Malt Messenger No. 56a

Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers,

What a year 2013 has been so far, it’s been a whirlwind and the rest of it is looking bright too. I recently spent a weekend in Las Vegas for the Nth Universal Whisky Experience 2013. If you haven’t already check out my twitter feed www.twitter.com/scotch_guy recently you should, there some interesting tastings and whiskies mentioned on there. You have to scroll down a ways to get to the Nth, it’s been a busy couple of weeks since my return! I’ll put together a blog post on both the Nth, as well as the Victoria Whisky Festival shortly. The Victoria Whisky Festival is Canada’s finest whisky show, a large event, but masterfully organized. Tickets sell out within hours of going on sale in the fall. Check out www.victoriawhiskyfestival.com for more details. Speaking of the store blog, if you have stopped by lately, you’ll notice I’ve made an effort to make more regular postings.. Including recently:

1. Ancient Malts Tasting – Thursday March 21st 2013
2. Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada March Outturn
3. Introducing the Jura Paps Collection 3x 15 Years
4. Berry’s Blue Hangar 6th Edition Named Best Blend or Blended Malt…
5. BenRiach Vertical II – Unpeated Malt – Tuesday February 12 2013
6. Photos from our 8th Annual Scots What Hae Robbie Burns Supper
7. New Exclusive Duthies Single Malts Available in Store!

You can visit our store blog at https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/blog/

As many of you may know I run a side business organizing and guiding whisky tours in Scotland. This May I’ve decided to do something a little different, I am currently in the process of putting together my first ever whisky tour to Japan. The trip will consist of 10 days in Japan, including 3 full days in Tokyo seeing the sights and visiting some of the world’s finest whisky bars. Over the course of 10 days we will visit 5 world famous Japanese distilleries, four other major cities including Kyoto and Osaka while paying homage at some of Japan’s most important historic and cultural attractions. Participants will also have the option of adding on a two day side trip to Taiwan, to visit Taipei and the new Kavalan Distillery. More information can be had by emailing me, or visiting my website www.fergusonwhiskytours.com . I’ve also included a little synopsis of the tour below.

There are a couple of important tastings coming up in the next few weeks. First up, we are having a drop in World Whisky Day event, see below. Then the next day Richard Paterson of Whyte & MacKay will be in town on Thursday March 28th. J. Wheelock of Authentic Wine & Spirits and I have put together a special Dalmore whisky dinner with the world famous Master Blender, who hasn’t been to Calgary since our 2nd Burns Supper more than 6 years ago. There are just 4 tickets left to the dinner as of the last time I checked, which will go for the very reasonable price of $160 + GST. You can register at www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/tastings/register.php  and I’ve added some additional information on the event below.

Finally, and perhaps most crucially, I have a slew of new whiskies to tell you about. So many in fact that this Malt Messenger will have to be split in two, with the second half to follow in a couple of weeks. In this edition I’ll be giving you and update on our KWM casks and will outline some new exclusive whiskies from Jura, Glendronach and Duthies. There are also new official releases of Port Ellen, Lagavulin (sadly sold out), Caol Ila and Bowmore which I’ve written up with tasting notes below. And there is much more to come early next month.

I sincerely hope you enjoy this edition of the Malt Messenger.

Slainté!
Andrew Ferguson – Kensington Wine Market
PS – Don’t forget you can follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/scotch_guy  and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/scotch.guy.1

In This Edition
1. World Whisky Day @ KWM
2. Vintage Dalmore Dinner w/ Richard Paterson – March 28th – Only 4 seats left!
3. Really Raucous Rums – Friday April 12th
4. KWM Exclusive Casks Update
5. Introducing: Appleton 50 Year
6. Introducing: Glenrothes 1970 Extraordinary Cask
7. Introducing: Berry’s Glen Keith 1993 KWM Cask – Only 24 bottles available!
8. Introducing: Berry’s Blue Hanger 6th Limited Release – Whisky Advocate Blend or Blended Malt Whisky of the Year 2012
9. New Diageo Releases – Port Ellen, Lagavulin, Dalwhinnie & Caol Ila
10. Bowmore 1985
11. Duncan Taylor Black Bull 40 Year Batch No. 3
12. The Jura Paps Collection
13. New Whiskies From Duthies
14. New Whiskies From Adelphi
15. Glendronach Batch 7
16. Whisky Tour of Japan

WORLD WHISKY DAY @ KWM – Wednesday March 27th – 5-7PM – Free Drop In

In celebration of the second annual World Whisky Day on Wednesday March 27th, the Kensington Wine Market will be having a free drop in tasting between 5 and 7PM. Participants will be able to try from a range of whiskies, including the new Duthies Collection, KWM Casks, whiskies from Whyte & MacKay, BenRiach/Glendronach, Springbank, Kilchoman, Compass Box, Nikka and more. There will also be great specials in store. Our friends Andy Dunn from Gold Medal Marketing and J. Wheelock from Authentic Wine & Spirits will both be on hand to help us celebrate. The event will also mark the return of the Compass Box Hedonism…

So drop in on Wednesday March 27th, and raise a glass to the Memory of whisky writer Michael Jackson, and the heritage of the worlds finest distilled spirit.

TASTING: VINTAGE DALMORE DINNER W/ RICHARD PATERSON – March 28th – $160 – Only 4 Spots Left

On behalf of Kensington Wine Market, Authentic Wine & Spirits Merchants and Whyte and MacKay I am very pleased and excited to announce that Richard Paterson will be in town on the night of Thursday March 28th to host a very special Dalmore whisky dinner at Vintage Chop House in Calgary, Alberta. Richard Patterson, AKA “The Nose”, is the world famous Master Blender for Whyte & MacKay, owners of Dalmore and Jura Distilleries. This is Richard’s first visit to Calgary in more than six years, since he hosted our 2nd Annual Burns Supper at the former Polish Combatant’s Association on Kensington Road. If you’ve never seen Richard in action, you owe it to yourself to attend one of his tastings, before this legend retires!

Richard Paterson is one of the world’s best-known Master Blenders, having travelled the globe extensively as an ambassador for Whyte & Mackay, and most especially Dalmore Distillery. Richard became a Master Blender at the incredibly early age of 26, for many years the youngest in Scotland. Richard began his career as a general production assistant at A. Giles & Company Whisky Blenders & Brokers where he learned the art of blending before joining Whyte & Mackay, one of Scotland’s leading blenders, distillers and distributors of Scotch whisky. Richard is a former president of The Wine & Spirit Club of Scotland and the Institute of Wine & Spirits in Scotland. He has been awarded The Spirit of Scotland Trophy at the International Wine & Spirit Competition and is a Diploma Lecturer on Scotch Whisky for the Wine & Spirit Education Trust in London. In 2008 Richard coauthored a biography, Goodness Nose.

Vintage Dalmore Dinner with Richard Patterson – Thursday March 28th 2013 – 7PM – $160
Location: Vintage Chop House – 320 11 Ave SW

Includes: 4 Courses, Corkage, Gratuity and Six Dalmore Single Malt Whiskies Including:
1. Dalmore 1995 Age of Exploration – $80.49
2. Dalmore King Alexander II – $165.99
3. Dalmore Cromartie – $139.99
4. Dalmore 1979 – $661.99
5. Dalmore 1978 – $750.99
6. Dalmore Ceti 30 Year – $1487.99
Registration: Limited to 21 participants. Only 4 tickets left…

KWM EXCLUSIVE CASKS UPDATE

We are famous for our exclusive single cask bottlings. We have two Benromachs coming late in the spring, but in the meantime, check out our current selection. So of them may be sold out within days to a week!
1. Arran 2001 KWM Bourbon Cask – Our 3rd Arran cask has been a huge hit, very creamy, toasty and fruity, with a grassy-matly backbone! – $87.99 – Only 5 Left!
2. BenRiach 1994 KWM Peated Virgin Oak Cask – One of two sister casks of peated BenRiach finished for four years in Virgin oak casks. $117.49 – Only 7 Left!
3. BenRiach 1994 Quaich Peated Virgin Oak Cask – Bottled for the Companions of the Quaich whisky club, this is a sister cask to the above KWM cask. Only a handful of the bottles have been made available to non-club members. – $117.49 – Only 8 Left!
4. BenRiach 1983 KWM Cask – This 29 year old is very soft and sweet with delicate cream and tropical fruit notes. Most of the 233 bottles from the cask have already sold. – $205.99
5. Berry’s Glen Keith 1993 KWM Cask – Half of this cask was bottled for a local firm, and the lion’s share of the other half bottled for KWM has already sold to a whisky club. Just 24 of the 144 KWM labeled bottles are available for purchase. More info on this whisky can be found below! – $105.99
6. Evan William KWM Bourbon Cask – Our first Bourbon cask in a couple of years was a big hit. Since we launched it in early December, most of the bottles have sold; only 26 left. – $54.99
7. Glen Garioch 1997 MS Society Cask – Bottled in collaboration with an Edmonton boutique liquor store, $10 from each bottle of this whisky sold will be donated to the MS Society of Calgary. – $89.99
8. Glenglassaugh 1979 KWM Cask – We’ve hardly had a chance to talk about this whisky as it arrived late in December. It will be a focal point of my next Malt Messenger, and is a fine example of an incredible older whisky. With the Scotch whisky industry still in overdrive, and stocks of fine old whiskies getting harder and harder to come by, this may be the last nearly 40 year old whisky we bottle for some time. And it was the top whisky at our Ancient Malts tasting last night… beating out a $5,000.00 bottle! – $699.99

INTRODUCING: GLENROTHES 1970 Cask 10573 – $5192.99

The 1970 is the first release in what Berry Brother’s & Rudd is calling their Extraordinary Cask Collection. The Collection will feature old and rare whiskies, some of which date back to the 1960’s. The casks selected for the Extraordinary Cask Collection were among a lot bought back from a private collector in Scotland. After authentication some of the casks were selected for the range.

