Category Archives: Canada

Singapore Saturday Sipping… Crown Royal, Bruichladdich, Springbank + Kilchoman

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It was one of those sociable Saturday evenings in Singapore…

It also happened to be the home of a fellow malt aficionado and ex Mumbai tasting group member. On my last trip we took on an eight dram marathon at The Auld Alliance. This trip we swapped such revelries for a family and friends affair with great company, delicious food and… yes… a whisky or two or three!

I will openly admit, it was a fully social setting so it wasn’t like I jotted down tasting notes until the last… when we decided to have a little impromptu ‘tasting’ experience to close the night.

Crown-Royal-Northern-Harvest-Rye

Official CrownRoyal website

However, formal tasting notes or not… we still covered four rather distinctive whiskies in one evening!

Shortly after I arrived, a mystery glass was brought out as a teaser. What did I find?

  • Nose – A sparkling quality like having a whiff of proseco or sparkling apple cider
  • Palate – Some spice yet overall smooth, vanilla – clearly not Scottish, not bourbon, not having the sophistication one associates with Japan…
  • Finish – Sweet spice wood then fades away

The ‘punch line’ was that this particular bottle just so happens to be from Gimli, Manitoba… my home province in Canada. And – you guessed it – was Crown Royal’s Northern Harvest Rye which has literally flown off the shelves globally thanks to Jim Murray’s recent recognition of it as 2016 World’s Best Whisky.

The bottle was snagged in the US by a friend’s brother and brought to Singapore… part of the stash that will be coming into India soon. Gotta love globe-trotting whisky!

Overall what did I think? Honestly – it is not bad for a Rye and really quite excellent for $30 whisk(e)y but… come on… world’s best whisky? Seriously?

The Organic Scottish Barley (Whisky Lady)

The Organic Scottish Barley (Whisky Lady)

With this start to our evening, our host then pulled out the Bruichladdich The Organic 50%:

  • Nose – That overripe fruit to the point of being rotten
  • Palate – Young, a bit of spice, sourness
  • Finish – Still a bit ‘queer’

Just not aligning with my mood for the evening… I simply could not wrap my palate around the extra over-ripe quality.

So our host took pity on my pickiness and out came a reliable dram – Springbank 10 year 46%.

  • Nose – Pear, a hint of peat
  • Palate – Yum – cinnamon and nutmeg, rich oak, a bit nutty
  • Finish – Dry, sweet, salty

Khanna (food) then became the focus… was happily consumed and our evening was winding its way to a close. As the deserts and tea came out… so too did a bunch of glasses for a semi ‘proper’ tasting session. What did we sample?

Kilchoman (Whisky Lady)

Kilchoman (Whisky Lady)

Kilchoman Machir Bay 46%

  • Nose – Honey, cough syrup, leather, medicine and surgical wipes, fruity like peach and grape, very light not a hint of peat, vanilla, sweet, like an apple orchard, quite youthful
  • Palate – Peaty, sharp, black pepper, young, woody, bitter cinnamon bark, a little oily, star anise
  • Finish – Dry wine, a rawness
  • Overall – While not mature and still a bit raw it is also like a procosious youngster – lots of promise, worth checking out and quite remarkable for such a young whisky.

Our host shared tales of his visit to Kilchoman’s distillery and shared how it ‘transformed’ expectations of a young whisky. I was again reminded that for me at least, the Kilchoman Coull Point stands out.

What fun to revisit a few whiskies… and a perfect close to a most enjoyable trip to Singapore.

Related posts:

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Sheringham William’s White Double Distilled Grain 2015 45%

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With Crown Royal’s flying off the shelf – irrespective of whether it is the now coveted Northern Harvest Rye or not – attention is shifting to Canada with speculation… is it the new ‘wild west’ of whisky?

20151126_William'sWhite

In steps a new ‘breed’ of upstarts! They may not have age, they may not have pedigree, but they have a whole lotta passion for craft fine spirits.

This half-bottle was brought back on a whim by one of our Whisky Ladies from her recent trip to BC. It was without a doubt the surprise of the night! Read on…

Sheringham ‘William’s White’ double distilled grain 2015 Batch 1308 45%

  • Nose – Yeast, liquorice, woody sawdust, cherry – like cough syrup, a definite sweetness, toasty, nutty, light, wet barley, almonds, butter cream, earthy, but nit unpleasant
  • Palate – Very fresh, light, sweet, perfumed, like sourdough starter, grapefruit, sour curd
  • Finish – Burn
  • Comments – “Toasted ghee in a glass”

The definite surprise of the evening. Distinctly different. Never having even touched wood…

Here’s what the folks at Sheringham have to say:

William’s White is our White Whisky inspired by the high quality, smooth clear whisky that was once produced in our area. Bright aromas of sweet grains with a clean and slightly spicy flavour.

To be enjoyed; as a remarkable sipping whisky or in your favourite cocktail, in place of rye or bourbon.

Made from B.C. Red Fife Wheat, B.C. organic white wheat & B.C. malted barley.

If this is what their new make spirit is like, am quite interested to see what they produce in 2018 – their target date for release of their 1st whisky!

Other whiskies sampled in our Whisky Ladies session in November 2015 included:

You can also find Whisky Lady in India on:

Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve 40%

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Years ago while in Canada I had the privilege to crash a Winnipeg whisky tasting group.

These gents meet regularly and even have a locked whisky ‘cabinet’ that houses the whiskies acquired, sampled and re-sampled by its members. They are a merry bunch and I do hope another Winnipeg trip will coincide with their session… and they would be kind enough to welcome me back as a visitor!

Naturally, I asked what Canadian whisky is worth taking back to India for our tasting group. Crown Royal wouldn’t cut it (remember this is many years before Jim Murray decided to put Manitoba onto the whisky world map) and to be honest, I hadn’t really been paying much attention to developments in the Canadian whisky scene.

Forty Creek was suggested – specifically the Confederation Oak Reserve. Why? It uses Canadian oak – great big giant white Oak around approx 150 years to be precise – named as the trees likely began their life around the time of Confederation. How Canadian, eh?

Very hopeful and bursting with Canadian pride, I brought back a bottle and couldn’t wait to try! Except… let’s just say I wasn’t exactly bowled over by this whisky. I don’t even have a scrap of tasting notes for it…

However folks back in India in social gatherings LOVED it! A great conversation piece, a very smooth, drinkable dram… just not terribly remarkable in my hazy memory of many years ago.

20151126_Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve

Fast forward to November 2015 and this same whisky made its way via another Canadian lass living in Mumbai as her ‘treat’ from Canada for our Whisky Ladies November. However, always want to keep an open mind so thought what the heck! Let’s give it another chance.

What did we find?

Forty Creek Confederation Reserve Bottle #06232 40%
  • Nose – Citrusy, fresh cut wood, lemon peel, ether like in a doctor’s office, vanilla, cinnamon, fig, a rather Canadian maple and LOTS of honey
  • Palate – Very easy, creamy, smooth, wood, simple, not complex, bit of pepper spice, walnut, not full bodied but pleasant
  • Finish – Honey, mild with a bit of bitter
  • Overall – An easy drinking whisky, nothing exceptional but entirely drinkable

While nice to have something from Canada, there is nothing to make me stand up and go ‘Oh!’ Our contributor shared a similar reaction… and then went to on to share her explorations of newer craft distilleries whose whiskies are yet to come!

So we are still hopeful our patriotic Canadian whisky hearts will find something to fall in love it from our ‘original’ home to share with our friends in our ‘adopted’ home India.

For those that are curious, here are the official tasting notes:

Forty Creek Confederation Oak is the colour of old gold and is a very full bodied whisky.  To the nose it is a big whisky with constantly evolving aromas and flavours.

Beginning with a maple-raisin-vanilla-fig, layers of praline, banana, butter cream, honeyed nuts, marzipan, spice and orange blossoms. As it lingers, dark dried fruits and anise evolve. On the palate it has a very rich entry; soft, round and dry. Full bodied with vanilla, butter cream and pepper spice which is nicely framed with oak, walnut and smoke. 

An exceptional finish that has great depth. A long lingering finish with fading spice and white pepper.  Excellent balance and vibrant flavour. 

Here’s what others have to say about this Forty Creek:

Other whiskies sampled in our Whisky Ladies session in November 2015 included:

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Whisky Ladies November tasting adventures – take two!

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Our lovely ladies gathered not once but twice in November!

After a Cask Strength Diwali featuring Glenfarclas 105 60%, Chichibu 2009 63.1%, A’bunadh 35 60.3%… we were ready for a change of pace.

Shruti's Pic

Photo courtesy of our host @ShrutiS

Our line-up included:

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Murray makes Manitobans proud!

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Speaking as a proud Manitoban gal, I’m always delighted when anything from my home province makes its mark positively beyond its borders.

However as a whisky explorer, I must admit Rye has never been my thing and the humble Crown Royal from my old backyard Gimli, Manitoba took a back seat long ago…

That said, I’ve begged family and friends to pretty please snag me an extremely reasonably priced bottle of the Northern Harvest Rye from the local Manitoba liquor store to be collected on my next trip to Canada… I’m always open to have my scepticism refuted! And happy to bring the novelty of Manitoban whiskey to Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Crown-Royal-Northern-Harvest-Rye

So what is all the fuss? Skipping merrily past many marvellous Scotch whiskies, Mr Murray has established a clear non-Scottish top 5 with:

  1. Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye (Canada) – £47  (Manitoba sells for only CND 32.99!!)
  2. Pikesville Straight Rye (USA) – £33
  3. Midleton Dair Ghaelach (Ireland) – £180
  4. William Larue Weller Bourbon (Bot.2014) (USA) – £65
  5. Suntory Yamazaki Mizunara (Bot.2014) (Japan) – £45

As for the Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, here is what Mr Murray has to say along with his rating of 97.5/100:

Rye, that most eloquent of grains, not just turning up to charm and enthral but to also take us through a routine which reaches new heights of beauty and complexity. To say this is a masterpiece is barely doing it justice.

And here are what the folks over at Crown Royal share:

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye combines the distinctive flavor of Canadian rye grain with the unmistakable smoothness of Crown Royal for a truly exceptional Canadian whisky.

  • Nose – Baking spices, cereal, light wood spices
  • Palate – Gentle oak note, rich butterscotch, spiced vanilla, develops into soft peppery notes
  • Finish – Smooth and creamy

So there you have it folks. As for this Manitoban? My father managed to ‘score’ a bottle from our local liquor store… which has wound its way back to Mumbai for an upcoming session with the Whisky Ladies.

I also had a chance to sample this whiskey:

Check out the other Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2016 winners here!

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Canada’s Glen Breton 10 year 43% (Glenora Distillery)

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Normally I’m proud to be a Canadian and equally proud to call India my adopted home.

Except when it comes to single malts… We have fabulous grain, cool conditions (OK, maybe a bit TOO cool!), lots of folks who appreciate whisky, so… one would logically think that Canada could be a contender in the single malt space.

With great anticipation, on my 2013 Canada trip, I picked up a Glen Breton from Nova Scotia’s Glenora distillery – touted as Canada’s first single malt Scottish-style distillery in Canada.

I’ve sampled it on three occasions:

Glen Breton

Glen Breton 10 years 43%, Canada, Glenora distillery

  • Appearance – Very light pale yellow, quick thin legs
  • Nose – Sweet and light, initially nothing remarkable, medicinal, lemon fusion, hint of vanilla, the longer it airs, became increasingly sour like old curd
  • Palate – Initially sweet on the palate, then spice, finishing with a faint bitter twist of kerela (bitter gourd) or turmeric – nothing else, more sips and a little mint
  • Finish – Slightly bitter then vanishes
  • Water – Don’t. All it does is dampen the sweetness with nothing further gained

During the 1st tasting:

  • Speculation – There was debate about the maturation barrel given the colour. There was also a sense that it must be a very ‘young’ whisky or a possibly a blend, likely not from Scotland.
  • Revelation – When revealed as a 10 year from Canada – there was universal surprise. From two perspectives – one was the age as many thought was closer to 3 to 5 year old – certainly not a 10 year! The other that Canada is known for its Rye whiskey blends not single malts.

My 1st impression was of disappointment. My 2nd impression, not so different. And my 3rd time?

Funny thing is, when I picked it up today for another revisit, I was pleasantly surprised. Yes it is light, and no it doesn’t have the complexity I prefer in a whisky, but it certainly isn’t the disaster I remembered. In fact, I must have been in the mood for something uncomplicated, simple and refreshing as it actually hit the spot quite nicely.

Glen Breton Rare 10 year

Glen Breton Rare 10 year

Glenora’s official tasting notes:

Aged for 10 years with American Oak in traditional warehouses situated within the apple orchard of the Glenora Distillery property in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

  • Nose – Orange, Spice, Chocolate, Honey, Vanilla, with hints of Tobacco Maple & Cherry
  • Palate – Fruit, Chocolate, Hazelnut, Maple and Cherry
  • Finish – Long and smooth, eventual Apple and Ginger

I also understand that Glenora’s offerings have been steadily improving plus there are more Canadian single malt whiskies cropping up – Shelter Point, Victoria Spirits and Pemberton (organic). Something I completely welcome as I would like to have as much ‘whisky pride’ in my country of origin as I do in my adopted home India!

PS – Fast forward a few years and I’ve become a complete FAN of Shelter Point!

What others say about Glen Breton 10 year:

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World Tour – Hammer Head, Glen Breton, Nikka from the barrel, Mortlach 15 year

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One consequence of gallivanting off to Amsterdam in November is I missed our monthly tasting session. However given it featured whiskies from four different countries, I convinced our host to do a special ‘make-up’ session.

What follows is a blend of the original sessions notes from another club member and mine from last night for your reading pleasure. 

Hammer Head (Photo: Carissa Hickling)

Hammer Head 23 year

Hammer Head 23 years 40.7%, Czech, Pradlo distillery

  • Colour – Pale
  • Nose – Bright fresh citrus, dry fruits, hint of bourbon
  • Palate – Mild chewy yet dry oak, a tinge of sour, lack of depth… re-tasted after 20 mins and had a flash of masala paan
  • Finish – What finish?? Really nothing much at all…

Blind tasting reactions:

  • Guessed may be around 40% as had no ‘punch’ on the tongue, age of around 10-12 years, likely not a blend
  • Declared an evening no-nonsense malt, easy on the palette

You can be forgiven for not being instantly familiar with this single malt from the Czech republic. Back in 1989, Pradlo distillery decided it was high time to make a proud Czech single malt. With only Czech barley, water from the Bohemia region, aged in 100% Czech oak, the one concession was using a hammer mill masher from Scotland, a single batch was produced. Then the Berlin wall fell and everything changed. Any further production stopped and the distillery was more or less forgotten. Til 23 years later it was ‘rediscovered’ and commerce took over with a decision to bottle the mystery malt.

The result? A curiosity piece, great story and slice of history more than a memorable malt.

Glen Breton

Glen Breton 10 year

Glen Breton 10 years 43%, Canada, Glenora distillery

  • Colour – Light pale yellow
  • Nose – Medicinal, lemon fusion
  • Palate – 1st impression is spice then a bitter turmeric – nothing else
  • Finish – Slightly bitter then vanishes

Coming from Canada, we’re known for Rye whiskey blends not sophisticated malts. Touted as one of only two single malt Scottish-style distilleries in Canada, it is ‘matured’ in American oak barrels. However seems much more akin to a not so great 3 year old, certainly not a 10 year! We previously sampled this disappointing offer and were reminded – do not repeat!

Nikki from the barrel

Nikki from the barrel

Nikka from the barrel, no age stated 51.4%, Japan, Nikka distillery

  • Colour – Warm wheat
  • Nose – Plum cake, fruit basket, mild citrus aroma, bold & woody yet unmistakably sweet
  • Palate – Sweet on the first sip, then slightly spicy finish, mild hint of leather and cinnamon. When returning after 20 mins – pure sweet smoothness
  • Finish – Comes out to say an exuberant ‘hello!’ with sassy spice
  • Water – Shot up the spice, but then settled

This blend reminds that sometimes it is worth playing around – in this case blended and then re-casked to further mature. Definitely worth trying but not a future purchasing priority.

 

Mortlach 15 year

Mortlach 15 year

Mortlach 15 years 43%, Scotland, Mortlach distillery, Gordon & Macphail

  • Colour – Burnished gold
  • Nose – Oily, christmas cake, overripe banana
  • Palate – Dances on the tongue, dry yet somehow also with a heavy oily undertone, hint of sweetness, smoooooth
  • Finish – Finally a ‘real’ finish like it never wants to let you go! Spicy

By far the most interesting of the evening and a reminder to keep grabbing the Gordon Macphail bottlings. A cross-sampling of the Mortlach and the Ledaig led to speculation that while each is distinct, there is a stamp of ‘character’ that distinguishes Gordon Macphail products.

Must say I’m glad I didn’t miss our little trip around the globe!

Glen Breton, Hammer Head, Nikka from the barrel, Mortlach

Glen Breton, Hammer Head, Nikka from the barrel, Mortlach

Other global tasting adventures include:

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