Tag Archives: Shelter Point

Shelter Point – The Collective 46%

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In our Whisky Ladies of Mumbai original group, we have three Canadians. Yes, that is completely disproportionate, however, it just so happened that when starting the group, I knew one fellow Canadian who, like myself, has long-term adopted India as home and another settled in Mumbai who heard of our group and was interested in joining.

Yet before you conclude this is a purely Canadian club, far from it! We have women from a range of backgrounds, ages, and experiences, from professionals to entrepreneurs, we are drawn together by a common interest in exploring a dram or two or three.

Over the years, we have had women drift in and out, circumstances change, people move away and others are found where such a small, private forum of dram devotees come together to discover, debate, and drive forward a collective understanding.

Why mention this context? As we enter the midpoint of our 9th year, it seems fitting that things continue to evolve. In our January session, we had a mix of early members and new, each bringing their distinctive approach and reactions.

Which is the sentiment of The Collective. It is a mix of five Shelter Point casks aged for at least five years. Each cask was selected by a working member of Shelter Point, brought together where the hope is that the sum is greater than its parts.

This was why I planned to share this whisky with the ladies… Then when the very folks most familiar with Shelter Point couldn’t join, I shifted gears and offered a Chorlton trio.

A few months later, I was back in Mumbai and decided – why not? So opened up the Shelter Point bottles starting with this one!

Shelter Point The Collective 46% (2020)

  • Colour – Bright gold
  • Nose  – Sunshine! Honey, like a super sweet baklava with sugary syrup and nutty pistachios and pecans. Delightful. It kept evolving… slipping into sweet lemon curd, then big red, lots of fresh red cherries. There was also a hard candy with mixed berries or a red raspberry covered in powdered sugar. After even more time, there was basil and bay leaf too!
  • Palate – Spice! White peppercorn. Then grapefruit. Rather than being candy-sweet, it was actually a bit salty. Contradictory and fun, not at all light.
  • Finish – Quite herbaceous – like a sweet herbal liqueur, stevia, a lovely long finish with bay leaf
  • Water – Amped up the sea salt, joined by a nutty nougat

It was an utterly enchanting aroma, light, sweet, and joyful. The palate was such a contrast, then it closed with a wonderful finish that circled back to the delicious nose. For most, the nose and finish were fabulous with the palate a little quixotic, not quite in harmony with the other elements.

We set it aside to sample the Shelter Point Double Barrel then the 10 year cask strength… we returned to find the palate a symphony of delight – where everything all came together. Perfection.

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

At Shelter Point we’re in together. Every one of our five local staff contributes to the character and success of the distillery, so we asked each one to choose a favourite whisky cask to include in this special release that celebrates our people. The result is a delicious blend of five specially selected casks that reflect the collective spirit and passion of our Shelter Point family. All whiskies selected are at least 4 years old.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, The Collective has distinct notes of vanilla and cinnamon with bursts of fruity flavor. The palate is spicy and fruity leading to the satisfying finish that is long with an assortment of spices, cherry wood and salt.

Whisky Facts:

  • Still: Custom-designed copper pot still
  • Base: Barley, Rye and Wheat (That’s it. Nothing else)
  • Distillation: Small-batch, 3x distilled
  • Spirit: Natural colour and non-chill filtered
  • Alcohol Content: Bottled at 46% Alc.Vol

I purchased it in November 2020 for CND$34.78 + taxes + shipping for 375 ml.

What did we try in our Shelter Point evening in Mumbai?

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Shelter Point – 10 year, Double Barrel, The Collective

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Over the years, I remotely acquired some Shelter Point whiskies. First I had to get them from Vancouver to Winnipeg. Then from Winnipeg to Nurnberg. And then for some, from Nurnberg to Mumbai!

Why bring Canadian whiskies halfway around the world? We have a few Whisky Ladies who have followed their journey from the 1st bottle of their inaugural batch that Patrick Evans kindly gifted us in 2016. We were captivated by their Single Malts from this farm to cask distillery in British Columbia. So it was only fitting that I share more recent releases. I was all primed to offer a trio in January 2024, however then the original folks familiar with Shelter Point – including a fellow Canadian – could not join. So I decided to postpone for another opportunity.

