Scotch Malt Whisky Society 29.226
$284.99
SEASIDE SURPRISE
From Islay, this 18 year old was matured in a refill butt and is 56.8%
Flavour profile: Peated
Outturn: 420 bottles
Panel's tasting note: "We were sweetly welcomed by freshly baked apple and sultana crumble, dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg and covered with butterscotch sauce. Then the heady notes of Tokaji dessert wine integrated with nut brittle and the marzipan of battenberg cake to produce a most irresistible concoction. A medicinal note entered from the sidelines like pungent camphor smeared onto staves of new oak. Water released a profusion of salmon-smoking, lobster-cracking, driftwood-gathering maritime antics, all with a great abundance of fresh seaweed. The texture was oily and viscous like melted butter in preparation for frying sweet shallots. A harmonious finish carried a flinty and mineralic edge with sweet smoke and sticky tar on seaside wood."
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.109
$129.99
'WESTERING HOME'
From Islay, this 8 year old is 60.9% after maturing in a refill barrel
Flavour profile: Peated
Outturn: 210 bottles
Panel's tasting note: "The nose, though subtle, nevertheless suggested mainly masculine images – a died out bothy fire, or that apposite cliché of an old-time sailor on a rope-strewn deck, dressed in old woollens, sou’wester and oilskins; hands on a polished wheel. The palate delivered intense smoke, scorched wood, tongue-numbing spices (curry powder, cinnamon, ginger) and some toffee sweetness. On the reduced nose, the ship had come to shore – beach bonfire barbecue cooking mackerel, rock-pools and perfumed sweets. The palate now found some sea salt, lavender and lemon – the raw masculine smoke much more appropriately balanced by satisfying sweetness – now actually quite easy-drinking."
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 28.33
$116.99
TEMPTATION TO THE DARK SIDE
This 8 year old from the Southern Highlands comes in at 60.4% after maturing in a refill butt
Flavour profile: Deep, rich & dried fruits
Outturn: 637 bottles
Panel's tasting note: "The nose offered us chocolate and orange biscuits, orange muscat and marmalade, sherry-soaked trifle sponge and roasted chestnut kernels, with an intriguing hint of Barbour jackets. The palate was big and intense – singed wood, currants and now the shells of the roasted chestnuts – also crystallized orange, leather and maybe duck a l’orange. The reduced nose brought Pedro Ximenez sherry, cough mixture and a burning hay-barn before turning back to marmalade and suggestions of vanilla. The palate was now rich, sweet and very dark – molasses, aniseed, figs and dates, with some tobacco, camphor and teriyaki beef on the finish; umbrageous, ebonized and fuliginous."
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 4.231
$167.99
HARBOURSIDE TAKE-AWAY
This 12 year old Highland Islander comes in at 58.6% after maturing in a refill hogshead.
Flavour profile: Oily & coastal.
Outturn: 301 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "The nose – we were enjoying Chinese sweet and sour pork by an Orkney harbour – dried seaweed, ferry boats, heather and vanilla ice-cream in the air. The palate started sweet but quickly became bold, salty and tongue-tingling – tarry ropes, tangy apple sauce, very dark chocolate and hints of smoke. On the reduced nose we were still on the harbour but the catch was landed and the tide out – barnacle-encrusted boats, fish boxes and Sou’westers – also some lemon and salt. The reduced palate combined lavender, heather and honey with liquorice, roasted chestnuts and Arbroath Smokies (a delicious local smoked haddock specialty)."
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 44.81
$134.29
MAXIMUM MELODY
After 13 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead, this 14 year old Speysider was transferred to a virgin oak hogshead for the remainder of its maturation and comes in at 58%.
Flavour profile: Sweet & spicy.
Outturn: 260 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "Burlap sacks lay about in a seemingly random order. Some contained perfumed dried flowers such as rose, lavender, jasmine and carnation. Others were filled with spicy cinnamon, nutmeg and also dried coconut and sweet vanilla. We were convinced there was also a heavy amount of incense and fragrant soap present. We noticed wooden barrels containing sticky toffee, figs in syrup and delicious cocoa powder. There were many fruits - sultanas, lemons, mango and papaya to name but a few. A sweet aroma wafted by from a stall selling very boozy trifle, pear and raisin crumble and cherry pie with vanilla ice cream drizzled with maple syrup. The heady combination of flavours created a harmonious marriage that was easy on the senses and music to the nose. After 13 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead this was transferred to a virgin oak hogshead for the remainder of its maturation."
Celebration of the Cask Clynelish 1997
$279.99
Kilkerran 8 Year Cask Strength 55.7%
$84.99
The November 2017 bottling of Kilkerran 8 Year Cask Strength, the second release as far as we are aware, recently landed in Alberta. Bottled at 55.7%, the whisky was made from lightly peated malt at the Glengyle Distillery and matured in 100% Ex-Bourbon oak.
Andrew’s Tasting Note
Nose: candied orange, cantaloupe and waxed pears; liquid honey and juice malt; a touch of clean peat smoke and salty maritime tones.
Palate: sweet, honeyed and creamy with soft fruits and rapidly building smoke; oily, gentle and coating for 55%+; more orange, pear and cantaloupe; some building tar, leather and spices with firmer peat and smoke than the nose let on.
Finish: medium in length, coating and creamy; fading fruits, salt, leather, smoke and spices.
Comment: this is the kind of malt that sucks you in on the nose and then thumps over the head on the palate; big and layered for an 8 year; bold but not sharp!
Asta Morris Benrinnes 2006
$154.99
Asta Morris Glenburgie 1999
$214.99
Distilled in 1999 and bottled in 2017 after finishing in PX Sherry. 51.1%.