Malt Messenger No. 30

Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers,

June is already nearly half over and yet it only seems like days since I returned from 2 ½ weeks in Scotchland.  There is much to report on, and I am still working on completing a blog chronicling my most recent whisky adventures. With the Spring Single Malt Festival behind me, I hope to find the time. At the moment it is still a work in progress, but feel free to check it out at http://110.zipity.com/users/link.php?LinkID=1507&UserID=10478&Newsletter=236&List=6&LinkType=Send.. I’ve also included in this post a column I call “Greetings from Islay”. Strictly speaking I wrote “Greetings from Islay” while on the ferry back to the mainland after a brief but comprehensive stop on the isle. It was a whistle stop if ever there was one, and included visits to Ardbeg, Kilchoman, Bruichladdich and Bowmore.

The main purpose of my trip to Scotland this May was conducting Single Malt Whisky Distillery Tours. I took two separate groups through the Southern Highlands and Speyside whisky regions including visits to some of Scotland’s finest distilleries, independent bottlers and some historic sites along the way. I’ve really enjoyed sharing my whiskies travels in Scotland with these small groups—my second and third tours respectively—as different people bring different perspectives to the whiskies we taste and places we visit. The trips are a great way for me to share my passion for malt whisky with others, but also serve to help me find new products for the Kensington Wine Market. I have come across a couple of exciting new whiskies which I hope to have in store later this fall. Speaking of the fall, I am already in the midst of planning the next two tours loosely scheduled for late September and early October. One of them will begin in the Orkneys and wind down through the Northern Highlands, and the other will visit Scotland’s West Coast and Islay. Please drop me an e-mail if you would like more information.

Father’s Day is right around the corner and we’ve come up with a couple of great gift ideas. Why give dad merely a bottle of whisky, when you can give him a whisky appreciation kit. Our special Father’s Day whisky kits include either a bottle of Springbank 1996 KWM Manzanilla Cask or Aberlour 10Yr, as well as a 2009 Whisky Bible, a Glencairn crystal single malt glass and a copy of the most recent Malt Advocate Magazine. For more information on how to spoil your father see below.

Finally, with our cask of Springbank 1996 ¾ sold, Kensington Wine Market is already looking toward the fall and our next two private cask bottlings. We will be bottling casks from BenRiach and Springbank distilleries; the only question now, is which casks?  We have samples on the way, and need your help to select these casks. We will be holding two tastings in the next month which I am calling Whisky Democracy. You, our valued customers will have the opportunity to help us select which casks of BenRiach and Springbank we bottle.  The tastings will be limited to 20 people, and some of the proceeds from them will be donated to charity. For further information see below.

Slainte!

Andrew

In This Edition

1. Father’s Day Gift Sets
2. Whisky Democracy I
3. Whisky Democracy II
4. Fall Whisky Tours
5. KWM in the Recent Malt Advocate
6. Thoughts on the Fall Single Malt Festival
7. Greetings From Islay
8. New Products
9. Products En Route

Father’s Day Gift Sets

Just in time for Father’s Day we have come up with a couple of unique gift sets for dad. Why just give dad a bottle, when you can surprise him with a kit including a book, whisky glass, magazine and a fine bottle of single malt whisky, all beautifully packaged in an appropriate gift basket! The kits come with your choice of whisky, either Kensington Wine Market’s private cask bottling of Springbank 1996 Mazanilla Cask, or the Aberlour 10Yr. The kits are as follows:

1. Father’s Day Gift Package Springbank – $149.99 + GST
   • 1 x Bottle of Springbank 1996 KWM Manzanilla Cask
   • 1 x Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2009
   • 1 x Glencairn Single Malt Glass
   • 1 x Malt Advocate Magazine Volume 18 No. 2
   • 1 x Waving Barley Gift Basket
2. Father’s Day Gift Package Aberlour – $84.99 + GST
   • 1 x Bottle of Aberlour 10Yr
   • 1 x Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible 2009
   • 1 x Glencairn Single Malt Glass
   • 1 x Malt Advocate Magazine Volume 18 No. 2
   • 1 x Waving Barley Gift Basket

Please call the store ASAP to order if you are interested. We are only able to offer these gift sets in limited quantities.

