2000 Bowmore 11 Year Old K&L Exclusive Sovereign Single Sherry Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Pre-Arrival) ($72.99) This one took quite a while to secure, but we finally landed another slam dunk cask: a sherry-aged barrel of delicious Bowmore single malt! I’ll never forget looking at David OG’s face as we sat in the tasting room of the Sovereign offices tasting this whisky – “Tennis ball can?” we both said, nosing the complex whirlwind of aromas emanating from the glass. Vanilla, rich raisined fruit, creamy sherry, and yes a bit of tennis ball can! The palate is where the Bowmore campfire smoke and peat moss creep in and lead one’s mouth to a succulent, savory finish. However, the nose is the real jewel of this whisky and David OG sat for more than twenty minutes just smelling it and smiling. Who doesn’t love sherry-aged Islay whisky, especially when it’s from Bowmore? -David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer

1965 Caledonian 45 Year Old K&L Exclusive Sovereign Single Barrel Cask Strength Grain Whisky (Pre-Arrival) ($149.99) Closed forever in 1988, Caledonian was a Lowland grain distillery that was once famed for having Europe’s biggest patent still. The nose is salted caramel and sticky Sauternes with rich and enticing aromas of sweet goodness. The palate however is grain all the way – lean and herbal, odd and exciting, crazy cool and super fun – truly a difficult malt to truly explain. Knowing this was going to be for the true whisky nerds out there, we originally decided to pass on this cask even though we loved it. However, when the owners let us deal via our own importer, we were able to work out a ridiculous price for such an ancient collectable (the closest comparison we could find was a 45 year Caledonian selling in the UK for more than $200). Similar grains of this age have sold at K&L in the past for over $300. While this bottle isn’t for everyone, it is meant for the curious collector looking to branch out and understand the various styles of Scotch. Grain whisky has always been an important element of blended whisky and continues to provide the backbone to legends like Johnnie Walker Blue and Chivas Regal. While it has recently fallen out of “style,” there is a strong grain whisky revival festering once again and we’re glad to be, as usual, at the forefront of all whisky movements. -David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer

1980 Caol Ila 30 Year Old K&L Exclusive Sovereign Single Barrel Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Pre-Arrival) ($174.99) If you can’t believe your eyes at the price of this Caol Ila 30 year old single barrel, cask strength bottle, we can’t blame you. Is it a close out? No. Is it just not good? Sorry, we don’t buy bad whisky. How is it that K&L is able to get an entire barrel of elegant, smoky, mature Islay whisky and sell it for $175? We’ll let you in on a secret – we worked very hard to get these casks imported directly and we’ve enlisted the help of a few friends to get these incredible prices. Do a Google search and you’ll find that the official Caol Ila comes in at about $350 while other expressions bottom out at around $280. This new relationship we’ve started with Sovereign from our recent trip to Scotland is the beginning of something very big – top level whiskies, all at cask strength, all at wholesale prices for our retail customers! -David Driscoll, Spirits Buyer

Oban 18 Year Limited Edition Single Malt Whisky 750ml (Elsewhere $149.99) ($99.99) We only got a few bottles! BUY, BUY, BUY, ASAP! This is a limited edition bottling for the US only. As the cannister states, “only so much can be made, it is never enough.” John Hansell writes, “I really like this whisky. Drier, less toffee and fruit, more dried spice and oak when compared to the standard Oban 14 year old. A beautiful combination of rich, nutty toffee balanced by polished oak, salt, pepper, seaweed, distant smoke and dried fruit. Somewhat oily in texture. Wonderful depth too! An improvement on what is already the biggest selling Diageo single malt scotch in the U.S. Very exciting and dynamic.” -Malt Advocate

Johnnie Walker Blue Blended Scotch Whisky 750ml ($179.99)

W. L. Weller 12 year old Bourbon 750ml – 11 available ($24.99)

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA