18.37 Trippy Tagine / Mysterious and Ethereal | 61% ABV

How subjective is our objectivity, and vice versa?

How subjective is our objectivity, and vice versa?

One of the great challenges of organoleptics is trying to forget our biases while relying on past experience to inform the melange of smells and tastes we experience while analysing chemical soups. Who the hell came up with that?

A finished “Filler” or a well balanced sleeper?

We’ve had a good number of SMWS reviews from multiple writers already, and there seems to be a pretty clear dichotomy to the majority of outturns; filler releases the society needs to turn over purely to hit volume quotas, and bottlings they know will draw sufficient hype to price more steeply. Among these filler releases though there are occasionally some hidden gems, and it’s the duty of we faithful writers/reviewers to superimpose our utterly abstract opinions in some facsimile of educational helpfulness. Speaking of which, let’s get started!

I don’t usually enjoy ex-wine casks, particularly red wine casks. Frequently, they outright offend me. Of course there are exceptions - I recall the Octomore 7.3 with great favour, for instance. One day I might cop a stray Signet cork to the head and suddenly love them, but generally I find they contribute too much vinous character, grippy tannins and residual sulphur - whether biological in origin or from absorbed molecular sulphur from cask sanitation I know not.

To that thought, we’ve all heard of the Spanish burning sulphur candles in casks to preserve them for international shipping and while this is less commonly observed these days, it’s still used in the wine industry. Even those that don’t burn sulphur in casks tend to opt for an antimicrobial preservation solution composed of dissolved S02 and citric acid in water. This solution almost certainly leaves residual molecular sulphur deposits in the pores of the oak staves, ready to leach into any liquids subsequently stored in the cask. Anecdotally at least, far too many wine casks are filled with struck match or burnt rubber for this to be coincidence. Anyway, moving on.

Now, depending on their treatment - ie STR, how many prior fills, how old the cask is and what size the barrel is, these factors can be moderated. Certain spirits also take the impact better than others, especially depending on age and length of time interacting with the cask. To this latter point though, one of my biggest issues with wine casks is the rancio they tend to pick up after extended periods of time. 

Yes, we generally connote rancio with purposefully oxidised wine styles like vin jaune or oloroso, however the style and composition these take on are quite different. For starters, many of these traditionally oxidative wines are from white wine grapes, and thus lack much of the skin derived anthocyanin and phenolic dissolved solids (including tannins) seen in red wines and fortified alcohol such as port and madeira. For the latter of course they’re not always red, but generally with around 85% utilising Negra Mole, so close enough. Whether this has any direct impact on the quantitative production of ketones (primarily heptanones and nonanones) largely responsible for the set of flavours known as rancio, or whether their presence and degradation/oxidation products act as a modifier for said flavours is beyond me. I am, after all, a lowly brewer by experience, not a winemaker. 

As a slight digression, I think it’s important to note how the context of flavours affects our appreciation of rancio flavours as a category; in wines and fortifieds there are totally different pH, sugar and alcohol balance ranges compared to whisky, rum and brandy. We also have the filter of distillation for the latter; while brandy may be a grape product, the molecularly dense and non-volatile ketones associated with rancio are unlikely to make their way to the eau de vie. Hence, any rancio flavours produced are likely to be the result of maturation reactions (degradation, oxidation and interplay with oak) which fits many of the anecdotal reportings from cognac and armagnac producers, where it is expected that rancio characters only properly appear after decades in oak.

Even then, the degree to which these characters appear is organoleptically non-comparable to what we might experience in a wine/fortified or spirit matured in a wine/fortified cask. What might be a delicate earthiness and nuttiness from a 30+ year old armagnac is not the same as the buttery sautéed mushroom tones of a rioja, barolo or burgundy cask matured Speysider. To this point though, we should probably try the whisky and evaluate it on its merits with as few preconceptions as possible.  

Review

SMWS Inchgower 13yo 18.37 Trippy Tagine,
ex-bourbon and 2nd fill re-charred red wine barrique 61% ABV
US$120 & still available in some markets

This whisky is also released as 18.37 Mysterious and Ethereal

This Inchgower enjoyed an initial maturation in ex-bourbon barrels (we’re not told which fill or for how long unfortunately) followed by a finish in a second-fill recharred ex-red wine barrique totalling 13 years. So, not wet fill and not a tiny cask - this is a good start. Fingers crossed we’ll see more of the oak and less of the previous contents…

Aside from the casking and maturation, I admit to being unfamiliar with Inchgower. To the best of my memory at least. A quick look online indicates a pretty standard commercial production including a short fermentation regime of fewer than 50 hours from a cloudy wort, and a new make spirit around 65-66%. Mind you, that’s a moderately low new-make strength, which may indicate some wider cuts are being taken since the highest alcohol concentration of the run comes through the hearts*, and the inclusion of extra feints or foreshots thus reduces the average strength of the run. Since Inchgower is apparently used as blending stock for Bells and Johnnie Walker, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the distillery is trying to squeeze out as much alcohol as they can get away with.

Inchgower is also a coastal distillery, and while there continues to be no science at all to support maturation as a source of coastal/salty flavours, let’s see whether any psychosomatic suggestions or unaccounted for coastal contributions are present.

*After the head/foreshots

Nose

Initially some of the standard ex-bourbon profile many of these SMWS releases seem to share. A rich combination of butter, vanilla and lactones with undercurrents of white orchard fruits. With time comes some savoury spiciness with a little cumin and paprika, then distant wafts of fried onions, slightly gamey charcuterie and indeed some slightly rancid cooking oils. Perhaps the faintest of vinous suggestions, but only peripheral at this stage.

Palate

The bourbon cask is leading the charge this time- more vanilla, butter and generally Nice pastries. A line of slightly caramelised maltiness gives us a line to the distillate, while the spices continue with some cinnamon joining in. The sulphury bits are a shadow of the nose with just a trace of something vaguely vegetal in the vein of DMS (dimethyl sulfide) on retronasal. Otherwise there’s a moderate alcohol prickle before some nice oiliness with a somewhat vinous berry fruitiness fading in and out. The sip finishes with hints of oak shavings and white pepper over a subtle earthy rancio. Whew, the wine cask is kindly soft.

Water reduction by around 10% volume further reduces the perceivable sulphur and opens up some more of the spice tones, the balance skewing slightly more in favour of the vanilla and cinnamon compared to the cumin and paprika.

The Dregs

This is a pleasant surprise. It’s not a release that’s going to blow many people’s heads off, and indeed I’m sure some of my Australian compatriots with palates conditioned to old tawnys and 15% Cabernet Sauvignons will complain that the finishing cask is way too subtle. For this taster though, the balance struck is much better than 90% of the red wine casks I’ve sampled, and the oak indeed seems to have done the work rather than the previous fill. I’m not sure this is necessarily a great representation of Inchgower as a distillery, but the overall composition is sound and the feeling of distillate underneath the oak spices was a nice touch. Regardless of the second-fill re-charred cask, I expected the oak to have held enough vinous character to spoil what reads as a relatively gentle distillate. In fairness of the cask, it’s not even a certainty the subtle sulphur notes were cask derived; there may well have been some residual fermentation traits that made their way to the new-make. In any case, a perfectly serviceable release from our friends at the society, and a reminder that our biases should be checked at the door when we pop our corks.

Score: 5/10

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. TK

Other opinions on this:

Whiskybase Trippy Tagine

Whiskybase Mysterious & Ethereal

Got a link to a reliable review? Tell us.