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.

January 2011 Tasting: Islay Night

Now, regular attendees might argue that we've had Islay nights before, and even that Max and I heavily bias our procurement that way. They wouldn't be entirely wrong, but I will point out that our last tasting didn't have any Islay at all. Perhaps our January 14th effort was partly to catch up on that, and we tackled 3 whiskies from different Islay distilleries. It proved very popular, and we had a solid 14 people out. Stevens distinguished himself by doing his second round of 3 in about 3 minutes; and the Bakish boys for doing their last two in just over twice that. Max distinguished himself by having one of the fastest checkouts from Trudeau Airport ever, and arriving to scotch club within about 20 minutes of his flight from Pearson touching down.

Big cheers to Max & Pat for hosting, and again to Max for procurement. I remembered to congratulate Allard on Scotch Club #10, but didn't realize until I did the tally for this post that it was also #10 for Derek as well, sorry buddy! Also thanks to Erin for the great baking once again.

Attending: Me, Max, Mark, Allard, Derek, Dara, Kevin, Norm, IanM, Joe, Jesse, Pat, Stevens, Nick

Kilchoman Summer 2010
Islay's newest distillery, or at least the first new distillery opened in some 124 years. They are a farm-based operation that grows their own barley and does their own floor maltings, and seem to really pride themselves on their traditional techniques. Only the fourth release from the distillery, we weren't really sure what to expect from such a young and untested whisky. It turned out to be the second-favourite of the night, more or less square in the middle between the others.

Nose: Good phenol over fruit, solid smoke, and maybe a little bourbon.
Palate: Smooth arrival. Fruity up front and prominent cereal notes and then some big phenol comes to the fore.
Finish: A little raw and young, but great phenol and lingering wood are quite pleasant.
Overall: Good whisky, but not great. Still a little raw and not very high on the complexity charts. Then again, this whisky is only 3 years old and I'm more than a little intrigued to see what will be coming out of those casks over the coming years. 8.5/10

Bunnahabhain 18
Known as Islay's mildest distillery, they use lightly peated fires to roast their barley and very pure spring water for a spirit with far less smoky, phenolic character than the rest of the island's distillery. We thought it would be a good idea to use this to break up what might be overwhelming levels of peat for some, and I was eager to sample one of those rare Islay distilleries I haven't tried yet!

Nose: Sherried fruit, creamy notes. Tiny hint of smoke under all that.
Palate: Smooth, almost watery arrival. Sweet and juicy, with fruit and spice before rising oakiness and a hint of peat smoke.
Finish: Several cord of wood seem to packed into that wee dram, with a hint of smoke underneath all that lumber. A little raw for its age, to be sure...
Overall: Far from a fantastic dram, and certainly no bargain. Very Speyside-like in character, but a rather mediocre one. 8/10 at best.

Port Charlotte 8
Having done the 6-year old, and the 7-year old twice, everyone in the room apart from Nick was really looking forward to this one, and it was narrowly the favourite of the night. A perennial scotch club favourite, we've been lucky enough to chart the development of the original 2001 distillation through 3 years of aging. Have to say I'm really looking forward to whenever the next distillation hits the market and to watching this spirit over the coming years and even decades...

Nose: Sharp, the bourbon really jumps out. Big peat and some unexpected (but not unwelcome) vanilla.
Palate: Arrival is a little sharp like the nose. The roasted malt sugar background soothes it just as the peat and phenol go for a romp. Great balance.
Finish: A lot more oak than previous editions. Great juicy sweetness giving way to lingering phenolic smoke. Long as all hell, complex, and extremely satisfying.
Overall: Most of us found that the 6 was better than the 7, and those better than the 8. Not that this isn't a great whisky, but they've set some rather unreasonable expectations for me with previous bottlings. 9/10.

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!

September 2010

Our September 24th tasting took place at Max's, where we profited from his fine procurement skills. Another trip to Calgary's Kensington Wine Market saw us hoping to pick up a rare repeat whisky along with some of its siblings - the Port Charlotte 5, 6 and the 7-year-old we tried back in March. Sadly, the 5-year-old was no longer available, so we tried our palates with another one from the same distillery: the Bruichladdich Octomore.

This was our first stab at a "horizontal" tasting, where all the whiskies come from the same distillery. The first run of Port Charlotte was distilled at Bruichladdich on Islay; and all three of them since they came under new management. All are bottled at a cask strength of over 60%, meaning we more than got our money's worth in terms of "bang for the buck." Oddly, a lot of us found these strong, young whiskies had great character that wasn't improved by water at all.

Joe and Jesse both attended their 5th tasting (16 and 15 whiskies sampled, respectively) and newcomers Dave C and Peter seemed to enjoy themselves. Many thanks to Max and Pat for hosting; and another cheers to Max for a fine procurement - these were 3 top-tier whiskies, although if you didn't love the Islays, it might have been a tough night.

Attending: Me, Max, Mark, Dara, Derek, Allard, Norm, Joe, Jesse, Stevens, Pat, Ardeshir, Peter, Dave C.

Port Charlotte 7
As mentioned, we tried this back in March and it was very well-remembered by myself, Max, Allard, Joe and Stevens... the other lads had heard about it and were pretty stoked to have another shot at it.