 

Whisky Democracy I – BenRiach – Thursday July 2^nd – $40pp

The best thing about Democracy is having the opportunity to make your voice heard; it’s about time that we applied that logic to malt whisky. If you’d like to have the opportunity to help select our next cask of whisky, then this tasting is for you!

BenRiach is not as well known as some of its neighbors in the Speyside, but it is one of the most dynamic of the regions distilleries, and one of but 4 which are independently owned and operated. Though first opened in 1898 the distillery spent most of the last century in an inactive state after closing in 1903. Its malting however remained open to supply its sister distillery Longmorn. The distillery was reopened in 1963 by Glenlivet Distillers and in 1983 then owners Seagrams began producing a heavily peated single malt. The distillery was again closed in 2002 but was quickly reopened by Billy Walker, formerly of Burn Stewart Distillers, in partnership with South African Intra Trading. In 2007 BenRiach was named Distillery of the Year by Malt Advocate Magazine.

At this tasting you will sample 6 cask samples of BenRiach single malt—3 of them produced from peated barley, and 3 of them unpeated barley—as well as 2 benchmark BenRiach bottlings for comparison: the 15Yr Madeira Finish and 12Yr Herodotus Fumosus. There will be a comprehensive voting on the cask samples, and your feedback will be used to help us select a cask of BenRiach for bottling this fall.

In addition, part of the proceeds from this evening will be going to a worthy cause. Kensington Wine Market alumnus Tom Firth is participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer later this month, in honour of his late mother.  KWM will be donating up to $300 from this event towards Tom’s fundraising goal. For more information on Tom Firth and his efforts you can visit: http://www.conquercancer.ca/site/TR/Events/Alberta2009?px=1867886&pg=personal&fr_id=1282..

To register for this event drop by the store, call us at 403-283-8000 or visit our website at www.kensingtonwinemarket.com..

As it is the day before the Stampede, western wear is optional… but encouraged!

 

Whisky Democracy II – Springbank  – Thursday July 17^th – 45pp

The best thing about Democracy is having the opportunity to make your voice heard; it’s about time that we applied that logic to malt whisky. If you’d like to have the opportunity to help select our next cask of whisky, then this tasting is for you!

Springbank, established 1828 is Scotland’s oldest family owned distillery, and also the only distillery in Scotland to do the entire process of making malt whisky—from malting to bottling—on site. The distillery is also alone among Scottish distillers in that it malts 100% of its own barley, and also in that it produces 3 distinct styles of whisky: Hazelburn, triple distilled and unpeated; Springbank, 2 ½ distilled and lightly peated; and Longrow, double distilled and heavily peated. Springbank, in the town of Campbeltown, on the Kintyre peninsula is without a doubt the most traditional, most hands-on distillery in Scotland. It is also the distillery which all other independents aspire to be.

Our last cask of Springbank, sampled at the distillery by myself, and 6 customers, was a huge success, and is nearly ¾ sold. We are in need of a follow up bottling, and we are looking at 6 sherry cask samples of Springbank all filled into the cask on the same day in 1996 as our Manzanilla sherry cask. We’ll sample these six Springbank samples, along with the 1996 KWM Manzanilla Sherry Cask and the 11Yr Madeira Wood as benchmarks. As with the BenRiach, there will be a comprehensive voting on the cask samples, and your feedback will be used to help us select a cask of Springbank for bottling this fall.

For this tasting we will be donating part of the proceeds to support our coworker, Lynn Rogers, who is taking part in a fundraising ride from Calgary to San Jose California. 5 teams of 6 riders (pedal bikes), will be taking turns riding the 3,700km trek over the space of 9 days as part of the 2009 Cancervive Peleton Project. Funds raised by CPP support Wellspring Calgary, a local organization that supports those who live with and those who care for those living with cancer. Lynn’s profile can be seen at: http://www.cancervive.ca/riderdetails.asp?rider=6..

To register for this event drop by the store, call us at 403-283-8000 or visit our website at www.kensingtonwinemarket.com..

As this event is post-Stampede, western wear is optional, but strongly discouraged… kidding of course!

