The nose reminds me of walking into a well maintained Century Home, this whisky is from a first fill Hogshead. Wood comes though on the nose, as well as floral notes and black liquorice.
The first sip definitely reminds me of black liquorice candies and maybe a tiny hint of pepper. It makes my throat feel like it’s been washed in chloraseptic spray, which isn’t actually a bad thing. It has a mild finish, with ginger, and is slightly warming but not overpowering.
A pretty decent whisky, maybe not perfect for my personal palate, but different than anything else I’ve tried before and enjoyable. Not something I’d sit down and drink more than one of, but a nice bottle to share with a fellow whisky enthusiast. 54.4ABV. $200 and sourced from Alberta – Chad N.
When a bottle of Bunnahabhain 18 became available to us, it was a no-brainer to snap it up. I first sampled this whisky at Spirit of Toronto in 2016 and it stood out as one of my favourites of the evening. With sherry notes that do not overwhelm, it comes across as complex and warm, a touch oily and nutty. Delicious. [Some online critiques mention batch variation for this particular whisky…quality certainly wasn’t an issue with this specific bottle, but an interesting note to keep an eye out for as this will be repeat buy!]
This bottling is the 10th in Glenmorangie’s Private Edition Series (and I understand it is the last of the series). It is bitter-sweet in taste, with mild vanilla and citrus flavours and woody-earthy tones. The highlight of this whisky is the claim that the distillery used wild yeast grown on their own local barley, creating a creamy, “old-style” feel. Some criticism is the casks utilized in aging killed the complexity of the yeast, leaving a fairly simple tasting whisky with too much wood on the palate. A beautiful deep gold colour, it looks lovely on the shelf. “Allta” is Scots Gaelic for “wild”.
Another selection from our 12 Year Anniversary meeting, which featured one whisky from every classic whisky region of Scotland, as well as a popular Japanese Whisky. Bunnahabhain is a general club favourite, hailing from Islay, near Port Askaig.
This year we are running a raffle for the “Glass Turkey”. Details can be had by contacting any member of the club. Tickets are being sold for $2 each or the 3 for $5 deal. The draw for the “Glass Turkey” will take place on Friday May 31, 2019 at approximately 9pm and the winner will be notified immediately to make arrangements for prize delivery. In past years we have donated upwards of $200 to a local charity in KW, this year we have selected KidsAbility. The more tickets we sell the greater the donation to this fantastic organization. May luck be on your side in this years’ “Glass Turkey” raffle. Further details can be had by contacting eboard@expensivetastekw.org
Well, here we are again with yet another record breaking year for participants in the annual Expensive Taste Masters Tournament! The club would just like to thank everyone for joining us in this and to wish everyone the best of luck as this great tournament progresses throughout the weekend!
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