As you swirl your dram you will be struck by the rich molasses colour and your nose will be treated to a symphony of spices. Your first sip will bring the tastes of cinnamon and a fruity flavour that will bring cherries to mind. This will give way to a subtle, but still noticeable, warmth in the chest. This very welcome feeling will linger to remind you of the full flavoured whisky that has been gifted by the Scottish Highlands.
The club had the pleasure of a guided tasting with Frank The Glenlivet Ontario ambassador. We were all enthralled with the detailed guided tours supplemented by some fascinating whiskey stories. Frank brought 4 scotches for the main tasting. Founders’ Reserve, 12 Year, 15 Year and finally 18 Year. The tasting took just under an hour while Frank treated up to an oral history of The Glenlivet, mixed in with personal Glenlivet stories, including his trips to Scotland. After the 4 tastings Frank surprised the group by pulling out a special bottle he had hiding in his trunk. We had the enjoyment of tasting The Glenlivet Nadurra First Fill Selection. Overall a great guided tour, thank you Frank and Glenlivet, now time for detailed tasting notes below:
Founders’ Reserve: Sweet fruit notes of oranges and pears with the hint of apple toffee. Great smooth finish with a touch of cream. You can almost taste hints of the over 23 whiskeys that were blended together for this complex dram. Overall a fantastic whiskey that is available at the LCBO for just over $50.
12 Year: Little touch of a floral note mixed with fresh peaches and pears. Touch of vanilla and sweet honey. Finished smooth with a light spiciness mixed with a nutty note… I can’t quite place the type of nut, maybe a hazelnut flavour.
15 Year: A slightly darker version compared to the 12 year, this 15 year iteration has a sweet balanced flavour with the traditional fruitiness rounded out by a touch of cinnamon and spice, almost like the oatmeal flavour from when you were a kid.
18 Year: A balanced darker finish as this gets the bourbon and sherry cask treatment to make it quite distinct from the other three tasters. Smooth balanced flavour with a burst of spice mixed with oranges or orange peel and a nice oaky toasted touch. The sherry cask finish is one of my favourites.
Nadurra First Fill Selection: For this one I will consult The Glenlivet web site so you get the full picture; Nàdurra, meaning “natural” in Gaelic, is The Glenlivet’s range of small-batch expressions made using traditional 19th-century techniques. The Nàdurra First Fill is drawn from casks made of American white oak which have never before been used to mature Scotch whisky. These oak casks, which distillers at The Glenlivet have favoured since the early 1900s, impart hints of creamy vanilla to this wonderfully rich single malt.
You can really taste the difference with the different finish of a virgin oak barrel, sweet pear and pineapple notes with a touch of citrus followed by a bit of a spicy finish as this bottling is a little strong at 48% ABV. Great overall Glenlivet expression.
My favourite of the night is the one I am most likely to purchase in the near future the Founders Reserve. I absolutely loved the expression, was a perfectly balanced blend. Who needs a date on the bottle to enjoy Whiskey? Not this guy.
Overall a huge thank you to The Glenlivet and Frank for the fantastic tasting and history lesson!
On February 26th, Expensive Taste KW was graced with the presence of Glenfiddich and taken on a tasting tour of a variety of the drams available, and a special rare cask Storas 21.
For anyone that hasn’t tried any of the Glenfiddich bottles I suggest you go out and purchase one of these fine batches. Whether it’s the beginner level 12 year old or a rare hard to find 21 year old Stòras with only 4,600 bottles produced I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.
12 year Review
Nose: A nice scent of fruits mixed with a hint of caramel. Although a little dry, it has crisp earthy tones with next to no smoke scent.
Pallet: It has a thin, watery body to it which flows very well down the throat. Slight taste of pear with very mild oak and vanilla flavorings makes this a very easy drinker.
Finish: The finish is a little sweet but has a long, smooth and mellow taste that makes me want to indulge more frequently. Great overall bottle, especially for the price.
15 year Review
Nose: This 15yr old has an amazing smell of honey and vanilla mixed with rich dark fruits that all blend beautifully together.
Pallet: The pallet is smooth with hints of sherry, cinnamon and vanilla which give it a full body of bursting unforgettable flavor.
Finish: The finish is definitely anything but bitter. With a taste of faint dried fruits, a little nuttiness and almost a shortbread lingering, this 15yr old is satisfyingly rich in sweetness and is one of my all-time favorites.
18 year Review
Nose: A rich aroma of fruit, oak, hint of apple and a slight whiff of sherry make this an amazing kick to the nose for a batch that has been in casks for 18 years.