Fall Whisky Tours with The Scotch Guy!

I am in the process of planning fall distillery tours of Scotland. At the moment I am looking at doing two separate tours, “Islay and the West Coast”, as well as Orkney and the “Northern Highlands!” Groups are limited to 5-8 participants in order to achieve the kind of experience you can’t have with a larger, less intimate group. Accommodations are at 3 and 4 star hotels and B&B’s, and there are lots of opportunities for fine dining along the way. Using my extensive contacts with Scottish distillers, my tours aim to provide a premium distilleries experience. This often involves comprehensive tastings, tours of warehouses and the odd opportunity to sample right from the cask. I look after all hotels, all distillery visits, ferries and ground transportation; you just have to get yourself there! Here are the two tours I am planning for the fall:

1. The Orkney Isles and Northern Highlands – September 27^th – October 3^rd – You have the option to make the drive to the Orkney’s with me, or fly in on your own (you will have to make your own arrangements). The tour will begin on the main Orkney Island where we will spend two full days visiting both Highland Park and Scapa distilleries. We will also see many of the sights which have made Orkney such a memorable destination: the Neolithic sites of Skara Brae, Maes Howe and the Standing Stones of Stennes; the magnificent St. Magnus Cathedral and some other sites to boot. We will them slowly make our way down the coast of Caithness stopping at iconic distilleries like Old Pulteney, Clynelish/Brora, Balblair, Dalmore and Glenmorangie. We’ll round out the tour in Edinburgh with a dinner and tasting at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
2. Islay and the West Coast – October 4^th – 10^th – Scotland’s West Coast provides a dramatic, and beautiful backdrop for visiting some of its most famous distilleries. We’ll make landfall on Arran, the Kintyre Peninsula, Islay and Jura during this 7 day trip which will highlight some of Scotland’s finest distilleries including: Arran, Springbank, Ardbeg, Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabhain, Jura, Kilchoman, Lagavuling and Laphroaig. The week’s tour will be rounded out by a dinner and tasting at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

If you would like any more information on these tours, please drop me a line by e-mail scotchguy@kensingtonwinemarket.com.. I will shortly be setting up a webpage and e-mail for these tours.

KWM in the Malt Advocate

I was expecting it, but you can still imagine my surprise and glee when I came across the most recent issue of Malt Advocate Magazine. I was in Scotland, at the Gordon & MacPhail shop in Elgin in fact, when I saw it. Kensington Wine Market and some of our recent casks bottlings are mentioned in two paragraphs on page 10. Our now sold out barrel of Evan Williams 1998 is mentioned, as are our casks of Tullibardine 1987, OMC Port Ellen 25Yr, Glen Grant 1966 and Springbank 1996 Manzanilla cask. The mention also includes photos of the final three!

KWM retails the Malt Advocate Magazine for $6.50. The magazine, which I feel is probably the best whisky magazines is published quarterly.

 

Thoughts on the Spring Single Malt Festival

The Spring Single Malt Festival has come and gone, and it was another great event. The evening showcased a few old favourites like Glenfarclas 15Yr, Lagavulin 16Yr, Glen Garioch 21Yr, as well as some new gems like Bruichladdich 16Yr Bourbon Cask, Smith’s Glenlivet 21Yr and the Jura 18Yr. The event was a sellout with 100 participants in attendance sampling from more than 80 different single malts. Our next festival tasting, the Fall Single Malt Festival will take place in November, look for further information in late August!

Greetings From Islay

On arrival on Islay last night I couldn’t resist a drive past Finlaggan, the former seat of the Lords of the Isles. The Lords of the Isles were a Viking/Celtic group who ruled the islands of Scotland’s west coast, the Kyntire Peninsula and Northern Ireland from their base here on the island of Islay. They strategically chose as their base two small islands in a small lake in the northwest of the island. The islands had been used for probably a couple of thousand years before as fortified settlements, going well back into the early Iron Age. The Lords of Isles ruled their lands with their Viking Long Ships independent of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Denmark.

