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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!

Whisky of the Month

Glengoyne Legacy Series Chapter 2

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It’s the second chapter in Glengoyne’s Legacy series! This one was dedicated to Peter Russell, chairman and founder of Ian Macleod Distillers, which bought Glengoyne in 2003. A trio of casks make up this fruity expression, specifically 48% was aged in first-fill bourbon barrels, with 17% in first-fill sherry casks and 35% in oak refill casks.

It’s a deliberate contrast to Chapter One, which was matured in first-fill European oak oloroso sherry casks as well as refill casks. This is a great example of how bourbon casks can make Glengoyne distillate shine and a fantastic demonstration of the distillery’s wood management policy.

News, Whisky of the Month

Port Dundas 1974

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The fifth and final bottle from our 15 year anniversary. Port Dundas 43 – distilled June 1, 1974! Bottled by independent bottler, The Exclusive Grains, with only 228 available. There is very little out there about this rare bottle, from a closed and demolished (2011) Lowland distillery, which once was the largest in Scotland. From our perspective, this was a light and easy-going dram, with some vestiges of vanilla, and definite cereal and herbal tones. A whopping $2300 CAD average on Whisky Base!

What a pleasure to sample these 5 great bottles this past January, now concluding our “139 years in the barrel” journey.

News, Whisky of the Month

Linkwood Artist Collective 21 Year

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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!