Scotch Malt Whisky Society 7.200
$250.74
SASSY LASSIE IN A LEATHER SKIRT
This 25 year old Speysider is 54.8% after maturing in a refill hogshead.
Flavour profile: Juicy, oak & vanilla.
Outturn: 222 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "The nose is just typical – a leather handbag containing sherbet straws, floral and sandalwood perfumes and a cigarette packet – found in a French Polisher’s workshop. Lots of delicious stuff on the palate – choux pastry, plum jam, rhubarb and custard, vanilla sponge and rum-soaked fruits; crystallized ginger, tobacco leaf and chili jam to finish. The reduced nose suggests a sassy lassie in a leather skirt entering an aromatherapy parlour – cigarette in one hand and a honey-guzzling Winnie the Pooh in the other. The palate becomes sweeter but with an acidic edge – orange and ginger marmalade, Moffat toffees*, marshmallows, clean oak and blackcurrant. (* acidic toffees from a southern Scottish town)"
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 31.36
$297.59
GREASY MARGARITAS
This 52.5% Highland Islander spent 27 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead before being transferred to a 2nd fill toasted hogshead for the remainder of its maturation.
Flavour profile: Oily & coastal.
Outturn: 240 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "A fresh tartness greeted us with the invigorating waft of damp pine forest and lime juice with balsamic vinegar over red onions. Lime juice moved towards frozen margaritas ahead of red apples that ventured into more musty terrain with noble rot dessert wine and leather. Water released pear drops and toasted pine nuts with stuffed vine leaves.
Greasy notes appeared with a mouth-coating viscosity like old engine oil mixed with orange zest. Black cherry pie and apple turnovers made way for a balanced finish of dry oak with mint yogurt and Moroccan spices. After spending 27 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead this was transferred to a 2nd fill toasted hogshead for the remainder of its maturation."
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 108.12
$127.49
00:30:SPEYSIDE-PEKING DIRECT
The first-ever release of distillery 108 for the Canadian branch, this 10 year old rarely-seen Speysider was matured in a 1st fill barrel and comes in at 62.7%.
Flavour profile: Sweet & spicy.
Outturn: 222 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "The panel were intrigued to try this lesser seen distillery. On the nose we found vanilla cream, soil, wood spices, flaked almonds and dried apricots. With water this developed into pumpkin flesh, sesame oil, rosewater, perfumed custard, vanilla marshmallows and rhubarb sours. The palate was syrupy in texture with an unexpected richness. It showed notes of cough mixtures, caraway, pine resin, sweetened ointments, spices, chili pepper, roasted nuts, melon and juicy fruit bubblegum. Water worked a treat and brought forth notes of violets, gomme syrup, damson jam, plum sauce, five spice and crispy duck."
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.144
$157.99
OYSTERS AND MANZANILLA
This 9 year old from Islay was matured in a refill hogshead and is 60.1%
Flavour profile: Peated
Outturn: 264 bottles
Panel's tasting note: "Time had slowed to an undemanding meander as we relaxed outside the seaside cafe with the autumn sun gently warming our souls. The clean and salty air carried with it the evocative aromas of ship's rope and fishing nets as small boats passed before us. From the kitchen came the tummy rumbling smells of smoked prawns, roasted parsnips and grilled portobello mushrooms drizzled with walnut oil and a sprinkling of rosemary and thyme. Finally our lunch arrived... a platter of scallops and barnacles cooked in caramelized butter and fresh oysters served with a generous glass of chilled manzanilla sherry."
Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt Release 12
$99.99
This is a peated single malt from Yukon Brewing & Distilling's Two Brewers range.
Producer Description: "Significant Munich malt mash used to build the body behind the peat. 60% liquid saw new wood. Bairds heavily peated malt is what we use, the specs give 25-50 ppm phenols. Any peat added to a blend is from our 100% peat stock; releases 3, 7 & 12 are 24%, 37% & 57% respectively. Rel.12 has a much fuller base malt, so the peat perception still doesn't come across strongly, but definitely builds on the palate. Not certain how much phenol losses are in the distillations, but also a consideration is losses in the barrel; much like yeast apparently, the barrel sucks up some of that concentration."
Producer Tasting Note
An unhurried most presents a complex peated medley, medicinal and smudgey, backed by the weighty base malt. A gentle , sweet and clean entry preludes a mid-palate burst of character. Caramel covered stone fruit in a swirl of smoky carbon, balanced, long and lingering.
Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt Release 13
$99.99
Batch 13 is a "Classic" expression and has been bottled at 5 years of age with a splash of 6 and 7 year old whiskies. Some of the spirit was matured in virgin oak, and the vatting was finished in Bourbon casks.
Producer Blending Notes
"numerous specialty grains used in blend, and significant portion was more finely distilled than typical. significant portion had 1-2 yrs in new wood, before finishing in Xbourbon. 25% 5yr + 52% 5yr+18% 6yr + 5% 7yr."
Bruichladdich Octomore 9.1
$143.99
The Octomore 9.1 was produced from Scottish barley peated to 156 parts per million. It was matured for 5 years in ex Jim Beam (51%), Jack Daniels (26%), Clermont (15%), Old Grand-Dad (8%) barrels before bottling 62.9%.
Producer Description
"Octomore 09.1 questions the fundamentals of superior single malt Scotch. Confident in its five year age statement, our Head Distiller demonstrates how a focus on raw ingredients and considered distillation can definitively debunk the myth that older is better. Distilled in 2012 from 100% Scottish barley, the 09.1 is matured full-term in top-tier ex-American whiskey casks."
Distiller's Tasting Note
Character: Refined, sleek, confident in its youth. Older than its years.
Aroma: Smoke and oak, intense sweetness from the cask, vanilla, cinder toffee. The smoke is thick, velvety and vegetal, peat and earthy.
Taste: Soft on the palate- no aggression, nutty, fudge, nougat, delicate coconut and rose petal floral.
Finish: Long peat finish, hints of treacle, warm sand/salt.
Macallan 1995 23 Year KWM
$419.99
From the people who brought you "The Infamous", we were offered the opportunity to bottle a bespoke 23 year old Macallan, and who were we to say no! Matured in Bourbon and finished in a Sherry Octave, bottled at 46.4%. Only 66 bottles!
BenRiach Cask Strength Batch 2
$86.24
BenRiach Cask Strength was originally launched in 2016 with Batch 1. Batch 2 - the current release - is bottled at 60.6% ABV. The whisky within was aged in a combination of ex-Bourbon, ex-Oloroso Sherry, and Virgin Oak Casks.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Toffee apple, apricot and orange blossom with a ginger-spiced barley zing.
Taste: Crème caramel and milk chocolate surround sugared almond and ripe nectarine glazed with lime.
Finish: of honey and vanilla with candied peel and green apple.