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Whisky of the Month

Bunnahabhain 44 Year Old

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Hands down this was our best year as a club and we are going to celebrate the fruits of our labours with the oldest and possibly rarest expression we have ever shared together. What a way for us to share in the 17 Year anniversary of Expensive Taste KW whisky club.

Bunnahabin 44 Year Old

Single Malts of Scotland – Directors Special

42.4% ABV

$1865.00 (Private collection)

Bottled from a Single Cask (Sherry butt).

Producer Tasting Notes:

Nose: 

At first a fruity mix of plum wine, caramel cake spread with quince jam, marshmallows and bubblegum. Chunky gingerbread, fresh out of the oven, is served with a cup of cardamom tea. Elegant wildflowers – daisy and meadowsweet – decorate the scene.

Palate: 

Juicy texture, with soft florals and fresh peppermint leaves followed by damp staves of oak, like barrels of Armagnac resting in a cellar. Fruity tangerine, heather honey and mango play with more austere flavours of tobacco and rooibos tea. Exceptionally complex.

Finish: 

Layered and lengthy, with rounded menthol notes, soft liquorice and dusty wood panels adding accent to the finish.

This was the crown jewel tasting bottle from our 17 Year club anniversary tasting in January. Simply I am at a loss for words to describe the “WOW” factor of this Bunnahabhain 44 year. This was independently bottled by the Single Malts of Scotland group and was sourced from one of our member private collections. By far the oldest expression we have had a club and certainly one of the best in terms of overall flavour and deliciousness. There was still plenty of the normal “Bunna” notes backed by varying layers of sweetness. Was bottled under their traditional 46% ABV, but that did not take away anything from the intensity of the flavours. A potentially dangerous whisky that you would want to have multiple drams of it, but we were limited to just over 1 oz. each as we shared it with our 19 members. The overall feedback was great and we were certainly blown away with the most prestigious and rare bottling we have ever tried as a club. Long live the “Bunna” in all it’s 44 Years of glory!

Whisky of the Month

Glenmorangie Signet Reserve

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This one was actually acquired from the LCBO and was a last minute addition to the evenings tasting menu and a polar opposite from the Ardbeg Y2K that will be sure to appeal to those with a love of Highland spirits. There is certainly some love amongst the club membership for previous releases of Glenmorangie’s Signet, so this one caught the eye and it fit into our budget for the anniversary tasting party.

LCBO: 46% ABV

$715.00

Inspired by a winsome cup of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, Signet Reserve is distilled from a chocolate malt(a heavily toasted barley malt) that imparts espresso, tiramisu and bitter dark chocolate notes ageing in Sherry, bourbon and new oak barrels adds butterscotch, vanilla and spice notes.

Tasting Notes by The Producer:

Nose

Deep and powerful aromas. Dark chocolate sponge cake and intense espresso coffee. As the nose develops, more coffee and chocolate flavours mix with hazelnut cream, orange zest and muscovado sugar.

Palate

A big mouthcoating whisky with a texture that coats the tastebuds from the first sip. Chocolate truffles, toffee, treacle and fudge. Then notes of Turkish coffee and roasted coffee beans. Some toasted cinnamon emerges mixing with orange oil, citrus, milk chocolate raisins, then raspberry.

Finish

Incredibly complex flavours of coffee and chocolate develop in the lengthy finish. More creamy toffee eventually finishes in the familiar flavour of tiramisu.

In the order of tasting we did this one last out of the 3 anniversary tasting bottles this month. I would categorize this as a “dessert whisky”, something akin to an aperitif. Still a fantastic overall tasting experience and happy to have explored this one. The consensus with the club members though was that we had a hard time differentiating why this one was pretty much double the cost of a regular bottling of Glenmorangie Signet. While delightful to the palate and a great finisher for this evenings tasting lineup we were left scratching our heads as to why we didn’t just go for a normal Signet as opposed to the reserve version. Certainly worth a try, however the bang for the buck proposition, just does not add up at the price point.

Whisky of the Month

Ardbeg Y2K 23 Year Old

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Also known as the “Millenium Spirit”

“A glitch in the Ardware”, reads the inside of the box. Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K is a series of limited releases of whiskies distilled in the year 2000. Each one will represent a different side of the distillery, with no two whiskies alike. Ardbeg Vintage_Y2K 23 is a single malt Islay Scotch whisky matured in oloroso and bourbon casks for 23 years.

Bottled at 46% ABV.

Notes from Ardbeg:

Nose:

Herbal, sweet and fragrant with subtle perfumed smokiness. Zesty lemon balsam, linseed oil and walnuts a touch of water and the flavour intensifies emitting Heather honey a touch of creosote(bitter and oily like turpentine) and a tiny trace of tent canvas.

Palate:

The texture is fizzy with a real effervescence on the tongue. At first the flavour is intensely sweet then shifts as aniseed(licorice), toffee, digestive biscuits, peppermint, menthol, tar and coffee grits 

Finish:

The sooty/Tarry flavours keep building until they finally dissolve into a long lingering aftertaste of antiseptic lozenges, bitter oranges and oak tannins.

This was such a preculiar whisky, anything that states a touch of tent canvas in the nosing notes might scare someone off on this expression. However it was a fantastic overall 23 Year Old whisky with an amazing backtory from Arbeg as they laid down spirit back prior to the hoopla about the the Y2K bug back prior to the calendar turning tto 2000. This expression was released a few years back but we were able to secure one from one of our members private collections. Thank you for the suggestion and would highly recommend you try this one out should the opportunity present itself.

Whisky of the Month

BenRiach 24 year old Single Cask

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This bottle #2 for our July BenRiach double tasting.

Distilled in July 7th 1997

Bottled in 2022

Bottle 69/176

Cask Strength 56.7% ABV

Exclusively selected and bottled for Alberta

Bourbon barrel cask

Notes from Kensington Wine market website.

Nose: decadent, creamy, and fruity with subtle spice; creamed honey, clotted cream, and creme brule; orange pith, dried apricot, and honey dew melon; nutty and toasty with almond brittle.

Palate: creamy, sweet, and fruity with juicy malt; a base of buttery toasted oak with decadent spices; more clotted cream, creme brule, and creamed honey; the fruits start in the citrus/orchard range, but evolve into more tropical ones like green mango and pineapple; Earl Grey Tea icecream and toasted marshmallows to round things out; sliced ginger and cinnamon hearts.

Finish: warming, spicy, and toasty, the finish is long, coating the palate with fading fruits and sweet creamy treats.

Certainly this bottling is a rarity and once one of our members wins the remaining at our annual bottle auction it is likely to be gone forever. One of only 176 bottles made from this single cask, amazing find and a treat for the whisky lover!

Whisky of the Month

BenRiach 20 Year Old

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Both tasters this month are from the vault of our very own Tamara Mauer! Thank you very much for coming through for this month, no doubt everyone will benefit from your generosity and perfectly normal and healthy addiction to hoarding whisky! No doubt we are in for a treat with this BenRiach double taster.

BenRiach 20 year old

43% ABV

700ml bottle

Notes from Whisky Base:

  • Nose
    Balanced nose with apple Helene and berries with spicy vanilla. You think of smoke, but very far away. Then some herbs in the soup. This is how fun the nose is.
  • Taste
    Less happens here than the nose promises. Too bad. But still very balanced sweetness with woody spices and some candied caramel. OK, there are also small oranges with vanilla sticks. But everything looks very harmonious. After work malts.
  • Finish
    Medium to long but everything in the bitter direction. Not uncomfortable, however. With peppery spices and still sweet, he says goodbye with his head held high. Good craft!

Wow! Another great BenRiach expression, they never disappoint!

Whisky of the Month

Highland Park 1989 30 Year Old

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Gordon and Macphail Independent bottled at Cask Strength 51.1 % ABV

This Highland Park 1989 30 Year Old was bottled once again by Gordon and Macphail at a cask strength 51.1 % ABV. Finished in refill Sherry butt casks. This specific version was filled in 1989 and then bottled on March 20, 2019.

Nose: Toffee and coffee bean aromas with a citrus tinge

Palate: Pepperiness backed by orange zest, dark choclate and warming spices

Finish: Long and fruity, smooth sherry warmth, hint of charred oak smoke

It’s not too often we venture into the realm of 30 Year old single malts, but once again we were able to find this gem of an independent bottling from Gordon and Macpail for a reasonable price point whish isn’t too bad when you have a group of people contributing to the purchase. This was the highlight of the night for our 16 year club anniversary. Highland park has long been a club favourite and this expression did not disappoint. A must try for all lovers of Highland Park whisky. Shout out to our whisky procurement point man Chad Nagle, the line up to celebrate our 16 year club anniversary was absolutely fantastic. Cheers to all!

Whisky of the Month

Mac-Talla Strata 15 Year

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15 year old single malt from the Mac-Talla range, titled Strata, as a reference to the various rock formations across Islay’s shores. The whisky is also from Islay, though the distillery remains a mystery. Drawn from a combination of bourbon and sherry casks, it’s a flavoursome dram with fruity, spice, and whiffs of mineral-rich smoke.

Nose Rock pools and sea shells, juxtaposed by redcurrant and toffee pennies.

Palate Rounded barley with waves of soft smoke, dotted by chocolate, vanilla, cassia, and salted butter.

Finish Very subtly grassy, still with vanilla and coastal peat smoke at the fore.

Whisky of the Month

Inchdairnie RyeLaw

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RYELAW

A RYE WHISKY THAT QUESTIONS HISTORY

£114.99 inc VAT & delivery

RyeLaw is a single distillery Fife Rye Scotch Whisky made from malted rye and barley. It is hammer milled, mashed, outdoor fermented, precision distilled and matured in new charred oak casks at InchDairnie Distillery in Fife.

RyeLaw is the world’s only precision distilled malted rye Scotch whisky.

About: We are a Fife distillery that builds on malt whisky tradition, while actively exploring and pushing the limits of Scotch whisky. From grain to bottle, we take an innovative approach to flavour, and engineer our whiskies with a strong purpose: to excite palates.

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Whisky of the Month

Highland Park 21 2022

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This latest release of our 21 Year Old opens with enticing aromas of espresso coffee, dark chocolate, marmalade on toast and crushed coriander seeds. Notes of tangy ginger and oriental spice driven by first-fill, sherry seasoned European oak hogsheads marry sweet citrus and cedar notes from ex-bourbon barrels, while refill casks diffuse any lingering oak and deliver an intriguing layer of complexity. This, and all bound in an aromatic cloud of our trademark heather-infused peat smoke.

Created from only 14 casks, all laid down in 2000 and earlier years, our 2022 release is a superb example of the expert craftsmanship of our Master Whisky Maker, Gordon Motion, who has selected three distinctive cask types and married them to perfection, creating a mature whisky of exceptional quality and character.

Whisky of the Month

Glengoyne Legacy Series: Chapter 3

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It’s the third installment of Glengoyne’s The Legacy Series, and this one celebrates the distillery’s original excise manager Sir Arthur John Tedder. Tedder lived on site after taking up the role in 1889, enabling him to keep a keen eye out for any illicit whisky leaving the warehouses! This single malt is bottled from a selection of ex-sherry casks chosen from the Glengoyne warehouses, where they presumably remain under heavy guard by Sir Tedder’s predecessors. A delicious reminder of the importance of attention to detail, demonstrated masterfully as ever by the folks at Glengoyne.

Notes from the club on the Glengoyne Legacy Series Chapters 1-3:

Chapter 3 was the outright favourite of the series, followed closely by Chapter 1. It’s amazing how the different subtleties of the various cask finishes lead to a variety of different flavours from the same distillate. Once again these value oriented whiskies gave a full tour of the range of finishes and taste profiles from this fantastic distillery. Certainly add it to your lists if you are still able to find the Legacy series near your. A must purchase!