Category Archives: Whisky Reviews & Tasting Notes

Alberta Premium Dark Horse Review

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Alberta Premium Dark Horse

45% abv

Score:  85.5/100

 

Nothing like being fashionably late to the party, huh?

I should have covered this one a while back now, but alas…circumstances cropped up that prevented that from happening.  Namely, that I’m a dunce and in all that was going on missed the release date on this one.  I had the whisky in hand…I’d tried it…but I knew I had to keep ‘mum’ until release date.  Then…promptly forgot about release date.

Sigh.  Apologies to any interested.

Anyway…this is an exciting whisky for me.  First and foremost, it is a release from a distillery with a stellar track record.  Second, said distillery is based right here in the neighbourhood.  Third, this distillery, Alberta Distillers, does not play with innovation for the broader market.  This whisky is blazing a brand new trail.  My friends at ADL…well done.  Not only recognized, but appreciated.

Dark Horse is said to be a mix of 6 and 12 year old rye (100% rye, I might add).  Added to this, yes…added…is about 8% bourbon and a bit of sherry for good measure.  Now…for our friends not so in the loop with Canadian Whisky regulations who are undoubtedly asking ‘what the fuck?’ right now…well…put simply…Canadian whisky can legally have just over 9% additives to the spirit and still be marketed as Canadian Whisky.  Swallow your incredulity and just enjoy.

On the nose:  Big, big fruits (dark red jam-like fruits) and cracked pepper.  A touch of dill up front that seems a little odd in concept, but actually works quite well (others have said pickles…including a roomful at a recent Canadian Whisky tasting I attended).  Oak.  This really is a mishmash of rye spiciness and bourbon sweetness.  Floral notes collide with vanilla and cinnamon.  Sweet and lovely, but somewhat…contrived.  Not in a bad way, I just mean that it has a sort of odd unprecedented quality to it that makes me think of some crazy fun time in the blending lab.

Dusty corns and faux fruits hit the palate first, overpowering the grains, woods and spice that follow.  Super sweet and kinda waxy.  Very bourbon-ish, to be honest.  Apple peel on finish.  Keeps me reaching for more.

I’m still not 100% (maybe 95%?) won over by this one, as I was with the previous ADL releases, but the odd thing is…the level in my bottle keeps dropping.  Let’s blame it on my desire to share and let others try.  Sure…that’s it.

And yes…I will be buying another bottle.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Alberta Premium Review

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Alberta Premium

40% abv

 Score:  88.5/100

 

Alberta Distillers.  Calgary’s secret little gem nestled in the gorgeous heart of…Ogden industrial park.  Ummm…yeah.  Ok, so maybe we don’t have quite the austere beauty surrounding our amazing little distillery that many of the big producers in Scotland have, but let’s dismiss the concept of terroir for now, and simply appreciate the contents of the cask.

Award winners, and in recent days finally embracing a little bit of innovation with their exceptional product, Alberta Distillers Limited, or ADL as they are colloquially known, have become sort of ‘darlings’ of late in the whisky world.  Rightly so.  This is damn good stuff, and it warms my heart to know that we’re producing something so exceptional in our own backyard.

The distillery’s true claim to fame is in producing one of the world’s very few 100% pure rye whiskies.  Rye, just so we’re clear, is known as a grain extremely difficult to work with.  The yield is generally not as high as other mashes and it is apparently sticky as hell, gumming up the works and causing no end of headaches.

The distillery’s flagship expression, Alberta Premium, is a young (5 year, give or take) 100% rye, full of character and pristine in its clean lines and sharp profile.  This spirit that works so well at 5 years truly spins itself into liquid gold at later ages, as evinced by limited edition releases of 25 and 30 year olds, already long sold out.

The nose is all rich spice, smooth vanilla and sweet caramel.  Rye, of course, but light and familiar.  Not heavy and brooding like a dark German rye.  Dry dusty popcorn (no butter…no salt).  Lemon Pledge, rock hard crunchy berry.  This whisky is sleek, seductive, sexy and elegant.  It’s like silk pajamas on silk sheets.  If you’re a malter who loves your beefy Scottish fare, be prepared for something entirely new.  Candian whisky is something sweeter…deep in spice…light and confident enough to let the grains really sing.

The delivery is effortlessly smooth.  Creamy and mouth-coating.  Buttermilk silkiness threaded with toffee, vanilla and sweet fruit.  Caramel apple.  Clean spicy rye.  Exceptionally drinkable.  My only real complaint here is a rather short finish.  Otherwise…not a hitch to be found.

