Arran Robert Burns Single Malt Gift Pack
$49.99
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 134.1
$394.99
EXOTIC RAINFOREST FRUITS
ONLY SIX BOTTLES AVAILABLE
This 6 year old from Goa, India came from a refill ex-bourbon barrel and has an abv of 57.9%.
Flavour profile: Sweet, fruity & mellow
Distilled on: 28 February 2010
Outturn: 174 bottles
Old Malt Cask Miltonduff 20 Year
$163.59
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 42.30
$119.99
CHIMNEY SWEEP'S ROMANTIC BBQ
This 9 year old Highland Islander was matured in a refill hogshead and comes in at 60.6%
Flavour profile: Peated
Outturn: 228 bottles
Panel's tasting note: "A dynamic nose, containing sharp fruits (pear, pineapple, sherbet lemons, tinned fruit cocktail), ferns by a rocky waterfall, smoked shellfish and a musket fired up a chimney. The palate had intense, youthful spirit and smoke; also pear ice-lolly, toffee apple, butterscotch, muscovado and bacon Frazzles, then charred logs, wasabi and pickled ginger to finish. The reduced nose conjured up a romantic barbecue with a chimney sweep – lobster, scallops, sweet smoke, snuffed out vanilla candles and hints of Mosel wine. The reduced palate remained voluptuously viscous, bursting with sweet peat smoke, chocolate pralines and liquorice; young and feisty, but totally enjoyable."
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 9.119
$177.74
TASTY AND REWARDING
This 24 year old Speysider comes in at 48.9%; after 23 years in ex-bourbon wood it was tranferred to a 1st fill red wine hogshead.
Flavour profile: Light & delicate.
Outturn: 185 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "The nose gave us toffee, caramel and brown sugar, tinned pears, cinnamon swirls, glazed apple cake and plum flan, with suggestions of prawn cocktail crisps. The palate was tasty and rewarding – Cadbury’s chocolate fudge, dry roasted nuts and amontillado sherry, with clove, chili and burnt wood on the finish. The nose became more delicate with water – oiled wood, apple pie, peach melba and ginger snaps. The palate developed plum jam, Jaffa cakes, vanilla wafers and honeycomb; understated savoury and spicy notes tucked behind – subtle and easy-drinking. After 23 years in ex-bourbon wood we transferred this to a first-fill red wine hogshead."
Glen Grant Collection 1950-1955
$20,500.00
This set of 6 vintage Glen Grants, one each from 1950 through 1955, is a beautiful and very limited collection. The whiskies are aged between 57 and 61 years. Only 75 sets have been released worldwide. The sets are roughly 25% cheaper than the cost of purchasing each of the vintages individually.
From the Producer
"Three hundred and fifty-three years of liquid history unveiled in Gordon & MacPhail’s Glen Grant Collection
Leading malt whisky specialist, Gordon & MacPhail, has launched an exclusive collection which focuses on six consecutive years from a single distillery. The limited-edition Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant Collection offers consumers the opportunity to explore six rare and exquisite expressions from the historic Speyside distillery with a vintage selected for each year between 1950 and 1955.
"Since the founding of the business, Gordon & MacPhail has sent casks to distilleries throughout Scotland to be filled with new make spirit, before being matured under the custodianship of generations of the Urquhart family. Developing relationships with distilleries across Scotland throughout the company’s history, the whiskies in Gordon & MacPhail’s Glen Grant Collection are uniquely labelled using the original distillery labels.
"Featured in the collection are two award winning whiskies. The Rare Vintage Glen Grant 1954 won a double gold award at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2017 and a gold medal in the International Spirits Challenge 2017. The Rare Vintage Glen Grant 1952 was recognised by Jim Murray in 2017 with the accolade for Single Malt 41 Years & Over (Multiple Casks)."
Macallan Classic Cut
$141.99
The 2017 Macallan Classic Cut is the first of what is expected to be an annual series of vintage releases. Bottled at 58.4% this high proof (is it cask strength?) Macallan has been matured in Oloroso sherry seasoned American and European oak casks. We are not sure how much is coming to Canada, but given that there are just 90,000 bottles being released worldwide, I can't imagine it is a lot.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: bacon infused dark chocolate, leather straps and Christmas cake; Heather Honey, fresh sliced California oranges, grapefruit and ginger bitters, newly cut cedar planks.
Palate: more bacon infused dark chocolate, maple fudge, Christmas cake and more fresh sliced orange; the grapefruit and ginger bitters are still there with some clove and candied fennel; leathery notes of oloroso sherry and musty dunnage warehouse notes.
Finish: long, rich, nutty and sweet; more drying oloroso sherry and maple fudge; dark spices and firm leather.
Comment: big, rich and sherried; lots of fruit, spices and chocolate; a big, bold and firm malt that doesn't lack finesse.
Distiller's Tasting Note
Nose: Creamy vanilla custard, sweet ginger and fresh sweet oak.
Palate: Caramel, hints of orange zest and a warming nutmeg spice.
Finish: Satisfyingly long, with a warming oak and a sweet mouth coating.
From the Producer
"Introducing The Macallan Classic Cut, 2017 release; the first in a new series of annual releases created to celebrate The Macallan’s extraordinary character and unrivalled commitment to the mastery of wood and spirit. Matured exclusively in hand-picked exceptional oak casks seasoned with Oloroso sherry from Jerez, Spain, this unique Macallan single malt has been bottled to perfectly unlock its unique flavour profile. The result is an indulgent single malt whisky with a sweet and spicy character.
Bowmore Vintners Manzanilla 18 Year
$349.99
It takes a big spirit to stand up to the influence of an ex-Manzanilla sherry cask. The strangely salty character of the sherry is quite a rare find in the malt whisky world and that may have something to do with needing the right sort of distillate to pair up with. And Bowmore, by nature, has a few different personalities of its own. When it's light and floral it's...well...not always my cup of tea (errr...whisky), but when it's big and bold and firing on all cylinders, it is unquestionably one of the world's great malts. Fortunately for us, the good folks at Bowmore put some pretty hearty juice up against this loud style of sherry. This 18 yo special release from the Vintners Trilogy is a heck of a cool dram. It spent 13 years in ex-bourbon, before being re-racked in the aforementioned sherry butt.
We nabbed what we could, but sadly, all good things must come to an end. We're down to the last couple of bottles of this one.
52.5% abv, natural color and not chill-filtered.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Treacle, spiced Seville oranges, ripe blackcurrants, salted caramel and subtle menthol and chamomile
Palate: Burst of peat smoke and bitter Seville oranges
Finish: Dry and long lasting
Bowmore Vintners Old Wine 26 Year
$589.99
A mariage of Bourbon and French Oak Wine barriques, bottled at 48.7% as a part of the Bowmore Vintner's Trilogy.
89pts ScotchWhisky.com
Nose: Big, wooded, with autumnal leaf mulch and a mix of dark chocolate, black cherry and, to start with, wood embers. Then it seems as if the act of inhaling has brought the peat fire back to life. The embers glow, smoke (and flame) returns. There’s now a decidedly maritime edge to things, with treacley phenols. The fruits bully their way through, more concentrated now, with a red and black mix: blackberry and hawthorn jam, rosehip syrup. There’s also a hit of meatiness. It’s complex and slightly wood-driven, but also much smokier than you expect from a Bowmore of this age. Water brings out mossier elements and char.
Palate: When neat, it’s very rich, thick and liquorous, with mature wood notes, with smoke running through the length of the palate. There’s some leather and then, on the back palate, a light grip, sootiness and the mixed fruits seen on the nose. While water initially softens and sweetens things, in time there’s more acidity and tannin coming into play, which just slightly knocks the overall balance. The wood certainly shows more of itself as it develops – but I’m being super picky.
Finish: Ashes and then fresh fruit, more wood and ash. Conclusion Aged for 13 years in ex-Bourbon, then the same time in red wine barriques, this is Bowmore at its boldest, but with signs on the finish that it is (or was) moving into the third stage of its evolution.