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”.
Category Archives: Whisky of the Month
Posts of each month’s taster!
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 135.5 – Intriguing? Captivating? Fascinating!
The Club’s second selection from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Coded as their fifth bottling from Loch Lomond Distillery (Highand Region), this 17 year-old whisky certainly lived up to its name by the reaction of members, ranging from “Not for me thanks” to “Interesting…?” to “Pass me another!”. Some odd tasting notes including Chinese Chrysanthemum tea, basmati rice and cactus juice liqueur are noted by the SMWS on the bottle….we didn’t taste much of these flavours, but certainly had an interesting time trying! An enjoyable 1-time bottle.
Glen Scotia Victoriana
This Campbeltown whisky obtained at the LCBO was finished in a heavy-char barrel, but is a very easy drinker for cask strength (54.2%). A fairly sweet flavour, with definite vanilla. Mildly smoky. A drink to enjoy on a warm summer night. $98.80 and sold out. This whisky was paired with an SMWS bottling for the Club’s first ever virtual meeting – a result of COVID-19.
Speyburn 18
This was not the Club’s favourite whisky, although it came in at a reasonable price for an 18 year-old at $190.45 at the LCBO. Matured in American and Spanish Oak Casks. Perhaps a touch sweet with not much complexity, ending in a smokiness that didn’t quite fit the
Glen Breton 19
This Single Malt Whisky comes from Glenora distillery on Cape Breton. Generally mild flavours make it an easy sipper, with light notes of salty brine and smoke, layered under honey and citrus. The Club has sampled 2 Glen Bretons in the past – a 10 and a 15 – and we are happy to support a Canadian distillery once again, particularly given the immigrated Scottish tradition this distillery touts as the heart of its approach to whisky-making. Cheers to a truly Canadian dram!
Scotch Malt Whisky Society G3.9 – Mellow & Alluring
Expensive Taste KW’s very first tasting from the wildly fascinating offerings of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. A new step in the evolution of the club, sampling a one-of-a-kind whisky aged for 36 years and acquired by the Society from a lowland distillery. An honour – so drinkable, yet so unexpected.
The Nikka 12 Year Old
This Japanese whisky is a blended single malt/ single grain, with quite the range of comments online! It is a very smooth and drinkable whisky, but may lack some complexity for the price tag. The bottle is beautiful and worthy of any high-end shelf, inspired after the Japanese Kimono. This whisky was discontinued as of February 2020. All in all, glad we tried it!
The Dalmore 12
The Highland region selection for our Regions of Scotland – 12 Year Anniversary Tasting. A fairly sweet whisky with definite sherry cask influences. Sourced from the LCBO at $99.95.
Bunnahabhain 12
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.
Spey 12 Year Old
One of 7 unique selections for our 12 Year Anniversary, held on January 25, 2020. From the little-known Spey distillery and sourced from Calgary, Alberta. Beautiful bottle and packaging!