Glenora Distillery

[JamesW]

Anyone had a taste of this "Canadian Scotch"? This is not a Canadian whiskey in the true sense. They are trying to make a SMS in Cape Breton whish is part of Nova Scotia (New Scotland). I will be out there this summer and will take the tour of the distillery. Here is some notes from the website :http://www.glenoradistillery.com/glenbreton.htm

Glen Breton Rare Canadian Single Malt Whisky is the only single malt whisky produced in Canada. It is produced by the traditional copper pot stills method using only three ingredients: Barley, Yeast and Water.

It can not be called 'Scotch' unless it is produced in Scotland, hence, Canadian Single Malt Whisky.

Colour: Golden Amber

Nose: Butterscotch, heather, honey and ground ginger

Taste: Creamy with a good flow of toasty wood, almond and caramel

Finish: Rounded, lingering, faintly sweet, merest whisper of peat

[Gillman]

It's like a good Lowland or one of the milder, rounded Highlands whiskies. Good stuff.

Gary

[CorvallisCracker]

Haven't tasted it but saw some last weekend, for $93 which is too dear for me.

In the introduction of the latest edition of Jim Murray's "Whiskey Bible" he is highly critical of the Scottish distiller's association, which has apparently filed suit to force Glenora to use a less "Scottish" name (never mind that the area around the distillery has always been named that). Does anyone know the lastest on that?

[mier]

The Scottish society won the case(for now),court agreed with them that the name looks like it is from Scotland and could confuse people.Stupid enough the leaf and the naming of the whisky as a single malt CANADIAN whisky on all of the labels didn`t help the Canadians.

Eric.

[AVB]

I did a review of it here about 18 months ago if you care to read it.

[craigthom]

I toured the distillery a few years ago. What really disappointed me is that they imported malted barley from Scotland. I don't know if that's still the case. It's possible I misunderstood, but I don't think so.

If the barley is from Scotland, and the barrels are Tennessee, then what's Canadian about it but the water?

I just had the small sample they provided. I thought it was nice but not worth the price they were charging.

I recommend driving the Cabot Trail all the way around the top of Cape Breton. Parts of it are stunning, and there are lobsters that need to be eaten.

I didn't eat any salmon while I was there. In retrospect, I probably should have.

[JamesW]

I did a review of it here about 18 months ago if you care to read it.

That's really funny AVB 'cause I read your great review on cigarpass earlier today. I see you didn't feel it was worth the price. At $80 - $90 I don't know if I'd buy it either. I may still take the tour if only to see the process and take a taste for myself. Otherwise, I think I'll follow craigthoms recommendation and scarf down some lobsters and drink the scotch I bring on the trip. I'll probably take some Highland Park 12 yr and a bottle of Talisker 10 or 18.

Thanks again for the info!

[mier]

I toured the distillery a few years ago. What really disappointed me is that they imported malted barley from Scotland. I don't know if that's still the case. It's possible I misunderstood, but I don't think so.

If the barley is from Scotland, and the barrels are Tennessee, then what's Canadian about it but the water?

To wake you up Craigthom the most Scottish distilleries nowadays use imported (and malted)barley from France,Germany and the USA.Some distillers only use their kilns to make some peated malt themselves or to let tourists believe they still do everything.There`s no reason why Glenora shouldn`t do the same thing.

Eric.

[AVB]

Thank you for the kind words, I've done some others there if you look around.

That's really funny AVB 'cause I read your great review on cigarpass earlier today.

Thanks again for the info!

[Megawatt]

I just tried this stuff last night. It is very pale (no added colour, in other words), and the nose is quite subtle. The flavour starts with honey and then some lightly floral maltiness. Nothing really jumps out at you. The finish is rather hot, more reminiscent of a typical Canadian whisky, I suppose, but there is some good spice in there as well. A bit of water and a few minutes to let it open up really improved the flavour profile.

Overall, I would say that it is a nice, mellow single malt, but I couldn't see myself shelling out $90 for a bottle.

Edit: AVB's review very much agrees with my own assessment of it, though he noticed some flavours that escaped me.

[JamesW]

Overall, I would say that it is a nice, mellow single malt, but I couldn't see myself shelling out $90 for a bottle.

Edit: AVB's review very much agrees with my own assessment of it, though he noticed some flavours that escaped me.

Thanks for the info Megawatt, I was thinking of pulling the trigger but you and AVB have made me think twice. I don't want to spend $90 on something that is so-so. You'd think that the Glenora Distillery would be trying to undercut the scotch distillers here in North America given that their shipping and import taxes (given free trade and all) must be nothing by comparison. I would have expected higher quality for a lower price. It seems ridiculous that they want to command a higher price than some the highest quality drams.... For less than $90 I can get the following favorite drams to name a few:

Highland Park 18yr $75

Highland Park 12 yr $40

Talisker 18 yr $70

Talisker 10 yr $50

Balvenie 12yr Dble Wood $40

Balvenie 15yr $60

Balvenie 17 yr $88

Lagavulin 16 yr $60

and the list goes on and on....