It was tough deciding which three to bring… What did I pick?

Curious to learn more? Just click on the above links to read tasting notes about our collective impressions!

Spoiler alert! We found three distinctive elements in all the whiskies we tried: Sunshine, sea salt, a herbaceous quality. Delicious.

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Shelter Point – Canadian whisky stash!

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There I was back in November 2020… sitting in Nurnberg on a rather cool, miserable, overcast day… missing being ‘home’… both my India home with my amazing spouse (especially as it was our birthday week!) and my Canadian home with family and friends.

So what’s a gal to do? Buy a whisky birthday present, of course! That’s exactly what I did. A Shelter Point trio that was patiently waiting at my parent’s place in Winnipeg ever since…

  • Shelter Point 5-year “The Collective” (2020) 46% (375 ml)
  • Shelter Point 7-year Single Cask, Triple Grain (unmalted & malted barley, rye), 5th Edition (2020) 43%, Bottle 205/288 (750 ml)
  • Shelter Point Montfort District Lot 151 Single Grain Whisky (2020) 46% (375 ml)

At the time, I never imagined it would take until late May 2023 for me to finally make the trip to Canada! By that point, the initial trio were joined by a further quartet:

  • Shelter Point “Smoke & Oak” (2021) Batch #1 46% (375 ml)
  • Shelter Point 6-year “Double Barrel” (2021) 6th Edition 46% (Coastal Black’s Blackberry Wine) (375 ml)
  • Shelter Point 6-year “The Forbidden” (2021) Batch #2, 47% (375ml)
  • Shelter Point 10-year Artisanal Cask Strength (2021) 57.8% (750 ml)

Now I have a problem of plenty! It was a tough call to select which made the final cut for the journey to Germany. Will some or all of these eventually continue their journey to India for the Whisky Ladies of Mumbai? And how long will we need to wait to hold a session? Will it be another year (or more) til some of these beauties make their way into a glass?

When I have the answer, you will have the answer. Til then… Slainthe!

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Shelter Point – Vancouver to Nurnberg

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Life sometimes brings you an interesting twist. Such as a Nurnberg based friend managing even in these strange COVID times to travel to Vancouver to see her family… offering to bring back something and my shamelessly asking for whisky! Which wasn’t so easy as it isn’t like a small craft distillery on Vancouver Island has whiskies widely available… However she is a determined lass and made the “quest” an adventure, integrated with other activities, and came home triumphant!

Have I opened it yet? Nope! I know what to expect – having enjoyed previous batches of this Vancouver Island single malt – starting with their 1st Batch in 2016), then again in 2017 and 2018. So I plan to keep this precious Canadian import tightly shut awaiting the right occasion and company!

What else do I have “waiting in the wings” from Shelter Point?

In Winnipeg I have a Shelter Point trio patiently waiting since November 2020 for a return to Canada.

And by spring 2021, it was clear I wouldn’t be back anytime soon… So I decided to add to my wee Canadian whisky collection two more expressions that are at the distillery for shipping or collection in the coming months:

This was followed by something I’m hugely looking forward to – their oldest single malt yet as Shelter Point celebrates a decade of producing sunshine in a bottle!

Who knows when my next trip to see family and friends in Canada will make sense. But in the meantime, I have some “sheer joy” in the Shelter Point Single Malt to look forward to here in Nurnberg!

PS – These whiskies made it to Germany and India respectively, for tastings held in 2024!

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Missing Canada…. Shelter Point’s new expressions

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It is hard to believe, but I was last ‘home’ to Canada the summer of 2019 – a rushed trip triggered by needing a new passport pronto then race back to India to apply for both my German work visa and Indian long term visa. I was successful with the passport, also with the German visa but alas not the India visa – which remains elusive and further complicated by our tricky COVID times.

But I digress… While in our neighbourhood Liquor mart, I was thrilled to see that Shelter Point is now available in Manitoba. So naturally what I brought back from Canada was two bottles of Shelter Point‘s core single malt – one for my ‘new’ home in Germany and one for my ‘real’ home in India.

So in November 2020, when I saw online that Shelter Point had yet another really interesting looking limited edition expression, I was determined to not miss out!

A few clicks of a button later, an order was placed.

And what did I buy in anticipation of some very future trip to collect in Canada?

  • Shelter Point “The Collective” 4 year (2020) 46% – A blend of five casks chosen by Shelter Point’s five local staff to reflect the collective spirit and passion of their Shelter Point family. 
  • Shelter Point 7 year Single Cask #5 (2020) 43% – A blend of malted barley, unmalted barley and rye whisky, aged in an ex-bourbon cask, then finished in French oak. 
  • Montfort District Lot 151 Single Grain Whisky (2020) 46% – Montfort 151 is the lot in which the single-grain barley was grown. We’d tried the Montfort DL 141 before so was curious how the 151 contrasts and compares.

I truly have no idea when it will be possible to gather this bounty and bring it back to either Germany or India. However I know these beauties are waiting patiently with family. For now, that is enough… and I hope maybe by next summer?!?

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BMC “shabby chic” evening

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Date juggling with the Bombay Malt & Cigar gentlemen can be a challenge as we all travel extensively and, let’s face it, have busy lives!

So when one member could not join our originally scheduled August date, we decided to shift from a planned tasting of curated closed bottles to pulling out something open from our whisky cabinets to share.

As they didn’t earlier have the pleasure of trying Shelter Point – yet heard so much from all my past experiences – I decided it was time they experience – even if oxidized dregs!

And yes – the plan was to bring just one but when there was so little left, how could I resist bringing all four?

While there were other bottles on offer, here is what I recall:

As for the cigars, it was a revisit of Gurka Seduction, also from an earlier session.

I must confess I took narry a photo nor tasting note that evening – what I’ve shared here are mere recollections of impressions rather than specifics.

This was an evening where we simply came together, sipped our drams, planned our upcoming sessions and September Scottish whisky tour with the whiskies taking a supporting role rather than featured cast.

Which sometimes is exactly what you ask of a good dram – to be the best possible accompaniment to a rather enjoyable time with friends.

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Shelter Point Cask Strength (2018) 58.7%

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Last in our Shelter Point quartet from BC, Canada was their 2018 Cask Strength expression. Travelling from the west coast of Canada to Manitoba, the Manitoba to Maharashtra India, this quartet was a gift from the distillery to our Mumbai based tasting groups.

First up was the Whisky Ladies, followed by the Original tasting group and then for the last remaining drops an informal evening with a couple friends.

Here is what the Whisky Ladies had to say…

Shelter Point Artisanal Cask Strength (2018) 58.7%

  • Nose – Farm sweet, unripe avocado, smooth, citrus and camomile
  • Palate – Fruity with a bit of spice, some ginger, smooth, bright
  • Finish – Star anise, long and sweet
  • Water – We debated about this – to add or not. In the end those that did add were a bit disappointed whereas those who kept it water free, continued to enjoy their whisky full strength

Overall, what did we think? We found it quite sophisticated, we loved its character and sheer joyfulness. There was also a nice spiciness too that gave it a terrific kick.

We revisited it after some time and found it was full of sugar icing, vanilla, baking goodies and a tasty vanilla milkshake. Yum!

And then two weeks later with our original Mumbai group?

  • Nose – Some lovely classic notes that comes with a proper cask strength, complex, honey sweet, grape or linseed oil, perfume vanilla, sweet bubble gum, maple sugar cookies, red twizzlers, hair oil
  • Palate – Sweet and spice – one remarked how it is the distinctive Rye spice, a bit earthy, and at the centre – yum! Almost yolky
  • Finish – Just like the nose – fruity…

This one had the most diverse aromas… not an easy whisky, yet endearingly “cheerful” amidst its complexity and layers.

And a further revisit with a few friends a few days later was a different experience:

  • Nose – It began with a kicking spice, lots more “whisky”, then coconut marzipan, effervescent
  • Palate – Spices, quite “manly” with a bitter walnut, nougat, again a distinctly “rye” element but very balanced
  • Finish – Had a nice “oomph!”, black pepper, a bit bitter

We found the whisky kept changing the more it was in the glass, quite quixotic, teasing… so we decided to add water. Wow!

  • Nose – Toasted coconut, lime, lavender, herbal, flowers
  • Palate – Dark grapes, marmalade, chocolate
  • Finish – Heightened the bitter chewy quality chased with a hint of salt

Confession time?

I started to think of a quintessentially Canadian bar beverage made with Canadian “Rye” whiskey (aka a blend with a generous element of rye) and ginger ale. And while I was never a “Rye and Ginger” gal, I found myself pulling the bottle out of the whisky cabinet, pouring a generous dram, throwing a few large chunks of ice into the glass and topping with a healthy splash of cold ginger ale. Delicious!

The folks over at Shelter Point shared:

To create this limited edition cask strength whisky, we selected two casks of triple-distilled unmalted Shelter Point barley and combined these with two casks of rye, creating an incredibly rich and spicy whisky. Decadent, complex and intense, this blend will surprise you with layer after layer of flavour.

  • Shelter Point Cask Strength Whisky is fragrant on the nose with apricots, rum raisins and sticky toffee pudding.
  • The palate is sweet and warming with candied ginger, nougat, honey blossom and pineapple.
  • The satisfying finish is incredibly long with an assortment of spices, cherry wood and salt.

Whisky Facts:

  • Still: Custom-designed copper pot still
  • Base: 50% unmalted barley and 50% rye
  • Distillation: Small-batch, 3x distilled
  • Spirit: Natural colour and non-chill filtered
  • Alcohol Content: Bottled at 58.7% Alc.Vol

Bottom line? It absolutely works!

Here is what else we tried in our Shelter Point 2018 Quartet, courtesy of the cool cats over at the distillery:

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“Dining delight” Shelter Point Double Barrelled (2018) 50%

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Imagine sitting down to a table overflowing with food – some contrasting salads, maple glazed carrots, beans, corn on the cob, pasta, roasted meat – and beside it sits a glass of liquid, pairing perfectly.

Naturally you thought wine, right? Perhaps even a Pinot Noir…  But what if the image shifted from a deep large round glass of red wine to the distinctive contours of a Glencairn glass? Containing instead a beautiful whisky from the west coast of Canada… ?

While you may be surprised, if you tried, you would not be disappointed!

But first, our  Whisky Ladies of Mumbai had a chance to discover… Here is what they had to say…

Shelter Point Double Barrelled French Oak Cask Finish Single Malt (2018) 50%

  • Nose – Sweetness, a bit musty and shy initially, then a lovely perfume, caramel, fruit, butter popcorn, candied apple, flowers
  • Palate – Spice, lots of variation, very different, whisky and wine combine
  • Finish – Long, dark grape peel, even some rich buttery ghee, a pinch of salt

Then a few weeks later our original Mumbai tasting group checked it out.

We discovered this whisky had certainly evolved… none of the musty elements, though some found it retained a bit of “shyness” on the nose until it opened up in the glass…

  • Nose – A lovely wine note, surely it must have held red wine in the French oak cask? It also had a light almond aroma mixing with the sweet fruits and berries
  • Palate – Such character! A nice balance of sweet and dryness, wood, spice and tannins, clear stamp of red wine with a nice body
  • Finish – Some light spice?

The more we sipped, the more we enjoyed this one. It had a wonderful palate… almost like sipping a good red wine.

As we sat down to dinner, this whisky made a brilliant companion. It truly turned out to be a perfect “dinner whisky” – wonderful!

It was then further revisited with a few friends not long after:

  • Nose – Soooo fruity! Pear, blackberry, sugar sweet and malty, macadamia nuts, cherry
  • Palate – Marvellous! Less sweet than the nose indicated, more substance. Is that coffee? Certainly more of those yummy berries with a nice peppery spice… not in the least bit harsh
  • Finish – Character follows through with a vanilla cream close

As before, the more we sipped, the more we enjoyed. It was much more complex than the other Shelter Points… one that requires you to slow down and pay attention.

I confirmed with the folks over at Shelter Point that their 2nd edition was in collaboration with Quails’ Gate Estate Winery, with a French Oak cask which previously held their rich fruity Pinot Noir.

All our speculation about the cask used for the finish fell into place – there was no doubt the dark grape, the tannis and berry fruitiness came from the wine cask.

Curious to know more? Here is what Shelter Point has to say:

We hand selected 4 of our finest Single Malt whisky casks and finished them in French oak wine barrels, previously home to Quails’ Gate Pinot Noir. Aged in our American oak for six and a half years, and then finished for 1993 hours in the flavourful French oak, Shelter Point Double Barreled Whisky is a sensational marriage of spirits.

Tasting Notes:

  • Nose: A deep, rich berry jam with toffee apple and toast. Stewed fruits, figs and rum raisins followed by powdered jelly doughnuts.
  • Palate: Sweet, juicy tropical fruits with oak and forest berries.
  • Finish: A warm peppery finish of cherry pie and salted caramel.

Whisky Facts:

  • Still: Custom-designed copper still
  • Base: Two-row barley (That’s it. Nothing else.)
  • Distillation: Small-batch, 2x distilled
  • Spirit: Natural color and non-chill filtered

So there you have it – one whisky, three distinctive experiences!

What else did we sample in our Shelter Point 2018 Edition evenings?

Interested in more Shelter Point tasting experiences?

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“Curious” – Shelter Point Montfort District Lot 141 Single Grain (2018) 46%

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Something you really do need to know about Shelter Point distillery from BC, Canada is when they say “field to flask”, they really do mean it. The grow their own barley on their farm with this particular expression named after the lot:

Raised right here on our family farm on Vancouver Island, Montfort District Lot 141 is a truly unique field-to-flask whisky. The name itself is the very lot in which the single-grain barley was grown, and the coordinates to the exact field are included on every bottle. Distilled in our traditional copper pot stills, aged in American oak and French oak at our oceanfront warehouses, and bottled on-site by the Shelter Point family, Montfort DL 141 is a proud product of our distillery home.

I was so enthusiastic about our 2018 edition Shelter Point quartet that I arranged to share it with our Whisky Ladies, our original Mumbai tasting group and other enthusiasts…

Here is what we discovered! Starting with the Whisky Ladies of Mumbai when the bottle was freshly opened…

Shelter Point Montfort District Lot 141 Single Grain (2018) 46%

  • Nose – Lots of fruits, sour mash, “barnyard funk” not in a bad way, just very rustic, like a dusty granary. Then chocolate mousse, cider, grape… with the aromas continuing to evolve… an unmistakable juicy fruit, gummy bears and dried tropical fruits
  • Palate – An odd sweetness, grape mash, becoming even sweeter, the oak is also there, a creamy or buttery quality
  • Finish – Limited
  • Water – Surprising how much it opened it up, yet also became less layered in the aromas

There was no doubt that the aroma was the most complex element… a few remarked how it was a shift after the beautiful Artisanal Single Malt.

A few weeks later, our original Mumbai tasting group had a chance to sample:

  • Nose – Benedryl, lots of cherry cough syrup, sweetened berries, cut green apple, tempered from earlier, single mono note, sweetest fruit, milk chocolate
  • Palate – Chocolate fudge, coconut “Bounty” candy bar, good body, cream
  • Finish – Short

More like a liqueur than a whisky… Shelter Point shares that the grain came from a single field. Yet we had lots of speculation about what the grain could be – was it barley that was unmalted? Or something else…? And what casks were used to achieve that berries and chocolate cream combination?

Then a revisit with friends familiar with Shelter Point whiskies soon after that:

  • Nose – Raw husk, bourbon-like, honey, faint liquorice, purple grape
  • Palate – At first so different than the aroma, heavy spice, sweet, farm like… Next sip was completely consistent with the nose – the light liquorice very much there, same with the purple grape
  • Finish – A fennel herbal finish with spice

This one requires a bit of effort. Particularly after the delightful Artisanal Single Malt, this Shelter Point is a definite contrast. Curious, challenging… one that takes patience to unravel. Yet worth taking time and feel privileged to have sampled.

As for the folks over at Shelter Point have to say?

