The most restrained cask in the SMWS June 2026 Outturn won. Of the four we ranked, the one with the lightest sherry touch, a second-fill refill oloroso, walked past the heavyweight first-fill PX and oloroso bottles to take top spot. That is a useful reminder that more sherry is not always more whisky.
The June 2026 outturn from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society runs to eight new single casks, and this month they share a theme: every one of them leans on sherry in some form. The point the Society is making is that sherry influence is a dial, not a switch. These eight casks run from a barely-there refill oloroso whisper up to a full-term first-fill oloroso butt.
We tasted four of the eight and ranked them, ahead of release. The other four we left in the glass for a future sitting. Here is how it went.
What is an SMWS outturn?
If you are new to the Society, a little context.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, founded in Leith in 1983, is an independent bottler and whisky club that releases a new batch of single cask, cask strength whiskies every month. That monthly batch is called the outturn. Everything is bottled at full strength, non-chill filtered and at natural colour, and nothing carries a distillery name on the label.
Instead, each bottle gets a code and a name. The code looks like 115.40: the number before the dot is the distillery (the Society has bottled from more than 180 of them), and the number after the dot is the cask in sequence from that distillery. The name, like “Sporrans in Seville,” comes from the Society’s tasting panel. Since late 2025 each bottle also carries one of eight colour-coded flavour profiles, from Fragrant & Floral through to Bold & Peaty. Four of those profiles appear in this outturn.
The four we ranked
1. Cask No. 115.40, “Mysterious refill thrills” Sweet & Zesty
The surprise of the session. This is a 10-year-old Speyside that spent seven years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before a spell in a second-fill oloroso hogshead. Second fill is the key word: the sherry here is a seasoning, not a sauce, which is exactly why it sits in the Sweet & Zesty camp rather than with the dark, brooding ones.
115.40 tasting note
Nose: bright orange oil, soft raisin, a dusting of cocoa, beeswax, a faint curl of pipe tobacco
Palate: candied peel, milk chocolate, dried fig, a pleasant herbal bitterness like an amaro, gentle clove
Finish: medium-long, drying, peel and a whisper of cedar
ABV: 61.0% | Cask: ex-bourbon then 2nd fill oloroso hogshead
Age: 10 years | Region: Speyside
At 61% it carries its strength lightly, and a few drops of water push the citrus forward without flattening it. The lightest sherry hand in the outturn, and the most fun.
2. Cask No. 113.78, “Sporrans in Seville” Dried Fruits & Spices
The oldest and strongest of our four: a 15-year-old Speyside at a hefty 63.3%, finished in a first-fill PX-seasoned barrique after twelve years in ex-bourbon. Pedro Ximénez is the sweetest of the sherry styles, and you feel it.
113.78 tasting note
Nose: black cherry, dark muscovado sugar, espresso, old leather, a tarry edge underneath
Palate: big and chewy at full strength: molasses, stewed plum, cocoa nib, strawberry jam pushing through the oak
Finish: long, leather and dark chocolate, tannic
ABV: 63.3% | Cask: ex-bourbon then 1st fill PX-seasoned barrique Age: 15 years | Region: Speyside
This one genuinely needs water. Neat it is a wall of PX and oak; reduced, it opens into something layered and properly rich. The most classic sherry bomb of the line-up.
3. Cask No. 41.188, “Jambon-beurre” Dried Fruits & Spices
The most approachable of the four neat, thanks to the lowest strength on our table at 55.1%. A 13-year-old Speyside built from two ex-bourbon hogsheads married at nine years and then moved into a first-fill European oak PX butt.
41.188 tasting note
Nose: dates, fig roll, sultana, walnut, a savoury umami edge
Palate: plum, soy-savoury depth, star anise, dark fruit chutney
Finish: medium, dried fruit with a touch of camphor
ABV: 55.1% | Cask: ex-bourbon then 1st fill European oak PX butt Age: 13 years | Region: Speyside
If you want a sherried SMWS you can enjoy without reaching for the water jug, this is the one. The savoury, almost cured-meat edge is what nudges it ahead of the bottle below.
4. Cask No. 8.56, “Eau d’archive” Dried Fruits & Spices
The most divisive dram of the four, and the only one matured full-term in a single first-fill oloroso butt rather than finished. That gives it a dry, savoury, slightly austere character that some of us loved and others found a bit serious.
