Batch 3 - 2023 release | 46% ABV

Score: 7/10

**Very Good Indeed.**
***TL;DR***
*Redefining maritime notes.*

A Canadian and a Belgian walk into a Dutch distillery…

Not a joke set-up, this is exactly what happened a few weeks ago.

The buzzing hive that is the Dramface writer’s group is a platform where thoughts, ideas, conversation and banter are exchanged, almost 24/7 as the people involved are from all corners of the globe. Whenever an opportunity presents itself to shake hands outside of the virtual realm, we try to grab it. When Broddy announced he was travelling from his Canadian tundra to the Netherlands for work, it became clear we’d be within driving distance of each other, and it also became clear there could be a whisky distillery to be found somewhere between our two locations.

However, Zuidam, who are known for their range of Millstone whiskies, don’t normally allow visitors, I suggested he could contact them on the off-chance of being allowed a tour and I left it that. I don’t know how he pulled it off but a few days later, he announced he’d be paying them a visit and asked if I’d like to join him on the tour.

I cleared my calendar, as I couldn’t let the opportunity pass. If someone travels 4,500 miles and finds themselves in the position to visit a distillery, how could I not accept this invitation when it would only take me an hour to drive there and meet a fellow Dramface contributor at the best possible location?

The distillery is found in the unlikeliest of locations: a modern office-like construction in the centre of a business park. The contrast with the archetype of an age-old Scottish distillery set in a lovely scenery could hardly have been bigger.

Never judge a book by the cover, though, because we were treated to the full two-hour experience by the owner/head distiller/master blender Patrick van Zuidam. It was super interesting experience as we got to see under the hood of the workings of the distillery.

Weeks later, I still remember the wonderful air that filled their main warehouse, after which we were treated to some high-end drams. It was a pity I had to drive back and return to the real world, but not before both of us were handed some brilliant samples by Patrick.

Before I left, I gave Broddy some samples and he thrust a bottle of Shelter Point 10 year old into my hands. This wasn’t just the cherry on top of the cake, this was a whole new cake to go alongside the first.

I think I just about managed to express my enormous gratitude, both for inviting me along and for the wonderful and otherwise completely unattainable bottle of Canadian single malt. Head spinning, and not from the drams, I set off home after what was one of the best whisky (and whisky people) experiences of the year.

Review 1/3 - Earie

Shelter Point 10yo, Batch 3, Canadian Single Malt Whisky, 46% ABV
$115 CAD / £67 - Limited Availability in Canada

I’ve only visited Canada once and that was for three weeks on my honeymoon in 2012 . Being such a vast country, we couldn’t see it all, but we chose to visit Ontario and Quebec and the cities of Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Quebec City, with plenty of countryside and nature in between. At this time, I was in the early stages of my whisky geekery and I was quite keen to discover what the Canadians had to offer when it comes to whisky.

Everywhere we went, it would be either Canadian Club or Crown Royale. Not dissing those brands, but these two generally don’t provide the most interesting take on what Canadian whisky has to offer. So being able to try some ‘proper’ Canadian single malt was an opportunity to cherish and Broddy’s gift means more than he probably realises. Rest assured, I’m paying it forward and am sharing this whenever possible.

Nose

A lovely mixture of honey notes and brine and things get very coastal. Lovely salinity, sitting next to apples and toffee apples, with a medicinal, mineral element underneath. A layered nose where the fruit and honey sweetness and the brine and salt come together.

Palate

A salty arrival with hints of wood that push the sweeter notes to the back. Quite dry, with a full-on mouthfeel. A mix of gentle pepper and lots of salty and coastal notes which linger into a long, clinging and drying finish with an echo of beach pebbles.

The Dregs

This is excellent whisky. The coastal, briny, salty influences are an absolute treat. I suppose we are on Vancouver Island, after all.

I have only one question: Why do the Canadians hide the good stuff from us? Of course, this is only my first encounter with Shelter Point, but if this whisky is anything to go by, they have all the makings of a superstar distillery. It’s almost like a cross between Pulteney and Glen Scotia.

Score: 7/10 EA

Review 2/3 - Broddy

Shelter Point 10yo, Batch 3, Canadian Single Malt Whisky, 46% ABV$115 CAD / £67 - Limited Availability in Canada

Shelter Point’s Brand Experience Manager, Chris Read is a very open and active fellow, and knowing you Dramface readers are a knowledge thirsty lot, I reached out to Chris to glean some additional details on this third batch of the 10 yo, and a peek into Shelter Point going forward. Thanks for the tidbits Chris.

BB: Is this Batch 3 of the 10 yo releases?
CR: This is the 3rd release of the 10 Year Old, although it is a little confusing as there have been releases of a Cask Strength 10 Year Old and the Prohibition which was 10 years old too.
BB: What is the cask makeup of this 10 yo? Seems like there are a few items in here, of which I can guess towards, but would appreciate any additional details.
CR: This was primarily in ex-bourbon barrels, it did spend a bit of time in a port pipe over its lifetime too though.
BB: Is your whisky natural colour and non-chill filtered? Given your scale, I'm assuming you don't do either so why is that information not included on the label?
CR: There is no colour added and no chill filtering, you are right. It wasn’t included on the label as there was a limited amount of space. We have been evolving the label and bottle design over time and we have since been able to fit that info in on the 12 Year Old label. All Shelter Point whisky is natural colour and no chill filtration.
BB: Where is your malt sourced from? If you use peated malt, where is that sourced from?
CR: The majority of our malt is sourced from Shelter Point Farm, where necessary we buy in additional malt from other farms in British Columbia. Our malting is done off site as we do not have the facility yet, hopefully something we will be able to achieve in the future. The malting is the only activity we don’t do here at the distillery. Our malt is not peated.

So after hand delivering a bottle into Earie’s hands and arriving back home after a nine hour flight, I snagged another bottle so we could both enjoy this whisky and share it with you.

Score: 6/10

**Good Stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A Canadian Beachhead*

Nose

Sweet and salty. Undertones of melons and peaches. Light honey drizzle. Light malty cereal notes in the background.

Palate

Lovely soft and slightly sweet entry that builds to a crescendo of dense and tightly mingled flavours. Overall, it’s somewhat of an antithesis of the nose; if you’re expecting a light and sweet palate, you’ve got a surprise coming your way. The flavours are darker and denser. Primary notes of barrel smoke/char (not tannins), a malty biscuit or graham cracker, salty and lightly iodine-like undercurrent, dark honey, and baking spices strewn about.

Secondary notes of red berries and vanilla are found hiding, albeit very much in the shadow. There’s a mild pepper tingle that tickles my gums. It’s thick, chewy, and complicated, but in a good way.

The palate experience is slightly dry and clinging, but then my mouth immediately salivates again, triggering a subconscious reach for another sip. It’s dangerously moreish as a result!

With water, the brighter and sweeter notes pop up more and balance out the darker notes, while the pepper tingle is also reduced. It’s an easier drinking and more traditional experience but personally, give me the 46% version.

The Dregs

I enjoyed this whisky. Is it expensive? Yes it is, within the same price range as an Ardbeg Uigeadail and Clynelish 14 in my market but 1.5X that of the excellent Arran 10 and Tobermory 12.

Does the pricing align with recent young distillery NAS releases such Raasay and Kingsbarns? Sure does, especially when accounting for the 10 yo age statement. It scores between a 6 and a 7 for me. It isn’t bright and fresh like the Arran or Tob, offering something quite unique in the flavour department despite the ex-bourbon heavy cask makeup. In full transparency, I had initially jotted this down as a 7 however after revisiting other 7’s to compare, this is good but missing the little x-factors to push it over the hill. Give this some more time and I’m sure the higher scores and accolades will come. Well done Shelter Point.

