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Malt Messenger Bulletin Sept. 29th – Time is Running Out For Whisky Calendar Early Bird Pricing! – Advent Whisky News

September 29th, 2022

This is just a subtle, ALL CAPS AND IN BOLD reminder that if you are interested in purchasing this year’s KWM Whisky Calendar and taking advantage of our Early-Bird pricing option, you only have until WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5th, 2022 to do so.

If you have already purchased your KWM 2022 Whisky Calendar or are not currently interested then you are free to sigh in relief and scroll further down the page and browse our upcoming virtual and in-store whisky tastings.

Cheers,

Evan

ENDING SOON! –

THE KWM 2022 WHISKY CALENDAR EARLY-BIRD OFFER

ENDING SOON!

THE KWM 2022 WHISKY CALENDAR EARLY BIRD OFFER

Pre-Pay Early Bird Special Offer ENDS OCTOBER 5TH!

Select this option if you wish to save $60 on the regular price of $460, by prepaying now in full (please note this cannot be combined with other offers or discounts). You will be charged $400+gst when we receive your order.

$400+gst

(no discounts)

EARLY BIRD PRICING OPTION ENDS ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5th, 2022!

The KWM Whisky Calendar, aka “25 Days of Dram Fine Whisky”, is back for the 9th straight year. Once again the calendar will have a fresh new look, which will be revealed in a few weeks’ time. This year’s calendar includes 24 50ml premium whiskies, a custom logo Glencairn glass, and a 100ml Scotch Malt Whisky Society whisky for Christmas Day. You can follow along with us on the KWM Blog starting December 1st or on one of our various social media channels as we introduce and discuss each day’s whisky. And there is more…

Because they were such a big hit the last two years, we will once again be hosting the Whisky Calendar Recap Tastings throughout the month of December. Purchasers and recipients of the KWM 2022 Whisky Calendar will be able to join us for any or all of the 5 virtual tastings on December 5, 10, 15, 20 and after Christmas on the 28th, at 7 PM MT. Each of them will cover the 5 previous day’s whiskies in the Calendar.

We always keep the exact whisky list a secret – there are too few surprises left in this life – but we can tell you this year’s Calendar includes 3 KWM exclusive casks, a couple of whiskies in their 20s, and more than a dozen distilleries and producers never before featured in any of our prior Whisky Calendars. We are confident that we have put together another fantastic Calendar this year, and we know you are going to love it!

Best of all, if you select the pre-pay preorder option, you will save $60! This option was very popular last year, and completely sold out 2020’s original production in just 2 weeks!

We anticipate the KWM 2022 Whisky Advent Calendars should be ready for pick up in early November. That is, so long as everything goes as planned, which, in the Post-Covid Era, you can never be 100% sure of. But we’ve planned accordingly, and ordered early from all of our suppliers!

UPCOMING TASTINGS

Our Fall Tasting Schedule is coming soon, but in the meantime, here are a few events to entertain and delight you!

North & South Star Whisky with Iain Croucher

· Date: Friday, September 30

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $30

· This is an in-person tasting!

Iain Croucher, the man behind North Star and South Star whiskies, as well as the coming new Dál Riata Distillery in Campbeltown, is coming to town for the first time, so we are rolling out a fine range of malts. We’ll sample 8 expressions of North & South Star whisky, including the Blended Malt for Ukraine, a 13-year-old rather sherried GlenAllachie, and a 26-year-old Tobermory. A steal for $30.

Friday, September 30 @ 7PM.

SMWS October 2022 Virtual Outturn

· Date: Wednesday, October 5

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $55

· This is a VIRTUAL TASTING!

Log in, pour your drams, and join us from home, the beach, or the woods for the October 2022 Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada Virtual Outturn Tasting. The KWM team will be your guide as you sample through an exciting range of 7 new, never-before-sampled SMWS whiskies. Wednesday, October 5, 7 PM.

*Active SMWS Members will Save $10 on one set of samples for the tasting. For the $10 discount, individual SMWS members must register independently. The price will not show online when you submit but will be adjusted when we review and process the order.

