Balvenie 17 Year Doublewood
While there are whiskies with age statements and whiskies with cask finishes, less often are they seen together. Even rarer are the combination of the two, especially when they feature the same mix found in a younger offering. Like the iconic Balvenie 12 Doublewood, the Balvenie 17 Doublewood is a mix of whiskies aged in ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry casks. So, like the younger offering but with an additional five years of maturity. It is always fun to see a distillery copy most of the particulars of one scotch in their portfolio and then only tweak one factor. Most of the time, other factors are changed like differences in cask finishes, so seeing the age be the variable here allows the studied drinker to make a different kind of comparison.
SnapShot: Whiskyfabric Whirlwind 3
This series of SnapShot posts derives from whisky exchanges with various folks who are part of what is colloquially known as the Whiskyfabric, a term created by Canadian whisky writer Johanne McInnis, otherwise known as the Whisky Lassie, to encompass the online community of whisky writers, creators, reviewers and enthusiasts that exist in the realm of social media. Over the past couple of years, we here at Scotchology have exchanged whiskies via mail with a number of fascinating people across the United States and Canada and finally decided to sit down and taste the bounty in a series of posts based on some loose collective logic. We’ve already done on post focusing on scotch and one on world whiskies. This post focuses on scotches from Islay. Ever wonder what it’d be like to sit down with us in the moment, with all our bias and palate preferences at the ready? Read on to get a close approximation!
Wayne Gretzky No 99 Red
What to do when you’ve finished a legendary hockey career with the moniker The Great One? You could rest on your laurels, but you could also start a winery followed by a distillery. Wayne Gretzky Estates opened in 2017 in southern Ontario and boasts a wide array of offerings from both areas, including some beer. Taking a cue from recent trends, one of the brand offerings is the Wayne Gretzky No 99 Red, a rye whisky finished in casks taken from the estate’s winery – specifically the red one. While the details on which specific red wine casks are not specified, the winery offers Merlot, Shiraz Cabernet, along with multiple mixed reds.