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ralfy review 913 Extras – Keeping bottles for a long time successfully.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Attendance Sees Rapid Rally in 2021

FRANKFORT, Ky. – The world-famous Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® experiences continue their rapid rally from COVID and closures, with total visits up 160% from 2020 and just below the pre-pandemic record set in 2019.

Visitors accounted for more than 1.5 million tours at KBT® and KBT Craft Tour® distilleries last year, compared to a total of only 587,000 stops during the pandemic in 2020, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association announced today.

That’s off only 13% from the attendance record of 1.7 million set in 2019.

KDA President Eric Gregory hailed the news as testament to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail’s bucket list destination status and said 2021 would have been another record-setting year if not for reduced tour sizes, limited hours and closures due to COVID and staffing issues.

Plus, he noted several KBT® destinations were closed or at limited capacity because of major expansion projects. Most notably, James B. Beam Distilling Co. was closed for 10 months while constructing its new $60 million tourism experience in Clermont, which is now open.

“The numbers tell the story: the global demand for the authentic Kentucky Bourbon experience is as high as it’s ever been,” he said. “Our distilleries have moved mountains to provide safe, engaging tourism experiences during a pandemic for guests from all over the world.

“With more Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries than ever before, we are looking forward to welcoming a record number of visitors in 2022.”

Meanwhile, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® charted its best year ever in 2021 with more than 615,000 in total attendance, an increase of 170% from 2020 and 40% higher than its previous record in 2019.

The KBT Craft Tour® also added four new stops for an all-time high of 23 distilleries in the nation’s first-ever adventure to showcase the micro distilling movement: The Bard Distillery in Muhlenberg County; Castle & Key in Woodford County; Copper & Kings in Louisville and Log Still in Nelson County.

In addition, Gregory said the KDA and its 50 members are advocating legislation in the General Assembly to further modernize Bourbon tourism laws, help distillers continue to rebound from COVID and attract repeat visitors to the Commonwealth.

This includes giving distilleries the opportunity to offer satellite tasting experiences, sell bottles at fairs, festivals and farmer’s markets, and offer bottles that are only available at distillery gift shops – privileges already enjoyed by Kentucky wineries and breweries.

“The industry’s partnership with the General Assembly is paying huge dividends across the state as the legislature modernizes our archaic alcohol laws and paves the way for distilleries to achieve their Napa Valley potential,” Gregory said, noting that there are now distilleries in 40 of Kentucky’s 120 counties.

The KDA’s Kentucky Bourbon Trail® and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour® experiences are an integral part of local and state tourism efforts with 41 participating distilleries across the Commonwealth. The KDA, a non-profit trade group, founded the world-famous attractions in 1999 and 2012, respectively.

KBT® attendance grew a phenomenal 315% from 2009 through 2019, with more than 70% of visitors coming from outside Kentucky. Research shows Bourbon tourists trend younger, spend between $400 and $1,200 on their trip, travel in large groups and stay longer than the average visitor to Kentucky.

Nearly half have household incomes over $100,000, compared to approximately $60,000 for the average Kentucky tourist.

Founded in 1880, the KDA is the voice for Bourbon and spirits issues. Its diverse membership produces the overwhelming majority of the world’s Bourbon, from legendary, global brands to emerging micro distilleries that are building the next generation of America’s only native spirit.

Bourbon is one of Kentucky’s most treasured industries, a thriving $9 billion economic and tourism engine that generates more than 22,500 jobs with an annual payroll topping $1.2 billion each year, over $285 million in local and state taxes and $1.8 billion in federal alcohol taxes.

A key export, the iconic industry is currently in the middle of a $5.2 billion building boom, from innovative new tourism experiences to expanded production facilities, bottling centers and aging warehouses, all to meet the growing global thirst for Kentucky Bourbon.

Bourbon production has skyrocketed more than 435% since the turn of the century.

Kentucky now boasts more than 10.3 million barrels of Bourbon aging in warehouses across the Bluegrass, the most in its revered distilling history. Distillers filled more than 2.4 million barrels in 2020 alone, the third year in a row that production topped the two million mark.

Visit www.kybourbon.com and www.kybourbontrail.com to learn more.

Gregory encouraged visitors to plan ahead when booking a Kentucky Bourbon Trail® trip this year. Most distilleries require reservations and the KDA strongly encourages masks regardless of vaccination status. Some distillers also have closed a couple days each week to handle COVID-related staffing issues.

“Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries set the bar for world-class experiences and work hard to raise that distinguished status every day,” he said. “We’re proud to welcome everyone to the one, true home for Bourbon so you can see for yourself. The proof is here.”

The Kentucky Distillers’ Association is a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade association that passionately unites, promotes, protects and elevates the Commonwealth’s signature Bourbon and distilled spirits industry. The KDA maintains an open membership policy, champions a strong commitment to the responsible and moderate consumption of spirits, and fights to curb underage drinking and drunk driving.

KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL®, KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL CRAFT TOUR®,, KENTUCKY BOURBON AFFAIR™, KBT®,, BOURBON TRAIL™, KENTUCKY BOURBON HALL OF FAME®,, ORDER OF THE WRIT®,, KENTUCKY BOURBON TALES®,, KENTUCKY BOURBON TRAIL WELCOME CENTER®,, URBAN BOURBON TRAIL® and THE PROOF IS HERE®are trademarks/service marks of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

Please enjoy Bourbon like a true Kentuckian – Responsibly.

BREAK-IN NEWS

I hope this note finds you well.

By now many of you will likely have seen or heard that Kensington Wine Market was the target of a break-in early in the morning of Friday, February 11th, 2022.

The good news is that our store was closed at the time and no one was injured.

The bad news is that the incident caused a considerable amount of damage to the front of our store, completely destroying the main entrance. This has left us unable to safely welcome customers into the shop for the time being.

Our team has been working hard to pickup clean up the mess and pick up the pieces. We are working with our landlord, insurers and a restoration firm to get things back into working order as soon as possible, but unfortunately this will take time.

But we are not closed!

We are still offering curbside pick-up and delivery for orders placed over the phone and via our website.

Our temporary hours for curbside pickup will be 11 AM to 7 PM daily, 6PM on Sunday, until we can open our doors again.

Pick-ups can be handled at our back entrance and in the parking lot behind our building.

Please call us at 403-283-8000 when you arrive and we will bring your purchases out to you.

On behalf of everyone at Kensington Wine Market, I want to thank you all for your patience and continued support of our business.

We have been blown away by the well-wishes, offers of help and the generosity we’ve been shown over the last 36 hours.

We are grateful to be part of an amazing community, not just in Kensington, or the broader city of Calgary, but also through our connections in the drinks business all over Canada and the world beyond.

To our amazing customers, our neighbours in Kensington, and the agents, suppliers, and importers who work with us: Thank you for everything that you do. We are lucky to have you, and we cannot wait to open our doors and welcome you into our store once more!

We will keep you posted.

Cheers,

Evan Eckersley

Store Manager

Kensington Wine Market

– ORDER ONLINE HERE –

OR REACH US AT 403-283-8000 / TOLL FREE AT 1-888-283-9004

CURB SIDE PICKUP

Order online or by phone, wait for confirmation your order is ready then call us when you are out front.

FREE DELIVERY

We are proud to offer Free City Wide Delivery on all orders over $100 Monday-Friday! Orders under $100 are subject to a flat rate $10 deliver fee. We are expecting high demand for delivery after the sale so please be patient!

CHECK OUT OUR OTHER UPCOMING ONLINE TASTINGS

Tuesday, March 8th, 7 PM

Women In Whisky

Behind many of our favourite whiskies, there is a woman, or many… This is not a new trend, many women have made their mark on whisky. From Helen Cumming the woman responsible for the rise of Cardhu and the legendary Bessie Williamson of Laphroaig to the BenRiach Distillery Co.’s and Caitlin Quinn of Turner Valley’s Eau Claire Distillery, women have helped shape the whisky industry. We’re highlighting Women in Whisk(e)y to mark International Women’s Day, and hosts Harmony and Chelsey have a lot to choose from. Thanks to the generous support of some of our partners, 100% of the ticket price collected from this tasting will be donated to The Brenda Strafford Centre, a local women’s shelter.

403-283-8000

*All Prices Quoted here are subject to change and do not include GST. In the case of pricing discrepancies, the price at our point of sale will be taken as correct.*

The 128^th auction will close on TONIGHT, but before it does here are a few impressive lots to pique your interest.

Karuizawa 38 Year Old Ruby Geisha Cask #7582

The Karuizawa 38 Year Old Ruby Geisha Cask #7582 is the second last release in the impressive Geisha Series by Elixir Distillers.  Karuizawa Distillery closed for good in 2011 so these releases represent one of the only ways to purchase your own drop of Japanese distilling history.

Bid Now

Macallan 2008 Distil Your World London Single Cask #21853

Single cask releases from Macallan are rare and memorable and this Macallan 2008 Distil Your World London Single Cask #21853 is no different.  As with the Macallan Edition No2 this expression has been made in collaboration with the Roca brothers of El Cellar De Can Roca, twice voted best restaurant in the world.

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Balvenie Tun 1401 Full Set Batches #1-9 (6 x 70cl & 3 x 75cl)

It’s not often you get the chance to purchase a full set (including exclusives for international markets) of something this special at auction, the Balvenie Tun 1401 Full Set Batches #1-9 (6 x 70cl & 3 x 75cl).  This series showcases Balvenie Malt Master David Stewart’s skill and expertise, combining specially selected casks in marrying tun 1401 to create some truly unique single malts.

Bid Now

We have thousands of other bottles available this month with something to suit everyone, so whether whisky, whiskey or  bourbon is your tipple come browse the auction and find your new favourite bottle.

View Auction

BARDSTOWN, KY – Heaven Hill, America’s largest independent, family-owned and operated distilled spirits supplier, has today acquired Samson & Surrey, including its portfolio of brands and facilities. The acquisition of Samson & Surrey further extends Heaven Hill’s portfolio with six high-growth, super-premium brands in several of the industry’s fastest growing categories.

“Throughout our 86-year history, our focus has been building a business with a portfolio of great brands sold through a great team,” said Max L. Shapira, president, Heaven Hill Brands. “The Samson & Surrey portfolio strategically enhances our portfolio with emerging brands in strong growth categories. Together with their team, Heaven Hill is poised to leverage the tremendous potential of these exciting brands.”

Under the leadership of Robert Furniss-Roe and Juan Rovira, Samson & Surrey has built a remarkable portfolio of highly differentiated premium brands growing at 60% per annum, tracking $40m in Sales and present in over thirty markets worldwide. Included in the acquisition are Tequila Ocho, Widow Jane American Whiskey, Few Spirits, Brenne French Whisky, Bluecoat Gin, and Mezcal Vago. The company will continue to operate as an independent division of Heaven Hill lead by Robert and Juan.

“Over the last five years we have enjoyed unprecedented success thanks to the talents of our team, the truly remarkable award-winning liquids we make, and the engaging consumer stories we tell. The combined talent, scale, and resources of Heaven Hill now present a unique opportunity to provide a long-term home for Samson & Surrey and to further accelerate our growth,” said Robert Furniss-Roe, co-founder and CEO, of Samson & Surrey. “We believe strongly in the potential of our brands which are perfectly positioned to capitalize on the key spirits market trends. We could not be more delighted to join Heaven Hill and work together to continue building a strong portfolio in the premium and super-premium segments,” further commented Juan Rovira, co-founder and COO of Samson & Surrey.

According to DISCUS Super Premium Tequila and Whiskey continue to enjoy growth rates more than 30% over the last five years as American consumers continue to adopt more premium products.

Perella Weinberg Partners LP acted as exclusive financial advisor to Heaven Hill with respect to the transaction. RBC Capital Markets, LLC acted as exclusive financial advisor to Samson & Surrey.

ABOUT HEAVEN HILL BRANDS: Founded in 1935, Bardstown, KY -based Heaven Hill Brands (www.heavenhill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Larceny, and Henry McKenna Bourbons; Rittenhouse Rye Whisky; Deep Eddy and Burnett’s Vodkas; Admiral Nelson’s and Blackheart Rums; Black Velvet Canadian Whisky; Lunazul Tequila; The Christian Brothers Brandies; HPNOTIQ Liqueur; Carolans Irish Cream Liqueur; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur.
Heaven Hill reminds you to “Think Wisely. Drink Wisely.”

Convalmore 1975 45 Year Old Private Collection

A whisky like this shows up once in a blue moon find. From a distillery with a history that reaches back into the 19th century, its rare expressions are becoming more challenging to find by the year.

£1,895.00
Buy Now

CONVALMORE 1975 45 YEAR OLD PRIVATE COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

Dalmunach 5 Years

Grand Tour release #1. Final bottles from the Oloroso cask matured new Speyside distillery.

Shop Dalmunach 5yo »

Dalmunach 5 Year Old 2015 vintage Speyside single malt Scotch whisky. The first release of The Grant Tour series. Voyager 1 space probe launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on September 5th 1977. The spacecraft is the most distant human made object from Earth and continues to transmit data to Earth over 43 years later. On 25th August 2012 the space probe entered interstellar space, the first spacecraft to do so having completed flybys of Jupiter, Saturn and its moon Titan. Matured in a 1st fill Oloroso Hogshead bottled March 2021. 290 numbered bottles.

Interstellar sweet sherry detonation, metrioric brown butter, clusters of roasted pecan and walnuts. Explore strawberries and cream, solar blood orange peel, cinnamon winds and a rich fruit basket nebular finish.

Dalmunach distillery was built by Pernod Ricard (Chivas) in 2014, on the site of the former Imperial Distillery which was demolished in 2013. Dalmunach whisky is mainly produced for suplying the companies blended whiskies such as Chivas Regal and Ballantine’s. A small number of independently bottles casks have been release such TheWhiskyBarrel.com exclusive.

Jefferson’s Ridiculously Small Batch Wood Experiment Collection Non-Chillfiltered Straight Bourbon Whiskey

(willcall/local delivery only – cannot ship) (5x200ml) $79.99 View

This 5 pack contains some of the smallest production experiments that Jefferson’s has ever done. 5x200ml bottles. Wood exp No3: New 60 gallon American Oak barrel with a low, deep impact toast profile. Wood exp No4: New, standard whiskey barrel with medium char infused with heavily charred American oak cubes. Wood exp No6: New standard whiskey barrelw ith a light-medium char infused with lightly toasted American oak staves. Wood exp No10: Custom 60 gallon French and American hybrid oak barrel with a low, deep impact toast profile. Wood exp No12: Original bourbon barrel with oak inserts that have been toasted over a long period of time to infuse the bourbon.

Aberlour 14 Year Old Double Cask

Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Distillery Bottling

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A 14-year-old single malt from Aberlour, matured in a combination of oloroso sherry casks and first-fill American oak casks. The result is aromas of cloves, cardamom, toffee, milk chocolate and orange zest on the nose, complemented by notes of black cherries, mocha coffee and fresh mint throughout the palate.