HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM SMWS

A squeeze of lemon landed on strawberries and cream. The nose was fresh, a hint of cut grass garnishing vanilla custard and sliced kiwi. Lemon curd arrived first on the palate, thick enough to bend a spoon, spiced with sweet nutmeg and cardamom, and followed by charred coconut soaked in ginger extract. Water gave raspberry jelly on the nose, formed in an old brass mould, with a serving of custard tarts, crème caramel and a delicate floral musk of jasmine. The finish offered a delicious contrast in bitter orange marmalade, dalgona coffee, sandalwood and violet.

In an oiled cedarwood rowing boat, we drifted over the loch, dipping digestive biscuits and caramel wafers into the molten chocolate. Rose petals fluttered in the breeze, landing on a feeder stream of sticky Pedro Ximénez sherry, as candied hazelnuts and watermelon sweets bobbed in our wake. Arriving at rhubarb crumble island, we pulled up on a beach of hazelnut spread. With a little water, toasted almonds and coconut macaroons tumbled down a hill, bouncing off hibiscus and tangy orange trees. Finding a fine picnic spot, the Panel opened flasks of green tea and snacked on cinder toffee and milk chocolate buttons. After spending 18 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, this was transferred to a first-fill American oak PX hogshead for the remainder of its maturation

We were swept into a whirlwind of poached pears and sticky apple laces, cloaked in the sweet embrace of clover honey and minty eucalyptus. Cinnamon buns and chocolate-dipped bananas spun alongside jammy dodgers and whispers of tobacco, each twirl richer than the last. The palate pirouetted with chocolate limes, mango softness and a delightful demerara sugar kick. Water slowed the ride to roasted peach and marzipan, while raspberry jam clung to coconut-scented suntan lotion and creamy custard. Notes of bourbon and allspice eddied with hazelnut-spread on pancakes, ending on a smooth, orangey, candied lemon finish dusted with cask char and fennel seeds.

The detonation of Dundee cake and brandy butter left a varnished cabinet coated with toasted almonds, golden sultanas, raisins and treacle. Then came a tropical aftershock. Peaches, apricots, dried cranberries and salted toffee flew in all directions. Quince paste and coconut cream then melted into marzipan and toasted oak. With water, the shock wave hit poached pears, passion fruit and figs, each one ricocheting off chocolate swiss rolls and mango pudding. With some ripe papaya and jam biscuits we quickly found ourselves disarmed, but ready for a finish of red apples, menthol and the sweet fragrance of honeysuckle.