Malt Messenger Bulletin – Summer Tasting Schedule & More

We opened our Summer Tasting Schedule for registration on Thursday, the first official day of summer. We have 19 new Wine, Whisky, Beer and Other Spirits tastings to keep you refreshed and entertained this summer. The schedule kicks off on Tuesday July 17 and runs through Friday August 31.

On the whisky side of things we have a number of interesting tastings coming up, most notably the Cadenhead 175th Anniversary Part 2 tasting on Thursday July 26th, and the Lost in Translation: Yoichi & Miyagikyo Whiskies of Future Past on Thursday August 23rd. The Cadenhead tasting will feature rare old small batch bottlings of Caol Ila, Motlach, Balfiddich, Macallan, Laphroaig and Cooley. The Lost in translation tasting is built around 6 single malts from Yoichi and Miyagikyo. These are both one-off tastings we will not be able to repeat…

On the note of Japanese whiskies, we had the opportunity to grab a case each of Yoichi 10, 15 and 20 year olds, as well as Miyagikyo 15 Year. The Yoichi 20 Year is sold out, but we have a few bottles of the others still available for purchase. Details below.

Last but certainly not least, we also have a new single cask, and a very tiny one at that. The Duncan Taylor Octaves Ardmore 2008 KWM Cask is limited to just 54 bottles. 20 of these have already sold… the remaining bottles won’t last long!

I hope this Malt Messenger Bulletin finds you well. Enjoy the first weekend of Summer, a full Malt Messenger newsletter is due early this coming week!

Sincerely,

Andrew Ferguson

Kensington Wine Market

PS – Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter:

@scotch_guy, Instagram: @thescotch_guy or  @kwmwhisky and on Facebook: facebook.com/scotch.guy.1

In This Edition

1. Summer 2018 Whisky & Spirits Tastings
2. Very Limited Nikka Archives Releases
3. New Duncan Taylor Octaves Ardmore 2008 KWM Cask

Summer 2018 Whisky & Spirits Tastings 

Are Now Online & Open for Registration

The Kensington Wine Market Summer 2018 Tasting Schedule is now online and open for registration. We have Gin, Rum, Whisky and Mezcal tastings to keep you cool through the hot summer months. Register in-store, by phone 403-283-8000 and  online!

1. Best of Bourbon – Wednesday July 18 – Join our #1 Bourbon fan, Evan, for a tour de force of some of his favourite Bourbons. Michter’s, Blanton’s, Evan Williams, Bookers, and much, much more! Having recently visited the Bourbon Trail, he has a few tales to tell! – $30
2. Cadenhead 175th Anniversary Malts Part 2 – Thursday July 26 – We’ve been hanging on to these beauties for a special occasion… Now seems like a good time! We’ll crack open 6 whiskies including: Macallan 27 Year, Caol Ila 35 Year, Mortlach 30 Year, Burnside (Balfiddich) 28 Year, Laphroaig 25 Year and Cooley 25 Year! – $125
3. Independents Day – Thursday August 16 – With the price of mature Distillery Bottlings soaring, where does one look for value? Independent Bottlers! Join us for a roundup of some of our Indie Scotch whiskies! – $40
4. Lost in Translation: Yoichi & Miyagikyo, Whiskies of Future Past – Thursday August 23 – An archive release of Yoichi (10, 15 & 20) and Miyagikyo (15) got us thinking, should we set aside a bottle of each to taste alongside the new No Age Statement bottlings? Who are we kidding? That is clearly a rhetorical question! #NoBrainer – $150
5. Tight Wad: Single Malt Scotch Edition – Tuesday August 28 – Convinced there aren’t any good single malts under $80 a bottle? Sometimes less is more, and we’ll endeavour to prove you wrong! – $25

Register in-store, by phone at 403-283-8000 or online!

Very Limited Nikka Archive Releases  

Whiskies of Future Past from Nikka, Yoichi and Miyagikyo!