The 1970 has been bottled at the perilously low cask strength of 40.6%. Just 179 total bottles have been produced from the single Ex-Bourbon American Oak Hogshead cask, with just three of them allocated to Alberta. One has already sold, one has been poured at Kensington Wine Market’s Ancient Malt tasting, leaving but one for sale in the Province. This rare whisky is encased in a hand blown crystal decanter inspired by the distillery’s signature squat bottle design. Each bottle has a polished brass plaque at the front indicating the vintage of the whisky, its date of bottling and the bottle number. The stopper is made from the staves of the oak barrels the whisky matured in. The bottled comes packed in a handcrafted leather travel case that ” would not have looked out of place in the hands of Cary Grant in a classic Hitchcock film.” Inside the carry case is a specially commissioned book on Glenrothes and the whisky with contributions from: Ronnie Cox, Tom Bruce-Gardyne, Charles MacLean, Dominic Roskrow, Martine Nouet, Dave Broom and Marcin Miller.

Glenrothes 1970 Extraordinary Cask Collection – 40.6% – 42 Year – Ex-Bourbon American Oak Hogshead – Cask 10573 – 179 Bottles – My Tasting Note: Nose: barely in the glass I can tell this is a special dram, tropical and fruity; delicate notes of fine white chocolate, dewy botanical gardens, coconut cream icing and some candied citrus; on the tropical fruits side cantaloupe and honey dew melons appear first and most strongly, with some banana and guava; Palate: a little bit of toasty oak right off the bat which very quickly mellows into layers of sugar, fruits and even a little barley; there is next to no bitter oak, a sign of too much age, instead layers of honey, cream, and more coconut icing; the tropical fruits are a little slower to develop under the weight of its age but they are there with more melon, flambéed banana and a touch of apricots; the floral top notes are still there, but only in the lightest of brush strokes; Finish: smooth, decadent, toasty and long; sugary oak, fading tropical fruit and soft-elegant floral oils linger long; the final note is a flourish of anise, Demerara sugar and subtle oaky oils; Comment: any concerns I had about how the delicate Glenrothes spirit would hold up to 42 years in oak have been assuaged; this is a very pleasant, eminently drinkable, old whisky! – $5,192.99

Also available again after a long absence: Glenrothes 1975 – 43% – 30Year – 3708 Bottles – My Tasting Note: Nose: “Waxy and honeyed, very floral and soft, with lemon infused goat’s milk cheese, creamy oak and some faint tropical fruit notes; very orangey, candied orange, orange peel and orange pulp; Palate: medium body, sweet toasty oak, tangy citrus and waxy white chocolate; becomes drier and more floral with coffee grounds, peppery spices and a touch of new leather sofa; Finish: floral (almost minty), honeyed and still leathery with coating oaky oils. – $355.99

INTRODUCING: BERRY’S GLEN KEITH 1993 KWM CASK -Only 24 bottles available! – $105.49

Last fall I was approached by a local firm to help them select and bottle a cask of whisky to celebrate their 40th Anniversary. We settled on a cask we were both pleased with, a 1993 vintage Glen Keith cask, bottled at a cask strength of 54.4%. The whisky was selected from a range of barrel samples offered by Berry Bros & Rudd. It was agreed that the client would take half the cask bottled for his needs, and Kensington Wine Market the balance. Our client’s bottles came in before Christmas and were beautifully packed with special glasses to be given away to their clients and staff. I then forgot all about our half of the cask, until I was told it had arrived last week.

This was great news, as our Arran 2001 and BenRiach 1994 casks were both very nearly sold out. I approached a whisky club to see if they would be interested in some of the bottles, they took 120 of the 144 bottles available to KWM, and the product is now very nearly sold out. I have just 24 bottles available for sale in store, and after a few tweets on Wednesday they are already beginning to sell. They won’t last long. This will very likely be our shortest lived single cask bottling. Hope you have a chance to come in and try it before it is too late!

Glen Keith is located directly across a small river from Strathisla in the town of Keith; the latter being the oldest continuously operating distillery in Scotland (1789). Glen Keith was constructed in 1957 and was used experimentally by its owner Chivas Bros., with new techniques and technologies applied to the whiskies made there. In 1999 the distillery was mothballed, and feared doomed by many within the whisky industry. The buildings were kept intact, and some of them repurposed as a maintenance center for the Chivas/Pernod Ricard group. There has however of late been some talk of reopening the distillery.

Doug McIvor’s Tasting Note: “Ripe fruity aromas dominate the nose. Citrus abounds with a creamy nutty note and delicate grassiness. The palate is generous and builds with a deliciously creamy texture delivering soft rich fruit. The finish is gentle and grassy with a little spice.”

Berry’s Glen Keith 1993 KWM Cask – 54.4% – 18 Year – Ex-Bourbon American Oak – My Tasting Note: Nose: light, creamy and soft; there are floral top notes and light citrus over a backbone of vanilla cream, assorted sugars and crème brule; Palate: still soft and very creamy with a lush body and some poached white fruits; the grassy-floral notes are delicately layered on top of the citrus and vanilla-Bourbon notes; a little spice and sugars ranging from powdered to Demerara develop; Finish: sweet, creamy, mouthwatering and fresh; sugary toasted oak lingers long. – $105.49

BERRY’S BLUE HANGER 6th LIMITED RELEASE – Whisky Advocate Blend or Blended Malt Whisky of the Year 2012 – $124.99

From the distiller: “So called because of the shade of clothes he wore as a young man, William ‘Blue’ Hanger, Lord Coleraine, was a loyal customer of Berrys at the end of the 18th century, and the best dressed man of his day. This exceptional and very limited Blended Malt is just as impeccably turned out, with bewitching aromas of orange peel, vanilla and peat smoke. The palate is luscious and complex leading to the fruity, smoky finale.”

