Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers,
Well the Vancouver games are over, congratulations to all the athletes, especially our Canadian ones who’ve set a new Olympic record for Gold medals won! And congratulations to the people of Vancouver too; you put on an excellent event, made difficult given the weather conditions you were dealt. After a couple of weeks of ups and downs it would be easy to succumb to a little post Olympics depression, but I’ve got a couple of excellent spots of news which will hopefully revive your spirit.
Firstly, the Brora tasting which I’ve been hemming and hawing about for the last couple of weeks is finally 100% a go! It looked unlikely to proceed for the longest time because we were waiting on the release of the 2009 Brora 30 year old in Canada. This whisky won’t be here in time to sell at the event; however Diageo Canada has found us a bottle with which to conduct the tasting. This new Brora 30Yr (2009 Release) is one of the most anticipated whisky releases of the year. John Hansel of Malt Advocate recently scored it at 95pts (his highest ever score is only 97): “This whisky has all the positive aspects of a very mature whisky (depth, complexity) without all the negative ones (excessive oak, one-dimensional).” We’ve managed to put together a flight of 6 whiskies from the Brora distillery, an impressive feat given their rarity. For more on this once in a life time tasting (we literally won’t be able to do something like it again) see below. There is also some info on the Brora distillery.
Secondly, the Kilchoman Autumn 2009 (second release) is here. Kilchoman is a new micro distillery on the Isle of Islay. Located near Bruichladdich at Kilchoman farm this distillery has a production capacity roughly equivalent to Edradour (Scotland’s smallest distillery). The Inaugural Release of Kilchoman late last year was eagerly snapped up. Only 120 bottles of it were released in Canada. Kensington Wine Market was very fortunate to have acquired 60 of them, and they were sold before they even made it into the store. The second release is equally limited, only 120 bottles are coming into Canada, and again Kensington Wine Market has acquired 60 of them; more than half of which are already spoken for. For more information on Kilchoman and how you can get a bottle see below. These won’t last long, and likely won’t even make the shelf!
Keep your spirits high, I hope you enjoy this Malt Messenger Bulletin.
Slainté!
Andrew Ferguson
The Brora Tasting – Friday March 12th – $125
This tasting is such a unique opportunity it is unlikely we will ever be able to do it again. There has never been a lot of Brora on the market, only 3 of the 6 bottles you will sample have or will ever be for sale in Alberta. Brora single malt was only produced between 1975 and 1983 when the distillery closed. Most of the stocks of Brora were sold off in the 80’s at bargain prices during a period the Scotch whisky industry refers to as the “Whisky Loch”. There was such a glut of whisky, it was feared the loch could never be drained. Diageo, Brora’s parent company never thought there would be such interest in the distillery or its whisky and as a result, liquidated most of the stocks. I have had to reach far and wide to pull this tasting together, but it was worth it.
Here is the lineup, 6 exceptional bottlings of Port Ellen:
Brora 25Yr (Distiller bottling) – Only limited stocks remaining! 96pts Jim Murray, 91pts John Hansell – $354.99
Brora 30Yr 2005 (Distillery bottling) – Sold Out! 96pts Jim Murray – $419.99
Brora 30Yr 2009 (Distillery bottling) – On the Way from Scotland. – This is the bottling to which John Hansell gave 95pts, an incredible score given his highest in 97. – Approx $450
Rare Malts Brora 21Yr – Never sold in Alberta. Bottled in 1998. 89pts Jim Murray – £357 (www.thewhiskyexchange.com)
Old Malt Cask Brora 19821 – Single cask, never sold in Alberta!
Signatory Brora 1981 – Single cask, never sold in Alberta! 91pts John Hansell
This collection of Broras, were you even able to assemble it, would set you back close to $3000.00. You’ll sample each of these whiskies, learn the history of the Brora distillery and its infamous founder—the 1st Duke of Sutherland—and get a lay for the land. I can’t make this clear enough, this is a tasting we won’t ever be able to do again, and it is one not to be missed!
Brora Distillery – A History
Brora is probably Scotland’s third most mourned distillery behind Port Ellen and Rosebank, but its tale is even more tragic than the other two, once its history is taken into account. Brora distillery was founded in the Northern Highlands of Scotland in 1819 in the town of Brora. Originally called Clynelish, it was only renamed Brora in 1975.
