Malt Messenger Bulletin – Spring Tasting Schedule & 3 Exciting New Whiskies – Scotch Whisky News
Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers,
I hoped you had a wonderful Easter/Passover, and if you indulged in Easter eggs, that you’ve come down from the sugar high. What a day, it almost hit 20 degrees Celcius in Calgary, and yet there is a possibility of snow tonight… welcome to Spring in the Foothills of Alberta! We’re back to work today and our Spring Tasting Schedule is now active online. We have some great tastings planned for the next three months, including: Tequila, Rum, American Whisk(e)y, Irish Whiskey, Japanese Whisky and more than one Single Malt Scotch tasting. We’ve even planned a cocktail course with a certified bartender. The highlights for me are without doubt the Really Raucous Rums tasting on April 12th and the Ultimate Ardbeg Experience Featuring Double Barrel. There are only a few spots left for the former, which is the most spectacular rum tasting we’ve ever put on. It will include a sampling of the new Appleton 50 Year Jamaican Independence, which retails for $4,302.99 bottle. The latter of the two is a very exciting Ardbeg tasting, featuring the Double Barrel, a set of two different 1974 vintage Ardbegs which retails for $15,210.49. The event will be hosted at the Pioneer Club, and will feature a range of 7-8 different Ardbegs.
There is something for everyone in our fall tasting schedule and many of these tastings, like our Spring Single Malt Festival will sell quickly, so don’t delay. Our 2013 Spring Single Malt Festival is planned for the day before the Ultimate Ardbeg Experience to give some of our out of town friends an enticing reason to make a trip out here. I have attached a description of all of the spirits tastings below, they can also be found at: https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/tastings/register.php , where you can also register online. Luddites, kidding of course, can also register in-store or by phone: 403-283-8000.
There are also a couple of new whiskies I’d like to plug, in advance of our next full Malt Messenger. There is the Glendronach Cask Strength Batch I, which is a steal at $83.99. Only about 250 bottles of this whisky have found their way to Alberta, and at this price they won’t last long. There is also the very limited Balvenie 17 Year Peated Cask, $142.99, which we may see as few as a dozen bottles of. Finally there is the Compass Box Hedonism, $95.99, which made a cheeky return to the market last week as a KWM exclusive. This Blended Grain Scotch whisky was a huge hit at our International Whisky Day celebrations, and sold out it store; but don’t fret we’ll see more next week. For more info on these tantalizing whiskies scroll down, I’ve provided a short write-up on each.
I hope this Malt Messenger Bulletin finds you well, and that we’ll see you at one of our many interesting tastings this spring.
Slainté!
Andrew Ferguson
PS- Don’t forget you can follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/scotch_guy and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/scotch.guy.1 .
KENSINGTON WINE MARKET SPRING 2013 SPIRIT TASTINGS
- The Irish Strike Back – Irish Whiskey is going through a renaissance; new distilleries, new whiskies and a general fresh air of excitement. We’ll sample some incredible new Irish whiskies like the Teeling Hybrid, Adelphi Limerick Slaney 1988, Midleton Very Rare 2011, Jameson 18 and Bushmills 21 year, to name a few! – Tuesday April 16th – $50
- Classic Single Malts – Our fun and friendly introduction to the world of single malt whisky. We’ll teach you how to taste and appreciate the world’s finest spirit. – Tuesday April 23rd – $35
- Whisky Tour of Islay – You’ll sample 7 of Islay’s finest whiskies-including 2 Port Ellens-while virtually touring the island and soaking in its sights. Whisky will range from light and unpeated to very smoky. – Tuesday April 30th – $50
- Rare Malts – Only the rarest whiskies, more than 20 years of age and from closed distilleries, are considered for this very special tasting. – Tuesday May 7th – $80
- Whisky, Women & Chocolate – Gather the gals and head on down to the Wine Market for a pairing of everyone’s two favorite food groups, whisky and chocolate! – Friday May 10th – $50
- Whisk(e)y Americano – Bourbon may hog all the attention, but there’s much more to American whisk(e)y in the lower 48 States than the products of Kentucky. – Tuesday June 4th – $50
- Spring Single Malt Festival – Our famous biannual whisky festival may be limited to just 100 participants, but there will be just as many whiskies to sample in this festival style tasting. Warning! Tickets sell out very quickly. – Thursday June 13th – $60
- The Utlimate Ardbeg Experience Featuring Ardbeg Double Barrel– 1974 is the most sought after of all Ardbeg vintages, and we’ll be sampling two 1974 single casks from the very rare Ardbeg Double Barrel ($15,210.49) set. In addition, participants will sample a selection of other Ardbegs including: 10 Year, 17 Year, Corryvreckan, Uigeadail, Galileo, Ardbog Day and possibly another rare vintage! The event will feature some tasty morsels, and will be held at the Southern Alberta Pioneers Hall, 3625 4th Street S.W., Friday June 14th at 7:00PM. – Friday June 14th – $300
- The Last Samurai – While the whisky of the closed Karuizawa distillery is slipping ever closer to oblivion, Ichiro’s malt at Chichibu Distillery is on the rise. We’ll taste a range of very special rare whiskies from these two lesser known Japanese distilleries, while enjoying some photos from Andrew’s recent whisky tour of Japan! – Tuesday June 18th -$100
- Master Malt – Only the most rare and special whiskies are showcased at this tasting which always highlights some of the most exciting whiskies in the world! – Tuesday June 25th – $95
To register visit: https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/tastings/register.php , pop by the store, or give us a ring at 403-283-8000.
