Must Try

Kildara Canadian Island Triple Distilled Potstill Whisky

/ / Other Whisk(e)ys, Review / ,

Kildara
Canadian Island Triple Distilled Potstill Whisky

Carefully crafted in premium Kentucky bourbon, Spanish Oloroso & Pedro Ximénez, and virgin American casks

46% ABV
$125
Website
Macaloneys Kildara Canadian Island Triple Distilled Potstill Whisky
We would like to thank Macaloney’s Island Distillery for sending us a sample to review.

What the Distillery Says

This island whisky is from our triple distilled single potstill range – triple distilled using only the best unmalted and malted barley available. The patient, yet purposeful, triple distillation produces a complex, layered and balanced new-make spirit. Dr. Swan described our original new-make which trickles off our copper pot stills as “the best that I have tasted in any distillery at this stage, super fruity.” This triple-distillate is even smoother and fruitier!

Kildara, our Whiskymaker’s Signature Expression, was married from a select combination of Kentucky Bourbon, Spanish Oloroso, virgin American, and Spanish Pedro Ximénez (PX) casks. The result is a full bodied, triple distilled single potstill, island whisky with pronounced Oloroso and PX notes including dried fruit cake, vanilla crème laced with cinnamon, demerara sugar, and old seasoned leather notes. Abundant tropical fruits include candied orange, dried apricot, figs, ripe blackberries, blackcurrant jam, dried raisins and roasted nuts. The complexity continues with barley, malt and dried hay, butterscotch, milk chocolate, light tobacco and ocean breeze.

The palate is velvety-soft, resplendent with full bodied Sherry and tropical fruit. Oatmeal develops to oak spices, coffee, dark chocolate orange, nectarines, stewed plums, blackcurrant, red currant and sultana’s, coming together as sweet dark fruitcake and honey. The finish presents dried fruit with a hint of salt and dulse, lingering oak and more Sherry, ending with hazelnut and almond raspberry pie with a drizzle of dark chocolate.

ABV: 46% | 750ml bottle | Natural Colour & Non-Chill Filtered

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich, vanilla, mincemeat pie with raisins, apricots, cinnamon, malt, molasses and a floral note.
Palate:  Viscous mouthfeel, fruity with plums, apricots, blackcurrant and subtle citrus notes, a bit of oak, vanilla, honey, nutmeg and dark chocolate.
Finish:  Moderate in length, thick and damp with fruit, honey and nutmeg.
Comments:  Really nice, intense flavor and well balanced. Clearly tracks to Irish roots.  While I enjoyed the Killeigh, I like this one more – especially at the same price point (and like the Killeigh, I appreciate the ABV/non-chill filtration but wouldn’t mind seeing a cask-strength offering). The non-chill filtration Also really appreciate the solid tasting notes (often tasting notes are ‘basic’ or entirely imagined, so when they are more detailed and line up with my experience – it stands out because of the rarity!)

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Compass Box Vellichor

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

Compass Box Vellichor
Blended Scotch Whisky

44.6% ABV
$400-450
Website
Compass Box Vellichor Blended Scotch Whisky

What the Blender Says

Vellichor, n – the scent of second-hand bookshops

On discovering this marvellous new word, we began a quest to recreate the fragrance using Scotch whisky. Parcels were considered, identified and pursued. The process can be compared to scouring second-hand bookshops for specific volumes.

Our search met with success when a distiller and bottler in the north of Scotland offered us casks of whiskies which had been blended together in the past, before being returned to ex-Sherry butts for further maturation. Whiskies, like old books, contain their own stories.

We combined these Sherry-matured stocks with bold and mature malt whiskies from the Macallan, Highland Park and Caol Ila distilleries. The aroma is highly evocative for anyone with a fondness for books; the taste evolves and intensifies as any good political thriller or historical romance should.

A tribute to the storytelling potential of blended Scotch whisky, and the atmospheres of our favourite book stores.

FLAVOUR PROFILE
Hints of leather, polished furniture and the crackling dustiness of decades-old pages on the nose. The palate is stacked with sumptuous malty notes, tropical fruit and Sherry character, with a delicate but
persistent peatiness.