Wednesday, October 5th @ 7 PM

SMWS October 2022 In-Person Outturn 6 PM

· Date: Thursday, October 6

· Time: 6 PM

· Cost: $60

· This is an in-person tasting!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada’s October Outturn tasting will feature new, never-before-featured whiskies. The range will be the same as the virtual tasting the night before but will also include nibbles from our friends at Peasant Cheese, and the comradery that can only come from 20 SMWS Members in our tasting room. Please note we will not be holding back stock of the Outturn bottles specifically to purchase for this in-person tasting, though there will likely be bottles of most whiskies still available.

Thursday, October 6 @ 6 PM.

Amrut Whisky with Ashok Chokalingam

· Date: Friday, October 7

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $55

· This is an in-person tasting!

Our friend Ashok is returning to Calgary for the first time in a number of years and we are thrilled to have him in store for an in-person tasting. A lot has changed since we last saw Ashok, he is now Amrut’s Distillery Manager. We will sample 7 Amrut expressions, including, if the stars align, a special treat.

Friday, October 7th @ 7 PM

OLD first MALT edition CASKs

· Date: Tuesday, October 11

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $50

· Virtual Tasting

Now that’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Excuse the cheek, but we feel this is going to be an awesome tasting! We’ve recently received a curious new range of Old Malt Cask and First Edition whiskies from our friends at Hunter Laing. The tasting will include 7 single cask whiskies from Ben Nevis, Glenburgie, Highland Park, Jura, Linkwood, Miltonduff, and Royal Lochnagar. All in all, we will dabble in 141 years of single malt Scotch whisky.

Tuesday, October 11th @ 7 PM

KWM Casks Bruichladdich Cask Launch – In-Store Tasting

· Date: Thursday, October 13

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $50

· This is an in-person tasting!

We’ve somehow managed to keep a lid on the fact that we have had a new KWM exclusive Bruichladdich cask quietly slumbering up at our warehouse for months. Thanks to our favourite Bogyman – “Supply Chain Issues” – we have received no fewer than a dozen single casks in the last 3 months; a typical year’s worth. One of the last of the dozen casks to arrive, we made the decision to hold the Laddie back for a Fall release to give some of our other casks a chance to shine. In addition to being the first consumers to sample our new Bruichladdich cask, tasting participants will also have the opportunity to sample our prior Bruichladdich cask and a selection of 5 other recent KWM single cask bottlings. If history is any guide, this Bruichladdich cask won’t last long. So the icing on the cake for those who attend our virtual or in-person tasting is that they will have an opportunity to purchase a bottle a week before any other consumers!

Thursday, October 13th @ 7 PM

KWM Casks Bruichladdich Cask Launch – Virtual Tasting

· Date: Friday, October 14

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $40

· Virtual Tasting

Same as above, but Virtual. From the comfort of your own home!

Friday, October 14th @ 7 PM

Shelter Point Returns with Chris Read

· Date: Tuesday, October 18

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $20

· This is an in-person tasting!

One of our favourite Canadian Distilleries, Shelter Point, has been on a bit of a hiatus from Alberta in recent months. Now they are coming back, and in fine form too, with new whiskies, a new brand ambassador, and a new importer. Brand Ambassador Chris Read will be our guide as we sample through 7 Shelter Point whiskies, including the soon-to-be-released Evans Family Reserve, and Shelter Point 10 Year.

Tuesday, October 18th @ 7 PM

Rye Not Rye? Virtual Tasting

· Date: Tuesday, October 20

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $40

· Virtual Tasting

If all you know of Rye is Crown Royal, we are sorry (mostly because we believe Rye Whisky should actually contain…well…rye; absurd, right?). Rye is making a comeback and as a city that is home to one of the best Rye producers in the world, we are not strangers to good old-fashioned (not the cocktail) near-100% Rye whiskies. Luckily more and more people are jumping on the rye train and the flavours are vastly different even if the mash bills are the same. Canada has very loosey-goosey rules when it comes to what makes Canadian Rye Whisky, other countries have more firm rules on how Rye Whisky can be made and we want to share those with you. Harmony and Evan are proud to present a lineup of near-100% Rye-based whiskies that are sure to knock your boots off.