Age statement Japanese whiskies have been hard to come by the last few years. These whiskies are archive bottlings from the Nikka Whisky Company. We received just 6 bottles each of the single malts, a dozen of the Super Nikka The Revival and just 3 of the 80th Anniversary From the Barrel 3L. They won’t last long…

1. From the Barrel 3L 80th Anniversary – 51.4% – Description: “Produced from a blend of Miyagikyo and Yoichi single malts and a single grain whisky, NIKKA FROM THE BARREL embodies the expertise of the distillery’s master blenders. Intense, round, and generous, this ambitious, powerful, controlled, high-alcohol blend is acknowledged for its originality. This is a bold whisky. It seizes you and seduces you. It asserts its own style.Founded on 2 July 1934, Nikka Whisky celebrates its 80th birthday with a special edition of its emblematic blend: a 3-litre bottle of Nikka From the Barrel! Using the same proportions as the famous “small square bottle”, this beautiful bottle is just as elegant, despite its impressive size, which is the equivalent of 6 classic 50cl bottles!” – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: refined, complex. Floral (lilac), fruity (apricot). Notes of spice (cloves) and leather. Palate: firm, powerful. Spicy (pepper). Woody (oak). Evolves with ripe fruits (peaches), caramelised apples and flowers (honeysuckle). Overall: long. Marine notes. Ripe fruit (plums, peaches) on a background of woody-vanilla notes.” – $600 (Only 1 left!)
2. Miyagikyo 15 Year – 45% – Description: “The most refined and least peaty of Nikka’s single malts comes from the Miyagikyo distillery in the north of Honshu island. Its whisky, also known as Sendai for export, reveals, in this alluring 15 year old version, the superb influence of oak and sherry.”- Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: with notes of walnut (walnut oil) and spices, it expresses the sherry cask’s influence. With pronounced rancio, it unveils delicate notes of honey and wild flowers (elderflower, clover). Palate: full-bodied and subdued, marked by the sweetness of raisins (Malaga), as well as the lively tannins of oak – green walnut – and spice (ginger). Overall: A great example of a sherry cask aged whisky, with a nourishing and alluring aspect.” – $725
3. Yoichi 10 Year – 45% – Description: “This single malt is a blend of bourbon casks, new oak casks and sherry casks seasoned and reworked on-site at the distillery. Yoichi 10 Year Old was voted “best of the best” by Whisky Magazine in 2001, a symbol of recognition of Japanese whisky on an international stage.” – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: firm. Marked by burnt wood and spices (pepper). Fruity (apple, apricot) on a background of malted barley and menthol freshness. Palate: full-bodied, vanilla. Heady florals (iris, lavender). Perfectly-integrated woodiness transcends the fruity aspect (apricot, raisins). Overall: long, complex, revealing remarkable balance between woody, fruity and floral notes.”- $370
4. Yoichi 15 Year – 15% – Description: “Twice voted best single malt in the world since 2000, Yoichi belongs to the very closed group of elite distilleries such as Ardbeg, Yamazaki, Lagavulin, Macallan and Laphroaig. The legendary “Heavy Peaty” versions reveal a rich peatiness with smoky, liquoricey, vegetal flavours. Within the classic range, the Yoichi 15 year old offers the perfect balance between smoky notes of cold tobacco and maturation predominately in sherry casks. Also characterised by ripe fruit, it is exclusively imported and distributed in France by La Maison du Whisky. This single malt is a blend of several casks and illustrates the diversity and richness of the whiskies produced by the Yoichi distillery. It also serves as an introduction to the more prestigious cask strength versions that have earned this distillery its international reputation.” – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: fresh and sweet, it presents subtle fruity notes (white peach skin) on a rich peaty background. On aeration it reveals a lovely mellowness with a mingling of notes of dried fruit (pecans), varnish and dried grass (hay, tobacco leaves). Palate: unctuous and oily, it presents precise sweet-savoury notes (barley sugar, iodine). Smooth, developing floral notes, mentholated aniseed, spices (cloves, pepper) and chocolate. Overall: elegant, it evolves with chocolate (bitter chocolate, mocha), coffee and citrus fruit (orange). It persists with retro-olfaction bringing notes of fresh fruit (white peach).”- $725
5. Yoichi 20 Year – 45% – Description: “A magnificent and extremely rare version of the most traditional Japanese single malt. An unusual Yoichi, hailed by the best-known experts, this 20 year old is best savoured slowly on special occasions. The long maturation in oak casks gives Yoichi malts.” – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: intense, rich. Very elegant. The peat is delicately positioned over fresh fruit. It expresses great maturity. Increasingly empyreumatic (resin, rosewood) and solar (candied apricot), it continues to gain in depth. The peat also becomes increasingly present. Palate: full-bodied, “spherical”. Notes of liquorice and marzipan cake. Smoke-filled vapours. It nonetheless remains delicate and toned. Fruit arrives in force (quince, apple, black cherry). Marrying the peat with ripe fruits, it takes the opposite route to the nose. Overall: long, dense. It has perfect balance. Wild flowers, fruits bursting with sugar, black earth and dried fruits give it an autumnal and sunny feel. It persists with notes of rose jam.” – $1700 (SOLD OUT)
6. Super Nikka The Revival – 43% – Description: “Established in 1962, this famous Japanese blended whisky has been reinvented with this superb limited series. Notes of spices and aromatic plants are increasingly present on the nose. As for the palate, this new opus scores twice by offering the taster not one but two extremely different yet complimentary flavour paths. The new rich and remarkably complex Super Nikka could show a thing or two to many a single malt.” – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: concentrated, rich. Begins with herbaceous (cut hay, straw) and lemony notes that mingle with liquorice and spices (ginger, cinnamon). It evolves with notes of cappuccino. Once aerated, aromatic plants (vervain, lime blossom) accentuate its earthy, vegetal character. Its almost perfect balance is an olfactory delight. Palate: ample and round. The attack has two sides to it. One very smooth and honeyed (acacia, raspberry honey), and the other very long, almost ethereal, which focuses on heady florals (peppered rose, peony). Little by little, it becomes vanilla-flavoured and milky (coconut). Star anise, as well as a slight note of camphor invigorates the back palate. Overall: long, slightly tannic. Delicately woody (oak), it develops clear notes of grain. Green malt ripples in the breeze. Full of light, it conjures up a lush, bucolic landscape on a sunny day. The retro-olfaction has notes of noble spices (saffron, ginger) and the empty glass is floral (heather, iris)” – $85 1 Per Customer (7 left)

