www.ralfy.com gets a bit Bohemian with Whisky Review 510 – Hammerhead Czech Single Malt

Jim Beam Donates $100,000 To Fund Holiday Meals For Military Families

Fort Campbell, Ky. – December 9, 2014 – Jim Beam® Bourbon, the world’s No. 1 bourbon, is adding more happy to the holidays this year with a $100,000 donation to Operation Homefront, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting United States military families. Presented today by Frederick “Fred” Booker Noe III, seventh generation Jim Beam master distiller, along with his son, Freddie Noe IV, in a ceremony at Fort Campbell, Ky., the funds will help provide holiday meals for military families.

“Bourbon is just about as American as you can get,” said Noe. “So at Jim Beam we’re honored to support our military heroes who defend our great country every day. They are part of our family, and we salute them.”

The donation marks the latest demonstration of Jim Beam’s long history of support for the military and Operation Homefront. Since 2008, Jim Beam has donated more than $2.5 million to the organization through a variety of charitable programming efforts.  The Holiday Meals for Military program began Thanksgiving 2009 as the result of a chance encounter in a supermarket in Utica, N.Y., near Fort Drum.  A soldier, his wife and infant had a handful of grocery items they could not afford, so a Jim Beam employee picked up the $12 cost for the groceries.  Since that time, the program has grown from initially providing 500 meal kits to military families in 2009 to providing 8,000 this holiday season, and Jim Beam continues to be a major supporter of the program.

“Thanks to continued support from Jim Beam and other sponsors, this season we’re providing 8,000 military families at 21 different active duty bases with a Holiday Meal kit, which includes everything they need for a holiday dinner,” said Stacey Crooks, Senior Director of Corporate Relations for Operation Homefront. “We’re incredibly grateful for the generous donations Jim Beam has provided over the years and for its commitment to honoring and assisting our country’s military families. Having Fred Noe and his son volunteer their time today is the icing on the cake and means so much to our military families.”

Jim Beam has a long history of support for the military that can be traced all the way back to the 1700s. If not for the land grant given to the Beam family for all their service during the revolutionary war, the brand’s Kentucky distillery may not have existed. Today, the company is proud to employ numerous veterans and active military personnel, and has promised to hold the jobs of those called to active duty.

 

‘tis the season to be jolly fa-la-la-la-laa la la la laa!

It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again. Another 960 casks laid down, containing 192,000 litres of Wolfburn spirit. Another year of successful operation and production.

This year saw one month of trial peat run (so impressed we have already decided to do another one next year); our first whisky show and tastings; plus an application to build a third warehouse and bottling plant.

We can proudly say we did our absolute best to ensure that this time next year we’ll be getting ready to bottle some of Scotland’s finest whisky.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and Hogmanay,

Slàinte

The Wolfburn Team

Wolfburn Henderson Park, Thurso, Caithness KW14 7XW United Kingdom

Spirit of Hven – the appliance of science

With all the romance of whisky, it’s easy to forget that distilleries are, in essence, factories, and production is just cold, hard science. One distillery that takes an extraordinarily scientific approach is Sweden’s Spirit of Hven (pronounced ‘veen’). Distiller and joint owner Henric Molin is a chemist by trade and uses his background to create a range of spirits, predominantly using nosing and chemical analysis.

Spirit of Hven distillery on an overcast, windy October morning – not many takers for cycling!

The distillery is situated on the island of Ven (the ‘h’ prefix is the older Swedish spelling, and is also used in Danish) which lies in the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. Henric and his wife Anja Engdahl-Molin have been running the on-site hotel in Backafallsbyn since 1997, and a decade later decided to start distilling: ‘We needed to do something to keep the staff busy during the quiet season,’ Henric told me. The brand was only exported for the first time in 2012, part of a plan to do things themselves without outside financial help, and to grow slowly: ‘We wanted to keep control of the whole process; it was important to us.’

I simultaneously manage to look dapper and please Swedish Health and Safety

The operation at Hven uses scientific methods including in the tasting room, where the temperature and humidity is often subtly altered during events to see how it affects perceptions. The pièce de résistance is the gas chromatography-mass spectometry machine which analyses spirit samples and shows the chemical breakdown. This allows Henric to assess the ageing capability of a certain spirit before it is put in a cask, or to see whether it contains too high a percentage of undesirable elements, such as feints (the spirit produced at the end of the distillation). The machine is the only one of its kind in the EU to be used for spirits, and Henric analyses samples for around a quarter of the world’s distilleries.
They produce a wide range of spirits: whisky, aquavit, gin, vodka, and seasonal winter and summer spirits, and have been experimenting with apple brandy and an agricole-style rum using sugar beets from the island.

Spirit of Hven Seven Stars No.1 Dubhe, 45%. £87.95 (50cl).

The first release in the distillery’s Seven Stars series, in which seven whiskies are to be released over the coming years, all named after stars in The Plough constellation. A medium-peated whisky (around 40ppm), this was aged for around four years in 25 oak casks – a combination of Spanish, French and American.

Nose: Complex with sweet nutmeg, ripe strawberry and dark chocolate.
Palate: A flavour explosion! The nutmeg and dark chocolate from the nose joined by orange zest, cinnamon and vanilla.
Finish: Medium in length, with the orange zest the most prominent flavour at the end.
Comment: An intriguing whisky, every sip is slightly different. It’s one of those that I could sip and think about for hours – a real gem.

I tasted a range of other spirits – Summer Spirit (vodka, elderflower, rhubarb and apples), Winter Spirit (vodka, cassia and other spices) and a single-wine-cask-finished whisky (Sankt Klaus), all of which were delicious and great examples of their categories. All the spirits were matched with food. The best? Aquavit and pickled herring (matjesherring) – they complemented each other perfectly.

Spirit of Hven is unlike any distillery I’ve ever visited – the scientific approach lends another dimension, with exceptional attention to detail at every stage. Tasting the spirits, it’s hard to forget the brand is only seven years old, and I eagerly await future releases.

My week visiting Swedish distilleries highlighted the progress being made in the country, which had no whisky production 15 years ago. With the spirits from Smögen and Box coming of age, the future is bright for Swedish whisky – I’ll be visiting again soon.

The 21st Annual Awards have all been posted on the Whisky Advocate blog! There are thirteen awards: eleven categories for the whisky/whiskey of the year, the distiller of the year, and our Lifetime Achievement awards. Except for the Lifetime Achievement category, there is only one winner in each category.

