Tag Archives: Smokehead

London Appetizer – Glenfarclas, Aerolite Lindsay, Smokehead High Voltage

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There is something comforting about the familiar. Like sprawling on a comfortable old sofa, curling up under a faded, soft blanket… so too with revisiting a familiar dram or two. Made even better by being with a favourite tasting companion, getting ourselves into the whisky mood before spending a full day at the 2023 Whisky Show in London. Call it the appetizer before the main course!

Up first was a carefully selected starter – a familiar family-owned friend – Glenfarclas. It had been a while since my tasting companion had sipped a Glenfarclas… happy to oblige!

Glenfarclas 15 year 46%

  • Nose – Fresh apples and pears, fall leaves, loads of sweet, digestive biscuits, pastry with vanilla cream, some salt
  • Palate – Fabulous and lip-smacking. Yes, lip-smacking. Light spice, restrained fruit, a bit minerally and dry, a nice contrast to the nose
  • Finish – Carries on with the theme, ending is slightly bitter.

We really enjoyed the nose – really quite outstanding. With a mighty fine palate. It was just perfect for our mood and moment.

Up next was a 10-year-old Islay – one that I had previously only had a whiff, rather than true sampling. What did we think?

Aerolite Lindsay 10 year 46%

  • Nose – Happy peat, a hint of maritime salt spray, tinned peaches, leafy, a bit of iodine, curiously even chaat masala – the kind with black salt that you sprinkle on fresh cut tropical fruit, then shifted back to a more classic styled peat
  • Palate – Cinnamon and peat, a touch of leather, balanced with a nice spice
  • Finish – Very sweet cinnamon

Not complex yet still left us satisfied. We speculated which Islay distillery, was slightly in favour of Caol Ila as it was more approachable peat.

You may ask… Why these two? The 1st was to get into the whisky groove. The 2nd to shift into peat. And then? They were the build-up to Smokehead… I was promised it wasn’t as bad as my first experience or even my second… I was promised something a bit better than palatable… something enjoyable. I was promised… but did it deliver?

Smokehead High Voltage 48%

  • Nose – Burnt embers and ash, hint of lemon and iodine, acetone, funky and sour, plastique, mold like a monsoon cupboard
  • Palate – Very sharp, big, and bold, some sweet with the peat, heavy fruits with some cinnamon peaking in
  • Finish – Sweet, tempered and long

Do yourself a favour. If you are tempted to try – DO NOT take a big swig. I sputtered, Yes sputtered. And made a face. Not a pleasant face. Well… it isn’t just an ashtray. However, it is still clearly designed to be a bit overwhelming. Like a frat house dare. “Booom! Gotcha!”

Sorry… three strikes and you are OUT! It simply is not my style of whisky. For those who want to clobber themselves with peat, knock yourself out. But me? Will simply pass.

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Trying to give Smokehead a chance….

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So we tried Smokehead once before – the Rock edition. To say that it didn’t impress the Whisky Ladies is putting it mildly. While we are always curious to try different things and no strangers to peat, ashtray is generally not our preferred style.

However when approached by the folks over at Ian MacLeod distillery suggesting their standard Smokehead is more accessible than the Rock edition, I didn’t have the heart to refuse their rather sincere representative, though did warn him our tasting would be unbiased and honest.

The little Smokehead mini sat patiently waiting for many months until finally one evening it was time to try a range of peat whiskies. Thus was born the evening of minis of a peaty persuasion – Peat Chimney 12 year 40%, Big Peat 46%, Longrow 46%, BenRiach Peated Quarter Cask 46%, Ledaig 10 year 46.3%. Smokehead came along for the ride but the others politely but firmly declined.

What to do with our poor rebuffed Smokehead sample? Try try try again… finally a fateful evening occurred when Smokehead finally was cracked open.

Smokehead 40%

  • Nose – Sweet smoky “breathable”, perhaps a bit of pulled pork, braised steak, cinnamon, sweet BBQ rub
  • Palate – Watered down, then ashtray, came across as oddly flat
  • Finish – Queer finish, almost off

Our conclusion “All talk, no action”… in other words, the nose was more promising than the palate.

Full disclosure – this sample was provided by the folks at Ian McLeod.

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Smokehead “The Rock Edition” – style over substance?

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We get it. Its a gimmick. But gimmicks do get attention.

Sure its brash, testosterone fuelled and meant to be fun. But is it any good?

Smokehead

Smokehead “The Rock Edition” NAS 44.2%

So what did the Whisky Ladies of Mumbai think?

  • Nose: Smoked bacon, beef jerky, gorging on Montreal smoked meat (think Schwartz Deli!), pastrami on rye, hickory, popped out back for a summer BBQ, if you dig deep a hint of honey sweetness, ashtray
  • Palate: Pungent, peaty “not as bad as it smells” 
  • Finish: I’m sorry… was there a finish? It was like all the punch just suddenly fizzled out. Nada.
  • Water: Some thought 6 drops ‘salvaged’ it… yes there was a debate on the exact number of drops required! Consensus was six drops smoothes out the dram without overly dampening the smokey spirit. As one put it, can now taste the whisky and “I no longer feel like I’ve just smoked a pack of cigarettes!”

This Smokehead certainly sparked a lot of commentary…

  • Whisky to get trashed to…
  • College guys, sitting around playing cards, smoking and getting drunk
  • All bravado and no brains

Let’s be very clear, a number of our whisky ladies have no patience for wimpy whiskies. Peat scores high on their preferred elements in a good dram. However this one was all over the top flash without the substance.

There were several comments along the lines of it being a brash guy coming on really strong but in reality a limp noodle. Ahem… You get the picture.

When compared with other openly peat pushing drams like Compass Box’s Peat Monster or Bruichladdich’s Octomore, regret to say this Smokehead is outclassed. Now… it could be the Rock Edition specifically as it is meant to be no frills, just straight-on rock thrills. A couple lasses had sampled a different Smokehead and recalled more character and less clobber over the head with an ashtray experience.

So what more do we know about Smokehead?

  • Do they disclose the Islay distillery? Nope! All we know is its part of Ian McLeod distillers….
  • Do they use colouring? Yup!
  • What else? Not a whole heck of a lot.

What did the Ian Weir, Marketing Director for McLeod have to say when launching this edition?

 “The new limited edition presentation not only celebrates Smokehead’s close affinity to rock music, but reaffirms the brand’s unique position within the Single Malt category. Smokehead is vigorous and unapologetic about its big and intense peaty flavours. Like rock and roll, people must accept it for what it is or not at all. The brand is an enthusiastic supporter of rock music and we have some exciting plans underway to take this even further in 2012.”

And their official tasting notes?

Nose: Heavy smoke and peat.   Amazing richness.   Lemon, fresh ginger, plum jam.   Salty and spicy.
Body: Like a cannonball – hits the palate at once with cocoa, peat and some honey sweetness then explodes with peppery spice and more earthy peat.   Spreads to all the areas of your mouth with more peat and light sweetness.
Finish: Even more peat, spice, mandarin – then dries up.   When you think it’s all over the peat comes back to hit you again.
Impression A rollercoaster of peat and spice with some delicate sweetness.

Well… did we accept it ‘as is’? Meh… Not gonna run out and buy another bottle. However for a sociable drinking evening, makes for a great conversation piece!

Other whiskies sampled before the Smokehead included:

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Whisky ladies go sweetly smokey – Dalmore 15, Mackmyra Svensk Rök, Smokehead ‘Rock’

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Our whisky ladies are a diverse lot and each bring something a bit different to the equation. We are also quite international – most travel regularly and lived in different parts of the world than the land of their birth at some point in their lives.

What this means for us in whisky terms, there is a certain pride in discovering something interesting to share from diverse corners!

Hence the Sheringham William’s White double distilled grain whisky was introduced by a fellow Canadian. Or an offering chocolates designed for pairing with whiskies from a recent European jaunt.

We revel in such treats! March featured one specific whisky that would ordinarily be rather tricky to track down… instead came courtesy of a Christmas trip ‘home’ to Sweden.

March featured whiskies ranging from sherry sweet, to refreshing smoke to in your face peat! Here’s what we sampled:

Notes to follow in the next few days…

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