Whisky Advocate Blend or Blended Malt Whisky of the Year “If you want proof that blended malts can be world class, you’ll find it in any bottle of Blue Hanger. Lovingly created by Berry Bros. whisky maker Doug McIvor, every release has been exceptional. Even by the series’ own high standards, this sixth release surpasses itself. The nose is fresh, clean, and citrusy, with wafts of sherry. But there are smoky hints, too. And it’s that peaty, earthy note on the palate that gives this release a new dimension, enriching the fruity Speyside sweetness at the whisky’s core. The age and quality of the malt asserts itself throughout. This really is stunning stuff.” Dominic Roskrow 94pts
http://www.whiskyadvocateblog.com/2013/01/27/whisky-advocates-19th-annual-award-blendedblended-malt-whisky-of-the-year/

Berry’s Blue Hanger 6th Limited Release – 45.6% – Exclusive to KWM in Alberta – My Tasting Note: Nose: leather sofas, rubber mats and struck matches to get things started; some brunt fruit, sultanas and dark baker’s chocolate; becomes more candied and fruity as the leather and rubber tone down: jujubes and jelly beans with some peaty, grassy malt and briny marshland; Palate: rich, spicy, fruity and leathery with tobacco and earthy peat; the rubbery notes from the nose are nowhere in sight, instead it is nuttier and spicier than expected with some clean smoke, bug sherry and chewy malt; Finish: the palate is left tingling from the barrage of spice, tobacco, leather and candied fruit; Comment: so many layers and so much depth; if you think blends or blended malts are boring, this one is sure to change your mind! – $124.99

NEW DIAGEO 2012 SPECIAL RELEASES – Port Ellen, Lagavulin, Dalwhinnie & Caol Ila

I have a love hate relationship with Diageo’s portfolio of whiskies. Port Ellen, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Talisker, Brora and Clynelish are some of my favourite distilleries producing some incredible drams. But Diageo, as was their prerogative, closed two of those distilleries in 1983 and 30 years later their stocks are nearly gone. Much of the production from their surviving distilleries is wasted, it has to be said… in my opinion, on their blends which puts pressure on the increasingly hard to get stocks of premium single malt. Diageo is a very successful company and almost every firm in Scotland will laud their efforts on behalf of the industry as a whole. They are also very profitable, and pay a good dividend to their investors, but they are not friends of the malt drinking diaspora, and even their rare whiskies ambassador Dr. Nick Morgan will say: “We are blended whisky company.” The fact they own more than a quarter of all distilleries in Scotland make this all the more depressing, and with their Johnny Walker blends growing at impressive rates, the future of their malt portfolio looks precarious.

This January, for the first time in 3 years, Diageo Canada’s Alberta wing has managed to put it hands on some Port Ellen, albeit at much inflated price from the last official release we saw 3 years ago. This however is the new normal for Port Ellen. It has been a cult whisky for 15 of the 30 years it’s been closed, and Diageo and the independent bottlers who’ve been sitting on ever depleting mature stocks of the whisky are running out. This year’s 32 year old is Diageo’s 12th annual official release, and rumours abound that it may be the last. Douglas Laing, the scrappy independent bottler who’s been bottling Port Ellen under their Provenance, Old Malt Cask and Old & Rare lines for years has doubled the prices they’ve been charging for Port Ellen once each in the last two years. I was once told by one of the brother’s at the head of the firm that they had enough Port Ellen that they would still be bottling it when he is dead, buried and forgotten. No longer. We managed to purchase a cask of Port Ellen from them 4 years ago, I’m glad we did while we could; there are no longer any to be had!

Diageo’s Lagavulin 21 year also came in with a hefty price tag, it is only the 2nd time they’ve ever released a 21 year old. Lagavulin is in short supply for the same reasons Port Ellen and Brora are, except that unlike the latter too it was thankfully never shut down. The glut of whisky in the early 80’s prompted closure and a slowdown that the industry didn’t fully recover from until the late 1990s. Lagavulin was only operated a couple of days a week through most of the 1990s, meaning that when demand for the 16 year old took off in the 2000s the company’s stock rapidly began to dwindle and supplies tightened prompting rumours of a devastating fire. The Lagavulin 21 year old is an expensive whisky, but it is rare, and more importantly a beautiful whisky. We managed to put our hands on nearly half of the 60 bottles which came into Alberta, and they’re already sold out. And as for the Port Ellen, it is also a beautiful dram, just a very expensive one!

Here are some tasting notes on the Port Ellen 32 Year 12th Release, Lagavulin 21 Year 2012, Caol Ila 14 Year Distiller’s Edition and the Dalwhinnie 25 Year. I have used my own where possible and substituted others where necessary:
1. Caol Ila 14 Year Unpeated – 59.3% – Matured in Sherry Casks (somewhat unusual for Caol Ila) – 5958 Bottles – My Tasting Note: Nose: loads of barley, raisins and dates, fake leather sofa, Nutella, sea breeze and lemony citrus; Palate: more raisins and figs, incredibly grassy: freshly mowed wet lawn, some tingling spice and even a trace of peat (perhaps the stills or washbacks hadn’t been fully cleaned); a little coppery youth, but some tasty, nutty sherry too; Finish: clean and a little thin; good nose and palate, a little disappointing on the finish. – $133.99
2. Dalwhinie 25 Year 2012 – 52.1% – Distilled 1987 – 5358 Bottles – I tasted this at the whisky show in Las Vegas but wasn’t able to put together a full tasting note. I was however pleasantly surprised by it! Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Opens cautious and soft, with waxy honeycomb offset by fresh, gently tart fruit notes. Sweet wood-shavings. The trademark Dalwhinnie honeycomb is the keynote, with heather and natural moorland scents, then traces of cream soda. Later, a nutty dryness coats rich, textured Italian chocolate ice-cream. Palate: Best straight, when it is smooth, sweet, distinctly waxy and initially cooling (again, honeycomb), with a rich marriage of oily malt and light, drying winey notes. Later, elegant vanilla-laced tannins give balancing hints of spice. Finish: Rounded and medium to long. Warming, with a distinct rich, oaky spiciness in the aftertaste.” – $79.99
3. Lagavulin 21 Year 2012 – 52% – Distilled 1991 – 2772 Bottles – Matured in First Fill Sherry – Whisky Advocate 2012 Islay Single Malt of the Year – KWM acquired 24/60 bottles in Alberta, and it was worth every penny, but sadly sold out! – Whisky Advocate Tasting Note: “Lagavulin from a first-fill sherry butt? There’s unusual. This is huge, fluxing, and complex, mixing saddles and dark chocolate, pu-erh tea and smothered kiln, geranium and velvet, gamey venison and treacle. The smoke is integrated, the fires ember-like, the oak there but not oppressively so. Massive, dense, layered, and complex, this needs time to open.” 92pts Dave Broom – $841.99 – SOLD OUT! http://www.whiskyadvocateblog.com/2013/01/29/whisky-advocates-19th-annual-award-islay-single-malt-of-the-year/
4. Port Ellen 12th Release – 52.5% – 32 Year – Distilled: 1979 – 2964 Bottles – My Tasting Note: Nose: very creamy, tropical fruit, mangos, citrus and melons; candied fruit, white chocolate and salty smoke; Palate: creamy and spicy, round oily peat, candied salmon, clove, anise and dark earth; brush smoke, creosote, mango salsa and cantaloupes; Finish: creamy, fruity and smoky with fading sweet peat oils. – $1424.99

1. a. My tasting note was scratched together while facilitating a tasting for the Companions of the Quaich Calgary whisky club.
2. b. Tasting note by Serge Valentine of Whisky Fun: “Nose: as expected, this older baby is less in your face and, to be honest, much more complex and subtle. I’m glad we had the monsters before, that stresses even more to which extend the new one is complex. The first aromas are pretty similar (tar and such) but many tinier notes do develop over time, especially all what comes from ageing coastal peat, that is to say camphor, putty, plasticine, almonds, old coal stove, shellfish (our beloved whelks), old motor oil, waxed papers, ink, chimney ashes, seaweed… No need to say that this nose is brilliant. With water: same. It was already complex and so it remains. Mouth: I’d say the difference with the younger ones isn’t as big as on the nose, it’s still a potent, almost pungent whisky, with absolutely no signs of fatigue although again, it’s rather more complex. So once again, it’s the sappy/resinous part that grew bigger, with more camphor again, cough syrup, wax… It’s also very lemony and briny again, this should go extremely well with (the most expensive) oysters. With water: sadly, it’s great. I wrote sadly because it’s so expensive – as Pete and Jack said, many good friends can’t afford to show their good taste anymore. Anyway, there are more tropical fruits than in any earlier expressions, we’re starting to experience what can be found in old Laphroaigs, for example. Or in last year’s release, by the way. Superb! Finish: long, complex, chiselled, almondy, liquoricy, tarry, salty and, again, a little tropical. Lemons and grapefruits. Comments: mixed feelings, because of the prices. Just like last year’s release, it’s fabulous whisky, no doubt whatsoever, but it’s very sad that, as I said, some friends who really know their whisky won’t be able to buy it anymore. The worst problem is that, contrarily to what some seem to believe, there aren’t that many whiskies in this style anymore that are both as superb AND significantly cheaper in my opinion. Unless you’re good at self-persuasion… Or manage to unearth some great oldies here and there. Sob sob sob… SGP:457 – 95 points”

BOWMORE 1985 – Only 5 bottles left! – $534.99

The latest in Bowmore’s range of buckled up whiskies. Very limited in Alberta and Canada. KWM had access to about 18, and has just 5 left!

