The Clydeside 7 Years Old 2018 (SMWS 167.1)

The Clydeside Distillery, on the River Clyde in Glasgow, opened in 2017 in the old Pumphouse at the Queen's Dock, the family project of Tim Morrison of the Morrison whisky family. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society bottles single casks under a number rather than a name, and 167 is its code for Clydeside; this cask, 167.1, is the first the Society has drawn from the distillery, given the tasting panel title Well-fired and mouthwatering.

Distilled in 2018 from Scottish barley and Loch Katrine water in the distillery's single pair of copper stills, the spirit spent seven years in ex-Bourbon oak. The Society bottles its casks at full natural strength without filtration, here 61.2 percent, with an outturn of 257 bottles. The bourbon wood adds vanilla while the fresh, fruity distillery character leads.

At cask strength it is powerful and bright, green apple, pear and citrus over vanilla, toasted malt and a touch of pastry, with a warm, peppery and fruity finish. A first Society cask from Glasgow's Clydeside, and a vivid young Lowland single malt. The Society's fanciful titles stand in for tasting notes, and this one captures the toasted, fruity character of young Clydeside in plain bourbon wood.