This is an independent bottling of spirit distilled at Braeval, bottled by SMWS after 8 years of aging in an ex-bourbon barrel. This bottling, "Cream of the Crop" is bottled at cask strength, with no coloring or filtering. Let's see how it is.
Sticky toffee pudding, loads of caramel, vanilla bean and sticky rice. Some ethanol and almond / amaretto notes.
Medium mouth feel, but lots of heat. Apples, pears, almonds, faint plum. Not super complex, and there is quite a bit of heat.
Short, but hot. Powerful. Fresh baked bread, toffee, almond and some pear.
Good, but too hot for what it is. Unreasonably hot, and leads me to believe SMWS should have given this much more time in the cask.
5