GLENDRONACH CASK STRENGTH BATCH I – $83.99
Glendronach has been on the rise since it was bought by BenRiach Distillery Co. in 2008. The distillery, famous for its heavily sherried whiskies has gone from relative obscurity to one of our bestselling malts, and a contender for the King of sherry cask whisky. To date we’ve bottled 2 different casks from Glendronach, a 1995 and an epic 1972 (cask 711). We also have access to small amounts of the vintage single cask Glendronachs released biannually in batches of 5. The two most recent batches (6 and 7) both largely sold out before hitting the floor. The Glendronach Cask Strength is the latest in the distillery’s core range which consists of 12, 15 and 18 year olds. It will be released in batches, and thus vary from one to another, with this current batch being the first release. Bottled at 54.8% without an age statement, it matured in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. As few as 250 bottles have found their way to Alberta.
Tasting note by Serge Valentin of www.whiskyfun.org : “This is a brand new one and a vatting of oloroso and PX casks. I know Glendronach isn’t officially a Speysider but I think it does behave like a Speysider. Ahem. Colour: amber. Nose: … and yet a very similar profile, I wouldn’t say that the PX brought much more roundness and sweetness – so far. So a lot of dried fruits again, Corinthian raisins, rich tobacco, chocolate, bacon, mint… and quite some fresh walnuts as well (skins). With water: more leather, game and tobacco (cigar humidor) as well as whiffs of black truffles. Mouth (neat): now it’s sweeter, and quite unusual too. Oh, and rather brilliant. Starts quite nervous, on pink grapefruits and ginger tonic, before some beautiful notes of tangerine liqueur and gingerbread join in the dancing. Absolutely lovely. With water: more bitter oranges and more ‘greenness’ (herbs, chlorophyll) that go very well with this profile. Finish: long, creamy, not cloying at all. Great balance. More black raisins, cocoa powder and cardamom in the aftertaste. Comments: well, it seems that they did it again. Big yet impressively balanced. Not too sure about the price but it’ll probably be a bargain. SGP:562 – 91 points“
* Available in store next week! Order here!
BALVENIE PEATED CASK 17 YEAR – $142.99
An unusual Balvenie, this limited edition 17 year old was matured in “traditional” casks before being transferred for a period into casks which had previously contained heavily peated whisky. The peated whisky had been produced at Balvenie, avoiding concerns around an earlier Balvenie, the “Islay Cask”, about whether it was still a single malt, having absorbed peated spirit from the cask which had been distilled at another distillery. The peated batch was distilled in 2001, emptied, and 17 year old Balvenie was filled into its casks for a short finishing period. This is the result:
Balvenie 17 Year Peated Cask – 43% – Distillery’s Tasting Note: “NOSE: Gentle floral aroma with hints of violet and lavender. Delicate smoke beautifully balanced with honeyed vanilla and spicy oakiness. TASTE: Prominent smoke softens to reveal oaky honey and vanilla. Cinnamon and nutmeg develop with time. FINISH: Sweet and spicy with a hint of smoke.” – $142.99
* Available in store next week!
COMPASS BOX HEDONISM – $95.99
Hedonism is unique in the Scotch whisky world, one of very few, if not the only Blended Grain whisky. Single malt may hog all the attention, but grain whisky does much of the work in Scotch whisky. Most blends consist of more grain whisky than malt, the former being the base or body with the latter used to add layers and complexity. Most grain whisky is fairly uniform, one dimensional and bland, but there are some exception single casks out there as members of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and others can attest. Compass Box, famous for its Blended Malts, has taken a similar approach in the creation of Hedonism, a Blended Grain. The components of Hedonism have been matured in 100% First Fill American Oak barrels and rejuvenated American Oak Hogshead casks. After blending they are married for 2 years before bottling at 43% without colouring or chill filtering. Compass Box Hedonism is currently exclusive to KWM!
Compass Box Hedonism – 43% – Blended Grain Scotch Whisky – American Oak – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: soft and floral, loads of gentle honey, delicate grainy oils, buttered popcorn, toasty oak and crème brule; there are some fruits too, fresh sliced apples and green grapes; Palate: soft and creamy, very toasty and sugary with Demerara sugars and more crème brule; sweetly decadent with coconut cream icing, buttered corn on the cob and more white fruits and grapes with a tinge of peppery spice; Finish: moderate length, coating and creamy, with more toasty oak, a floral grassiness and fresh Taber corn. – $95.99
* Temporarily sold out, more available in store next week!
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, don’t include GST. In the case of discrepancies in pricing, the price in our in store 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
Owner & Opperator
Ferguson’s Whisky Tours
scotchguide@fergusonwhiskytours.com