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS
The late whisky writer Michael Jackson recommended some whiskies be enjoyed “with a book at bedtime”. This is one of those whiskies.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
Bottled at 44.6% ABV | Natural colour | Not chill-filtered
Blended Scotch Whisky
A limited edition of 3,246 bottles; January 2022.
LEAD WHISKYMAKER: James Saxon.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Leather, candied dark fruit notes of plums and raisins, passionfruit, kiwi, grapes, apple, wood polish, pipe tobacco smoke, soft mulling spices and a hint of underlying peat.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel, sponge cake with buttercream frosting, cherries, peaches, apples, dates, coconut, nutmeg, bit of ginger, subtle peat and smoke.
Finish:  Long and damp, fruity with tobacco, honey, fruit and a hint of peat.
Comments: A really delicious, complex, balanced and lovely dram with some fruit, sherry, bit of spice, peat and smoke. This definitely has that ‘old library’ aroma that brings thoughts of sitting in an overstuffed, worn out leather chair in a smoke filled, wood paneled lined room – which I’ve only encountered with well aged Scotch whisky.  With over 95% of the components being 23-26 years old (with a splash of some 37 year old Caol Ila), this has the age – but it would be a mistake to think it is simply a function of age. The combining of well aged stocks in just the right proportions takes a deft hand (and better nose and palate!) and few do it nearly as well as Compass Box. I wish this ABV was a bit higher, but it has a lot of intensity where it is at – and losing ABV is a risk with older parcels as well (had Compass Box waited a bit longer, they might not have been able to bottle some of it as whisky – which sounds like just the sorta tricky thing they’d pull – maybe a “This is not ultra aged whisky” with some 40 yr old “former whisky” casks that dipped below the 40% mark?).

Rating: Must Try

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Compass Box No Name Vol 3

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Compass Box No Name Vol 3
Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

48.9% ABV
$130 – $150
Website
Compass Box No Name Vol 3

What the Blender Says

Vibrant and expansive, wild yet graceful peatiness
Our series studying heavily-peated malt whisky reaches a somewhat OTT crescendo with this, the third and final No Name.

Since 2017, we have used the same recipe structure to explore different smoky double acts. Whether it was the crème-brûlée-on-freshly-laid-tarmac effect of the inaugural release or the bonfire-in-a-cherry-orchard style of No Name, No. 2, fans of the series have been treated to radically different expressions of smoke.

No Name, No. 3 marks a further point on the spectrum of peat. It is older, wilder and weirder than the previous No Names. Seaweedy and barbecue-scented single malt from the Laphroaig Distillery takes top billing, with malt whisky from the Bowmore Distillery lending compelling hints of mango and pineapple at the very limits of ripeness.

Seashells and sage; pineapple and allspice; smoke that moves in oily waves. This is the perfect whisky for introducing a little drama to proceedings – and a fitting conclusion to our peaty trilogy.

The final whisky in the No Name series champions seaweedy peatiness from the Laphroaig Distillery, enriched by succulent fruit and smoke from the Bowmore Distillery.

FLAVOUR PROFILE: Even fruitier than No Name, No. 2, and almost as smoky as No Name. The peat character is more medicinal than No Name, with a beautiful heathery and tropical fragrance.

A limited edition of 10,794 bottles. July 2021.

What Gary Says

Nose:  Mossy sea air, peat, coastal campfire, subtle fruit notes of peaches and pears, earthy, cracked pepper with a hint of smoked meat and fish.
Palate:  Thick mouthfeel, peaty, vanilla, subtle fruit with pears and mango, smoky with a hint of grilled pineapple and more savory, herbal spices.
Finish:  Moderately long and drying with peaty pepper, smoke and honey.
Comments: I didn’t have this to try alongside No Name Vol 1 or No Name Vol 2, but this didn’t seem to strike me as well as either of those for some reason. It is a very nice peaty and smoky dram, with layers of complexity. I suppose with any lineup, one has to be last even if all were very good. Looking back at my notes, I’m not sure I got ‘more’ fruit here as they described. It does open up nicely with a bit of water, bringing more vanilla cream and fruit on the palate.

