January 19/2013 Vintages release

Well mid way through the month, and I've finally got all my reviews in hand.  It's been a while and I'm sorry for the delay, but I can't be everywhere and at work at the same time.  There are quite a few bits of ground to get through so let's check into whats on tap for us.

 First up will be Gordon & Macphail's Whisky Liqueur.  Yes, I do diversify my interests and there are some really interesting spirits out there, but Liqueurs don't usually do it for me.  I've sort of grown out of the super sweet mixers and sippers, but as I recently tasted this at an event, it should be included.  Dunkeld Atholl Brose is the name of Gordon & Macphail's Whisky Liqueur.  There is a whole story of the last lord of the Isles that fled from persecution and was foiled by a mixture of whisky, honey, herbs and oats.  But I'm not reading into that currently (you get a reprieve from the history lesson for now...), I'm more into the beauty of the liqueur.  It's quite sweet (to be expected), but over shaved ice it would be a real after dinner treat.  The nose is sweet and filled with a complex note of eucalyptus, menthol and roasted oats.  There is a sweet honey note and some hints of herbs (like cardamom and clove), but I found it a little cloyingly so.  Hence the ice comment (I can add ice to this because it's not straight whisky but a liqueur).  My dad has always been a fan of Drambuie with shaved ice, so I'm thinking this might make a much higher quality replacement to that after a rich meal.  This is a well crafted liqueur, and should you be into such things you're looking at $50 for a half litre bottle.  Check you local LCBO <HERE> for your bottle.

  Enough about that, lets get down to the good stuff.  First up is one of my favourite Speysiders... err Highlanders... wait... High-Speysider? (Everywhere I see their bottles they're credited as both, so I'm not really sure anymore.  I'll stick with Highland as that's what it says on my bottle). Glenfarclas 105, a cask strength 10 year old sherry monster.  Be ready for a slap in the face with a whopping 60% ABV!  This is a strong and brutish dram, but don't think of it as being all brawn and no beauty. When you get over the muscle flex there is an incredibly beautiful floral, spicy, sort of warmth in this whisky.  The nose on this is fantastic, hugely rich with oily sherry, grape and malt almost overwhelming everything.  The longer you play with this, the better it gets; and it takes quite a while to loosen up but can be convinced with some water.  There is a deep rich raisin and sweet spice cake note, the grape note settles and sweetens quite a bit (much akin to crape syrup), and there are tonnes of sweet malt and deep sherry oak spice.  In fact there are lots of spices in the nose and the palate; think of a bulk foods store or even a spice shop.  The nose and palate both exude an oily note that becomes some sort of toasted oily nut (like Brazil nuts maybe).  There is so much happening in that glass it's almost hard to put a name on everything.  Think of this as like putting your face out a car window on the highway... awful hard to smell the fields of flowers, but if you slow the car down and take your time you'd be surprised what you pass along on your journey.  This is a journey in a glass (so to speak), and comes highly recommended. Yes it's expensive at $82/bottle, but you're getting a hell of a bottle of Scotch!  Check your local LCBO <HERE> for your bottle.

  Another returning bottle left over from the Robbie Burns celebration; Isle of Arran Robbie Burns Single Malt.  This is a simple fruity and spicy bottle of great quality single malt whisky, at a reasonable deal (LCBO rules apply here).  What you're getting is a non chillfiltered, no colour added Isle of Arran 8 year old single malt (or so I've been told through the rumour mill), that is endorsed by the World Burns federation.  Coming in at only 40% for $42 doesn't seem like a great deal until you taste the spirit.  What's in the glass is a fruity and spicy malt that will get you hooked, and keep your attention.  The nose is very forward fruity, lots of pears and green apples with notes of vanilla and toffee.  The palate is lively and spicy, lots of baking spices (more cassia and cardamom), and quite a punch of heat like ginger and pepper.  The finish is short, but very rewarding with lots of wood spice and fruit preserves.  This isn't a deep contemplating dram, but rather a light-hearted single malt that doesn't always take itself seriously.  Treat this as a gateway malt to an evening of tasting, it makes a great first dram to warm up your tastebuds before delving into the bigger malts of the evening.  This, for me, was the gateway malt to the Arran distillery profile.  I bought my bottle a couple of years back for $38, and dug into it right away.  It was an eye opener, and really got me into researching the drams a little deeper.  I'd suggest you check your local LCBO <HERE> for your bottle, and at only $42 it's a pretty slick deal well worth hunting for.

