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Archive for the ‘Whisk(e)y’ Category

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Review: Glen Garioch 1994 Vintage

Posted by Arctic Wolf on August 1, 2018

The Glen Garioch Distillery (pronounced ‘Glen Geery’) is located in the town of Oldmeldrum, approximately 20 minutes from Aberdeen. It is the Eastern-most distillery in Scotland, in the Valley of Garioch, which is apparently one of the best barley growing regions of Scotland. The distillery was established in 1797.

Glen Garioch’s Vintage bottlings represent Single Malt Whiskies which were distilled in the same year. In the case of Glen Garioch 1994 Vintage the whisky was of course distilled in 1994 and laid down in American Oak casks. Seventeen years later the mature whisky was bottled at 53.9 % alcohol by volume.

Here is a link to my review:

Review: Glen Garioch 1994 Vintage

“… The disproportionate amount of fine oak spice verses caramel/butterscotch sweetness indicates that the barrels used to age the whisky had spent much of their life aging other spirits. The caramel and toffee flavours which come from young charred casks are all but gone leaving just fine spicy sap and very light vanillans. One could easily mistake this Malt for a much younger spirit …”

Please enjoy my review which includes a serving suggestion, the standard Old Fashioned Cocktail.

Chimo!

Posted in Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Glen Garioch 1994 Vintage

Review: J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 29, 2018

John Philip (J.P.) Wiser, purchased a distillery in Prescott Ontario in 1857, and began to produce Wiser’s Whisky.  In fact, it may have been J.P. Wiser who first used the term “Canadian Whiskey” on a whisky label when he introduced his spirit to the World at the Chicago’s World Fair in 1893. Today Wiser’s is distilled at the Hiram Walker Distillery in Walkerville, Ontario, and aged in their facilities at Pike Creek near Lakeshore Ontario. Through all of these changes the Wiser’s Brand has been recognized as a vital component of each company’s portfolio of brands.

J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky (bottled at 40% alcohol by volume) was recently released across Canada.

Here is a link to my full review:

Review: J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky

” … Smooth and yummy with a rich toffee-like flavour of wood and grain spices melded butterscotch and maple. Canned fruit as noted above is joined by light impressions of raisins and a very light cherry-like impression similar to red licorice (Turkish Delight). The vanilla has joined with the orange peel bringing impressions of marmalade. Rich tobacco and new leather with an underpinning of almond syrup …”

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky

Review: Lohin McKinnon Barley & Rye (Lightly Peated)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 25, 2018

Central City Brewers + Distillers is a small craft producer of beer and spirits. They began business as a brewpub in downtown Surrey (British Columbia), where they created their Red Racer craft beer. After this initial  success they turned their attention to spirits using Canadian Barley to produce their whisky and Rocky Mountain Berries to produce their gin.

According to the company’s website:

We craft our premium spirits on 3 state-of-the-art Holstein Stills, manufactured in Germany on 3 different sizes: 2500 litre, 1250 Litre and 500 litre, to allow greater versatility. All fitted with reflux columns and one with up to 20 plates, this Stills are capable of producing up to 90% ABV and can produce almost any spirit our distiller can imagine.

I sampled Lohin McKinnon Barley & Rye (Lightly Peated) as part of my judging duties for the 2018 Canadian Whisky Awards. I kept brief notes for each of the spirits which I tasted, and after the reveal, I decided to pen a brief review based upon those tasting notes, as well as from a small tasting sample I was able to obtain afterwards.

Here is a link to my review:

Review: Lohin McKinnon Barley & Rye (Lightly Peated)

“… Interestingly, The light peatiness of the dram wasn’t readily apparent in the breezes when I nosed the whisky side by side with the other spirits I was judging. Afterwards though, when I had time to assess the spirit in isolation, I was able to catch light hints of herbal peat in the breezes …”

Please enjoy my review of the new craft whisky.

Chimo!

 

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Lohin McKinnon Barley & Rye (Lightly Peated)

Review: The Glenlivet 15 Year Old (French Oak Reserve)

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 19, 2018

The Glenlivet Distillery is located near Ballindalloch in Moray, Scotland. The Distillery was founded in 1824. It remained open during the first World War as well as and through the Great Depression with its only during World War II. The Glenlivet brand is owned by the French conglomerate Pernod Ricard, and has grown to be largest selling single malt whisky in North America and the second largest selling single malt whisky globally.

According to the Glenlivet website:

The 15 Year Old gets its distinctive rich and exotic character from a process of selective maturation in which a proportion of the spirit is matured in French oak casks. In fact, we at The Glenlivet were one of the first to use French oak for making whisky, a technique that has since been imitated the world over.

The Limousin oak we use is cut in France’s Dordogne region, where it’s often used to mature cognacs. Its low density allows whisky to sink deep into the wood, and we carefully control how long the whisky matures in the casks so as not to overpower the desired result: a unique, pleasing spiciness.

Here is a link to my review:

Review: The Glenlivet 15 Year Old (French Oak Reserve)

” … The whisky is much better than the flavour descriptors indicate. The flavours develop over time making this a whisky I would allow to sit for ten or fifteen minutes to maximize my enjoyment …”

Please enjoy my review which conclude with my recommended serving, an Old Fashioned with Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters.

Posted in Scotch Whisky, Single Malt Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: The Glenlivet 15 Year Old (French Oak Reserve)

Review: J.P. Wiser’s Union 52 Canadian Whisky

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 15, 2018

And now for something different ….

J.P. Wiser’s Union 52 Canadian Whisky is a blend of mature 16-year-old Canadian whiskies with an extremely old single malt whisky that was distilled in the Highlands of Scotland. (Eighteen barrels of this whisky had been stored and aged at one of the J.P. Wiser’s warehouses in Canada since 1964. Apparently, if you go poking around in the aging warehouses in Canada, you can find all manner of strange spirits lurking around.)

You are probably wondering how in the world they can call this Canadian Whisky when spirit originally distilled in Scotland is part of the blend. This has to do of course with the latitude that Canadian Whisky producers are given. In Canada up to 9% (actually 9.09%) of the volume may be other aged spirit or wine which can used to augment the whisky’s flavour.

Although the majority of Canadian Whisky is made with 100 % Canadian Spirit, the use of the use of a Scottish spirit to augment flavour is well within the Canadian guidelines for making whisky. And it is a practice which allows tremendous freedom for the master blender to experiment, as J.P. Wiser’s Master Blender obviously has.

Here is a link to my full Review:

Review: J.P. Wiser’s Union 52 Canadian Whisky

The dominant flavours of the whisky are oak, vanilla, caramel, baking spices (cloves and cinnamon) and dark fruit (dates and figs) with hints of peat. I also taste black licorice, toasted walnut, and an herbal component which brings forward green sawgrass, willow and hints of menthol.

Please enjoy the review of this unusual Canadian Whisky!

Chimo!

Posted in Canadian Whisky, Whisk(e)y, Whisky Review | Tagged: , , , | Comments Off on Review: J.P. Wiser’s Union 52 Canadian Whisky

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