 New Duncan Taylor Octaves Ardmore 2008 KWM Cask 

Just 54 Bottles – Only 35 Left… 

We selected this Octave cask at the same time as the Bunnahabhain we received in the fall. We are not entirely sure why, but even though it was bottled in 2017, it is just arriving now. All that being said though, it was worth the wait. Only 54 Bottles – Limit 2 Per Customer! The whisky distilled in 2008 was finished for 3 months in a bespoke sherry seasoned Octave cask. Bottled in 2017 at 9 years of age. 52.4% abv.

Duncan Taylor Octaves Ardmore 2008 KWM Cask – 52.4% – 9 Year – Finished 3 Months in Sherry Octave – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: honey baked ham with cloves, cigar ash, leather and burnt orange peel in a cocktail; salty Dutch licorice, melons and flambéed banana; honey garlic beef jerky. Palate: sweet and fruity with a smoky-sherried backdrop; more burnt orange peel, but also lemon; building oily, buttery, earthy peat and cigar ash with dark sugars and spices; more honey baked ham (with cloves) and honey garlic beef jerky; the sherry asserts its self, but not as much as the firm but gentle peat. Finish: medium-full with a good length, it is fruity, oily and buttery with fading sherry, baked ham and gentle peat tones. Comment: this is a lovely Ardmore, the sherry has accented the whisky nicely without over-cooking it; the peat is the central character here, and it shines!” – $112

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 and 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

Owner & Scotchguy
Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

www.kensingtonwinemarket.com