More toast, Diet Coke
Chips and spruce beer from the corner store - $3.97
I love the Kiri logo. It's full of joy and joyness!
In the evening, I went to a fabulous whisky tasting at my friend's Christophe and Joëlle. Christophe has a Master of Whisky title (2003) and knows his stuff. It was a pleasure to listen to him talk as he took us from bottle to bottle. He even shared his most precious bottle with us: a Balvenie Vintage Cask 1970 that he was saving up for a night like this.
Whisky tasting evening - $50
Oat cookie
Cheese
Onion confit tartlets, ready for the oven
This was the line-up:
Cragganmore 12 year
Balvenie Vintage Cask 1970
Talisker 10 years
Lagavulin 16 years
Dun Eideann 18 years
Glendronach 12 years
Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban
Red beer to start things off
Various Québec cheeses and crackers
Scottish beer: McEwan's
And then we started to open the bottles. The first on was the Dun Eideann 18 years. The following tasting notes are my own - I am not an expert, so they are only my own reactions to each product.
Light in color with a subtle banana bread aroma and notes of oat, it was a pleasure to start with this.
Then it was time for the Cragganmore 12 years
More discreet with an amber color, this had notes of spices and thyme, with some peat and a "wintery" after taste, like when you inhale as you go outside on a January evening.
We took a food break and enjoyed a salad and smoked fish from Gaspésie: mackerel, trout, and 2 kinds of smoked salmon. The peppery mackerel was my favorite.
After a little water, we continued with the Glendronach 12 years.
This one felt more robust and fat, with hints of sherry and candied citrus. The mouth feel made us think of clove, like what they use when you go to the dentist to get a teeth pulled. (In a good way.)
Then it was time for the wonderful Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban
Slightly peachy-pink and aged in port casks, this whisky is smooth and leaves the memory of the port cask on your palate. It's like roasted candy - a true dessert whisky. I loved it.
We stopped for a food break - various flaky treats - and some water. The cat was hanging out with us, hoping for a snack.
Then it was time for the more hardcore part of the evening, starting with the Talisker 10 years
When I first smelled this golden liquid, it reminded me of the paint we had in kindergarden, with heavy notes of cold coal. It was very peppery, with hints of tobacco and sea salt. The finale was long and very pleasurable.
We had some caramel and chocolate and sipped some of the poured whisky again, to challenge the flavor profiles.
We then opened the Lagavulin 16 years.
Reddish and elegant, this was full of ocean rocks, with a light smoky feel. It was surprisingly dry. Liked it a lot.
Finally, we opened the precious bottle of Balvenie Vintage Cask 1970.
A golden surprise. With notes of citrus and caramel, it melted on the tongue. It was like a huge, peaty piece of cracked sugar. Wow.
At the end of the evening, we rolled a dice to split the leftover bottles (save the Balvenie) and I won the bottle I wanted: the Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban! It was my favorite of the evening, so I was a happy gal.
What a fun night!
Money spent on food today: $53.97
