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Silky Sultry Stouts

Posted on March 16, 2018

I’d say it’s officially a tradition that the first beer tasting of the year is the stouts. The style holds a special place in my heart, even though I tend to drink more IPA. This tasting always sells out, and I’m always able to show off some of the best beers in the province. You’ll notice, of course, that there are a few porters in amongst the lineup. You’ll forgive that I’m sure as there is just too much crossover stylistically that I couldn’t really help it. Plus it gives me more to talk about!
As usual, Peasant Cheese whipped up some cheese boards, and I packed that tiny room with thirsty friends, and poured my best! Check them out.

Railyard Nitro Stout: First on the list was a newcomer from Calgary. Railyard brewing brings us one of the first Calgary made canned nitro stouts. Silky and creamy with a lovely body and a hint of sweetness, not too roasty, but just roasty enough! ($17.39 for a 4-pack of tall cans)

Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout: In my humble opinion, one of the tastiest stouts on the market. Silky and creamy with that wonderful lactose sweetness integrated to perfection. Chocolate, toasted bread and a hint of licorice on the nose, and even more on the palate. ($4.09 for a 330mL bottle)

Pohjala Jouluoo: Jouluoo is a big but not-too-beefy imperial porter aged in French oak on cacao nibs and vanilla beans (you had me at French oak). Silky chocolate and vanilla on a medium-sweet base with just enough alcohol to have the flavours linger into a long finish. ($5.89 for a 330mL bottle)

Les Trois Mousquetaires Barreled Porter: This barreled version of their iconic imperial baltic porter is on another level. Big chocolate with generous sweet malts, but packed with a boozy character of bourbon and cognac.($21.79 for a 750mL bottle)

The Bruery Share This OC: Citrus is not a common addition to a stout, but when executed correctly can add a lovely bright and sweet tone that matched wonderfully. The Bruery does this quite well with this big stout, alongside cacao and vanilla, the orange peel adds a subtle round fruity tone that elevates the whole profile. ($18.59 for a 750mL bottle)

Deschutes Black Butte 29th Anniversary: The 29th edition of the Black Butte reserve series was assembled with cacao, cinnamon and cayenne. Its robust body is tempered with soft spice that compliments the chocolate perfectly. Hints of barrel give that round oak tone that finishes somewhat dry. (Currently unavailable, stay tuned for the 30th edition!)

5050 Eclipse Elija Craig barrel edition (2015): My lucky friends got to end off the evening with this 2-year old barrel aged stout with honey. The Elija Craig barrel is consistently one of their best. Big boozy bourbon, hints of residual honey, burnt bread, and bitter cacao. The 2 years rounded everything out perfectly. ($29.99 for a 650mL bottle)

As h...

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Classic Malts

Posted on March 13, 2018

By Hunter

What is it to be a classic? If we are talking Single Malt Scotch Whisky, there is only one way gain the (dubious?) distinction: by being named on the back of a Diageo product. Who else should be the authority when it comes to determining the classic interpretations of whisky but a massive corporation with definitely no interests in showing bias towards their own bottles?

When I arrange my classic malts tastings I do my best not to be swayed by these definitive releases and other clunky definitions of classic malts, for representation of the vast lands of Scotland is no trifle. If one is to imagine for a moment what it is that defines a whisky, which the reader no doubt has knowledge of but I will divest for pedantry, their thoughts should not land upon an idea of a regionally based depiction of distillate. In what ways does the land itself inflict flavour upon the spirit? The answer, in the most subtle of brush strokes, the delicate nuance, the pretty highlights. True character though, that is derived from the distiller, the artisan, the one who crafts. These wrights of spirit are the basis of character, their apparatuses the tools which lay down the foundation of the hot liquor that flows forth. If this is true, how could the land be given credit for the wonders of these craftsmen? It would be an insult to devalue their work so.

