Review #818 - SMWS 85.100 'Thunder Chops' - Glen Elgin 13 Year
In April of 2026, we had the opportunity to attend the monthly outturn tasting for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society's USA chapter in Indianapolis, Indiana. These sessions generally consist of the blind tasting of 6 different whiskies which will be released in the given month, and the bottles are revealed after discussion of tasting notes and distillery guesses have been made. This April 2026 tasting had a sherry cask theme - all of the whiskies involved were either matured or finished in Oloroso or Pedro Ximenez sherry. This is 1 of 6 reviews from this month's outturn.
Glen Elgin, when matured or finished in sherry casks, is one of our favorites to buy from SMWS - we think it's a bit of a sleeper, very underrated. The naturally fruity spirit latches on very well to a strong sherry or wine influence, and these bottles tend to be bold flavor bombs, which is right up our alley. Because of that, we're liking the specs on this bottle before we even taste it.
This Glen Elgin single cask has a total age of 13 year; the first 10 of those years were spent in a classic SMWS ex-bourbon hogshead, but then this whisky was moved into an 'ex-bodega' barrique, one that previously was used to age PX sherry. As opposed to the more common sherry 'seasoned' casks, which are made specifically for the whisky industry (whisky has vastly outpaced the growth of the sherry industry), this ex-bodega cask was actually used in a sherry solera system to age several generations of sherry. Generally, these are much older casks, and they're hard to get and highly prized.
While the older oak used is probably a bit more tired because it imparted flavor and tannins into several batches of sherry wine, these bodega casks also have an intense sherry influence because of the long time spent interacting with wine; therefore, we might see a bit less oak spice (or vanilla-like flavors in the case of American oak), but we could see even stronger dark fruit flavors than in a typical sherry-matured whisky.
SMWS 85.100 'Thunder Chops' - Glen Elgin 13 Year
Scotland/Speyside - Single Malt
Price: USD 150 (2026)
Age Statement: 13 Years
Strength: 57.2% ABV
Cask Makeup: Ex-bourbon hogshead, finished in a first fill ex-Bodega Pedro Ximenez sherry barrique
Details: Not chill filtered, no color added; distilled April 26, 2011; 252 bottles
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed blind 1 time. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Rich and intense - both spicy and sweet. Plums, rich old oak, a bit musky at times; lots of dark fruits in general, but we also find brown sugar. This presents as a bit older than we would have guessed at 13 years of age.
Palate: Spicy and slightly tart with orange rind, but rich fruits dominate: raisin, cranberry, grape, and strong cherry pie with sugary crust. A classic heavily-sherried profile, quite dark and intense.
Finish: Wood spice builds, but it's offset by rich stewed fruits, especially raisins. Like the palate, this has a classic sherry bomb lingering finish.
Final Note: The bodega PX cask did the heavy lifting here, adding a ton of dark fruits and some mild spices. The other sherry-influenced whiskies so far in this SMWS tasting had leaned into lighter, brighter, sweeter flavors, but this Glen Elgin takes it all the way back to the dark, brooding, sherry monster profile. This is rich and punchy, and we love it for that - excellent whisky.
$150 feels a little bit expensive for a 13 year old Glen Elgin, but this bottle packs a ton of flavor, so we actually give it a good value rating. This bottle shows why we love sherry cask Glen Elgin so much, and why we continue to buy them from the Society, even without the chance to taste them first.
Our Rating: 8.5 / 10
In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.
Value Rating: 6.40
About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.
Check out our other Glen Elgin reviews:
Review #754 - Cadenhead's Glen Elgin-Glenlivet 12 Year
Review #676 - SMWS 85.96 'Walking the Verdant Vines' - Glen Elgin 12 Year
Review #675 - SMWS 85.97 'Walking the Cool Bodegas' - Glen Elgin 12 Year
Review #337 - SMWS 85.70 'A Spaniard In Here Lurks' - Glen Elgin 15 Year
