Thanks to Tim W. for pouring me this sample. So we start ramping up. Because for this year’s Advent Calendar, put together by my wife, each one is supposed to be stronger than the last. Luckily I have a working liver. Ha! Take that non-liver people! So we’re onto Advent Day #16. Let’s see how this tastes, shall we? Price: Sold out Region: Island Date Distilled: July 2002… Continue reading Arran SMWS 121.76 “Close shave from a tipsy barber”
Thanks to /u/smokedherring for handing me a sample. I’ve explained the LCBO, the provincial alcohol authority in Ontario, Canada. Just go back through some of the old posts. So after years of people asking, myself included, for single cask selections in Ontario, the LCBO seemingly listened. And we had tequila and scotch selections available to us. We’re like real people now! However you should always read the… Continue reading Arran 20 1996 Private Cask for LCBO
Thanks to /u/devoz and /u/xile_ for this sample Quick recap, if you haven’t read the last review (Skip to the Bold part that says “START HERE” otherwise). Recently I made a point of stating that, if given an Arran, I’d identify the profile. This started both devoz and xile_ thinking, which is never good for me. You see, recently devoz acquired a smoke gun. From what little I understand… Continue reading Mystery M2 (The Smoked Series)
So I’m at the precipice of hitting both 300 scotch reviews and 500 total whisky reviews on reddit and plotted out my path to those milestones. Inspired by /u/tomodera‘s recent Arran-pocalypse posts (Part 1, Part 2), I decided to do a smaller multi of the Arran drams I haven’t posted here in the past. It’s kind of like the B-movie version of his post… it’s Piranha … Continue reading Arran-mageddon: 12 reviews of Arran single casks, LEs and crazy finishes
This is part 2 of all of the Arran reviews. However I did something a little silly when choosing. I split the drams down the middle, assuming that all of the below were single (or a few) casks. With the exception of the Arran 21st Anniversary, that’s true, as we don’t know how many casks went into it (we know it’s at least 3). That’s… Continue reading Arranpocalypse (Part 2)
Funny story. Wait, not really. Funny. Maybe sad. I’m fascinated by different casks. I’m intrigued by anyone who is trying new and different things in life. Why? Because while I may not always agree with the mentality behind a business/individual who does something different, I can tip my hat (if I wore one) to them for attempting something different. Yes, sometimes the road less traveled… Continue reading Arranpocalypse (Part 1)
Looks like them Toronto Whisky Society boys (and ladies) are up to no good again folks. Just kidding, we’re always up to great good. It was a slightly windy day in First Spring when the TWS (owners of this here website and such) had a good ol’ tastin’. We headed to Dupont, set out the nicest crackers, dark chocolates, and cheesey-poofs, and invited everyone. Entry? Well … Continue reading Toronto Whisky Society’s <10yr/NAS Social Event
Arran 21st Anniversary Limited Edition (52.6%, matured in ex-Oloroso sherry hogsheads, 5,988 bottles, 2016 Limited Edition, ~$210 CAD) A limited edition released in late 2016 to celebrate Arran’s 21st anniversary, this bottling is made using whisky distilled during the first 3 years of production (from 1995 to 1997). Nose: Red apple, honey, mango, hazelnut, citrus, nutmeg, hint of cocoa Taste: Stewed apples, cinnamon, honey, walnuts, … Continue reading Review for International Scotch Day: Arran 21st Anniversary LE
I’ve had the privilege of trying some pretty unique and cool Arran bottlings and they’ve cemented Arran as one of my favourite distilleries. So when my wife and I went to the Isle of Arran and the distillery, I was quite excited to see they had some minis for sale of the standard expressions so I could see what the base spirit tastes like. Arran … Continue reading Arran Malt Standard Line-up: 10, 14, 18, 12CS
SMWS Code: 121.77 Code Name: “Dunnage warehouse orange boxes” Distillery: Arran Age: 19 years Cask: Refill Hogshead Appearance: 0.8, Deep Gold Nose: Combination bourbon cask influence and brine; I get salty peanut brittle, vanilla and caramel, hints of some citrus (orange, tinged with lemon). Quite grainy and malty. Taste: Thick mouthfeel, vanilla, salted caramel, oak and white pepper, mandarin orange, clove and anise, slightly astringent. Finish: More … Continue reading Review: Scotch Malt Whisky Society 121.77
As part of the Toronto Whisky Society, we had a small getogether and drank our fucking faces off. Like gentlemen and ladies and all that shit, you know? All hosted by one of our members, /u/devoz and his amazing wife. Each of us brought a bottle to drink. And that was too many. So I understand if you take my reviews with a grain of salt.… Continue reading Arran SMWS 121.77 “Dunnage Warehouse Orange Boxes” (Toronto Whisky Society Review Set #1)
The Toronto Whisky Society had another meetup this weekend, and had a number of fantastic bottles to sample from. We had 9 people out, including many of our contributors from here: Devoz, TOModera, Boyd86, Throzen, Xile_, DistillAsian, Kyle Butler, and Bryan Vanderkruk with special guest CharlesDobson from Alberta. We had a line-up of 9 bottles and sampled, dissected and discussed each one. The reviews will be … Continue reading Toronto Whisky Society November 2016 tasting meet-up
Toronto Whisky Society 