Lassie's top 12 countdown for 2016, TOP 3 - Must have bottles!

I've often heard many whisky enthusiasts say: "I'm not allowed to buy anymore whisky until I get rid of a few bottles" or "My wife says I'm not allowed to build a bigger storage area". I have to say that having a partner who is just as passionate as I am leads us completely down the other path. I look at Graham and say: "There's no more room in my bookshelf". He scratches his head and builds me shelves. He looks at me while we are on vacation and says: "Do we want this bottle", and I don't even look over. "You want it, get it".  You can see the dilemma right? There is... NO VOICE OF REASON! 

Now mind you we do try to have limits (try...) so our spending habits have changed slightly in the last few years. We are more selective with our whisky purchases and have many less bottles open then we did 5 years ago. Looking back at 2016 and what we bought, I was quite satisfied with our choices and only had one small disappointment overall. Not bad, I say...  

As mentioned in a previous post when tasting the whiskies in the advent calendar, I knew I was going to be in trouble and promised myself I would limit my purchases to 3. Many of whiskies in the Secret Spirits calendar were pretty stellar but I managed to narrow it down to the ones I really wanted a full bottle of. Wemyss Marmalade Appeal, Glenrothes 27 year old. 

Number 3 on my top 12 of 2016 easily slides into this position for two reasons:

1. These bottles are rarely available in Canada and I usually have to wait until a trip to Scotland or the kindness of #whiskyfabric to get these, so I'm super excited to have this one in our collection.

2. This whisky was truly a stellar dram and next to Velvet Fig (which I miss very much), this is the best of the Wemyss Malts I've ever tried. 

Serge Valentin (Malt Maniacs) as well as www.whiskyfun.com rates this particular bottling 4 stars. (I highly respect his opinion).

My review was here as part of the advent fun I participated in:

http://whiskylassie.blogspot.ca/2016/12/day-21-wemyss-glenrothes-27-year-old.html


Whiskies that make the "world" stop for a few minutes are a rarity. I come across these every once and awhile and absolutely cherish them. There were very few bottles of this Wemyss (688 I believe)... and I consider myself extremely lucky to be getting one. 

To Emma, Karen, Jacqueline, Ginny, and the rest of the team that works extremely hard at Wemyss Malts: Keep up the good work. Every whisky enthusiast should be so lucky to own a few good bottles from this independent company. 

Cheers!

Lassie

Lassie's top 12 countdown for 2016 - Moving along to number 6!

When I was asked to be the guest writer for the Secret Spirits Advent Calendar this year, I was quite excited. I wasn't necessarily worried but hoped "life" wouldn't get too much in the way and that I'd be able to write, review and post every day for 25 days. Other than one small technical glitch, I was successful. 

I did a bit of research and looked at the previous years for this particular advent calendar. My initial thought was: "Wow, if it's half as good as year 1 or 2, man I'm in for a treat". Sure enough, the whiskies did not disappoint. My only dilemma - > WHAT whiskies do I want to try and buy!? I have no self control when it comes to these things sometimes. ;)

So, I narrowed it down to 3...

Whisky #6 on my countdown is quite a memorable one indeed for a few reasons. A) It was really a great dram, B) It's one of those rare whiskies that many people have yet to try and C) I had the chance to visit the distillery last spring (it's not usually open to the public). Maybe it's just me, but once I've visited a distillery it makes the whisky all the more special, in most cases (except for Penderyn, hehe but that's a whole other story). 

What's interesting with regards to this distillery visit was that I had the opportunity to walk around with Ian Logan (International Brand Ambassador Chivas Brothers/Pernod Ricard) which, that in itself was a huge honour as there are not many of these great experienced ambassadors left in the industry. He and I had a really great conversation about the fact that things are changing so quickly in the industry right now. The people coming in are team leaders or process managers. They get shifted around to many different distilleries so that they can learn all aspects of the companies, etc...  Not to say this is a bad thing by any mean because it does make for a more rounded distillery manager down the line. The people that are retiring right now have a wealth of knowledge and stories that will soon be lost. It made me consider writing a book of some sort, but I haven't quite put my finger on what exactly I want to write about. I'll take 2017 to ponder that a bit and come up with a few ideas for sure!

So back to the whisky you ask.. what is number 6?!

It was the Samaroli Allt a Bhainne 8 year old:

http://whiskylassie.blogspot.ca/2016/12/day-7-luckiest-of-days-so-far.html


I very much look forward to getting a bottle of this whisky and sharing it with as many friends as possible. It's a fantastic whisky.

Thanks to Jonathan for introducing to Samaroli's and an even bigger thanks to Ian for being a wealth of knowledge and making that day in Speyside a very memorable one indeed.  Cheers gentlemen!

Lassie

Lassie's Top 12 countdown for 2016 - Benromach 35 rounds out spot #10

Benromach has quickly made a name for itself. Their whiskies have developed a reputation as well as huge following in the very short time they have been on the market. I've had several of their different bottlings and always have at least 3 of them as staples in our collection: Benromach 10, 15 and Peat Smoke. 

As part of my trip to Scotland in 2016, I went to the Spirit of Speyside Festival. If you've never been: A) What are you waiting for? B) It's a MUST do for any whisky enthusiasts bucket list. Seriously! Take a look at their website: www.spiritofspeyside.com if you don't believe me.

One of the highlights of the festival for me this year was attending an evening at Benromach on April 29th. It was an intimate evening with some of the stillmen that laid some of the last casks in the 80's such as Willie McArthur and Tom Anderson, as well as the current distillery manager Keith Cruickshank and a few other very distinguished guests. We listened to stories of old as well as new and then went for a walk through the distillery. 

I watched Willie and Tom as they walked through, pointing out where certain areas had changed drastically. The distillery seem to come alive as Tom told us about the days when they were all younger men working there. 

Tom, me and Willie after the grand tour - honoured

Tom continued to regal us with touching stories of their camaraderie and friendships through the entire tour. They were truly like a band of brothers. At the end of the grand tour we went down to the filing station area and the gentlemen were each presented with a bottle of the Benromach 35 year old. A bottle was opened, drams were poured and we all toasted the stillmen of yesteryear. The evening was quite special indeed.

Now I reviewed this dram back in February of 2016. The dram is a very special one indeed. My review is here in the event you want the official nosing/tasting notes.  

http://whiskylassie.blogspot.ca/2016/04/benromach-35-delivers-more-than-just.html

I will forever remember the dram, the opportunity to meet Willie and Tom and the many sensory experiences and memories that are all linked together as a result. Benromach 35 easily makes the top 10 of this Lassie's 2016 list of most memorable drams.

Here's to the people we love and the drams that are truly special.


Lassie

Lassie's top 12 countdown of 2016 - The anchor, #12 LET'S START BIG!

Years ago I started keeping track of how many different whiskies I tried over the course of a year. From January 1 - December 31st, I take a photo of every single new whisky discovery. In 2015, I broke my all time record and had tried over 400 new drams. I will wait to reveal how many the Lassie had this year ;)

In the meantime, let's revisit the top 12 drams for me this year. Each of course has a story, a reason, a season or a rhyme. Or... something like that!? The point of the matter is, each one has a special place in my heart for a variety of reasons. You ready?  HERE.....  WE......  GOOOOOOOOOO! It's only befitting that we go all the way back to January 1 2016 for dram #12. Our friends Krista & Ross Galbraith invited us to their annual New Years Day event - Outing at Tin Can Beach. Now for those of you are not from anywhere near Saint John New Brunswick, Tin Can Beach is a little gem in the south end of the city that overlooks the mouth of our harbour and the bay of Fundy. 

Tin can beach crew of 2016

There we were: Krista & Ross, Susan & Michael, Robin & Michael, Lori & Steve, me and Graham. It's a cold but sunny day and we've all brought whiskies to share. I made sure to pack one small but very important dram because someone gave it to me with the caveat that it would be opened and shared before my 50th birthday. I kept my promise and shared with this lovely group of friends, of which a few had already joined the 50's club, and some who still had not.  :)

The great part of that day was simply welcoming 2016 as best we knew how: Among friends, in the great outdoor, admiring the beauty of our own city and toasting what was yet to come. Thank you to Davin de Kergommeaux for the dram in question:


Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 50 year old, distilled in 1948, bottled in 1998. 40% ABV. 

The dram was poured in two Glencairns and they were passed around so that everyone could get a taste. Did I take notes -> Nope. Do I remember what it tasted like -> Mostly. I know I enjoyed it. The reality is that I enjoyed the moment and the fact that we all got to try it. After we were done dramming and spending time on the beach that lovely first day of 2016, we were all invited back to Krista & Ross' for a great spread of food. 

I realized a few things that day. One: Surround yourself with good people. Two: Share your whiskies with those who will appreciate it as much as you do. and Three: The importance of traditions. It was a memorable day and the perfect way to start 2016.

Thank you to Davin, the Galbraith's and everyone else who made that day possible. 

Cheers,

Lassie