We rounded out this fabulous tasting with 3.0, a lovely combination of charcoal, butterscotch, and of course, peat! It is Laphroaig, after all. All three bottles were sourced from outside the LCBO. Always looking forward to our next frogger!
This was our 2nd taster of the guided tasting with Joe Duffy. The Redbreast 12 is one of their core offerings and is usually available at most LCBO’s. It is a solid dram at a decent price point for Irish Whiskey. One the nose you get lots of red fruit, plum and cherries came to my mind, along with hints of apple, raisins, wood and nuts. Upon tasting it comes across as a very sherry forward taste, with hints of sweet fruit and dark chocolate. The finish is super smooth, not much length to it, and finishes quickly. The Redbreast 12 is an easy drinker, best enjoyed amongst friends.
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.
Nothing like a 46-year-old unicorn to kick off the Club’s new year, and to celebrate 18 years of some damn fine whisky gone before. Unreal to ponder, when this bottle was laid down in a remote dusty Scottish warehouse , most of our parents were only 7 years old!
Glenburgie ’64 was dry, fruity, oaky and such a lovely old timer. Just a few sips of this mellow, subtly sweet dinosaur simply was not enough. A delicate dram for the ages – what a treat! Cheers to 18 years ETKW and to many more fine nectars still to be explored!
Benriach 30 certainly went over well as another 18-Year Anniversary taster, with some Club members voting it their favourite of the night! It was a pretty hard choice to select just one…hard to believe the evening had 2 other even older beautiful drams on offer!
The youngest of 4 fantastic bottles sampled for our much-anticipated 18-Year Anniversary. Had to have at least one whisky distilled 18 years ago for this amazing milestone! Cheers ETKW!
The Club enjoyed a duo of 21 year-old beauties in November. Both sourced from Alberta.
Our taster bottle for July was aged and bottled by the cask-gobbling beast that is Gordon & MacPhail, a 20 year-old Macallan distilled in 2004, marketed under the modified name of “Speymalt” due to the independent bottling.
This one promised to be fantastic, a big sherry bomb at 59.1%, and did not disappoint. Chocolate was the word of the day during this sampling. Good Macallan is hard to come by at an affordable price these days, so we’ll take it! Sourced from Alberta, with some still available at the low low price of $500 +tax. Darn Lovely!
This single cask bottling of Ardmore Single Malt whisky is brought to you by one of the greats in the independant bottling world, Gordon and Macphail. Here are the details:
Bottled at Cask Strength 55.5%
1 of 223 Bottles
Filled using Refill American Hogshead in 1998
Bottled Jan 26, 2021 at 22 Years of aging.
Notes from Gordon and Macphail: Citrus and crystalised violet aromas gives way to milk chocolate. Flavours grapefruit and brazil nuts lead to sured meats. A medium bodied finish with a lingering spice.
There’s not a whole lot of notes out there on this exclusive bottling as it’s one of only 223 bottles of this specific version. I must agree with our club members that this was a delight to try out and share. A very unique and interesting whisky that doesn’t taste as “hot” per say of a normal cask strength bottling. You didn’t need a drop of water to enjoy the full flavours and aromas of this offering. I would say great job all around to the finishing and bottling from the team at Gordon and Macphail.
From our experience you just can’t go wrong with with these independant bottling offerings!
A little about Ardmore:
The Ardmore distillery sits at the highest point of the Northern railway line, 600 feet above sea level. Close to the small village of Kennethmont, the proximity to the railway line allowed founder Adam Teacher to transport materials from Glasgow to this remote corner of Aberdeenshire, helping the distillery flourish.
Almost unchanged from the moment he made his dream a reality, the water is still drawn from the naturally rising springs that sit on the 1,500 foot tall Knockandy Hill.
Those who live on the rugged fringes of the Highlands embrace the freedom of the great outdoors and The Ardmore® brings together the power of nature in every drop that travels from our distillery.
Highly recommend this Ardmore 22!!
A delightful release from Kilbeggan that is matured in three different cask types (Bourbon, Pedro Ximenez Sherry, and American Oak). This premium blend delivers a characterful Irish whiskey with rich notes of summer fruits and vanilla, leading into an oak spice finish. We sourced this one for approx. $65 CAD.
Bottled at 43% abv.
Pictured on the right below:
This was just a great flavourful whiskey! Well done a nice easy drinker with a little punch of dry sweetness. Thanks for a nice affordable whiskey from Kilbeggan!
