So it's been a year
since the merry folks of Toronto Whisky Society last met at a little party room
in an apartment complex on the Lakeshore to enjoy some interesting single malts
purchased from some interesting independent bottlers from Europe, particularly
from Germany-based The Whisky Agency who since have been putting out some
fantastic stuff into Kensington Wine Market and other Alberta based retailers.
The Whisky Agency Speyside 1973, which is rumoured to be a 43 year old cask
strength Glenfarclas aged in a mix of oloroso, PX and fino sherry butts, was
one of the best whiskies I tried last year so when the announcement came around
for another tasting for some new mainland European indie bottled whisky I just
had to jump on board.
So I hopped on an
Uber after work and headed to the Lakeshore just in time for the CNE to get
rolling but the real exhibition was a few blocks away in this comfy looking
condo party room where I see some familiar faces including the whisky agent who
led last year's tasting and is a very knowledgeable individual on the subject
of whisky, especially these ones as they're sourced from his private collection
of goodies. He has many stories to tell about the whiskies I'll be reviewing
below so let's get right to it!
Auchentoshan 1993 Maltbarn
To start off this
tasting we begin in the Lowlands with what I'd imagine would be a selection
from a distillery that many new whisky drinkers would start their journey into
Lowland whisky with which is the Auchentoshan Distillery in Clydebank just
outside of Glasgow. However, unlike most Auchentoshans being no stronger then
46-47% ABV and generally no older then 21 years old, this whisky is a cask
strength selection aged for 23 years in an ex-bourbon barrel bottled at 52.0%
ABV. Ah the beauty of independent bottlings! This one comes from Maltbarn, a
very small German bottler founded by former Malt Maniacs member Martin
Diekmann. This fact is interesting to those who wonder about trying a Maltbarn
single cask selection because Malt Maniacs are considered by many to be some of
the leading whisky critics in the world composed of icons like Serge Valentin
and Davin de Kergommeaux so you know that someone of Martin's caliber likely
knows a thing or two about choosing quality casks, especially given the fact
that it’s a one man company for the most part. He releases all of the Maltbarn
releases without chill filtration or caramel colouring and best of all, all the
casks waiting to be filled are kept in the company owner's own barnhouse which
is pretty neat given the name. So let's see if the barn life matches the whisky
as well!
- Colour: Copper
- Nose: At first
some sulphur, Vanilla, orange citrus, pear, lime yogurt, cinnamon, bready
biscuits, almond butter, light cocoa
- Palate: Lemon lime
citrus, vanilla cream, dark chocolate, cinnamon, custard, pie crust, raisin,
treenuts, salty Werther’s caramel candy, white pepper
- Finish: Medium
with spiced butter tart and vanilla whipped cream
Almost an Irish like
palate with a really nice bready complexion that seems like a nice sherried
Speyside like a Glenfarclas or Southern Highland malt like Glengoyne. The water
brings out more temperate fruits and white pepper and sea salt that really pushes
this malt further. Easily the best Auchentoshan I’ve had to date, well composed
and a really balanced sherry maturation while staying unique and not boring
whatsoever.
86 pts
A good start with a great Lowland single malt re-imagined! Next up is...
Glenburgie 1999 Asta Morris
From the barnyard
into the pond, we now go into a Glenburgie which I've had a few of recently but
never a sherried one! It's an 18 year old PX sherry matured selection bottled
at 51.0% ABV from Asta Morris who are a small independent bottler from Belgium
run by Bert Bruyneel, a Belgian whisky enthusiast and writer who contributes to
the magazine Whisky Passion. The bottle designs are done to look bubbly to
highlight the whisky colour which is bottled "au natural" of course.
This bottle was originally selected for the Japanese market and our agent chose
this one for us to try in order to show off more of the distillate despite what
he calls an "oversherried" cask because of the chameleon like range
Glenburgie can have with different cask choices. Yes I'm excited for a single
sherry cask Glenburgie and wrote too many words so let's get to the burgie!
- Colour: Cloudy
brownish-red
- Nose: Freshly cut
grass, apple, cherry blossom, fresh plum, sea salt, nutmeg, creamy caramel,
lemon citrus, raisin
- Palate: Salty
plums, apple, thick mouthfeel, raisins, chocolate, vanilla, toffee, treenuts,
dry lemons
- Finish: Long with
allspice, glossette raisins and hot cross buns
Very reminiscent of
a PX finished Deanston I had a while ago but at 48% ABV this one is more easy
drinking then that one was due to not a huge spice influence and more a sweet
and savory red fruit forward profile. A pretty nice soft sherried Speyside and
it works well! It’s not super complex but it’s still very easy drinking for a
sherried older single malt.
84 pts
An interesting new Glenburgie with some sherry sits well and clean! Next up is another Speyside, but from who...
Archives Speyside 1998
Next we look at an
unlisted Speyside single malt from Archives, who are an independent bottler
from The Netherlands who are actually a bottling line made by Whiskybase for
their online shop and various export markets. Starting in 2011, Whiskybase were
able to source some casks from distilleries across Scotland and have put out
dozens of releases, according to Whiskybase itself, that have a variety of
maturities but strive for quality which I can at least say should be true given
how well received some of their bottlings are with some of Toronto Whisky
Society's members who've been able to get a couple whenever they get listed in
Alberta. So this single malt comes from
an unknown Speyside distillery, which possibly could be Glenfarclas or Tamdhu.
It’s aged for 18 years in a sherry butt and bottled at 52.7% ABV.
- Colour: Amber
- Nose: Chalky, sea
salt, light red fruits, sweet green apple, caramel, mandarin orange marmalade,
lemon drops, sugar cookies
- Palate: Candied
plum, vanilla, ginger, tobacco leaf, apple sauce, chocolate, allspice, light
sulphur, roasted nuts, strong wood tannins
- Finish: Medium to
long with leather, red fruits and boozey vanilla
Very good nose, the
palate has some nice savoury and sweet notes and the ginger and tobacco work
well with the usual sherry sweet fruitiness you'd get from what appears to be a
2nd fill oloroso butt. Water adds some more spice, chocolate and wood tannins
open up which gives a nice twist. Some bitterness hurts this though and if this
was younger I wouldn’t be a huge fan but the age definitely helps keep this one
sturdy. Definitely worth a try.
85 pts
A really nice classic Oloroso aged Speyside malt steps up from the last malt well! Next we get into some unusual bourbon casks...
Glenrothes 1996 Jack Wiebers
Next on the list
gets us back into the 20 year zone which is a single malt from Glenrothes
distillery. This selection comes from reputable European bottler Jack Wiebers
who I've had a Lagavulin from before so I'm very excited to try this one.
They've been operating in Berlin since 1998 and bottle everything in Glasgow
which is always single cask which sounds good enough for me! Glenrothes as a
distillery known for being a strong sherry matured Speyside single malt but
this time we're trying a bourbon cask, and a pretty dark one at that, because
the agent wanted to show how quality the distillate is for this sometimes
overlooked distillery and to break the stereotype given its reputation for
sherry. This Glenrothes is aged in a single bourbon barrel and is bottled at
49.1% ABV. I never see ex-bourbon scotch this dark and the bottle design looks
really good and it probably tastes really good too so let's hop aboard this
train!
- Colour: Light Gold
- Nose: Creamy dolce
de leche, white pepper, sweet pepper, vanilla stalk, almonds, shea butter,
cocoa powder, salt, pear jelly
- Palate: Sweet
barley sugar, dolce, chocolate, apple, pear, grass, minerality, allspice, some
wood tannins, raisin, almonds, butter tarts
- Finish: Medium to
long with woodsmoke, apple jam, cinnamon and buttery oak
This is almost a
Chardonnay if that existed for Speyside whisky. Lovely rich buttery notes and a
perfect mix of caramel sweetness, jammy fruitiness, nuts and nature plus earthy
elements.
86 pts
A lovely rich take on a classic dram! Next we go to a new distillery I haven't tried before...
Fettercairn 1988
The Whisky Agency
Next we get to the
oldest selection of today's tasting which is a 28 year old single malt from
Fettercairn distillery in Aberdeenshire in the Scottish Highlands. Fettercairn
are owned by Whyte and Mackay and have been making whisky since 1824 after it
was converted into a distillery by Sir Alexander Ramsay from it previously
being a corn mill. This distillery produces unpeated and some peated malt which
is peated to 55ppm of phenol. Our agent wanted us to try what he calls a hard
to get single malt due to Whyte and Mackay not usually putting many barrels out
on the market for indie bottlers and also to give a new appreciation for the
quality of the natural spirit. This bottling from The Whisky Agency was done in
collaboration with Le Maison Du Whisky, a whisky distribution company based in
France. Its matured entirely in a hogshead and bottled at 49.9% ABV. It's a
good start for trying my first from this distillery so let's see how it does.
- Colour: Straw Gold
- Nose: Raw barley
sugar, green apple, pear, vanilla pods, fresh warm bread, soft caramel, cocoa
powder, hay, sweet lemongrass, light woodspice
- Palate: Sweet raw
cane sugar, butter, light woodsmoke, floral, grass, some mineral and earth,
apple, sour cream donut, soft lemon, woodspice, sweet buttered bread rolls
- Finish: Medium
with woodsmoke, almond butter and lightly salted
A very delicate easy
to drink whisky. Reminds me of the old style of Speyside and Highland that I
really enjoy but at cask strength this one goes high. It’s clean, sharp yet
composed and I can see why he likes this style. Great stuff, maybe a bit
expensive for what I prefer but still very solid.
85 pts
An interesting malt that shows the distillate character off well! Next up we have our final malt which of course needs to be a strong peaty laddie!
Ardmore 2009
Archives
For the final whisky
of the day we go to Ardmore for a reliable young peated whisky yet again from
Archives. This is a 7 year old Ardmore matured in barrels that previously held
peated whisky from Laphroaig distillery and is bottled at a hefty 59.6% ABV.
Let's see if the medicinal peat of Laphroaig adds some new dimensions to this
young Ardmore.
- Colour: Almost
transparent gold
- Nose: Barley
sugar, salty peat, iodine, fresh lemons, perfume, honey crisp apple, banana,
mineral
- Palate: Medicinal
smoke, sea salt, honey bbq ribs, apple, honeydew, ear hottening spiciness,
vanilla candy, cocoa powder, buttery oak
- Finish: Medium to
long with smoky beer nuts, chocolate and grass
A beautiful peated
Highland style, a whiff of Islay bbq but with a nice traditional Highland body
to compliment the smokiness. The umami, butter and autumn honey sweetness work
great in tandem and this one is probably one of my favourite peated whiskies this
year and it’s such a young malt too! Well done Archives!
87 pts
Thanks to Toronto
Whisky Society for bringing these bottles for a fantastic tasting of some
lesser known indie bottlings! Lots of new experiences and knowledge were gained
and like last year it was a great time!
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