If this wasn’t enough to seduce, how does ~$20-25 a bottle sound?

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Ardbeg Serendipity Review

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Ardbeg Serendipity

40% abv

Score:  90/100

 

‘A happy accident’, I’ve read.  Or something along those lines.  The cynic in me sides with the sceptical masses on this one.  ‘Accident’?  Really?  Come now.  Please explain to me how an Ardbeg accidentally gets married with a Glen Moray.

And that is just what this dram is said to be comprised of.  20% 12 year old Glen Moray and 80% older Ardbeg (supposed age varies depending on which source you read).

Sigh.  Clever marketing aside…what have we here?

Nose:  Syrupy fruits (think canned pears or fruit cocktail with cherry), bubblegum and dinner buns.  Odd combination, to be sure, but the notes are all mild and unassuming.  It works well.  A touch of tame white pepper and salted lemon too.  This is a creamy dram, rich in sweet vanilla syrup.  Is there peat or smoke typical of an Ardbeg?  Undoubtedly.  But I’ll be damned if I can detect more than a faint whiff.  Lighter even, I’d think, than the recent Blasda.  Think old ’70s lightly peated Ardbeg.

The palate is equally smooth and light.  Sort of boasts an almost refreshing character.  Light white fruit and yeasty, doughy notes are well met by a vanilla woodiness fading into gristy barley notes.  Drying and slightly tart.  While not as delightful as the nose, the palate is still a charmer.  I do have to say…the nose is awesome!

Serendipity is definitely primarily Ardbeg at heart.  I can only imagine that the Glen Moray adds a vibrancy to the fruits (and likely some more ooomph to the vanilla influence through newer, more active, casks), but I’d be doing nothing more than speculating as to the true rationale for this marriage.

So…let’s just say this…

It is a vatting (a blended malt, if you will) with a clever gimmick and syrupy sweet name that seriously, seriously does what it was meant to do.  Try it if you can find it.  And…any out there who know where I can find a bottle…please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenrothes 1975 Limited Release Review

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Glenrothes 1975 Limited Release

43% abv

Score:  89.5/100

 

Ok. Tackling one more ’70s vintage Glenrothes release here.  1975 this time.  These Limited Release expressions are quite delicious as a rule, and this ‘ere is no exception.  Not my favorite, I’ll concede, but a lovely well-made dram nevertheless.

By no means the sherry bomb one might expect in a whisky from this distillery, I can only speculate that this would have been a lovely fiery dram if it had been bottled at cask strength.  To my dying day I will never understand the rationale to bottle an older malt at anything less than natural cask strength.  Stretching your stocks is understandable in terms of profit concerns, but seriously…jack your prices a little and give us this malt at a higher strength, please and thank you.

Anyway…

A fine nose here.  Old and mature latex notes, telling the tale of seasons spent mellowing away in the cask are front and center.  A fantastic fruity melange follows, built of layers of cherry and raspberry, and then an orange tang.  A smooth and creamy vanilla cake-like lightness, not necessarily too far off from notes of crème caramel or toffee pudding as well.

Old latex notes again (not a bad thing!) and faux sour cherry hit the tongue first.  From here the malt kinda bitters a bit.  A pleasant pungent earthiness too.  The nose would have scored it higher, but it kinda hits some sharper bitter notes on the palate that kept me honest in terms of scoring.  Still a great drink though.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenrothes John Ramsay Review

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Glenrothes John Ramsay

46.7% abv

Score:  90.5/100

 

To celebrate his pending retirement, Glenrothes’ ‘Malt Master’ (what does one have to do to earn a title like that?!) john Ramsay put together this rather special vatting of sherried single malt.  A range of casks dating between 1973 and 1987 were selected as special vintage, married together and re-racked into sherry butts for a further period of integration.  Two of these butts were then vatted, with an output of 1400 bottles, to make up the Glenrothes John Ramsay Legacy.

Going out on your own terms is something very few of us ever get the opportunity to do in life.  To go out on your own terms and have your swan song be something like this?  Not bad, John.  Not bad at all, sir.

A lovely nose.  As to be expected from a distillery famous for its sherried drams, the primaries here are…well…very typical sherry characteristics.  Sweet and tangy, dark fruit and spice.  Citrus zest (somewhere between orange and grapefruit), French vanilla cream, faded potpourri, sage, eucalyptus and some lovely ‘inexplicable’ fruits.

