Category Archives: Whisky Reviews & Tasting Notes

Auchentoshan Three Wood Review

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Auchentoshan Three WoodThree Wood

43% abv

Score:  83.5/100

 

I went into this one with a ‘holy hell, what have we here?’ kinda attitude.  The nose was rich and uber-sweet.  Almost the same kinda tooth-rotting olfactory gleeful anticipation I get each time I stick my beak deep into a glass of bourbon. 

Unfortunately, much like I am let down by most bourbons (sorry, bourbon-lovers…just not my preferred profile), first sips of this one were an immediate grounding.  All the sparkle and shine of atmospheric promise hinted at on the nose fizzled into undeveloped potential.  I can imagine this whisky at 20-25 years of age would be an absolute show-stopper.  As it is in the here-and-now…passing grades, for sure, but at the end of the day…its a middling malt. 

It’s a clean drink, as you’d expect from Auchentoshan  This Lowland distillery is generally reknowned for its use of triple distillation, which results in a light and floral profile.  The sherry here in the Three Wood adds a little more depth of dimension, and slightly tames the almost typically 0ver-light bouyancy so prevalent in most ‘Toshans.  I kinda like that to be honest.  The heft is a good thing.  Of the more ‘entry level’ Auchentoshan range, this is second only to the Valinch.

Call me a cynic, though if you must, but I kinda think there may be a little bit of cosmetic work at play here by the lovely purple tint of very sweet sherry.  It’s amazing what you can enhance when working with good Oloroso and/or PX.  This is just a theory however.  Either way…not a bad dram from Glasgow’s distillery.

Nose:  There’s a lovely sweet cherry top note.  Followed by a lot of spice and some vanilla.  Quite bourbon-ish, in its own way.  Juicy orange.  Think along the lines of vanilla cola meets cherry cola.  Cinnamon hearts.  A little fudge.  Clean and fruity as hell.  Very unexpected nose.

Palate:  Woah!  Not even close to as good as the nose hints at.  Immediately tannic.  Into green grass notes.  Still a lot of sherry here.  Almond/amaretto.  Burnt sugar makes it a little…puckering.   Loses a mark or two based on the attack. 

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Auchentoshan

Amrut Greedy Angels Review

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Amrut Greedy Angelsamrut-greedy-angels-whisky

50% abv

Score:  94/100

 

So…let me tell you a couple of stories to begin with.  Get comfortable.  This will be a long one.  My apologies in advance.

The first of these tales took place many years back, when I was a feisty, snotty little thing still in high school and wrapped up in the early throes of teenage rebellion.  I was taking a creative writing class at the time, and an optional one at that.  A mate of mine and I would sit in the back of the room, lobbing spitballs and sneaking out here and there when we could get away with it.  The thing was…I could get away with it.  The writing came naturally to me; I always turned in my work on time; and the teacher, for whatever reason, liked me.  At one point though, when she asked me to stay after class, I figured I’d finally run her patience into the ground (or she’d finally tied the wasps’ nest of spitballs back to my friend and I).  Not so, however.  Instead she proceeded to tell me I would be getting full marks for the class and that for the rest of the year I could write whatever I wanted.  Effectively a blank cheque, due to her belief that what I was turning in was light years ahead of what she was getting from the others in the class or expected at this level.

I tell you this not in narcissism (indeed I feel very uncomfortable drawing the analogy in public)… but simply to illustrate a point.  The reality is that I’m pretty damn close to awarding Amrut that same blank cheque.  And I don’t feel a damn bit of discomfort at that.  They’ve released expression after expression of such uniformly high quality that I simply don’t expect to encounter a subpar release from the distillery.

Those of you more adept than others at reading between the lines will recognize this for what it is: a disgustingly overt and somewhat gauche bias.  I love Amrut.  This is not unconditional love, however, it’s merely a well-earned ackowledgement of a great distillery at the height of their creative powers.

Moving on…

The second story is much more contemporary.  And topical, I might add.  Several months back, a few mates and I gathered over many a dram of Amrut (and other whiskies too) with Mr. Ashok Chokalingam of Amrut fame.  Ashok is the global ambassador for the brand.  He’s also a really nice guy who I immediately took a shine to, and would now call a friend.  Anyway…over the course of the evening we hit upon the topic of maturation in the unforgiving Indian climate, and the rate of evaporation (or ‘angel’s share’) that Amrut was accustomed to dealing with.  I believe 12% per annum was the figure Ashok mentioned.  One of the guys made a comment to the effect of ‘damn greedy angels’ or something along those lines.  Ashok kind of blanched before pleading with us not to share what he was about to reveal.  He said he had to let us know now, just so we weren’t under the impression a few months down the road that he had cribbed our idea.  He turned his cell phone to us and displayed a mock-up label for a new Amrut expression called…you guessed it…’Greedy Angels’.

Since that day I’ve been dying to get my hands on this, the oldest whisky ever released by one of my favorite distilleries.

Now finally turning to the present…

Just days ago I met Ashok over a couple pints and a quick bite here in Calgary.  He had a little box of  treats for me, and this was just one of the samples he had brought along.

For any of you still hanging in there after my long winded lead-in…let’s get on to the drink…

Greedy Angels was released in late 2012 to celebrate the 60th birthday of the brand’s chairman, Mr. Neel Jagdale.  The 142 (or 144?  I’ve seen different numbers published) bottles produced were all that remained of two full casks mellowing in the sweltering conditions of Bangalore.  An incredible loss, on the one hand, but on the other…an incredible gain for the whisky world in what did remain.

Nose:  It is simply mind-boggling that this is an 8 year old whisky.  If I was told that this was a 30 year old Scotch, I wouldn’t argue.  There are notes in here that simply have no business being picked out of an 8 year old malt.  Mandarin and white pepper.  Quite some dried fruit, very tropical in nature: dried mango, dried pineapple and dried apricot.  A little ginger.  The omnipresent Amrut zestiness and baking spices.  Wow, what a melding of wood and spirit.  Give this one a lot of time.  It deserves it.

Palate:  A lot of orange, pineapple and other tropicals.  Some very drying fruits, not dissimilar to a somewhat tannic fruity tea.  There’s something kinda dark and brooding here too.  Maybe like a thick vein of tart syrupy-ness.  There’s a lot of wood influence, but it has definitely been put to good use.  In fact…I can see the oak being a little too heavy for some drinkers.  Not too heavy for this guy, however.  And interestingly…I can’t get my head around the impression that there is something almost Talisker-like in this palate-profile, though it is certainly more tropical than a mature Talisker.

Now…woe is me, I know, living in Alberta where we have a great whisky market, privatized liquor sales and decent prices, but I’m still gonna bemoan the lack of access to this whisky.  Canada received NO allocation for this one.  I am a massive Amrut fan, and desperately want a bottle of this on my shelf.  If anyone can help me out…I’ll be eternally grateful.

I won’t kick and scream too much here, but I will beg a little…

Ashok…please continue to age some of your Amrut stocks.  We WILL pay the premium for this whisky.  It’s that good.

Job well done, folks.  This is a winner.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Times Whisky Club

The Famous Grouse Review

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The Famous Grouse122

40% abv

Score:  67/100

 

There’s a reason I smuggle a flask into each year’s company Christmas party.  That reason is The Famous Grouse.  And no…that does not mean that I am clandestinely sneaking the Grouse into the event in my coat pocket; it means I am usually discreetly (*) sipping Ardbeg while the ‘scotch n’ soda’ crowd merrily glugs their Grouse.

Honestly.  I can’t drink this stuff.

In my heart of hearts I know it’s not that bad of a blended whisky.  I mean, c’mon…all those bonny Scots cannae be wrong, can they?  Just so we’re all on the same page…please take note that this is the best selling whisky in all of Scotland.  Incredible.  Now…it’s no secret that those of us with some of the blue and white in our blood are…uhhhhh…rather acutely financially aware…but I’d like to think that there is some inherent appreciation out there of the whisky for its own merits and not simply an adoration for the supermarket sales sticker.

I gotta say though…to me…in its simplest deconstruction, this is a bland, generic caramel flavour meeting a bit of malt and a faint touch of smoke.  And y’wanna know why I think it really grates on me?  Simply because I know that this has a backbone built on Macallan and Highland Park (with a hefty helping of Glenturret, among others).  Really?  Really?!  You have Macallan and HP to work with and this is the best you can do, Edrington?  That’s like Brad and Angelina having ugly babies.  In principle, it seems so far-fetched as to be borderline impossible.  Somehow though…exactly that has happened here.  Macallan and Highland Park have had ugly babies.

Nose:  Malt heavy (notes, that is, not actual malt whisky ratio).  Loud grains.  A bucketload of cloying caramel.  A solid whiff of smoke and some floral notes.  Orange peel.  A little like cheap leather and old wood.  I’m sure there’s a bit more in there, but that’s really all you need to know.

Palate:  Lightweight (through low ABV), but still sits too heavily.  Caramel and barley.  Cheap cigar.  Syrup and just an absolute f*ck tonne of sour off-notes.  Shudder.

(*) How discreet can you be really, when a cloud of smoke and peat reek emanates from both your glass and pores?

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Port Charlotte The Peat Project Review

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Port Charlotte The Peat Project176

46% abv

Score:  82.5/100

 

Make up your minds, folks.  Make up your minds. 

I am, incidentally, speaking to the good people at Bruichladdich (whom we really do love here at ATW), who can’t seem to make up their minds just as to the facade their moderately peated line-up should finally settle upon. 

Years back, it started out as Bruichladdich 3D…later morphing into Bruichladdich Peat…further evolving into An Turas Mor..and now, finally, we have The Peat Project coming in under the Port Charlotte moniker.  To be clear: this is NOT the same spirit packaged under different pretenses.  Each of these is a personality in its own right.  Some better than others…none bad…some very good indeed. 

The Peat Project falls sort of middle of the pack in terms of my own personal level of appreciation.  Well made, and beautifully presented (inherently and aesthetically), but a little toothless in relation to some of its contemporary siblings and obsolete ancestors.  This sounds like a rather negative spin, I imagine, but it’s really not meant to be.  It’s more a ‘damned by reputation’ kinda scenario.  I’m almost measuring this one against potential and past successes.  Knowing what the output has been and could be, I can’t help but continue to hold the brand up against high markers.

Either way, do rest assured that this is a safe purchase.  You’re not being fleeced for your pay when laying down for this 40ppm bog juice from arguably Scotland’s most respectable distillery.  The price is more than fair.  The malt…more than fair.

Nose:  Sharp and salty.  Smoking rubber.  Peaty, but not overly so.  Lemon Pledge.  A bit of sea water.  Almost a chlorine note.  Touch buttery (as is most ‘Laddie).  A sweet candy note.  Barley is young and alive.  Too young, actually.  Best way to describe this one: spirity.

Palate:  Man…I would guess this a Kilchoman if tasted blind.  This is a YOUNG whisky.  Smoke (ahhh…but of course).  Quite some tar.  Barley cereal notes.  Neat mix of lime and ginger.

This is far too light for a PC.  Still more than decent, but not up to snuff against the rest of the Port Charlotte releases (including the rather restrained Port Charlotte 10 at 46%)

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

McClelland’s Islay Review

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McClelland’s Islay033

40% abv

Score:  68/100

 

Hi there, Mr. Young-And-Feisty-B**more.  You’re not hiding behind that thin disguise.  We know who you are.  The whole charade is much like an accomplished author writing under a pseudonym in order to publish trashy romance novels on the side

I assume (rightly or wrongly) that the idea behind this whisky, and the others in the McClelland’s line, is to provide an affordable entry level single malt to the market, but one which can be churned out quickly and subject to nearly no scrutiny, due to its lack of any age statement or overt lineage declaration.  Not a bad idea really.  And there’s no denying others have succeeded using a very similar tack.

But here’s where I take exception to what is, in all concession, a rather noble and clever concept:  An entry level malt has to be enjoyable, otherwise it’s not only an ‘entry’, it’s also an ‘exit’.  If any of the expressions in the McClelland’s range were among the gateway malts I tasted as I was cutting my teeth, it’s highly possible I would have turned tail and run for a beer.  No kiddin’.

Put simply:  These are not good whiskies.  They’re actually not even average whiskies, if I’m to be dead honest.  They’re too young…too feinty…probably built from the distillery’s lesser casks not selected for better vattings…and I hate to say it, but poorly put together.

The sad irony with McClelland’s Islay (ignoring the rest of the range for a moment in favor of the one we’re actually reviewing) is that peat usually works very well when young.  That’s simply not the case here.  Again I’ll come back to the top-heavy feinty notes which throw this whisky into an off-kilter weeble.

In my local Canadian market this retails for about $35.  I recommend saving your allowance for an extra week or two and opting for a proper B**more.  Even the entry level B**more 12 year old will more than do the trick.

Nose:  Peat and smoke, of course.  And some farmy aromas.  Yeasty.  Alcohol/vodka notes and an untamed feinty-ness.  Barley and Realemon concentrate.  A candied sugary note…kinda overly sweet.  A little bit of currant and licorice.  Candy apple.

Palate:  Ouch.  Gave me a shiver (and not in the good way).  Like chewing malted barley.  Sharp alcohol bite…very astringent.  Tart (bitter, actually) fruit skins, more citrus and burnt coffee.  Needs many more years of hibernation before this would be properly drinkable.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenfarclas 21 y.o. Review

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Glenfarclas 21 y.o.book club 081

43% abv

Score:  84/100

 

I keep asking myself if I’m missing something with this whisky.  A trusted mate of mine swears by it…I love most of what comes out of Glenfarclas, arguably one of Speyside’s(*) finest distilleries…the age at which this is bottled is a sweet spot for many whiskies…the price is great.  But at the end of the day it hurts me to give this one nothing more then a passing grade.

Credit where credit is due, however, this is a much better ‘noser’ than ‘sipper’.  The nose has some of those shimmering ephemeral qualities I so adore in mature whisky, and some of the individual nuances are a ‘coat-of-many-colors’ brilliant tapestry, coming together to provide a striking whole.  Sadly, it sort of all unravels as it spreads across the tongue.  The arrival is ok, but it quickly fizzles and leaves me almost confused.  Another sip…nope…same thing.  I’m now down to the last dram of the bottle and my impression hasn’t changed in the slightest.  As you can see, I’m nothing if not persistent.  😉  All in the name of good research.

Oh well.  They can’t all be exceptional.  As I said, I love Glenfarclas.  Almost unconditionally.  I’ll simply go elsewhere in the range to get my fill.

Nose:  Milk and white chocolate mousse.  A nice dusting of cinnamon.  Scones, sugar cookies and mild ginger snaps.  A few floral (perfume-y?) notes and fruitcake, heavy in almond paste.  Just an echo of old dunnage warehouse.  Comes together nicely. 

Palate:  For the love of all that Glenfarclas does right, I can’t wrap my head around the 43% here.  Seems far too light a delivery for such an old-school heavy style malt.  Black currant and jam.  Salt toffee.  Kinda malty.  Immediately turns to barley and all the sweetness falls off.  There’s simply nothing left to sweeten up the dry grains.  Not a fan of the finish.  It’s odd (and maybe it’s just me), but much like the recent batches of the 15, it almost seems to hit a fishy note at the back end.  Like a cedar-grilled salmon or something.

(*) Yes, yes…’Highlands’ on the bottle, but  this is from the heart of Speyside.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Ardbeg 1977 Review

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Ardbeg 1977017

46% abv

Score:  94.5/100

 

I had held off in putting pen to paper on this one for quite some time.  A couple of years, in fact.  The simple truth is that those reviews for that small select handful of whiskies that are simply stratospherically better than all others out there are much harder to write up.  Much harder to express in sentiments that won’t come across as nothing more than gushing praise and salivation.

It’s no small secret that Ardbeg is my favourite distillery, and up until recently, when I was able to taste both 1974s from the Ardbeg Double Barrel release, this 1977 was arguably the greatest Ardbeg I’d yet encountered.  That should tell you something as to its inherent quality.  This one was a sort of a ‘where do we go from here?’ type thing.  Once I’ve laid down the word on this one, I had wondered, is everything else a mere shadow?  Maybe something akin to Plato’s forms?  Well…here’s hoping not.  And I like to think the Double Barrel releases from this Hebridean distillery are proof positive that that perfect dram…that holy grail of malt whisky…is as elusive as ever.

