Greetings from the Pacific Coast! I’ve been out west for a few days attending and participating in the Victoria Whisky Festival; Canada’s finest whisky festival. It attracts whiskies and brand ambassadors from all over the world who put on an impressive list of Master Classes and a great festival tasting. I’ll share more of my thoughts on this weekend’s happenings on the store blog in the coming weeks. Today I find myself heading towards Vancouver at a leisurely pace, where I will be conducting another tasting tonight. I’m back in Calgary tomorrow for a Glendronach Vintages Vertical tasting of whiskies from Batch 6 (and a bottle from the yet to arrive batch 7).
Our 2013 Burns Supper is also coming up, taking place this Friday at Fort Calgary. It will be unlike any of our previous Burns Suppers in that participants will have the chance to help us select a future single cask whisky bottling for KWM. If you’ve never attended one of our Burns Suppers before, you owe it to yourself to come check it out. We combine the elements of a traditional Burns Supper (toasts, poetry, song, Highland dancing, and haggis) with a tutored whisky tasting led by a distillery’s brand ambassador. This year’s special guest is Mr. Michael Urquhart of Gordon & MacPhail/Benromach. Michael will be guiding us through a range of 6 whiskies from Benromach Distillery, and its parent company Gordon & MacPhail, one of Scotland’s oldest and most respected independent bottlers. There is only one catch, the deadline to register for the event is the end of the day today.
In addition to some information on Tuesday’s Glendronach tasting and Friday’s Burns Supper, I’ve also highlighted a few Burns themed whiskies to help you mark the birth of Scotland’s favourite son. There are notes on the Burns Blend, Burns Single Malt and Cutty Sark Tam O’Shanter. I’d also like to make note of the Bowmore 1985 26 Year which may not last until the next full Malt Messenger.
Finally, this weekend is our annual Year End Sale. I’ll have a Bulletin out on Friday with all of the deals.
I hope you enjoyed this Malt Messenger Bulletin, and that it finds you well! Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/scotch_guy .
Slainté!
AndrewFerguson
GLENDRONACH VINTAGES VERTICAL – BATCH 6 + 1 – Tuesday January 22nd – $80
We will be sampling six Glendronach single cask, cask strength bottlings including five from Batch 6 and one from Batch 7 that was flown over just to be included in the tasting. Of the Batch 6 bottlings, all but the 1971 has sold out. We only received 6 bottles of each. 5 of the 1971’s have sold, and I’ve just been offered another case. The whiskies are as follows:
- 1971 Cask # 1247 Batch 6 – 47.9% – 41 Year – Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon – $904.99
- 1978 Cask # 1068 Batch 6 – 52.9% – 33 Year – Oloroso Sherry Puncheon – SOLD OUT
- 1989 Cask # 4885 Batch 6 – 53.9% – 23 Year – Moscatel Barrel – SOLD OUT
- 1989 Cask # 5475 Batch 7 – 51.6% – 22 Year – Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon – $TBA
- 1990 Cask # 2966 Batch 6 – 55.1% – 22 Year – Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon – SOLD OUT
- 1993 Cask # 536 Batch 6 – 59.4% – 19 Year – Oloroso Sherry Butt – SOLD OUT
Four of these whiskies will never be available again for purchase let alone sampling!
SCOTS WHAT HAE- Our 8th Annual Robbie Burns Supper w/ Michael Urquhart – Friday January 25th – $99
Our Robbie Burns Supper has become a bit of a Calgary institution over the last 8 years. Every year we have a special guest presenter from the Scotch whisky industry. Past guests of honour have included: Richard Patterson (Dalmore), Peter Currie (Springbank), Jamie MacKenzie (Bowmore), George Grant (Glenfarclas) and Andrew Gray (Bruicladdich) to name just a few. We take the elements of a traditional Burns Supper (the Address to a Haggis, Immortal Memory, Toast to the Lassie with Reply, poetry and song) and add to it Highland dancing and a whisky tasting. It is always a memorable event. This year our special guest is Michael Urquhart of Gordon & MacPhail/Benromach Distillery and we will be sampling a range of single malts including:
- Benromach 10 Year
- Benromach Organic
- Benromach Peat Smoke
- Benromach Cask Strength
- Gordon & MacPhail Smith’s Glenlivet 21 Year
- Gordon & MacPhail Tamdhu 1971 40 Year
Terry Lauder, who’s been to 6 of our previous 7 Burns Suppers, will be making a triumphant return this year, and Mary Ann Houston will be with us for the 7th consecutive year reprising her role as piper. We will also be adding a new element to this year’s dinner, a cask selection. Attendees will be invited to turn up early (6:15) to help us select a cask of Benromach single malt to be bottled for our store. The formal dinner will begin at 7:00PM sharp.
For the 4th straight year we will be holding our event in the Officer’s Mess at Fort Calgary. It is a beautiful room, and they always put on an excellent meal. There are still a few tickets left for purchase in store, by phone 403-283-8000 and online https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/tastings/register.php . Ticket sales close at midnight tonight.
Robert Burns – The Man
Robert Burns-AKA Rabbie Burns, Robbie Burns, the Ploughman Poet, Bard of Ayrshire and to Scots, simply The Bard-was born on January 25th 1759 in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland. Widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, he is without doubt Scotland’s favorite son. Every year the date of his birth is celebrated in Scotland and around the world in the Scottish Diaspora; which incidentally includes all native Scots, descendants of Scots, and those who wish they were!
Poor and little-known during his life time, Robert Burn’s fame has grown steadily since his death. His poetry and other writings are every bit as evocative and relevant today as they were in the late 1700s. He gave voice to the common man, where there was none before, and was one of the pioneers of the Romantic Movement.
