DEVINE Glen Saanich Batch 7
45% ABV - British Columbia, Canada
Nose: Caramel, candy corn, and spices, with toffee and a floral fragrance.
Taste: Citrus and orchard fruits, scattered grasses, and tropical-melon.
Finish: Spices are prominent, with coffee and bubblegum candies. Hints of oak.
I have some of the best friends—a bottle of whisky for my birthday! This had been gifted to me over 2 years ago and I am only reviewing it now. Don’t worry, It’s been open for over a year… but I digress, on to the whisky!
I’ve tasted quite a few DEVINE whiskies, including their Ancient Grains label (which uses barley, spelt, emmer, khorasan, and einkorn.) The Glen Saanich are all small batch releases and recently I have seen a single cask released. I couldn’t easily Google some numbers, but some of the results I came across on a number of searches suggested each small batch release is in the neighbourhood of 1000 bottles. I think their first release was around 2017, and the most recent, in 2024, is Batch 8—crunch that math and it might be about one small batch release per year.
Overall, I am fairly impressed with the spirit. It has a unique blend of flavours. It’s quite sippable and I’m sure it would go wonderfully in spirit-forward cocktails. Glad to have it as part of my Canadian selection and I intend to keep one release by DEVINE in stock at all times.
As a total aside, I’ve seen quite a few ways to capitalize the distillery name: Devine, DeVine, De Vine, but I think what I have typed here, DEVINE, is correct.
Details: Small Batch No. 7
Tasting Notes (Official): Notes of citrus and ripe pear give way to vanilla, cinnamon and clove, then a lingering malty finish and a whiff of sea air.
Tasted 4 June 2024. (Posted 4 October 2024.)
