Category: Review

Review

Highland Park 15 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

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Review

Orphan Barrel – Barterhouse 20 year old Bourbon

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

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Review

Bladnoch Pure Scot Blend Group Review

Bladnoch is a Lowland distillery – one of the few left – that’s over 200 years old. The distillery was sold in 2015, and the new owner, David Prior, is busy making his mark on the distillery and brand. There’s a new line-up of age stated single malts coming out soon, but the initial new release is a blend called Pure Scot. It contains a … Continue reading Bladnoch Pure Scot Blend Group Review

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Review

Corby’s Northern Border Collection – Reviews of all 8 Expressions

A few weeks ago TOmodera and I were invited by Corby Spirits to attend an event in Prince Edward County for bartenders and whisky media to try out the new Northern Border Collection bottlings they’re releasing nationwide in October. Naturally, we obliged after some arm twisting… but actually we were pumped, having tried some of these before and knowing how good they are. The day … Continue reading Corby’s Northern Border Collection – Reviews of all 8 Expressions

Unknown's avatarBryan Vanderkruk3 Comments
Review

Macallan 17 & 18 Fine Oak

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

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Review

Glenfiddich IPA Experiment & Project XX – Group Review

Recently Beth Havers, the Canadian Brand Ambassador for Glenfiddich, gave Toronto Whisky Society members a chance to try two new Glenfiddich releases (Glenfiddich IPA Experiment & Project XX).  Huge thank you to Beth for giving us a chance to try these two whiskies which were recently released at the LCBO. Below are the aggregated thoughts, notes and review scores, along with the individual scores and … Continue reading Glenfiddich IPA Experiment & Project XX – Group Review

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Review

Ardbeg Kelpie

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

Unknown's avatarjeremy2 Comments
Event Recap, Review

Northern Border Collection tasting event at the Drake Devonshire

Recently some of Corby’s representatives reached out to members of the Toronto Whisky Society to attend a tasting event they were having with bartenders and whisky media at the Drake Devonshire in picturesque Prince Edward County. TOModera and I were fortunate enough to be able to go. We looked forward to the opportunity to try the soon-to-be-released Northern Border Collection Limited Releases! It was TOModera’s first … Continue reading Northern Border Collection tasting event at the Drake Devonshire

Unknown's avatarBryan Vanderkruk2 Comments
Review

Heartwood Calm Before the Storm Review

Heartwood Calm Before the Storm Review     * 66.4% ABV * 7 years old * First-fill ex-Oloroso sherry cask     Well this should be fun, my first Heartwood review. Massive thank you to TOModera for letting me try this.   Nose: Not the most complex, tons of sherry and spice. Raisin, clove, pepper, brown sugar. Oak and leather, some alcohol as well.   … Continue reading Heartwood Calm Before the Storm Review

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Review

Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon & Blue Jays Baseball Bonanza

Baseball and Bottled-in-bond Bourbons… doesn’t get much more American than that! Except I’m in Canada, and I’m watching the Blue Jays. I’ve had these two bottles for a while, and the Henry McKenna came in a swap with /u/lecheconcarnie nearly two years ago. Realized I could do a three-way BiB multi-review, so let’s see how they fare! (both the bourbons and the Blue Jays… I’ll give updates … Continue reading Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon & Blue Jays Baseball Bonanza

Unknown's avatarBryan Vanderkruk2 Comments
Review

Group Review: Laphroaig Select

We’re back with another group review! The Laphroaig Select is a new entry level bottling from Laphroaig, and is a combination of malt aged in Oloroso sherry butts, virgin American white oak, PX seasoned hogsheads, Quarter Casks and first fill ex-bourbon casks. Laphroaig made 6 combinations and sent them to some Friends of Laphroaig, allowing them to choose the blend that would go into this new bottling. … Continue reading Group Review: Laphroaig Select

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