The palate is tannic and drying with flavours of wine gums and a warming spiciness (clove and ginger, methinks).  On into an almost tangerine note and further into the spices.  There is a creamy sweetness here too that I can only compare to adding honey to tea.  Imagine a spoonful of honey that has only half melted off into the hot liquid before you pull it out and taste the warm sweet melt on your tongue.  A very downhome old school licorice-ness to it as well.  Long and lingering.

I’d love to sip this one late one snowy eve by the fireplace.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenrothes 1978 Review

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Glenrothes 1978

43% abv

Score:  90.5/100

 

Another great ’70s Glenrothes release.  This time from my birth year.  (Please keep all snarky comments to yourself, thank you very much).

With the ‘Rothes producing upwards of five and a half million litres annually, only a small portion of their distillate actually ends up in either one of their ‘vintage’ releases (i.e. with a year on it) or more likely, in their ‘Select Reserve’ entry level malt.  It is reassuring to note that once you move away from their blend fodder, or this rather mundane entry level whisky into some of the older vintages, you will find some real gems.

Here’s just such a one.

Aromas of raspberry jam and the best of Christmas cakes.  Fruits and fruits and more fresh fruits.  Big vanillins and a bit of caramel courtesy of cask-leeching.  Restrained honey and cinnamon stick, soft nuts, artificial cherry.  Quite a marriage.  Familiar and comfortable.

Sweet, fruity mouth-watering delivery.  Slightly wine-ish, with some nice spice dustings.  Again…jammy.  Dries into nice mellow oaky notes and fresh apple.

A lot of good things came out of 1978.  Just saying.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Glenrothes 1972 Limited Release Review

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Glenrothes 1972 Limited Release

43% abv

Score:  91.5/100

 

The ’70s are generally regarding as the true apex of whisky making.  Malts from this age have a certain something that is intangibly fantastic.  The flavour profiles, while not consistent from distillery to distillery, are very specific to this era.  These whiskies scoop awards, command hefty sums and stun the palates of those fortunate enough to partake.

Glenrothes, on the other hand, is not a distillery that I hold dear.  Not bad, by any means (‘bad’ being an adjective I reserve for very few drams), but ‘underwhelming’ would perhaps be the most choice work to describe.  It’s that terrible Catch-22 type situation, where the best of the distillery’s malts are old and rare, but of course the distillery needs to turn bottles at a younger vintage in order to maintain cash flow.  And obviously…to attract a younger or more cash-conscious demographic.  Let’s be realistic; not everyone can afford three figure bottles.

In this lovely old limited release 1972:  Dusty and old jams n’ jellies.  Spicy oak notes, empty cigar boxes and honey nougat (the stuff of Toblerone).  Fruits are primarily of the dehydrated and dessicated sort…mainly dried apricot.  After it sat a bit, I got the faintest coal notes.

The palate is mixed dried fruit, but primarily prune and apricot.  Cloves and wet wood.  Takes us into granny smith apple territory towards the end.  Mature and lovely.  Great depth and flavors that bend and transform over time on the palate.

One of the best ‘Rothes I’ve tried.  …So far.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Aberlour 10 y.o. Review

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Aberlour 10 y.o.

40% abv

Score:  84.5/100

 

Wow.  How does a whisky this good sneak under the radar at $30-35 a bottle?  Truly astounding.  While not a stunner by any means,  when one considers the alternatives in this price range, this is really quite a find.

Relativity is key to many things in life.  This whisky is one.  In its own way, it is nearly as astounding as the a’bunadh (which, of course, I am a fan of).  The 10 year old is a beautifully balanced sherried Speysider, full of character and individuality.

So…let this fine young Aberlour be a lesson to the snob in all of us.  Though I generally do not shop based on age statement, price point or region…I will confess to never having found a whisky this good in this price point.  And for this very reason, I simply stopped looking.  Many moons ago, for one of our club gatherings, one of the lads had a few dollars of his whisky budget remaining and saw this on the shelf.  We’d yet to have a go at it so he nabbed it blindly and threw it out to the rest of us.  The reception to such a young and unassuming malt was quite incredible.  At least three in my immediate dramming circles have been swayed to keeping this as one of their ‘house’ bottles for daily dramming.

Nose:  Fresh baking cookies, rich in vanilla and cinnamon.  Light spiced rum.  Possibly some walnut.  Orange rind and dried apricot and sultana.  Nice balance.  Nothing too out of character yet, but the potential for greatness is already showing its face (i.e. Give this another 8 or 10 years in oak and bottle at natural strength…wow!)

Palate:  Doesn’t diverge much from the nose.  Dried fruits, sweet sherry and slightly syrupy, even at this rather neutered abv.  Still somewhat fruity, with a smooth vanilla richness.  Typically, it fades into sodden woody notes and wine-like tartness.  Not bad at all.

Great entry level malt for anyone reluctant to take on the buckings of peat or the added price point of some of the older, more storied malts.  At this price…highly recommended.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

GlenDronach 12 y.o. Review

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GlenDronach 12 y.o.

43% abv

Score:  84/100

 

Re-tasted and Re-evaluated.

Try as I might, I can not love this whisky.  I first reviewed it a couple of years back, and after having dipped my beak into the fantastic 15 year and other older variants, I began to second guess my earlier appraisal of this 12 year old.  I went at it completely independently of my previous marks and scores.  Interestingly enough, with absolutely no idea as to how I had initially broken down my scoring, I differentiated in only one place (the nose), and by a mere half point.

In an attempt to allow this bad boy to sparkle a bit, I threw together a bit of an informal horizontal tasting.  Four 12 year old sherried malts from the Highlands/Speyside regions went head to head.  The results were…unspectacular.  All good.  None exceptional.  Though I figured this may come out on top…it actually ranked in the bottom.  Sorry…ain’t gonna tell what the others were.

GlenDronach is a Highland Distillery of some esteem, and rightfully so.  Founded in 1826, they have been producing fine whisky for just shy of 200 years.  In recent times (2008) GlenDronach has been taken over by BenRiach.  The tradition of crafting bold sherried scotch whisky has not flagged in the least.

And while this is bold, it’s by no means beastly. 

Nose:  There seems to be a slight imbalance here, in that the barley is still singing over all else.  I would hope for a little more restraint on those cereal notes by 12 years.  It’s not unpleasant, just…not quite there yet.  Rum-soaked fruitcake notes (the usual spiel with sherries malts…figs and raisin, etc), some orange, chocolate dustings and pencil shavings.  Some toasted marshmallow creaminess too.  Though not bad, it sounds more pleasant than it is, if I’m to be honest.

Palate:  Barley, sherry (grape/wine) and sweet citrus are primary flavours on the palate as well, dipping and dodging the oak notes.  The arrival is firm, if unexceptional, before it moves on into drier fruits and a lingering oak whimper at the end.

If not for a bit too much cereal roughness (which is long ironed out by the 15 year expression) this would score higher.

Enjoyable, but a little disappointing.

Now…let’s go back to the beginning, in referencing the 15 (and other releases as well).  Though I can’t say the 12 y.o. does much for me, everything from the 15 year mark and on is really, really worthwhile.  GlenDronach, along with sister distillery Benriach, has some of the greatest old stores around.  Hit up some of those exceptional single casks if you can.  Those from the ’70s, in particular.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Macallan Cask Strength Review

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Macallan Cask Strength

59.3% abv

Score:  89.5/100

 

Let’s not delve into the comparison conversations that always crop up regarding the young cask strength sherry bombs.  They’ve been tackled rather relentlessly to date, and I’m sure that at this point most drinkers and drammers have sworn their allegiance to one or the other.  Or the other.  Whatever.

There’s simply no two ways about it.  This Macallan holds its own and stands on its own two feet, needing no competition as a measuring stick to assert its value.  This is a damn good malt.  Overpowered and bursting at the seams with flavor, this is a whisky for snowy winter eves and late summer nights.  Fortunately…we have stunning examples of both in Western Canada, so there is no shortage of excuses to tip the bottle.  Not that I ever need an excuse to justify indulgence in that aural beauty of the pop of a cork from a bottle of single malt.

First things first…extra points for the absolutely sparkling clean Oloroso.  Love ’em or hate ’em, you have to concede that Macallan get some truly pristine sherry casks to work with.  The inherent perks in having direct linkages to their own bodegas in Spain, I suppose.

Snug in that nest of comforting sherry are deep dark vanilla, toffee and chewy dried fruits.  Fresh fruits, by way of black cherry and concorde grapes.  The nose alone sets my mouth to watering, with its heavy array of branch-bending juicy tree fruits.  Darker nuances like chocolate and shredded tobacco as well.

The palate is chewy and rich in spicy sherry notes of rum-soaked fruit, citrus and vanilla extract.  Some sort of caramel/toffee warmth and cocoa meet pleasant oaky charm.

One of my favorite Macallan’s, to be certain, and a good go-to when it is one of those ‘sweet tooth’ evenings.  This Macallan, I believe, was bottled for Canada (or maybe North America…can’t remember exactly what I had heard), and sadly is to become obsolete if rumours are to be believed.  Snatch up a bottle or three while you can.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt