A few months ago, the founding members of the Toronto Whisky Society were discussing what we should do to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, and eventually the discussion came around to whisky awards. When we looked at these awards, we found that they don’t always reveal the full list of whiskies evaluated, and generally don’t evaluate up-and-coming distilleries with product under 3 years old. Canada has … Continue reading TWS’s Inaugural Whisky Awards Intro
This was the fourth official Toronto Whisky Society event of 2017. Gordon Stevenson is the global spirits ambassador with International Beverage Holdings and is here to walk us through a tasting of various their whiskies. Their five distilleries are represented here. Putleney, Balblair, Speyburn, Knockdhu (anCnoc), & Balmenach – their largest distillery, exclusively used for blends and their gin. They used to do drum maltings … Continue reading Woodman Spirits & International Beverages Tasting Event
2023 UPDATES UNDER EACH ENTRY BELOW Given the popularity of our post on The Best Scotch $100 Can Buy (LCBO 2017) a number of TWS members discussed the best American bourbons and ryes you can find at the LCBO for a reasonable price. We settled on $61 as the cutoff point to allow Wild Turkey Rare Breed to qualify, as we wanted a barrels proof … Continue reading Best Bourbon/American Rye Under $71 at LCBO
Aberfeldy 16yr SC (1994 A.D. Rattray) Review 16 year 55.5% ABV Bourbon hogshead So, I saw a single cask release of Aberfeldy at cask strength, matured in bourbon hogshead from A.D. Rattray. Oddly enough, very few reviews posted for cask strength Aberfeldy releases. Being a lunatic, it seemed like a good idea to get a bottle. No idea at all what to expect going into this. … Continue reading Review: Aberfeldy 16yr SC (1994 A.D. Rattray)
In my experience I’ve found a few drops of water really open up and benefit these whiskies, and therefore all my notes are with water added. (Approximately 3-4 drops for a half ounce pour) Blanton’s Gold, Bottled 9-19-14, Barrel 829, Warehouse H, Rick#29, 51.5% ABV, $100 CAD Nose: Brown sugar, sweet corn, vanilla, toffee, really nice cherry, cranberry, and pomegranate thing going on. Fruit hard … Continue reading Blanton’s Gold, Booker’s Bourbon, & Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof.
Ardbeg 22yr 1993 SC (Cadenhead) 22 years 55.3% ABV Bourbon cask So, little disclaimer going in. I love 1970s Ardbeg, hell I love Ardbeg. I am really looking forward to this. Nose: Mellowed out compared to younger Ardbeg bottles. Smoke, peat, oak, dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, leather, smores, lemon zest. Palate: Oak, vanilla, tannins, smoke, peat, brine, cherry, oily, raisins and citrus. Finish: Long. Nice … Continue reading Review: Ardbeg 22yr 1993 SC (Cadenhead)
Macallan Edition No.2, 48.2% ABV, $117 USD Nose: Classic Macallan-like sherry, heavy on the dates and raisins. Chocolate, orange, and lemon peel. Ever have Mackintosh’s Toffee? (Came in that red tartan-style plaid box) I get flashbacks of that. Also typical Macallan oak tannins, and spice. Taste: Thick sherry and oak notes. Again, dates and raisins with more chocolate and orange peel. I get a faint … Continue reading Macallan Edition No.2
Compass Box – The Peat Monster, 46% ABV, $65 CAD Nose: Soft and mild peat, sea air, sweet cigar tobacco, lemon peel, oyster shells, mild pepper, and lemon zest. Taste: Peat, bryne, floral, salt, peaches and cream desert, creme brulee, lemon zest, cigar tobacco, wood ash. Finish: Med-long, very well balanced, creamy, great viscosity and mouth-feel. Peat Monster is made from the following: (Compass Box … Continue reading Compass Box – The Peat Monster
Here’s the next in our series of TWS group reviews. Six of our members have posted reviews of this popular island dram and it was great to see what the consolidated group’s thoughts on it were. Talisker 10 Group Review Summary Top 5 Tasting Notes: Peat, Smoke, Brine, Sugar, Pepper (see word cloud for full breakdown of flavour notes we recorded) Max Score: 90 Min Score: 82 Average Score: 85.3 … Continue reading Group Review: Talisker 10
I was very disappointed with the results in my first Glenfarclas review. The two 50ml samples I purchased from auction (21 and 25 year) didn’t appear to have any evidence of contamination, but after trying this sample from Master of Malt, it’s obvious there were spoiled in some form or another. The Glenfarclas 25 I’m trying here is a completely different whisky. Glenfarclas 25, 43% ABV, … Continue reading Glenfarclas 25 Re-Review
