Creative Whisky Co. Islay Whisky 2008
$104.39
Compass Box This is Not a Luxury Whisky
$215.99
This hotly anticipated new limited edition release from Compass Box is not expected to last long. Reviews have been good, this boutique blend scored 92pts in Whisky Advocate and 90pts from Serge at whiskyfun.org. Less than 200 bottles for Alberta!
Bottled at 53.1%, 4,992 bottles of this boutique blend were released world-wide.
Composition: 79% First Fill Sherry Glen Ord / 10.1% Refil Ex-Bourbon Strathclyde / 6.9% Refill Ex-Bourbon Girvan / 4.0% Refill Ex-Bourbon Caol Ila –
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: very fruity anf creamy with rich butterscotch, dates dripping in honey and elegant new leather; there is a touch of spice box, a wood fire, dusty old books and loose leaf tobacco; some white chocolate and a touch of decandent silky grains.
Palate: still elegant, the palate is smooth, creamy and very elegant; more leather, tobacco and light but layered spices; again lots of fruit, mango, pineapple and appricots with more dates in honey; liquorice and smoke with a tad of salted caramel.
Finish: long, fruity and rich with layers of spice and sublty earthy sherry tones.
Comment: this is another stunner from John and his team at Compass Box, they implore you not to collect it, but how can you not if you want to be able to enjoy this brilliant one off in the years to come.
Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Complex, rich, lightly smoky and opulent. Sultanas, sweet sherry and concentrated floral notes combine with deep demerara sweetness, cacao and lighter creamy coconut character. An inviting nose, fat and full-bodied on the palate with a long, lingering sweetsmoke finish.”
From the Producer: "This is not a luxury whisky. Or is it? The inspiration for this limited release is René Magritte’s 1929 work “Ceci n’est pas une pipe”, a Surrealist painting which challenges peoples’ perceptions of reality.
"The reality is, these days we hear more and more commentators talking about ‘luxury’ whiskies, which are presumably whiskies that are either rare or expensive, or, possibly, both.
On one level, similar to the role Magritte’s painting played in the art world, this release is about getting people to consider for themselves what a ‘luxury’ whisky is.
"On another level, a level we consider much more important, this limitedrelease is about the liquid. This is about the whisky in the bottle, which we have painstakingly sourced and blended, and the engagement and enjoyment and pleasure this whisky will bring when shared with others.
"This latter point is what we believe a ‘luxury’ whisky is. And at CompassBox, this is what we believe whisky, generally speaking, is all about."
Cutty Sark Prohibition
$36.99
Putting the word "prohibition" on a whisky label seems to be all the rage in Bourbon these days, and it seems like this Blended Scotch from Cutty Sark is trying to grab onto those coattails. Or perhaps not, as it was originally released in 2013 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the US repeal. Furthering the prohibition connection is the fact that the Cutty Sark brand was smuggled into America during the 1920s by Captain William ("the real") McCoy. This blend is bottled at 50% and the price is quite fair for that.
Loch Lomond Signature
$41.99
Teeling Revival 15 Year
$141.29
This 15 year old limited edition Irish single malt was distilled in 1999, matured in Ex-Rum casks and bottled at 46%. Only 100 bottles are coming to Alberta, no word on the rest of Canada, and we'll be getting our paws on just 24 of them! The whisky has been released to mark the opening of the Teeling Distillery in Dublin, the first new distillery in the city in 125 years, and the only one currently operating. It was a huge hit at our Irish Whiskey tasting last week. We've already sold 16 of the 24 bottles we'll be getting!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: soft floral notes, light caramel chews, clotted cream on warm scones and citrus zest: lemon, lime and orange; a gentle maltiness with white fruits and the promise of spices.
Palate: creamy, sweet and still floral with lots of citrus; lovely sugars, more clotted cream on warm scones and floral notes with silky buttery oak; gentle spices at first too subtle for the nose build on the palate becoming darker and more prominent with Demerara sugars; the white fruits are still there with a bit of cooked pineapple and mango.
Finish: medium long, creamy and smooth with fading spices, oak and fruits.
Comment: dangerously drinkable spring dram, both refreshing but with the ability to warm you up a smidge if the day starts off with a chill!
Super Nikka The Revival
$71.99
This is a limited edition recreation of a special blend released by Nikka in 1962. A tribute to the original it is composed of grain whisky and malt from Yoichi distllery with a balanced peat character.
Nose: concentrated, rich. Begins with herbaceous (cut hay, straw) and lemony notes that mingle with liquorice and spices (ginger, cinnamon). It evolves with notes of cappuccino. Once aerated, aromatic plants (vervain, lime blossom) accentuate its earthy, vegetal character. Its almost perfect balance is an olfactory delight.
Palate: ample and round. The attack has two sides to it. One very smooth and honeyed (acacia, raspberry honey), and the other very long, almost ethereal, which focuses on heady florals (peppered rose, peony). Little by little, it becomes vanilla-flavoured and milky (coconut). Star anise, as well as a slight note of camphor invigorates the back palate.
Overall: long, slightly tannic. Delicately woody (oak), it develops clear notes of grain. Green malt ripples in the breeze. Full of light, it conjures up a lush, bucolic landscape on a sunny day. The retro-olfaction has notes of noble spices (saffron, ginger) and the empty glass is floral (heather, iris)
Pike Creek Double Barreled
$37.79
Compass Box Enlightenment
$80.99
Strictly Limited to 2 Per Customer!
This new limited edition release is stunning, and will available in Alberta in only very limited quantities. At $100 it is a steal, and that is not even getting into its fabulous raison d'etre, essentially Compass Box is poking a sharp pointed stick in the eye of the Scotch Whisky Industry's governing body and EU Law. The whisky has been released as part of their Campaign for Scotch Whisky Transparency which we support, and in their own words a whisky: "with which to ponder the world of Scotch not only as it is but also as it could be."
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: silky, loads of vanilla, soft floral tones, juicy malt and loads of citrus fruits: lemon and lime; almond brittle, Dulce Leche and apple crumble.
Palate: big, toasty, creamy, floral and subtly spicy; more juicy malt, silky vanillans, creamed honey, dulce leche and baked apples; poached pear, green vegetal tones and more citrus tones.
Finish: still creamy, subtly toasty, floral and vegetal with delicate spices.
Comment: this is a beautiful and delicate malt, and at under $90 it is a steal; the only shame is that less than 300 bottles
Producer Tasting Note: "Fresh, vibrant and uplifting with a mouthfeel that is moreish and mouth-watering. On the nose you will find bright apple and pear, vanilla cream and light violet; on the palate soft spice, gentle citric notes."
From the Producer: "Since launching the Compass Box Whisky Co., I have always been a firm believer in the spirit of enlightenment – that the more information we can share with our customers about the Scotch whisky we produce, the better. Alas, it transpires such beliefs fall foul of current EU and UK regulations, which prevent us from sharing information about the age of every component whisky used in the creation of our blends."
"This whisky, Enlightenment, is our response to these regulations. Inspired by the writers, philosophers and scientists of the Age of Enlightenment it sets out to encourage the industry to consider the absurdity of a system that prevents producers from telling consumers exactly what has gone into the whiskies they are drinking.
"And of course the whisky itself is something rather special. A blend of fruity, fragrant Highland Single Malt Scotch Whiskies, it is bursting with aromas of fresh orchard fruit, flavours of vanilla, soft spice and pear and an alluring apple peel waxiness on the finish. An uplifting, enlightening whisky with which to ponder the world of Scotch not only as it is but also as it could be."
Compass Box The Circus
$292.49
Strictly limited to 1 per customer!
Demand for this very limited edition blend is expected to be high, coming on the heels of the General and This is Not a Luxury Whisky. The quantity coming to Alberta is expected to be small. It is composed primarily of two mysterious older whiskies, blended while young and married together for more than 2/3 of their lives in refill sherry butts. Even Compass Box doesn't know what all of the components are, but they are clearly excellent. There is also a moderate component of old blended grain whisky.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: jammy, nutty, fruity and layered; lush old grains, smooth old leather and dark chocolate with cayenne spice; salted caramel and a touch of dried fruit bars with baklava.
Palate: big, leathery, fruity and spicy with dried fruits (cherries, cranberry and raisins); dark chocolate with cayenne spice, silky honeyed grain notes and more jammy notes: strawberry-rhubarb; old leather, delicate tobacco and musty old oak.
Finish: big, long and elegant; more leather, dark chocolate, spices and dried fruits with a silky honeyed base.
Comment: this is a beautiful older blend, the silky grains shine through as do the bolder rich sherry notes; again, sadly available in but pitifully small quantities!
Producer Tasting Note: "A lithe frame and opulent mouthfeel showcasing the supple softness of mature grain and the complexity of aged Blended Scotch Whisky. Brimming with dried fruit character, a luscious maltiness and nuances of almond and hazelnut."
From the Distillery: "I have a longstanding belief that there is a magic to certain combinations of Scotch whisky. Such blends – like the very best of circuses – have the capacity to take us outside of ourselves for just a moment, to elevate the senses beyond the everyday and – following the sentiment of Charlie Chaplin’s immortal clown – to raise our eyes upwards to consider horizons new."
"Such is the case with this whisky, for which we were lucky enough to uncover that rarest of finds – old parcels of Blended Scotch and Blended Grain whisky that had been aged pre-blended in cask for many years. In such parcels, what you get are whisky blends so seamless, so complex that they function for us as single components.
"We know little of the component distillery whiskies used in these blends for The Circus, only that they contain both single malt and single grain whiskies and that the ‘marrying casks’ are sherry butts. However, the provenance of the components isn’t important to us now, as what we have are old casks containing whiskies that are extraordinary."