  Tomintoul 16 is the next bottle on our listing.  Tomintoul (pronounced Tome-in-tool), is a gentle Speysider which is owned by the independent company Angus Dundee (as of 2000 when it was purchased from Whyte & Mackay).  Their 21 year old was released to our shelves not that long ago (review HERE), and the 16 is no newcomer to our shores.  I'll admit that I like the 'Speyside-Glenlivet' moniker on the label; it gives you a peek into the heritage of the dram. I'm not so crazy over the colouring and the 40% ABV, but seeing as this is a nit-picky thing for me, I won't hold it against them.  I'm quite a fan of gentle whiskies and this is a great example.  I feel the asking price of $95 is a bit high, but then again the 21 is only $125, so it's not far off the mark; and most importantly you're supporting the little guys in the industry.  What's in the glass is a great floral-sweet dram.  Very soft nose with hints of field flowers and honey, some notes of fresh leather and distant roasted nuts.  In the mouth it's very full with more fruit creme and honey taking the reins.  There's a lot going on in the palate, rich roasted nuts, linseed oil and ripe pears.  There are hints of barley sugar and rich custard, with subtle notes of wood spice and candied orange in the background.  The finish is quite nice, still quite fruity and spicy with a running vanilla cream and subtle wood smoke in the background, very light but medium in length.  Either way, should you feel flush enough to grab a bottle at the LCBO prices, check <HERE> for the 16 year old and <HERE> for the 21 which is a sublime sipper.  I don't think you'll be disappointed in either dram.

  Last but not least is the marketing juggernaut 'Thor' from Highland Park (I think you can see where this is going already...).  It's a limited edition 16 year old from the 'Valhalla Collection', arriving in a smug wooden 'Viking Ship' package, proclaiming itself to be a great warrior god of old. Pfft, yeah you guys really cooked up some stories for this one.  The case features a pair of Norse bowsprits carved from oak surrounding a glass oval bottle (similar to the modern HP bottles but with thicker more natural glass to give it some character).  Be forewarned though, it's huge!  It will take up a small end table in any room.  It's so large that when I first noticed it, it was blocking my view of a hand-blown XO cognac bottle in a display case (think of something around the size of a Louis XIII bottle).  Let me just say that at almost foot across, this packaging is more than a little excessive. To top that off the price tag rests at $250; I both appreciate what they've created, but feel that the marketing monster has fattened itself on all your ideas.  Checking the bottle I'm rewarded with 52.1% ABV, but the colour leads me to point the finger at some heavy colouring.  My unrequited jabs aside, what lies within the bottle is what we're interested in, so I'll delve into my notes on that.  It's a great spirit, with good depth of character.  The nose is vibrant and expressive with lots of hot notes and earthy tones.  There are notes of fresh cut ginger, macerated plums and sweet barley syrup, but behind this there are notes that I'm not crazy over.  There's a metallic earthy note, and a slight violet sharpness note (these typically arise in bad whisky).  There is also the stereotypical HP aromatic smoke and subtle peat, and that drying sensation that makes my mouth start to water.  The earthy note is fine with me, in fact it's quite nice and deep (like wet garden soil), but it's the metallic notes and the violets that make me worried as these are precursors to bad whisky in my previous experience (see most Bowmore DB's from the 80's).  In the mouth there is a very strong dry burn with overly hot ginger snap cookies... it needs some water to relax.  Upon hosing the mighty Thor down, we are rewarded with herbal vanilla and dark yellow fruits (like ripe peach and mango), mingling on a warm malty base.  There is still quite a kick of baking spices (especially cinnamon), and wood in the finish making it very dry and intense but not overly long.  I also found an orphan note of mint (which is a marker of excellent old school style whisky), but it seems out of place here; almost placed there to fool us into believing this is better quality than it is.  I dunno... I'm not sold on the marketing ploy and the whisky itself isn't what I expected after hearing so much about this.  As great as it should be, it never seems to live up to what they sold to us.  It looks like what we have is a Thor cosplayer (Wiki reference HERE);  it's a great outfit but underneath is just another kid from the block looking to show off to his friends at a comic convention.  Should you feel the need to toss $250 away, please contact me personally and I'll recommend 2-3 bottles far more worthy of your hard earned money and time.  Check your local LCBO <HERE> to see the boat bottle in person.

