Shelter Point Ripple Rock Whisky - 47%
Ripple Rock Whisky, the latest release from Shelter Point Distillery in Campbell River, BC, celebrates the Ripple Rock explosion, an episode in local history so momentous that Canada's Government has since designated it a National Heritage Event.
After several attempts to destroy it from above water failed, engineers tunnelled under and into Ripple Rock and packed it full of explosives. The blast finally cleared Seymour Narrows of the craggy, underwater mountain top that had imperilled marine navigation.
It would take quite a whisky to embody the legend of Ripple Rock. Nevertheless, distiller Leon Webb and his dauntless team at Shelter Point were determined to create a “massive flavour bomb” worthy of the task.
To do this, they transferred six-year-old Shelter Point single malt whisky from several ex-bourbon American oak barrels into heavily charred virgin oak. In the following 18 months, these no. 4 “alligator char” barrels imbued the already malty whisky with typical bourbon markers – caramel, vanilla and spices, along with a rich russet hue.
Bottled at a muscular 47% abv, the resulting whisky admirably emulates the Ripple Rock explosion as peppery spices burst through a solid caramel vanilla crown, clearing the way for the grainy, malty, almost herbal delights that follow.
The Story of Ripple Rock
Along with fishing boats, pleasure craft and commercial traffic, today, cruise ships sail peacefully past Shelter Point Distillery and the Vancouver Island town of Campbell River, BC. Minutes later, they enter Seymour Narrows and head up the idyllic Inside Passage on their way to Alaska.
It’s here at 9:31 am on April 5, 1958, that engineers detonated 1,270 tonnes of explosives beneath Ripple Rock’s dual underwater summits, sending 370,000 tonnes of rock fragments and almost as much water hurtling 300 metres skyward. A brief ten seconds later, the biggest non-nuclear blast in history was over as debris crashed to earth or slipped into the waves.
Before workers blew it to bits, Ripple Rock lay concealed barely three metres below the water’s surface at low tide, causing more than 120 sinkings and claiming 114 lives. Sixty-some years later, as the memory of Ripple Rock slowly evolves into legend, swirling eddies and treacherous currents continue to race up and down Seymour Narrows with the changing tides, reminding mariners that despite the best efforts of humankind to tame it, nature still must be respected.
The Flavours of Ripple Rock
Pop the glass Vinolok cap with a sideways push of the thumb and before you can pour a dram, rich malty aromas flood the air. In the glass, raisins and sweet floral notes join the malt, hovering over baled straw and clean dry grain.
The first sip boldly introduces hot spices, softened quickly by creamy caramel and vanilla. Oaky undertones, fragrant burley tobacco and a pleasing earthiness form a solid base for higher notes of sweet fruits and vanilla fudge.
After an initial peppery blast, the whisky glows warm on the palate without rising to a burn, even as it surges again in the middle and continues to showcase hot peppers and ginger root.
A lush, hearty, un-chill filtered dram, Ripple Rock has a rich, slippery feel until some drying oak tannins finally reprise those lovely tobacco notes. An ever-present though unobtrusive oaky backbone holds firm as the whisky slowly reaches its spicy conclusion.
As Webb wryly put it, “We’re going to end this interesting year in quite a bang.” That, indeed, he and his team at Shelter Point have done.
Very highly recommended ★★★★¾