Smogen Whisky AB
Svensk Primor 2010 (3 year old) 50cl 67.3%

Optic Barley peated to 45ppm
Matured in a combination of new European Oak casks and former Bordeaux casks.
Dist: Sept/ Nov 2010 Btl: Nov 2013
Casks 5 & 14-21
Tasted: Oct 2014
Smogen Whisky AB was established in 2009 by Par Caldenby, who (in 2006) published 'Enjoying Malt Whisky'. The distillery was built on a farm on the West coast of Sweden, North of Gothenburg, it has a 900 Litre wash still, a 600 litre spirit still, and a production capacity of 35000 litres.

The nose is intense and manure with bitter coffee, burnt wood and very dry peat. Quite edgy with a high toned spirit edge. The oak adds a boiled sweet sherry note along with hints of black pepper and olives, plus a late touch of soy sauce. A very unique and unusual nose!

The palate has a lovely intensity but also display a softness of character. The sherry comes through first bringing dried fruit notes, followed by some crisp spirit, followed by burnt wood, manure and dry peat. It wouldn�t be a huge surprise to say that it�s extremely alcoholic and along with being pretty bitter on the finish it really brings tears to the eyes! However once everything has stopped watering you realise that some sugar have come out on the after-taste along with alight boiled sweet, rose peat and peat note. Intense is not the word!

A drop of water makes the nose softer and less visceral. It also makes it a bit more harmonious. A little apricot and toasted nuts can be detected now and the peat and manure sort of gently wafts through the sherry. The palate is softer and gives the sherry a more coffee�d chocolaty sheen, also a little more malty character can be detected.. The manure and peat notes are now quite subtle though. The sugars seemed to have skulked off somewhere and that does make the bitterness on the finish stand out a little more, however it�s still impressively spicy and tongue tingling!