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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Springbank 19 yr Single Cask

/ / Campbeltown, Review, Scottish Whisky / ,

Springbank 19 yr Single Cask
Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky

57% ABV
$250-$300
Website
Springbank 19 yr Single Cask Single Malt Whisky

What the Bottle Says

Distilled: May 1997
Bottled: October 2016
Cask Type: Re-Charred Sherry
No. of Bottles: 438
An exclusive bottling for Pacific Edge Wine & Spirits

What Gary Says

Nose:  Rich and intense, dark fruit, stewed plums, raisins, hint of pineapple, cloves, nutmeg, earthy funk, pencil eraser and sea air.
Palate:  Thick and chewy, dark fruits, black currants, raisins, dates, cloves, nutmeg, earthy/salty note and pepper spice.
Finish:  Moderately long, peppery with sea air and fruit.
Comments:  Classic Springbank. Intense flavor with a magnificent balance of sweet, savory and earthy – just spectacular (if you like that sorta thing). Water brightens the dram up with the fruit taking more of a citrus slant and still maintaining the lovely mouthfeel. It feels pricey to me, except that seems to apply to damn near everything 18 or more years old these days – so accepting the fact I’m likely just becoming a cheap curmudgeon. I just can’t imagine buying this, and being disappointed after the fact.

Rating: Must Try/Must Buy

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Cognac Hommage a Yves & Jean-Noel Pelletan

/ / Other Spirits, Review / ,

Cognac Hommage a Yves & Jean-Noel Pelletan
A PM Spirits Project | Single Cask | No Additives | Cask Strength

43.8% ABV
$400
Website
Cognac Hommage a Yves & Jean-Noel Pelletan

What the Producer Says

We think this is the best Cognac we have ever worked with. We know, we know – of course we think it’s good, it’s our product. But we’re serious…this Cognac is the epitome of everything PM Spirits is about.

Comprised of eaux de vie from one single cask plus a few assorted demijohns acquired by Nicolas over the years, these are the remains of the original plan for PM Spirits – an independent bottler of rare Cognacs. It was a romantic idea full of travels between France and the US, sourcing incredible Cognac, and bottling small lots by hand. It wasn’t practical, however, and PM Spirits eventually evolved into what it is today.

Yves Pelletan started to work full time as a cooper at age 14, learned the ropes of this demanding job and perfected his skills until he felt he was ready to open his own shop in the heart of Grande Champagne in 1973. His son, Jean-Noel, joined the family business in 2002. The work of this father and son team quickly became extremely sought-after in the Cognac region and beyond as they took the art of cooperage to the next level, prioritizing extreme quality over quantity.

We have bottled this as an homage to Yves and Jean-Noel Pelletan, two of only a handful of people to hold the title of Maitres Artisans Tonneliers, the apex of the cooperage profession. Yves and Jean-Noel have been instrumental to my understanding of Cognac and in making the liquid in this bottle taste as awesome as it does

A blend of Cognacs distilled between 1925 and 1965
Bottled in July 2020 • Cask Strength • 43.8% ABV
870 Bottles • No Additives • No Filtration

What Gary Says

DISCLAIMER: I’m a whisk(e)y enthusiast, and not as familiar with Cognac (so read at your own risk!)
Nose:  Grapes, fruitcake, vanilla, leather, allspice, dark fruit, Christmas spices and a bit of molasses.
Palate:  Creamy mouthfeel, sharpens a tad with fruit salad, tart tangerines, raisins, cherries, pepper spice and cinnamon.
Finish:  Long, drying with slightly bitter fruit notes.
Comments:  I tasted this amongst a lineup of various brandies and cognacs, and this was by far my favorite. In fact when I first tried it (and didn’t know any of the details about this marvelous spirit), I thought this might replace Paulet XO as my ‘go to’ – but that won’t be the case. I’m sure that I haven’t appreciated this as much as a true Cognac aficionado would have. It does share some similarities with really old whisk(e)y, notes of leather on the nose, and that creamy mouthfeel. A really lovely dram!

Rating: Stands Out/Must Try

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