Bowmore 1985 – 52.3% – 26 Year – 747 Bottles – Bourbon & Sherry Casks – My Tasting Note: Nose: creamy, floral, spicy and perfumed; a little soapy (but in a good way) with an abundance of round ripe fruits; melons, plums, Glosset raisins and canned peaches; waxy and honeyed, there is a touch of pipe smoke and tangy salt water taffee; Palate: creamy, floral and perfumed with oily peat, some chewy-grassy-malt, dark fruits and spice; melons, apricots and more canned peaches with cream; salty caramel and dark chocolate tart; the fragrant smoke builds throughout the palate to counter the fruit, caramel and perfume; Finish: rich, floral, smoky, sweet and perfumed; creamy peat and oak oils cling to the palate, while clean pipe smoke wafts over the palate. – $534.99

DUNCAN TAYLOR BLACK BULL 40 YEAR – $265.49

Forty year old single malts command a lofty price tag these days, often well over $1000/bottle. That makes it all the more surprising that Duncan Taylor would vat whiskies the likes of Highland Park, Glenlivet and Bunnahabhain and others into a blend. Malt heavy past releases of the Black Bull have been as much as 90% single malt and just 10% grain. More commercial blends are grain heavy with malt for flavouring. The Black Bull 40 Year is the flagship of Duncan Taylor’s blended whiskies line, and a steal under $300 for a 40 year old whisky!

Duncan Taylor Black Bull 40 Year Batch No. 3 – 41.6% -85.6% Single Malt – 14.4% Grain – Whiskies from Ben Nevis, Bunnahabhain, Caperdonich, Glen Grant, Glenlivet, Highland Park and Invergordon – My Tasting Note: Nose: faint smoke, white chocolate, chewy malt, thin filaments of grain whisky, caramel sauce and topical fruit; very soft and delicate, hints of lemon custard, big floral notes, raspberry compote and tangerines; Palate: clean, toasty, floral and fruity; very delicate , though it is showing some brittle oak age; subtly decadent: chocolate, white chocolat, vanilla, some faint floral smoke, chewy oaky oils and then some light tropical fruit, more raspberry puree and caramel sauce; Finish: the early smoke fades leaving room for the caramel sauce, raspberry compote and tropical fruits to loiter. – $265.49

INTRODUCING THE JURA PAPS COLLECTION – Only 2 of 11 Sets Left! – $491.99

The isle of Jura is a remote and mountainous place. Though closer to the mainland than Islay, it is more rugged and far more sparsely populated. The isle is long and lean with a sharply undulating spine. Jura’s only town, Craighouse, and sole distillery, Isle of Jura, cling to a sheltered bay on the island’s south-east coast. The island once boasted a population of around 3000 people, mostly crofters, but today there are all of 188 men, women and children.

Jura’s profile is dominated by its three largest conical mountains or “paps”. The largest of these steep quartzite hills rises 785m from the coast. The word pap is Norse in origin, and derived from the female word for breast, which two of the mountains resemble. The mountains loom over Jura and can be viewed from nearly anywhere on Islay, as as far away as Northern Ireland on a clear day.

Isle of Jura distillery’s Paps Collection consists of three wine cask finished whiskies, each 15 years old, each bottled at 46% without chill filtering, each limited to just 1366 bottles and available only as a boxed set. The whiskies are names for Jura’s three islands: Mountain of Gold, Mountain of the Sound and The Sacred Mountain. These boxed sets are available exclusively in Canada from Kensington Wine Market. Only 11 sets are available, 3 of which have sold. The whiskies are available for sampling in store. The Paps Collection retails for $491.99 + GST. Here are my tasting notes on them:
1. Jura Mountain of Sound 15 Year – 46% – Cabernet Sauvignon Cask Finish – 1366 Total Bottles – My Tasting Note: “Nose: soft with allspice, floral-grassy-malt, and honey with dried cherries and cranberries; softens to Strawberry Twizzlers, barley sugar and sugar cane; Palate: more peppery and spicy than expected with soft leathery tannins and musty oak in a dunnage warehouse; dried and salted raisins, cranberries and cherries with some honey, licorice root and baked cloves; Finish: the Strawberry Twizzlers return but are quickly replaced by the dark spice and drying-earthy-leathery-tannins.*
2. Jura Mountain of Gold 15 Year – 46% – Pinot Noir Cask Finish – 1366 Bottles – My Tasting Note: “Nose: honey and nuts with spice, new leather sofa and fresh hewed wood; assorted jujubes, candied orange, date squares and Demerara sugar; Palate: big, leathery, fruity and sweet with some tingling spicy; orange coated almonds, beer nuts, candied ginger and orange with cinnamon and anise; chewy with jujube like fruit notes, leather and firm tannins; Finish: mid length, coating and leathery with fading sweet and spice.*
3. Jura The Sacred Mountain 15 Year – 46% – Barolo Cask Finish – 1366 Bottles – My Tasting Note: Nose: some Christmas cake elements: candied fruit, dark spice and cooked molasses; soft and inviting with some creamy oak and cinnamon hearts; hints of all spice, cooked bananas and dulce leche;Palate: lovely interplay of sea-salt chocolate caramel tart with tingling spices: ginger, cinnamon and cardamom with candied fennel; there is candied fruit, light Christmas cake notes and Demerara sugar moving towards the finish; Finish: long, drying, sweet and a little leathery with hints of candied fruit and layered spice.*
*The whiskies are only available as part of the Paps Collection set.

NEW WHISKIES FROM DUTHIES
New Releases from Duthies by William Cadenhead are exclusive to the Kensington Wine Market in Canada. This may be the last of the Duthies releases to make it to our shore, as all future bottlings will under the William Cadenhead label.
1. Duthies Royal Lochnagar 10 Year – 46% – Matured in Oak – My Tasting Notes: “Nose: sugary and malty, lemon drops and lime Jell-O; light spice, with green apple, honey and beeswax; Palate: sweet and malty still with more citric notes (lemon & lime), mint sprigs and wet leaves; browning green apple and Demerara; Finish: sweet and malty with more sugars, green apple and honey. – $77.99
2. Duthies Glen Ord 16 Year – 46% – Matured in Oak -My Tasting Note: “Nose: peppery, earthy and spicy; something has my attention, but I can’t immediately figure it out; green and grassy, herbal like a tequila and vegetal (turnips and parsnips) over a creamy vanilla base: Palate: very spicy, still herbal and vegetal with more baked turnip and parsnip; green grassy malt and both dried and candied fruits; also late emerging Christmas spices; Finish: the spices are in complete control with hints of the dried and candied fruit. – $87.99
3. Duthies Springbank 11 Year – 46% – Matured in Rum Casks – My Tasting Note: “Nose: highland toffee, heather honey and clotted cream with salty sea breeze; newly cured leather, sugary malt and some candied orange; Palate: richly toffee, smooth caramel and butterscotch with soft-oily-(faintly)salty-peat; becomes darker with growing earthy smoke, fennel seeds and honey; Finish: sweet and oily with fading Highland toffee, round malt and clean sea smoke. – $77.99
4. Duthies Glen Scotia 12 Year – 46% – Matured in Oak – My Tasting Note: “Nose: dark and earthy with old leather jackets, cloves, espresso grounds and pouch tobacco; fruit leather, cocoa powder and sugary malt; Palate: fruity, spicy and earthy; candied fruits alongside firm leather and moderately strong tobacco; then cloves and fennel seeds with chocolate espresso beans; Finish: more chocolate espresso beans, dark spices and leather with some faint candied fruit. – $76.99
5. Duthies Caol Ila 17 Year – 46% – Matured in Oak – My Tasting Note: “Nose: sweet, briny and fishy with creosote and damp wood smoke; softly peated malt, crème brule, dank forest litter and lemon furniture oil; Palate: the peat is initially more robust than expected fading into damp wood smoke; salt and spices tingle on the palate while fish oils coat it; becomes darker, sweeter and spicier with each sip showing candied fennel, licorice nibs and candied salmon; Finish: long, coating, oily and smoky with more sea salt and tingling spices. – $105.99
6. Duthies Aberfeldy 14 Year – 46% – Matured in Oak – My Tasting Note: “Nose: fresh, honeyed, floral and malty; fruit salad: mostly apple, pear and white grapes with some melon and banana; corn syrup, granular sugar and freshly cut oak; Palate: fresh and toasty with grassy-floral-malt and a tinge of spicy hops; some poached pear and browning apple with grassy-herbal notes; gentle spice, soft oak oils and tendrils of white chocolate develop over the firm grassy malt; Finish: spicy and creamy with fading grassy malt and white chocolate.” – $82.99
7. Duthies Bruichladdich 20 Year – 46% – Matured in Oak (looks like Quercus Alba… Sherry) – My Tasting Note: “Nose: Eatmore, candied fruit, chocolate and leather; soft and creamy, candied citrus, a hint of potpourri, caramel chews and hints of spice; more and more enticing as it warms; Palate: rich, spicy and earthy; some firm but yielding leather, cooked brown sugar, clove, anise and Licorice Nibs; layers of spice, mostly on the darker end of the spectrum with some dried dark fruit and chocolate espresso beans; light peat smoke emerges with patience adding to the overall effect; Finish: both Jelly Bellies and old school Jelly Beans for the fade out, with the stronger flavours: dark fruits, licorice, root beer and cappuccino. – $110.49

All are available for sampling and sale in store, and if we are out at the time of your visit, rest assured, there’s more in the wings!

