Shelter Point Duo
Canadian Malt Whisky | Smoke Point & Ripple Rock
Score: 7/10
Very Good Indeed.
TL;DR
A duo of Canadian single malts that punch above their category
Not an imitation of Scottish malts
Category. It’s an interesting word and one that’s often used by marketing departments, importers, distributions, and liquor stores. By definition, category is a class or division of things regarded as having particular shared characteristics.
So when describing the Canadian whisky category, what do most people think of? I imagine for the majority of people, the ubiquitous Crown Royal, Royal Reserve, or something similar comes to mind.
Suffice to say that somehow, we as Canadians have managed to do a piss poor job of exporting our good stuff. Instead, you’re left with corn-based column still products aged in tired and junky second, third, fourth-fill American oak barrels that have been chill-filtered and coloured all to hell and back before sold into markets at basement prices, befitting of its quality. It’s truly unfortunate that one of the world’s largest whisky producing countries almost always produces whisky that’s not geared towards enthusiasts.
On behalf of all Canadians, I apologise for the swill we push out to you - for we do have good stuff and it’s catching on, fanning into a frenzied wildfire… well that might be a dramatic overstatement. The distilleries producing the good stuff are micro in comparison to the behemoths of the industry. The majority of Canadians will have difficulty accessing these amazing little niche whiskies, much less international customers, and I guess I should apologise for that too.
But fear not, Broddy and others will work tirelessly to bring you an unfettered viewpoint of global and Canadian whisky so that when you do see it sitting on your local shelf, you’ll know if you should pull the trigger and experience something different for yourself.
Now back to that pesky word; category. Even for me, living in the land of Canadian whisky, I struggle with it. Walking into nearly all of my local liquor stores, American bourbon, Scottish, world whisky (Japanese, Irish, Indian, etc), and Canadian are all provided with their own unique aisle or shelves. Even online storefronts have dropdown menus based around geography.
This categorisation based on geographical location provides a brutish and broad brush stroke at best, completely smudging even the basic differences of ingredients. Given the well-reputed and general acknowledgement of a basic level of quality of Irish whiskey and Scottish whisky, even the vast majority of locals bypass the other sections, honing in on single malts and turning a blind eye to alternatives. So if you are none-the-wiser, why would you take a punt on a Canadian single malt when it’s of similar price?
It’s been something of a thorn in my side for quite some time. Rather than lumping whisky based on their ingredients or foundations, arbitrary and imaginary geographical boundaries provide the delimiting criteria for categorisation. It’s truly a shame and all but confuses customers.
Shelter Point distillery was built in 2011 and had a farm-to-glass aspect. The founders were third generation farmers on Vancouver Island, before passing the torch to Nelson Investments who provide some level of ownership and day-to-day oversight. The current distillery runs Forsyths copper pot stills located on the original farmstead, with maturation occurring onsite directly off the coastline. They’ve been in operation long enough that they’ve begun releasing small batches of the almighty 10yo age statement, covered by our Aengus a few months back. I believe the Evan’s Family Reserve release - the farm-to-glass whisky that started it all - used barley harvested directly from the family farm and is a product line that’ll be shortly discontinued. Regardless, local barley is used in all of their malt whiskies, earning a tip of the hat for not importing raw ingredients.
There also appears to be a shift in the product line in the past few years, perhaps from the change in ownership or from the natural evolution of their maturing stocks or target markets. From my perspective the recent product lines are honing in on attributes that differentiate themselves from others - 46% ABV or higher proofs, non-chill filtered, natural colour, and their primary maturation programs heavily features ex-bourbon barrels, letting their distillate sing and bucking the recent and all too predictable trend of sherry bombs. They set their course and are sticking to it. Bravo!
If you’re familiar with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society you’ll know they generally select barrels from distilleries producing quality and unique malt whisky. Just recently, the SMWS began releasing some of Shelter Point’s oldest stocks under the 152 distillery code. From what I can tell based on their sometimes fanciful descriptions and notes, their casks from Shelter Point appear spot on with the distillery’s character. They are truly doing some delicious things out there. So if you can’t get your hands on the official bottlings, perhaps you might be able to snag an indie release from SMWS.
Review 1/2
Shelter Point Ripple Rock, 46% ABV
CAD$88 (£48) limited availability
Ripple Rock is a vatting of single malt disgorged from ex-bourbon barrels and heavily charred virgin American oak barrels.
Score: 6/10
Good stuff.
TL;DR
A well-rounded virgin oak malt
Nose
Toffee, Werther’s caramel candies, Demerara sugar, and real vanilla. Baked apple crumble with a heavy layer of brown sugar cinnamon streusel on top.
Palate
Baking spices, dark caramel and vanilla. Behind those upfront flavours, I find light roast espresso, buttery chocolate croissant, melons, and grapefruit. Melted butter and brown sugar with a few raisins tossed in. The finish lasts for several minutes, riding a wave of cinnamon dusted apple strudel. The tiniest touch of virgin oak bubblegum appears.
The Dregs
This whisky has something for everyone. Want refreshing melons? Check. Want a balanced virgin oak influence while not overriding the malt? Check. Want some bitterness to balance the sugars? Check. Want some savoury elements? Check. On top of that, it has a delicious viscosity in the mouth and clings to the glass. It’s highly drammable and is rapidly earning a “keeper” status on Broddy’s shelves. It’s not insanely complex but it is full of flavour and without faults, therefore well deserving of its score.
Score: 6/10 BB
Review 2/2
Shelter Point Smoke Point, Batch 3, 53% ABV
CAD$90 (£54) limited availability
We were tasting this whisky among some other NAS whiskies such as Raasay’s R-02 which we both didn’t connect with, and some bangers including Glen Scotia Victoriana, a 21yo Highland Berry Bros. blend, Ardnamurchan single casks and CS release. But upon cracking the seal on this one, my friend who likes woody and punchy whiskies was immediately drawn in by the smell. Then the first sip came out came the phrase with significant emphasis: “That’s the best single malt I’ve ever had.” This friend was stopped in his tracks. I really couldn’t tear him away from it.
For a bit of clarity. Historically, Shelter Point has released their “Smoke and Oak” line of single malts. These whiskies were partially matured/finished in ex-Islay peated whisky casks. I’ve tasted a few of these releases and while they were OK, they generally presented themselves as a less integrated exercise in finishing. This line has been discontinued and replaced with this Smoke Point release which does something unique. Rather than using peated malted barley, of which there is none available on Vancouver Island or British Columbia in significant volumes, they use driftwood collected from local beaches and native wood from around the distillery to smoke the barrels. Yes, you read that right. They burn the wood, using the smoke to impart unique flavours into the barrels before filling with new-make spirit.
Score: 7/10
Very good indeed.
TL;DR
The best malt my buddy has ever had
Nose
Salted caramel, iodine, toasted graham cracker, vanilla and wood smoke swirl harmoniously together upon the first whiff. Then a savoury element that reminds me of a delicious beef broth. Pipe tobacco smoke.
Palate
Dense, thick and sticky. Wet wood smoke carries pipe tobacco, graham crackers, vanilla, brown sugar, and toffee. A salty tang pops up on the back end of the experience, accompanied with fruit from the malted barley, presented as peaches to my palate. Sometimes I catch the taste of eating a quality raisin butter tart next to a campfire. There’s a moderate black pepper tingle that does fade quite quickly, letting the other flavours continue their slow decline. The flavours stick to your teeth and gums, ensuring you enjoy this for a while and influencing any subsequent whisky’s you might be enjoying in parallel.
The Dregs
This is not a peated whisky. In a world trying to emulate Scottish malts, especially the ubiquitous Islay or peated malts, how do you differentiate yourself? Well, this is where that almighty T (terroir) word comes in. If you’re importing key ingredients (there’s only a handful of ingredients in whisky so I would wager all ingredients are key) to make your single malt, you’re really making an imitation. Importing malted barley or peated malt from Scotland? The base components for your whisky are going to be representative of someone else’s whisky, short of the unique difference of your maturation environment and still design.
So what do you do if you want to make a smoky-style whisky but you don’t have peat immediately near you? Do you purchase peated malt from Scotland or do you try and do something different? This Smoke Point whisky falls into the latter category: it’s an absolutely unique whisky and representative of the unique ingredients available to Shelter Point. It’s woody, smoky, thick, integrated and moreish. For whatever reason, the smoked barrels are providing a far superior experience than the use of ex-Islay barrels in the previous iteration.
Score: 7/10 BB
Tried these? Share your thoughts in the comments below. BB
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