June | 2024 | Whisky Lady

These days when I introduce myself professionally, my default description is that I’m “truly tri-continental.” Why? I’m originally from Canada. India has been my adopted home for 20+ years and my partner and furr family continue to live there, so I get home as much as possible. And professionally, Germany is my dynamic and happily challenging work home! This “tri-continental” description was never truer than this quarter which began in India, carried on in Germany (with a jaunt to Cannes and Amsterdam too), then Winnipeg, Canada, and back to Deutschland.

As my work life tends to be quite hectic, I used my downtime in India and Canada to catch up on tasting notes. This is why many posts this quarter were actually from previous experiences. In my humble opinion, for someone who writes for pleasure and not a profession, this is perfectly acceptable!

New experiences in the quarter included an informal evening with a few ladies in Mumbai featuring a trio from Shelter Point from BC, Canada:

Shelter Point 5 year “The Collective” (2020) 46%
Shetler Point 6 year “Double Barrel” (2021) Blackberry Wine Finish 6th Edition 46%
Shelter Point 10 year (2021) 1st Edition 57.8%

Post my Canada trip, I carried on the Canadian theme in June 2024 with my Shelter Point whiskies remaining in Germany:

It was such fun to share a little slice of Canadiana – both in India and Germany!

Our Nurnberg International Whisky Explorers group also had a theme comparing Original, Independent, Cask Strength – a nice way to explore a distillery’s character. It was more like two sessions in one, starting with an exploration of Speyside’s Glen Elgin:

Glen Elgin 12 year 43% (OB) – A fruity appetizer dram
Glen Elgin 12 year (16 Sep 2009 – 15 Apr 2022) Hogshead 806374, 806380, 806381 46% (Signatory Vintage) 468 bottles – A lovely arc from fresh and fruity on the nose to richer and satisfying on the palate
Glen Elgin Islay Peated Finish Hogshead 44.5% (Murray McDavid) – Matured in ex-Islay cask, this one received a mixed reaction

Which was followed by an exploration of peat with Islay’s Caol Ila and Lagavulin in a rather unique way:

Blend – Johnnie Walker Black Label Islay Origin 12 year 42% – Amping up the Islay in this iconic blend
Independent Mystery Single Malt – Scarabus Islay 10 year 46% (Hunter Laing) – Is it a Caol Ila or a Lagavulin? You decide!
Original Distillery Bottling – Caol Ila Cask Strength 60.1% (OB) – A rare expression from Caol Ila, as most Cask Strength Caol Ila’s are from independent bottlers!

What a terrific way to discover two quite different sets of whiskies!

As for the previous quarter, I belated shared reviews about our rather fun February 2024 theme of “Not Your Ordinary Blend” featuring:

Glenalba 30 year Blended Scotch Whisky 41.4% – Remarkably reasonably priced for both the age and quality
Wemyss Nectar Grove Blended Malt Scotch Whisky with Madeira finish 46% – Well crafted with ginger spice and lots of things nice!
Berry Bros & Rudd Sherry Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 44.2% – A most enjoyable dram, again quite reasonably priced for the quality
North Star Super Sonic Mach 3 Blended Malt Scotch Whisky 55% – A powerhouse of sherry!
GlenAllachie (2009/2011) Olorosso, Chinquapin and Grattamacco Tuscan Red Cuvee Cask Finish 55.9% – Whilst a departure from our theme, well worth savouring

However March turned a corner, and our Nurnberg Whisky Explorers group had a fun St Paddy’s day celebration with Irish stew and of course Irish whiskies!

Kilbeggan Single Pot Still 43% – A friendly Irish pub kind of dram!
Jameson Triple Triple 40% – A pleasant accompaniment
Glendalough Single Grain Double Barrel Bourbon + Olorosso 42% – Interesting to try
Bushmills 10 year 40% – Ye old standard
Connemara peated single malt 40% – A bit “blah”

March in Mumbai with the Bombay Malt & Cigar lads kept with the Irish theme. We were introduced to a trio of Waterford Irish whiskies! True whisky “geek” territory with all the details disclosed!

Waterford Single Farm Origin Hook Head 1.1 Terroir F035E01-01 50% with a light green label distinctive yellow glass top, retailing for Eur 80
Waterford Arcadian Farm Origin Heritage Hunter 1.1 Terroir HE01E01-01 50% with a yellow label and bright pink glass top, sold out at Eur 100
Waterford Arcadian Farm Origin Peated Ballybannon 1.1 Terroir P062E01-01 50% with a dark label and smoky grey glass top. This exact whisky isn’t listed on the website, however similar whiskies retail for Eur 94.

I still have to catch up on an interesting assortment from a sample swap plus three sets of miniatures from Bombay Malt & Cigar sessions that I had missed – below are notes from an evening focused on Indie Bottlers, followed by a theme around What’s in a Name!

I first posted about the Indie Bottlers:

Tomatin Reserve 8 year 2007-2015 (Gordon & Macphail for La Maison du Whisky)
Ardmore 1993 43% (Gordon & Macphail)
Benrinnes 18 years (27 Feb 1997 – 28 July 2015) Hogshead 46% (Signatory Vintage for La Maison du Whisky)

Then carried on with the What’s in a Name theme which introduced Simply Whisky:

Benrinnes 10-year “Peace, Love & Whisky” (Apr 2011 – Dec 2021) Cask 304354, 50.5% (Simply Whisky) – Active, metallic, with a spice kick
Blair Athol 11-year “Memories” (Oct 2010 – Dec 2021) Cask 302317, 51.6% (Simply Whisky) – Copper, forest, deep and brooding
Ardnamurchan 5-year “April Fool – Extremely Old, I wish I were Younger” (2022) 53.2% (The Whisky Exchange) – My first foray into this new distillery that is making waves

Clearly a quarter of travels, family, friends, and more. What a few months!

Curious to know more? Check out a few more summaries:

And if you don’t want to miss a post, why not follow Whisky Lady on:

WordPress https://whiskylady.co/
FaceBook Whisky Lady in India – https://www.facebook.com/WhiskyLadyIN
Twitter @WhiskyLadyIN

After a wee hiatus, our Nurnberg Whisky Explorers evenings are back! This time, I was thrilled to host with a Shelter Point quintet – carefully acquired from 2020 onwards. I shared in advance it would be an evening devoted purely to this Vancouver Island “farm to flask” distillery. Sadly, with their small batch artisinal approach, one can only acquire these whiskies in Canada – with the different expressions in batches, selling out quickly.

What did I share?

Shelter Point Single Malt (~2022/2023) 46% – Their core single malt to calibrate our tastings!
Montfort District Lot 151 Single Grain (2020) 46% – I had no idea what to expect. A true terroir experience and such a treat!
Single Cask 7 year Triple Grain (unmalted & malted barley, rye), 5th Edition (2020) 43% Bottle 205/288 – What a surprise! Robust and rewarding – yum!
“The Forbidden” 6 year (2021) Batch #2 47% – Remarkable and well worth settling down for an evening just with it
“Smoke & Oak” 5 year (2021) Batch #1 46% – With its subtle smoke, a clear favourite of most
Barrel of Sunshine Liqueur 30% – We closed with a sweet Christmasy liqueur with maple, oranges, and spice!

Curious to know more? Just check out the links above for tasting notes!

The evening was a lovely reminder of why I’ve been a Shelter Point fan over the years. And prompted my joining their new Whisky Club – in part because I really prefer 375 ml bottles! If only this size was available for nearly all drams!

Interested in receiving more Whisky Lady posts? Why not follow on: