Smogen is as artisanal as it comes - its a one-man distillery where its founder Pär Caldenby literally does everything himself. Every distillery says their whiskies are small batch, by which they mean something to the tune of 1,000 odd bottles being produced. Well, Smogen is the real deal, with each bottling almost as good as a single cask or if not just a small handful of casks. After all, it's limited by the shed it inhabits. But from this small distillery comes a great reputation - everyone who's tried it swears by it. And y'know what they say, where there's smoke, there's peated whisky. And in this case, it appears to be pretty damn good whisky.

Now whiskies from up north don't get nearly as much attention as they deserve. They tend to be operated by and large by really passionate individuals, and seem to truly embrace this idea of being incredibly hands on in ensuring that they are able to get the craft right and produce an incredible spirit. It's thus not unusual to hear of Nordic whiskymakers being a sort of lone wolf in a shed or warehouse just plugging away, seemingly almost completely disinterested in anything beyond the walls of their makeshift distillery. As such, it's simply not the case that these are typically whisky distilleries that aspire to some sort of shooting star, uber commercially successful, globally distributed, big billboards sort of shenanigan. They tend to prefer to let their whiskies do the talking, yet that all then relies on whether you're able to even get your hands on them.

The iconic and scenic Swedish island of Smogen.

In all my encounters, I've thus far been pretty impressed if not deeply intrigued by the whiskies coming out of the Nordics, and I certainly have great appreciation for their commitment to the craft - and so today, it's about time we talk about Smogen.

Smogen, or more properly Smögen, was established in 2009 by then lawyer Pär Caldenby, and was named after the nearby iconic picturesque fishing village in Skagerrak - the one with the colourful storehouses you've probably seen on National Geographic. Caldenby was by all accounts a hardcore whisky enthusiast for much longer of course, and even authored the book Enjoying Malt Whisky. And thus when he had gotten Smogen up and running in a warehouse on the Ståleröd farm near Hunnebostrand (Sotenäs municipality), along the west coast of Sweden near Gothenburg, his goal was to produce some proper quality whiskies that would give Sweden representation on the whisky world map. Over the past decade plus he's done just that, being amongst the first to produce a proper Swedish Single Malt Whisky "with great character and sea-related influences", and has gone on to achieve much acclaim.

Pär Caldenby. (Image Source: High Fern Blog)

And so in pursuit of that, Caldenby essentially designed the entire distillery himself, and has worked the stills every single day each year (save for Christmas and New Years - but cut the man some slack won't you?), which all works out to a capacity of just 35,000L, which he mentions never being able to fully hit, and works out to be about 70-75 casks in total - I did caveat that with Smogen it's the real deal when they say small batch, didn't I?

The mashtuns and washbacks were all retrofitted using former dairy tanks, with the whisky stills and spirit safe ordered from Forsyths. Smogen's set up even includes a copper worm tub sourced from Portugal, which has all been assembled quite compactly and efficiently to rely on gravity. In his first year of production, that is 2010, he had only filled 26 casks! It's also worth noting that production capacity has been left unchanged since Smogen started.

Smogen Distillery.

Nevertheless what always wows folks is Caldenby's meticulousness and strong production philosophy. In his efforts to create an Islay style whisky that's distillate driven, whilst also emphasising the use of Sherry casks, he's fully explored (with just the little playground that he has even!) every aspect of how each step in the whiskymaking process affects the final outcome.

For example he mentions that the barley used gets far too little attention, and as such has explored the use of various imported Scottish barley varietals from Optic, Concerto, Laureate and Golden Promise - his conclusion is that the specific variety used plays a bigger than accepted role in shaping the whisky. Yet as historic varieties cost twice as much and yields substantially less than modern commercial varieties, this poses a challenge to improving whisky quality across the board. Caldenby has even taken it upon himself to examine the effects of various malting methods from historic Saladin boxes to modern GKV vessels, which he again confirms that even with the same exact barley, the phenol content achieved from the two methods could not be more different. Other experiments include the studying of floor malting and the use of local peat and local barley, as well as various methods of mashing, fermentation lengths and rate of distillation.

For Caldenby, good whisky starts with good spirit, which means in no uncertain terms that what comes off the still must already be good, without any reliance on the cask to improve its quality.

"The focus is on high quality in small batches, with completely manual production and direct monitoring. Although we will gladly use entirely local raw materials, this endeavor will be subordinate to the quality aspects."

It's clear that for Caldenby, quality reigns supreme, an ethos that is not quite so common these days. And with that, Caldenby sets about in pursuit of creating intensely flavours whiskies that combine heavy peat, long fermentation, worm tubs and highly active barrels, because "changing the aforementioned parameters could result in a more mellow or even more bland spirit, but why do that?" And that's how Caldenby rolls.

And so with all that said, let's give Smogen's iconic 100 Proof a taste. Let's go!

Whisky Review: Smogen 100 Proof, 6 Years Old

Tasting Notes

Colour: Deep Amber, Mahogany

Aroma: Deeply honeyed with freshly sliced pomme fruit, fresh pineapple and a bonfire smokiness. The initial aromas are very honey forward, somewhat dense, intermingled with instances of floral fragrance like dried lavender buds and dried heather stalks. On subsequent nosings, the aromas become more fruit forward, reading of sliced, juicy fresh fruits, such as apples, pears, ripened pineapples and a little bit of apricot. Picking out the floral, fruity aromas, there is a subtle, deep woodiness that comes through, like new rosewood or cedarwood boards. Throughout the nosing, there is a peaty, smokey backbone behind all the aromas, which started out reminiscent of bonfire smoke and after sitting for a while, shifts towards burnt floral incense, potpourri and smoked dried flowers.

Taste: Refreshingly sweet and fruity on the initial taste. There is much fresh fruit on the palate, such as sliced red apples, pears, apricots, and a slight tropical tang of underripe pineapple. After the initial wave of sweetness, there is a brightness in the form of lemon zest and lemon juice, before giving way to greener, stalkier wheat flavours of cooked oat porridge, wheat flakes, and dry wholewheat crackers. There is a smokiness on the palate as well, reminiscent of charred oak and burnt ends.

Finish: The finish is denser in aromas and flavours - mostly reading of camphor, smoked wood chips, and heavily roasted wheat grains on the aromas; and on the palate, dark chocolate (upwards of 85% cacao content) and heavily toasted wholemeal bread. There is a slight floral dustiness long into the finish, akin to chewing on dried chrysanthemum flowers or dried calendula buds. 

My Thoughts 

For me, this whisky pictures that of a campfire right by the forest's edge, overlooking a flower meadow! There is much freshness and floral sweetness on the aromas, tastefully propped up by a solid, unwavering but inoffensive smokiness that accentuates an almost fresh, juicy character. I was quite surprised at how zesty and bright the whisky was on the palate - you still get the fruits and floral notes that was promised on the nosing, yet the whisky freshens up on the palate with lemony, almost citric flavours; which in turn, highlights that maltier, smokier flavours to come. I do personally like that grassy, dry element that this whisky has as well as it sits and changes on subsequent sips.

Overall, a very solid whisky, with a particularly charming floral and sweet aroma!

@vernoncelli