The distillery was founded by the First Duke of Sutherland, originally the Marquis of Stafford. This English nobleman became a Duke through a series of personal and family marriages. The title made the Duke one of the most powerful men in Britain and one of the largest single landholders in Europe. Unsatisfied with the rents earned on their lands, many Scottish nobles set about evicting crofters from their farms. Highlanders were compelled to settle in new towns and cities or as in the case with many, forced to emigrate to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. This occurred during a period which has become known as the Highland Clearances, and the Duke of Sutherland was without questions its most ruthless participant.
The Duke had thousands of peasants kicked off his lands to make way for sheep. At first the relocations met with little resistance but once the Highlanders understood the hardships they would face in coastal fishing villages and the new world they began to resist. This opposition was ruthlessly suppressed, and thousands were burnt out of their homes. Exacerbating the situation one of Sutherland’s factors, Patrick Sellar was acquitted of murder and then given one of the massive sheep farms created by the evictions. Condemnation of the Clearances was widespread, the House of Commons even heard the Highlanders grievances but nothing was done. The Clynelish distillery it is said was established by Sutherland to drive those few remaining highlanders, illicitly distilling in the mountains out of business. Truly his ruthlessness knew no bounds.
To rub salt in the wound, a few short years after his death a 100ft monument was erected to the Duke on Ben Bhraggie, a 1200ft peak overlooking the town of Golspie. The monument says of the Duke that he was an:
“…unostentatious benefactor-who while he provided useful employment-for the active labourer-opened wide his hand to the distresses-of the widow the sick and the traveller-a mourning and grateful tenantry-uniting with the inhabitants of the neighbourhood-erected this pillar…”
To this day there are still threats to blow up the monument, and efforts within the Scottish Parliament to have it removed. One MP, Sandy Lindsay even tried to pawn it off on an American museum; they weren’t interested. But the monument still stands. Visitors to the Sutherland monument today are greeted to graffiti which in neon green reads “Monster”.
Despite its infamous start Clynelish became a model distillery. Changing hands many times in the 19th century, during the 20th it was owned by John Walker & Sons, Distillers Company Ltd, and finally Scottish Malt Distillers, the company which would go on to form Diageo with Guinness. In 1960 the distillery became electrified, replacing locally mined coal. In 1967 a new modern distillery was built next to it and for less than a year they operated in parallel. In 1968, the “Old” Clynelish was mothballed, reopening a year later as Clynelish No. 2 or Clynelish B. In 1972 the distillery began using heavily peated malt, distinguishing it from the other Clynelish single malt. In 1975 Clynelish B changed its name to Brora. Brora proper would only be produced for 8 years before the distillery was permanently closed in March of 1983. The stills and much of the classic old stone buildings are still there, but the Brora distillery is now a sad and lonely sight, overshadowed (literally) by the modern, industrial looking Clynelish distillery.
The fact that Brora single malt was only produced for 8 years between 1975 and 1983 is what adds weight to the tragedy of this distillery’s loss. A unique heavily peated Highland single malt whose stocks are diminishing and said to be almost gone. It isn’t known how much longer we will see bottlings of this iconic distillery, but one thing is for sure, they are getting older, rarer and more expensive with every passing year.
Kilchoman Autumn 2009 (Second) Release – $89.99 – Limit 2 per Customer
Kilchoman is a micro distillery established at Rockside Farm on Islay. Opened in 2005 it is the first new distillery built on Islay since Malt Mill (1908) which is now part of Lagavulin. Kilchoman’s production is barely more than that of Edradour, making it one of Scotland’s smallest distilleries. It malts about half of its barley on site, and even grows a third of it on the estate in fields surrounding the distillery. Although its whisky is little more than three years of age it has already captured the imagination and enthusiasm of whisky connoisseurs and collectors around the world. The first release of 8300 bottles sold out within days; only 120 of these came to Canada and they sold out virtually on arrival. In just 6 months this bottling is already selling for almost twice the original ask price on auction sites.
The second release, Kilchoman Autumn 2009 Release, is also very limited; again but 120 bottles are coming to Canada. The whisky was matured 3 years in Bourbon casks before finishing for two and a half months in Oloroso sherry casks. The whisky has been bottled without colouring or chillfiltering at 46%. Kensington Wine Market will be retailing the whisky for $89.99 + GST. More than half of the 60 bottles we’ve acquired are already spoken for; the rest will be available on a first come first serve basis beginning this Wednesday with a limit of 2 bottles per customer. Call or e-mail to reserve your bottle today, they won’t last long!
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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
