Lismore 21 Year Old Bottling Note
A 21 year old single malt Scotch whisky from the Lismore range. This comes from an undisclosed distillery in the Speyside region – a delicious mystery of a malt!
All posts by Mark Buchholtz
Glenglassaugh Torfa
Torfa bottling notes: We’ve seen the Revival and the Evolution, and now Glenglassaugh are adding a peated expression to their range. The Torfa (which refers to the Old Norse word for turf or peat) has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels and weighs in at 20 PPM. We love to see that Glenglassaugh is back up and running again after being closed for over 20 years, and they’ve even got enough momentum to try new things, as this is their first peated single malt Scotch whisky!
Expensive Taste July 25, 2018 Meeting Minutes
Expensive Taste July 25, 2018 Meeting Minutes
Host: Michael Bridgman
Attendence: Absent, Chad, Josh C, Paul, Dan, Rico, Raf
Tasters :
Ardbeg Grooves and Octomore 8.1
Tamara to review the Ardbeg, Mark B to Review Octomore?
August Meeting and Cook Off
Meeting and cook off to be held on Sat, August 25 at Ryan’s House 2752 Kressler Road, Heidelberg.
Teams are as follows — Team 1 – Tamara, Mark B, Frank
Team 2 – Brad, Adam, Mike, luke
Team 3 – Derek, Ryan, Lee
Team 4 – Chad, Tom, Nick, Josh C
The cook off is the best BBQ sandwich and needs to be served on some kind of bread product, The meeting will take place at 1pm and the judging will start at 4 or 5 pm to be determined at meeting prior. Each team will receive $40.00 at the meeting to reimburse for some of their teams cost.
If people like they are welcome to pitch tents in Ryans back yard and spend the night.
September Meeting
September meeting will be held at Luke Moffatt’s house. It will be a taster night brought to us from Jamesons Irish Whiskey
Ti-Cats Game Update September 15th, 2018
The club will subsidize $600 for bus, we had 13 members interested. Members will have transportation covered. Open to non members to go, we would look at $20 bus donation for non members we need 20 people for the group rate deal, please advise immediately, will be sending out a special email invite this week.
Gonna try and get bus early for tailgate., 1pm departure time for Hamilton, game time 4pm to allow ample time for tailgate/lunch. Mark to check into bus.
Treasurer Report
Will attach a separate document to be sent to membership email list directly
Lotto update
In July we won $20 plus a free play on Lotto Max, that will be re-ivested, ongoing play from March is 1 free play for 649; June we have $20 and a free play from Lotto Max, also will be re-invested
60’s trial run:
We had 6 members pay increased dues of $30 each…(we had additional $60 of dues), we did finish 1 full 60, we have on hand in inventory 1 additional full 60.
Paintball October 13th Update:
Ryan, Tom S, Josh B have paid for paintball. That leaves $140 left from the deposit to come back to the club. Spots for members will be held till after the august meeting. After the meeting Ryan will be paying remainder of deposit and opening up the spots to non members.
Food:
Still to bring food for the year is Adam, Dan A, Lee, Mark B, Mark C, Nick, Paul and Raf. No food needed for August cook off but September we have Jameson’s coming so it will be a good opportunity to get on it.
Octomore Masterclass 8.1
Notes will be updated shortly.
Ardbeg Grooves
July Bottle #1, Tasting Notes will be updated shortly.
July 27, 2018 Expensive Taste Meeting Agenda
Location: Mike Bridgeman’s place 147 Lyndhurst Drive Kitchener
Food: Mike, Mark, Frank
Tasters: Posted to the BBM wire, looks delicious
2 Tiered Trial Run: $30 if you want the 60’s, $20 for the tasters, will have 1 60 of Whisky per 5 people who want that option, bring your own mix we will have ice and cups available
Agenda:
- August ET Meeting/Cook off… looking for attendance, teams, budget, BBQ Sandwich Theme…location Ryan Bester’s new place
- Jameson’s tasting lined up and confirmed a go for September 29, 2018, will discuss location, details and # of tasters…this will be no charge for the club
- Hamilton ti-cats game update for Sept 15th, tickets/transportation
- Golf tournament wrap up
- Treasurery Report
- Lotto Updates
- Raffle Bottle
- Logo Updates and this years apparel
- Paintball Updates
June 29, 2018 Meeting Minutes
Host Tamara Maurer
- Taster Signatory Vintages Port Dundas 1991 26 Year Old Cask Strength 58% Bottle # 34 of 236, Tamara to review
- Prospect introduced Lee Snetsinger, welcome good sir!
- Changes to E-board, going forward for the remainder of the year Tom Suliman will be the treasurer and Josh will assume roll of special events, both Josh and Toms positions are up for renewal in January.
- Tom spoke of sending out spreadsheets going forward with financials, there will be one attached to these notes
- Opening treasurer report $2084, dues in $330, Ryan’s paintball 20$, taster cost 262, raffle bottle 33$.
- Frank asked to see comparable from month to month
- Frank re-joined the club, welcome back sir
- Ryan talked about the golf tourney and tee times to be sent out later in week.
- Tom talked about lotto and getting permanent list together
- It was brought to the club on getting rid of the prospect sticker. Club voted to remove rule
- Josh informed the club that there is no box for the ti-cats game, Chad to check into tickets, and Adam said he would check with his brother in-law about a bus.
- Josh has lined up a Jameson’s tasting, it was suggested to have a meeting before the tasting this time. Starting at 7;00pm then the tasting at 9pm
- August 26th there we bill a cook-off to take place at Ryan’s house in Heidelberg, Best BBQ sandwich is the challenge.
- Next meeting to take place at Bridgman’s house on July 27th
- On food next month Mike, Mark, Frank
- A two tiered dues system is being tried. If you wanna drink 60s it will cost you 30$, if not it will cost 20$. Members to let eboard know if they will be drinking 60s. 1 bottle for every five people
- Bridgeman, Luke, Tamara and Lee said they want to drink sixty next meeting
Glenlivet Cipher
At our May gathering we had the pleasure of tasting the Glenlivet Cipher. This month we wanted to try out some duelling reviews. Chad Nagle and Mark Buchholtz offer up some perspectives.
First up Chad:
Glenlivet Cipher
Tasted on May 25th 2018
The idea behind the Glenlivet Cipher is mystery, with no age statement and only information about the casks printed on the bottle left me intrigued. Glenlivet is trying something different this time around, I mean I appreciate consistency, no matter where I am I can get a dram of Glenlivet 15 or at least a 12 year and be content after a long day of travelling or working.
With that in mind, here is what I was able to decipher from Cipher.
Colour:
Nice Dark Amber with rich tones, typical of a Sherry Cask
Palate:
Smooth, Fruity, pears and honey with dark chocolate standing out.
Finish:
Short mild burn, no heat and a quick finish.
Conclusion:
Typical of a Glenlivet, nothing new or surprising about this bottle….
With no age statement on this bottle, I would compare it to their 18 year with a slightly higher price tag.
The marketing, design and presentation of the bottle is very well done, definitely desirable for any collector and with limited availability of the Glenlivet Cipher this will make it surely sought after by collectors. I am a fan of Glenlivet but I was a little disappointed as I was expecting something different or unique out of the Cipher. But as the old adage goes, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Next up Mark’s take:
For our May 2018 taster we had the pleasure of securing a bottle of Glenlivet Cipher from our club’s friend and Glenlivet brand manager Frank. The first thing that strikes you is the mysterious box that the bottle comes in. When you angle it in the light letters show up in different shades and you can make our groupings of letters that seem to form words of flavour profiles. It presents an intriguing proposition right from the get go. The mystery grew deeper when taking the bottle out of the box as it was opaque black and you are unable to see the spirit. This bottle and packaging is truly unique and it will stick out on your whisky shelf/cabinet, and act as an eye catcher and conversation piece.
Bottling and packaging aside let’s get to the spirit.
You could certainly look up tasting details and notes of the bottle before hand but half the fun is drinking it blind. Upon pulling out the cork of the bottle the nose was soft, smooth, sweet with a subtle bit of spice, certainly mysterious in it’s own right as I couldn’t quite place a label on the sweetness.
Pouring out a dram into my glass the spirit was amber in colour and I was able to get more of the spicier parts of the nose with a more pronounced swirl of my glass. The aroma was absolutely inviting and it didn’t take long to delve into the first sip.
Initial flavouring was a combination of sweet, spicy and then a little bit of heat (which after reading the notes it was bottled at 48% explained the heat factor) The sweetness reminded me of a sweet apple like the Honey Crisp variety, got some raisin flavours in there as well, hints of toffee almost like a bit of a darker caramel, leaning into the realm of dark chocolate. All these blended together in a smooth drinkable dram.
The finish was warm with hints of spice, it didn’t linger overly long but that was tough to judge based on my eagerness to drink some more so shortly after the first sip. This expression to me was flawless in its makeup and was all the more exhilarating due to the mystery of the Cipher!