With this in mind, how can we define the classics in such crude terms of region when each and every distiller endows their spirit with their own spirit, their own personality, its own life? It is a far cry from adequate to label distilleries such as Dalwhinnie as ambassadors for the entirety of the Highlands, an area so rich in diversity that the Dalwhinnie quails in contrast to its more muscular Highland brethren. I will stop my accosting here so as to withhold a shock to the audience, I know some are more faint-hearted than myself. What I will say though is that we must be brave in pursuing this idea of a classic malt, define our own path of what best represents the Highlands, the Speyside, the Islands, etc. for every one of ourselves. Take heart though, it is not an arduous task to undertake. The tasting of seven fine spirits is what we did this fine night labelled as the "Classic Malts of Scotland," here is what we tried.


Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 2008
One of our Speyside entries, a wonderful sherry cask full of rich chewiness. I've become a fan of Glen Grant in the last while, originally feeling it an uninspired spirit, now approaching it as one with potential for unique surprises. Specifically, a wonderful autumnal character of leafy, October-esque vegetation falling into winter. I imagine it as the first reassuring smell of that time of year where one knows it is autumn. This character that is oft present in Glen Grant is paired with a turkish delight, soft golden molasses, sultana raisin personality. It is full of life,...

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Sweet Treats

Posted on March 12, 2018

By Abigail
Sweet wine is something to cherish. It is a whole world filled with all sorts of treats, ranging from sweeter table wines to those lusciously sweet dessert wines. It's a beautifully mastered art piece, with acid, intensity and character, and it’s worth diving into.
What exactly is a sweet wine?
Sweet Wine is a wine that has 50g/Litre or more of sugar. This includes a whole bunch of different sweet styles made around the world. Let's break it down to the styles you can include:
Sweeter Table Wines - when the wines are created the same way as all regular wine, minus that fermentation may have been stopped earlier to increase sweetness (such as Moscato d’Asti; they chill the wine to stop fermentation, maintaining the low alcohol and sweetness).

Late Harvest- this is when they leave the grapes on the vines for an extra bit of time, so the grapes ripen to their fullest potential. This produces a juice that is higher in sugar.

Noble Rot (Botrytis Cinerea) - This only occurs in the perfect situation, in locations with consistently damp, foggy mornings, and warm, windy, dry afternoons. This only occurs in a few places around the world. The rot dehydrates the grape and concentrates the juice. This allows the creation of Botrytis-affected wine such as those made in Sauternes and Barsac.

Passito - This is when they harvest the grapes and then leave them to dry out on straw mats for a couple of months. This concentrates the juice, and thus, more sweetness. Recioto Della Valpolicella wines are examples of this style.

Ice Wine - This can only happen naturally in certain places, such as Canada. It is when the grapes are harvested frozen, only pressing the extremely sweet juice.

Fortified Wine -  This is when a distilled spirit is added to the wine to stop fermentation. This includes Port, Sherry, Madeira and Marsala
So now you’re up to scratch, let's talk about the wines in the tasting.

To start off the evening, we poured a sweeter, but highly acidic Riesling from the Mosel Valley in Germany. Riesling is one of the most versatile grapes, where they can produce the dryest to the most lusciously sweet wines. The grape suffers from the perpetuated myth that all Riesling is over-the-top sugary-sweet and because sometimes the idea of a sweeter style table wine is off-putting to some.  I decided to pour the Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Spätlese 2016 because one, it is a downright delicious wine, and two, it shows how acid in a sweeter style Riesling can completely balance the wine out. It was so fresh, like a crisp green apple, with insane minerality, and with notes of blossom. This wine is delicious and was the perfect way to start the tasting. $59.99
The second sip of the evening is a unique style of wine. Coming from Jurancon, in the Pyrenees Foothills, the Clos Thou Cuvee Julie 2015 is a swe...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada Outturn for March 2018

Posted on March 2, 2018

2018 is flying by, as the years' seem to do. Sometimes I only notice this in a negative way - by looking in the mirror and noticing the grey not-so-slowly taking over around my ears, creeping upwards through the rest of my mop and now full-on invading my beard. I supposed I could do something about it but it seems futile at this point. I might as well give in to the inevitable and start the search for the right cane instead - one might be needed soon enough.

On the bright side of time's passage, I also get to witness the milestones that my two-year-old and nearly four-year-old kids' pass on a nearly constant basis. I swear just yesterday they took their first steps and said their first words. Tomorow they will be asking for an allowance. The day after that bringing questionable dates home. Then comes graduation. And so it goes.

One of the other exciting ways to commemorate our collective inevitable and unstoppable march into the future is with Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Canada's monthly Outturns!Sometimes you just need to take some a moment to sit down, relax, and taste your way through seven new drams. It helps keep things in perspective.

March has brought us a very interesting Outturn, featuring a Scotch Malt Whisky Society first: a Blended Malt. More on this Exotic Cargo below but know this is a ground-breaking move for the SMWS: it is the first time they have personally blended casks together and also the first time they have cut the alcohol down with water for any release. This might also be the first ever full-sized clear (non-green) SMWS bottle.

The lineup for March is also exciting for having two malts from the same distillery. This is something rarely seen in SMWS Canada tastings but this time around we started the tasting with an unpeated 10.x and then also capped the night with a peated version from the same Northern Islay distillery. It was an exciting and impressive way to showcase the range in the style that can be had from even one specific source.

Also worth noting is pricing - with only one bottle breaking $200 and four of the bottles coming in at $150 or less.

Tired of my preamble and looking specifics? Read on below! If you are looking for other available bottles from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society you can check out what we have available here. If any SMWS bottles show as being out of stock on our website please contact us - we can possibly still get more!

As always we would like to give a big thank-you to our neighbour's Peasant Cheese for supplying the small bites for the tastings!

Cheers,
Evan



10.121 - ROMANTIC MOMENTS AT SUNSET
From Islay, this 10 year old was matured in a refill barrel and is 62.8%
Flavour profile: Spicy & sweet
Outturn: 199 bottles
Panel's tasting note: "The initial nose was ‘all over ...

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Whisky and Chocolate

Posted on February 28, 2018


On the day before Valentine's Day, we hosted a whisky a chocolate tasting at Kensington Wine Market - the first time we have done this in a few years. I was the person picked to host the tasting.
I am not typically a whisky pairing guy. I can generally help with wine pairing ideas, but when it comes to whisky I have always approached as something to be enjoyed on its own - not as a part of a puzzle to be matched with something else.
This made the tasting exciting to run - it allowed me to focus on whisky in a different way than I usually do and attempt to find out what works and doesn't work when it comes to pairing whisky and chocolate. I did some research and was able to come up with some ideas and a few questions for the group to focus on during the tasting:


Taste the whisky first. See which chocolate you think works best.
Strong flavours in whisky - do they work better with stronger flavours in chocolate?
Does a darker/more bitter chocolate bring out more sweet notes in the whisky?
Does adding water to tone down the whisky change things for the better or is it worse?
Do flavours that compliment or those that contrast the whisky work best?

To keep the focus on the pairing and matching of the chocolate with the whisky I decided to run the whisky portion as a blind tasting in order to let each person decide for themselves what worked and what did not. I wanted the tasting to be a discussion about what worked best with each whisky we tasted.
As a group we went through the lineup in the following manner:


First, take a small sip of the whisky. Roll it around your palate before swallowing.
Next, take a small bite of the chocolate and work it around your palate.
Then take another sip of the same whisky if you wish to.
Keep some of each whisky and chocolate so that you can try the pairings again after the first run through the lineup.

To pair with the whisky these were the chocolate based desserts we sampled.

Market Restaurant Bonbons
Chocolate Colomba
Italian Chocolate Cookies
Crave Double Chocolate Cupcakes
Chocolate Covered Hazelnuts
Double Chocolate Citrus Cookies
Chocolate Covered Candied Bacon

Thank you to Crystal of Peasant Cheese for sourcing putting together the chocolate focused delectables from around Kensington. And especially thanks to Crystal for making the Chocolate Dipped Candied Bacon!



1 - White Oak Akashi Blended Japanese Whisky
(Light and Easy-drinking): $65
We jumped at the opportunity to introduce the Akashi White Oak Blended Japanese whisky to the Alberta market. Bottled at 40% the whisky is composed of single malts from the Eigashima distillery in Akashi City, Hyogo. The whisky was matured in Shochu (American Oak), ex-Bourbon barrels and ex-She...

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