Whisky and techno
I think it’s safe to say that Scotch whisky has rarely, if ever, intersected with the Techno music scene but they do say there’s first time for everything and I’m about to review a dram that must surely represent the first meeting point between these two worlds.
The Slam Dram is a blended Scotch released to mark 25 years of Glasgow record label Soma Recordings. Soma was founded in 1991 by Dave Clarke and DJ duo Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle – better known as Slam. For a quarter of a century, they have released a seemingly endless selection of forward-thinking electronic music whilst simultaneously running club events in their home town as well as taking the Soma sound all over the world.
Soma has become part of the very fabric of Glasgow nightlife and as a local, it’s hard to imagine my life over the last decade or so without them. When my wife and I first met, we spent many a weekend at Soma parties and who knows where we’d be now without the shared experiences of those fun, if hazy, nights. By a rather bizarre coincidence, the Slam Dram is now retailing at the Good Spirits Co which occupies the site of the old 23rd Precinct record shop where I used to buy tickets for Soma parties all those years ago.
On the face of it, it must seem a little odd for a techno label to mark an anniversary with a bottle of Scotch but Soma have been building up to this with the release of both Rum and Gin in the last 12 months. Whether or not this bottling would appeal to anyone beyond what I imagine to be a relatively small section of Soma fandom willing to spend £85 on a bottle remains to be seen, although it does come with decent provenance.
The Slam Dram has been put together by the Creative Whisky Company, mentioned previously in my review last year of the ‘Exclusive Blend 1980‘. That was a blend of exceptional character, so when it became apparent that the Slam Dram had come from the same stable, I knew I would be in for a treat. This is no gimmick. It’s a serious 25 year old blend and it’s bottled at 46% for a fuller flavour.
Smell: Rich and complex with buttery shortbread, vanilla, custard creams and butterscotch.
Taste: Caramel, toffee and honeycomb with creamy vanilla and some chocolate notes. Changes and evolves with time in the glass.
Thoughts: £85 may seem a lot of money to spend on a single bottle but when the contents are 25 years in the making it’s probably quite reasonable. A wee note re: packaging though, the Gin and Rum expressions that Soma released featured a label with specially commissioned artwork whereas here they’ve opted for a text-based, clear plastic wraparound that to be honest, looks a little bit cheap up close. It’s whats inside that counts, but the other bottles looked much nicer.
It may be an oddity from some fantasy land where whisky and techno hang out together, but it’s also a damn fine dram that more than justifies its price.
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For more on the Creative Whisky Company…