Tuesday, October 20th @ 7 PM

Glenfarclas KWM 30th Anniversary Tasting with Deborah Stewart – 6 PM & 8 PM

· Date: Tuesday, October 25

· First Seating Time: 6 PM

· Second Seating Time: 8 PM

· Cost: $40

· These are both in-person tastings!

Glenfarclas’s Deborah Stewart will be our special guest as we celebrate the launch of our Glenfarclas 1992 KWM 30th Anniversary Family Cask with an incredible vertical tasting. We will sample the Glenfarclas 15, 21, 25, 30, and 40-year-olds, as well as the KWM Cask Strength 21 Year and our new 1992 Family Cask. In all, 181 years of liquid history for just $40!!!

Tuesday, October 25th @ 6 PM andTuesday, October 25th @ 8 PM

Kinda Rare & Old Whiskies: 20 is the new 30

· Date: Wednesday, October 26

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $150

· Virtual Tasting

You should know the drill by now: the big man has identified a range of whiskies he wants to taste, and the range is unlikely to disappoint. This time around we have a range of 8 whiskies: 6 in their twenties and 2 in their early thirties. We have a trio of old Edradours, a pair of Millstones distilled in the 1990s, a Gordon & MacPhail Miltonduff from 1989, and OB single casks of BenRiach (1997) and GlenDronach (1990). In total, you’ll enjoy just shy of 200 years worth of single malt whisky!

Wednesday, October 26th @ 7 PM

Bog v. Bodega: Peat Monsters & Sherry Bombs

· Date: Thursday, October 27

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $80

· This is an in-person tasting!

Peat and sherry are unquestionably the big guns in the whisky world. While these are arguably the most polarizing styles of whisky out there, they’re also far and away the most in demand. The theme for this tasting is elegantly simple: dark-sherried beauties meet bold smoky beasts. From the bodegas of Jerez to the peat banks of Scotland, we’ll work our way through some of the most intense flavours on the spectrum. Though not a tasting for the faint of heart, Curt has pulled together some special bottles for this range!

Thursday, October 27th @ 7 PM

Boutique-y North-West Euro Express w/ Dave Worthington

· Date: Saturday, October 29

· Time: 5 PM

· Cost: $50

· Virtual Tasting

Can you think of a better way to spend an early Saturday evening in October than geeking out on whisky with Boutique-y Dave and the KWM crew? We have selected 8 whiskies for the tasting, released as a part of Boutique-y’s North-West Euro Express. The range highlights single malts, ryes, and a buckwheat spirit (that can’t legally be called whisky) from North West European Distilleries. We’ll be sampling drams from Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, and Switzerland.

Saturday, October 29th @ 5 PM

Glenfarclas Family Casks 2021 – The 1990s

· Date: Tuesday, November 1

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $100

· Virtual Tasting

On the one hand, this tasting was a great opportunity for us to feature our new Glenfarclas 1992 KWM 30th Anniversary Family Cask… But it also has the added benefit of allowing us to sample some of the amazing Summer 2021 Glenfarclas Family Casks we received in the Spring. There were too many to fit into one tasting, so we broke them down into the 1990 and the 2000s. This tasting will feature the following S21 vintages: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, and 1998; as well as our own exclusive 1992 cask.

Tuesday, November 1st @ 7 PM

Elixir Distillers Single Casks w/ Celine Tetu

· Date: Friday, November 4

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $50

· This is an in-person tasting!

Elixir Distillers has become one of our best partners in recent years, and they keep feeding us some absolutely amazing single casks. The most recent batch was selected in the Winter or Spring of 2021, but due to all the challenges around logistics these days, they only just arrived in the late Spring! We did a version of this tasting in the summer with Elixir Distiller’s Celine Tetu, and now she’s coming to town, so we’ll feature the same range in-store. Guests will sample 7 Single Malts of Scotland bottlings, with 6 of them being cask strength, single cask whiskies. Participants will try the 4 most recent KWM casks: Ardmore 11 Year, Glenburgie 22 Year, Imperial 22 Year, and Mannochmore 13 Year, and 3 others: Ben Nevis 1997, Linkwood 11 Year, and Reserve Casks Glencadam 10 Year.

