LCBO Vintages Release for April 2012

Well the pickings are slim this month, but fear not as we do have some very interesting items!  I have been informed (little bird on my shoulder sort-of-thing), that the LCBO is gearing up the usual laundry list of special items for father's day at inflated prices.  Albeit this month is dry, the next few months will have plenty more in store.  On the other hand, there are quite a few good sipping rums coming into the LCBO for the first time in a long time!  As I'm not purely biased towards whisky, I'll follow up with a few other interesting items to check out.

First up, April 14/2012 Vintages release:

Two bottles are presented this round, but not bottlings to scoff at!  I'll lead off with the away team:  Ardmore Traditional Cask makes an appearance at the LCBO.  No age statement (you ageist bastard, always judging based on the number printed on the bottle! LOL  I'm just kidding), as this is matured in quarter casks (much like the Laphroaig bottling of the same name).  As a result of the smaller casks, the spirit ages faster and we are rewarded with Whisky sooner.  The problem with this approach is that without careful management the wood notes will take over everything, (smaller cask = greater wood contact = faster aging).  The nose is wonderful on this, lots of peat notes mingling with floral hints and crème brûlée.  This is interspersed with hints of iodine, wood smoke, and herbal vanilla.  The mouth feel is excellent giving you that oily coverage feeling.  I found that adding water detracts from this and sort of diminishes the finish quite a bit.  Speaking of finishes, this one is long and drawn out.  With notes of cream, spice cake, herbs and wood interwoven with the peat and iodine notes; this is a great dram.  My favorite part about Ardmore is that it is a UCF (unchillfiltered), 46% ABV bottle (unfortunately no mention of colour added or not, but I think from the electric marmalade colour that's obvious).  I feel that this is a great deal at $45/bottle; you can't go wrong with that wonderful floral nose and slight peat.  I suggest you check your local LCBO [Sku #228106], for your own.

Next up is the home team!  The Barry's from north of Toronto have brought us a special treat/preview of their stocks.  Premium Bottlers (AKA Still Waters Distillery) is a local distiller of premium spirits such as the award winning Single Malt Vodka (a good example of their base spirit), and their very own Single Malt Whisky.  Aging quietly now, their single malt will have to wait another day before it's spotlight, but it is within the depths of this blend.  As a good faith gesture to the whisky world, they have created 1+11 to gel their reputation as a quality craft distiller in the Canadian market, and to preview things to come from the distillery.  That is 11 4-6 year old Canadian whiskies blended with their own single malt whisky.  It's a big bouquet to start,  there is a rocky/limestone thing happening that gives way to lots of bright fruit and floral notes (similar to a Highland), citrus and spice mingle together with slight hints of toffee.  There is a fantastic balance going on in the nose that continues with one of the smoothest Canadian whiskies I've ever tasted.  The mouth feel is almost overwhelming!  There is a thickness like a light syrup that covers your mouth with dry oak, hot pepper, citrus peel hints of fresh floral notes and sweet toffee cream candies.  The finish is medium but very clean, hints of roasted nuts and worked oak present themselves here and the buttery toffee notes blossom in little patches and are highlighted with subtle bursts of rye pepper and toffee.  I'm really loving this!  This whisky is excellently crafted giving you the best of both worlds, fantastic fruits and flowers with awesome oily mouth feel that turns into a clean and sparkling finish.  There is a reason that the LCBO bought the ENTIRE case lot for the first batch!  Scoring 91 points at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge (only 1 point short of the Chairman's Choice award); this is an incredible deal for Ontarians - $35/bottle @ 40% ABV!  Also as per conversations at the distillery, this is UCF and no colour added whisky; I think that deserves commendation too!  Get your bottle [Sku #273565], and get it fast.

The second release for Vintages April 28/2012 doesn't have any whisky.  Bummer!  But what thine LCBO taketh away in one amber spirit, it provideth within another... or something regal sounding such as that.  This is where maltblog diversifies itself and moves into the cane sweetened southern territory of Rum!

First up, a journey to the hot and balmy Central American island of Hispaniola.  Ron Brugal is the larger of the two distilleries in the Dominican Republic (Ron Barceló being the other),  with the whole gamut of offerings from blanco (white) up to extra viejo (very dark).  I have recently noticed the añejo in the LCBO (weird surprise as I was only there a few months ago.... who's following me?), and am pleased to see the flagship product from the distillery.  The 1888 Gran Reserva Familiar.  This distillery (founded in 1888), is still run by George Arzeno Brugal, and is staffed by descendants of the family.  The 1888 Gran Reserva is monster:  a sherry finished rum consisting of spirits up to 14 years of age.  There are rich intense notes of demerara and molasses on the nose, broken up by worked leather and rich dark red/purple fruits, subtle wafts of caramel provide an incredibly heady nose.  Very complex, and yet wonderfully soft in the mouth with notes of toffee and caramel sugar, gentle wood notes and subtle dark fruit cake spices and licorice.  A long lasting sweet finish with further hints of licorice and oak notes.  40% ABV and only $70/bottle, this is a rare treat imported by the LCBO and you'll feel like you have spoiled yourself and taken a trip to the Dominican Republic.  Check you local LCBO [Sku #270843], for your bottle.

In the vein of the last review, I'm going to post about 2 bottlings that didn't get the mainstream coverage that they deserve.  Ladies and gents, first stop Nicaragua!  Flor De Caña 18 year old is the first on list.  A deep dark brooding rum from the Chichigalpa valley at the base of the San Cristobal volcano.  This is a very rich full bodied rum.  Dark sugar cane and heavy spice notes permeate the nose, with complex twists of cocoa and toasted nuts.  The finish is very long and is a fantastic interplay between caramel, pepper, heavy oak, and spice cake. This is a serious rum that makes me think of a rainy day indoors that I can relax and savor the warm and inviting flavors of Central America.  $80/bottle for 18 years of deep dark complexity, check your local LCBO [Sku #585836], for your very own bottle.