The Whisky Advocate Awards exist to recognize excellence in the world of whisky. Now in its 21st year, the program is simply about the world’s greatest whiskies and distilleries, and the individuals who make and promote them. As always, these awards are not simply assigned to the whiskies that get the highest ratings in our reviews. The winners might be the highest-rated, or they might instead be the most significant, or the most important, or represent a new direction for a category or niche.

These awards are the oldest and longest-running annual whisky awards program. There is no fee, there are no entry requirements. We taste and sample over the course of the year, at year’s end we consider and confer, and then we make our decisions based solely on the merits of the whiskies…as we have done for over twenty years. We give you our word: that’s how it will continue to be.

The winners are listed below, with a link to the formal write-up on the Whisky Advocate blog. We hope you enjoy the selections, and wish you the best in the coming year!

Craft Whiskey of the Year: St. George Single Malt Lot 14

American Whiskey of the Year: Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old

Canadian Whisky of the Year: Canadian Club Chairman’s Select 100% Rye

Irish Whiskey of the Year: Midleton Very Rare 2014

Japanese Whisky of the Year: Ichiro’s Malt The Joker

World Whisky of the Year: Broger Burn Out

Blended/Blended Malt Whisky of the Year: The Last Drop 50 year old

Speyside Single Malt of the Year: Craigellachie 17 year old

Islay Single Malt of the Year: Signatory (distilled at Laphroaig) 1998, 60.8%

Highland/Islands Single Malt of the Year: Arran Devil’s Punchbowl III The Fiendish Finale

Lowlands/Campbeltown Single Malt of the Year: Rosebank 1992 21 year old (Diageo Special Releases 2014)

Lifetime Achievement Awards:
Colin Scott, Chivas Bros.;
Duncan McGillivray, Bruichladdich
Distiller of the Year: Beam Suntory

Can you believe it is only a few days until Christmas? If you missed my Malt Messenger Christmas Gift Guide, you can still view it online, or you can view it on Whisky Intelligence. (Heh! That’s us!) We have lots of great gift ideas in store, so come pay us a visit or check us out online!

December has flown by at Kensington Wine Market and the whiskies are flying out the door. Our exclusive single casks are doing especially well. Topping the charts right now is our new Glendronach 2003 Cask, which we are struggling to keep in stock. We have another Glendronach Cask, a 1993, and it is also selling briskly. A little more mature and refined it is one of the finest whiskies in our store. Our Arran 1996 Cask is also doing very well, thank you very much; less than 40 bottles left out of a total of 334. Our Glen Garioch 1998 Cask is also pulling a disappearing act, just 37 of the 220 bottles we launched in mid-November remain!

Speaking of a disappearing act, we were very saddened by the theft of our four Christmas trees from in front of the store earlier this week. We’d like to thank Rob and Kelly from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada for donating a pair of replacement trees. Thank you!

There is lots to tell you about in this Malt Messenger. The 11th Batch of BenRiach single casks has just arrived, and BenRiach is this edition’s Distillery in Focus. We’ve also just received our exclusive new Darkness whiskies by Master of Malt. Japanese whisky has been very hot this fall, owning in no small part to the Whisky Bible naming a Yamazaki bottling Whisky of the Year. Sadly Yamazaki and all Suntory products aren’t currently available in Canada, but we do have a huge shipment of whiskies from the rival Nikka Whisky Co. due to land in just a few days.

If you’re in the Kensington area this afternoon, Andy Dunn of Gold Medal will be in to spread some Christmas cheer. We’ll be featuring the new Kilchoman 100% Islay 4th Edition $100. It is a beautiful, elegant, peated dram. We’ll also be pouring Springbank, Benromach, Tullibardine, Gordon & MacPhail and a host of other whiskies!

There is a lot to tell you about in this issue, so I’m going to cut this short and let you get on with browsing the 62nd full Malt Messenger. I hope you enjoy it, and on behalf of everyone at Kensington Wine Market let me wish you a Very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and a Safe and Prosperous New Year!

Slainté!

Andrew Ferguson

In This Issue
1. BenRiach Batch 11 Whiskies are Here
2. Distillery in Focus: BenRiach
3. Introducing: Darkness by Master of Malt
4. Japanese Whiskies Back in Stock Soon
5. New Whiskies from Compass Box
6. Introducing: Tomatin Cuatro
7. Two New Macallans
8. Price Increase Looming on Glenfarclas 30 & 40 Year
9. Introducing: The Dalmore 25 Year
10. Bruichladdichs Back in Stock
11. MS Calgary Whisky Festival 2015
12. Scot’s Wha Hae: KWM’s 9th Annual Burns Supper
Slainte!

Andrew Ferguson
Kensington Wine Market

PS- PS – Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/scotch_guy and Facebook: facebook.com/scotch.guy.1 .
www.fergusonwhiskytours.com

BenRiach Batch 11 is Here

14 New Single Cask BenRiachs Exclusive to KWM in Canada!

We are very fortunate to be the only retailer in Canada, that gets access to BenRiachs Batch vintage whiskies. We’ve been a huge supporter of the brand since the distillery was bought by Billy Walker and a network of investors in 2004. There has been no looking back since that date. BenRiach has gone from virtual unknown to an industry pioneer in innovation. This 11th Batch of vintage releases is no different. We have sherry matured whiskies finished in Ex-Bourbon, and peated Speyside whisky from the 70s. This caught me off guard as I had believed the distillery only started peating some of their malt in the mid-80s. KWM has exclusive access in Canada to the following BenRiach vintage whiskies, but in very limited quantities:

BenRiachs Batch 11 Whiskies:

1. BenRiach 1976 Cask 529 – 44.2% – 37 Year – Bourbon Barrel (Sherry Cask Matured, Bourbon Finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Gentle honey infused with figs, ripe plums and toasted oak spice softens to hints of pineapple. Taste: Fresh, crisp oak and cereal combine with sweet plum syrup and develop to an elegant soft tropical fruit and toasted coconut finish. – $574.99 (Only 3 Left)
2. BenRiach 1976 Cask 5463 – 51.9% – 37 Year – Bourbon Barrel/Peated (Sherry Cask Matured, Bourbon Finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Rich chocolate holds touches of sweet dates, balanced perfectly with a sharp citrus kick and hot pepper spice. Taste: A lively black pepper heat infuses through dark fruitcake followed by delicate waves of soft peaches dusted with cocoa.” – $574.99 SOLD OUT
3. BenRiach 1977 Cask 7114 – 48.3% – 37 Year – Hogshead – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Buttery apples and ripe pears soaked with wild flower honey develop to ripe bananas and gentle white pepper. Taste: Classic aged oak combines with floods of tropical fruits. Green apple peel and barley grist add a crisp back note to the traditional Speyside style. – $574.99
4. BenRiach 1977 Cask 1891 – 43.2% – 37 years old – Dark Rum Barrel (Dark Rum Finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Succulent cane sugar spills over roasted orchard fruits. A lingering toffee and biscuit note gives added depth. Taste: Demerara and boiled sweets burst on the palate and seamlessly soften to waves of toffee and vanilla. Barley-dusted stewed gooseberries give a great contrast and balance throughout the palate.” – $574.99
5. BenRiach 1978 Cask 5469 – 41.7% – 36 Year – Bourbon Barrel (Sherry Cask Matured, Bourbon Finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Oven roasted red apples with caramelised Muscovado sugar warmed by fragrant toasted allspice and peppercorns. Taste: Fairground candy apple, cinnamon and delicate ground black pepper mellow to touches of fig, sultanas and stewed sweet barley.” – $524.99
6. BenRiach 1984 Cask 488 – 51.1% – 29 Year – Hogshead/Peated – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Dark, smoky wood notes fill the nose and flood through a distant prune and sundried raisin fruit character. Taste: Subtle earthy peat reek and a lingering aged oak note give an elegant quality to the unique peated character, which holds rich fruitcake, cinnamon and warm oak spices.” – $269.99
7. BenRiach 1984 Cask 4051 – 50.3% – 29 Year Tawny Port Hogshead/Peated (Tawny Port Finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Sweet wild strawberries and dark blackcurrants infused with gentle charcoal smoke, delicate garden herbs and distant hints of mint. Taste: A mouth-watering explosion of burning hillside heather smoke merges with sharp cranberry and wild meadow honey. Earthy and grassy peat lingers satisfyingly on the long palate. – $269.99
8. BenRiach 1994 Cask 1703 – 55.6% – 20 Year – Tawny Port Hogshead (Tawny Port Finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Rich amber with a tawny heart. Taste: Gentle red cherries with a crisp citrus kick mellow to roasted red apples and toasted spices.” – $169.99
9. BenRiach 1994 Cask 5626 – 53.2% – 20 Year – Madeira Hogshead/Peated (Madeira Finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Sweet campfire wood smoke engulfs orchard fruits dusted with barley grist. Taste: Earthy, leathery peat combines seamlessly with dried apricot and touches of cantaloupe melon. A crisp, sweet barley finish.” – $169.99
10. BenRiach 1996 Cask 7176 -52.4% – 18 Year – Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon (Pedro Ximenez Sherry Finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Delicious soft chocolate, dates and vanilla merge gently with warm oak spices. Taste: Luxurious chocolate and roasted coffee beans hold hints of cherry and ground almond, surrounded by contrasting hot spiced oak.” – $146.99
11. BenRiach 1997 Cask 4435 – 56.1% – 16 Year – Marsala Hogshead (Marsala finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Cracked black peppercorns delicately warm candy apples infused with a touch of mint. Taste: A fantastic contrast of crisp green apple skin, white pepper and ginger mellows to ripe summer fruits and a soft barley finish.” – $130.99
12. BenRiach 1998 Cask 5171 – 57.9% – 16 Year – Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon/Triple Distilled (Pedro Ximenez Sherry finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: A clean, gentle nose of date, fig and cocoa holds an elegant twist of fragrant herbs and nutmeg. Taste: Vibrant oak spice, orange bitters and dark chocolate give exceptional depth. Stewed barley and orchard fruits softly roll through the long ever-changing palate. – $130.99
13. BenRiach 2000 Cask 38131 – 59.3% – 14 Year – Bourbon Barrel – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Touches of candied peel compliment sweet caramelised pear. Buttery vanilla pod surrounds the classic nose. Taste: Rich tarte Tatin with grated, crisp lime zest explodes to cinnamon-infused stewed orchard fruits and sultanas. Freshly-sawn oak and barley sugar give a long, crisp edge to vibrant palate. “- $109.99
14. BenRiach 2005 Cask 3781 – 58.7% – 9 Year – Virgin American Oak Hogshead/Peated (Virgin American Oak finish) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Burning heather smoke and toasted oak spices surround a delicate, buttery nose of dried apricots and sultanas. Taste: Floods of sweet peat reek in rich caramelised apple and pear gently soften to dried apricot and desiccated coconut. An exquisite oak balance develops to a classic, sweet cereal finish.” – $89.99

Distillery in Focus: BenRiach

One of the Speyside’s Most Dynamic Distilleries

2014 is the BenRiach Distillery’s 10th Anniversary under the stewardship of Billy Walker and his team at the BenRiach Distillery Co. With the backing of a group of South African investors Billy Walker purchased the then silent distillery from Pernod Ricard. Within three months the new team at BenRiach had a launched a new core range. Two months later the distillery was in fully operational again. Over the last decade BenRiach has risen like a Pheonix from the ashes of its past.

For much of BenRiach’s history the distillery was largely unloved. , the distillery has been closed more years than it has been open since its stills first fired in 1897. In 1903 the distillery was shuttered after just a couple years of production when a whisky boom the industry had rode for the previous two decades dramatically turned to a bust. The distillery would remain closed for the next 62 years, though it survived owing to its proximity to another distillery, Longmorn.

Longmorn distillery made use of the malting floor and warehouses at BenRiach to assist in its own production. The distillery’s event had a short line of track between the to transfer stocks and raw materials. BenRiach was sometimes referred to as Longmorn #2. When BenRiach reopened in 1965 a new whisky boom was in its early stages. This one too would have a rough landing in the early 1980s. Once again a large proportion of Scotland’s distilleries closed, many of them forever. BenRiach limped along however, largely unloved, but needed for the peated production it produced, and its malting floor which was in use until 1999. The distillery closed again in 2002, in the eyes of the accounts, surplus to the needs of Pernod Ricard, its new owners.

BenRiach’s most recent closure was not to last long. Even if many of the producers hadn’t fully grasped it, the industry was once again on a major upswing. Billy Walker and his group acquired the distillery and its stocks for a song, and they’ve never looked back. The distillery is easily one of Scotland’s most dynamic and innovative. When Billy opened the warehouse doors he found a wide variety of stocks, both unpeated and peated, maturing in a wide range of casks. In the last few years the distillery has also conducted trials with its malting floors, which is has returned to a usable condition. One of only 8 distilleries in Scotland that can malt some of their own barley on site in traditional floor maltings.

BenRiach’s rise over the last decade has been impressive. It has been named distillery of the year several times by different whisky magazines, most recently by Whisky Magazine. We’ve had a long standing relationship with this maverick distiller, and are always eager to see what’s next.

BenRiach Whiskies Available from KWM:

1. BenRiach 12 Year – 43% – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Honey, vanilla, floral, fruity with well balanced wood overtones. Palate: Rounded medium to full bodied, rich honey, vanilla with hints of cream, spice and chocolate.” – $63.99
2. BenRiach 12 Year 4.5L – 43% – Same whisky as above, just 4.5L, or 6 bottles worth of it! – $399.99
3. BenRiach 12 Year Sherry Matured – 46% – Matured in Oloroso & Pedro Ximenez Sherry – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Mocha, dark chocolate, sultanas and rich spices. Palate: The combination of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez Sherry casks gives a wonderful balance of mocha and dark chocolate interwoven with figs, sultanas, vanilla, fruits and rich spices.” – $74.99
4. BenRiach Curiositas 10 Year – 46% – Peated Speyside Whisky – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: An explosion of aromatic peat reek, with fragrant hints of honey, fruit and mellow oak. Palate: An avalanche of peat, followed by an extravagant and complex mix of fruit, heather, nuts, oak wood and spices.” – $58.99
5. BenRiach Septendicem 17 Year – 46% – American Oak Matured – Peated Speyside (Latin for 17) – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: A robust mix of fresh peaty aromas, constructed around a central core of apples and toasted nuts which have been dowsed in wild mountain honey. Palate: Sweet concentrated peat flavours dominate from the start. Bold and intense. The peaty heart is united with honey-infused raisins, roasted nuts and a luxurious leather impression. Full-bodied with fantastic length. A real heavyweight, which will impart a lasting impression on the palate.” – $93.99
6. BenRiach Authenticus 25 Year – 46% – Peated Speyside – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Elegant aromas of ripe pineapple, fresh mountain herbs and a profusion of sweet peat. A huge pungent blast of peat smoke emerges, partnering the peated element perfectly. Full bodied and audacious. Palate: A fantastic fusion of rich peat and smouldering embers bound together by fresh herbs – oregano, aniseed and chicory in particular. A rush of sweet, wild honey provides a lovely contrast to this lively, intense expression.” – $224.99

Two 15 Year BenRiach Finishes Exclusive to KWM, produced in very limited quantities:

1. BenRiach 15 Year Madeira Finish – 46% – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Vanilla and spices with watermelon and peaches, with a rich backdrop of Madeira and oak wood. Palate: An avalanche of butterscotch, hazelnuts, peaches and spices, with a rich Madeira finish.” – $87.99
2. BenRiach 15 Year Pedro Ximenez Sherry Finish – 46% – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Honey, sultanas, dark chocolate with a flood of Pedro Ximenez Sherry. Palate: Cream and honey, infused with papaya, rosehips, eucalyptus and dark chocolate, all interwoven with rich Pedro Ximenez Sherry and oak wood.” – $87.99 (Bronze Medal From the Malt Maniacs!)

Introducing: Darkness by Master of Malt

Six New Exclusive Sherry Bombs for KWM

Darkness is a new range of whiskies from Master of Malt. The company had Speyside cooperage build them custom 50L Octave casks from Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks. The whiskies were only finished in them for 3 months, but given the reduced ratio of surface area to whisky, the results were stunning. KWM has brought in a limited release of these whiskies, and they are not expected to last long. These whiskies sold out a long time ago in the UK, it’s taken a while to get our share of the bottles here. I should also note a debt of gratitude is owed to Kelly Carpenter of the Soctch Malt Whisky Society Canada who tipped me off to these drams. Thanks Kelly!

1. Darkness! Clynelish16 year old Oloroso Cask Finish – 54.9% – 16 Year – 94 bottles – MoM Tasting Note: “Nose: Mixed candied peels, dried apricot, dates and a little chutney tang. Buttered crumpets, fudge and honeysuckle. A little jaffa cake too, all underpinned by some rich walnut. Palate: Chocolate HobNobs, rich, dark caramels and pleasantly pervading peach skin. Finish: More peach and dates especially, slightly sweet and nutty.” – $194.99
2. Darkness! Aberlour 20 Year Old Pedro Ximenez Cask – 53.7% – 20 Year – 97 bottles – MoM Tasting Note: “Nose: Initial cinnamon, green apple and meringue with clove and anise developing. Palate: Red apple, nutty oak, cakeyness and again clove develops to add wonderful depth. Finish: Dates, sultanas, fruit salad and something unexpectedly herbal pops up too (a little menthol?).” – $159.99
3. Darkness! Aultmore 16 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish – 53.6% – 16 Year – 81 bottles – MoM Tasting Note: “Nose: Cherries, baked apples and freshly baked bread. Milka chocolate bars develop. Palate: Oooh, it’s like we’ve broken into the tuck shop and come out with bags full of chewy toffees and chocolate covered raisins. There’s a subtle hint of red chilli during the mid-palate too. Finish: Long with boiled sweets, blackcurrants and a little oak.- 53.9% – 96 Bottles – $159.99
4. Darkness! Dailuaine 15 year Old Pedro Ximenez Cask Finish – 53.9% – 15 Year – 96 Bottles – MoM Tasting Note: “Nose: Chocolate drops and freshly harvested cereals. Nuts, barley sugar and deep, subtle dried fruit depth. Palate: The rich meatiness you hope for from Dailuaine is present here alongside nutty dates and rich spice. Finish: Choc chip and hazelnut cookies. I’m in heaven. – $181.99
5. Darkness! Glen Moray 22 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish – 57.8% – 22 Year – 88 Bottles – MoM Tasting Note: “Nose: With just a little water herbal, honeyed notes emerge with dried apricots, raisins, rich strawberry sauce and hints of syrupy tropical fruits too. Cashew nuts and rosemary honey develop. Palate: Honey drizzled all over fruit salad and sultanas with a bag of roasted chestnuts from a roadside stall chucked in for good measure. Finish: Nutty oak with alternating notes of pecan, cashew nut and chestnut.- $249.99
6. Darkness! Tomintoul 18 Year Old Oloroso Cask Finish – 52.7% – 95 Bottles – MoM Tasting Note: “Nose: Complex with barley, custard, juicy prunes and sweet biscuits. Palate: Caramel latte (not that I’ve ever had one of those) or a Werther’s Original eaten with a sip of Americano. Finish: Ginger, cinnamon, sultana, creamy malt. Into darkness chocolate.”- $181.99

 Japanese Whiskies Back In Stock Soon

A Dozen Whiskies from Nikka Whisky Co.

