Tag: highland

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The Hearach 1st Release

harris hearach island single malt scotch whisky new highland

What a day! We got our hands on a bottle of The Hearach batch no. 00004!

This is the exciting inaugural bottling from The Isle of Harris Distillery, the first legal distillery on the Isle of Harris. They have been making award-winning gin for several years, but have now released their first Scotch whisky called The Hearach, meaning “native of Harris.” Naming this whisky in honour of the people of the island makes sense given the community-focused, sustainable, hand-crafted approach of the Isle of Harris Distillery. 

We just love these new, independent distilleries that are hand-crafting some great stuff, and after trying the Lochlea not too long ago, it was great to crack open this bottle and have a taste of another new, promising whisky maker. 

So, I have got to give huge props to The Isle of Harris Distillery for making so much information available on their website about our exact bottling. For instance, the batch sheet we downloaded for batch 00004 tells us the bottle run (11,545 bottles), the barley (100% Scottish Concerto), peating level (12.9 PPM), the casks (21% Heaven Hill, 64% Buffalo Trace, 11% Oloroso, 4% Fino), the fermentation, water source, and more. That’s really cool as you get more into whisky to see all those details. 

But, I suppose the proof is in the pudding. What are our tasting notes? On the nose, we got definite apple and pear sweetness with a touch of light florals. There was a hint of peat like a few embers in a fire place late at night. On the palate we found caramel hard candy and more of that ripe pear and apple sauce with a gentle mouth feel. The peat was really pleasant and complimentary making for a well balanced taste. Really smooth for a young Scotch, aged a minimum of five years — which is two years longer than I could have honestly waited if I owned a new Scotch distillery. The finish is easy and sticks around with the soft peat just long enough. Bottled at 46% it opens up nicely with a drop of water. 

Overall, we were really happy with this bottle which came in at about $110 CAD. The value in the whisky itself is there, and this would deserve a spot on anyone’s whisky shelf. It is enhanced by the story of the distillery and curiosity about what future expressions may be released by the community on Harris. 

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Tomatin 12 Year Old

tomatin 12 scotch review

The Tomatin 12 YO is a magically balanced Highland single malt that hits all the right notes for its price point. In fact, given its delicious taste and relative affordability (under $50 Canadian), this is a scotch that is unwaveringly restocked on my shelf.

In short: it’s sweet (Sherry and Bourbon, go figure) and a little spicy, with an apple and pear fruit profile that dominates the floral bits.

It won’t blow you away with complexity, but that is its charm: a warm, easy-to-enjoy, well-balanced dram. Where some scotches may be mansions to explore, this one is a cozy cottage. In other words, if you want a scotch to ponder, this isn’t it.

But if you’re looking for something to enjoy around the campfire (I always have a bottle of this in our trailer!) or at the poker table with friends, this may just be the scotch you’re looking for. You could think of Tomatin 12 as the Scotch family’s middle child that likes to party. To emphasize this point, at 43%, this one even stands up to a few blocks of ice while you’re playing frisbee.

It probably goes without saying, but I highly recommend this scotch over and over again.

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Aberfeldy 12 yr

Aberfeldy 12 Year Old

To start with, just enjoy how sweet the first whiff of this whisky is. Rich honey. Mild spice and I’d say more fruit than flower, though other nostrils find it more floral than fruity. Go figure. Maybe we’ll just call that “balanced.”

The first sip is decidedly floral, but there is that long honey sweetness with bits of caramel. It has a light to medium body so it doesn’t linger too long and if you like your scotch with ice or water, this thins out into a really refreshing summer drink you can take on the boat! Though no flavour is overwhelming in this single malt, there are hints you can pull out, including maltiness, wood, and a little bit of smoke.

The best thing about this Aberfeldy for anyone new to Scotch is that there is no alcohol punch or burn, and it doesn’t taste at all like any wicked medicine. I gotta say, they do a great job finishing this whisky to smooth it out, the angels taking a fair share.

Overall, the Aberfeldy 12 year old is not overly complex, though it has nice body and a range of flavours in its profile that you can enjoy. This is a clean, enjoyable, affordable bottle of single malt. Thanks to the folks at Aberfeldy Distillery!