Tag Archives: #singlemalt

Glen Keith 25 Year Old

Our April 2025 taster was quite the interesting dram, and one that’s a little more rare and hard to find here in Ontario. This is the Glen Keith 25 Years Old single malt whisky distilled in the Speyside region. This is a bottle of their “Special Aged Releases” series that was bottled in March of 2023. This is one of 1460 bottles from this version that indicates it was matured in 1st fill American oak barrels and comes in at 43% abv.

From the landmark distillery Glen Keith ,which was the first to be built in Speyside region in the 20th century. The tall copper stills used to distill this twenty five year old Whisky imparts distinctively Speyside flavours. On the nose there is a syrupy sweetness; akin to toffee apples and spiced ginger marmalade. This is followed by tangy gooseberry jam and vanilla custard on the palate. The finish is long, smooth and sweet. Tasting Note by The Producer Nose Notes of toffee apple with spiced ginger marmalade. Palate Tangy gooseberry jam and vanilla custard. Finish Long, smooth, and sweet.

Tasting Notes

Nose: A delicate bouquet of ripe orchard fruits, honeycomb, and soft vanilla, underpinned by gentle floral notes and a whisper of oak.

Palate: Lusciously smooth with layers of stewed apples, toasted almonds, and creamy toffee. Hints of citrus zest and nutmeg add a refined spice, while the oak maturation lends depth and structure.

Finish: Long, warm, and impeccably balanced, with lingering notes of dried fruit, vanilla bean, and a soft malt sweetness.

This bottling was easy on the palate and packed some great flavours! I would highly recommend sourcing out a bottle of this for one of the best values in a 25 year old single malt available in Canada.

Tamdhu 18 Year Single Malt

Tamdhu 18

46.8% ABV

$285.20

LCBO

Matured exclusively in Sherry oak cask

The distillery is Located in Speyside region.

Owned by Independent bottlers Ian Macleod a majority of the whisky distilled at Tamdhu that not made in Sherry casks are used for independent bottling or blends.

Not completely rare but Single malt Tamdhu are bit of a unicorn in certain markets and made in limited releases.

Nose:

Rich dark fruits with Cherry and plum, zesty citrus notes and nutty milk chocolate

Palate:

Red apples, dried fruits

Sweet spice, cinnamon and brown sugar

Finish:

Long and lingering, spiced apples and a hint of Sherry 

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!

Strathclyde 31

Taster #4 from our 15th Anniversary prestige whisky extravaganza, leaving only 1 more reveal for that total of 139 years in the barrel! Do the math, this means our 5th and final taster was a whopping 43 years old (post coming soon)!!

Check out Cadenhead’s Strathclyde 31, a single grain whisky from the Scottish Lowlands. It was aged in ex-bourbon casks, with heaps of vanilla ice cream and pecan pie on the nose, and subtly spicy, orange chocolate on the pallet. Sounds scrumptious, and it did not disappoint! 

Strathclyde distillery opened in 1927 and its production primarily goes into blends. It is currently used in Chivas Brothers offerings and owned by Pernod Ricard. There are very few bottlings of straight-up Strathclyde ever made, all from independents. One of a kind, ours was bottled in 2020. Couldn’t have an anniversary without another new distillery to the club, at an impressive 31 years old!

A lovely pre-pop photo, chilling in a snowbank just waiting for us to crack into it! 

Bunnahabhain 27

Our third selection for our 15-year anniversary was “A Marriage of Casks” Bunnahabhain 27, from the Single Malts of Scotland range bottled by Elixir Distillers. This is a small batch vatting of 4 refill bourbon hogshead casks bottled in 2018. Apparently, the bourbon influence is front and centre! Rich, fruity, complex, balanced and buttery with spicy notes. Round and beautiful. It has an average price of $786 CAD. A unique and limited quantity run – a hogshead generally holds 250 liters, meaning less than 1000 liters of this nectar were ever available!

Laphroaig 15

The 15th anniversary of ETKW did not disappoint! 139 years of skilled patience went into aging the 5 highly sought after drams featured by the Club on January 28, 2023.

Our youngest selection was Laphroaig 15, which was a regular product offering in the 1990’s. Its discontinuance was met with harsh reaction in the whisky world as it was very popular among lovers of Islay. We sampled a revived limited edition created to celebrate Laphroaig’s 200th year. Considered highly collectible, it was one of the most sought-after whiskies of 2015. Full-bodied, rich and balanced, with an average listed value of $670 on Whiskybase. 

Stay tuned as we highlight 4 further age statement bottles selected to celebrate ETKW’s landmark 15 year anniversary, for a total of 139 years in the barrel!

Isle of Raasay Single Malt

A bit of a deep dive from the small Hebridean Island just east of Skye. Raasay has only been operating since 2017, and prides itself on employing people who live on Raasay itself as well as distilling, maturing and bottling all of their whisky on the island. Considering less than 200 people live there, we consider this dram a very neat little find! For this flagship whisky, the folks at Raasay mix peated and unpeated whisky that was matured in rye, chinkapin and bordeaux casks, dubbing it their “Six Cask Recipe”. 46.4% ABV. A lovely, unique and clean presentation!

Glasgow 1770 The Original

Another double header, another new distillery for us. Although priced very reasonably at under $150, this is Glasgow Distillery’s inaugural whisky, which won 4 awards across 2019-2020, including gold at the Scottish Whisky Awards. The distillery itself was named Distillery of the Year in 2020. “1770” refers to the history of whisky making in the city of Glasgow, however this specific distillery has only been operating since 2015. 46% ABV, bourbon cask matured and finished in virgin oak.