A certain whisky writer once opined in his sermons that 1974 and 1977 were special years for Ardbeg.  While I may not agree with everything he says (or even much of it, to be honest) he was dead-on accurate in this case.  Those looking for the snarling ferocity of recent Ardbeg cask strength giants need to approach this one with a completely different mindset, or simply look elsewhere.  This is no Beastie, nor Supernova, nor ferocious ‘Gator.  This is class, elegance and refinement.

Further…this is a sublime example of beautifully aged peat, vibrant fruity notes and almost unfathomably excellent composition.  The balance struck here is simply magic.

Nose: Fruit with cream. Bordering on tropical. Melon…maybe peach. Chocolate. Vanilla and old cinnamon. Distant echoes of peat. Grains are noticeable, but sweet and bearing a faint fields-o’-barley nostalgia. There’s a gorgeous mild paint or rubber latex note here that you only find in well-matured casks.  Cadbury’s chocolate.  Oranges and other sweet orange fruits. Butterscotch. Aged and balanced smoke. Some more citrus.

Palate: Bright, very bright, with an absolutely great mouthfeel.  And oh, man…the fruits!  A lot of orange, and a mix that borders, again, on tropical.  Mild peat and a building wall of smoke.  Some smooth chocolate.  Lingering and delicious.

ABV does it justice, at a respectable 46%, but man…to have this at cask strength…

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

A Couple Of Benromach Single Cask Releases For KWM

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 KWM Exclusive Benromach 2004 & 2005

A few months back, our mate Andrew Ferguson put out a call to a few of the faithful.  He had in hand a few cask samples of younger Benromach, and an eye to picking the next Kensington Wine Market exclusive.  Over the course of an evening’s tasting, the gang came up with not just one winner, but a couple of them that seemed to be a cut above the rest.  In the end, with a little nudging, Andrew opted to purchase both of these casks.  

Can’t say we’re not spoiled here in Calgary. 

Benromach is a Speyside distillery, owned and operated by Gordon & MacPhail.  G&M, in case it is triggering some sort of tickle in the back of your mind, is known first and foremost as one of the industry’s leading independent bottlers.  The acquisition of the Benromach distillery, which had been sitting in a state of suspended animnation for years, took place in 1993.   This distillery is one of the few phoenix acts now risen from the ashes of the rash of distillery closures in 1983.  The first official Benromach releases under G&M arrived in 2004, and despite an output of less than 150,000 litres of new make spirit per annum, the brand is growing.  Might have something to do with the fact that the juice is surprisingly good.

KWM Benromach Casks (2)

So now…let’s have a go at these two single casks Andrew bought…

 

Benromach 2004 Cask #246 Kensington Wine Market ExclusiveBenromach 2004 (2)

60.4% abv     First Fill Bourbon Barrel     9 y.o.     258 Bottles

Nose:  Vanilla cream with a light dusting of cinnamon.  Orange sherbet.  Sweet bread dough.  Caramelized crème brûlée notes.  Faint, but very clean, toasted/smoky note.  Very light fruits.  Maybe pear or melon or something.

Palate:  Now a little barley up front.  Orange again, but with a little lemon too.  A nice soft light fruitiness again is lit up by a slow-building spice.  There’s a quick bit of cocoa at the front, but it’s fleeting.  Very clean, but long, linger.

Thoughts:  One of the more successful young non-peated whiskies I’ve found.  Not far off the recent Auchentoshan Valinch 2011 release in terms of overall profile.  Great cask selection.

Score:  89/100

 

 

Benromach 2005 (2)Benromach 2005 Cask #126 Kensington Wine Market Exclusive

60.4% abv     First Fill Bourbon Barrel     8 y.o.     245 Bottles

Nose:  Lightly peated.  An especially pleasing chocolate top note.  A little bit of BBQ sauce.  Touch of char.  Just a wee little bit of wood and dirt…natural and pleasing.  The peated malt shows through nicely.  Quite smoky.

Palate:  Chocolate covered cherry right up front.  Into peaty earthy notes and farmy grains.  Much smoke.  More oak on this one than its sibling.  A little marmalade, but otherwise not a lot of fruit here.  Having said that…it’s not really missed either.  Wait…a slight (oh so slight) banana note right at the back.

Thoughts:  Says ‘lightly peated’, but there is more of that smoky heft than I thought there would be.  M0re earthy and elemental than the 2004.  Again…a well chosen reaping.  Great age for this one.  Vibrant and young.