Pallet: The taste delivers rich, elegant flavors you could only expect from an 18 year old. Strong hazelnut and pecan flavorings mixed with fruit and honey make this an exceptional year.
Finish: Medium finish but very warm and inviting. Leaves a savory, distinguished taste at the back of your throat. Glenfiddich knew what they were doing with this batch.
The Original – 63 Review
Nose: A great mixture of vanilla, sweet honey, berries, dry fruit and a touch of oakiness makes this original flow nicely with the senses. Also has the strongest scent of these 5 reviews.
Pallet: Starts soft and sweet with notes of caramel and honey, then dips into Smokey oak with just a touch of peat, citrus and spices.
Finish: Has the finish Glenfiddich is known for but enough character to keep it interesting and deliciously dry. Great bottle.
Nose: Very peaty smell but blends nicely with the aroma of mocha, vanilla and toasted nuts.
Pallet: This bottle is a little sweet like the original 63 but has a wonderful taste of oaky vanilla and caramelized fruit with just a touch of smoke and spices.
Finish: The finish on the Stòras is amazing and very enjoyable. The medium intensity of this easy drinker is something you need to try if you are a fan of whisky. With a long complex finish of fruits, oak and buttery goodness this is absolutely something worth indulging in if you can stomach the price tag of almost $200.
Caol Ila 30 year old is a special release from the Diageo collection in 2014. The oldest official bottling to date from the distillery. A marriage of American and European oak. Only 7,638 bottles worldwide.
Nose: As we have come to expect from Caol Ila. This 30 year old is very warm and bacon like. With a bouquet of orange and lemon, and hints of vanilla which is very pleasing.
Palate: At first sip it commands respect and reminds you that you have a dram of a fine single malt! As it sits it begins to mellow and the ashey peat begins to peak thorough followed by the citrus undertones that come through on the nose.
Finish: Is one that can be summarized in one word… AWESOME!!! This mouth coating ,well rounded flavour house, is one which has to be enjoyed with a sophisticated palate and a fine cigar .
Overall 9/10. I would still recommend an eye drop of water just to really open it up. Anyone would be privileged to have it on their bar.
For someone who has only tasted a handful of Irish Whiskeys this one was by far the best I have ever tried!
A well balanced nose which was pleasant and addictive, but that was only the beginning of this memorable experience. The palate was even more exciting with a sweet full flavour that had hints of vanilla, cinnamon and candied fruits. The finish was spicy and long lasting. When it was all over I was sad to say goodbye.
I would highly recommend this bottle to any amateur or experienced whiskey drinker. A great bottle! If you can get your hands on one…
A sniff of the glass did not produce any strong reactions. It was fruity but not overpowering so and did take a second sniff to identify even that. The taste was like the smell and was very easy going down with a sweet taste and just a hint of oak The aftertaste was dry and did not carry a strong exit taste. Overall I found this bottle as very easy drinking scotch. May not appeal to some looking for a strong reaction, but was to my taste in scotch.
Nose- The aroma off of the Balvenie is quite lackluster. With only hints of rum, then coming to a close with subtle sweet undertones (toffee, vanilla). Just that, short and sweet.
GlenDronach 18 Year Old Tawny Port Finish
Colour:
The colour is almost caramel in appearance due to the finish in the port cask
N
ose:
The nose is fruity and fudgy with hints of pear, cherry, and caramel fudge coupled with spice notes of cinnamon and nutmeg.
Taste:
The fruit shines through with notes of cherry, pear, and roasted apple and combines with caramel, making the taste quite sweet and syrupy with a wisp of smoke to be had. The flavor lingers on the tongue before releasing into a slow dry finish.
Overall:
I would rate this as a 7.5/10, quite a good scotch, but maybe not worthy of adding to a personal collection.
The Dalmore 15 from the Highland region of Scotland, matured for 13 years in American white oak and then for a further year in a combination three styles of sherry wood (Matusalem, Apostoles, and Amoroso), definitely showed signs of this on the nose. This was the first Dalmore that the club has sampled and it did not disappoint.
Known for their orange overtones, you could understand this as the first sip hits with a blast of citrus flavour. With the additional year of sherry cask maturation, it smoothes out the citrus with what you would typically find in a more mature smooth sherry finish. After the initial taste, this dram does show some heat but finds a way to warm nicely as you finish it off. The finish was medium-long and brought in some additional flavour including a note of vanilla.
This moderately priced bottle for one of its class is one to be added to your collection, if you enjoy a nice warm whisky near the fire on a cold winter’s day, but has a hint of summer as shown by its citrus flavour.