October 2011 Archives

Matchmaking has long been a skill that mankind has sought to perfect. But pairing a tasting of a Scotch whisky with a cult following with arguably Toronto's most venerated steakhouse may just be the pinnacle of such quests to occur in Toronto this year. 

Today's review is of the Glendower 15 Year Old Pure Malt, one of a number of new blended malt whiskies that have been appearing at the LCBO in recent months. While interesting that it has been labelled as a "Pure Malt" - which according to the Scotch Whisky Association is not an official designation, it nonetheless signifies that this expression has had no grain alcohol added - only single malts have contributed to the final product. The bottle states that this whisky finished its ageing process in port pipes (oak barrels previously used to hold port wine).  The whisky is a dark amber colour, and we have our suspicions that caramel colouring may have been added.

A recent addition to the shelves of the LCBO, the Deerstalker features a traditional-looking package with an image of a gentlemen whom we agreed must have killed many a deer.  The spirit comes from a Speyside distillery called Balmenach originally established in 1824.  The description doesn't do it any favours with the rhetoric noting "firm character", "high nobility" and "generosity".  So here's an actual flavour profile to sink your palate into.

Glenfiddich's 15 Year Old Single Malt has long been a staple on the LCBO's Scotch whisky shelves. While considered something of a "run of the mill" dram, it nonetheless exemplifies what a quality scotch at a reasonable price point should be. Glenfiddich, which is gaelic for "Valley of the Deer", is owned by William Grant & Sons. One of the largest Scottish-owned distillery corporations in Scotland, they also produce The Balvenie, Grant's Blended Whisky and Gibson's Finest Canadian Whisky, among others. Glenfiddich's primary line consists of the 12, 15, 18, and 21 year old expressions. The 15 year old that we are reviewing today is matured in what Glenfiddich calls a Solera vat; a large, Oregon pine tun, which is kept at least half full at all times. In this vat, a combination of whiskies matured in sherry, bourbon & new oak casks are married to produce a consistent and quite pleasing nose and flavour profile.

In this author's opinion, no distillery is doing more with wine cask finishing these days than The Arran Malt. In perhaps their most successful wine finish yet, the Amarone Cask Finish takes standard Arran whisky and ages it in casks that previously held Amarone della Valpolicella, a dry Italian red wine. While this whisky is not age-stated, it nonetheless demonstrates how wonderful a properly balanced Scotch can be. Some purists may balk at the strong wine-based flavour profile, however in our opinion this demonstrates how well scotch whisky and wine can play off each other, when properly executed.