Canada’s Shelter Point – “Smoke + Oak” 5 year (2021) Batch #1 46% 

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Shelter Point has experimented with a few different approaches to peat and smoke – often attracting awards and attention for the innovative and pleasing results. To be honest, I had skipped the initial peaty releases, but when I spotted this smoke one, decided it was definitely the one to try!

Why? Well you can read further details here or below however in short – they finish the whisky in smoked barrels rather than use peated barley. Intriguing…

Shelter Point “Smoke & Oak” (2021) 46%

  • Colour  – Bright amber
  • Nose – What a lovely very subtle smoke, a dry sweet smoke with no peat, even more coastal than the others, there was a slight sharpness, crisp apple, then apricot and a citrus twist – delightful fruity freshness, creamy too
  • Palate – Very sweet! Apricot marmalade, then it doubles down on that distinctive earthy element we found in all the Shelter Points, much more tobacco, coffee, leather, toasty, and frankly just really really good! There was also a fruity sweet BBQ sauce with a bit of a spicy, tangy yet salty approach.
  • Finish – Long, strong and rewarding

Even for our non-peat people, this one really hit the mark! For most of us, it was the clear favourite of the evening. All the different elements came together just right – delicious.

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

Shelter Point’s first edition in a new series of Smoke & Oak driven small batch experimental whiskies has landed. For this expression, we smoked our own finishing barrels using a smouldering combination of applewood and locally-harvested Vancouver Island peat. Using 100% unmalted barley from on-site at Shelter Point Farm as a base, this is a whisky that breaks all the rules. This triple distilled whisky was aged in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for 5 years before a final rest in our hand-smoked finishing barrels for 6 months.

Tasting Notes:

Smoke and Oak Batch 1 arrives with notes of demerara sugar, sweet hay, caramel, BBQ, chocolate, fruitcake, vanilla, pepper, and wisps of distant smoke.

Whisky Facts

  • Still: Custom-designed copper still
  • Base: 100% malted and unmalted barley (That’s it. Nothing else)
  • Distillation: Small-batch, 2x distilled & 3x distilled
  • Spirit: Natural colour and non-chill filtered
  • Alcohol Content: Bottled at 46% Alc.Vol
  • Bottle Size: 750ml and 375ml
  • Packaging: Classic Tennessee-style bottle features Vinolok glass closure and original engraving of Shelter Point Farm created by renowned illustrator Steve Noble

I purchased it in 2021 for CND 45 and brought it from Canada to Germany in 2023, opening it in June 2024 in Nurnberg.

Shelter Point Quintet sampled by the Nurnberg’s Whisky Explorers:

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