Glen Keith is another Speyside distillery that is new to us, and what a treat at 28 years old! Such a lovely presentation and an even lovelier bourbon barrel aged whisky inside, offered as part of the Carn Mor “Celebration of the Cask” series. Vanilla, caramel, apples and peaches, oh my! Thoroughly enjoyable and one I wish I could find again. Cask Strength at 55.6%. Sourced from Alberta and long sold out.
Inchgower is another first-time distillery for the Club from the Speyside region. One of 255 bottles. 51.5% ABV. As the bottle suggests, “21 Glorious Years Old”, with an earthy honeyed sweetness. Sourced from Alberta. A nice, pleasing sampler.
A rare bottle from 1988 from the dusty shelf of our very own Lee Snetsinger. Great presentation! Sweetness from the port finish is apparent, along with vanilla and oak notes. A great opportunity to taste a unique Speysider.
A double-header March Speyside tasting rounded out with another novel distillery to the Club. Tamdhu Single Cask, distilled in 2004 and bottled in 2018, was another great example of a little-known distillery that can pack a punch. This bottle is 1 of only 317. Adding a little water to this dram did change it significantly – thanks to “Ben” for that “magical” post-it note tip, and Club member Lee for sacrificing this one to the cause! A lovely taster with lots of dried fruit, raisins, apricots, jam and of course, toasty sherry.
Another first-timer for Club Expensive Taste. An interesting sampler with a lovely bright straw (natural) colour. Light and fruity, grape-forward, certain vanilla, with a hit of spice on the end. A delicate and appealing combination. 43%, hogshead maturation and a very appealing price point at only $100 with shipping from out-of-country. Glad we broadened the horizons with this little rarity.
Bottle #5 of our 13-year Anniversary themed event – The Far Flung Regions of Scotland. The Northern Selection:
For this aged group of dedicated ET members (13 years!) I am of solid opinion that every anniversary needs a Unicorn. The Valhalla Collection from Highland Park celebrates the Norse Gods of Freya, Loki, Thor and Odin, one released per year from 2012 to 2015. HP later released 2 additional similarly packaged bottles in 2016, Fire (celebrating Ragnarok) and Ice (celebrating the Ice Realm). We all know HP has carried on with several more bottles celebrating the northern Scottish Island of Orkney, HP’s blustery home, and its roots in Norse mythology.
Alas, the entire Valhalla collection is as yet out of reach. But even a piece of this rare collection, the few bottles of which are left in existence sitting on private collector’s shelves, was a Viking Honour to sample…
Bottle #4 of our 13-year Anniversary themed event – The Far Flung Regions of Scotland. The Islay Detour:
Betcha thought we were headed north! But we shall take a brief jaunt to the very distinct and beloved Islay, the most populated and popular (distillery-wise) of the remote Scottish islands. Hunter Liang’s Old & Rare Platinum range brilliantly picked up enough for only 209 bottles of Laphroaig 18, before the vintage was discontinued by the distillery in 2016 as it started to phase out some age statements in exchange for other special release drams. Hence it now being both old and rare! Hard to come by even from independent bottlers, this wee beastie is beautifully packaged and, of course, boldly peated. Sure to be a bottle auction hot topic for this Club, it’s the perfect she-be-gone cask-strength sipper for a cold Canadian winter night. (The club loved it – wish we had more!).