SMWS London January 2014

I love being a member of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. I don't get down to our nearest venue in Farringdon nowhere near enough, but I try to make sure it features on each trip I make into the city as it is conveniently located just across from Farringdon station.

Farringdon also happens to be on our mainline in and out of London, so very easy for us to get to. My only 'gripe' is that it's not open on a Sunday (yet?) although I see the Edinburgh venues are, but that might be due to it's 'city' location where many places close for the weekend in this area

It was my youngest's 16th Birthday just before Christmas and big Sister Kat bought her some tickets to a ballet show in London for the fourth of January, informingg me that I would have to 'chaperone' this time as Kat wouldn't be able to make it due to college commitments.

I quickly checked where the theatre was and too my delight, found out it was just a fifteen minute walk away from 19 Greville Street. Ideal! So while the girls (she took her best friend with Kat's ticket) were at the show I could spend two hours in our favourite waiting room.

I've had a couple of good days out with Twitter pal Adrian Barnett (@mynameisgone) having first met him at last years Whisky Live London. We've since done a couple of shows together, Septembers Midlands Whisky Show and last November's Wine & Spirits Show which is another story.

I asked Adrian if he'd be able to get a 'pass-out' for a couple of hours to join me for a New Year dram, and over the Christmas break a couple of other local #WhiskyFabric decided they would like to join us, and meet for the first time too, so it was all set. A short afternoon session at the London headquarters of the SMWS, 19 Greville Street.

After dropping the girls off at the theatre I arrived on the dot at 2 o'clock. Adrian and Scott Saunders (@Saunders_AFC) were already installed when I arrived, just settling in for their first dram. It was the first time I'd met Scott who had recently joined the SMWS and this was just his second visit. I joined them with their first dram.

Matt Veira (@mattveira) arrived a little later and joined us and long time SMWS member Philip Storry (@philipstorry) who was split between two groups which all became one as the afternoon went on and after I left.

The Dram Team; Phil, Adrian, Dave, Matt, Scott behind the bar at 19 Greville Street

I had to run at 4 o'clock to pick up the girls, but in the two short hours I managed to meet two more of the wonderful #WhiskyFabric out there in the Twitterverse, register six new whisky discoveries on the Liquid Log including a new distillery, and taste some spectacular whisky.

Whisky Discovery #679

SMWS 48.38 'Sparkling Summer Effervescence' (58.2% abv)
Speyside Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
Only available by the dram at The SMWS

So for my first dram of the day was this nine year old Balmenach, and as the Liquid Log states was my second ever Balmenach, the first being another SMWS release, 48.33

Distilled on the 8th of March 2004 this spent nine years maturing in a first fill ex bourbon barrel and just 249 bottles were filled at 58.2% abv. This was a very refreshing light and fruity dram and a great start to the afternoon. I'm not sure who chose this one,but I've got a feeling it was Adrian.

Whisky Discovery #680

Brora 30 Year Old (2005)
Highland Single Malt Whisky
A 'money can't buy dram'?

A treat courtesy of Philip Storry for my second dram and this 2005 release of the 30 Year Old Brora. Philip has been an SMWS member for 10 Years and I've met him a few times in 19 Greville Street previously, and he also had the best name badge at The Whisky Exchange Whisky Show this year 'Grain Hoover' of Storry Whisky Disposal Inc. This sounds like the forward thinking company I ought to be working at!

This Brora was one of the Diageo special releases from 2005, a 30 year old from a closed Distillery. Left to breath for a while, this gives out some great oily anthracite notes which I particularly liked.

Whisky Discovery #681

SMWS 84.12 'Party in the Vineyard' (58.2% abv)
Speyside Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
Only available by the dram at The SMWS

My first ever Glendullan, a distillery I'd not even heard of until I'd rechecked Malt Whisky Year book, which reminded me I had heard of it, from The Singleton of Glendullen although I haven't ever actually seen a bottle of it. Matt Vierra had joined us for this dram, so not quite sure if this was Matt's or Scott's choice.

Glendullen is now owned by Diageo and is almost exclusively used in blended Scotch though once the favourite whisky of King Edward VII and Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker in the House of Commons

Distilled in September 1997 and matured in a refill ex-bourbon hogshead for 12 years yielding just 296 bottles at 59.3% abv this was another light fruity and fragrant dram, totally different to the dirty smoky Brora.

Whisky Discovery #682

SMWS 2.84 'Katherine Hepburn in a Vintage Jaguar' (53.3% abv)
Speyside Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
Only available by the dram at The SMWS

This was from the January Outturn and there had been quite a bit of interest on the twitter feed and had been asked by a few friends to sample and let them know what it was like. Joe McGirr loved this dram, and may have been the main perpetrator of the twitter interest. In any case releases from The Glenlivet are fairly unusual, and one as dark as this one almost unheard of.

This 20 Year Old was served up in one of the Society's nosing glasses, perhaps one of the prettiest in my opinion and I certainly need to get a set of these for home going forward. Distilled on 11th May 1993 and matured for 20 years in a first-fill ex-sherry hogshead it yielded just 77 bottles at 53.3% abv

This one has a most delicious nose, and an incredible depth of colour. With a little time to breathe I was picking out flavours that were very similar to a 30 Year Old Matusalem sherry I had over Christmas, lots of walnuts, as if they had been liquefied with figs and sticky dates. I needed to have a bottle of this.

Whisky Discovery #683

SMWS 53.200 'A Day at the Beach' (59.8% abv)
Islay Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
Only available from The SMWS £71.70

Another preview from the January Outturn and one I had every intention of buying when I left home that morning being a big Caol Ila fan. Unfortunately the other drams that I had around me at the time were distracting me and after The Glenlivet, Bruichladdich and Bowmore I was more interested in securing a bottle of 2.84 than this one unfortunately.

This is a good Caol Ila and one I hope is still around for a little while longer and I would like to add this to my shelf if still available when funds are sufficient.

Whisky Discovery #684

SMWS 23.52 'Teenage Dreams' (55.9% abv)
Islay Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
A 'money can't buy dram'?

Another treat from Phil Storry and a older release from Bruichladdich. Distilled in 1986, this would have been the Bruichladdich Mark Reiyner would have been enjoying before realising his dream and reopening the distillery in 2001.

Bruichladdich is another distillery that rarely crops up in SMWS Out-turns so the chance to taste this 19 Year Old was a real treat, and one of the highlights of the afternoon

Whisky Discovery #416

SMWS 3.193 'Baby Faced Arsonist' (58.2% abv)
Speyside Single Cask Single Malt Whisky
Only available by the dram at The SMWS

Not a new whisky discovery as I'd enjoyed this 14 Year Bowmore before when I spent a few days working in London. You can see what I thought of it then (as well as all the other drams enjoyed) here SMWS 3.193

This was my final dram for the afternoon, my choice, albeit my second choice as I was looking for an Ardbeg that had sadly run out. This has a lovely balance of sherry sweetness and earthy peat and I really wish I'd bought a bottle of this at the time.

Slàinte! Dave

Midlands Whisky Show IV

The last Saturday in September has been the date for The Midlands Whisky Festival for the last three years running. Although we missed the very first one, we did attend our first Stourbridge show in September last year (Midlands Whisky II), and so I made the pilgrimage up to Stourbridge for Nickolls & Perks' excellent Whisky show, Midlands Whisky IV.  This year they added an additional date back in April, which I also visited and you can read about that here: Midlands Whisky III

Plans are already in place for Midlands Whisky V which falls a little earlier this year, Saturday 29th March. See the bottom of this post for contact details

I won't bore you with the journey details, nothing has changed, there is no direct route meaning taking a multitude of different trains to reach my destination, and having done it twice before now, is 'old hat' and in a strange sort of way almost pleasurable. I travelled alone again as Kat had a function to be at in the evening and wanted to be able to at least start the evening off sober. Unfortunately Kat also missed the last show too, so hopefully she will be able to travel up with me in April. The show has definitely improved in leaps and bounds and the quality of the Masterclasses are just superb.

I knew that whisky and twitter pal Adrian Barnett @mynameisgone had also travelled up for the show and arranged to meet him there and literally bumped into him as soon as I had walked into Stourbridge High Street after stepping off the train.

Both Adrian and I had VIP tickets which allowed us to enter the show at 10:45am, a full hour and a quarter earlier than the standard price tickets. The VIP tickets are limited to just 75 tickets and allows plenty of time to meet the brand ambassadors and talk whisky, one to one while sampling their wares.

Arran Amarone Cask Finish

Our first stop was to Bruichladdich where we tried a couple of their lighter flavoured drams starting with their Scottish Barley Classic Laddie which was followed by Islay Barley 2007, both bottled at 50% abv. While their peated drams were available, we decided to pass on these so early in the day, wanting to retain our palates for a little bit longer!

Arran Distillers were alongside Bruichladdich and whilst I had tasted their 10, 14 and 16 Year Old expressions I wanted to try their Amarone Cask Finish which was next on our agenda. I'd heard only good things about this expression from Arran and wasn't disappointed.

Wandering around the hall looking for something 'new' we spotted Teeling Irish Whiskey and stopped of to try both their small batch Rum Cask matured small batch Irish Whisky and their Poitin, made from malted barely and so effectively 'new make' spirit or moonshine. One of the other perks of having VIP tickets is that canapés are served during the first hour of the show.

Spotting Alistair Mutch we stopped to catch up and to sample some Tomatin starting with The Antiquary 12 Year Old Blended Scotch, having tried their 21 Year Old at the 12 Blends event in April. This was followed with a large dram of the Tomatin 18 Year Old which never fails to please.

Alistair Mutch - always a pleasure to catch up with as well as tasty Tomatin Whisky to enjoy

Dalmore Masterclass

The VIP tickets include entrance to the first Masterclass which starts at midday, the same time the hall is opened up to the standard ticket holders. This years VIP Masterclass was a real coup with Dalmore brand ambassador David Robertson who had brought along four vintages from the prohibitively expensive Constellation Range.

The Dalmore Masterclass Drams, the Constellation Drams are across the back

We started with The Dalmore 18 Year Old which spends 14 years of its maturation in American oak ex-bourbon casks before being transferred to 30 year old Matusalem Sherry Casks from Gonzalez Byass.

The second of our 'warm up' drams was The Dalmore King Alexander III which is matured in a staggering six different types of wood in its make-up; ex-bourbon casks, Matusalem oloroso sherry wood, Madeira barrels, Marsala casks, port pipes and Cabernet Sauvignon wine barriques. Both of these Dalmores had been tasted previously at other whisky shows and both had featured in The Dalmore Tweet Tasting.

With these two drams 'under our belt' we were introduced to the Constellation Collection. The Dalmore Constellation Collection is a collection of twenty one single cask vintages from between 1964 and 1992

We started our journey with the 1978 Vintage cask No.1. A thirty three year old, distilled on the 6th November 1978. This spent the first 29 years of it's maturation in American white oak (ex-bourbon casks) and then in 2007 transferred to a Matusalem Sherry butt for a further four years. Bottled at 47.1% abv 778 bottles have been released at a incredible £6400 list price.

Second on the list was one of the the two 1981 Vintages released. Cask No.3, a thirty year old, distilled on 24th November 1981 spending the first 25 years of it's maturation in American white oak (ex-bourbon casks) and then in 2006 transferred to a Matusalem Oloroso Sherry butt for a further five years. Bottled at 54% abv 669 bottles have been released at a staggering £3950 list price.

Next up was the 1990 Vintage. Cask 18, a twenty one year old distilled on the 17th December 1990, spending the first 19 years of it's maturation in American white oak (ex-bourbon casks) and then in 2009 transferred to a Matusalem Oloroso Sherry butt for a further two years. Bottled at 56.5 % abv 777 bottles have been released at a amazing £2650 list price.

Our final vintage from the Constellation Series was the youngest on the range, a nineteen year old from a 1992 Vintage. Cask 18 (yep, me too?) was distilled on the 17th December 1992 spending the first ten years of it's maturation on first-fill American white oak (ex-bourbon casks) and then in 2002 transferred to a Port pipe for a further nine years. Bottled at 53.8 % abv 737 bottles have been released at a unbelievable £2500 list price.

Adrian and I totalled up the 'value' of the Whisky on the table for the VIP ticket holders, a staggering £15,705 from the six bottles of Whisky we had just tasted. While I feel incredibly privileged to have tasted these whiskies, as there surely can't be many that will get to taste them at these prices, I just can't get my head around spending £2,500 for a 19 year old single cask whisky. 

Lagavulin Masterclass

The second Masterclass of the Show was with Diageo supreme Colin Dunn who had brought along some Lagavulin for attendees to enjoy. This Masterclass was open to everyone and it looked as it was going to be a packed house as we helped set out the room following the Dalmore Masterclass.

Lots of lovely lush Lagavulin

Colin had brought along five different Lagavulin expressions along with the new make spirit. Whilst I had tasted most of the expressions before, two of them residing on my Whisky shelf at home, it is one of my favourite distilleries and it's always good to revisit them. I'd not tasted the new make spirit before, which is always an interesting part of the experience.

Starting with the core expression, 16 Year Old we moved onto the 12 Year Old cask strength which has many of the new make spirit characteristics still. Our third Lagavulin was the 1995 Distillers Edition which is a 16 Year Old that has had a second short spell of maturation in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.

Our fourth expression was the 21 Year Old, a limited release of just 2800 bottles that has spent all of its maturation in sherry casks. I tasted this at last years TWE Whisky Show and it was one of my highlight drams of that show. The final expression was a real treat, just 580 bottles were ever released to the attendees of the Lagavulin Feis Ile in 2008, and we were treated to one of them at this tasting, a 'money can't buy' dram.

We returned to the main show after the Masterclass and it was really buzzing by that time. I first went to see the Douglas Laing stand and picked a 34 Year Old Port Dundas from their Clan Denny series, before going back to talk to Colin Dunn for a while and taste Johnnie Walker Blue Label, something that had been on my list for a while.

Catching up with Twitter friends is always one of the highlights of visiting Whisky Shows and it was great to spend the afternoon with @mynameisgone and catch up with @Ardbaggie @LRWhisky @chriswebb1984 @Double_Clicks. All top gents and well worth following on twitter if you're not already.

With time rapidly running out I returned to the Douglas Laing stand to recharge my glass with the 34 Year Old Port Dundas which was my highlight dram of the afternoon. I wish I could have gotten a bottle, but it seemed as if I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Nickolls and Perks always have an in-show shop giving you the opportunity to purchase most of the drams that have been exhibited, and a healthy discount off of their already competitive prices is offered to all show goers. My second placed dram of the day was the Teeling Small Batch Reserve Irish Whiskey so I settled for a bottle of that to take home, I wish I'd picked up a bottle of their Poitin too!

Midlands Whisky V  is on Saturday 29th March 2014

New for Midlands Whisky V is the 'Devotee Ticket' In addition to the VIP package each ticket holder will also be able to taste all Dream Drams at the show and then take away samples of each of the Dream Drams as well

EARLY BIRD TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE - CLICK HERE

A huge thanks to David Gardner of Nickolls and Perks for inviting me, to David Robertson and Colin Dunn for two great Masterclasses and for all the staff and volunteers who put on another dram fine day. Once again I met some great people in the Midlands and look forward to seeing you all again soon

For more information and updates visit: www.nickollsandperks.co.uk and check out their blog too at: blog.nickollsandperks.co.uk/ as well as The Midland Whisky Festival website www.whiskyfest.co.uk

Slàinte! Dave

The full dram list with links as and when they are completed!

• Whisky Discovery #531 Bruichladdich Classic Laddie Scottish Barley (50% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #532 Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2007 (50% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #533 Arran Amerone Cask Finish (50% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #534 Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #535 Teeling Poitin (61.5% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #536 The Antiquary 12 Year Old (40% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #246 Tomatin 18 Year Old (46% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #278 Dalmore 18 Year Old (43% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #279 Dalmore King Alexander III (40% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #537 Dalmore Constellation 1978 (47.1% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #538 Dalmore Constellation 1981 (54% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #539 Dalmore Constellation 1990 (56.5% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #540 Dalmore Constellation 1992 (53.8% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #541 Lagavulin New Make Spirit (64% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #13 Lagavulin 16 Year Old (43% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #118 Lagavulin 12 Year Old (56.1% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #45 Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1995 (43% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #206 Lagavulin 21 Year Old (52% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #542 Lagavulin 2008 Feis Ile (52.9% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #543 Douglas Laing Clan Denny Port Dundas 34 Year Old (52.2% abv)
• Whisky Discovery #544 Johnnie Walker Blue Label (40% abv)

Davin De Kergommeaux Tweet Tasting 2

In the run up to the Christmas holidays this year I spent three very interesting Sunday evenings re-reading Davin De Kergommeaux's 'Canadian Whisky' and joining a group from the ever growing #whiskyfabric from around the globe discussing the book with the author.

This was a 'follow-up' to the earlier event held in May which you can read about here: DavinTT Organised by Johanne McInnis (@Whiskylassie to us on Twitter), and hosted by each week by Johanne's partner Graham MacKenney (@grahammackenney) we reviewed a section of the book, starting from section four 'A Concise History of Canadian Whisky' and working our way through to the nine key distilleries that remain today. A whole host of questions were asked and Davin, tweeting from @DavindeK did his level best to answer each and every one of us, as well as joining in all the 'side discussions' that were taking place. 

In addition to the Canadian Whisky questions we all were asking Davin, there was a competition running. During each #DavinTT2 session a host of questions about Canadian Whisky were asked. Aptly named 'The Scavenger Hunt' all answers would be found in Davin's book and anyone with a copy of the book were eligible to play along. 

The prize up for the winner being an impressive selection of Canadian Whisky samples and other goodies. Ten Questions were asked during the first evening, a further ten questions were asked the following week, all during the twitter event. As you can imagine each week was a pretty excitable couple of hours! Just five questions were asked during the third Sunday, but not during the Twitter event, each of the five had been posted on a different whisky bloggers website. We hosted one of the questions here, and others were found on Tire-bouchon, Whisky Plus, Whisky Corner and Whisky Israel

A bonus question was released on Saturday 21st December and the only clue we were given to find this question was that it was being asked by the only non-Canadian to judge Canadian Whisky Awards. 

Click this picture to visit The Whiskylassie Blog

Similarly to the first DavinTT event, at the end of each session we tasted a Canadian whisky, blind. In the first week we had a double header, tasting two Canadian whiskies at the end of the evening. This is the culmination of those three tweet tastings:

Week 1 (Sunday 1st December)

Whisky Discovery #653

Canadian Club Small Batch Sherry Cask (41.3% abv)

Canadian Whisky

Not available in the UK yet

Distilled at the Hiram Walker distillery in Ontario. Canadian Club was founded by Hiram Walker in 1858. Walker’s uniquely smooth whisky quickly gained popularity in the late 19th Century Gentlemen’s Clubs throughout the US and Canada and became known as "Club Whisky." Canadian Club is one brand of Canadian whisky that is known in the UK with their core expression being available on some supermarket shelves.

The brand belongs to The Beam Group who also own Teachers, Laphroaig and Connemara among others

Canadian Club Sherry Cask is a small release from whiskies aged for at least 8 years in white oak barrels and then finished in Fino sherry casks imported from Jerez, Spain.

So What Did I think?

The nose appeared chalky initially but quickly develops a richness, big meaty juicy, fruits; caramelised bananas and black cherry were the ones I identified. Fragrant tobacco notes with, vanilla essence and there was a slightly sour note underlying, not sure if that was the something to do with the black cherry I was finding.

This was much softer on the palate than I was expecting so guessed 40% abv (not too far out). Sweet and spicy with a honey sweetness and butterscotch flavours and a spicy heat with notes of ginger and cloves,  then quite dry on the finish.

I didn't entertain with my guess as to what this whisky might be as I was totally clueless but as far as I could tell from reviewing the tweets afterwards no one else was close with a guess.

And Davin's notes?

Redolent of dark fruit, leather, hot candied ginger and pipe tobacco by a crackling fire. Waxy cream sherry resolves into fresh peaches. Sweet spring flowers and bitter black breakfast tea subdue searing hot pepper.

What did everyone else think?

@jfpilon: A touch of butterscotch and talc. far away rye spices as well
@mynameisgone: Nose, dark red fruits, a slight herbal note, quite sweet and very approachable.
@whiskyjourney: Nose is beautiful & rich, fruity, spicy, begging to be tasted
@ansgarspeller: Fruits and wintry spices, and some wood tones, but like sweet ripe fruits in there...
@Macdeffe: This is a warm round whisky. Nose is meaty. Dark Horse'ish (not to be confused with Horse Radish :-)
@themisswhisky: I get sticky, dark ripe cherries and baked bananas, with some apple skins too - lovely & dark
@How2DrinkWhisky: On the palate I get Pumpernickel. Resiny and tastes a little like molasses with some Rum-type bitterness in the finish.

@WhatTastesGood: Sweet, spicy, warming. Poached pears & raisins in a spicy ginger cake.

@ValBradshaw: Rich, full-bodied mouth feel. Brown sugar, caramel flambe banana.
@thomas_speller: Finish is a bit marmalade-like bitter, with a nutty something

Whisky Discovery #654

Wiser's Red Letter Rye (45% abv)
Canadian Whisky
Not available in the UK yet

Distilled at the Hiram Walker distillery in Ontario the Wiser's brand originates from one of the pioneers of Canadian Whisky J.P. Wiser whose distillery was in Prescott Ontario. The distillery was closed in 1932 despite it's strong reputation in  the United States throughout the Prohibition years. Production moved to Corbyville until 1991 when Corby's distillery was consolidated with Hiram Walker's plant.

The Hiram Walker plant is owned and operated my Corby Distillers which also owns the Wiser's name. Wiser's is also brand of the Pernod Ricard Group who own The Glenlivet, Jameson and Chivas Regal amongst many more.

In the years following the American Civil War, one of the most sought-after whiskies in America was called Wiser’s Red Letter. This Red Letter Rye follows the grain recipe found in Wiser’s old records, and master blender, Dr. Don Livermore has followed that recipe carefully, and finished in virgin oak

So What Did I Think?

The nose opened up with woody notes for me; Cedar or pencil shavings, it seemed resinous, sappy, with pine needles and menthol. Again that slight sourness that Davin often describes as 'pickles' was here, which must be one of the signatures of Canadian rye whiskies. After a little while airing it turns more earthy and perhaps a little dusty too.

On the palate this is sweet and spicy albeit more powerful than the previous dram and guess that this would be around 45% abv (wahey! points on the board). There was a creamy sweetness to this, corn notes, buttery corn on the cob, along with tons of spice cloves, ginger and a touch of cinnamon too.

And Davin's notes?

Newly sawn oak, lacquer, roasted grain, butterscotch, vanilla, sweet tingling ginger and glowing hot pepper. Creamy sweetcorn whisky loaded with Christmas spices - cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Sour rye bread, black fruits and earthy rye

What did everyone else think?

@ansgarspeller: The nose gives me first pencil shavings and earthy tones next to some spices...

@How2DrinkWhisky: On the nose, pencil shavings and cumin seed. Moments of manure and dried basil leaves.

@jfpilon: Sweet on the nose, with caramel, maple syrup, lime, oranges, rum!

@mynameisgone: Nose, slightly more rye spices, a nice hint of oakiness, in the background a hint of play doh

@themisswhisky: A lot of grainy marzipan at first . Something dark in background (images of rubber boots, earth & rain come to mind)

@WhatTastesGood: Definitely also getting hay, wood/pencil shavings on the nose. And dried lavender, mint, maybe also fenugreek. And cedar, and pine needles. Like walking through a forest on a chilly damp day. Love it.

@whiskyjourney: Nose - Fresh rye bread, pine tree, clove, and @mynameisgone is right about the play-doh 

@PWulf: Coconut and cream slight hint of toffee.

@ValBradshaw: Feinty nose, kind of waxy. Some forest influence and dried herbs.

@ansgarspeller: The palate on this one is so sweet and full with all kinds of nice! A lot of liqeurish notes, dried fruit, ginger bread, citrus, vanilla, butterscotch, a lot of fruit notes. And honey and some nuts

@thomas_speller: Smelling the dry glass. Eucalyptus all the way!

If you've got a copy of Canadian Whisky and are up to the challenge here are the first 10 questions we were set. No prizes on offer but feel free to email me your answers which can all be found within Davin's book:

1. What is the primary grain distilled at each of Alberta’s three distilleries?
2. What is the oldest whisky bottled in Canada in the past decade?
3. True or false: Late 18th Century Canadian whiskies were blended.
4. In what year did Thomas Molson first distilled his whisky?
5. Where was Henry Corby born?
6. In what year did the Government of Canada introduce the practice of bottling in bond?
7. Using the “sour mash” process is unique to the USA and never used in making Canadian Whisky. True or False?
8. What process essentially lead to the development of Canadian Club’s “secret recipe?”
9. According to the Montreal Gazette, what was the largest distillery in the world in the early 1860’s?
10. One of Canada’s best-known distillers, Hiram Walker lived most of his life in the USA, True or False?

Week 2 (Sunday 8th December)

Whisky Discovery #665

Alberta Premium (40% abv)
Canadian Whisky
Not available in the UK yet

This whiskey is made by Alberta Distillers in the heart of Canada’s rye-growing country - where cold barren winters give way to an abundant crop of the finest rye. Made by blending two aged whiskies, one of which is aged for flavor in used bourbon casks. Then, after blending, it is aged some more. Alberta Premium is aged for 5 years. The slow ageing in cold temperatures preserves the natural rye spice. Known for its full flavour.

The Alberta Premium brand also belongs to The Beam Group who also own Canadian Club, Teachers, Laphroaig and Connemara among others

So What Did I Think?

The nose opens dusty, chalky, or broken dry slate initially. Fresh pine needles follow with spicy rye and a pinch of salt. After a little while in the glass a citrus note started to develop while still remaining quite dry. When I poured a top-up I got a toast like note from this addition, only fleeting, but definitely there. The citrus note developed eventually giving a more soft orange juice than sharp lemon. Adding a drop of water gives floral notes.

This is sweet and mouth coating, with a really creamy mouth feel. Those soft orange notes found on the nose follow onto the palate along with citrus pith. The spice follows with a white pepper feel to edge of tongue and fresh ginger adding to the flavour profile. Overall I found this to be quite a gentle dram and guessed at 40% abv (bang on the money!). The finish starts quite spicy with fresh gingers before turning quite dry with a grapefruit pith like bitter end.

And Davin's notes?

Crisp, flinty, clean rye spices greet searing white pepper, maple syrup and the softest tannins. Rich and fruity with a refreshing grapefruit pithiness. The brawn of youth and clout of maturity.

What did everyone else think?

@jfpilon: Nose: initial corn hit. Followed by some vanilla and dust. Alcohol. Spices. Aniseed or caraway. Touch of toffee

@cooperedtot: Color: dark gold to light amber. Nose: river stones, herbal oil, raw rye grain, mineral, linseed oil.

@How2DrinkWhisky: Nose: Caramels on a hickory plate. Naphthalene on white bread. Lemon curd and canned tuna.

@whiskyjourney: Nose: Nail polish remover, lemon zest, rye mintiness. 

What the living room smells like when my wife is taking off nail polish and I am dusting with Pledge

@WhatTastesGood: Nose is lemon-lime soda and dried grasses. Some light sweet butterscotch underneath.

@ValBradshaw: Getting some spice, but not the lemon everyone else seems to be nosing. I get more brown sugar and yeast/white bread-like.

@ansgarspeller: Lemon soda, some pepper, creamy and minty almost on the palate Like a lemon candy...

@bozkurtkarasu: Palate: Bergamot jam... White grape juice and a little Sauternes...

@cooperedtot: Palate; Gentle creamy sweetness, spicy rye glow on expansion with astringency, white pepper, and some grapefruit pith on finish

@mynameisgone: Very creamy mouthfeel, sweet, quite soft, citrusy lemons and grapefruit, I'm going 40% alcohol wise

@Bob_Caron: Very dry in the finish, makes you thirsty for another sip.

If you've got a copy of Canadian Whisky and are up to the challenge here are the second 10 questions we were set. No prizes on offer but feel free to email me your answers which can all be found within Davin's book:

1. 3 major Whisky Brands are distilled at Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, name them?
2. What three ingredients are used to make whisky?
3. Which fully aged Canadian Whisky is as colourless as vodka?
4. Which Canadian Distiller became a member of Parliament in 1878?
5. What Canadian distillery is built on the banks of MacLellan's brook?
6. What is the largest distillery operating in Canada today?
7. On what page of Davin's book will you find Mark Gillespie's name listed?
8. Although J.P. Wiser’s name is on the company, who can be credited with much of Wiser’s financial success?
9. At the time that this book was written, how many distilleries were producing Canadian Whisky?
10. Which Scottish Distillery was Glenora distillery closely associated with?
11. The Glenora distillery was closely associated with the Scottish Distillery Bowmore

Week 3 (Sunday 15th December)

Whisky Discovery #672

Forty Creek 'Heart of Gold' (43% abv)
Canadian Whisky
Not available in the UK yet

Heart of Gold is a whisky that was inspired by both the heart of the distillation and the heart of the maker, John Hall of the Kittling Ridge Distillery. 

John tells us “This project started nearly a decade ago, focusing specifically on Canada’s noble rye grain. I have always brought out the spicy, fruity notes of rye in my whisky, but this time, I wanted to perfect capturing the underlying delicate floral notes of the rye that too often get lost in the process. I decided to use a wine yeast strain for the fermentation because I felt this approach would allow the floral aromas and flavours to prevail.

Capturing the subtleties in the distillate was another challenge. Capturing alcohol is easy, but capturing the natural, subtle flavour of the rye is much more difficult.  A quicker cut and a narrower band of the heart during distillation helped keep the integrity of the delicate rye character."

Aged in lightly toasted barrels to ensure the oak did not overwhelm the subtle flavours captured in the heart of the distillation. It is not 100% rye as it includes some barley whisky for nuttiness and some corn whisky for weight and body. Heart of Gold is a limited edition of 9,000 bottles and each bottle is individually numbered.

So What Did I Think?

When I first poured this I was met with the aroma of hot buttered toast, granary bread of course, and real butter. No one in the house was eating toast and I don't recall anyone mentioning toast either. After a little while the bread note seemed more doughy. Fruity notes follow; dates and hints of apricot.

This has a great creamy palate, the initial sweetness quickly turning to grapefruit pith bitter. Woody notes follow which reminded me of birch wood. I really enjoyed this one, it was rather more-ish and my sample quickly disappeared. I wasn't sure what this could be but it did appear to be an aged whisky. It felt quite gentle in the mouth and so guessed at 40% abv (no cigar!)

I was beginning to think that we were tasting a Forty Creek as I knew Johanne and Graham had spent some time at the distillery, posting amusing photos on Facebook of themselves hiding amongst the barrels, or even in them (or pretending to be in them). We also finished with a Forty Creek expression on our first DavinTT too, that was Portwood, but this definitely was not. I checked my notes for their Confederation Oak, a sample Johanne had sent me previously, similar profile but no cigar, and then it hit me. I remembered the considerable twitter buzz when Heart of Gold  was released by Forty Creek 43% abv, I was fairly certain that Johanne and Graham brought a truckload home from their trip. (Full points for my Sherlock Holmes like deduction)

And Davin's notes?

Unfortunately Forty Creek's Heart of Gold did not feature in the first edition of Canadian Whisky as it hadn't been released at the time but you can read Davin's notes here; Heart of Gold

What did everyone else think?

