Shelter Point Single Malt – WeeRock Exclusive
This Shelter Point french oak Pinot Noir Finished Single Malt was bottled exclusively for the @weerockwhisky club at 57.5%ABV.
Here’s my take…
Colour: Rich Amber
Nose: A Crisp Autumn morning, all spice, honey, vanilla, orange, Sea salt and dark chocolate.
Palate: More Autumn spices and dried Orange peel, Charred marshmallow, caramelized sugar and burnt fruit leftover in the pie dish.
Finish: Long, lingering orange and dark chocolate, crème brûlée, bubble gum when the flavour is almost all gone.
Mouth Feel: Thick and creamy, mouth coating.
Paired with some festive sugar cookies straight from the oven!
Rating 8.9/10
Shelter Point Smoke Point
Shelter Point Smoke Point is their “whisper of Islay” because it is finished in ex-Laphroaig barrels and that sunshine and sea air go into every bottle!
Bottled at 55% ABV.
Nose: Band-Aids and medicinal, salted toffee, hint of black licorice, wet cedar smoke.
Palate: Smooth, more medicinal, soft smoke from a salty beach fire.
Finish: Medium, from sweet to salt and then to distant smoke.
Rating: 9.0/10
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 4.242 Coastal Landscape with Smoke
SMWS 4.242 Coastal Landscape with Smoke, Highland Park 13-year-old is a single cask whisky which produced 262 bottles. This cask was bottled at a cask strength of 58% ABV and was distilled on January 17th, 2005 and put into an ex-bourbon refill hogshead. Here’s my take!
Nose: Vanilla, heathery peat smoke, smoldering sandalwood.
Palate: More floral peat smoke, ash, toasted marshmallows, burnt toffee, coffee and dark smoky chocolate.
Finish: Long and lingering smoke, burnt caramel, burnt match heads. Dries on the finish causing the mouth to water and crave another sip!
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 66.155 Big on Bacon
SMWS 66.155 Big on Bacon is cask strength, single cask, 8-year-old malt from Ardmore Distillery and as the name suggests… It’s Big on Bacon!
Bottled at 59.7% ABV.
Nose: Cured back bacon, Charred driftwood and smoldering seaweed.
Palate: More cured meat and smoldering driftwood beach fire with a salty fishnet.
Finish: A long exhale of a weathered fisherman’s pipe, more sweet cured bacon.
Rating: 9.5/10
Scotch Malt Whisky Society G15.4 Thermonuclear Banana
G15.4 Thermonuclear Banana is a grain whisky from Loch Lomond Distillery called Rhosdhu. Rather than being made of malted barley like single malt whiskies, this spirit is made with 100% unmalted barley. This grain whisky was a gold medal winner at the Independent Bottlers Challenge in 2018. It was aged for 10 years in a 2nd fill Hogshead and bottled at 58.3%ABV. There were only 239 bottles available and are, most likely, hard to find today.
Nose: Fresh baked Banana Nut Bread and then wave after wave of tropical fruits.
Palate: Creamy mouth feel, A truck load of Bananas and nuts, fruit salad topped with heavy cream and honey.
Finish: Long, more tropical fruit and cookie dough.
Rating: 9.8/10 (And not peated to boot!)
Springbank Longrow Peated Campbeltown Single Malt
Springbank Longrow, this delicious, well balanced whisky is bottled at 46%ABV, non chill filtered and no colour added.
Colour: Light Gold
Nose: Dutch double salted black licorice, crisp orchard fruit, a distant smoke.
Palate: More salted black licorice, pear and banana, and a perfectly roasted marshmallow on a smoldering driftwood beach fire.
Finish: Lingering candied pear with salted caramel drizzle.
Mouth feel: Creamy and light.
With water added
Nose: Smokey brine of an old fish net cast on the fire, light pear and tropical fruit
Palate: Well balanced, sweet, salt, bitter and smoke, Smoked pears with salted caramel.
Finish: Long, light smoke, hints of pears with cream.
What would I pair with this whisky? Hot pear crumble with French vanilla ice cream and toasted brown sugar on top.
A.D Rattray Cask Collection – Staoisha
A.D. Rattray Staoisha (pronounced ‘Steesha’) is a single cask, 6-year-old peated expression from Bunnahabhain Distillery. This spirit forward whisky was bottled at a cask strength of 59.1% ABV from an ex-bourbon hogshead. Only half of the cask was bottled and released for sale, limiting this to only 155 bottles. Here is my take!
Nose: Black Forest ham, smoked mussels, and clams, raging beach fire.
Palate: Grilled pears, seared bacon wrapped scallops, intense burning peat bog.
Finish: Hugely peaty yet impressive balance of smoke, sweet, and salt.
Colour: Light straw…almost clear as new make spirit.