Nikka is Japan’s second oldest whisky company, cerlebrating its 80th Anniversary this year. The company’s first distillery was established by Masataka Taketsuru

Exclusive to KWM:
1. Miyagikyo 15 Year – Single Malt – 45% – Meaty with a very fruity palate, lots of spices, fruit and soft oaky flourishes. – $159.99
2. Nikka Coffey Grain – 45% – Grain Whisky – Mellow and sweet this whisky shows a lot of corn, silky oils and floral notes. – $88.99
3. Nikka Coffey Malt – 45% – Column Still Single Malt – Surprisingly chewy and malt with lots of vanilla and soft toast oak. – $88.99
4. The Nikka Box – 6 Whiskies & 2 Tasting Glasses – The Japanese art of origami meets the coolest coffee table adornment a whisky lover could ever ask for. Contains bottles of Nikka: From the Barrel, Pure Malt Black, Coffey Grain, Miyagikyo 12 Year – Yoichi 15 Year & Taketsuru 21 Year – $1149.99

Other Nikkas Coming In:
1. Miyagikyo 12 Year – Single Malt – 45% – Faint peat with lots of vanilla, tangy fruits and chewy malt. – $129.99
2. Nikka From the Barrel – Blended – 51.4% – This blended Japanese whisky is a steal, rich, spicy and fruity. – $54.99
3. Nikka Pure Malt Black – Blended Malt – 43% – Mainly composed of Yoichi distillery malt, Black is characterized by powerful peat, rich taste and firm flavor. – $59.99
4. Nikka Pure Malt Red – Blended Malt – 43% – Mainly composed of Miyagikyo distillery malt, Red is characterized by lightly sweet vanilla nose and a soft and gentle taste. – $59.99
5. Nikka Pure Malt White – Blended Malt – 43% – Mainly composed of Miyagikyo distillery malt, Red is characterized by lightly sweet vanilla nose and a soft and gentle taste. – $59.99
6. Nikka Taketsuru 17 Year – Blended Malt – 43% – Spicy with citrus and building peaty notes, the Taketsuru 17 is rich, complex and very smooth. – $129.99
7. Nikka Taketsuru 21 Year – Blended Malt – 43% – Rich, spicy, fruity and very elegant the 21 is a very complex malt and was named Blended Malt of the Year in the 2010 World Whisky Awards. – $169.99
8. Yoichi 10 Year – Single Malt – 45% – This moderately peated single malt shows light peat and lots of fruit with a velvety finish. – $85.99

Two New Compass Box Whiskies

The Lost Blend $119.99 & Great King Street Glasgow $49.99

Compass Box is bringing the sexy back to blended whisky, and we have two great new releases from them, both quite limited. The Glasgow blend was inspired by the blends mentioned by Aeneas MacDonald in his 1930 book “Whisky”. Glaswegians apparently preferred fuller bodied more flavourful whiskies, and that is what Compass Box has tried to recreate here. From the Producer: “For decades, The Wellington Statue, outside Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art, has been cheekily topped by a traffic cone, something the local population has taken to heart as a symbol of their sense of humour. It has become one of Glasgow’s most iconic images, and graces our label for the Glasgow Blend.”

Great King Street Glasgow Blend – 43% – 33% Lowland Grain/67% Islay, Speyside & Highland Malt – 20% Laphroaig, 33% Sherried Aberlour & 47% Clynelish – 1st Fill Sherry, 1st & 2nd Fill Bourbon and some French oak finishing. – Producer’s Tasting Note: “Full, rich and smoky on the palate, with notes of baking spices and sherry wine notes.” – $49.99

In 2001 Compass Box created and released Eleuthera, its first Blended Malt. It was composed of 80% Highland malt with the rest being peated malt from Islay. 3 years into production their supplies of these base whiskies were suddenly cut off, so the whisky was retired in 2004. John Glaser, Compass Box’s creative genius, had long hoped to revive the blend, but had not been able to… until now. John had a name he’d been saving for a special whisky, “The Lost Blend”, a reference to the O. Henry story about life in a New York Bar in the early 1900’s. The business partners in the establishment were hoping to create a blend of spirits with supernatural properties. From the Producer: “Having been blending Scotch whiskies as an amateur and a professional for the better part of 20 years, I can say with confidence that I believe there exist “magic” combinations of whiskies. For me, they are like the whisky blending equivalent of spiritual truths. And what better name to lend to our lost blend, but “The Lost Blend”!

Compass Box The Lost Blend – 46% – 12,018 Bottles – Whiskies from Clynelish, Allt-A-Bhainne & Caol Ila – No age statement, but much of the whisky is close to 20 years of age. – Producer’s Tasting Note: “An elegantly complex union of two fruity Highland single malts and a peaty Islay single malt. An ethereal fruit and herbal character and a sweetness on the palate is buttressed by an underlying smokiness.” – $119.99

Introducing the Tomatin Cuatro

4x 700ml Bottles of Tomatin Finished in 4 Different Types of Sherry Casks – $364.99

This is a set of 4 700ml bottles, distilled in 2002 and bottled in 2014. Each of the whiskies was matured 9 years in American oak and then transferred to four different types of sherry casks for a finishing period of just over 3 years. Each of the whiskies has a unique style owing to the extra maturation in different cask types: Fino, Manzanilla, Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez Sherry. The whiskies are available from only two stores in Calgary, and KWM is only selling them as a set of 4.

Two New Macallans

The first shipment has sold but there is another coming!

The Macallan ‘M’ has been a huge success for the distillery, regardless of whether it has an age statement. We sampled it here at the store as part of one of our Ancient Malts tastings and it did not disappoint. We’ve sold nearly 20 of them in a little over a year. There is still some ‘M’ available on the market, but there are also two new expressions.

Two new Macallans have just come into the market:
1. Macallan Reflexion – 43% – From the Distillery: “Reflexion is a masterpiece in style, featuring angular facets that reflect the light to showcase the deep mahogany of the whisky within. Its unique colour and flavour is drawn from maturation in carefully selected hogshead casks which allow for a greater surface area of wood to interact with the spirit. Bold and full bodied, the initial citrus zest with new oak quickly gives way to a juicier sweetness of lemon and orange.” – $1449.99
2. Macallan No. 6 – 43% – From the Distillery: No.6 brings together two Masters, our whisky maker and masters of crystal, Lalique, to create a piece of timeless elegance. The angular decanter with six facets holds a complex single malt using only first fill Spanish sherry seasoned oak casks. Heavy and sumptuous, No. 6 tastes like a rich fruit cake with raisin, dates and figs before offering silky smooth oaky notes and boasts a rich dark walnut colour. – $3899.99

We can also still get our hands on Macallan ‘M’

 • Macallan ‘M’ – – This is the pinnacle of Macallan’s 1824 Series, and by far the oldest and rarest whisky in their stable. A 6L version sold at auction in January 2014 for north of $630,000.00 US, making it the world’s most expensive whisky! We’ve yet to try it, but we have our fingers crossed that we will be able to in the near future. 44.7% Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: raspberry sauce, damp Christmas cake, nutty Oloroso sherry and tingling spices; some hints of vanilla and dark sugars with treacle sauce and chocolate coated coffee bean; melons, pineapple and other tropical fruits emerge with some patience before being replaced by leather and tobacco; and then it is on to the spices, cinnamon sticks, powdered ginger and cardamom; Palate: immediately fruity with flavour tendrils spreading in a bewildering number of directions; classic Christmas cake and nutty sherry notes make way for the finest soft leather and soft cigar tobacco; more chocolate, coffee bean, maple syrup and now some sweet Panda Brand black licorice; the fruits emerge again as the sherry and leathery notes recede showing some orange peel, melons, mangoes and a hint of pineapple; I could go on; Finish: varies by sip, at times a wave of spices rippling across the tongue; other sips fade into soft leather and nutty sherry or old earthy Dunnage sherry notes; but it is always long, complex and fruity; Comments: the haters will say what they will about the lack of an age statement and the price point, that is until they try it, this is one hell of a good whisky. ” – $4799.99

 Our Exceptional New Glen Garioch Cask

It only just got here, and more than half of the bottles are already sold!

I was just informed last week that Glenfarclas’ cheap as borsht 30 and 40 year old whiskies would be facing a price correction in the New Year. These whiskies have long been underpriced. Many of you will have already noticed that the price of the 40 year jumped from $500 to $720 earlier this year. Well it is going up again in January, from $720 to $1075. The 30 Year jumped earlier this year from a little over $300 to $416; it will be increasing to $569.99. Only limited stock is available ahead of the price increase:

1. Glenfarclas 30 Year – 43% – Distillery’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Full complex aromas with fruit and full sherried malty tones. Flavour: With Sherry, cognac, brandy, fruit, nuts, marzipan (and even icing), this is a wonderfully indulgent Christmas cake, in a glass! Finish: A whisky you never want to end and it very nearly doesn’t. The finish is exquisite with a real taste of burnt chocolate at the back of your mouth.” – $415.99 -> $569.99 (Feb 1)
2. Glenfarclas 40 Year – 46% – Distillery’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Antique leather, walnuts and chocolate covered raisins. Flavour: A sweet initial taste, orange segments, chocolate. Then a lovely flavour of burnt brown sugar. Finish: The dry finish oozes big tannins and more rich dark cocoa beans. Let the whisky breathe a little or add a drop or two of water to fully open up the dram. – $719.99 -> $1074.99 (Feb 1)

Introducing: The Dalmore 25 Year

Already Sold Out in Most of the World, it has Just Landed in Alberta!

Matured initially in American white oak, this rare whisky is then carefully divided into hand-sourced 25 year old sweet Palomino Fino sherry butts and 1980 first fill bourbon casks. These exceptional whiskies are then expertly married together in bourbon barrels before being transferred, for the final time into Tawny Port pipes from Portugal, for an outstanding triple wood finish.

The Dalmore 25 Year – 42% – Distiller’s Tasting Note: Aroma: Exotic fruits, marzipan, vanilla pods, treacle toffee, fig cake and sweet balsamic; Palate: Orange peel, chocolate truffles, liquorice, sweet damsons and sherry soaked raisins; Finish: Demerara sugar, maple syrup, bitter chocolate, and spiced gingerbread.” – $1029.99

Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1 & Black Arts 4 Are Back

Very limited stocks!

Bruichladdich Black Art 4 – 49.2% – Distillery Tasting Note: “Nose: The aromas rise and mingle beautifully creating an olfactory symphony in your hand. Little notes of rich, plump, crystallised grapes flirt over heavier notes of honey. Go deeper and you will find the tang of lemon and lime – This is the DNA of our Bruichladdich spirit; the terroir of ancient peat lands and Islay’s exposed coastline, living, breathing proof that magic really does exist. Palate: Without water the first thought that enters my head is wow! This is strong and my cheeks flush, my eyes water but my heart is in heaven. Its so, so mellow and mature and yes, you can find all of the aromatics on the taste buds and more!!! I get chocolate and coconut, tangerine and papaya and a wonderful infusion of barley sugar with a pinch of cinnamon and aniseed. Completely mesmerising. Finish: Grilled peach and apricot sprinkled with demerera sugar, quite outstanding.” – $239.99

Octomore 6.1 – 57% – From the Distillery: “The world’s most heavily peated whisky, this is the sixth edition of the uber-experimental cult Octomore. Titanic amounts of peat but with a light, delicate complexity and a beguiling finesse. Young, yet eminently mature, it defies us. It remains an enigma. We embrace that. Here, we pay tribute to its pedigree, to the land from which it came and the raw materials that gave it life: Octomore Scottish Barley. We believe challenging convention matters.” – $131.99

MS Calgary Whisky Festival Update

Thursday, January 15, 2015 w/ 2 Ticket Options

The 2015 Calgary Whisky Festival in support of the MS Society of Calgary is set to be another barnburner of an event. Last year’s festival drew 400 attendees and featured nearly 150 whiskies from distilleries in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the US, Japan and India. This year’s event is set to be even bigger and better with more whiskies, more presenters and a capacity of 500 participants. New this year we are offering a VIP package, which will include a Macallan Master Class featuring a very rare and special bottling. The VIP Ticket is $149 (SOLD OUT) and the regular ticket $99. Nearly 300 of the 500 tickets have already sold. Don’t hesitate, get your tickets now, they won’t last long.

Through the month of December, KWM had a small quantity of tickets available for sale in store!

Order tickets through the MS Society by clicking here!

Scots Wha Hae: Our 9th Annual Burns Supper

This year’s event is all about Glendronach! Sunday January 25 – 7PM – $99

Caledonians Unite! It’s time to celebrate all things Scottish. Glendronach is the featured distillery for this 9th annual Robbie Burns Supper. Our Burns Supper blends the traditional event with an addressing of the Haggis, music, poetry, dance and a tasting of a range of 7 Scotch whiskies from the Glendronach Distillery. We’re featuring two new single casks selected by and bottled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market, and they are superb! The event will also feature a three course dinner, including but not limited to haggis with neeps and tatties! No previous whisky experience required. Location: Fort Calgary 750 9 Avenue, SE 7:00pm start time. Sunday Jan 25

Call 403-283-8000 to register, or do so online!

