Tartan Cask

There may be nothing under the kilt, but in this cask, there’s peated whisky, warm bread, and castle smoke. SARAH BAKER Tartan Cask is an extract of the Scottish Highlands that isn't afraid to smell rough, warm, and a little naughty.

Peated whisky, heather, and fresh bread open the composition smokily, florally, and yeastily. Toasted hops add a bitter, grainy texture, like a brewery in the cool mountain air.

Sarah McCartney guides the scene from the open highlands to the safety of a stone castle. Cedar, tobacco, and worn leather create a room where wet clothes and gear have been left by the fire.

On the skin, smoke, moss, and labdanum cling to Buddha wood. The whisky becomes less alcoholic and more peaty; the bread remains as a warm, slightly toasted background.

If you want a sweet, boozy gourmand or a polished leather perfume, Tartan Cask will be too smoky and rustic for you. The moss and hops deliberately evoke the impression of clothes that have been through the wet highlands.

In the dry down, a glass of whisky by the fireplace, a piece of bread on a leather bench, and smoke in the tartan remain—the answer to what a Scotsman wears under his kilt is still not decent.