2009 was the 250th Anniversary of Burn’s birth, and was celebrated in Scotland as”Homecoming 2009″
The Burns Supper
Celebrated for more than 2 centuries, the Burns Supper has changed little since his death in 1796. The dinner opens with a general welcome, followed by the Selkirk Grace. The piping signals the entrance of the Haggis which is ceremonially cut open to the reading of Burns’ famous ode, “Address to a Haggis”. The Immortal memory, a recounting of the life of Robert Burns is given and then a couple of toasts. The dinner concludes with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne”.
But that’s not enough for the KWM Burns Supper. We blend a whisky tasting into the evenings events, along with some traditional highland dancing from the Springbank School of Dance. This even will appeal to both novice and seasoned Burns Supper attendees. And one need not love whisky to attend, but it doesn’t hurt!
Gordon & MacPhail / Benromach Distillery
Gordon & MacPhail is one of Scotland’s oldest and most respected independent bottlers. From humble origins in 1895 as a grocer the business has gone on to become an important player in the Scotch whisky industry. G&M’s stocks of old and maturing whisky are the envy of the industry, having bottled two 70 year old whiskies and a 60 year old in the last three years. Long before single malts caught on outside of the Highlands, G&M was bottling and selling single malts from their shop in Elgin. The family business has retained its Elgin storefront, but there is much more to the business today.
Benromach distillery was founded in 1898 in the town of Forres west of Elgin. Benromach is the smallest of the Speyside’s more than 50 distilleries. Closed in 1983, Benromach was in a poor state when it was purchased by Gordon & MacPhail in 1993. It took the new owners nearly 5 years to get it up and running again. Unable to exactly reproduce the original style of whisky the distillery settled on producing a lightly peated Speyside malt more traditional to the region a century ago. The distillery was officially reopened by the Prince of Wales in 1998 and bottled its first single malt in 2004.
Michael Urquhart
Michael Urquhart is Joint Managing Director of Gordon & MacPhail, a family firm which also owns Benromach distillery. A Keeper of the Quaich since 1999, he was made a Master in 2012 in recognition of his service to the Scotch Whisky Industry. Michael heads the export function of the business and travels extensively promoting Gordon & MacPhail and Benromach whiskies. Michael led the team that developed and launched Gordon & MacPhail’s Generations range, which included two seventy year old single malts, the oldest whiskies in the world. Both were launched to international acclaim at Edinburgh Castle in 2010 and 2011. In 2012 he launched a 60 year old to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
BURNS WHISKIES
Here are a couple of Scotch whiskies with which to celebrate this Friday. The Burns Bottlings are done by the Arran distillery and help sustain the World Burns Federation. The Cutty Sark Tam O’Shanter is a deluxe (single malt lover’s blend) blend paying tribute to the origins of the Cutty Sark brand name. It is beautifully presented and is a stunning whisky. It’s heart is Macallan with some Glenrothes and Highland Park. It was named one of Whisky Advocate Magazine’s Top 10 new whiskies in their fall edition.
- Arran Robert Burns Blended Scotch Whisky – The only blended Scotch whisky officially endorsed by the World Burns Federation, this whisky is a surprisingly good and well-priced dram. I once poured it blind in a tasting of single malts ranging up to $90/bottle and it finished #1. – $35.99
- Arran Robert Burns Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Like the blended version, the Robert Burns single malt is the only Scotch whisky of its kind endorsed by the World Burns Federation. This is a young very well priced bottling of Arran. In 2000 the Arran distillery was granted membership for life in the World Burns Federation. – $51.99
- Cutty Sark Tam O’Shanter 25 Year -46.5%- 5000 Total Bottles – 45 in Canada – Exclusive to Kensington Wine Market – My Tasting Note: Nose: wow spicy, sherried and chocolaty… this is a blend?; elements of tobacco, leather, tar and black licorice; there are delicate floral notes (Glenrothes?), hints of heathery honey (Highland Park?) and dark fruits (Macallan?); there are subtle hints of grain whisky too, but just traces, this is a malt heavy blend; Palate: dark fruits (raisins, figs and Saskatoon berries), sultanas, candied nuts, candied orange and spices: clove, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom; this is a very chocolaty whisky, thick with molasses, Demerara and moist brown sugar; there are elements too of leather, tobacco and earthier sherry notes; this is a big rich and spicy whisky; Finish: nutty with more juicy dark fruits, leather, tobacco and earthy spice; candied nuts again, smooth oak and layers upon layers; Comment: you’d be forgiven for confusing this whisky with a sherried Speysider, it can’thelp that the signature components of Cutty Sark are Macallan, Highland Park and Glenrothes. – $389.99 + GST *While supplies last we have bespoke Cutty Sark flasks to give away with bottles!
BOWMORE 1985 26 Year – $534.99 + GST
I haven’t had a chance to write-up this new Bowmore formally just yet, but by the time I do it may be gone, only 30 odd bottles found their way to Alberta. We received 15 and have already sold more than half of them! There’s been a sample bottle staring at me from my desk at home for months and while I haven’t properly sampled it yet I’ve tasted it twice, most recently at last week’s MS Calgary Whisky Festival. It is very floral like the 1983 bottling we had about a year ago, but with some spice and dark fruit this time. 747 total bottles have been produced from a mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks bottled at a cask strength of 52.3%.
YEAR END SALE THIS WEEKEND! – Friday January 25th – Sunday January 28th
Details to follow on Friday!
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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, and don’t include GST. In the event of discrepancies, the point of sale will be taken as correct.
Thanks for reading the Malt Messenger.
Slainte!
Andrew Ferguson
Manager & Scotchguy
Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
www.kensingtonwinemarket.com
Owner & Operator
Ferguson’s Whisky Tours
www.fergusonwhiskytours.com