Score:  89/100

 

 

Overall thoughts:  Altogether different malts, but about equal in terms of overall quality.  No need to split hairs when it comes to scoring these young Speysiders either.  89 points apiece will do, I think.  The nose on the 2004 is just a touch better, while the palate on the 2005 wins out.  Finally…at just over $80 a bottle…a steal, while they last.

 

– Words & Tasting Notes:  Curt

– Photos:  Andrew Ferguson

Compass Box Flaming Heart Review

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Compass Box Flaming Heart

Limited third edition.  4,186 bottles.  September 2010.

48.9% abv

Score:  89.5/100

 

I wrote up notes for this one a long time back, and either a) the whisky has substantially evolved, b) I was way off on the multiple occasions I tasted and took notes c) I’m now better/worse at what I do.  Either way…there’s not a lot of consistency between what I’m picking up now and what I got out of this one ‘back in the day’.

To be clear…these notes are for the 10th anniversary release of Flaming Heart.  While I’d like to get my hands on another one of this particular edition (sadly…I have none left now), this makes me want to dive into a more recent bottling to see what sort of evolution this one has gone through.

The Compass Box website says this one combines “Highland, Islay and Island single malts, aged in a combination of American and French oak casks, to create a smoky-sweet flavour profile like no other Scottish malt whisky.”  Yep…definitely smoky-sweet.  While I can’t say this one immediately jumps out from the pack as something astonishingly unique, I can say that it absolutely does exemplify high quality and a very profound and intimate understanding of the blender’s craft.  To clarify that statement…this is not a single malt whisky.  Rather, it is a blended malt.  However, I much prefer the old nomenclature of ‘vatted malt’, so in deference to John Glaser’s cheekiness, from here on out I’ll call it a vatted malt, SWA (ahem…primarily Diageo blokes, if rumour holds true…or at least being led by Diageo blokes) be damned.  (Anyway…for a little fun, spend some time reading up on the Compass Box Last Vatted Malt tale.  There’s even a wee video of the actual bottling of the LVM onYoutube.)

Pushing whisky politics aside for a bit (though if any whisky maker has dealt with more than its share of bureacracy it would have to be Compass Box), let’s check out the whisky itself.

Nose:  Just a touch of peach.  Some orange and a hint of pear.  Yes, there’s a bit of peat and smoke, but it’s very clean and crisp.  A slight peppery bite.  Slightly lemon biscuity.  I can still get the malted barley.  The smoke is well checked here.

Palate:  Big orange note.  A fair bit of vanilla.  Some perfume-y notes (very pleasant).  A whiff of smoke.  Nice grain/oak balance.  This is an incredibly smooth easy drinker.

I was off the mark last time.  Thankfully it was unscored notes I published, but wow…humbling.  Again…hats off to John and his team.  Another winner from Compass Box.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Pat Carroll

The Dram Initiative #004 – Scotch Malt Whisky Society

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The Dram Initiative #003 – The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Logo (2)

Event date:  August 20th, 2013

 

I went into this one already a member of the SMWS.  I also went in knowing I liked many of the expressions I had tried so far.  Further…I already had some idea as to how the event would go down.

What I didn’t anticipate going in, however, was just how much I would enjoy this evening.  Honestly.

Earlier this day, as I was preparing for the event, I said something to my wife along the lines of being ‘pretty excited’ about this one.  It’s not often I get to sit down to a flight of malts blindly, in which most (or all) are new to me.  Especially in the context of the DI, where I am always involved in pulling together line-ups for the Collective.  Sometimes it’s nice to be the puppet, and not always the puppetmaster (said with benovolent glee).

This was definitely a night with a few surprises in store. 

019

The SMWS, for those not in the know, is the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, a private whisky club whose members get exclusive rights to buy the society’s bottles, first crack at attending society events, a killer start-up kit and, if abroad…may visit the infamous UK clubhouses (hitting The Vaults is on my whisky ‘to-do’ list).

