[Review] Clynelish 12 Gordon & MacPhail “Ainslie & Heilbron” (bottled ~1984)

This whisky has been staring me in the face behind the bar at my pub for ages, and I’ve finally gone and tried it. There’s more to this that meets the eye. The distillery that’s known today as Clynelish was built in 1967, right next door to the original Clynelish distillery which was renamed “Brora”. Bizarrely, up until the mid-70s, it was common practice for … Continue reading [Review] Clynelish 12 Gordon & MacPhail “Ainslie & Heilbron” (bottled ~1984)

[Review] Glenburgie 21 Gordon & MacPhail Distillery Label

Glenburgie is rapidly becoming one of my very favourite Speyside distilleries. It seems to produce those tropical fruit notes that I go crazy for with consistency, provided it’s had enough time in the cask. The 21 years of age on this distillery-label bottling from Gordon & MacPhail should be enough to get those flavours going. Nose: Ehhhh, there’s some stale sulfur here, and mustiness like … Continue reading [Review] Glenburgie 21 Gordon & MacPhail Distillery Label

[Review] The Half Century Blend 50-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky

This is my first 50-year-old whisky, breaking my previous oldest-whisky record by a solid decade. It’s a blended scotch, bottled by the appropriately-named Blended Whisky Company in 2017. I couldn’t find any info on the composition of this blend, but no matter. Let’s give it a try! Nose: Very mellow. Musty notes of old leather and old furniture. Some vanilla buttercream and that particular old-grain … Continue reading [Review] The Half Century Blend 50-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky

[Review] Imperial 19 1976 Signatory Vintage

Despite a relatively small sample size, Imperial has become one of my very favourite Speyside distilleries. It delivers the tropical and waxy goods regularly, and despite closing in 1998 it doesn’t (yet) have the same dead-distillery premium on it as many of the bigger names. This Signatory bottling from 1976 will be the oldest vintage Imperial I’ve ever tried. Colour: Straw. Nose: Sweet and fatty. … Continue reading [Review] Imperial 19 1976 Signatory Vintage

Park Whisky Society X Toronto Whisky Society tasting

There are so many whisky clubs out there these days, and they take many different forms. Some have long histories and many chapters across the country who enjoy formal tastings with dinners. Others, like us, were millennial-founded and approach whisky from a very nerdy, inquisitive place, and that passion for trying new bottles leads to the pursuit of unique brands and bottlings. The Park Whiskey … Continue reading Park Whisky Society X Toronto Whisky Society tasting

Oddballs 2021

While Covid changed a lot of things, one thing it didn’t change was our annual Oddballs tradition! in 2021, we had a great Oddballs line-up tasted over Zoom including the following drams, all of which were single cask and cask strength Opinions and favourites were mixed, but everyone agreed there were some massive surprises in the line-up, with the speyside’s sulphury palate being the most … Continue reading Oddballs 2021

Tomintoul Tasting – Mar 2020

Our last in-person tasting before Covid hit…. the before times. Crazy that it would be a full 2.33yrs before we would be in person again – could almost age a whisky to legal maturity in that time! This tasting was pulled together over time through a combination of members bringing in bottles and the brand ambassador providing a bunch as well. The writer was travelling … Continue reading Tomintoul Tasting – Mar 2020

Rum & Cachaça Tasting – March 2021

Over the past few years, we’ve tried to include one non-whisky event in our annual line-up, to help introduce folks to different spirits, and to keep things interesting! In 2021, the event was Rum & Cachaça. While we could have done a full rum event, the opportunity to get some cachaça direct from Brazil presented itself via a co-worker who was going back to visit … Continue reading Rum & Cachaça Tasting – March 2021

Caol Ila 12 2006 North Star

Everything about Caol Ila, on paper, without trying their whisky spells disaster. It’s massive amounts of whisky pumped out industrially owned by a large company. And yet… dammit if I don’t really enjoy their whisky. So I guess I gotta stop judging books by covers and all that. Oh, how my life would be different. So today I’m reviewing?Caol Ila 12 2006 North Star, a… Continue reading Caol Ila 12 2006 North Star

Laphroaig 20 1996 Adelphi

Thanks to?/u/xile_?for pouring me this dram. How do you end an epic tasting that includes good steak, beef bacon, sausages, and staring into the abyss? Why with a Laphroaig of course! Laphroaig 20 1996 Adelphi?is to round out the tasting. And since it’s from Adelphi, I’m lucky that they listed the alcohol the information is so sparse. So let’s just get to it, shall we?… Continue reading Laphroaig 20 1996 Adelphi