Am I glad to have this whisky on the shelf? I am. It’s unique, has several bright glimmers of the future, and is a snapshot in time of a growing distillery and Canadian malt whisky scene. This whisky is a Canadian single malt beachhead, establishing itself in the global theatre and unabashed in not hiding its flaws through heavy casking or gimmicky presentation.

I had a few more questions for Chris as well, for your reading pleasure, otherwise skip ahead to a sample I sent to Aengus for a third view on this whisky:

BB: What is the plan for future 10 yo releases? How many years until a SP10 becomes a 'core range' style release (admittedly likely with small batches)? Will they use a similar cask makeup as this release?
CR: The goal is to develop the Classic Single Malt into a 10 year old, although it is a few years away from that now. The Classic Single Malt uses a solera system with a continuous vatting or marrying process to combine multiple barrels with a broad range of finishes, and we are working on developing the age of that to become a 10 Year Old. Between then and now we are aiming to have a limited quantity of our 12 Year Old available as much as possible. Currently we are releasing 3 cases a month through our distillery store.
BB: As a whisky geek and enthusiast, and knowing I have no influence on your labelling, but with these smaller releases (including Montfort, etc) would it be possible to include batch information so we can track the evolution of Shelter Point and your releases?
CR: The goal at Shelter Point is to produce a consistent product in our main expressions. The solera system used for the Classic Single Malt and Cask Strength Single Malt is a massive advantage in this. For our other main expressions we work hard to maintain that consistency too, so that customers can be sure that they are getting the same quality and flavour every time they pick up a bottle off the shelf. We have over 3500 barrels in our warehouse now so we have a deep range of barrels to choose from to ensure that we are able to achieve that. To that end we have moved away from batch numberings as our products are consistent both in their flavour and their availability. These expressions include the Ripple Rock, Montfort and Smoke Point expressions. Our expressions with limited releases, the 12 Year Old or Evans Family Reserve range are different in that they are explicitly chosen from a limited range of barrels, we only have a small number of 12 year old barrels left, and the Evans Family is a showcase for the different barrel finishes that we are have to select from, again with only a limited number available.
BB: Given my colleagues' geographical location, and Dramface's readership locale, would you be able to provide an indication when Shelter Point might be available to Europe and the UK?
CR: Shelter Point is currently available in the UK at The Whisky World, Switzerland, and France. For US-based readers, Shelter Point is also available to be shipped.

Thanks again for the answers Chris.

Score: 6/10 BB

Review 3/3 - Aengus

Shelter Point 10yo, Batch 3, Canadian Single Malt Whisky, 46% ABV
$115 CAD / £67 - Limited Availability in Canada

Score: 6/10

**Good Stuff.**
***TL;DR***
*A 6 that thinks it’s an 8*

Nose

Floral and fresh pine at first with slight Play-Doh. Then the spices enter, cinnamon and clove, followed by syrupy dark grape juice concentrate and dried fig.

Palate

Initial plastic. Damp moss. More fruit juice and slight milk chocolate. Spicy cinnamon. Quite nutty, with marzipan, walnuts, and cashews. An easy and pleasant drinking experience.

The Dregs

Thanks to Broddy for the generous sample from his bottle. This is batch 3 of the ten year old and I wish I still had some of the previous batch I reviewed last year to compare. From memory this is fairly similar. The distillery character is clear and looking back at my old notes I see some common themes of the marzipan, walnut, cinnamon, and milk chocolate variety. If that’s your thing, this is a quality sessionable dram and begs for a few healthy pours over an evening with friends, but the price and availability don’t match.

Like the previous batch this could score either a six or a seven. Also like the previous batch I’ll go with a six because it’s missing value and availability factors. It’s precious circumstances around a whisky that doesn’t feel like it should be precious. Reliably available and sub $100, it would be solid permashelf material, but I’ll save the 7s for the drams that go the extra mile.

Score: 6/10 AMc

Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. EA

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