Shelter Point Distillery 2016 Inaugural Run

My whisky friends Niek & Ilse just returned from a trip through Canada. On Vancouver Island, the utmost west of this huge country, they had an appointment with Patrick Evans, the owner of the new Shelter Point Distillery. The photos they showed me left little to the imagination. This is a beautiful distillery in which the owners have clearly invested a tremendous amount of money. And in June 2016 the released their very first bottling: Shelter Point 2016 Inaugural Run. This whisky was produced from two row barley that grows on the farm, double distilled in copper pot stills from the Scottish company Forsyth’s and matured for 5 years on American oak.

The nose is wonderfully fresh and fruity with a malty heart and a good dollop of honey. Mildly floral and softly spiced. I detect pastry dough, sugars and baked apples with a hint of almonds. Some citrus in the back, but I cannot yet tell you which variety.

Good body with loads of malt on that palate as well. The citrus becomes mandarin, while the sugars turn dark towards demarara. Lovely touch of oak with a little bit of spices. But this is mostly sweet and very accessible.

In the medium long finish, the spices show themselves once more, while I get baked apples at the death.

Clearly still young, but already very pleasant and a good aperitif style whisky. If Patrick Evans and his team continue to use good wood (and it certainly looks like it), this single malt has a very bright future. A big thank you to Niek & Ilse for bringing me a bottle.