Next in my little series on Whisky from...? is Canada! Off the West Coast of Canada is a Vancouver Island home to Shelter Point Distillery.
Shelter Point distillery was founded in 2011 on a farm on Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada.
Using barley from their own farm and stills from Forsyths of Rothes they distil Gin, Vodka and Whisky.
They have just released a 10yo single malt but their portfolio includes NAS single malts, peated and smoked finished, wine cask and virgin oak finished whiskies. Here I'll try 3 of the range.
Their whiskies are difficult to get hold of outside of Canada but @TravisReaveley, a local fan kindly sent @Jotterface, @whiskeychap, @StillSurreal & myself a set of samples from the distillery which we enjoyed in the company of @whiskywebb the head distiller on Zoom:
My thoughts on the drams:
| Dram | The Forbidden Batch #2 | Single Malt | Smoke & Oak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Characteristics | 47% ABV NCF Natural Colour | 46% ABV NCF Natural Colour | 46% ABV NCF Natural Colour |
| Bottler info | Shelter Point’s second Single Malt Wheat Whisky release has finally arrived. This whisky is the third different grain whisky that we have bottled. Named after our local landmark “Forbidden Plateau”, this small mountain and our whisky are similar as both shrouded in mystery. By using Wheat as the base this whisky is truly unique and unlike anything we have ever produced. This whisky was double distilled and aged in exclusively in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for 6 and a half years. | Paradise isn’t necessarily a geographical requirement for making great whisky, but we managed to find it at Shelter Point. It’s here that we handcraft our 100% Single Malt Whisky, distilled batch-by-batch in traditional copper pot stills from two-row barley, and aged in American oak barrels in our oceanfront warehouse. When it comes to artisanal whisky, every element matters – and in our unique, temperate rainforest climate, even the sunsets and sea air become integral. | For this expression, we smoked our own finishing barrels using a smouldering combination of applewood and locally-harvested Vancouver Island peat. Using 100% unmalted barley from on-site at Shelter Point Farm as a base, this is a whisky that breaks all the rules. This triple distilled whisky was aged in American oak ex-bourbon barrels for 5 years before a final rest in our hand-smoked finishing barrels for 6 months. |
| My thoughts: | |||
| Appearance |  1:Single Malt, 2: Smoke & Oak, 3: Forbidden | ||
| Mid gold in the glass, swirls cling and fall as slow thin legs. | Mid gold in the glass, oily swirls leave a thin line which beads up slowly and fall as slow thin legs | Darkest of the three drams tonight - swirls cling as thick lines and fall as slow thick legs. | |
| Nose | The wheat has a huge impact here giving huge cereal notes - a very complex nose - orchard fruit, barley, hay, oak and vanilla but with a sweet brown sugar edge. | Loads of fresh orchard fruit - apples, pears, apricots, there's some berries, pine needles and a hint of sour citrus | Thick highland peat smoke, BBQ meats and smoky bacon. There's a huge brown sugar sweetness here too. some milk chocolate and dried fruit. |
| Palate | Thick spicy arrival, the cereal notes from the nose are here along with some honey sweetness and dry orchard fruit - peaches and apricots. There's some chilli spice. A little tropical fruit note and brown sugar suggests rum? Greta balance between sweet and spicy notes. | Thick spicy arrival - pepper and ginger give way to orchard fruit and thank funky citrus from the nose. Apples, pears, apricots and some peach notes are there to be found. | Sweet smoky arrival, some toffee and brown sugar notes. BBQ meats again to the fore. They used a strange smoking method here, smoking the finishing barrel with applewood, and it really makes an impression on the whisky. |
| Finish | Lingering chilli spice and sweet honey. There's a little sour grapefruit too. | This is where the citrus comes to the fore - sour grapefruit and peppery spice linger - yummy! | Lingering smoke, BBQ meats and sweet honey. |
| Overall | Three really good drams, all around the 7yo mark and with some interesting flavour notes. They currently sell most of their whisky in Canada with a little going to the Europe and the Far East - I've not seen it yet in the UK As soon as you do - buy a bottle! | ||
You can read the The Whisky Chaps thoughts here!
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