March 2009?
Scotch Party at Chris Lee’s

1. Old Pulteney 17 Year Old
   Oak cask. Toffee orange notes. Mild with some spice. Good, but not a good value for $
2. Glen Fiddich 21
   Rum Cask, milk with caramel notes and leather.
3. GLen Morangie 10 “Tain”
   Honey dew melon, citrus notes with honey. Vanilla
4. Glen Morangie Nector D’or
   Sauternes cask. Toffee honey, dates, oak and vanilla. A sweet finish.
5. Stronachie 12 Year Old
   Highland character, some peat, coffee (brewed) herbal grassy taste.
6. Lagavulin 16 – Islay
   Peat smoke, iodine, dark chocolate and dark cherries. Smokey and sweet. Nice.

June 12 2009
Clearview Tasting with Rod, Dave, and Brian

1. Glen Morangie Signet
   Vanilla, chocolate, nutmeg. Multiple finishes that cascade. The dark chocolate notes were amazing.
2. Dalmore 1263 King Alexander III
   Aged in oloroso, madeira, and bourbon, and cab sauvignon casks. Almond notes with nutty toffee citrus flavours. Brian picked up pear.

June 13 2009
Clearview Tasting with Rod, Dave, and Brian

1. Bunnahabhain-Darach Ur
   oak, toffee, pencil shavings, short finish with a big mouth.
2. Glen Livet Nadurra 16
   57.6% ABV, apples, full mouth with honey and toffee and spice. Hot and boozy on the nose and mouth.
3. Ben Riach 15 year old
   Little nose, some sweetness. “Filing cabinets” almost a musty character? long finish that was surprisingly sneaky.
4. Ben Riach 21 – Brian’s Birthday present
   Big peat and lots of nose. Short mouth initially with a long finish. Interesting changes from the 15 with none of the mustiness and instead a bit more elegance.
5. Lagavulin Distillers Edition
   The usual lag smoke and peat but with more honey and despite the smoke very drinkable.

August 2, 2009
Clearview Cottage with Rod, Dave, and Brian

1. The arran Malt – Madeira Cask 10-12 estimated age
   Christmas cake, citrus, salted caramel. A dessert scotch with fruity notes. Adding water gave an interesting mouth, but shortened the finish.
2. Bowmore 15 Mariner (old bottle with boat)
   Smoother finish than the 12, none of the hot boozy notes. Sherry and peat playing together with salt and honey. It tasted “dark” but not quite like the “Darkest”
3. Ian McLeod’s “As We Get It” Islay
   8 year old, cask strength, highland, Harsh mouth with no finish, not good. Expensive for what it was.
4. Glenrothes 1994 – Speyside
   Delicate with nutty fruit. May have lost this after having the Islay’s before.

September 5, 2009
Clearview – Labour Day Weekend

1. Dalwhinnie 15
   A highland. Nose: Vanilla, flowers, honey. Mouth: Mellow toffee, honey, malt, cinnamon, pepper. Finish: Short but smooth and warm. A nice starter whiskey.
2. Aberlour a bunadh – cask strength (60.2%)
   Speyside; nose: Honeyed fruits, taste: surprisingly smooth given the ABV, sweet, apples. Tasted like an Old Fashioned, orange rind. A back of mouth explosion with a quick finish.
3. Glenrothes 1994
   Light colour, sweet and toffee creamy nose. The taste was mild and sweet. A drinkable scotch but again, I think a bit lost after the Aberlour.
4. Ben Riach 15
   It has a nose like “school” again, the musty pencil shavings and filing cabinets. It was liked better t his time than the first tasting.
5. The Arran Malt – Madeira Cask (50% abv)
   Spicy – cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice. Candied fruits figs.

September 6, 2009
Labour Day Weekend (Saturday) at Clearview with Brian, Rod, Dave, and Dad.

1. Longmorn 16
   Oak cask, non chillfiltered, 48% above, speyside, nose: sweet, oak, vanilla. Mouth: sharp mouth, short finish. Some leather? Hazelnut notes.
2. Dalwhinnie 15
   Sunny, vanilla, cinnamon, apple.
3. Aberlour A’Bunadh 60% abv
   Balanced despite the heat, an explosion of boozy heat on top of a warm chest. Adding water to the dram lengthened the finish (weirdly) and moved the finished fto the front of the mouth. Really interesting and unlike most samples.
4. Bowmore Darkest (15) – Old Version with boat
   Caramel, peat, smoke oak, sherry all working together for a satisfying “dark” taste.

October 11, 2009 (Thanksgiving)
Clearview

1. Glen Livet 12
   Warm apple notes, okay, herbal
2. Glen Goyne 21
   Apple skins, cinnamon, baking spices

Whiskey Live October 23, 2009

1. Macallan 15 Fine Oak
   Light nose, definite wood characteristics. Honey fruit, subtle. Not a long finish.
2. Isle of Arran St. Emilion Cask
   Powerful nose, with grape, wine notes. Had a oily mouth and long power semi sweet finish.
3. Balvenie 15
   Nice flowery nose. Big mouth with more warmth than I expected. Flowers with oak.
4. Ardbeg
   Strong herbal so much peat. Oily. Mouth salt and huge peat. Lighter in body than expected.
5. Edradour 10 Year: smallest distillery in Scotland. light pleasing nose, nuts, apple, longish finish. A nice enjoyable dram.

Scotch Party March 2010

1. Ben Nevis: Clydasdale?
   Perfumy flowers, warming fairly smooth, basic.
2. Glen Rothes 1994
   Speyside, toffee, nice mouth. Almost astringent.
3. Glen Livet 21
   No cask listed. Apple with nice mouth and smooth finish. buttery
4. Balvenie 12 Signature
   Bourbon, sherry refill cask. Oaky with sherry and smooth woody finish.
5. Longmorn 16
   oak cask. Some peat.
6. Dalmore 1997 (Berry’s Own Selection)
   Light, honey, medium body with some herbal taste.
7. Te Bheag
   Blend, but surprising levels of complexity, sherry.

July 31, 2012
Scotch tasting and Brian’s with Brian, Rod, Dave, and Gary

1. Pebble Beach
   Speyside 12 years. Sweet nice nose. Could not figure out who makes it.
2. Ledaig (chaig) No age, 10-12 years.
   Pleasant nose. Almost no colour. Nice mouth and finish. Salty, peaty.
3. Aberlour Abundh
   Hot and boozy. Not much nose. Added water.
4. Bruicladdich Classic 01 (teal bottle)
   Lively, peaty with a good finish and amost musty finish.
5. Auchentoshen 16
   bourbon matured limited edition. Lots ofo woods. Lumberyard. The bourbon was very pronounced.
6. Bowmore 15 darkest
   The usual character and sherry finish.
7. Highland Park 18
   Sherry with sweet and nice full mouth.

September 20, 2010 (Labour Day)
Clearview

1. Douglas Laing 25 year old Caol Isla
   Cask strength. Nice nose with creosote if held in mouth. Not a lot of tar, or oil. Nice long mouth finish. Coats the mouth. Definitely a more elegant version of the classic caol isla.
2. Balvenie 17 “new oak”
   Bourbon and sherry wood in new oak cask. Sweetness of sherry and bourbon. Actually less “oaky” than I would have expected.
3. Blackadder Auchroist 1986 (18 years)
   Hogsmeade cask; speysdie tasty butter scotchy.
4. Old Pultenay 17 Year Old
   tasty but really mild no real finish. I don’t know about this one…want to like it, but meh.
5. Hart Bros Glen Scotia 16
   Sherry fruit and exotic fruits.
6. Mortlach 21
   Speyside, apples with sweetness and pleasant.
7. Glen Goyne 21
   Sweet dried fruits.
8. Bowmore Tempest (10 Year Old)
   Smooth, no iodine which was surprising. A lot of bowmore character.

Whiskey Live October 2010
Went with Sean Coates.

1. Balvenie Carribean Cask
   bananas, or banana bread. hotter in mouth than expected.
2. Isle of Arran Amarone
   Plumy and sweet.

April 3, 2012
Young Scotch Club@Club Ocho
Attended w Sean Coates

note: this was a Glen Fiddich hosted tasting

1. GF 12
   Notes: apples and pears on nose some burnt sugar. minimal finish. adding water lengthened the sweetness and made it more pronounced.
2. GF 15
   honeycomb toffee and sweet candied fruit some residual sweetness on palette Sean’s fav
3. GF 18
   smooth no rough edges some honey and lots sherry. almost clove notes.

Date: Saturday April 14 2012
Location: Chris Lee’s (Scotch Party)
Also in attendence: Al Ball and Brian Harrington

1. Adelphi Fasadale 10 Year Old $120
   Notes: Very surprising. Spicy and pepperly with notes of smoke. A lot of character for a comparably young whiskey. Interesting finish with notes of salt and bacon. Some sweet notes.
2. Highland Park 21 y/o $220
   Notes: Extremly pleasant. Mellow with no rough edges. Caramel, toffee, wine and port.
3. Bruichladdich 21 Black Art $170?
   Notes: Dark chocolate with prunes, cinnamon. Less peat than one would expect. Very complex. Clee: Noted Skor bar finish with almost burnt sugar.
4. Bruichladdich 16 (Bourbon Cask)
   Notes: Pleasant but undistinguished. Didn’t get much sweetness from the bourbon. Had a very clean taste in comparison to the 21. May have suffered by comparison to previous tasting.
5. Aberlour 18
   Notes: None of the “rough” character of the a’bunadh. Very dark colour belies it’s port/sherry nose and sweet finish.

After this the tastings got a bit blurry 🙂

Date: December 19, 2012
Location: 1602 Dundas
With Sean and Brad

1. Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old
   Flowers, honey, caramel, corn, very smoth. not much “fire” smoke or maybe candle tallow
2. Pappy Van Winkle 23 year old
   Darker in colour than the 20. Sweet corn with dark molasses. Maple syrup, vanilla. Boozier and more intense than the 20.
3. Ardbeg Corryveken
   54% abv. Cask strength, or at least close to it. Booze evaporated right on the the palette. Coal oil and iodine.

Date: January 16, 2013
Location: ?

1. Caol Isla 10 Year Old Dun Bheagan
   Note had light camphor, root vegetable notes. taste: was peaty and almond/nutty or mineral.
2. Kilchoman
   A new distillery, Straw coloured at 62.3% ABV. Nose was sweet smoke. taste: sweeter than expected with caramel. Amost roasted or caramelized onions?
   Uses Buffalo Trace barrels and oloroso sherry butts.

Date: Jan 26, 2013
Location: Ted and Rouxlines

1. Dimple Haig
   Notes: Tasty balanced whiskey. A blend, but nicely put together with some sweet toasty notes.
2. Nikka Yoichi 10
   Notes: Grassy and herbal, more peat than I would have expected surprisingly complex with balanced finish.

Scotch Party 2013
Dupont; Chris Lee’s House

1. Highland Park Thor
   A bit hot, some almonds, sherry and cinnamon cloves. Not a good value.
2. Royal Brackla 14 Year
   Sweet and light with minimal finish.
3. Glen Grant 18
   Sherry, lots of sherry. Full mouth couating taste.

Date: March sometime
Location: 1602 Dundas West

1. Elmer T Lee: Bourbon, tasty with a lot of straw or hay notes.
2. Ancient Ancient Age: Didn’t get a chance to try this.
3. Arran 14: Fruits and sherry finish. Less “Christmas Cakey” than I remember the Arrans being.

Date: Brad’s Stag
Location: 1602 Dundas

1. Willets Rye: Sweet rye notes. Smokey tones but not peat smoke, actual burning wood smoke.
2. Blanton’s Gold: Bourbon. Toffee notes on end, less “corn” more balanced than that.
3. Bruichladdich Dark Arts 21yr: Dark and rich, more dark berries than you’d expect. Peat but combined with the sweatness almost makes it sweat.

Date: June 22, 2013
Location: The Museum Pub after Session Toronto

1. Bowmore Laimrig 15 yr
   Notes: The laimrig expression begins with a dark and punchy nose which smells of spices, raisins and dates. Rich pine oil and syrupy on the palate with creamy toffee, malt and smoke. A delightful spicy sherry, and toffee and finish. (this notes are from the listing)

date: Scotch Party March 2014
Location: Chris Lee’s

1. Glen Livet XXV: raisins, apples, some heat from ABV, warm long finish, nose was sherry and brown sugar. Tasty but probably overpriced.
2. Balvenie Single Barrel: Sweet, apples, caramel. Undistinct.
3. Talisker 57 degrees North: Interesting nose, sea notes, salt, peat balanced with some sweetness. really good.
4. Ardbeg Corryvreken: Lots of peat and creosote but sweetness. Dense flavours. Would add water to try and tease out flavours.

Date: Summer of 2014
Location: Habits Gastropub

1. Tullabardine
   Notes: Highland, citrus bourbon cask then sherry cask some spice with a nice finish and some honey. A tasty dram and a good start.
2. And Noc “Peter Arkhell”
   Notes: Hotter than previous, despite being only 46%. Not as elegant. Spicy, but a bit one note for me.
3. Talisker “Dark and Stormy”
   Notes: Talisker is doing some really interesting things. Reminescent of Bowmore almost with lots of salt and iodine. Some sweetness. Really a very good whiskey.

Date: February 7, 2014
Location: The Shangri-law with Ryan Mitchell and Jig

MaCallan Tasting of new Expressions

1. Gold: Light, Grassy, oaky, some honey but not cloying
2. Aber: LIme, Lemongrass, less finish and mouthfeel. More nuance
3. Sienna: Dried apricot, heather, spice, nutmeg, carmelized sugar (creme brulee)
4. Ruby: Sherry forward, fruitcake, winey in taste. Full mouth, viscous.

Date: November 21
Location: Habits Gastropub (Young Scotch Club)
With: Lee, Coates, Zab

1. Tomintol 16
2. Oak, gentle dram, oaky but not chardenney oaky. Light nut with fruit. Minimal finish.
3. Glen Goyne 15
4. Amber in colour, citrus notes
5. Toasted bread and salted caramel drying in the mouth, not much finish. I remember the GG 21 being far more complex and refined.
6. Dun Bheagan (Islay 2001)
7. Some heather and smell. Some sweetness on nose.
8. Mouth has sweetness, like caramel, lots of peat and medicinal notes with salt and iodine.

Date: December 9, 2015
Location: Feather’s Pub
With: Brian, Rita, Brie, and Suzannah

• Brora 1981 Signatory Bottling
• Heather, some heat from the ABV, Almost menthol, very light in colour, minimal oak/wood. More straw in notes. Floral perhaps in finish. Minimal finish, but it does linger.
• Port Ellen 1980 Signatory Bottling
• Very intense nose. Perfumed of the sea. The mouth is bracing almost overwhelming at first. Big salt iodine, smoke, heat. Not harsh, but extremely potent. Wide taste in the mouth, covers the whole mouth.
  –
• Bruichladdich Octomore
• Interesting depth of nose, almost black cherry on the nose. Mouth is Silky and oily in texture. Peat and smoke but not dirt on the palette. Very restrained. I think the black art is still better, but this was ok.
• Mortlach 1981
• Plums and ripe fruit with peat and smoke. Good mouth feel. May have lost some of the notes after the Bruich, and Port Ellen.

Scotch Party 2015 at Chris Lee’s

Laphraig 25: gold colour, sherry cask, but light in colour. Nose was salt, sea, coffee notes. Taste: Dark chocolate, apricots, iodine, not as much smoke as I would have thought.

Glen Morangie Signet: The usual dark chocolate tastiness. Johnny and Jake had this and it may have ruined scotch for them. Black current/dark berry notes which was neat.

Bunnhabin 1979 Berry’s Own: Sherry, nuts, red berries on finish. Quite sherry forward.

Talisker Port Finish: Less fruit then I expected from teh port finish. had more of a winey madeiro finish.

Mortlach Rare Old: Syrupy, oaky, cinnamon and molasses on mouth and finish.

Glen Morangie Taghe: Crowd sourced whiskey. No real notes.

Bourbon Tasting at Gladstone Hotel – Thanks to Fatma March 15, 2015

• Sazerac Rye Whiskey: spicy with some burn via ABV, paired with arugula salad to pair on the pepperiness of the rye. Worked well.
• 1792 Small Batch Bourbon: Camomile tea on nose, herbal? Some sweetness almost mineral taste, less corny than normal with floral notes
• Colonel EH Taylor Small Batch Bourbon: Bit of corn on nose, but less than you’d think. Cinnamon, same mineral character.
• Van Winkle 12 Year Lot B: Wheated, caramel and sweetness with corn fully covers mouth with good body. Toffee and burnt sugar/creme brûlée notes

Scotch Tasting at Clearview July 29, 2015

Brian Keith at the picnic table outside our cottage on vacation.

Glen Faddish 15

Chinese 5 spice, anise, sweeter sherry notes. Nicer than I remember.

Glen Morangie 18

Honey, Plums, Butterscotch, pepper, nic mouth feel and refined finish.

Mortlach Rare Old

We rushed this one so no real notes.

During this week we also tasted some ardbeg and Eagle Rare bourbon.

###

Scotch tasting at clearview August 9

Oban Little Bay

Minerals, very mild, no overwhelming notes. Nothing special.

Aultmore of the foggie moss

Light colour no smoke interesting body and some sweeter noted of caramel. Salt water caramel. On last sip dark chocolate shavings.

Bunnahabhain 12

Straw coloured. Sweet peat character. Nuts? Walnuts? Almonds

Bruichladdich black art 1990

Nouget, black licorice, fudge, black cherry?

Jill/Leslie Wedding Tasting at Clearview October 23 2015

Attendees: Ches, Brig, Brian, Dave, Jill, Les, Joey

Dalmore King Alexander III

Nose: Sherry, chistmas pudding
Mouth: Orange zest, bitter citrus notes, marmalade with cinnamon, nutmeg. Gentle wood notes.
Finish: Surprisingly long finish that ends with sherry. Very balanced whiskey. 
Notes: We had this waaaay back, and actually had it before the GMS following. Glorious stuff, normally the notes above would be indicate a more cloying flavour, but this was a very restrained whiskey. Compared to something like an Arran, it was better balanced and more elegant. 

Glenmorangie Signet

Nose: Dark Chocolate, Bitter cocoa.
Mouth: Rich velvety mouth feel. Coffee notes, dark chocolate. Slighty more "heat" due to ABV% than I previously recall. 
Finish: Long deep finish. Very viscous mouth feel. Almost syrupy. 
Notes: I'll never get tired of that chocolate note. This would be a perfect dram for after a xmas dinner.

Bowmore Mariner “15 yo, old bottle” from under Brian’s bar. Gifted by Rod over 20+ years ago. Bottled around 1991. Contents are at MINIMUM 40 years old.

Nose: Copper coloured, less dark than the "darkest" peat is subtle but present. Less smoke, more earth. 
Mouth: Extremely balanced. Peat interlayed with some salty sea notes. Apple Peels. The sherry is less forward and instead lends the peat length and carries it into a nice finish.
Finish: Cleaner than I would have expected. The salty sea notes carry on the tongue but don't burn. ABV% is roughly 40% so the alcohol doesn't evaporate away the finish.
Notes: A compelling whiskey. Compared the more modern mariner it's a gentler dram, reminds me more of the Single Cask that was recently released. 

Bruichladdich “Black Arts” 4.1 1990 Bottling

Nose: Weird and complex. Camphor and cough drops. Smoke and peat. Sweet sherry or port notes.
Mouth: Cherry vicks cough drops mixed with peat. Woody citrus finish. Mint and eculptyus? Just a really weird mouth feel. Rich tasting with so many layers. 
Finish: Long interesting finish that carries more of the cherry and citrus notes than I would have expected. 
Notes: Another one I'll never get tired of. So many weird and interesting flavours in this one. I think if you taste it 10 times you'll get 10 different profiles. 

Bowmore Golden Reef (we tasted this on the Saturday)

Nose: Lots of citrus and honeyied fruits
Mouth: Short mouth feel, not as deep in terms of a "normal" bowmore. Sharp citrus notes with almost tropical tastes? Odd for a bowmore.  Thematically similar to the Single Cask. Less deep in peat or other typically islay character. Interesting.
Finish: Dry, almost wine like finish. 
Notes: Would like to taste this one again under slightly different circumstances.

Raise the Macallan @ King Edward Hotel December 24 2015

Sean, Warren, Jig, Shane, Charles, John Thompson, Deep

Tasting was of the 1824 Series

Gold

• Light colour, dried fruits and orange on nose. Tannins on finish. Ginger

Amber

• Nicer body, Richer in body. More spices and cloves on palette. Some woodiness, I think from the spanish oak.

Sienna

• Toffee and red berries. More nutty notes. There was a white chocolate mouth feel and finish.

Ruby

• Lotsa Sherry, raisins and tannins. Nutmeg and rich mouth feel. Almost a bit too sherry-forward for my taste.

Rare Cask

• Hoped this would be a less sherry forward spicy version of their whiskey, but it was more peppery than spicy. Some grapefruit and more oak than I expected.

Christmas tastings at the Harringtons

Brian, Jill and Leslie

Glenmorangie Duthac

Interesting one. Has some elements of the signet. Less evocative but rich and def some chocolate notes.

Notes from website
Aroma: Seductive aromas of pear, toffee apple, Brazil nuts in toffee, with an underlying spicy note, some toasty oak. With a splash of water, some creamy vanilla fudge is encountered, along with the classic Sherry cask note of linseed oil.

