Another rare find from the Glenmorangie is the Astar (gaelic
for "journey") which is currently not available at the LCBO, but was brought to
me from the UK. The Astar is aged in specially selected and dried young white oak
from Tennessee, without finishing in any other type of barrel. It is non-chill
filtered and bottled at an impressive 57.1 percent abv.
Nose: Smoky and spicy, cinnamon, fennel and hints of fresh
apple, strawberry, and vanilla cream.
Palate: Spicy, floral and smoky, with notes of raisin, bitter
chocolate and espresso.
Finish: Quite hot with bold oak and a long sustained finish.
Adding water is advisable to open up such a potent malt, and
this produces a sweeter nose of chocolate, vanilla and orange peel. The palate
with water is more oaky, floral and creamy.
Overall: This is another impressively complex malt from a distillery
that continues to produce unique variations on its distinctive flavour profile
of smoke, floral, vanilla and gentle fruitiness. For those who already appreciate
some of these malts (such as the Signet, Quinta Ruban, or Nectar d'or), the
Astar is very much the bright, bold, "cask strength" cousin and worth snapping
up if you are shopping abroad.
Bruichladdich has recently released the Second Edition of their 12 Year Old Islay Single Malt. Bottled at 46% ABV and without any colouring or chill-filtering, Master Distiller Jim McEwan has succeeded at producing a traditional, gracefully balanced as well as lightly peated Islay whisky. This expression has been fully aged in quality ex-bourbon casks, hand selected by Mr. McEwan.
Scotchblog was recently lucky enough to again have an opportunity to get together with Global Brand Ambassador Ian Millar. Ian was in Toronto showcasing the new and extremely limited Glenfiddich Rare Collection 1974 edition. The entire run of Glenfiddich 1974 consists of only four individual casks, specially selected by Ian and 13 of Glenfiddich's brand ambassadors.
The Armorik Single Malt is a French whisky produced by the Warenghem Distillery in the Breton region of France. Armorik has no age statement and is matured in ex-bourbon casks. As one of only three French whisky distilleries in operation, we were understandably curious as to how a French single malt would stand up to its Scottish cousins. 
Glen Grant distillery's own products aren't bought by the LCBO, so many thanks to Gordon & MacPhail for bringing this sherry cask matured expression to our market. 
The 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask is The Balvenie's most recent addition to their core product line. Here at ScotchBlog, we can only say that this is simply a work of art. Aged for 14 years then further matured in casks that previously held Caribbean Rum, master blender David Stewart has outdone himself with this incredibly complex, incredibly unique Scotch whisky.
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