This month's TOTM was actually sampled at the very tail end of October, rather than in November proper. I was at the brand new and highly promising 'Spirit of Toronto' whisky festival, held, as the name would indicate, in downtown Toronto at the spacious and elegant Roy Thompson Hall. As a first-time entity, it didn't attract quite as many companies or whiskies as do more well-established whisky festivals like New York's excellent WhiskyFest (which coincidentally was held only a bit more than a week later), but with an open and airy setting, marvellous speaker seminars and more than enough fine whisky to keep any connoisseur interested, the Spirit would seem to have a very bright future ahead.
One of the exhibitor's the fest did attract was Macallan, who brought with them their Fine Oak series in 10, 15 and 21 year old declarations. This special series of whiskies is aged in a mix of specially selected barrels which previously held sherry or American whisky, as opposed to Macallan's trademark sherry barrel-only aging.
The 10 year old, which I tasted first, I thought was a fine enough whisky, and the 15 year bottling was likewise thoroughly enjoyable. But it was when I got to the 21 year old that my eyes really popped open. Even after an evening of tasting, the depth and richness of this whisky was absolutely astounding, with fruity vanilla notes leading the way on the nose and layer after layer of flavour rolling across the palate, from tropical fruit to light spice to more vanilla to a whiff of smoke on the finish. All in all, an incredibly impressive malt and one I'm very much looking forward to sampling again soon.
We're very interested in your news, notes, comments and questions, so please feel free to contact SBWoB by clicking on the link below. Or you can add your comments when you sign up for the World of Beer Update, a mid-month e-mail newsletter that brings even more of the world of beer to your computer.
