Moving onto the 6th and supposed final taster of the Irish evening brought us to the Redbreast 18. The nose revealed stone fruit and oak wood. The whiskey seemed really oily and coated the sides of the glass, leaving long legs. Flavours of chocolate, orange zest, cherries and creamed sherry swirled on the tongue. The whiskey provided a velvety mouth feel that was sweet and spicy going down with a wonderful lingering finish. An excellent Irish whiskey and one that I would love to have in my collection.
Tag Archives: Whisky of the Month
Jameson 18
The 5th taster in our Irish Whiskey evening, the Jameson 18 did not disappoint. The triple distilled whiskey, aged a minimum of 18 years in hand selected American and European oak casks smelled of fresh hay, green apple, honey and caramel. The woody smooth flavour of the whiskey was exceptional, hitting with toffee, brown sugar, and a touch of nutty spice. It all gave way to a smooth, easy finish. Top marks were given all around by the membership, as this dram was enjoyed by all.
Redbreast 15
The 4th taster in our evening of fine Irish whiskey brought us to the Redbreast 15. The nose came through with orchard fruit, caramel and nutty undertones. The flavour starts slowly but builds to include fresh tree fruits, toasted oak, and a touch of spice. It is a well rounded, easy drinker that lingered on the tongue. An overall easy drinker and a fine expression of Irish Whiskey.
Redbreast Lustau Edition
The 3rd taster in our Irish evening was the Redbreast Lustau Edition, which is a sherry cask finished whiskey. The nose has sherry tones, cranberry and red fruit. With the first sip, the sherry washes over you with ripe fruity freshness followed by some nice spiciness. The fruit and spice play nice while the velvety whiskey washes over your tongue. The finish was kind of quick, a tad dry but still very smooth. This taster received rave reviews from most of our club membership. If you can get your hands on a bottle of this, it comes highly recommended.
Green Spot Single Pot Still Whiskey
The first taster in our evening with Joe Duffy brought us Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey. The nose was very sweet with hints of green apple, bourbon and honey. It had great texture and mouthfeel with flavours of toffee, floral notes, and apples. A robust feel on the tongue, with a warm smooth finish that lasted a bit, but not too long. A great way to start what became an amazing evening of whiskey, learning and sharing with friends.
The Glenrothes 18 Year Old
Matured only in sherry seasoned oak casks, a high proportion first fill. Bottled at natural colour, with flavours of ginger, rose water, pears and vanilla.
Strathmill 1996 Aged 23 Years
August marked the annual Expensive Taste KW cook off competition. Before we fired up the grills, the club had a chance to dive into another Signatory Vintages bottling.
We are exploring a new distillery to the already expansive club tasting history, is the Strathmill 1996 23 Year Old single malt whisky. This one was secured via a club members trip to Alberta a couple years back.
Here are the details of this bottling:
Distilled on 07/31/1996
Bottled on 03/06/2020, remarkably right around the start of the covid shutdowns.
Bottle # 391 of 458 produced from a marriage of cask #’s 2099 and 2103 (must be Strathmill’s numbering system)
This cask strength whisky came in at 57.4% abv.
Notes: There isn’t much out there on this specific bottling. But I’ll add a few details I took during the tasting.
Nose: warm sweetness, grassy undertones with a little bit of the alcohol from the cask strength
Pallate: stonefruit, warm grassy understones, but not too strong that it overpowers, a little bit of dry sweetness
Finish: was quite warm, got a little bit of the dryness come through again, perhaps some lingering of the sherry hogshead finishing barrels
This one was really interesting, not overly complex, the finish didn’t linger too long, was quite clean. Once again will say quite warm on that finish. A bunch of the group tried it with a drop of water in our drams. Would recommend you try it both ways so that you can compare for yourself.
Overall I think I would like this whisky more when the temp drops to around 0 on a late fall afternoon, maybe not on a warm Saturday afternoon in August.
Really solid tasting overall!
Glenbow Single Malt whisky from Bridgeland Distillery
(Calgary, AB)
45.5% ABV
$74.00
2 years in New American Oak and 1 year in ex-Bourbon barrels from Texas’ Balcones distilling.
I didn’t get many tasting notes on this extremely unique Single Malt whisky by way of Calgary. In my searches I came across a fantastic write up by Park Whiskey Society. Figured they wouldn’t mind if I add a link to their detailed and extensive write up on this wonderful whisky. Thanks to them for sharing their expertise! Have a look!
In-Depth Review: Bridgeland Distillery Glenbow Canadian Single Malt Whisky – Park Whiskey Society
Two Brewers Release 42 Yukon Single Malt
This 2nd Canadian whisky taster this month hails from way up north in the Yukon Territory. One could say that Two Brewers Distillery has started another gold rush, this time in liquid form!
(Whitehorse, YT)
46% ABV
$106.00
This delightful expression offers a lighter take on the Two Brewers Classic, approachable for all but each morsel tinged by complexity. A gentle ride for some, an exhilarating chase for others.
Flitting and flickering through the nose, delicate and enticing. The prominent aroma of fresh hewn oak hides hints of soft-fleshed fruits that better reveal themselves as the dram rests. Raw sugar sweetness leads across each sip joined by green peppercorn and bright melon and a lingering oaken finish.
Two Brewers Whisky | Yukon Single Malt Whiskyhttps://www.twobrewerswhisky.com/
What a fantastic whisky, well done Two Brewers, looking forward to trying more of your expressions!
Shelter Point 10 Year Old Single Malt
The Single Malt Canadian whisky market is here and is here to make a statement.
This month we have Three Single Malt Canadian whiskeys on tap.
In a small niche market which Glen Breton had typically only played in has now become a boom on Canada’s beautiful West Coast up to Yukon Territory across the Prairies to the 100th Meridian(where the Great Plains begin).
Are we ready to take on the global single malt market dominated by Scotland? Not yet, however, us Canadians are not scared of our foes and we thrive on commitment and excellence in every endeavour we choose to take on.
This is just the beginning for our Home and native land and its Single Malt whisky industry.
Friday June 28th we can sit back, relax and enjoy some Canadian ingenuity in liquid form. Whether the whisky is good or bad it won’t matter because after the last drop is gone, Canada is still the best country in the world!
Shelter Point 10 Year Old Single Malt
(Oyster River, B.C)
46% ABV
$118.00
Matured in 3 different ex-bourbon casks
- Nose: Rich chewy caramel malt, no abv, light spice, touch floral
- Taste: Bold, sweet and spicy, creamy caramel malt, baking spice, the oak is balancing
- Finish: Salinity, joins the sweet malt and tasty oak.
The club felt this one was bang on and most represented a true single malt scotch version, just one that was distilled and aged right here in Canada on Vancouver Island. What a fantastic bottling and taster that all enjoyed. Oh Canada!!