  • Tasting notes: On the nose, Montfort DL 141 has distinct notes of vanilla fudge, dried fruits and hazelnut. The palate is honied and herbaceous with a luxurious assortment of dark chocolate cherries, leading to a warming spicy finish, with lingering oak and almond nougat.
  • Still: Custom-designed copper pot still
  • Base: 100% unmalted barley (That’s it. Nothing else)
  • Distillation: Small-batch, 3x distilled
  • Spirit: Natural colour and non-chill filtered

It also won the best Canadian grain in the World Whiskies Award 2019 having this to say:

“Floral and honey nose, orchard fruits and peaches with a light toffee colour. Spice, but very well balanced. The palate brings in green wood and flavours of baking spices, coconut and marmalade. Smooth and buttery in the mouth. Medium finish.”

What else did we sample in our Shelter Point 2018 Edition evenings?

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“Sheer joy!” – Shelter Point Artisanal Single Malt 46%

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We kicked off our Shelter Point evening with the “foundation” expression – their Artisanal Single Malt.

This was our third opportunity to try Shelter Point’s single malt – from their very 1st batch in 2016, to their next edition in 2017 – loved them both! And hoped against hope would not be disappointed with their latest avatar.

Spoiler alert! This one was dubbed “sheer joy!” for its delightfully happy aromas.

Unlike some tasting sessions where notes come only from one sitting, this time I’ve divided the experience into three to reflect each sitting – both to capture the influences and perspectives shared by different tasting groups plus slight shifts in whisky itself – going from sealed to open for a month and a half.

First up was the Whisky Ladies of Mumbai who had this to say:

Shelter Point Artisanal Single Malt (2018) 46%

  • Nose – Honey sweet, floral and fruit, sunshine, vanilla cream, a hint of chocolate, a beautiful desert, bubblegum
  • Palate – Initially a nice zing, sugar sweet, ginger… then begins to mellow, even a bit of hazelnut and marzipan
  • Finish – Pleasant with a nice bit of bitter orange
  • Water – Rounds it out

Such a happy whisky… we could just keep coming back to it and enjoy its delicious honeyed aromas.

And then our original Mumbai group two weeks later found:

  • Nose – Greeted us with pears, apples, friendly yet with a prickly spice. Loads of honey, some hay… what one described as a “green malt”. Truly it had a beautiful bouquet, while uncomplicated with a narrow aroma, it was lovely, like a fresh meadow
  • Palate & Finish – Liquid honey, delicious and quite enjoyable but for some it seemed to dash away rather than hang about… where as for others, there was a clear finish with lots of pepper, slightly bitter in an interesting contrast to the very sweet nose

One joked that from initial palate to finish it was like having honey and crushed black peppercorns on a single spoon! No great depth, uncomplicated yet easy to enjoy. One to return to…

Then a small informal tasting a couple weeks later with lasses who had tried both earlier 2016 and 2017 editions:

  • Nose – Sheer happiness, amiable, warm baked apples, warm summer day, fresh mowed lawn, sweet sunshine
  • Palate – Not a pushover on the palate, more “oomph!” than we remember from the earlier batches, yet still completely delicious, warm spice, buttercup, butter tart
  • Finish – There but…

We discussed how this is one of those whiskies you simply enjoy – hard to pick apart or describe exactly why you love it so much, but it is just so darn “nice”… bottom line? We pronounced it “sheer joy” in liquid form!

While there is no age statement, we understand the whisky is matured for five years in American oak ex-bourbon barrels and it shows.

As for the folks over at Shelter Point? This is what they have to say:

  • Tasting Notes: An enticing nose of vanilla, coconut, caramel and tropical fruits. The palate provides a delectable melody of juicy fruits and candied sweets, leading to a tantalising finish of spice, malt chocolate and a hint of salt.
  • Still: Custom-designed copper pot still
  • Base: 100% malted barley (That’s it. Nothing else)
  • Distillation: Small-batch, 2x distilled
  • Spirit: Natural colour and non-chill filtered

We had the pleasure of sampling the entire 2018 range, courtesy of the folks at Shelter Point who kindly sent it from British Columbia to my family in Manitoba which I then brought back to Mumbai in February 2019.

Interested in the other Shelter Point 2018 editions? Check out our tasting notes:

Curious about our other brushes with Shelter Point?

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