Nantou 6 Year Old 2017 SMWS Single 2nd Fill Charred Barrel 138.26 Top Banana Taiwanese Single Malt Whisky (2025) 70cl
1 of 192 bottles produced from a single charred barrel
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was founded in Edinburgh in 1983 by Phillip 'Pip' Hills who, while travelling around Scotland in the 1970s, fell in love with whiskies drawn straight from the cask. After he expanded his syndicate the Society was purchased by Glenmorangie PLC in 2004. In 2015, the Society was sold back to private investors. In June 2021, the private owners floated the holding company The Artisanal Spirits Company plc on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.
It has a unique code system where the first number refers to the distillery and the second refers to the cask from which the bottle comes. SMWS also offers the largest range of distilleries of any independent bottler. These curiously named drams really do have something for every whisky lover!
The SMWS are one of the Britain's most revered independent bottlers with a worldwide network of partner bars with one mission of getting as much whisky at natural cask strength without water to different nations including USA, Canada, Switzerland, UK, Austria, Germany and many others.
TASTING NOTES
A heavenly mix of dried cherries, nuts and berries mingled with fragrant bergamot, rose petals and pipe tobacco. It wasn't long before banana fritters arrived in a crispy batter, served with tangy green apples and a fresh fennel salad. As an accompaniment, a small glass of fine armagnac was just the ticket. Adding water placed the ripe bananas centre stage, amid an arrangement of tropical delights that included mangoes, lychees and eucalyptus leaves on coconut rice. Smashed banana was then mixed with creamy butter before being spread on brown toast, with a little coconut milk and a few hazelnuts, and served on a stave of charred oak.
About Nantou
Situated in Nantou Hsien, Taiwan, Nantou Distillery was founded by the Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation, a Taiwan State-owned manufacturer of tobacco and alcohol, in 1978. However, it wasn’t until 2008 that it produced its first whisky. Before 2010, the mash, wort and wash were made in a nearby brewery which Nantou stopped using when it installed its own German mash tun and washbacks (with a 15,000 litres capacity) in the distillery. The fermentation run typically lasts around 60 to 72 hours, before the spirit is transferred into the appropriate pot stills. Nantou currently has four stills, manufactured by Forsyths of Rothes in Speyside, and was installed in the distillery with varying capacities. One is able to distil 7,000 litres, two are able to distil 5,000 litres each and the final still is able to distil 2,000 litres. The on-site racked warehouse is capable of storing 4,500 bourbon casks & sherry casks, which can hold from 180 to 225 litres. The humid and hot climate of Taiwan means that the Angels‘ Share is about 5% per year. A fresh underground water supply is used to reduce the strength of all whisky produced at Nantou. The Omar brand is distilled at Nantou and currently features both a bourbon and sherry edition, which form the core of the Omar range.
56.9% ABV
70cl
