Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers, 

As many of you may have seen in last week’s Malt Messenger, Kensington Wine Market has some epic tastings coming up next week. On Thursday March 29th and Friday the 30th we will be holding two identical Ancient Malts Tastings. These are the first Ancient Malts Tastings we’ve offered  in more than a year. Generally we will open one exceptionally rare and expensive whisky at the tasting, but this year I have decided to  take a different approach; we’re going to open seven… seven 40 year old whiskies. 

The idea came to me late last year when it occurred to me that for the first time ever we had enough whiskies to do a vertical of seven 40 Year Old whiskies, six of them distillery bottled by their distillery. Begining in December I started setting aside many of these whiskies, some of which have since sold out. This is without doubt the first vertical tasting of 40 year old whiskies in Canada and Alberta, and surely one of the first in the world. 

We will be sampling 40 year old whiskies from Glendronach, Glenfarclas, BenRiach, HighlandPark, Bowmore, Fettercairn and Glenfiddich. Most of these whiskies have received very high scores, and a couple of them have come into Canada in such small quantities (less than 6 bottles) that they will never be tasted by more than a few. To add icing to this already decadent cake all participants will  be receiving a bespoke whisky glass and will have a taste of the Gordon & MacPhail Gernerations Glenlivet 70 Year ($21,999.99). The tasting costs$275 + GST, which is a pretty good deal considering all 8 bottles of these whiskies would set you back more than $30,000.00 if you could even find them all! 

There will be other epic tastings over the years to come but this one is a one off, which will never be duplicated. There are still tickets for both nights, though only 4-5 for the Friday seating. See below for more details on the tasting.  

Slainté! 

AndrewFerguson 

THE ANCIENT MALTS TASTNGS – Thursday March 29th and Friday March 30th – $275.00+GST 

Once or twice a year the Kensington Wine Market puts on an epic tasting of whiskies most of us can only dream about buying. Over the years we’ve opened the Black Bowmore 1964, Gold Bowmore 1964, Macallan 50 Year Lalique, Auchentoshan 1957 50 Year (both incarnations) and other rare whiskies just to name a few. These tastings are an opportunity for a community of people to come together and share an experience that most of us could never have on our own. Late last year it occurred to me that I had access to a number of distillery bottled 40 year old whiskies and I thought to myself, why not hold a 40 year olds tasting? On Thursday and Friday March 29th and 30th we will be conducting two back to back tastings featuring seven 40 year old whiskies. Six of the seven whiskies are distillery bottled, all of them are exceptionally rare and many of them rank among the most highly scored whiskies in the world. To sweeten the deal everyone will receive a commemorative Glencairn glass and as a special bonus will get a taste of the Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 Year.  

This will be an unparalleled tasting event, and a night(s) to remember. The whisky list is as follows:

1. BenRiach 1971 40 Year – $660.99(sold out)
   • Exclusive to KWM
   • 93ptsSerge Vanlentin, Whisk Fun
   • 96.5pts Jim Murray
2. Fettercairn 40 Year – $1515.99
   • Exclusive to KWM
   • 92ptsJim Murray
   • 89pts Serge Valentin, Whisky Fun
3. Glendronach 1971 40 Year – $703.99
   • Exclusive to KWM
   • 89pts Jim Murray
4. Glenfarclas 40 Year – $499.99
   • 95ptsWhisky Advocate
   • 94pts Jim Murray
5. Glenfiddich 40 Year – $2729.99
   • 96pts Jim Murray
6. Highland Park 40 Year – $1854.99
   • 91ptsSerge Valentin, Whisky Fun
   • 90.5pts Jim Murray
7. Signatory Bowmore 1970 40 Year – $1136.99
   • Exclusive to KWM
8. G&M Generation Glenlivet 1940 70 Year – $5,999.99(200ml) $21,999.99(700ml)
   • Exclusive to KWM
   • 95.5pts Jim Murray

 

This tasting event is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Not counting the Gordon & MacPhail Generations Glenlivet 70 Year old, a bottle of each of these 7 whiskies would set you back more than $10,000.00 if you could even find them all. You’d need more than treble that to buy a full bottle of everything including the Glenlivet 70 Year.