So for the last
whiskies to finish off this year's Spirit of Toronto I sat down at a masterclass that shows off some single
malts and a single pot still whiskey from Pernod Ricard's Irish whiskey and Scotch whisky portfolio. Leading this
tasting was Glenlivet Canadian Brand Ambassador Frank Biskupek who if you know
is one of the best at his job as he led us through some familiar and new
expressions that many have been waiting to try.
So without further ado lets see what we have in store.
Redbreast Lustau
This is an NAS
Redbreast aged in ex bourbon and finished in sherry butts sourced from Bodegas
Lustau. It's bottled at 46% ABV.
* Colour: Golden
* Nose: Red fruits,
light plum, vanilla, toffee, allspice, apple, light raisin
* Palate: Apple,
leather, light plum, vanilla, allspice, brown sugar
* Finish: Medium
with leather, raisin and nuts
A nice sherried
Irish but sadly its a tad light from what I like from my Irish whiskies. Worth
a try before buy.
79 pts
Glenlivet Davoch Single Cask
This is a single
cask Glenlivet that came into Canada recently. It's aged solely in what appears
to be an ex-bourbon hogshead for 14 years and is bottled at 61.6% ABV.
* Colour: Light gold
* Nose: Vanilla,
apple, light sea salt, light oak, light allspice
* Palate: Apple,
allspice, creamy vanilla, white pepper, wood tannin, toffee, sea salt, light
plum
* Finish: Medium
with plum, light nuts and white sugar
This whisky doesn't
seem like it's 60%+ ABV at all, its quite approachable. The palate is nice as
well but for the price its too unrefined to be worth the MSRP. Still worth a
try if you like your cask strength Glenlivets.
82 pts
Ballantine's Glenburgie 15 Year Old
This is a release of
Glenburgie under the Ballantine's special edition label to show off the key
malts that make up the blend. It appears to be aged solely in ex-bourbon casks,
maybe with a tad bit of refill sherry maturation but don't quote me on that, and
is bottled at 40% ABV.
* Colour: Light gold
* Nose: Citrus,
stone fruits, light apple, vanilla, light oak, honeydew
* Palate: Honey,
apple, vanilla bean, toffee, light nuttiness
* Finish: Medium
with vanilla and light nuts
Its going to retail
for $85 in Ontatio but sadly its a tad too light for my tastes. Try before buy.
78 pts
Green Spot Chateau Montelana
This is a new
edition of Green Spot's wine finished expressions. This time around the whisky
is finished in Napa Valley zinfandel wine casks for 12 months and is bottled at
* Colour: Light
amber
* Nose: Red fruits,
light cranberries, oak spice, vanilla, apple, light oak, cinnamon
* Palate: Red
fruits, woodspice, citrus, pepper, marzipan, light oak
* Finish: Short to
medium with oak and almond butter
Sadly like with the
Redbreast Lustau its just too light for my tastes and doesn't have enough
complexity, try before buy.
77 pts
Glenlivet Captain's Reserve
Featured at Spirit
of Speyside today and now us in Canada get to finally give it a try! This is
the new step up from the 15 French Oak in the standard range. It's finished in
Cognac casks for 6 months and is bottled at 40% ABV.
* Colour: Light gold
* Nose: Vanilla,
brown sugar, caramel, light oak, apple, pear, allspice
* Palate: Apple,
raisin, chocolate, vanilla, cherry blossom, cereals, light nuts
* Finish: Medium
with white chocolate and cocoa
Its an okay edition
to the core range but sadly I'm not sure if the potential MSRP of over $80 CAD
makes it worth a buy but still a unique whisky that you should try when you get
the chance. Personally I wish Glenlivet did a cognac cask finished Nadurra instead
but to each his own.
76 pts
Thanks to Spirit of
Toronto for running the event and Frank Biskupek for running the tasting!
Current Review Scoring System:
0-49: Horrible
50-59: Bad
60-69: Mediocre to Average
70-74: Average to Good
75-79: Good to Great
80-84: Great to Excellent
85-89: Excellent
90-94: Superb
95+: Masterpiece
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