Malt Whisky Yearbook 2015 Makes a Great Gift for the Whisky Lover

The 10th Anniversary Edition – $30

This year’s edition includes articles by respected whisky authors: Johnny McCormick, Neil Ridley, Dominic Roskrow, Gavin D Smith, Charles (Charlie) McLean, Ian Buxton and Bernard Schafer. There 135 pages on malt whisky distilleries in Scotland, and another 100 pages on whiskies from around the world. If there is one must have annual whisky book, this is it!

Malt Whisky Yearbook 2015 – $30

Thank You for Reading the Malt Messenger!

Contact & Disclaimers

If you have any whisky questions or comments concerning The Malt Messenger please contact me by e-mail, phone, or drop by the store.

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
www.kensingtonwinemarket.com

Owner & Opperator
Ferguson’s Whisky Tours
www.fergusonwhiskytours.com
scotchguide@fergusonwhiskytours.com

Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000

Liz and Paul (owners of MCLEANSCOTLAND, WHISKY TOUR SCOTLAND & ANGELS WHISKY CLUB) spent their Christmas staff outing in Elgin and Kingussie, Scotland. 

The annual outing this year (2014) saw them driving up to Elgin, leaving Broughty Ferry at 07.45 on Thursday, via Aberdeen, Huntly and Keith, to arrive at Elgin approx. 11.30. Some local shopping (Liz) and lunch before dropping into Glen Moray distillery – as previously planned. Says Paul; A quick nose around the shop (for later), a cup of tea, then a wee chat with Iain, our friend and whisky man at GM. It was Iain who would take us both on a half day whisky school – I have to say, this was originally for the benefit of Liz, but I too learned a lot! Discovering all areas of the distillery, in depth knowledge flooded out of Iain, didnee know you were also a chemist Iain! It was a really grand time we had, both of us learning new things and some we hadnee come across before, superb! This was followed by a tasting, Iain did us proud here – as you can see by the photos, specially the one of Liz very content with a dram! There then followed what can only be called “a Liz shopping frenzy!” A nice bottle and glasses in a box (4 of these), a Chardonnay finish and two direct from the cask sherry finish, some wee goodies, all coming to a couple of hundred pounds lighter in the wallet! Paul’s wallet!!! “I’ll pay you back at home” says Liz, aye right, along with that other 14 grand you owe me!

Glen Moray Classic Single Speyside Malt – the aroma is fragrant with malty notes, butterscotch and shortbread.

Glen Moray 12 years Single Malt.

Glen Moray 10 Year Old Chardonnay Cask Single Malt. This is the brand new expression from Glen Moray. A 10 year old malt matured using Chardonnay Casks.

Glen Moray 16 Year Old Single Speyside Malt – fruit, chocolate and barley sugar, rich and mature with character.

Glen Moray – The Highland Light Infantry 12 year old Distillery Bottling –

Glen Moray Port Cask Finish This new small batch release uses Port Cask to finish the whisky in – a lovely richness, full-bodied, vanilla and subtle hints of oak, dried fruits and leather, dark chocolate and blackberries. A FAVOURITE OF OURS

GM use ex bourbon barrels sourced from North America to mature Glen Moray and these produce a rich and spicy whisky. These casks deliver a superior product that has a smooth and well-rounded taste. Being in the Laich O’Moray the distillery benefits from the milder climate as it is afforded protection from the Cairngorm and Monadhliath Mountains. The distillery’s geographic location and also sitting in a hollow below the water table, means that the warehousing has the perfect conditions to allow for the Angels to take more of a share of our whisky than they will of others (and, being Angels whisky club we did take a fair swish of the drams Liz and I). Glen Moray is available in a range of ages and vintages that will appeal to new malt drinkers as well as connoisseurs looking for something a bit more special. Readers, you just cannee believe how low cost GM bottles are, for a bloomin grand dram.

I must point out here, we were NOT driving, we left the car (and goodies) overnight at GM and took a taxi to our hotel. Where, a half hour later we started Christmas – in the bar. Drinks were followed by dinner, more drinks. To be honest, at 9.15pm I stopped drinking – new laws came into effect Friday, you could not have even ONE drink on your breath – so a bottle of non-alcoholic wine came oot – horrible, so bad after one glass it went down the pan. We laughingly tried to do some work – paperwork on forthcoming tours, 5 minutes in, we left it alone.

AFTER GLEN MORAY we called in at SPEY distillery, another story! to follow

PAUL CALLED INTO FAMOUS GROUSE SATURDAY …………………

Paul’s visit to Crieff – Saturday. 3 days, 3 distilleries. A big haul of whisky!!! Stopped in at whisky/grocery shop, bought Hepburn’s Choice Daluaine 8 year old, single cask @ 46%, one of only 393 bottles, 2005 bottling. Before calling in at Glenturret distillery, here I seem to come away with Black Grouse Alpha and a bottle of Black Diamond blend, these can be seen on the “December booty” story. to follow…

http://www.mcleanscotlandd.com/   http://www.angelswhiskyclub.com/

I hope you are enjoying the festive season, we will soon be putting up our Christmas tree from the old part of the ‘Friends’ plots. My feet have hardly touched the ground having visited both America and Germany for a series of tastings and Friends events. Firstly may I say a big thank you to the fantastic hospitality I received from all the ‘Friends of Laphroaig’ that I met on the way.

Online shopping deadlines. As every year, I have been asked to give you this year’s e-commerce shopping deadlines for parcels and presents to arrive before Christmas. They are: UK: 19th December Europe: 15th December

2014

Its been a fantastic year. Once again Laphroaig® has become even more popular and a record number of new Friends joining our club all over the world. Of course we launched our new expression Select this year and I am pleased to say it has been very well received around the World. Our ‘Laphroaig Live’ 2014 from Stockholm got an even bigger live audience than last year and I did give away some unsubtle hints at the end about what is to come for next year! – if you did not watch it live you can see the recorded version. Also thank you for so many warm words I received for this year’s Cairdeas that had enjoyed its secondary maturation in Amontillado sherry casks. Once again it sold out very quickly so apologies to those who did not manage to get one – but then there is always the special 2015 Cairdeas – that will be something I can tell you! We also launched our advertising campaign ‘Opinions Welcome’ which has been very well received, and of course it was inspired by you the friends when describing your impressions of ‘your first Laphroaig’ on the website.

