Here is the reviews I’ve done during the Toronto Whisky Society November 6th tasting event. We had some great bottles lined up, the review quality drops as I drink more and more, I am posting them in the order I drank, in between there were bourbon, Irish whiskey, CS Rum, Calvados, Gretzky’s whisky, and local Apple Jack.
2nd pour of the day
I brought this bottle, we figured it will be on the lighter side compared to others we got, so this went after the Gretzky. No one knew what distillery Braeval was, they were originally Bares of Glenlivet, in the heart of Speyside. Was a risky buy by me since I couldn’t find much info on the bottle and the distillery.
Braeval 1995/2013 G&M Connoisseur’s Choice 18 Year Old
Region: Speyside
ABV: 46%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: Refill Sherry Hogshead
Colour: Light Gold
Nose: Poweful fruit bomb! Apricots, citrus, apples, pears, spice, malt, red jolly rancher, floral.
Tons of fruit on the nose, very light sherry influence.
Palate: Stewed fruits, strawberries, chocolate, apple pie, melons, pepper, honey, syrupy, peppery, more spice, and a hint of smoke.
Did I mention fruit bomb? Yep, really delightful, I love a nice fruity whisky, where did the smoke came from??
Finish:Long finish, syrupy, red fruits, spices, oak, slight earthy notes.
Pretty delightful finish, really syrupy, still loaded with fruits, and slightly earthy towards the end.
Score: 78/100
This kind of whisky what I enjoy, loads of fruits without being really sweet, got some good complexity and pretty well balanced overall.
4th pour of the day (Had Adelphi Limerick Slaney Malt 23Y before this)
Benriach 1984/2012 Single Cask #1114 27 Year Old
Region: Speyside
ABV: 46%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: ex-Bourbon Hogshead #1114
Colour: Gold Amber
Nose: Vanilla, caramel, oak, sweet fruit, banana wax, chocolate, malt, honey.
Few strong dominating notes, and banana wax! Don’t exactly know how it smells like, but that’s that!
Palate: Very oaky, malt, cereal, digestive biscuit, chocolate, faint hint of pineapple.
Really dominating bourbon notes again, very oaky, each notes really stand out.
Finish: Long oaky, malty, chocolate, buttery, grass.
Nice long finish, I kept getting malt and chocolate alongside the oak.
Score: 87/100
Not a complex dram, but what surprised me is how deep each flavor is, just lingers in your mouth. Really well done whisky, gave it a higher score despite the lack of complex notes. This is the oldest whisky I’ve had so far to date.
5th pour of the day
Arran 19 Year Old SMWS 121.77 Dunnage warehouse orange boxes
Region: Isle of Arran
ABV: 53.4%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Colour: Light gold
Nose: Light fruity nose, malt, orange, brown sugar, light stone fruits, vanilla, interesting herbal spice, sharp alcohol, bit of cereal.
Palate: Not too complex, dry, malt, sugar sweetness, citrus, oak, pepper.
Finish: Medium finish, malt, more sugar, oak, peppery.
Score: 83/100
My first SMWS experience, surprisingly this isn’t as complex as their younger OB offerings, like the 12CS, and 10Y CS First-fill bourbon LCBO cask. Perhaps the refill cask killed the complexity. I also believe the OB 12CS uses a mix of bourbon and sherry casks to improve complexity as well.
8th pour of the day (Had Cadenhead’s Heaven’s hill 11Y, George T. Stagg 2015 before this)
Glendronach 2002/2012 Single Cask #1598 10 Year Old
Region: Highland
ABV: 54.1%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: PX Sherry Puncheon #1598
Colour: Amber
Nose: Stewed fruits, strawberries, cherries, brown sugar, raspberry jam, orange, chocolate, spice.
Palate: Oranges, strawberry jam, brown sugar, chocolate, oak.
Finish: Long, spicy, raspberry, strawberry, oak.
Score: 85/100
This tasted a lot older than a 10 years old, love a nice sherry bomb, not as complex and in your face as A’bunadh, still really enjoyable.
9th pour of the day
Tamdhu 17 Year Old 1995/2012 Adelphi Cask #1043
Region: Speyside
ABV: 58.8%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: Unknown
Colour: Light gold
Nose: Possibly sherry cask, light red fruits, raspberry, strawberry, vanilla, light oak, malt.
Palate: Strong malt, a bit of off weird notes, pepper, orange, hint of cinnamon.
Finish: medium- long, oak, sherry spice, cereal.
Score: 84/100
Much nicer than their OB 10, not too complex, the higher proof and age definitely helped.
12th pour of the day (Had Applewood Farm winery Apple Jack, Boulard Calvados Pays d’Auge XO before this)
Caol Ila 16 Year Old SMWS 53.234 Smoke without fire
Region: Islay
ABV: 64.1%
E150: No
Chill-filtered: No
Cask Type: Refill ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Colour: Light straw
Nose: Smoked meat, peat, honey, meaty, vanilla, brine, slight sharp ethanol note.
Palate: Powerful peat, ash, dry, oaky, citrus, pepper, more smoked meat, alcohol.
Finish: Long finish, brine, oak, heavy peat, vanilla.
Score: 86/100
Quite like this, well I am 12 pour in, most stuff we had were cask strength, has that Caol Ila ashy peat, not too complex, I prefer the Caol Ila CS over this.