8.56 tasting note
Nose: dry and savoury: leather, walnut shell, strong black tea, a waxed-paper note
Palate: raisin, treacle, burnt toast crust, a mineral, ink-like dryness
Finish: drying and tannic, with a red-ale bitterness
ABV: 58.9% | Cask: 1st fill oloroso butt (full maturation) | Age: 10 years | Region: Speyside
There is nothing wrong with it. It is a well-made, dry oloroso style with real character. It just lacked the easy charm of the other three on the day, which is why it finished fourth for us. Drinkers who like their sherry dry and savoury rather than sweet should bump it up the list.
How the four ranked drams compare
| Info | 115.40 Mysterious refill thrills | 113.78 Sporrans in Seville | 41.188 Jambon-beurre | 8.56 Eau d’archive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profile | Sweet & Zesty | Dried Fruits & Spices | Dried Fruits & Spices | Dried Fruits & Spices |
| Region | Speyside | Speyside | Speyside | Speyside |
| Age | 10 yrs | 15 yrs | 13 yrs | 10 yrs |
| ABV | 61.0% | 63.3% | 55.1% | 58.9% |
| Sherry cask | 2nd fill oloroso (finish) | 1st fill PX barrique (finish) | 1st fill Euro oak PX butt (finish) | 1st fill oloroso butt (full) |
| Character | Light, zesty, citrus-led | Dark, sweet PX bomb | Savoury, dates, easy neat | Dry, savoury, austere |
| Best for | Easy summer sipping | Sherry-bomb lover | Sherry without the water jug | Dry oloroso fan |
The four we did not taste
The other half of the outturn we left for another day. Briefly, so you know what else is in this batch.
Cask No. 72.129, “Sip sherry in a cigar smokeasy” (Dried Fruits & Spices) is an 11-year-old Speyside from two married ex-bourbon hogsheads finished in a first-fill Spanish oak butt, bottled at 58.1%.
Cask No. 19.109, “Tropical fruit cream cake” (Ripe Fruits & Honey) is the outlier of the outturn: a 14-year-old Highland finished in a second-fill STR PX-seasoned barrique, and the only bottle that leans fruity rather than sherried, at 53.4%.
The two Bold & Peaty bottles share a distillery code, which means they come from the same Islay producer. Cask No. 53.514, “Anna has the bridge” is a 13-year-old finished in a first-fill American oak oloroso hogshead at 58.4%. Cask No. 53.524, “Fair winds and following seas” is a 12-year-old finished in a first-fill Spanish oak PX (Montilla) butt at 56.0%. Peat plus sherry is reliably good fun, and these were the two we most regretted not getting to properly.
Availability
SMWS bottlings are single cask, so quantities are small and sold to Society members through the monthly outturn. Once a cask sells out it is gone, so the bottles that get talked up tend to move quickly. If you want a specific cask from this batch, be ready when the outturn goes live.
What to buy
If you buy one bottle from this outturn, make it 115.40: the lightest sherry touch, the most summer-appropriate and, for our table, the most enjoyable. It is the proof that a well-judged refill cask can beat a rack of first-fill heavyweights.
If you want the full dark-sherry experience, 113.78 is the sherry bomb, but budget time and water for it. If you want a sherried dram that drinks easily neat, 41.188 is the pick. And if peat-plus-sherry is your thing, the two Islay 53s are the gamble worth taking.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SMWS June 2026 Outturn? It is the June 2026 batch of single cask, cask strength whiskies from The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. It contains eight sherry-influenced single malts, ranging from a light second-fill refill oloroso to a full-term first-fill oloroso butt, spanning four flavour profiles from Sweet & Zesty to Bold & Peaty.
Which June 2026 SMWS bottle was the favourite? Cask No. 115.40, “Mysterious refill thrills.” It was our top pick of the four we tasted: a zesty, citrus-led 10-year-old Speyside with a light second-fill oloroso influence, bottled at 61.0%. It beat the heavier first-fill PX and oloroso casks, proving restraint can outscore intensity.
What flavour profiles are in the June 2026 outturn? Four of the Society’s eight profiles appear. Six bottles fall under Dried Fruits & Spices or Sweet & Zesty, one Highland sits in Ripe Fruits & Honey, and two Islay casks are Bold & Peaty. Every bottle leans on sherry, from a light refill touch to full first-fill maturation.
How do SMWS bottle codes work? Each SMWS bottle carries a code such as 115.40. The number before the dot identifies the distillery, which the Society keeps hidden and has bottled from over 180 of them. The number after the dot is the cask in sequence from that distillery. Every bottle also gets a panel-given name and a flavour profile.
Are SMWS whiskies cask strength? Yes. Every SMWS bottling is single cask, cask strength, non-chill filtered and natural colour. In this outturn the strengths range from 53.4% up to 63.3% ABV, so most reward a few drops of water to open them up.
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