Friday, November 4th @ 7 PM

…By Any Other Name: Secret Whiskies from Not So Secret Distilleries

· Date: Tuesday, November 8

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $40

· Virtual Tasting

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

A little bit of Romeo and Juliet for you, folks. But what is in a name? We sorta think that’s a topic for group discussion. And a discussion is almost always more enjoyable over a few drams (this is incontrovertible truth). There are a few distilleries in Scotland that are very protective of their brand. There are others that simply produce a handful of in-house styles under different names. In both cases, we often find labels that make us second-guess our distillery knowledge. For this event, we’ll be tasting a few very well-known distilleries bottled under some very different names. We’ll tell some stories and maybe even speculate a bit in some cases. Join us for an evening of sipping, sleuthing, and secret revealing. Curt was really excited about this range, and we can assure you it won’t disappoint.

Tuesday, November 8th @ 7 PM

Fall Single Malt Festival – Night 1 & Night 2

· Date 1: Tuesday, November 10

· Date 2: Tuesday, November 24

· Time: 7 PM to 9 PM

· Cost: $75

· This is an in-person festival tasting!

As we did in the Spring for our 30th Anniversary, we are offering two more-or-less identical Fall Single Malt Festivals, two weeks apart, both for a moderately smaller crowd than usual, to give as many of our whisky friends as possible a chance to attend. There will be up to 100 whiskies to sample, and the price includes a 30th Anniversary KWM logo glass. As always, our neighbour Peasant cheese will be lining your stomachs with delicious cheese, charcuterie, sausage rolls, and other treats! Both Festivals are limited to 80 participants and we are asking people to only register for one date or the other, not both, out of respect for other customers.

Thursday, November 10, 7 PM – 9 PM & Thursday, November 24, 7 PM – 9 PM.

Boutique-y Cool & Unusual Whisky w/ Dave Worthington

· Date: Saturday, November 12

· Time: 5 PM

· Cost: $70

· Virtual Tasting

This will surely be one of the most fun ranges we sample with Boutique-y Dave. It includes 4 recently release That Boutique-y Whisky Co. Blends at 22, 32, 42 and 52 years of age! The last one is a real curiosity, as having fallen below 40% it isn’t legally whisky… but it will be interesting to try! To round out the lineup we are adding Ledaig 21 Year, Allt-A-Bhaine 23 Year, and a teaspooned presumably Glen Scotia 24 Year. 216 years of liquid history, with one of the industry’s most entertaining hosts!

Saturday, November 12th @ 5 PM

Glenfarclas Family Casks 2021 – The 2000s

· Date: Tuesday, November 15

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $65

· Virtual Tasting

No, we won’t be sampling the KWM 30th Anniversary Family Cask in this session, but we still have an incredible lineup of Glenfarclas single casks. We held back a bottle each of some of the highlights from the Summer 2021 Glenfarclas Family Cask releases. In this session, we’ll sample bottlings from 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Tuesday, November 15th @ 7 PM

Kinship Collection 2021 +1

· Date: Tuesday, December 6

· Time: 7 PM

· Cost: $225

· Virtual Tasting

Who doesn’t love old Islay malts? We bought a couple of sets of the 2021 Kinship Collection from Hunter Laing because we knew we were going to want to open one for a tasting. The set consists of:

Ardbeg 19 Year, Bowmore 33 Year, Bruichladdich 29 Year, Bunnahabhain 31 Year, Caol Ila 40 Year, and Laphroaig 23 Year. But that’s only 6 whiskies, and we like to have at least 7 at our tastings, so we are tossing in a lovely sherried First Edition Laphroaig 14 Year to round out our range. Join the KWM team as we sip our way through 189 years of Islay glory!

Tuesday, December 6th @ 7 PM