  Well there we have it, January has been finally completed, lots of interesting bottles, but not a lot of substance (IMHO).  There are much fewer bottles coming in February (Thank goodness), but still some very good things coming our way.  So ladies and gents, until next time keep your stick on the ice and the ice out of your glass.

LCBO Vintages Release for October 2012

Ahh, so here we are beginning anew on a new blog space.  Lots of new bottles this round, in fact the most I've seen released since Father's Day.  The October 13th release has no whiskey, lots of Grappa and some other bottles of mild interest, but noting to write home about.  On the other hand, the October 27th release is chock full of goodies.  In this big release we have a few new bottles and a returning favourite.

First up let's start with the new stuff, Masterson's 10 year old Straight Rye. Hailing from the USA by way of Alberta, and featuring a 100% Rye Mashbill,  this is a deep and fulfilling rye.  Named after a Canadian lawman who became a legend in the American Wild West (William Barclay Masterson, Bat to most), he lead the life that became iconic to the Wild West ideal.  The rye produced in his name, follows the same sort of story line... y'all sit a spell while I spin this tale.  The opening nose is punchy rye grains and floral rye fruits.  There is a subtle pickle note, dry straw and grains and mineral-y soil note in the bottom.  Very much what I think of when I think of the West (deep rolling plains of wild grasses and flowers).  The palate brings floral notes forward and backs it with tobacco leaves, vanilla, and dry oak.  Interestingly, the mineral-y clay notes like fresh turned clay soil are still hanging about here, but buried under the oak and vanilla.  The palate here I feel is an era akin to Bat's middle life as he settled down in the west, and eventually left to become a newspaper man in New York (I do even get a bit of newsprint/paper in the end of the palate).  As we round out the finish, it's a medium-long finish with oak-y vanilla ever present and some subtle hints of prairie wildflowers, but an underpinning of citrus and earthiness (oily too).  Bat Masterson died at his typewriter in New York in October of 1921.  His final words were a poignant sentence on our modern society and how he viewed the world.  Interesting man, very interesting whiskey.  The main problem that I have though, is as usual, the LCBO markup on the bottle.  $110/bottle even at 45%ABV is just not enough for me to buy the bottle.  So check your local LCBO <HERE> for your bottle if you're so inclined, but more oft, check your local bars for a sample and at least try a shot of the old West.

