20th and Final Tasting...

So I've been dreading making this post, as it represents the end of an era, the end of scotch club as we've known it. Number 20, the last with the current format. With many members that have moved on in their careers, and many more about to make serious changes (including me & Max), we decided to end our Scotch Club on high note.

It's been an excellent 2 years, at times a little frantic and draining but incredibly fun, educational, and drunken. 20 events and 58 different whiskies (kinda 20.5 and 60, but who's counting?), and a slew of really amazing people to share really amazing whisky with. One of the things that has impressed me the most is the calibre of person we get to enjoy our whisky with. Everyone we've been sharing drams with - even (perhaps especially) the 1-timers like Barry, Bill, Kieran, Mood, Murph and Peter - has been an excellent drinking and conversation companion, and it's been a pile of fun learning so much about whisky with all of you.

That said, Scotch Club will continue in some format, as it seems I will be in Montreal for a couple more months. Come September or October, we'll see a tasting in some form or another.

I'd like to thank Max for being my partner in crime over all 20 events, helping me to build the club and procuring so much fine whisky over the duration, not to mention hosting so many "meetings." The only positive thing I have to say about you having to leave is that maybe now I'll get to go to the SAQ like a crazy pimp and blow $300 more often. So fun.

Equally, the two of us want to thank everyone that's come over the years, and especially our most faithful regulars:
Derek (Founding Member, 16 clubs attended)
Mark (15, not a single half-share there)
Allard (15, nor here)
Dara (Founding Member, 15, Host of Honour beside Max & Pat)
Ian M (Loyalty Award - 13/15 clubs attended since his first invite)
Stevens (12, nice kilt at Christmas 2009 btw)
Kevin (11)
Joe (11)
Norm (Founding Member, 10)
Laurent (10)
Jesse (10)

Honourable Mentions to Pat (9, thanks for hosting!), Nick (8), Rich (5), Kamran (4, pimp venue man!), Mitch (4), Ardeshir (3), Dave C (3) and IanB (2; and he hosted one of those!).

* * *

So how was the whisky? Well, Max and I picked out 3 of our all-time favourites from the history of scotch club. Predictably, they were all Islays. Less predictably, not one was over 10 years old! Even more, they're all cask-strength whiskies that pack a serious punch. We hadn't even spent the whole budget yet, so we decided there was only one thing to do - add another 4 people and another bottle.

I can't repeat the notes, I think they got erased merely by being in the same room as 16 men drinking 4 bottles of whisky with an average alcohol content somewhere north of 55%. It was a seriously amazing lineup of whiskies and men drinking, and it was great to share that last event and those whiskies with so many quality fellers. A big cheers to Ian B for last-minute hosting detail; and a wee cheers to Jason for squeaking into his 5th club.

Attending: Me, Max, Derek, Mark, Allard, Dara, IanM, Stevens, Joe, Nick, Jason, Mitch, IanB, Kieran, Murph,

Served:
Ardbeg Corryvreckan - I've lost the notes for this whisky before. Co-incidence? It's a shame, because this tasting confirmed my memory of it being a 9.5+ on a 10-scale. Not terribly complex, but pleasingly so and extremely well-balanced between sweet malt, salt air, big phenol and maybe some citrus. Absolutely divine.

Port Charlotte 6 - Simply can't say enough great things about this whisky. Stunningly good - big and juicy like some of the better Speysides with the soaring peat smoke of a classic Islay. What a distillation that was, and I'm glad to have partaken in 5 bottles of it at various ages with the club.

Bowmore Tempest 2010 - As fantastic as remembered. Such an amazing arrival, big, thick and syrupy with that signature Bowmore aroma. Really quite spectacular and cemented its place among the best of the 58 different whiskies we did with the club.

Caol Ila 9 Burgundy finish - No notes to present on this. While not the magnificent specimen that the 14-year-old Cognac finish was, still a perfectably acceptable whisky and a new record for high-test alcohol somewhere around 68%. A little longer in the barrel would have let the angels have a greater share and made it a little better without the addition of water, which washed out some great flavours. Good but not great.

2010 in review

I set out this year with the goal of holding a dozen tastings, and managed to come very close - merely one short, including the co-ed tasting I ran in August. Big thanks to all the guys who helped out (especially Max) and everyone that participated - 22 different scotch club attendees, and another 15 or so from the co-ed tasting! It couldn't be done without you.

With well-over 60 whiskies tasted this year between scotch club and "private research," I've learned a lot. I research notes pretty seriously before our tastings, and give the guys a write-up on each distillery. It's been a pleasure, and a whole lot of fun, and has given me a pretty good working knowledge of a number of whiskies. I'm going to share the most important things I've learned from the whiskies I've tasted in the past 12 months.

Best whisky: Port Charlotte 6. This is best thing I've drank this year and possibly my favourite of all-time. The only thing that might beat it is the Caol Ila 18 I had with my brother about 5 years ago. Do not pass up a chance at that bottling, because it's hard to say what the next will taste like as it will be done at a different distillery (see below).
Honourable mention: Ardbeg Uigeadail. If I hadn't tried the PC6, this would be the top for sure.

Best Distillery: Bruichladdich. I am amazed to be saying this, as my brother and I tried the 10-year-old about 3 years ago and we hated that bottle. I never hated a bottle of scotch before, or since. However, Max brought back some strange bottling unique to Alberta, which was fantastic. They distilled the Port Charlotte 6 and 7 that are both amazing. And we hit the Octomore, which was absolutely brilliant as well. I figure Jim McEwan must be doing something right!
Honourable mention: Bowmore. Such consistency, and the Tempest this year was brilliant.

Best Value: The Black Grouse. Unavailable here in Quebec, this beautiful bottle runs a mere $33 in Ontario (and less for a litre if you're passing through duty-free). Without knowing, many people would probably think this was quite an expensive single malt, from the Highlands or possibly Islay. It's complex, sweet, slightly smoky and smooth; a complete package.
Honourable mention: Redbreast 12. Damned fine whiskey at $43 for the bottle.

For The Ladies: Cragganmore Distiller's Edition. This was a huge hit at the co-ed tasting I ran, especially among the novice scotch drinkers. If they don't have a taste for the wonders distilled on Islay, then you won't go wrong with this one.
Honourable mention: Ardbeg Uigeadail. For the ladies that have acquired the taste.

Most Disappointing: Alberta Premium 5. With the rave reviews from Jim Murray, maybe I let my expectations run too high. Not a good whisky unless you're planning to mix it with some ginger ale.
Not-so-honourable mention: Old Malt Cask Highland Park 23. Again, maybe I let my expectations run a little too wild...

Worst Value: Glenlivet 21. An expensive bottle with elaborate packaging hiding a mediocre whisky.
Not-so-honourable mention: That Highland Park 23... it wasn't cheap!

Most anticipated for 2011: Well, given the list that Max and I compiled on his trip to Calgary over the holidays, there's a lot of great things to look forward to! Two things that top my list of whiskies that have just recently become available have to be the Port Charlotte 8, which should be just fabulous given the showings of of the 6- and 7-year olds; and the first bottling of Kilchoman, a brand-new Islay distillery established in only 2005. Both will feature in tastings either this month or possibly February.

Slainte and best wishes for 2011!

Apr 2010 Tasting

I was a little worried about numbers for this tasting - stalwarts Dara, Derek and Allard all took a pass on this one and so did 8 other guys, but I managed to get 11 together for the 16th with the late addition of Rich and newcomer Mood. Kevin pulled into a tie with Mark for second-most Scotch Clubs attended - and 19 whiskies sampled. Then Stevens had to cancel on account of food poisoning, leaving us with 10 total. He missed some great whisky, but as it turns out we were only $5 off-budget. Thanks go out to Erin for a nice spice cake, Max & Pat for hosting, and Max for pouring (usually my job) - I haven't enjoyed a blind tasting since Scotch Club 1.0 back in July!

Attending: Me, Max, Mark, Kevin, Norm, Jesse, Rich, Ian M, Pat, Mood

Penderyn (Wales, no age statement)
Norm brought this back from a conference in Wales, where Penderyn is the only whisky distillery. A nice treat we certainly aren't going to find at the SAQ! Sales began in 2004 of this small-batch whisky, and reviews are favourable although note a high variability between bottlings. It was well-liked, and rated equal to the Oban 14 we had beside it.

Nose: Whole ton of vanilla cream.
Palate: Smooth, slightly woody. Dry and a little bitter.
Finish: Smooth and short, a little herb or wood bitterness.
Overall: A nice whisky, especially at around $50, but not as pleasantly surprising as the $43 Redbreast 12 was last month. Inoffensive but ultimately uninteresting. 7.5 or 8 on 10.

Oban 14 (West Highland)
I haven't tried Oban since I started seriously drinking scotch and was looking forward to Mark bringing this in from Ontario for my less-naive palate to have a go of. While good, I feel like it wasn't all it's cracked up to be - I didn't find it particularly smoky or peaty. Maybe because we had it on the back of the Ardbeg. In any case, this whisky pretty much tied with the Pendryn and over twice the price, and we've had cheaper whiskies rated higher than this $115 bottle.

Nose: Woody, a little smoke with something sweet - custard?
Palate: Smooth, light, slight spice, oak and a little peat.
Finish: Smooth and alcoholic with a good balance of oak, peat and smoke.
Overall: Smooth and light, maybe because of the chill filtering. Easy drinking. It was good but somehow disappointing - like picking up a cute girl and it turns out she has saggy boobs. You don't kick her out, but there's a cloud hanging over the whole affair in your mind. 8/10.

Ardbeg Uigeadail (Islay, no age statement)
I walked into the SAQ with a Glenrothes I'd seen last month in mind, and saw this bad boy, Jim Murray's top whisky of 2009, sitting proudly on the shelf Thursday night. I hesitated over this selection for a while before realizing that Laurent, who has reservations about peat, would be absent for this one. I indulged in a mini-tasting and was blown away - the peat and iodine, the almost medicinal quality of the Ardbeg 10 was present, but tempered by a tremendous balance with a myriad of flavours from the sherry finish. An overwhelming favourite, with 9 of 10 guys rating it #1 of the evening. Shame about the $145 price tag at the SAQ, but it isn't exactly overpriced...

Nose: Sherry and dark fruits, Christmas cake, subtle smoke and phenol.
Palate: Absolutely enormous. Toffee, fruit, wine, and spices giving way to solid earthy, peaty and phenolic flavours. Deep, rich, well-balanced and more complex than quantum physics. Ridiculously smooth and drinkable at 54.2%.
Finish: Rich, spicy, with a lingering, chewy, lip-smacking peaty aftertaste that's just fantastic.
Overall: Holy #$%@. Wow. This is what Port Charlotte wishes it was. One of the 3 best whiskies I've ever had, and possibly a new number one. Between 9.5 and 10 of 10. Wow.