. Better whiskies will in the long run win more happy customers among you whisky enthusiasts, which we all benefit from, in every way. Unfortunately, this means that availability is severely limited in volume, as well as in time, at our current releases.