Review: Macaloney Caledonian Invermallie (Ex- Bourbon Cask)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 1, 2021

The Caledonian Distillery has been on my radar for a while now. I first heard of it when founder Graeme Macaloney invited me to an information seminar and whisky tasting several years ago. At that time the distillery was just in the planning stages and Graeme was touring the country raising money to build his distillery.

In the fall of 2016, word reached me that the Victoria Caledonian Brewery & Distillery had began to produce and age new make spirit and moved forward to 2020, the Macaloney Caledonian Distillery (there appears to have been a name change) began producing spirit which had reached the required maturity to be sold as Canadian Whisky.

Their recent Invermallie releases may be regarded as the distillery’s connoisseurs/collector’s edition expressions. Apparently the name is a nod to the flowing river Mallie. Like the changing river, this is an ever-changing series of classic single malt expressions based on unique one-off single casks, or other special selections.

This Invermallie Ex- Bourbon Cask release was selected from a single ‘first-use’ Bourbon cask. According to the distillery, this is the cleanest expression of the Macaloney Caledonian house style. This is because the previously contained Bourbon in the aging barrel has only a minor influence which allows the American white oak combining with the distillate to shine. Although the release appears to have already sold out, it nevertheless gives us a glimpse into the house style of the Macaloney Caledaonian Distillery.

Here is a link to my review: