Monthly Archives: May 2018

Minis – Shelter Point Double Barrelled 50%

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Ever since a whisky sampling companion picked up this Shelter Point mini in BC, I’ve been ridiculously impatient to try it. My previous experience with Shelter Point has been very positive – there is something just so enjoyable about their single malt that is simply comforting – the exact dram you want to settle down and relax with.

And this one? Just like our other minis, it plays with a finish… in this case quite unique – after maturing in French oak casks, it was finished in a blackberry wine from Coastal Black Estate Winery near Mount Washington in the Comox valley on Vancouver Island. I was last in the area for a cousin’s wedding and can attest to it being a truly beautiful part of Canada.

And while I’ve never had their blackberry wine, I couldn’t wait to try what it did to this Shelter Point whisky.

Shelter Point Double Barrelled 50%

  • Nose – Wow! Blackberry compote, black wine gummy, light spice, a cassis kir, nice dark berry, almost like a rich port, with a bit of sourness too. Very interesting, juicy fruity without being overly sweet with a very natural quality, jammy, fermented barley sugars, a bit dusty like a granary, creamy, salted caramel banana, peanut brittle, vanilla
  • Palate – Spice cinnamon bark, while has character it was quite linear from palate to finish, some light sweet fruit
  • Finish – A simple yet nice black raspberry finish that just gentle rides off into the sunset
  • Water – While there is a more character without water, it is good to try with… the water dampens down the nose. As it settled the berries came out even more… just needed a bit of coaxing. Really quite nice, softer and  revealing that wonderful “enveloping you like a comfortable blanket” quality which makes Shelter Point so enjoyable

We set it aside and returned to chocolate chips, a wonderful mandarin or clementine perfumed orange.

And what do the folks at Shelter Point have to say?

Our first Double Barreled Whisky is a special collaboration with Vancouver Island’s Coastal Black Estate Winery. We hand-selected two of our best Single Malt Whisky casks and finished them in two French Oak wine barrels, previously home to Coastal Black’s Blackberry Wine. Aged in our American Oak for six years, and then finished for 1126 hours in the flavourful French Oak, Shelter Point Double Barreled Whisky is a sensational marriage of spirits.

  • A nose of brandied bananas, sweet toffee and caramel, with a marvelous hint of lemon sherbet and tobacco leaf.
  • Salted caramel continues to the palate alongside golden treacle and a dash of white pepper.
  • With water you can find youth in Jolly Rancher sweets, cola, and a creamy vanilla finish.

Our fabulous finishes minis eve included:

You can also find Whisky Lady in India on:

Minis – Nomad Outland Whisky 41.3%

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Many of us have a bit of “Nomad” in us… a wandering spirit that takes us from beyond the land of our birth. No surprise, some whiskies also take a little jaunt too… in this case from Scotland to Jeerez, Spain.

We sampled it in a lovely relaxed evening exploring a few minis… all of which had a bit of a boost through finishes – in this case Pedro Ximenes. And what did we think? Read on…

Nomad Outland Whisky 41.3%

  • Nose – Greeted by great big luscious caramel toffee. Possibly a bit of cream Amaratto? An interesting sweet and sour, stewed fruits especially peach, shifting into almost overripe fruits… then allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon… apple pie with nuts, especially hazelnut, doughy, baked pineapple. After the 1st sip, nicely restrained, vanilla. Much later shifted to orange bitters. Sip again, back to caramel pecan pie… Sip again then citrus…. and a long time later boiled sweets. How fabulous!
  • Palate – Pure applesauce with jaggery, a bit tart too, some tannins, stewed fruits. Quite light almost like sugar water, not much body but very refreshing.
  • Finish – Subtle finish, quite pleasant, light spice, anise and lime zest

What a perfect summer afternoon dram. We thought it might be rather nice chilled – as in chilling the bottle not adding ice.

So what do we know about this whisky? According their website, this whisky blend is a collaboration between master distiller Richard Paterson and expert Sherry producers Gonzalez Byass.

They share that it is:

made with a selection of over 30 malt and grain whiskies aged between 5 and 8 years old, which are blended together and matured in Sherry butts in Scotland for three years. Following that, the whisky is shipped off to Jerez, where it is finished in Pedro Ximénez casks for a year before it is bottled. Richard Paterson and Gonzalez Byass’ master distiller Antonio Flores experimented with different Sherry casks, including Oloroso and Fino, but ultimately decided on the Pedro Ximénez casks for this enticing expression.

And what do they have to say about the whisky profile?

  • Bright, topaz coloured whisky
  • It has a unique aroma with malty notes, reminiscent of oak and sherry due to its ageing in american oak barrels.
  • Smooth and elegant on the palate. With prominent flavours of raisins, honey and distinctive bouquet as a result of the finishing of the whisky in Pedro Ximénez sherry barrels.
  • A long finish, pleasant
  • With hints of vanilla and dried fruits. A very elegant whisky with a complex aftertaste.

Our minis “finishes” eve included:

You can also find Whisky Lady in India on:

Minis – Glen Scotia Double Cask 46%

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I will admit, I didn’t really know what to expect with this one. My minis sampling cohort had picked up a set in London more than a year or so ago – sparked mostly by a “What the heck! Let’s try a set from Cambleton.” Then this extra bottle somehow made its way back to Mumbai too!

The double cask in this case is  PX Sherry and Bourbon. And it just so happened to kick off our minis evening exploring a few different finishes.

Glen Scotia Double Cask 46%

  • Nose – Pear and apple combine like the New Zealand hybrid papple! Or raw guava…. with a lovely honey vanilla, fresh, then caramel stroopwafel, shifting into a Christmas pudding or mince pie, sweet spices, orange… After tasting, delicious baklava dripping in honey, nuts, doughy, cinnamon. Then shifted to dusty vanilla rose. Kept moving back and forth between citrus and white fruits, hard core treacle and denser rich cake. Wonderful!
  • Palate – Strong character – spice, more of that Christmasy flavours – this time a Christmas orange with cloves, some wood, some real depth without being too “heavy” and sweet, a bit dry too
  • Finish – Bitter spice, long with black pepper

I will admit to having very modest expectations and was completely impressed. What a fabulous range of aromas, robust palate, citrus then morphing between pastries and citrus oranges and back to treacle.

Glen Scotia Double Cask is their “entry” level whisky before shifting into a range of age statements. Here is what they have to say about this whisky:

Our Double Cask is matured in the finest first fill bourbon barrels before being finished for up to twelve months in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks producing this outstanding single malt whisky that provides the perfect balance of rich spicy fruits, overlaid with the characteristic sea spray and vanilla oak finish for which the house of Glen Scotia is famous.

  • Nose – Amber. Very sweet. Initially it is all creme caramel, caramelised fruit sugars, wood sugar, toffee and fudge before some apple and peach come through. In time a charred note of bourbon with a pleasing dusty dryness. Has some power.
  • Palate – Sweet start and quite fat and though the alcohol gives a little tongue-tingling buzz the result is a good mid-palate weight. The dry distillery character is there still, but there is now depth to counter. Water slightly dismantles the different elements, but adds some dried mint.
  • Finish – Deep and dark.

What a terrific start to our minis sampling – set the bar high with substance. And now I cannot wait to try a small sample set of Glen Scotia minis waiting in the wings for another session…

Our Fabulous Finishes Minis eve included:

You can also find Whisky Lady in India on:

Minis with fabulous finishes – Glen Scotia, Nomad, Shelter Point

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Believe it or not, we had a problem of plenty… lots of different minis to potentially explore picked up our several trips.

A tasting companion neatly organized into different possible sets and the one we elected to try was whiskies with finishes… we initially planned to sample four but in the end we were content with just these three:

You can also find Whisky Lady in India on: