Whisky Forum - A Wonderful Master Class at the LCBO in Burlington, Ontario

Quaich1

Last night I attended a Master Class tasting of single malt scotch at the L.C.B.O. in Burlington, Ontario between Niagara and Toronto. It was my very first one at an actual L.C.B.O. outlet and it was fantastic. The presenter has Scottish roots and was worth his weight in gold in terms of product knowledge, tasting insight and experience.

We tasted 6 drams in the following order with palate cleansing between each one:

Glenlivet Archive 21 years

Glencadam 12 years Portwood

Glen Grant 16 years

Highland Park 18 years

Isle of Jura 21 years, 200th Anniversary

Mortlach 1990 Sugar & Spice, 21 years by Wemyss

This was my first experience with the Jura 21 and I have to tell you in spite of some reviews that were less than stellar about this offering including Jim Murray's, I found it to be both excellent and one that I will not soon forget.

The 21 year Mortlach was a complex dram but as it was the last one poured I think my
taste buds were on overload. There's no doubt it is a memorable dram. The Glencadam 12 year Portwood was also a pleasant surprise, the nose quite pleasing with magnetizing aromas bringing one back for more. There is another tasting there in January to coincide with Robert Burns festivities and I really hope to make it.

Just a wonderful evening! I even managed to have some great Japanese food at a restaurant before the master class where the chef cooks right in front of you. There were knives flying and flames roaring around the food which made the day even more enjoyable. Can't wait to go back to Burlington.

Very Happy

_________________
"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

Frankie · Master Of Malts Joined: 14 Nov 2006 Posts: 345

That was a great selection of drams. I disagreed with Jim Murray abot the Jura 21, in fact i disagree with him about many whiskies, having said that his book is a great resource.

albo · Master Of Malts Joined: 22 Mar 2011 Posts: 1888

Just read your post and wondered how you got on with the HP18 this time, I remember the bottle you had yourself you said was over salty for your tastes, how did you find this one? Curious if it was a bad batch or something you could detect in the whisky.

I had a sample of the 18 the other night and loved it, lovely mouth coating oily buttery feel to it.

Also teh Glenlivet 21 is a lovely drop, if you have or ever get chance to the 25 is a class apart though.

Quaich1 · Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:27 pm Post subject:

Gregor · Master Of Malts Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 798

The Glenlivet Archive 21 was a regular drink of mine but not so much in the past year as the price of it has shot up in the UK in the past year (now around Â£100 but a year ago you could get it for around Â£60), stil a great dram though.

Genuine Risk · Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 10:08 am Post subject:

William · Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:09 pm Post subject:

James T · Master Of Malts Joined: 05 Feb 2011 Posts: 2968

It is annoying that Waitrose treat most of the whisky they sell online like wine, making you fill a case of 12 bottles before you can order. Pity they dont have shops in Scotland.

bifter · Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 2:36 pm Post subject:

Acker · Triple Malt Member Joined: 10 Aug 2009 Posts: 212

I am lucky as Mrs Acker enjoys the odd glass of wine so i have placed orders in the past for a cuple of bottles of whisky and 10 bottles of wine. They often do good deals on the Aberlour a'bunadh but they dont state online which batch they are selling but i havent had a bad batch yet.