The Society is home-based out of the UK, and boasts a tasting panel responsible for selecting and bottling single casks from 129 different single malt distilleries, nearly a dozen grain distilleries and others such as Armagnacs, rums and more.  Each release is numbered and cleverly (read: abstractly) named, but the distillery itself is never mentioned on the bottle itself.  Tack on some rather…errrr…over the top tasting notes, and…voila!  The rationale here is that the whiskies should speak for themselves, and not allow any preconceptions to cloud the judgment of the buyer.  Fair ‘nough.

A couple of years back, friends of ours, Rob and Kelly Carpenter, took the plunge and committed to launching the Canadian arm of the SMWS right here in Calgary.  After some intial hurdles were bested (procurement of rights, set-up of agency, retail outlet confirmation, etc) the society launched to a rather phenomenal public embrace.  In year two now, membership numbers simply keep growing.  All you have to do is hit up one of the First Friday tastings to see why.

046

I had approached Rob and Kelly many months back about coming out and sharing a bit about the SMWS (and maybe a dram or eight of their sexy single malts).  I figured that the Society’s novel approach, utterly unique take on whisky culture and high test presentation perfectly aligned with the Dram Initiative’s ethos of independence and strength…quality and curiosity. 

There’s also one other simple factor here at play which shouldn’t be overlooked.  Inside, we’re all like kids.  We like surprise and mystery. 

Kelly, being the enthusiast that she is, immediately committed to an evening with the club.  We settled on a date and the rest is now (a week later) a piece of DI lore. 

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 The reception to both the Society and the whiskies was much better than even I could have anticipated.   I figured we’d have a few keeners who would get right behind what the SMWS was, and I’m happy to say this was exactly the case.

The laughs throughout the evening came easily, both in relation to the names of some of the bottles and, even moreso, in relation to Rob and Kelly’s experiences and presentation itself.   Now laughs are one thing, but an appreciation and an admission to quality is another.  Interestingly enough…one member commented that it was his favorite flight of whiskies we’ve tried since the very first event.   Considering some of the malts we’ve tried to date, that is saying something.

Several left the hall speaking of joining, and i know at least one committed on the spot.  Neat stuff.

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Extra special thanks to Rob and Kelly, who did an excellent job in pulling together a fun and informative tasting.  There were a couple of neat twists to the selections…some age…some youth…a variety of cask influences and some neat tales to go along with them.  I think the members really enjoyed this one.  Scratch that. I know the members enjoyed this one.

Now…what say we have a closer peek at the whiskies themselves?  In keeping with the club’s ideology, I’ll refrain from naming distilleries here.  Have a read…

 

5.35 “Laundry In The Bakery”

54.7% abv          12 y.o.            2nd fill hogshead, ex-bourbon          Outturn:  195 bottles

Nose:  Some light bread-like, mildly spiced baking notes.  Orange and peach.  Cinnamon.  Apple.  Sorta ‘flour-y’.  Hot cross buns.  Some floral notes.  Orange creamsicle.

Palate:  Peppery.  Cinnamon.  Some very clean oak.  Almost a ‘toasted’ note here.  Sweet fruit gum.

Thoughts:  Very light.  Very clean.  Very drinkable.  I immediately knew the distillery, but was way off on age.  This seems older than a 12 year old whisky.

 

48.31 “Honey & Flowers In A Knicker Drawer”

53.1% abv          23 y.o.          2nd fill sherry butt          Outturn:  262 bottles

Nose:  Some paint.  Peanuts and pencil shavings.  Florals and yeasty dough.  Strawberry and creamy caramel.  A fair bit of chocolate.

Palate:  Good cocoa.  Somewhat tannic.  Neat honey nougat notes, similar to the hard bits in Toblerone bars.  Slightly smoky (clean wood smoke).

Thoughts:  Very nice drink, serves up at a perfect age for this profile.  Would happily sit down to a bottle of this with mates.

 

G2.2 “A Vaudeville Act”

53.6% abv          35 y.o.          Refill barrel          Outturn:  139 bottles

Nose:  Wow.  Odd one here.  Like an aged rum almost.  Caramel corn.  Dust.  Paint/glue.  Hint of cherry.  Marshmallow.  Very bourbon-ish.  Slightly smoky.  Strange nose at first, but it definitely grew on me.

Palate:  Sweet bourbon flavours.  Bold oak and big fruity notes.  Vanilla.  This tastes like a bourbon aged in a rum cask.

