Posts of each month’s taster!
Inchgower is another first-time distillery for the Club from the Speyside region. One of 255 bottles. 51.5% ABV. As the bottle suggests, “21 Glorious Years Old”, with an earthy honeyed sweetness. Sourced from Alberta. A nice, pleasing sampler.
A rare bottle from 1988 from the dusty shelf of our very own Lee Snetsinger. Great presentation! Sweetness from the port finish is apparent, along with vanilla and oak notes. A great opportunity to taste a unique Speysider.
April’s second selection – a hefty 60% cask strength! Formerly available in the LCBO at $109.65.
A double-header March Speyside tasting rounded out with another novel distillery to the Club. Tamdhu Single Cask, distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2018, was another great example of a little-known distillery that can pack a punch. This bottle is 1 of only 317. Adding a little water to this dram did change it significantly – thanks to “Ben” for that “magical” post-it note tip, and Club member Lee for sacrificing this one to the cause! A lovely taster with lots of dried fruit, raisins, apricots, jam and of course, toasty sherry.
Another first-timer for Club Expensive Taste. An interesting sampler with a lovely bright straw (natural) colour. Light and fruity, grape-forward, certain vanilla, with a hit of spice on the end. A delicate and appealing combination. 43%, hogshead maturation and a very appealing price point at only $100 with shipping from out-of-country. Glad we broadened the horizons with this little rarity.
The Club returned to its roots with this rare Speysider, celebrating our official 200th taster bottle (!) by duplicating the very first distillery we featured way back in 2008. Paired with a smooth Davidoff cigarillo from the Dominican to honour the occasion, this whisky delivered the party feel with hints of the tropics, along with vanilla, chocolate, warm baking spices and a touch of tobacco. This was our first taste from independent bottler La Maison du Whisky, with a great first impression from the lovely artwork on the packaging. This bottle spent 21 years in a refill sherry hogshead. 1428 bottles were released. 58% ABV. Sourced from a private collector. Congratulations ETKW on this extraordinary milestone!
Bottle #5 of our 13-year Anniversary themed event – The Far Flung Regions of Scotland. The Northern Selection:
For this aged group of dedicated ET members (13 years!) I am of solid opinion that every anniversary needs a Unicorn. The Valhalla Collection from Highland Park celebrates the Norse Gods of Freya, Loki, Thor and Odin, one released per year from 2012 to 2015. HP later released 2 additional similarly packaged bottles in 2016, Fire (celebrating Ragnarok) and Ice (celebrating the Ice Realm). We all know HP has carried on with several more bottles celebrating the northern Scottish Island of Orkney, HP’s blustery home, and its roots in Norse mythology.
Alas, the entire Valhalla collection is as yet out of reach. But even a piece of this rare collection, the few bottles of which are left in existence sitting on private collector’s shelves, was a Viking Honour to sample…