Elmer T. Lee Bourbon, 45% ABV, $45 USD Nose: Black cherry, cinnamon, brown sugar, caramel, whipped cream, and a big cream corn note. Taste: Cherry, corn, and brown sugar again, with honey, vanilla, pepper, and tobacco. Finish: Medium/long, cherry and corn notes linger. Thoughts: Not the most complex bourbon, but it’s very well balanced. Its got a unique profile. Really enjoying it! Hard to find … Continue reading Elmer T. Lee
Lot No. 40 100% Rye Whisky, 43% ABV, $40 CAD Nose: Caramel, rye spice, oak, floral soap, banana, banana bread, icing sugar. Taste: Creamy toffee, rye spice, brown sugar, cooked banana. Finish: Medium/long length, good viscosity. Thoughts: This is what you want in a rye. Great balance of sweet and spicy. Although strong, the rye kick is nicely rounded so it doesn’t completely overpower the whisky. … Continue reading Lot 40 vs Lot 40 Cask Strength
Highland Park 25 Year Old, 45.7% ABV, $415 CAD Nose: Apples, apple pie, pie crust, sour-dough bread, honey, leather, banana, peach juice, mild chocolate, white, chocolate, old wood, toffee, vanilla ice cream, Mr. Christie’s Arrow Rout cookies, raisins, waffle cones, and a nice malty note. Taste: Sherry, floral, leather, apple, honey, chocolate and white chocolate again, light cinnamon, golden plums, and underripe pears. Finish: So so good! … Continue reading Highland Park 25 Year Old
Highland Park 15 Year Old, 43% ABV, $79 USD Nose: Lemon, orange, musty peat smoke, vanilla, room temperature butter, and honey. Taste: Honey and lemon, smokey oak, there is a herbal element to it which is hard to pint-point, white chocolate, pepper, slight salty/coastal note which reminds me of Old Pulteney. Finish: Medium/long length, slightly drying, chocolate, pepper, and smoke linger. Thoughts: Great balance to this, nothing … Continue reading Highland Park 15 Year Old
Orphan Barrel – Barterhouse 20 year old Bourbon, 45.1% ABV, $100 CAD Nose: Black and Maraschino cherries. Big oak, toasted bread, almonds, and some vanilla. Taste: Heavy oak, very rich cherry (cherry pie filling), caramel, and an almond/marzipan thing going on. Finish: Medium to long, oak and cherry notes linger. Thoughts: 20 years of oak dominate the whisky, but it works here. I really like the cask influence. … Continue reading Orphan Barrel – Barterhouse 20 year old Bourbon
Macallan 17 Fine Oak, 43% ABV, $170 USD Nose: Pomegranate, wood smoke, floral, Juicy Fruit gum, and a general overall fresh citrus note. Taste: Pineapple, mango, Runts candy (banana & apple flavour), wood smoke, and chocolate. Finish: Medium length, slightly drying. Thoughts: Really nice elegant complexity to this. The nose is very nice, its like smelling the fruit isle at an overpriced market. Probably my … Continue reading Macallan 17 & 18 Fine Oak
There are a few bottles that you don’t want any oxidization to occur. This is one of them. In my experience sherried scotch which is not bottled at cask strength has mostly negative effects from oxidization, whereas peated scotch or most things cask strength/barrel proof benefit with air in the bottle. After the bottle is about 1\5 gone I use Wine Enthusiast Private Preserve Wine … Continue reading Macallan 18 (Sherry)
I apologize for my absence, it’s been almost 2 months since my last review. Ardbeg Kelpie 46% ABV, $140 CAD Nose: Peat, pine, salt, brine, pepper, caramel popcorn, diaper wipes. Taste: Cedar wood chips, creamy vanilla, smoked salmon, chard steak, Hickory Sticks, and a big peat kick. Finish: Long, hickory note lingers, decent viscosity, but I bet the Committee Release is epic! Thoughts: The virgin … Continue reading Ardbeg Kelpie
Thanks to Rob from Whisky In The 6 for gifting me the remainder of this bottle! Checkout his reviews on YouTube (just search “Whisky in the 6”) Balvenie 15, Single Barrel – Sherry Cask, (European Sherry Butt) 47.8% ABV, $105 USD Nose: Nice rich sherry. Raisins, red plums, pears, green apple, starfruit. Taste: Really nice chocolate notes, chocolate cake, carrot cake without the carrot (just … Continue reading Balvenie 15 Single Barrel – Sherry Cask
Quick mention about letting whisky sit, oxidize, and open up before you drink it: You’ve heard about allowing whisky to breathe one minute in the glass for every year in the cask? (18 year old whisky; let it sit for 18 minutes). I HATE this rule! It simply just doesn’t apply to the majority of whisky. Especially when it’s peated, especially when it’s cask strength, … Continue reading Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1, 6.3, 7.1, & 7.3
The “true” age of the GlenDronach line You may have read the Words of Whisky article about the GlenDronach core-range being a lot older than the age statement on the label… “The distillery was closed from 1996 until 2001, and that gap of six years forces GlenDronach to use older whisky than necessary. The 12yo Original was released in 2009, so should’ve been at least … Continue reading GlenDronach Core-Range Review (12, 15, 18, 21)
The Old Fashioned has been my go-to cocktail for as long as I’ve been into whisky. I love the sweetness and easy drinking flavour it delivers. I make all my old fashioned’s right in the glass, no need for special mixing shakers. Pre-made simple syrup also makes the process easy and convenient (1 cup of water, 1&1/4 cup of brown sugar. Heat in small pot … Continue reading 5 Old Fashioned Recipes and Reviews
Toronto Whisky Society 