Thoughts:  This one kicked a bit at first, but after a few minutes in the glass, some of those more surprising notes dissipated and left a rather sassy drink.  I know a couple of people around me names this older grain whisky as their favorite of the night.

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35.75 “Victorian Walled Garden In Las Vegas”

57.9% abv          17 y.o.          Designer hogshead, toasted and seasoned          Outturn:  206 bottles

Nose:  Dark caramel and cherry.  Some sharp ‘green’ vegetal notes and barley.  Cinnamon hearts.  Again…sorta bourbon-ish.  Big spice profile.  Tobacco.  Grassy.  Smells of a good toffee/fudge/chocolate shop (I’m thinking of those in Banff, Alberta right now).

Palate:  Chocolate.  Marmalade.  Chilis.  Zesty and fizzy.  Bourbon-like here too.

Thoughts:  Some very interesting individual nuances that coalesced nicely.  Still not sure what a ‘designer hogshead, toasted and seasoned’ is, but hey…it works. 

 

71.37 “As assignation In A Boudoir”

57.9% abv          14 y.o.          Refill sherry gorda          Outturn:  699 bottles

Nose:  Creamy.  Milky caramels and toffee.  Maybe akin to the softer Werther’s.  Freshly churned butter.  Vanilla.  Some sulphur for sure.

Palate:  Chocolate.  Sulphur.  Tannins.  Green apple and plum skins.  Some prune or fig.  Dandelion-like bitterness.  Maybe a bit of leather.

Thoughts:  Somewhat polarizing dram, this.  The sulphur was the dividing factor here.  A little water added took those ‘struck match’ notes down a notch, but never really got rid of ’em.  I took a little exception to this one, but I think any of the others were quite keen.

 

3.188 “The Camping Trip”

58.8% abv          14 y.o.          Refill sherry butt          Outturn:  616 bottles

Nose:  Farmy notes.  Dark moist soil.  Rubber and charcoal.  Wet rock.  Smoke, peat and iodine.  Still quite some vibrant barley notes.  Chocolate.  Burnt marshmallow.  Wet leather.  Very salty smelling.

Palate:  Dirt and dust.  Bitter chocolate.  Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Salt licorice.  Burnt rubber.  Sweet and tangy peat and rich sweet smoke.

Thoughts:  Awwww, yeah!  Here we go.  A few eyes in the room lit up over this one.  Mine included.  I’m with Kelly on some of these peat and sherry sweet monsters.  Hell yeah!

 

3.189 “Echoes Of Bonfires & Funfairs”

58.4% abv          14 y.o.          Refill sherry butt          Outturn:  607 bottles

Nose:  Sweet and spicy.  Stewed tomato.  Sunflower seed.  Salted grapefruit.  Peat and smoke.  Prickly greens.  Seafood-y.  Some dark fruits, but rather unrecognizable.

Palate:  Chocolate.  Smoke.  Citrus.  Some raisin.  A bit of Granny Smith apple tartness.  Sharp and iodine-rich.  Quite farmy.

Thoughts:  Sister caks to the one above.  Fun little bit of compare and contrast here.  Very different, but equally enjoyable.  These two are the kind of drams to sit down with when you have unlimited time and no interruptions.

 

129.2 “Humbugs In A Horse’s Nose-Bag”

61.6% abv          4 y.o.          1st Fill barrel, ex-bourbon          Outturn:  250 bottles

Nose:  Young.  I know this distillery.  I know it well.  Soem neat vanilla notes not tempered by the fiery young peat.  White pepper.  Smoke.  New leather.  Big notes of cola with fresh-squeezed lemon or lime.

Palate:  Licorice.  Smoked orange and burnt lemon rind.  A little more fruit here.  Hay and leather.  Green apple.  Seet peats.

Thoughts:  This and the first were easy ones to peg.  The others…not so much.  The youngest malt of the night was also my favorite.  There may not be sophistication here yet from Islay’s youngest distillery, but there sure as hell is quality.  Loved this one.

 

Thanks again, to Rob and Kelly, for coming out and spend a great evening with us.  Cheers!

For those that may be interested, see Andrew Ferguson at Kensington Wine Market, or visit the SMWS Canada site.

Until next…

 

– Words & Tasting Notes:  Curt

– Photos:  Curt