Wemyss Cacao Geyser Single Cask Scotch Review (2015)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: B+

One of the problems with covering the single cask releases from Wemyss is that they have become so popular that I can’t keep up. I chose and review one of the samples Wemyss Malts sends to me within a day or two of receiving it, and put it on our editorial schedule for the week after. By then, the whisky in question is probably sold out. I’m sure no one at Wemyss Malts is complaining.

An example of why is Cacao Geyser, a bottling of a 1998-distilled Bowmore (making it a 17 year old), aged in a sherry cask and yielding 737 bottles at 46% abv.

The Scotch
The sherry cask aging really comes across in the appearance of this whisky, since it looks like a middle aged bourbon. It has the scintillating, middling amber that comes on bourbons that are just old enough and not too strong, which is quite dark for a Scotch.

Strongly aromatic, this stuff lives up to its name with an earthy, leathery chocolate scent. Add the spice notes, and what you walk away with is something like the scent of being in a Oaxaca chocolate shop. The flavor comes across as more balanced, combining that earthy, pepper and ginger seasoned chocolate with dried, dark fruits on the one hand and tobacco and ash. Even if the cacao doesn’t dominate the palate, it’s certainly big and bold enough to be a geyser.

With those flavors, the finish is something one can work out and expect: a tingly, warm afterglow marked by a slightly ashy aftertaste. It lasts for a few minutes before rapidly winding down.

The Price
When you could get it, Wemyss Cacao Geyser went for €95.