Nose: There's that toffee/caramel, spice, smoke... everything. Yum.
Palate: Sweet, smoky, balanced and almost a hint of bacon in there. Just a fantastically complex and balanced whisky.
Finish: Chewy peat, huge phenol and nice oak background. Long, complex and beautiful.
Overall: As good as remembered, meaning among the best whiskies I've ever had. 9.5/10

Port Charlotte 6
Another gem from Port Charlotte. Even better than the 7, which was a surprise - I didn't think it got much better than the 7. The overwhelming favourite of the night.

Nose: Fantastic. Great sweetness; the peat blends well into complex malt sugars with big alcohol notes.
Palate: Sweeter than the 7-year-old, maybe some citrus as well. Complex and beautiful as the peat eases into the fore.
Finish: Fantastic peat, mouth-watering, rich, complex and chewy. Fuck yeah.
Overall: What a whisky. Big flavours, big character, incredibly well-balanced and just downright amazing. Did I mention AMAZING? A must-have for Islay lovers. 9.5 or 10 on the 10-point scale.

Bruichladdich Octomore
Supposedly the most heavily-peated scotch ever made (at the time) with a whopping 131 ppm phenol. At 5 years old and something like 64% alcohol, I wasn't sure what to expect from this beast. I attempted making a 131 ppm phenol solution in the lab to compare this two, but I couldn't get a concentration on the Tris-saturated bottle we use for DNA extractions... but this definitely lived up to expectations.

Nose: Like a phenol/alcohol solution from the lab, with some interesting citrus notes.
Palate: A little hot and sweet with the enormous alcohol content, but then balanced and complex flavours have a go 'round before the phenol takes over.
Finish: Nothing complex or layered here, just fantastic phenol goodness.
Overall: Despite the high-phenol warnings, this is a complex and well-balanced scotch, truly a pleasure even at 64%. Not for those loving a mellow whisky. 9.5/10

Irish Tasting - March 2010

In honour of St Patrick's and a truly spectacular number of birthdays in the month of March, we sampled two Irish whiskies, chosen somewhat at the last minute, and a fantastic scotch brought from across the pond by a friend of Max's. Thanks to Persian New Year, Dara and Ardeshir had to take a pass, whereas some of our other long-standing members had less interesting reasons. Except Mark, who was building robots. In any case, first-timers Sam, Ian M and Jamie seemed appreciative. Thanks again to Erin, this time for brownies.

Max's new apartment proved an excellent venue for scotch club (thanks to him and Pat, who had a wee taste of everything), and Joe finally managed to successfully identify a couple of whiskies (2/3 - somehow). We got a taste of the Irish, but found not everyone has a taste for the Irish... Laurent wouldn't even touch his second round of Bushmill's. With only 10 guys, I was happy to come in on-budget, and thanks to the "extra" whisky it got awful drunk out towards the end of the 2nd round. Plus we learned what "Frazzles" are. And no, they don't live underground eating the fruits of hard Dooger labour.

Attending: Me, Max, Kevin, Laurent, Allard, Joe, Stevens, Jamie, Sam, Ian M.

Bushmill's 16 (Ireland)
Grabbed at the last minute and mostly selected on the basis of budgetary constraints, the Bushmill's suffered from not having tasting notes prepared for the blind tasting. However, it turned out to be the favourite of the night - although scores were pretty tight. Personally, I wasn't a huge fan - but, unlike Laurent, still enjoyed getting a taste of this "premium" Irish whisky. Finished in Bourbon, Oloroso, and port casks.

Nose: Winey and sweet.
Palate: Spicy, hints of smoke, and something I just couldn't quite put my finger on.
Finish: Sweet but a little dry somehow, long and smooth.
Overall: Not a favourite for me, but a fairly smooth and interesting dram that ranks at least with the Jameson's 18 that I tried not too long ago. Oddly the first round tasted much better than the 2nd, which is normally not the case at all. 8/10.

Redbreast 12 (Ireland)
One of only 2 traditional Irish pot still whiskies on the market, I insisted we try to get a hold of this one for scotch club. I wasn't disappointed, and neither was anyone else as this whisky was ranked 2nd on the night. At $43 for the bottle, this is a whisky with great value and a lot of character. Impressive.

Nose: Cherries, raisins, plums; something creamy.
Palate: Big, smooth and sweet with some spice cake-type notes and dried fruit.
Finish: Short and smooth.
Overall: Wasn't sure what to expect from this whiskey and ended up enjoying it thoroughly. A bit Speyside-ish owing to the fruit notes and smooth character. Great value. 8.5/10.

Port Charlotte 7 Sin an Doigh Ileach (Islay)
I was sceptical about this whisky for two reasons. First, it's made by Bruichladdich, and I'm not a big fan of the 2 expressions I've had from them. The other, of course, was that's only 7 years old and from a brand-new distillery (opened 2002-3 from what I've read and deduced). However, the more I read about it, the more I got excited - the reviews were very positive. At 61%, this dram is more than drinkable, but is best enjoyed a bit diluted.

Nose: Toffee notes, with earth and campfire smoke. Bacon?
Palate: Sweet, with some earthy feel. Well-balanced with strong peat and smoke notes. Rich and complex.
Finish: Rich, sweet and a bit smoky. Long-lasting and chewy.
Overall: Hits the tongue like a good Speyside and rolls down the throat leaving Islay in its wake. The best of several worlds. Instantly cracked my top ten, and improved significantly with a couple drops of water. 9.5/10.