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SMWS releases first single cask Indian whiskies

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has moved into Indian whisky for the first time with the release of two bottlings from a distillery in Goa.

The two Indian whiskies are six-years-old

The members club, which bottles single cask spirits from undisclosed distilleries and names them according to flavour, has launched the ‘Exotic rainforest fruits’ and ‘Lip-smacking and cockle-warming’ expressions.

The whiskies are both six-years-old and have been matured in refill ex-Bourbon casks. The distillery is the 134th to be bottled by SMWS.

Just 174 bottles of ‘Exotic rainforest fruits’, distilled on 28 February 2010, have been drawn from the single cask and sit under SMWS’s Sweet, Fruity & Mellow designated flavour profile.

Only 168 bottles of ‘Lip-smacking and cockle-warming’, distilled on 31 March 2010, have been launched and sit under the society’s Juicy Oak and Vanilla flavour profile.

SMWS calls both six-year-olds “exceptionally rare” due to the rapid maturation of whisky in India’s hot climate, which means Indian whiskies are usually bottled at a younger age.

“Our aim at the society is to search the world for exciting single casks to share with our members,” said Kai Ivalo, director of SMWS.

“These two casks from Goa are perfect examples – it’s fascinating to see how the different climate and faster maturation process there has created such an amazing array of juicy, sweet and spicy flavours.”

Priced at £145 each, the bottles will be available to UK and EU society members via a ballot from 19 October. Other key branches in countries such as Australia and the US will launch bottles later this year.

This summer, SMWS announced plans to branch out into spirits outside of its core Scotch offering. The society has released other spirits for some time, but now offers a greater variety through its Single Cask Spirits collection.

At the start of this year, SMWS unveiled a redesign of its famous green bottle for the first time in nearly a decade and introduced a colour scheme that “defines whisky more by aromas than region”.

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