This week we are pleased to announce the official release of something very special! Earlier this year, your SMWS America team was tasked with the unique opportunity to hand select a single cask of whisky exclusively for members to enjoy here in the USA. The selection process was a thorough one; out of the tens of thousands of casks maturing in our warehouse in Scotland, dozens of casks were considered and many taste-tested to ensure that the selection would not only represent our commitment to bottling the very best single whisky in the world, but something that our members could truly love.

After a thorough taste-test of many samples, all conducted with no prior knowledge of the spirits’ origin, age, cask type or strength, we are proud to present our latest USA Exclusive Cask chosen by your SMWS America team: Cask 29.272 Fire your engines!

Reflecting on the cask selection process, SMWS America team member Ben Diedrich says:

‘The opportunity to choose an entire cask to be shared with our closest friends was always going to be a special one. With such passion among both our team and the USA membership as a whole, we felt it was important to find a cask that would strike at the very core of why we love whisky to begin with. After a rigorous blind tasting session, we found exactly that in Cask 29.272 ‘Fire your engines’. This heavily peated Islay spirit makes for a full-on assault of the senses with plumes of dense, medicinal peat smoke, motor oil, tar and rich undertones of smokes shellfish and seaweed. One could sit in total solitude with nothing but this whisky and a single glass and yet never feel alone. Simply put, this spirit is alive! Enjoying it transports my mind to a small, sandy beach overlooking the rough Atlantic ocean on a cold winter’s day. What a whisky!”

As with our previous USA Exclusive Casks, we anticipant exceptionally high interest among our members. To ensure you have a fair opportunity to order a bottle yourself, Cask 29.272 is available via lottery drawing only. Entries must be completed by Monday, December 7 at 12:00PM (ET). Winning member names will be drawn at that time. They will be contacted shortly thereafter and will have 48 hours to order their bottle. To enter the lottery drawing, please click the link below.  

Cask No. 29.272

Title: Fire your engines

Tasting Note: Sweet and oily aromas brought us walnuts in bacon fat and parsnips with sweet potatoes burnt in coconut oil. A strong maritime character fused lobster claws and brine with anchovies, iodine and smoked mackerel fillets. On the palate it was as clean as a ship's whistle with smoked cereals, herbs and soy sauce on barbecued pineapple. Chimney soot and wood ash mixed with maple syrup and burnt pine nuts on a bed of wet seaweed. With water came walnuts and Brazil nuts along with darker medicinal undertones like antiseptic toothpaste on woodland moss. Thick engine grease and heavy smoke coated the tongue with moments of vapour rub, cough sweets and thick tar in coal scuttles.

Age: 9 years

Date distilled: June 2010

ABV: 57.5%

Region: Islay

Barrel: Second-fill barrel

Outturn: 194 bottles

US Allocation: 180 bottles

Price: $150

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Thank you all who entered the lottery for the chance to order 29.272. Winners will be reviewed and contacted after 12pm ET on December 7. Please note, it may take up to a week to complete the drawing, and we will contact all entrants when the lottery is officially closed.