@How2DrinkWhisky: Nose: Maple syrup over pancakes with a little char on the edges. Roasted cheddar bits? Yeasty for moments.

@bozkurtkarasu: Nose: Damp cardboard boxes, birch plywood sawdust. Pine cones, tomato juice and olive brine... Wait a minute... Am I nosing Bloody Mary?

@cooperedtot: Nose:minty creamy floral rye, with cedar forest, pencil shavings, mineral dust, and an undercurrent of red fruits: jujubes. Deep underneath sherry, fig cake, and maybe a hint of leather.

@ValBradshaw:  Holy Roses! on first nose only. Waited a few minutes, then lovely peach, cedar & soft cinnamon. Butterscotch oat square (ask me for the recipe-they're delicious). With creamy butter, vanilla. Oats all over it; almost crunchy.

@WhatTastesGood: Nose; minerals, wet earth, nutmeg, caraway, dried citrus peel.

@robinburke: On the nose I get a hint of wine but quite vegetal to me.

@thomas_speller: Nose: uncooked pancakes, musty, pencil shavings, tomatoes and eggplant… what!?

@themisswhisky: Mmm first wee sip is really pleasant - loads of tinned pears for me

@ansgarspeller: Bit woody, rye, creamy, white and milk chocolate, herbal. Thinking of rye mixed with sherry?

@arok: Second sip builds on the first, sweeter but even more plumps raisins.

@cooperedtot: Rich mouth feel. Excellent flavor density. Rich rye w/the cocoa & leather of sherry. Dense. Delicious. 

@mynameisgone: Palate, dark and heavy, like the burnt edges of a fruit cake, with the rye spices and sweetness following up.

@The_Casks: Brown sugar and slight citrus zing. peppery notes, clove, powdered ginger, pine resin...

If you've got a copy of Canadian Whisky and are up to the challenge here are the final 5 questions we were set and the 'bonus' question is also included. No prizes on offer but feel free to email me your answers which can all be found within Davin's book:

1. What Canadian whisky distillery had their two copper pot stills seized by US customs after they had been shipped from Scotland via the Panama Canal?"
2. How many tasting notes for whiskies are found throughout the book?
   
   a)  1-50 b)  50-100 c)  100-150 d)  There was tasting notes?
3. What is “blending at birth?”
   a)  Canadian term for mixing different grains together to form a mash bill.
   b)  Mixing 2-year-old rye whisky with base spirit and then put into a cask to mature.
   c)  An in-house breeding program used by a prominent Ontario distillery to insure a bloodline of Master Blenders.
   d)  Blending different new make spirits from multiple distilleries and grains to form a Canadian Blended Whisky.
4. What change needs to take place at Glenora distillery to facilitate being able to increase production from the current 50,000 litres per year to up to 400,000 litres per year?
5. What prevents Canadian distilleries from being seen as lucrative an investment as Scottish and American distilleries?
   a)  The high level of taxation leading to low profit margins.
   b)  Unpredictable grain yields due to inclement weather.
   c)  With large distillery plants owned by large multinationals there is no room for competition.
   d)  Investors don’t like the cold.

Bonus Question

Found on Mark Gillespie’s Whisky Cast 21^st December Podcast Where Graham MacKenney asks: Why is Yeast not considered as an ingredient of Whisky?

And Finally..

A huge thanks to Johanne McInnis and Graham MacKenney for sharing their Canadian whiskies with us all and for Davin De Kergommeaux for spending time with us all, three Sundays running, and answering all of the questions we were bombarding him with.

If you want to find out more about Canadian Whisky then I recommend you get a hold of Davin's book first and make sure you're following these people on Twitter! @DavindeK @Whiskylassie and @grahammackenney Then you should point your browser to Davin's Canadian Whisky website here: Canadian Whisky

The deadline for the answers to the Scavenger Hunt was 28th December and their was two hours to go when I was proof-reading this post. Yes, I managed to complete my answers in good time, and confirm with Johanne that they had been received. My fingers are crossed, and this post will be published as soon as the deadline has been passed.

The winner will be announced on Sunday 29th December at around 2000 GMT on Twitter under the #DavinTT2 hash tag. At the time of writing this post (late on Saturday evening) Johanne had received over fifty entries to the competition and was busy marking.

Update
Just four out of the sixty four entrants achieve a 100% score on the Scavenger Hunt, @bozkurtkarasu, @robinburke, @mr_goalie7959 and I was pleased to find out that I was the last of the four. 

I initially thought there was just one 'winner takes all' prize but I picked up the runners up prize as @bozkurtkarasu took the first prize. Congratulations to my fellow 100%ers!

Slàinte! Dave