Taste: Mouth-filling flavours of milk chocolate, toffee, Brazil nuts, leather and some aniseed. The spiciness is definite, but gentle, with hints of ginger and clove.

Finish: The aftertaste once again reminds drinkers that this is a Glenmorangie, with vanilla, apricots in cream and some almond marzipan.

Bowmore Black Rock

Some cocoa and orange peel on nose. Smoke but not what I think of peat in bowmore. Not much finish. Not bad but a tad lacklustre

Four roses oesk

Hot. Spicy with rye notes. Full bodied with some interesting character.

Bruichladdich 18 gold can

Light honey colour. Some peat on noose. This is really nice whiskey. Apple notes almost like a glen livet. Honey and chamomile or herbal notes. Tasty. Nice finish and heat in the mouth.

Lagavulin 16 year old

So good.

Scotch Tasting with Brent

Jan 2, 2016 with Brent from next door

Johnny Walker Gold 18 yo

Honey, heather, really well balanced and pleasant.

Kilchoman

Islay, some sweetness on finish but peat and salt in mouth.

Scotch Tasting Vacation Week

July 23, 2016 with Brian

Glenmorangie Duthac

Orange Peel, citrus and cinnamon. Pleasant mouth feel.

Glenmorangie 18

Tropical notes with island spices. nutty with almonds. Enjoyabel

Balvenie Doublewood

Oaky with some spice.

Highland Park Einer

Talisker

Scotch Party 2017 at Warren’s House

March 18, 2017

Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 3

• Spices: cinnamon and ginger. Honey with almost the musty green or clover honey notes. Higher alcohol was tamed by adding a few drops of water. Wood was well balanced, it listed the various casks and while you “got” all of them they were harmonious. Adding water brought out the fruit notes like Apple, orange blossom. Brian felt like there was green notes he couldn’t quite place. An excellent dram.

Bowmore Port Cask Matured 23 year 1989

• Lots of port; so cherry and red wine notes. juicy red fruit. Of course being a Bowmore it also had the smoke, salt, and peat that is common. it also was quite high ABV, so a few drops of water helped to bring out much more character. It did impact the mouth finish. The water was useful, but this was quite tolerable unadulterated. I tried to contrast against the Bowmore darkest, but they are quite far apart. Very good.

Cadenhead Speyside from Auchroisk distillary 24 years

• Really really sweet. I described it as almost like a rotten fig sweet to the point of decay. Interesting, but can’t recommend.

Cadenhead Mortlach 24 years

• Such a weird whisky. Herbal notes, with roses and rosemary, lemon balm. But also salty and smokey character. The tasting notes described it as “meaty and pastrami” I don’t quite get the oiliness of meat, but the salty and sweet almost, umami character was very different. Blackcurrents or other red berries on the finish and mouth.

Macallan Edition No. 2

• A collaboration with spanish chefs this had a few different sherry casks and as a result had very interesting notes. It almost reminded me of Nector D’or for the sweet toffee, and burnt sugar. Vanilla, oak, chocolate orange. Well balanced and sweet. Might be cloying in larger amounts but the ounce I had was pretty glorious stuff.

Aberlour 18

• I hadn’t had this in a very long time, and couldn’t remember it. Very nice stuff, fruity and rich. Some wood notes, oak but not overwhelming. No smoke, but this would be a very civilized dram for the non-peat fan.

Laphroaig Lore

• Really interesting. Reminded me more of Lagavulin in the level of complexity it had or maybe even Black Art. Sweet and salty with dark chocolate/cocoa some spiciness. Shame I had this later in the evening, would have probably pulled more notes from it.

Clearview June 26 2017

Tamdhu 10

• speyside sherry cask. Sherry forward fruit. Pleasant with a short but nice finish.
• Flouted bottle.

Xmas at Clearview Dec 23 2017

• laphraig Px sherry cask
• black art
• signet

July 25 Tasting

Glen Livit XXV

Sweet sherry, warmth pepper, chocolate and dried fruit.

Tormore 14

Nutty nose, ginger with a hot finish. Not much middle. Books say citrus but I dn’t get it.

Tomatin

Green apple or green grass. Chocolate and maple. Woody.

Scotch Party 10 March 24, 2018

Laphroaig 30

• Light colour with less peat on the nose than expected. Some iodine.
• Warm; high Alcohol content meant it came out a bit hot and muddled.
• Once diluted a bit it had warm candy corn notes, a grassy herbaceous mouth feel. Green notes.
• very balanced, it almost felt underwhelming due to this balance but open tasting the other Laphroaigs I think I appreciated it more. At $1500 per bottle it’s not that much better than the 1/4 Cask, but still quite pleasant.

Laphroaig PX

• After the 30 it tasted almost over sweet, the sherry was quite forward and not as restrained as it could have been. It was a bit all over the place, and with the peat and smoke it was as Brian said “Smokey Maple Candy”.
• Okay stuff, I think with a tasting flight of sherry casks would pair better. The relative “dryness” of the 30 made this standout more.

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

• More forward in basically every way than the 30, so the the feeling was that the Laphroig’s mellowed more the longer they were in the cask. The smoke and iodine come through in waves and this really is the elemental Islay.

Glen Fiddich Winter Storm AKA Ice Wine Cask

• Woah, sweet. The ice wine hits you over the head a bit, and then it sort of Peters out with. It really is Glen Fiddich with not much else going for it but the Icewine. A bit disappointing but it says what it does right on the tin.

Dalmore 1263 King Alexander Edition

• We’ve had this before and it is a really delightful whiskey. 6 casks with lots of sweet casks but it never gets to the cloying sweetness of the casks above. Balanced but tons of berries and red fruit, red licorce and just enough barley and oak to balance it all out. Superb stuff.

feathers pub with crossfit friends May 2019

• tullabardine burgundy
  • sweet berry nose. Big mouth feel. Oranges and wood. Minimal finish
• Arran Amarone
  • hot out of glass. Water opened it up. Berry notes and musty plums. Long finish with warm feeling.
• port Ellen 78
  • glorious smoke salt and iodine. Warm long finish of the sea.

Feathers pub with Crossfit Friends October 29 2019

• Mortlach 12 1989 Masters of Malt Edition
  • Orange herbal notes, flowers and almost a bit musty?
  • Floral and woody. Nice finish.
• Tamnavulin 14 1988 Gordon and McPhail Cask Strength
  • Really powerful nose. Sweet and rich with good complexity.
  • Rich texture and evocative on the palette. Fruit and chocolate and rich grain notes.
  • REALLY nice stuff.

Port Ellen 21 1979 Cask strength from Laing bottler
– Salt and sea and peat. Really enjoyable.

Tasting at Jill and Leslies

Bowmore 19 from Vault on their trip

• chateau barrique French pal cask.
• nice reddish colour I thought denoted sherry but apprently the casks held Bordeaux wine
• nose was sweet some smoke and sweet tannin notes
• mouth was full. Some sweet and salt and smoke. Balanced. Not over sweet.
• finish was long and warm at first. Finish slowed a bit after a few tastings.
• I thought the wine would get cloying but stayed very clean. Nice dram.

Glen Goyne 18

• elegant and balanced nose. Nutty and fruity. Some sweet honey.
• taste was clean and balanced. Fruit and spices like cinnamon.
• finish restrained.

Xmas Scotch

Glen Deveron 21

• sherry sweet nose
• smooth not a lot of character.
• some citrus and nuts. Mostly sherry.

Macallan Concept 1 – picked you from duty free

Canmore Tasting January 22 2020 with TELUS Team

Auchtentoshan Triple Wood

• Triple Distilled similar to Irish whisky.
• Bourbon oloroso and Pedro ximenez cask
• Nose: Raisins, sewed fruit, xmas pudding
• Palate: Raisins sweet sherry, and some oak

Glenmorangie Nector D’or Sauternes cask

• Toffee, one dates, oak, nutty almond, vanilla frosting

Bowmore 15

• Sherry, leather, sweet and salt. The usual Bowmore character.

Robert Burns Tasting January 25, 2020

Tomatin 18

A highland matured in Spanish Oak Oloroso Sherry butts.

Note: Sherry, grapes, spices (Cloves, cinnamon) Apple
Palate: Sweet, Sherry forward, chocolate orange with some Spanish oak and some pepper. Nutty pralines or pecan and butter

Glen Morangie Signet

Two whiskies using two barleys including one known as “chocolate barley”. Distilled twice and matured in American Virgin Oak Casks.

No age statement; But rumoured to contain some old and rare stock. Whisky of the Year in 2016 at International Whisky Competition

Nose: chocolate covered raisins and brûlée sugar. Bread and butter pudding. Some orange peel or rind

Palate: Terry’s Chocolate orange. Rich and evocative, dates and dark fruits. Some bitterness balanced with almost with coffee or espresso beans and nuttiness.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Named after a whirlpool near distillery. Bottled at 57% may need a drop of water.

Character of the sea.

Nose: Briny seaweed with pepper and smokey bacon. Fruit notes of cherries/blueberries/currents. Some bitter chocolate

Palate: Deep and complex. Take your time to pull the flavours apart. Peppery red meat with sea salt. Dark chocolate mixed with anise. Some medicinal notes like iodine.

Dalmore King Alexander

Six casks: Madeira, Sherry, Marsala, Kentucky Bourbon, and Port Casks.

Nose: Seville (bitter orange), Barley and cereals. Vanilla, Wine/sherry/port notes of red ripe berries.

Palate: Rich and full. Berries due to casks, citrus, Vanilla (baking) nutty. Spices and marmalade, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Allens with Crossfit Friends Summer 2020

Tomatin 14 Port Cask

• Nose: Woody, apricots, honey and dried figs
• Mild, mellow. Nuts (almonds) some tannins on finish; astringent.

Pittyvaich 15

• Nose: Light, berries, grainy
• Taste: Sweet then mushrooms or truffles some heat. Salt and meaty. Weird whisky.

Cottage Week scotch tasting with Lee, Jill/Les and Dave July 2020 at Clearview

Bruichladdich Black Art 4.1

• supplies by Chris Lee
• Black cherry and chocolate on nose
• Medicinal with menthol notes or peppermint. Cherries and dark coca.
• rich finish

Bruichladdich 5.1 (24 years)

• supplied by me
• No chocolate, allspice or maybe Christmas spices? Less interesting with no kid mouth taste
• No peat or smoke. Some oak and woody notes.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s “Cheerful Chatterbox” 1992 Speyside https://smws.sg/whisky/a-cheerful-chatterbox

• sweet and pleasant sherry notes
• woody and sweet bourbon cask notes

Double Barrel Douglas Laing (Bowmore and Inchgower)

• feet, foul, funk. Almost rotten over ripe notes.
• burnt wood and graphite and peat. Sweet sherry and smoke. I liked it because of its oddity.

Bowmore 19 French Barriques

• fruit sweet raspberries. Perfumed nose
• Wood was restrained but the sweetness of the stewed fruit with a bit of smoke to balance.

Summer Tasting on Vacation

Bunnhabhain Toiteach a Dha (Smokey Two)

• Oak and Oloroso sherry casks

Colour: AMber, not as sherry dark as I would have thought.

Nose: Not much; sweet, nutty a whiff of smoke, not much islay note.

Palette: The smoke+sweet jumps ahead then teh sherry becomes clear. Oaky/woody a bit intnse to start, mellows on palettes leaves teh smoke on a warming finish.

Nice; not tuns of character but as a peated expression it works.

Bunnahabhain French Brandy Cask Limited Release 2019 ($189)

Nose: Sweet, some alcohol (52%) okay some nuts with fruit.

Palette: Burst then sweet grapey nuts. Toffee; creamy and grape notes from brandy.

Finish: Quick; gentle and warming. Overall sweet.

Whisky Tasting with Jill and Leslie July25 2020

Bowmore Vault (from their trip) Bourbon Hogshead 1999 Cask 1463

• light colour; clean and clear.
• palette is wood and a wisp of smoke. Very clean on the palette explodes and disappears. Big okay mouth then it disappears but comes back with a gentle warming finish.

Bowmore Vault (oloroso sherry cask 1999 cask: 2117

• closer to the darkest or more sherried expressions. Sweet and plummy on nose and palette. Some peppery spice and pleasant finish.

Bowmore 18

• the classic expression. Need to get a bottle of this.
• peat and sweet.

Christmas Scotch with Jill and Les

Hazelburn 10

• light and sweet notes.
• cereal nose; corn flakes
• Pear some vanilla
• mouth is light bodied. Some herbal and sweet notes. Grassy?
  –

Random Tasting with Mags his Porch September 2020?

Blair Atholl 12

• Sherry cask, light but a pleasant herbacous note.

Bruichladdich Bere Barley

• Grainy and some spicy notes

Bruichladdich Black Art 6.1

• Unpeated but still some seaside characteristic.

Ben Romach

• No notes on this one.

Anniversary Tasting with Jill and Leslie at Cottage

• Mortlach 21
• Dalmore King Alexander
• Bruichladdich Black Art 6.1
• Ledaig Pedro Ximenz Sherry Cask
• Bowmore Vault Edition

Robert Burns Party on Zoom

**Ardbeg Wee Beastie

exbourbon barrels and oloroso sherry cask

This one is young, smoky and raw.

Smoke and black pepper on nose
Chocolate, apple, tar/creosote.

**Glengoyne Legacy Series Chapter two
Bourbon and Sherry Casks

Light and sweet.

Apples,Peaches, melon, tropical notes. Some pepper cinnamon/cloves and light oakey notes.

**Wolfburn Aurora Highland

ex bourbon cask, oloroso sherry, 1st fill bourbon cask.

This one is supposed to be lightly salty and sweet.

Nuts and sherry notes (raisins, currants)

Feb 13,2021 with Dad

tullabardine sovereighn

• bourbon barrel
• nuts and fruit. Some orange peel on nose.

St. Patrick’s Irish Tasting 2021

Greenspot

• Produced at Old Midleton Distillery specifically for Mitchell & Sons who used to take casks and age them in the various sherry, wine, bourbon casks they had onsite at their grocery store.Triple distilled. 40% ABV
• Cask: New Bourbon, Ex-Bourbon, Sherry Fill
• Age: No age statement; at least three years and likely 7-10 years
• Nose: Apple skin, greenery,
• Palette: Chewy, apple and tart pear, Spiciness (cloves) on tail end
• Finish: Bright finish, with residual spices and wood settling into tannins

Midleton Very Rare 2016

Produced by Jameson distillery. Limited release done as a yearly vintage bottling. Combination of pot still and single grain whiskey. Triple distilled. The paramount of Irish Whiskey (some say). 40% ABV

• Cask: American Oak barrels Age: No age statement; 12-25 years hand selected by Master Distiller
• Nose: Very mild, some oak and toasted grain
• Palette: Apple/Pear, Tropical (Mango, Pineapple), Red liquorice,
• Finish: Clean, Spices, cardamom

West Cork “Glengarriff” Series – Single Malt Irish Whiskey

A single malt (uses all malted barley) founded in 2003. Used peat to charr sherry casks rather than traditional drying of malt. 5,300 bottles made. 2018 Whisky Advocate Top 20. 43% ABV

• Cask: Peat charred ex-sherry casks Age: No age statement; at least 3 years
• Nose: Leather, kerosene, raspberry tartufo
• Palette: Initial sweetness, burning wood then into light smoke, creamy, nutty cocoa (Nutella?) Smores; fresh from the campfire.
• Finish: Pasty, chalky, bit of tannins

Kilbeggan Single Pot Still Limited Release

Oldest distiller in Ireland; re-opened in 2010 by John Teeling after shuttering in the 1950s. First release to be produced, distilled, aged onsite using 18th century recipe. Pot still, double distillation using 2.5% oats from the oldest copper pot still in the world(180+ years old) 43% ABV

Cask: Ex-Bourbon Age: No age statement; at least three years and likely 7-10 years

• Nose: Melon, Pineapple, apples/pears, Sour dough bread (fermentation)
• Palette: Viscous, creamy steel cut oats with honey, peach
• Finish: Toasted nuts, nutmeg

Tasting with Mags April 8 2021 (virtual)

Dauilaine “First Editions Bottling”

• bottled in 2014; aged 18 years
• nose: bright fruit apple pear; almost a fresh coat of paint
• palette: sweet and viscous. Fruits apples pears. Almost an aspirin bitterness on end. Pepper.
• some tropical “strawberry bubblegum?” Suggest on label.

Cragganmore 20

• nose was pleasant.
• creme brûlée nutmeg and eggnog and sugar.
• minimal mouthfeel. Very mellow.

Tasting with Mags June 9th

• Clyneish 14 – Sweet. Peaches and Nectarines on the nose and palette. Some real oiliness in the glass lot of “legs” on the glass. Pleasant but no real follow through or finish. A good cottage whisky.
• Glenmorangie 18 – A really really nice dram. We talked about the sweet vanilla and other fruity notes, but well balanced and nice long finish. Floral without being perfume.
• WestCork Glengarrif Bog Oak – Had high hopes after the Peat Charred cask one, this one didn’t quite come through the same. Sweet, and not quite as smokey. An interesting sweet burst before the campfire finish.
• Octomore 11.1 – Wow, super over powering Peat right out of the jar.
• Yep, peat smoke but also a vanilla sweetness from the oak maybe? Just a long firey smokey finish that goes on and on. Adding a bit of water really helped us to rediscover the palette. I feel like once my palette acclimatized to the ABV it was less hot and fiery, but VERY pleasant and drinkable.

Whisky with Bennett Jan 2 2022

Glenmorangie Signet

Bowmore 15 Mariner

• old ass bottling I picked up from auction.
• green apple and sea nose. Fruity wisps of sea and smoke. Sherry fruitiness.

Lagavulin 11 Offerman Edition

• spicy salt and leather.
• rich full bodied. Felt like higher booze count?
• very tasty.

Lagavulin 11 Offerman Edition Guinness cask

Random Notes from 2022

September 25:

Springbank 15: Sherry, nice legs. Tannins and drying influence. TWizzler vibes

Tidal Tasting exploration of Casks! At Jen’s House

The theme of this tasting was exploring how cask affects flavour.

Glen Breton 10 yo

American oak.
Nose: Orange, chocolate, honey and vanilla
Palette: Honey, hot, a bit malty like cereal.

Evan Williams 1783 SB

Nose: Charred oak, vailla and caramel
Palette: Sweet, vanilla, and brown sugar.

This is a pretty basic bourbon. Better suited for a cocktail or over ice.

Tomatin 12

Nose: fruits spices and green apple. Some chocolate.
Palette: woody and fruity with orange and nuts.

Glenmorangie Quinta Rubana 14

Bourbon and port casks

Jose: sugar, berries, cedar and almonds
Palette: berries chocolate orange oils nuts and raisins. Finish was stewed berries and dark chocolate.

Scotch Party at Chris Lee’s House March 25, 2023

Balvenie American Oak

• Oaky and bourbony with lots of wood. Spicy with some cardamom. I liked it.

Balvenie Carib Cask 14 Year Old

• Demera sugar/brown sugar with lots of molasses. Creme brulee.

Balvenie 21 Madeira cask

• thin, spiced peppery with some floral notes. It was nice but not as rich as I’d hoped it would be.

Glenmorangie Tale of Forest

Herbal and resinous some sweet heather notes and spices. This was better than I thought it would be. Not too gimmicky. Worth trying again.

Tormore 25

• musty in some weird way. Sweet and sherry but funky and a note I couldn’t pull. Not sure how good it was but inteeesting.

Fettercairn 12

I liked this one. Cheapest bottle on the table but quite interesting. Apples mineralogy, sweet sugars but clean.

2023-04-01

Hepburn’s Choice Linkwood 10 2017 Bottling

Single cask Hogsheads cask one of 372 bottles
Nose: Orange blossom, sawed fresh lumber. Floral.
Taste: oily and orange. Slight bitterness grapefruits or liquorice.
Finish: bitterness some orangey marzipan.

Feathers Pub April 15, 2023 with Lee and Paula

Dalmore 10 1989 Douglas Laing Old Malt 1 of 472 bottles

• Nose: European oak, sherry.
• Taste: Spicy euro oak with some bitterness.
• Interesting to taste an old Dalmore I think they’ve moved to a slightly different profile.

Inchgower 19 1977 Signatory Bottling

• Hot, despite its lower ABV. Stewed carrots and fruit. Sort of beef stewy? Overripe fruit.

Ardbeg 27

• I had the very smallest sip of Lee’s tasting. Iodine forward with not much Peat, a bit of smoke but quite refined and restrained. Some berries/raspberries.

Mortlach 11 1982 Signatory bottling

• Sherry, blueberries and milk chocolate.

Tasting with Mags Aug 2023

Michters Straight Rye

• spicy and sweet.

Glenmorangie Global traveller

• has a bit of peat that arrives late. For this tasting it didn’t work. Was poorly integrated between smoke and usual Glenmorangie sweet wood. Need to revisit.

Talisker 18

• a nice counterpart to the GM before as it displays what a well integrated peaty whisky should be. Lovely. Sweet and smoke with some brine.

Bruichladdich Octomore

tasting with Dave and girls at Clearview Aug 15

Bowmore 15 Laimrig

• lovely sherry and fruit with wisp of smoke. Near the end of a bottle so pretty mellowed

Craigellachie 17 Year Old Speyside

• some tropical notes of pineapple and melon
• dry and very easy drinking. Maybe a hint of smoke but not peat.

Bowmore 18