Next up is a Kiwi!  Hailing from New Zealand, Dunedin Doublewood 10 year old is a great blend from Willowbank Distillery..  Aged 6 years in American Oak and finished for 4 more years in French Oak red wine barrels, the burgundy colour says it all.  Blended at a 70/30 mix of single malt to grain spirit and bottled at 40% ABV, this is an excellent bottle to get your nose into something  different.  Now before we delve deep into the spirit, those who know me know I like weird finishes and wild whiskies (so be sure to take this with a grain of salt as it might not be to all of our palates).  The nose opens with beautiful rich floral notes with deep red fruits and hints of toffee and sweet candies.  Hidden in the background are notes of quality chocolate and creamy notes [like quality dark hot chocolate (if someone says Starbucks... I'm gonna find you)].  In the mouth, this is a rocket!  Warm cocoas, barley cream cereal (think cream of wheat made with malted barley), roasted hazelnuts, dried peaches, red fruits and subtle vanilla shine through.  The mouth feel is great, beautiful whisky, and the finish is medium and warming.  Lots of vanilla oak and fruits on the finish.  Dried cocoa and apricot jam in the end.  This is a real cracker of a bottle, and an excellent introduction to the far reaches of the whisky world.  Check your local LCBO <HERE> for your bottle.  Even at $90 and only 40% ABV, this is interesting enough to peak my radar but may be more than most are willing to spend.  I strongly suggest you try this one out and make your own opinion. I'll guaranty though, it will be worth the search.
It has also been brought to my attention that the LCBO has yet to release this to their shelves.  So keep a close eye out on this one, my notes are from Spirit of Toronto in 2011, when I tasted the entire available Dunedin range.  There are some amazing bottles there, but my batch my have variations.  Just an FYI.

Next up is another sweetie of a wine finish, The Arran Sauternes Cask finish.  This comes from a favourite distillery of mine, and is presented without any screwing around.  No chill-filtration, no colouring, no monkey business and 50% ABV.  That's a positive 4 mark advantage (y'know... if I gave out marks), but let's see what the bottle holds for our enjoyment.  The colour is a rich golden straw, and the nose immediately carries you away.  Lots of grassy rich notes, ripe melons and pears intermixed with flowers and warm marzipan cookies.  This finish works very well with the light and grassy Arran spirit; the Sauternes notes simply lift the base spirit to a new level (IMO).  The palate is sweet, almost a little too sweet, but is immediately cut with warm spices and citrus notes.  There is a warm apple pie and hint of brine in the palate that shows itself with some water.  There is also a hint of violets which is a bit concerning (I find these in whiskies that I don't really like), but it seems to turn into an iodine note that balances the sweetness.  The finish is medium-short and beautifully floral/honey.  I'm of the opinion that this is another cask finish hit for me, although some of our group are not convinced.  This is a try before you buy bottle (aren't they all?), but I've got my eyes set on this one for sure.  Check your local LCBO <HERE> for your bottle.

And the last of the new releases, but by no means the least, is Tomintoul 21. We don't often see Tomintoul at the LCBO, but when we do it's not usually even a big release.  We did have the peaty tang, and still have 10 year old hanging about the shelves, both good releases, but nothing stellar.  This release gives us something new though, a 21 year old for a fairly reasonable $127.  Now before you go and blow a gasket, I'll justify that last response by saying, I bought my bottle of Glenfiddich 21 for $145, within 18 months the price has skyrocketed to $230+, there has been a packaging change, but before that, the base purple bottle went up to $175 for no reason in 8 months.  It's not often that you see things in this age bracket for a reasonable price; so getting an indie owned 21 year old bottle for $127 is a pretty good compromise.  Menial squabbles aside, the spirit itself is of no compromise.  The nose is rich with toffee sweetness, vanilla, butterscotch and baked apples.  In the mouth the palate is very subtle and gentle, waves of vanilla chews, ripe melon, sweet malty bread and butterscotch come across in an incredibly smooth mouth feel supported by hints of oak and spiced nuts.  The finish is creamy, soft, and long with the same butterscotch notes and gentle oak backing it up.  This is an absolutely more-ish whisky, so soft and creamy that is begs for another glass.  I'd suggest checking your local LCBO <HERE> if you're looking for that special bottle for the holidays.

Lastly the Ardmore Traditional cask is making another return, check out the earlier review on the blog <HERE>.  This is great buy into peaty whisky for only $45.  LCBO item <HERE>.


Holy cow!  I've finally finished the October releases.  There isn't a whole lot for November, so that should roll out a little easier.  That being said, there are many interesting things coming to the blog soon, and quite a few bottles arriving from the LCBO. Keep an eye on the blog and my twitter feed (@ScotchGuyTO), and I'll see what news I can drum up.  Don't forget...  keep your stick on the ice and the ice out of your glass!