Whisky Discovery #220

Gibson’s Finest Rare 18 Year Old (40%, OB Bottled 2012, 75cl) 
Canadian Blended Whisky
Haven’t found to be available in the UK (yet) 

Another  great photo of Gibson's Finest in Canadian Autumnal (Fall) colours

The second of my five Canadian whiskies from a sample swap with Johanne (@Whiskylassie) who is also half of another great whisky blog 'The Perfect Whisky Match'. 

Following finishing my draft notes of the Gibson's Finest 12 Year Old, I decided I would pick up with my Canadian Whisky education with their 18 year old expression.

As far as I can tell the 18 Year Old is is made and matured exactly the same way as the 12 Year Old and left for a further 6 years in the casks. Only available in Canada and limited to just 12,000 bottles per year according to their website

So what did I think?

This was very similar to the 12 year old, with a very light or shy nose that needed teasing out of the glass. A very delicate nose that eventually yielded a resinous note that reminded me of freshly sawn softwood at first. It has a sort of dry dusty nose with a spiciness that I guess is coming from the rye. At the same time there is a fruity sweetness, dark fruits.

It was quite thin on the palate and much sweeter than the nose suggested. Smooth and silky mouth feel. Lot's of honey, mild pepper spice and fruity too, juicy summer fruits, apricot and Victoria plums.

The finish comes with a pinch of salt to the fruit sweetness and fades away with a light pepper spice. Not a long finish, but memorable and certainly leaving me wanting more. All I have is the empty bottle, which when sniffed now reminds me of hand rolling tobacco from my mis-spent youth, and the resinous wood note is there again.

Being only available in Canada it looks like it will be a while before I get to saviour this again which is a damn shame. If any of my Canadian friends are heading to the UK, could I ask nicely?

Thanks again for great photographs from Johanne of The Perfect Whisky Match