There isn’t much left on the island today, some scattered stones from centuries of occupation, and a couple of well preserved grave markers carved out of stone depicting warriors and Celtic symbols. The Lords of the Isles ran afoul of the Scottish Crown in the 1400’s and were dealt with once and for all. Their lands and their titles became the possession of the monarchs of Scotland and eventually Great Britain. Prince Charles, in addition to being the Prince of Wales is also Lord of the Isles. While life on the island is now centered around the town of Bowmore, Finlaggan remains for me the soul of Islay. A visit to Islay and its distilleries is not complete without paying homage to Finlaggan.

Today was another busy day and I was fortunate to spend the night very comfortably in one of the Bowmore distillery’s cottages. I can’t believe these weren’t rented out for the festival. I had my choice of no less than 7 bedrooms, one of which felt palatial. Not surprisingly it was somewhat difficult stirring from bed. I had a busy day ahead of me with planned visits to Ardbeg, Kilchoman, Bowmore and Bruichladdich distilleries before attending a Bruichladdich pre-festival-day party.

I am a fan of many of Scotland’s distilleries, but Ardbeg is one of a very select few which hold a special place in my heart. The distillery’s oily-peaty whiskies are among my favourites. Ardbeg’s day at the Feis Isles (the Islay Whisky Festival) was 5 days away, but the distillery was bedlum having just released its two very limited festival bottlings. Fortunately distillery manager Michael Heads was able to spare a few minutes time for me and sample me on some of the whiskies.

Ardbeg’s two festival bottling are unique one-offs. They were both matured in toasted new American oak casks. The staves were air dried for 24 months before being electrically toasted to caramelize the sugars in the oak, and boy did they ever… Only two casks were ever filled, 1189 and 1190, both bottled at 10 years of age and with unique characteristics. I also sampled the Supernova at Ardbeg which is a dram I was visiting the distillery just to purchase… I’d had a taste of it earlier in my trip and was blown away by its sweetness and the way the smoke seemed to dance in my mouth. More smoky than peaty, the Supernova is an unusual Ardbeg.

1.         Ardbeg Feis ilses Cask 1189 – Nose: sweet, coconut and banana, with massive notes of caramel and caramelized fruits. Palate: malty and dry with sour peat; spices, bags of caramel ad clove; Finish: dry and oily with more caramel and peat.

2.         Ardbeg Feis Isles Cask 1190 – Nose oily perfumed oak, gentle peat, and softer caramels than the first; Palate: starts slightly bitter, cocoa, warm buttery peat that starts growing steadily levelling off in dark chocolate peat; Finish: rich, mouth-coating and creamy.

3.         Ardbeg Supernova – The Supernova is predominantly matured in first fill American oak bourbon casks. A pre-release of Ardbeg Supernova was done for members of the Ardbeg Committee, 2000 bottles in total. It sold out in 2 hours. Nose: smells a little young on the nose, with a touch of new spirit, as you get into it dry smoke emerges with creamy malt becoming steadily more earthy, chocolaty and darkly peated; Palate: sweet, very sweet, the first fill American oak is making a big statement, soft buttery peat makes a brief appearance before being dominated by sweet smoke, waves of it swirling around your palate as though dancing; Finish: long and pleasant it is all about the sweet smoke.

From Ardbeg I crossed the island to the small farm distillery of Kilchoman to meet its founder and manager Anthony Wills. It’s a busy time on Islay with the festival on, and I have to see people when they can see me, unfortunately this meant I criss-crossed the island a couple times. Later in the week Kilchoman will be auctioning off their first ever bottle of single malt whisky, a 3 year old, that is expected to fetch close to £10,000.00. The bottling will be more widely available later in the year (September 9th to be specific). For the last year Kilchoman has been selling two year old spirit which they can’t call whisky. It has been bottled at 61.5% from a single Fresh Bourbon barrel:

Nose: salty and smoky, honeyed and grassy with some peat; Palate: salty, very salty, with smoky peat and warming into notes of vanilla and banana; Finish: traces of vanilla, some smoke and grassy with hints of salt.

Kilchoman is one of six distilleries in Scotland who malt some of their own barley, at the moment they malt 30% of their needs, all of which is grown by the neighbouring farm. In the future it will be bottling separately its Islay barley and other whiskies. Its whiskies are bottled on Islay by Bruichladdich distillery with which it enjoys a good relationship being the only two independent distilleries on the island. American oak bourbon barrels are sourced direct from Buffalo Trace distillery in Kentucky, and Sherry casks directly from a winery in Spain. Refill casks are more of a problem, with it difficult to acquire good ones.

From  Kilchoman I backtracked to Bowmore to visit the distillery of the same name. I’ve toured Bowmore several times, but on this occasion I was greeted with a couple of new drams. I sampled Bowmore’s Feis Isles 2009 bottling which is an 8 year old matured in sherry, bourbon and wine casks, a new 21 year old exclusive to the distillery and some duty-free outlets which was matured entirely in port pipes, and sampled the Maltmen’s Selection which my Islay group also sampled in the fall.

1.         Bowmore Feis Isles 2009 8Yr – 900 bottles / 57.1% / Sherry, Bourbon and Wine Cask Matured – Nose: unusually fruity, peaches, pear, spicy, almost curry-like, starts to become sweeter with traces of smoke; Palate: peat and dark fruits on the palate followed by a long salty, smoky, dry edge; the second sip was much better with dark chocolate peat and burnt fruits with chewy peat smoke; Finish: drying with salty peat—classic Bowmore—mouthwatering!

2.         Bowmore 21Yr Port Cask Matured – Surprisingly there is very little colour-wise to suggest this whisky was matured in port casks, no pinkish hues. Nose: milk chocolate and plumy fruits, round palate, rose petals and other floral notes; lovely perfumed notes once it opens up; Palate: milk chocolate and soft floral oils, very unusual for a Bowmore, dried cherries, salty-smoke shows later with spicy tones, very unusual; Finish: dry but mouth coating, salty smoke and more perfume.

3.         Craftsmen’s Dram: Maltmen’s Selection – 3000 bottles / 5 Sherry Butts / 54.6% – Nose: brown sugar, Demerara, sweet-barley, salted bacon, candied salmon; Palate: rich and caramelized, starts sweet, becomes earthier, then moves on to fruity buttery peat; loads of sweet melted brown sugar on the palate, and some burnt orange; Finish: long, rich, warming and spicy with burnt sherry notes.

From Bowmore I drove to the other side of Loch Indaal to the Bruichladdich distillery to see what’s new. Last year Bruichladdich released 26 new whiskies, most of them special editions. It is important to stay on top of Bruichladdich distillery, and while there will not be as many new releases this year, they are a number of new bottling to keep an eye out for:

1.         Bruichladdich Organic 5Yr – First In Series

2.         Bruichladdich X4+3 – The first bottling of Bruichladdichs quadruple distilled X4 that can be called whisky, aged 3 years.

3.         Bruichladdich Black Art 1989 – A series of whiskies produced from a variety of cask types.

4.         Bruichladdich Infinity 3rd Edition – The most heavily peated infinity yet.

5.         Bruichladdich Fino Sherry – Replaces Oloroso Sherry

6.         Bruichladdich PX Sherry – Replaces Manzanilla Sherry

7.         Bruichladdich 17Yr Rum Cask Finish – Finished 2 Years in Rum Casks

8.         Bruichladdich Classic – Replaces the 2001 Resurrection Dram / Will be the benchmark new Bruichladdich until the new 10 year old is released in 2013.

9.         Bruichladdich Sherry Fusion – New continuous release made from a mix of different sherry casks.

10.       Bruichladdich Ocotomore 2nd Release – 15,000 bottles, 140ppm

11.       PC8 – Port Charlotte 8Yr 30,000 bottles, last release in the series

There was more to the day than that; I also attended a party for the Bruichladdich staff held each year on the night before their Islay Whisky Festival Open Day. It was a great chance to meet some of the locals and say hello to some familiar faces. The whole gang was there, Andrew Gray, Duncan MacGillivray, Jim & Barbara McEwan, and Mark Reineir to name just a few.  I spent most of the night enjoying the new Bruichladdich 16Yr Bourbon Cask which is a hell of a dram, and will be in store later this week (yes this is the same dram that showed well at the Spring Single Malt Festival).

Bruichladdich has in just 10 years gone from an unknown entity to one of Scotland’s most recognizable whisky brands. It is now almost as well known as Islay’s other iconic malt whiskies like Lagavulin, Bowmore and Ardbeg, and has certainly done far more than any of the aforementioned other distillers to capture people’s imaginations.  I saw this plainly enough at the pre-festival-celidh.  Bruichladdich has inspired art, music, poetry and has legions of devotees. But how has it captured the loyalty and imagination of so many customer and fans, so quickly? If you ask me, its people, Bruichladdich is a big family. When you buy a bottle of Bruichladdich single malt you aren’t just buying its history as you do with many of other of Scotland’s distilleries, you are buying its future too! Save for perhaps Springbank, Bruichladdich employs more people in relation to its output than any of Scotland’s other distillers.

The Bruichladdich party was one of the highlights of my trip to Scotland. I too was made to feel a part of their extended family, and it was a great feeling. After a great meal and some entertainment I retired we some of the staff to the Port Charlotte Pub where the party continued until well past two in the morning.  I only had one day on Islay, but it was a great day!

 New Products

1. Blackadder Raw Cask Tormore 1990 – Whisky in the raw, from barrel to bottle with a little bit of sediment and charred oak for good measure. From a single American oak cask, 65.9% this is a big one! – $115.49
2. Dalmore 15Yr – Matured exclusively in European oak sherry casks, Cloves, vanilla, cinamon, ginger and Seville oranges, with lemon and lime. – $83.99
3. Dalmore 1974 – “Matusalem Sherry Finesse” Matured in casks which previously held Gonzalez Byass sherries. Only 2 bottles of it in Canada! – $1321.99
4. Jura 16Yr – Rich butter notes, organges, spices, sweet toffee and honey on the finish. – $67.49
5. Signatory Mortlach 1988 – Aged 19 years in a single Refill Sherry Butt, 577 total bottles at 59.6%. Warm, sweet, dark sherry notes, sweet caramel, burnt orange and milk chocolate. – $110.49

Products En Route

1. Bruichladdich 16Yr Bourbon Cask Matured – Warm, rich and drowning in vanilla—I normally prefer peated Bruichladdichs, but fell in love with this one on Islay! – $82.49
2. Connoisseurs Choice Rosebank 1991 – Distilled only two years before the distillery closed for ever. – $103.49
3. G&M Smith’s Glenlivet 21Yr – This really tasting bottling of Glenlivet has been bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, and it is spectacularly rich and buttery! – $126.99
4. Jura 18Yr – Marmelade, spicy toffee, almonds, dark bitter chocolate and licorice. – $TBA
5. OMC Port Ellen 26Yr – Douglas Laing & Co. are the kings of bottling Port Ellen—Scotland’s most mourned closed distillery—can’t tell you much more about this bottling just now, except that I can’t wait to try it… – $TBA

 

Returned Products

1. BenRiach 15Yr Madeira Finish – Jim Murray gave this dram a 94 in his Whisky Bible, and it isn’t hard to see why, sweet, soft and spicy. Oh and it goes well with Chips Ahoy cookies while sitting by the camp fire! – $82.49
2. Brora 30Yr – Brora is a closed distillery in the Northern Highlands, I’ll spare you the full story, except to say Brora was the original Clynelish distillery, and that after the current Clynelish distillery was opened, Brora was used to produce a heavily peated malt. This is a big rich robust whisky, ideally suited to a peppercorn NY steak… – $TBA

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If you have any whisky questions or comments concerning The Malt Messenger please contact me by e-mail, phone, or drop by the store. Feel free to forward me any whisky news you feel should be included in a future issue of The Malt Messenger; it might just get included.

All of the products mentioned in THE MALT MESSENGER can be purchased in store, over the phone or from our website at www.kensingtonwinemarket.com.. All prices quoted in the Malt Messenger are subject to change!

Thanks for reading the Malt Messenger!

Slainte!

Andrew Ferguson
KWM Scotchguy

403-283-8000
888-283-9004
1257 Kensington Rd. NW
Calgary, AB, Canada
T2N 3P8

scotchguy@kensingtonwinemarket.com