Last stop, but most certainly not least is Guatemala.  Ron Zacapa 23 Solera Reserva is a pure sugar cane rum, coming from the city of Zacapa in central Guatemala.  Produced in the method typically used for sherries (or Gelnfiddich 15), Solera vatted rums in the ranges of 6-23 years comprise this deep mahogany spirit.  Intense notes of sweetness, honey, floral and herbal vanilla, macerated fruit, hints of almonds and cocoa with peppered notes of spice cake and oak.  In the mouth this is a monster bomb of sweetness and vanilla.  Honey, dried fruit, roasted nuts, notes of cane sugar syrup and oak create an incredibly dense and complex balanced rum.  The finish is long; so, so long!  Intermixing notes of oak, sugars, caramel, and fruit play on the tongue and seem to last forever.  This is a great buy at $80/bottle, and I strongly suggest you check you local LCBO [Sku #273516], for your own bottle.

So that does it for this month of releases.  Sort of slim pickings, but there will be much more coming along soon.  I can assure you with the Spirit of Toronto show coming up at the start of May, and some tasting notes to be posted, I'll be sure to keep you busy.  So until next time, keep your stick on the ice and the ice out of the glass, and we'll be sure to share a dram again soon.

Robbie Burns Day [Belated]

   Happy Robbie Burns day (belated) to all.  As a special treat I shall recount my special evening with a few good friends at The Hunt.  I was cordially invited by a gracious couple (anuptowngal and wineguyTO), and their father-in-law to a special night with a tutored nosing and meal in honour of the Scottish poet Robbie Burns.

    The evening began with an address by The Hunt's very own Marcel Bregstein (the emcee for the evening and the club Sommelier), to the crowd.  Highland dancers followed, with traditional dancing and colourful outfits all lead in by a piper.  The piper then read the Address to A Haggis, and promptly had it distributed amongst the guests (small tastes only; sadly).  This being my second time having Haggis, I noted that this one seemed a wee bit on the dry side, but still quite excellent.  I am willing to admit that this is an acquired taste (and not one that I figured I would have acquired),  but it is quite delicious when prepared and splashed with a bit of Scotch.  Think of it like Kishka, a meat and meal sausage, made with heartier meat and a dash of blood.  Haggis is sheep's pick (heart, liver and lungs) mixed with onions, oats and spices all baked in a sheep's stomach.  Doesn't sound delicious?  If you think of it as eating a sausage, (a very rich and hearty sausage), it's quite delicious and makes for a very satisfying meal.

    The main guest was introduced next by the Sommelier.  Todd McDonald from PMA Canada, a 20 year veteran of scotch sales, on behalf of William Grants & Sons.  With him he brought a selection of Balvenie (12 Year old Doublewood and The 12 Year old Signature) and a selection of Glenfiddich samples (the LCBO available flight of 12-21 Years).  Being the proud owner of the entire flight (save the 18), this was not a blind tasting to yours truly.  We were treated to a visual tour of the Balvenie operation and explained how Scotch moves from grain to glass, through the distillation process.

  The beginning of the tastings started with the Balvenie 12 year old pair (Both the Doublewood and the Select Cask), which was to show us the difference in flavor between the two 12 year olds.  This expanded to include the Glenfiddich 12 to show the flavour comparison to it's sister distillery.  The 12 Select was sherry heavy casks, while the unique half and half maturation of both bourbon and sherry casks in the Doublewood was quite mild on the palate.  This was compared with the fresh and crisp flavours of the Glenfiddich 12 (lots of green apples, and sweet crisp malt).  We were enlightened to their particular methods of nosing whisky, some of which were a bit hard to wrap your head around.  Our speaker suggested that we water down the whisky to about 25% (oft called drowning a whisky), so that the aromas could easily escape the glass.  I let mine fly what was left of it's full colours (40% ABV isn't really much to call FULL colours).  Our taster was also an avid swirler, slightly teetering onto the aggressive hot tub swirling side.  I tried their method and ended up with one glass of wonderful aromas of honey and spice, but the spirit had become undrinkable as it was mostly water with a dash of whisky flavour.

    That aside, we carried on in our nosing class moving to the Glenfiddich 15 (the step up the line for those who seek richer notes than the 12).  This is a favourite of mine (having a wonderful blend of sherry, bourbon and fresh oak casks married together in a Solera vat), featuring a much richer malt note with lush sherry and honeycomb.  The marketing spiel of the Solera vat never being emptied was also dispelled at this time; noting that they build the flavour profile from the selected casks and then fill a vat; settle the whisky and bottle it all.  We then moved into the connoisseurs single malt (the Glenfiddich 18), which is comprised of 98% bourbon and 2% sherry.  An sharp whisky, not my favourite as the heavy wood notes dominate the palette, but still quite nice nonetheless.  Concluding with the 21 Year old Havana Cask (no longer called such in order to import to the US), which was a smooth and delicious finish to the tasting.  The demerara and rum notes sparkle through on the nose, and there is a fantastic scent of banana in the background which almost turn herbal (into banana leaf).  The smooth mouth feel and the long and sumptuous finish have made it a favourite of mine; so much so that I grabbed a bottle earlier this year.

  The dinner was fantastic; featuring spinach salad with a fantastic Glenlivet vinaigrette, Salmon in a champagne sauce with braised leeks, and finished with a whisky chocolate mousse and butterscotch ice cream.  Incredible evening with incredible friends, and a fantastic way to celebrate Mr. Burn's birthday.  I think I'll have to draft up some notes on the 21 year old in the future.