I guess I'll just have to take the tour when I'm there (since I've never seen a distillery firsthand) and take a small taste so that my curiosity is abated.

[sku]

w

I toured the distillery a few years ago. What really disappointed me is that they imported malted barley from Scotland. I don't know if that's still the case. It's possible I misunderstood, but I don't think so.

If the barley is from Scotland, and the barrels are Tennessee, then what's Canadian about it but the water?

I think this raises an interesting philosophical question about whiskey, generally. Many distilleries import resources and materials. For instance, there are Isaly distilleries that get their barley from the mainland and even warehouse their stock on the mainland. And all Scotch distilleries, as far as I know, use barrels from elsewhere, mostly the US and Spain.

Does this mean the Islay whiskey is not Islay Whiskey?

Is it problematic to import materias?

Barley is, from my understanding, a fungible item. I haven't seen any distillers arguing that barley from certain areas is fundamentally different than barley from others. This is, of course, much different than coffee, cacao and some other crops, but I haven't seen it argued for barley.

So, if, as Glenora or McCarthy's in Oregon does, you import grains for your whiskey, does that impact the inegrity of the whiskey? Does it affect the taste? Should it affect the labeling? Does it matter at all?

Lots of questions, not many answers.

[CorvallisCracker]

w

I think this raises an interesting philosophical question about whiskey, generally. Many distilleries import resources and materials. For instance, there are Isaly distilleries that get their barley from the mainland and even warehouse their stock on the mainland. And all Scotch distilleries, as far as I know, use barrels from elsewhere, mostly the US and Spain.

Does this mean the Islay whiskey is not Islay Whiskey?

Is it problematic to import materias?

Barley is, from my understanding, a fungible item. I haven't seen any distillers arguing that barley from certain areas is fundamentally different than barley from others. This is, of course, much different than coffee, cacao and some other crops, but I haven't seen it argued for barley.

So, if, as Glenora or McCarthy's in Oregon does, you import grains for your whiskey, does that impact the inegrity of the whiskey? Does it affect the taste? Should it affect the labeling? Does it matter at all?

Lots of questions, not many answers.

It's more global issue, really, in that it extends to essentially any product.

My last motorcycle was a Harley. However, the carburetor, electrical components and suspension were all made in Japan. Does that mean it's not an American product?

To answer your final question ("Does it matter at all?"), from a purely consumer perspective I'd say that the only thing that matters is the end result. As purchaser of the product, I want its producer to make the best product possible (within the constraints of what I'm willing to pay), and I really don't care what they have to do to accomplish that. So the short answer is "No".

[JamesW]

I agree Scott and for that reason I'd expect a newcomer like Glenora that is a Scotch wannabe to make a product that is highly price competitive and/or so good that it fits into its own class. What disturbs me is that they appear to have made a merely decent product and are charging premium price for it. Again, they don't have to ship overseas to us (15 hr car ride from me) nor do they have to deal with any sort of import duties from what I can tell so what gives on the price?

[craigthom]

so what gives on the price?

I may be wrong, but I think what they are selling is the novelty. They probably sell all they make at a high price to people who want a Canadian Scotch-style whisky, so why charge less?

The U.S. is dotted with wineries that make horribly syrupy wines, but the tourists take it home by the case because it's from Iowa/Michigan/Indiana/Door County/whatever. They are more souvenirs than beverages. They aren't challenging and they are tuned to the palates of soda drinkers, not wine drinkers.

[JamesW]

I may be wrong, but I think what they are selling is the novelty. They probably sell all they make at a high price to people who want a Canadian Scotch-style whisky, so why charge less?

The U.S. is dotted with wineries that make horribly syrupy wines, but the tourists take it home by the case because it's from Iowa/Michigan/Indiana/Door County/whatever. They are more souvenirs than beverages. They aren't challenging and they are tuned to the palates of soda drinkers, not wine drinkers.

That makes a lot of sense. Well, they won't be catching me in their tourist trap

[Megawatt]

Speaking of the price, it certainly is expensive but who is to say what a particular whisky is worth? What makes Talisker 10 so much more expensive than Glenfiddich 12? Shouldn't the older Scotch cost more? I suppose it is worth whatever people are willing to pay...yet I still agree that the price tag on Glen Breton is quite surprising.

The interesting thing about your price comparison list is that in Canada, most of the whiskies you listed cost more than $90:

Highland Park 18yr $120

Talisker 18 yr $97

Balvenie 15yr $105

Balvenie 17 yr $130

Lagavulin 16 yr $99

So when you put it in that perspective, maybe $90 is so unreasonable...