Price point here in Ontario at the LCBO is $199.99, I would highly recommend the purchase should your budget allow.
Details taken from Glenlivets website for further details:
“Using a combination of casks never seen before in The Glenlivet portfolio, our latest, limited-edition expression is truly unique. First-fill American oak imparts delicious notes of vanilla, honey and spices. First-fill sherry adds the opulence of dark chocolate, toffee and dried fruit. The combination: an intriguing fusion of intense, long-lasting flavours.
The Glenlivet Cipher is not chill filtered, so the full taste profile is maintained. The colours are natural, reflecting the personality of the wood. Bottled at 48%, this expression has the spirit to match its bold, yet balanced, flavours.
Intriguing and original.”
Mark Buchholtz
Highland Park Valkyrie
Highland Park Valkyrie was reviewed by Michael Bridgman:
Valkyrie is the first of the Highland Park viking legend series. A valkyrie is an angel who came down from Valhalla to take a fallen warrior off the field of battle to Odin. Hence the black bottle representing death.
On my initial smell I got a light fruity aroma of a fresh peach, with some vanilla and a slight hint of peat, a very traditional highland park aroma. But i was still a little surprised by this since it was a medium to dark in colour.
My taste palate is always a little different from most people, but I did get the fruity vanilla taste, the peat was less than i expected, it was not at all overwhelming and I could have used a little more of it. I also got nutty flavours in the aftertaste. It is a very nice flavour that I persoanlly loved, thus my glass was empty far too quickly.
I really like the story and the art work of the bottle. I am also a fan of highland park for many years now. I liked the flavour and aroma of the this scotch it’s a very well rounded and complex, my only complaint is at $100 for the bottle is that with the great flavour and short after taste the bottle could be gone very quickly and I’d be shelling out for another in short order.
Some additonal notes from the HP website.
NATURAL CASK-DRIVEN COLOUR
(NO ADDITIVES)
Fiery amber
Average colour tint 9.6
FLAVOURS
Green apples | Sun-ripened lemons | Oriental spices | Vanilla | Preserved ginger | Dark chocolate | Salty liquorice | Warm aromatic smoke
ABV
45.9%
https://www.highlandparkwhisky.com/product/valkyrie/
Highland Park 12 year Viking Honour
Review by club member Luke Moffatt
Highland Park 12 year Viking Honour.
The name of this whisky does not refer to the area of Scotland known as The Highlands, but rather to the fact that the distillery was founded on an area called ‘High Park’ distinguished from a lower area nearby. Highland Park is one of the few distilleries to malt some part of the barley it uses, blending locally cut peat from Hobbister Moor with heather before being used as fuel. The malt is peated to a level of 20 parts per million phenol and then mixed with unpeated malt produced on the Scottish mainland. Thank you to Wikipedia for providing this information.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_Park_distillery
I love a good whiskey with a strong background and lets be real for a minute. The Viking culture is arguably one of the richest and more well known cultures from history. What makes a better tale than a horde of warriors sailing for weeks if not months on end with no real idea of where they were going, only to loot and pillage. Warriors that pleased their gods only with the death of their enemies. No amount of prayer or devotion could sway the gods, only death, conquering, and strength. Highland park is very much like this culture. Strong, unique, bold, and brave. You get this right from the moment you open the bottle.
The nose is strong. Strong smoke and sweetness wash over your senses, and what I can only describe an a brine smell. I imagine a Viking longship sailing in stormy weather with a salty mist and a fire going to keep the warriors warm on a cold voyage. A strange sort of calm to mask what was coming. I am intrigued, a little nervous, but I want to know more, so I take a sip and sail into the unknown.
The palate is unique. Just like any conquest, victory is bittersweet and amongst the smoke , I can detect orange, honey, and tropical fruits. I chew for awhile and find that it gets waxy and thick, and for a moment I find myself wondering what side will emerge victorious.
The finish is bold. Bold with the flavours of wood, spice, and black pepper. To the victor go the spoils of war and it is long lasting. A celebration and a marriage of flavours is what truly describes the finish on this whiskey. I am feasting with the victorious Vikings by a fire, celebrating a glorious victory, while an arranged marriage of tribal leaders is debated, so peace can be obtained.
A brave connoisseur is needed to appreciate this. Brave in the sense to appreciate strong, unique, and bold flavours. Pair this whiskey with smoked meats. Cherry, apple, or pear smoke would be excellent. I think slow smoked pork back ribs, beef brisket, or smoked pork chops. Better yet, turn this into a BBQ sauce and baste your meats with it. You may be nervous, but when you emerge victorious, you will not be disappointed.