2015

Or should I say 1815 – 2015! Yes of course it’s our 200th anniversary next year. The first thing you will notice is a ‘change’ to our No1 warehouse sea wall. The painter is ready to start. But throughout the year we have some fantastic events lined up. It is of course a double celebration as ‘The Friends of Laphroaig’ is also 21 years old. I will leave you to guess what whisky we have lined up for that later in the year. But first, there will be a one-off return of an old favourite that so many of you have been asking for over the last 5 years – I think you can guess. I can’t tell you about next year’s ‘Cairdeas’ but it will be one for ‘The traditionalists’ amongst you. (I have tasted it recently from a barrel and I think it’s wonderful). There will also be a final special expression later in the year at Laphroaig Live which of course will be held at the distillery. I won’t say what it is, other than to say that it was tasted a few years ago in one of the Laphroaig Live broadcasts when it was somewhat younger…

Returning to this Season of goodwill We have once again had some amazing local successes during 2014 and these include our double award winning visit experience here at the distillery. This is a fantastic achievement from our visitor centre staff and the whole site. We really hope that one day you are able to make it to Islay, so we can show you our award winning welcome here at Laphroaig®. We will, with the demand for our whisky, deliver another production record in alcohol and malt produced in our floor maltings in 2014. We are making it as fast as we can, but taking care to keep to the traditions of our past.

Thank you for your support, your emails and letters to us all at the site; it’s amazing to receive these personal accounts and what Laphroaig® means to you and the joy it brings. I get immense pleasure in being able to share them with the team at the distillery.

Distillery Choir We recently had a fantastic choir here singing some of the most popular ‘Opinions’ that you sent in after transforming them into Christmas Carols! It really sounds great, so thank you for everyone who has sent in their opinions. I will sign off with my own Seasons greetings to all of you, and look forward to writing again early in the New Year.

To sing me out please enjoy watching our Distillery Choir singing the opinions of Alberto Mora, Ted Murena, Kim Jeffers and James Mylett!

Slàinte,

John Campbell Distillery Manager, Laphroaig

Join the Friends of Laphroaig

BUFFALO TRACE DISTILLERY RELEASES LAST EXPERIMENTAL COLLECTION BOURBONS OF 2014 

An Expansion of the Aging Experiment on Three Different Warehouse Floors

Using 12-Year-Old Wheated Bourbon 

FRANKFORT, Franklin County, Ky (Dec. 9, 2014) Earlier this year, Buffalo Trace Distillery released an experiment consisting of barrels aged for the same length of time on different floors in the same warehouse.  The experiment was met with great interest, as many bourbon connoisseurs are thirsty for knowledge about how atmosphere affects the taste of their favorite spirit.

Buffalo Trace continues that experiment, this time using wheated bourbon instead of the rye bourbon mash bill used in the previous experiment.

The Warehouse Floors Experiment was started in 2001, when Buffalo Trace filled 15 barrels with their Wheat Bourbon Mash Bill and placed five barrels on floors one, five, and nine of Warehouse K. This brick warehouse has nine wooden floors in total and was chosen for this experiment due to the variety of tastes it provides during the aging process. Here’s how the experiment panned out:

The barrels aged on the first floor of Warehouse K resulted in a bourbon with a mild nose and hints of vanilla. The flavor is described as sweet with slight caramel and butterscotch notes. The body is said to be mild with an easy and approachable palate.

Barrels aged on the fifth floor of Warehouse K yielded a bourbon with an aroma full of herbal notes and a mouth full of savory flavors and cooked cinnamon and clove balanced with caramel and butterscotch. The finish is smooth and balanced.

The ninth floor of Warehouse K resulted in a bourbon with a rich and delightful aroma of charred oak.  The initial flavor fills the mouth with toasted almonds and walnuts. The mouth feel is medium bodied with a dry finish.

“This experiment was an interesting comparison to our rye bourbon warehouse floors experiment, especially since both were aged in the same warehouse and on the same floors, said Harlen Wheatley, master distiller. “As with the rye bourbon experiment, the higher floors yielded a different taste profile than the lower floors, giving us a richer and full bodied taste. Also, we noticed a higher evaporation rate on the wheat recipe experiment vs the rye bourbon recipe experiment.  The wheat evaporated between 42-51% over the twelve years, depending on what floor the barrel was aged.  The rye experiment evaporated between 25-49% over the twelve years, with significantly less on the lower floors.  This higher evaporation rate is expected in wheated recipes, but it’s interesting to see it up close with the rye experiment.”

These barrels are part of the more than 2,000 experimental barrels of whiskey aging in the warehouses of Buffalo Trace Distillery. Each of them has unique characteristics that differentiate them from all others. Some examples of experiments include unique mash bills, type of wood, and barrel toasts. In order to further increase the scope, flexibility and range of the experimental program, an entire micro distillery, named The Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. “OFC” Micro Distillery, complete with cookers, fermenting tanks, and a state-of-the-art micro still has been constructed within Buffalo Trace Distillery. Buffalo Trace has increased its commitment to experimentation with the recent addition of its Warehouse X. Although small in size, Warehouse X is designed to explore the limits of environmental influences on the quality of whiskey.

The Experimental Collection is packaged in 375ml bottles and packed 12 to a case, with three bottles from each warehouse floor in a case. Each label includes all the pertinent information unique to that barrel of whiskey. These whiskeys retail for approximately $46.35 each. These particular rare experimental bottles will be available in December.  For more information on the Experimental Collection or the other products of Buffalo Trace Distillery, please contact Elizabeth Hurst at ehurst@buffalotrace.com.

About Buffalo Trace Distillery

Buffalo Trace Distillery is an American family-owned company based in Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky. The Distillery’s rich tradition dates back to 1773 and includes such legends as E.H. Taylor, Jr., George T. Stagg, Albert B. Blanton, Orville Schupp, and Elmer T. Lee.  Buffalo Trace Distillery is a fully operational Distillery producing bourbon, rye and vodka on site and is a National Historic Landmark as well as being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Distillery has won 17 distillery titles since 2000 from such notable publications as Whisky Magazine, Whisky Advocate Magazine and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. It was named “Brand Innovator of the Year” by Whisky Magazine at its Icons of Whisky America Awards 2015.  Buffalo Trace Distillery has also garnered more than 300 awards for its wide range of premium whiskies. To learn more about Buffalo Trace Distillery visit www.buffalotracedistillery.com.