Kensington Wine Market’s E-Whisky Newsletter
Well the post-Stampede depression, and/or hangover, has likely set in by now. For the record, I did don my jeans and hat to attend the rodeo finals, despite how hot it was. It was quite the show, and nice to see so many Canadians win!
We are still working our way through a deluge of new inventory, we also have a trove of new whiskies from Adelphi, Maltbarn, and yes, once more, Gordon & MacPhail too… Even more exciting than the new G&M releases, are some of the returning past releases!
Also, Evan has once more gone into one of his corners… once more on the Bourbon side of things.
That’s all for this edition of the Malt Messenger. The next one, in August, will have details on some new casks, more new whiskies, and most of our September and October tasting schedules.
As always, in the event of a discrepancy in price, the point of sale at KWM will be taken as correct. Online ordering and in-store purchasing are always our preferences. You can email your requests in… but they won’t be dealt with as quickly as the web orders!
Sincerely,
Andrew Ferguson
Kensington Wine Market
New Whiskies from Adelphi
A trio of new releases from Adelphi are available for sale. There is also a Chichibu, however, we are only receiving 2 bottles of it, so it will be going into a tasting, with the remaining bottle sold by ballot to tasting participants! That tasting will be announced in August.
1. Adelphi Benrinnes 2009 – 54.6% – Refill Sherry American Oak – 14-year-old Benrinnes in well-worn sherry wood; this could be a treat! Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: Summer peaches, warm from the sun and dipped in honey, cinnamon bark, Sunday lunch, roasted game, redcurrant and mint jelly, malted chocolate biscuit. Palate: Toasted almonds and milk chocolate, hints of cinnamon. Finish: Thick Manuka honey and salty molasses toffee.” – $160
2. Adelphi Caol Ila 2010 – 57.4% – Refill Sherry Butt – Sherried Caol Ila is a special thing. We don’t see enough of it lately, and there’s a reason bottles don’t hang around long. Expect sweet and smoky, deep and rich. Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: Beach, swimming pool, Savlon cream, driftwood, smoked cheese, clove pierced gammon. Palate: Dulce de leche, smoked meats, prune juice, leather, walnuts and hazelnuts. Finish: Long, ashy and wonderful.” – $175 – 88pts Whiskybase
3. Adelphi Breath of the Isles 2007 – 57.4% – Breath of the Isles could pretty much mean any of the isles, excepting Islay. Do we know for certain which distillery this is? Nah. But when the whisky is great, does it matter? This one is now 16 years of age. Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: Peach, gorse, hay, pastries – croissant, milk chocolate, hot buttered toast, popcorn. Palate: Crème caramel, Werther’s toffees, digestive biscuits, pepper, honey, apricots. Finish: Long lasting and mineralic.” – $195
New Whiskies from Maltbarn
We have quite a range of bottlings from German independent bottler Maltbarn and most of them are scoring in the high 80s on Whiskybase! Unfortunately, there are only 4 bottles of each coming and they won’t last long!
1. Maltbarn Ardmore 2003 – 51.9% – 18 Year – ex-Sherry – $370 – 87.54pts Whiskybase
2. Maltbarn Balmenach 2002 – 55% – 19 Year – Bourbon Cask – $370 – 86.47pts Whiskybase
3. Maltbarn Ben Nevis 1996 – 48.6% – 26 Year -ex-Bourbon – $750 – 89.88pts Whiskybase
4. Maltbarn Bruichladdich 2002 – 55.3% – 20 Year – ex-Bourbon – $600 – 87pts Whiskybase
5. Maltbarn Caol Ila 2007 – 52.1% – 15 Year – Sherry – $300 – 88.44pts Whiskybase
6. Maltbarn Glenburgie 2003 – 51.6% – 19 Year – Sherry – $420 – 89pts Whiskybase
7. Maltbarn Glenlossie 1992 – 49.5% – 29 Year – ex-Bourbon – $560 – 88.72pts Whiskybase
8. Maltbarn Glenrothes 2009 – 53.5% – 11 Year – Sherry – $190
9. Maltbarn Glen Garioch 2010 – 55.6% – 13 Year – Sherry – $250
10. Maltbarn Glen Moray 2007 – 53.5% – 13 Year – ex-Bourbon – $196 – 88pts Whiskybase
11. Maltbarn Glen Mosset 2013 – 54.2% – 10 Year – ex-Bourbon – $215 – 87.3pts Whiskybase
12. Maltbarn Glen Ord 2012 – 53.9% – 9 Year – ex-Bourbon – $182
13. Maltbarn Granville 2000 – 54.9% – 22 Year – ex-Bourbon – $410 – 87.23pts Whiskybase
14. Maltbarn Inchgower 2008 – 54% – 12 Year – ex-Bourbon – $196
15. Maltbarn Inchgower 1997 – 51.7% – 25 Year – Sherry – $510 – 89pts Whiskybase
16. Maltbarn Invergordon 1972 – 44.4% – 49 Year – ex-Bourbon – $710 – 87.5pts Whiskybase
17. Maltbarn Port Charlotte 2001 – 54.9% – 20 Year – ex-Bourbon – $570 – 89.22pts Whiskybase
18. Maltbarn Speyside 1995 – 51.9% – 26 Year – Sherry – $480- 88.19pts Whiskybase
19. Maltbarn Tullibardine 2007 – 52.9% – 13 Year – ex-Bourbon – $190
Even More New & Returned Whiskies
from Gordon & MacPhail
There are a couple of cool new releases here, but I am most excited about the returning bottlings!
NEW – Coming Soon!
1. Connoisseur’s Choice Caol Ila 2009 Sassicaia Finish – 45% – 13 Year – Finished in Sassicaia Casks for 2 Years – Producer Tasting Note: “Dried fig aromas with cured meats and cinnamon spice. Redcurrant flavours give way to black pepper and lemon peel. A medium finish with pepper, forest fruit and smoke.” – $158
2. Connoisseur’s Choice Teaninich 2009 Canada Cask – 55.9% – 13 Year – First Fill Sherry Hogshead – Producer Tasting Note: “Stewed red berries intertwine with festive spice aromas and baked apple. Smooth fruitcake flavours complement demerara sugar and raspberry compote. A full finish with lingering chocolate and mature oak.” – $150
RETURNED
As I said, I’m really excited about the returned whiskies here. The 2008 Dailuaine is a steal, and we’ve been lucky to get a good chunk of it. One final traunch landed last week, and won’t last long. Then there is the Highland Park 1995, which sold out quickly in the Spring after I wrote a tasting note for it. We featured it a few months later in a tasting, and many participants were feeling the FOMO… luckily we were able to get some of them a bottle, and we have a handful more available.
There there are the two 1990, heavily sherried Glenburgie and Miltonduff, which were part of a trio. We sold out of them months ago, but lucked into a few more bottles.
Last but not least is another Miltonduff, this one a 1989, which is not a sherry bomb like the 1990, but rather a gorgeous tropical old refill cask… my favourite style!
RETURNED
1. Benromach Cask Strength Batch 2 – 59.9% – First Fill Sherry & Bourbon – This one was a made from a vatting of 11 casks. Unfortunately, that means that the outturn won’t be huge. – Producer Tasting Note: “Our cask strength single malt whisky delivers sweet sherry aromas, dark forest fruits and subtle chocolate with a palate of black pepper, red berries, zesty orange and soft smoke.” – $110
2. G&M Connoisseurs Choice Dailuaine – 59.4% – 13 Year – First Fill Sherry Hogshead – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: candied nuts, Christmas cake, soft leather and leafy tobacco; Mandarin orange, Luxardo cherries, and decadent spice: cinnamon hearts, candied ginger, and anise. Palate: rich, fruity and spicy with a velvety backbone; Christmas cake, jujubes, candied ginger, Mandarin orange and Luzardo cherries; dark chocolate with a touch of cayenne pepper; Cuban cigars, firm new leather and toasty oak tones; chocolate dipped espresso beans and fennel seed. Finish: long, warming and spicy with candied fruits, Christmas cake, leather, tobacco, and chocolate. Comment: this is not a sherry bomb, but it is a very good sherried whisky, and when you consider that it is $125 and cask strength too, it is a steal!” – $125
3. G&M Connoisseurs Choice Highland Park 1995 – 59% – Refill Sherry Butt – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: this takes me back… old school sherried HP… we don’t see this often anymore; dark honey from an old-fashioned honeypot; medium-dark goat’s milk chocolate, worn old leather armchairs, and sticky toffee pudding; a faint hint of peat, Dutch licorice, and dark fruits: figs, dates, and prunes. Palate: the sherry and peat waft in together with more medium-dark chocolate and Dutch licorice; this is a big, rich, sherried Orcadian malt, but with a deft touch; time has mellowed HP’s famous soft peat, and only subtle maritime traces can be found; the sherry is rich, nutty, and spicy but balanced; more sticky toffee pudding, Christmas cake, and even a touch of Mom’s mincemeat; more dark honey too. Finish: warming, spicy, and sherried with subtle peat smoke, honey, and dark fruits. Comment: this is how I will always remember the classic sherried old school Highland Park 25 of yesteryear… before it lost its way… anyone else remember the mid-late 2000s bottlings in the stubby round bottles that came in a black wooden box with a brass buckle for a latch… those were the days… this whisky will get you close, at a much better price than you’ll get from the distillery!” – $435+gst – Limit 1 Per Customer! – 90.6pts Whiskybase
4. G&M Connoisseurs Choice Glenburgie 1990 – 52.9% – 31 Year – First Fill Sherry Burtt – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: Dark forest fruit notes complement clove spice and treacle. Toasted hazelnuts give way to rich stewed apples and charred oak. Taste: Smooth morello cherry flavours intertwine with dark chocolate and black pepper. A hint of liquorice develops alongside toasted almonds. Finish: Full and long with mature oak and bitter marmalade.” – $1,249.99 – 91.36pts Whiskybase
5. G&M Connoisseurs Choice Miltoduff 1989 – 52.9% – 31 Year – Refill Sherry Hogshead – My Tasting Note: “Nose: waxy, tropical, and decadent… ooh this is right up my alley…; macadamias, toasted walnuts and Marcona almonds; honeycomb, homemade candles, window putty, and freshly plastered drywall; then the fruits, grilled pineapple, ripe papaya, and melons galore. Palate: bright, fruity, and decadent, with a waxy coating body; honeycomb and baklava; toasted oak, crisp spices, and loads of nutty tones: more almonds, macadamias, and walnuts, with some honey roasted peanuts too; those tropical fruits are still there: melons, papaya, pineapple, along with oranges and candy apple. Finish: long, toasty, and increasingly spicy, with a lingering waxy body; but mostly it’s the fruits you notice. Comment: this is an elegant old malt, with a profile more reminiscent of Refill ex-Bourbon than Refill Sherry, but perhaps it is was an American oak Refill Sherry Seasoned Hogshead… or maybe not… but really, who cares? this is quite simply beautiful!” – $1200 – 90.5pts Whiskybase
6. G&M Connoisseurs Choice Miltonduff 1990 – 54.6% – 31 Year – First Fill Sherry Butt – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: Dark Toffee intertwines with orange oil and roasted coffee beans. Dark Chocolate comes to the fore accompanied by subtle marzipan and a hint of aged leather. Palate: Orange marmalade gives way to cinnamon and ginger spice. Raspberry licorice combines with stewed red fruit and spiced plums. Finish: Long with hints of citurs and salted almonds.” – $1,249.99 – Limit 1 Per Customer! – 91.14pts Whiskybase
Evan’s Bourbon Corner
Andrew has you covered when it comes to Scotch, but what is new and interesting for Bourbon and American Whiskey? Read on below!
Puncher’s Chance The Left Cross – 14-Year-Old Bourbon – 48% – This curious release comes from Wolf Spirit of Eugene, Oregon. The Bourbon was sourced from Kentucky, according to the producer’s website, but that might be an error. The mash bill is listed on Wolf Spirits’s website as 84% Corn, 8% Malt, and 8% Rye, which lines up with the mash bill for the great George Dickel/Cascade Hollow Distillery – but that is in Tennessee… What is known is that this 14 Year Old Straight Bourbon was finished for up to six months in casks that previously held 12-year-old Jamaican Rum. The result was then bottled at 48% ABV. $170
Little Book Spotlight
If you ask a Bourbon lover what their favourite Jim Beam-made bottle is, the one that most often comes up is Bookers. The Booker Noe Bourbon is a hard one not to like if you are into high-proof Bourbon. It is robust, full-flavoured, and the bottlings are usually around 62% or 63% in strength.
I am a big fan of Baker’s myself – especially since they moved to the single barrel version we currently get in. It is a touch lower in alcohol at 53.5% but insanely well put together.
Beam puts out other great bottles at a great price as well, such as the Bottled in Bond duo of Old Grand-Dad and Old Tub. Maybe I will delve more into those at another time.
Another Beam bottle that has been exciting to try and often buy for me has been the Little Book series. I was first introduced to the limited edition series of bottlings back in 2017 when Andrew and I toured Kentucky. I tried the first edition of Little Book when we were in Louisville. It never came to Canada, though. The following year we did get Little Book Chapter II in, though, and it was fabulous. Sadly, that bottle is long gone from retailer shelves (and my own, which I am sure you agree is even sadder), but we have continued to see these annual releases come to Canada. Each one focuses on a slightly different aspect of American whisky craft. We currently have Chapters IV, V and VI all available, and Chapter VII should come in later this year if the release pattern continues.
Little Book Chapter VI – 58.7% – Chapter IV is an intriguing blend of 4-Year-Old Straight Malt Whiskey aged or finished with four different cask types: barrels containing cherrywood staves, others containing Maplewood staves, Applewood smoked barrels and hickory smoked barrels. A 5-year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon ties it all together, adding sweet notes up front to compliment the savoury smoke and chocolate notes offered by the Straight Malts. $210
Little Book Chapter V – 58.4% – Chapter V is a marriage of Kentucky Bourbon and Rye Whiskey young and old (from 2 years to 15 years of age). The combination lends a more toffee and butterscotch-driven experience along with the wood spice and subtle, vanilla-driven smoke offered by the older whiskeys in the blend. $198
Little Book Chapter IV – 61.4% – Chapter IV includes Bourbon Whiskey aged between 4 and 8 years old, including some from Jim Beams Bourbon mash bill that includes Brown Rice, as well as both the Old Grand-Dad High Rye Recipe and the lower rye regular Jim Beam mash bill. The result is the most typical of the Jim Beam style of the three, made all the better with the high proof. $189.99
Looking for more Bourbon to taste? Check out our upcoming Virtual Bourbon tasting, which is listed in the tastings section below!
Past Events On Sale
We have a few tasting kits left from the first half of 2023, so we put them on sale a couple weeks back. Some are sold, but there are a few left over! The tasting kits are mostly 7x15ml, and have a QR code on the box linked to the tasting video on YouTube. Here’s what’s available:
2. Past Event: 30 for 30: KWM 30th Annv Tasting Pt.2 – Retail $225 – SAVE 25% – Now $168.75
3. Past Event: Bladnoch Distillery Vertical – Retail $50 – SAVE 35% – Now $32.50
4. Past Event: Boutique-y 10th Anniversary Tasting with Dave Worthington – Retail $125 – SAVE 25% – Now $93.75
5. Past Event: Flagships v. Distillers Editions – Retail $45 – SAVE 35% – Now $29.25
6. Past Event: Glenmorangie Grand Tasting w Ruaraidh McIntyre – Retail $75 – SAVE 35% – Now $48.75
7. Past Event: Lost in Translation Virtual Japanese Whisky Tasting – Retail $45 – SAVE 35% – Now $29.25
8. Past Event: Milk & Honey Tasting with Oded Weiss – Retail $40 – SAVE 35% – Now $26
9. Past Event: Rest & Bruichladdich Virtual – Retail $55 – SAVE 35% – Now $35.75
10. Past Event: SMWS June 2023 Virtual Outturn – Retail $55 – SAVE 25% – Now $41.25
11. Past Event: Spongeworthy Whiskies #2 with Angus MacRaild June – Retail $120 – SAVE 25% – Now $90
Upcoming Tastings
· Date: Tuesday, August 1
· Time: 7 PM
· Cost: $90
· VIRTUAL TASTING
You had us at 31-year-old GlenDronach. We recently received some cool new releases from Iain Croucher at North Star Spirits, and we can’t resist the temptation to try them. On the young side of things, there is the new Tarot Blend, a Campbeltown Blended Malt, and only the second-ever bottling from Dalmunach. We love a good Blair Athol, and how often do you see an indie bottle of Dalwhinnie? But the icing on the cake of this tasting will be the GlenDronach 31-Year. You almost never see indie GlenDronach, and this one has some great reviews!
Tuesday, August 1st @ 7 PM
· Date: Thursday, August 15
· Time: 7 PM
· Cost: $60
· VIRTUAL TASTING
We’re super excited to do a part 2 tasting to one we did at the tail end of 2022. Another handful of really cool Hunter Laing whiskies landed recently, so of course we tasted through ’em with our friend Lee (the local importer) and immediately started to conspire about sharing these with a bigger audience. The name of this event may be a mouthful, but trust us… the whiskies are even more so. This range of Old Malt Cask, First Edition and Old & Rare ranges includes 7 single-cask whiskies from Ben Nevis, Knockdhu, Craigellachie, Cragganmore, Tamdhu, Linkwood, and Glen Garioch.
Tuesday, August 15 @ 7 PM
· Date: Tuesday, August 22
· Time: 7 PM
· Cost: $45
· VIRTUAL TASTING
We are fortunate to have a strong relationship with British Wine merchants and independent bottler Berry Bros. & Rudd. We have four new Berry’s KWM casks hitting shelves, plus an exclusive blend, so it is time to put them all in a tasting! This lineup includes .5oz samples of a 1993 Tullibardine and the Berry’s Perspective 21-Year-Old Blend, plus our Berry’s Tobermory 2008 KWM Cask and our new Dailuaine, Glen Moray, Inchgower, and Rhadh Mhor (peated Glenturret) KWM single cask selections.
Tuesday, August 22nd @ 7 PM
· Date: Thursday, August 24
· Time: 7 PM
· Cost: $40
· VIRTUAL TASTING
Harmony and Evan are back at it for the third time this year! Join the dynamic duo for a new blind lineup of eight whiskies that includes some new bottles they are itching to share with you and possibly even try themselves for the first time. What will be chosen for this blind Bourbon tasting? SPOILERS: The lowest ABV in the lineup is 46% and the highest is nearly 64%. There will be Bourbon. There may be Rye. There may even be a curveball or two thrown in the lineup just for fun! Find out by joining us online via Zoom on Thursday, August 24th @ 7 PM.
· Date: Tuesday, August 29
· Time: 7 PM
· Cost: $55
· VIRTUAL TASTING
Yeah, we struggled for a name for this one. Just go with it. Evan is on vacation at the time of this writing, so our funny bones are not being sufficiently tickled at the moment. Anyway… the recent arrival of our brand-spanking-new KWM-exclusive Loch Lomond cask was the catalyst for this tasting. And then it occurred to us that we also have a bespoke Glen Scotia cask. The icing on the cake was the recent arrival of just a wee handful of bottles of the now elusive distillery-bottled Glen Scotia 25-year-old. We immediately fleshed out the range with a couple more official bottlings from each distillery, and voila! The confusingly named ‘Exploring Glen Lomond & Loch Scotia’ tasting was born. Pssst… we promise the drams will be better than the name.
Tuesday, August 29th @ 7 PM
· Date: Tuesday, September 9
· Time: 7 PM
· Cost: $120
· VIRTUAL TASTING
We’ll provide the bangers, but you’re on the hook for your own mash. If you’re not ‘UK-culinarily-informed’ enough to grab that reference, please excuse the bad dad joke. Nothing to see here. A few new arrivals from the Whisky Trail Silhouette range – Ben Nevis, Caol Ila, Croftengea (peated Loch Lomond), and a 1973 Carsebridge – will be complemented by a teenage Mannochmore from SMOS, a 21-year-old Rosebank(!) and a 44-year-old Bunnahabhain. Yes… 44. This line-up is crazy, and unquestionably one of the most interesting tastings we’ve pulled together in quite some time. Did we mention Rosebank?
Tuesday, September 12th @ 7 PM
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 delivery fee.
We are expecting high demand for delivery after the sale so please be patient!
403-283-8000
Store Hours
Mon – Wed 10AM – 8PM
Thurs & Fri 10AM – 9PM
Sat 10AM – 8 PM
Sun 11PM to 6PM
*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 Kensington Wine Market | 1257 Kensington Road NW, Calgary, Alberta T2N 3P8 Canada
