Monthly Archives: January 2019

Whisky of the Month

Scapa Glansa Single Malt

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Scapa Glansa

Scapa Glansa,

The name Glansa is taken from Old Norse and means ‘shining storm-laden skies’

Limited Availability at the LCBO

40% ABV

$83.60

I’m reminded of an early damp spring morning, with a blustery wind at my back. I have selected my driver as I’m not sure I can reach the par 3 220 yard 10th hole at Orkney Golf Club. This old style classic Scottish links course is providing quite the test for my amateur at best golf skills. With the salted bite of the cool sea air in the breeze, I am reminded of my hip flask full of this warm mysterious dram, picked up on a visit yesterday to the nearby Scapa distillery about 2 kms down the Scottish countryside. I pause to look over the the lush green landscape and the nearby shoreline. I take a swig of the Scapa Glansa… I’m instantly warmed by the light peated flavour and taken back to days gone by.  The sweet palate brings a euphoric sense of pleasure to my taste buds. As the finish finds me like the sunshine that has opened the clouds and has brightened up this old style links course. I am warmed by not only the rays of sunshine, but the warmth of this succulent dram, shame I am drinking it out of the hip flask as this whisky needs a proper Glencairn. I take a deep breath and a whisper of the salty warm delicate smoke fills my nostrils and tickles my senses. I smile and know that this will be a dram that provides the inspiration to approach this daunting par 3. I tee it up and unleash my swing, the swing and contact is pure. The brisk breeze knocks my drive down short of the green but in relative safety. I go for another nip and I am reminded why I made the trip from the mainland to the Orkney Islands during my travels to Scotland last year. As I sit crafting these notes in my basement bar, all it takes is the pop of the cork on my bottle of Scapa Glansa to transport me right back, to a place I would love to visit time and time again. Hey, maybe one of these times I’ll even par that 220 yard par 3.

Scapa Glansa is highly recommended, let this dram transport you on a taste adventure to the Orkney Islands.

For more information visit
http://scapawhisky.com/

Joshua Campbell

Whisky of the Month

Glengoyne 25 Year Old

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On January 26, 2019 we had a the opportunity to have the Glengoyne 25 Year Old as one of our featured tasters as we celebrated our 11 Year Anniversary as a Whisky club.

Club member Tamara has added her notes:

Glengoyne 25 Years

Specs:

Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Aged: 25 years

Matured in: Sherry Cask

Alcohol: 48.0%

Our purchase price: $485 CAD

Glengoyne 25 was not a hard sell on me from the get-go, generally being a fan of sherry casks.

Rich & spicy, with no peat, this whisky is a beautiful and impressive amber colour, a baseline signature of the sherry cask. My first impression, it tastes like it looks! On the brown sugary sweet side, but not too sweet, it reminded me of Grandma’s Christmas fruitcake, which would perennially appear on the kitchen counter around December 25 throughout my childhood, and which would still be there come March, mysteriously intact. I never developed the taste for indestructible cake crammed with old dried fruit, but I’ll take these homey flavours in my whisky. Throw in a little orange flavour, a few nuts (walnuts, almonds?) and bam! A bottle that I certainly would include as a highlight of my personal collection. Apologies however, the LCBO does not carry this bottle, making it difficult to obtain in Ontario.

Other common comments from online reviews are notes of old leather, cinnamon and licorice, which were not the stand out elements for me in sampling this bottle. Kensington Wine Market reviews this whisky on their website as “one of the best releases by any distillery in the last few years”. This whisky also won Gold at both the Asian Spirits Masters 2018 and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2017.

The distillery’s slogan, “Unhurried since 1833”, reflects perfectly in this bottle. Very easy to drink and a definite go-back-for seconds experience. Overall, a great selection for those who want a complex, rich whisky without the smoke. Skip the dessert, just have a Glengoyne!

Wow what an endorsement, if the above notes strike you we would highly recommend this Glengoyne expression.  Cheers!

Whisky of the Month

Craigellachie 23 Year Old Single Malt

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The club recently celebrated our 11 Year Anniversary and this was bottle #2 in our tasting range for the evening, notes by member Adam Buchholtz.

Craigellachie 23 Year Old Single Malt

Specs: Speyside Scotch Whisky

Matured in: American Oak Cask

Alcohol: 46%

Our Purchase Price: $535.85 (LCBO in Ontario)

Nose: The first impression on the nose of this whisky is quite complex. I picked up some peppery notes, with an aromatic spice blend, along with something akin to sulphur. It seemed like quite a pungent smell, with a hint of sea salt mixed in. Absent for me were the fruity notes that are mentioned in many a review of this whisky, however I was so excited to taste it, that it may not have had the requisite time in the glass to fully envelope my senses.

Taste: Immediately I got an old leathery taste, almost rawhide-esk, to go along with a very oily mouthfeel. I was surprised at how different this expression is from their younger age statement bottles. With the taste also came a range of fruits, mostly tropical and citrusy in nature, like pineapple, orange, or even grapefruit. It meshed surprisingly well with the leathery flavours and made for a complex dram.

Finish: Again the oiliness was evident on the finish, with some heat from pepper notes, but also sweet citrus, with a touch of honey. It lasted quite a while, with a dryness to it that allowed it to linger.

Overall: The Craigellachie 23 is a complex scotch, as should be expected from anything that has been matured in American Oak for 23 years. However at the price point, it isn’t a bottle that I would strive to add to my personal collection. It is definitely worth a taste if you should be able, but I would not go out of my way for another dram

Meeting Minutes

ET November 30 2018, Meeting Minutes

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Location: Lee’s House, thanks for hosting sir!

Date: November 30th, 2018

 

Welcome to bottle auction 2018 edition everyone.

 

Thanks to Lee

House Rules, no smoking indoors

 

Taster: Collectivum XXVIII (28)

Whiskey Blend of the 28 distilleries of Diageo, a bit of each distillery blended into a fantastic dram

57.3% ABV

$297.00

 

Jameson’s bailed again, gave us a bottle of Caskmates (26er) which was opened and shared will all present club members.

 

Dates coming up December 15th christmas themed pub crawl, ugly sweaters uptown waterloo

Nick volunteered for pre drink place., maybe around 7

 

Anniversary meeting Saturday January 26th – Finalize Location

 

Vote on type of party.

Tied 7 and 7, do in meeting vote, traditional anniversary. 10 votes.  Will be a traditional anniversary party.

 

Nominations for new E-Board — Treasurer, President and Special events/Club ambassador.

 

January 19th at Noon deadline to run, Mark to re-run for president, ambassador position explained, see mark notes…

 

Treasurer update —   see tom

 

Shirts have been sized and ordered. Will have for anniversary, bowling style will optimized branding, old traditional logo

 

Lotto update — see Tom, Tom will continue to post on the wire

 

Auction talk, two rounds preference.

Josh and Chad to run Auction

 

Tom recorded purchases, which was sent out to the club.

All auction dues owed by January 1st

 

Open floor —

Rico mentioned is a person brings a bottle back from overseas they have first right to buy back from the club at remaining  value of bottle.

Voted

Passed 15 votes.

 

Meeting done

 

On a sad note Chad mentioned the Glenfiddich ambassador Colin suddenly passed away. Raised a glass in his memory.

 

Lee name tag for glass ?