NEW WHISKIES FROM ADELPHI
1. Adelphi Invergordon 46 Year – 51.5% – Distilled 1966 – Cask No. 4 – Single Grain Scotch Whisky – American Oak Ex-Bourbon Hogshead Matured – 257 Total Bottles – KWM is getting just 8! – My Tasting Note: Nose: soft and floral with some peppery spice; candied ginger, celery salt, rum raisins, mixed fruit bowl, Graham Wafers, white chocolate and linseed oil; Palate: decadent with lovely coating oils, loads of honey, marzipan and more mixed fruits; clean but flavourful there are few if any rough edges to this very toasty dram; there is some floral grain, but overall it quite rich and sugary with a hint of Kirsch; Finish: coating, clean, toasty, sweet and long; the finale is decadent and elegant. – $382.99
2. Adelphi Lochside 47 Year – 54.6% – Distilled 1965 – Cask No. 6779 – Single Blend Scotch Whisky (malt & grain blended at birth before ageing in oak) – Williams & Humbert Sherry Butt – 552 Bottles – My Tasting Note: Nose: leathery, Christmas cake, dark chocolate, tobacco and pine resin; very spicy: some clove and fennel, with candied nuts, Dunnage warehouse and musty oak; Palate: loads of complexity with waves of fruit, spice, leather, sugars, tobacco, musty oak and candied nuts; the first sip was a little overwhelming, the second is elegant and refined with more balance to the spice, tobacco, polished leather shoesand Christmas cake notes; rich and robust for a blend, there are some faint traces of soft grain but it is the European oak driving the palate; Finish: more polished leather shoes, sweet candied fruit, and plummy pipe tobacco linger long. – $401.99 – SOLD OUT
3. Adelphi Liddesdale Batch 3 – 46% – 18 Year – Bunnahabhain Distillery – 1432 Bottles – 4 European Oak Ex-Sherry Casks – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “teatime at the seaside with ginger cake drizzled in caramel; iced coffee with a dod o cream; and a chunk of bitter chocolate to finish.” – $95.49
4. Adelphi Fascadale Batch 4 – 46% – 12 Year – Clynelish Distillery – 1396 Bottles – 5 American Oak Ex-Bourbon Casks – Distiller’sTasting Note: “Banana and lemon sponge cake with Crunchie bars crumbled on top; then tropical fruit salad and heather honey with a smooth, waxy texture.” – $68.99
5. Adelphi Nightcap 4x100ml Batch 3 – From the Distillery: “A special selection of 4 double miniatures, all from single casks, all at natural strength and colour. New for April 2012, batch 3 contains a 14 yr old Glenlivet, a 16yr old Clynelish, a 14 yr old Highland Park and a 20 yr old Bunnahabhain. Limited to only 420 presentation boxes, this makes an excellent taster, an interesting introduction or simply a great choice of gift.” – $95.49

GLENDRONACH BATCH 7

What more needs to be said about Glendronach, other than it has arrived. After being taken over by BenRiach in 2007 it has gone from relative obscurity to one of the IT distilleries, and a contender for the new King of sherry cask whisky. We’ve seen some exceptional single casks from them, and I have no doubt that Batch 7 will be any different. We previewed the 1989 at our batch 6 tasting in early January, and it was lovely. Don’t get too excited though. There are only 6 bottles of each, exclusive to KWM in Calgary!
1. Glendronach 1994 Cask 98 – 58.2% – 18 Year – Oloroso Sherry Butt – 628 bottles/KWM is getting 6 – $142.99
2. Glendronach 1992 Cask 1123 – 57.8% – 19 Year – Oloroso Sherry Butt – 524 bottles/KWM is getting 6 – $155.49
3. Glendronach 1991 Cask 3183 – 51.3% – 20 Year – Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon – 600 Bottle/ KWM is getting 6 – $161.99
4. Glendronach 1989 Cask 5475 – 51.6% – 22 Year – Pedro Ximenez Sherry Puncheon – 600 bottles/KWM is getting 6 – $173.99
5. Glendronach 1972 Cask 710 – 49.0% – 40 Year – Oloroso Sherry Butt – 356 Bottles/KWM is getting 6 – $699.99

WHISKY TOUR OF JAPAN

Starting at the Tokyo fish market on Sunday May 19th, we will spend the following 10 days soaking up Japan’s history and whisky culture. Participants will visit Japan’s most respected and interesting distilleries as well as some world famous whisky bars. We will make stops in Kyoto, Osaka, Sapporo and Sendai, and will even spend a night at a traditional Japanese Onsen. Here are some of the things participants will see and do:
• Tokyo Fish Market
• Imperial Gardens
• Harajuku District
• Ueno Park
• National Museum
• Senso-ji Temple
• Chichibu Distillery
• Hakushu Distillery
• Kyoto Zen Gardens
• Kyoto Ancient Capital
• Kyoto Temples – Fushumi Inari Etc
• Yamazaki Distillery
• Nara Buddha
• Himeji Castle 1 1/2hr each way
• Osaka Castle
• Sapporo Brewery
• Hokkaido Sights
• Yoichi Distillery
• Stay at a Traditional Onsen Resort
• Sendai/Miyagikyo Distillery
• Tour Ending Dinner in Tokyo
Estimated Price for the Tour – Price drops with additional participants:
• Group of 4 – $7240/person
• Group of 6 – $6367/person
• Group of 8 – $5902/person
• Price based on double occupancy.
• Single traveler supplement is $1500.00 additional.
Price includes:
• 11 nights of accommodation
• ANA Flight Pass – We have two flights between Osaka and Sapporo as well as Sapporo and Tokyo
• Japan Rail Pass – We will be using rail to travel around the rest of the country.
• All Additional Transport – I will rent a vehicle or hire a van for Hokkaido depending on the number of participants.
• All Visitor Attractions
• All Distillery Costs
• Tour Ending Dinner in Tokyo
Price does not include:
• Meals
• Drinks
• Gratuities Along the Way
• Travel to and From Japan

For more information visit: http://fergusonwhiskytours.com/ or email: cotchguide@fergusonwhiskytours.com
I am also offering a side trip to Taiwan to visit the Kavalan distillery. Details available shortly!

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If you have any whisky questions or comments concerning The Malt Messenger please contact me by e-mail, phone, or drop by the store. Feel free to forward me any whisky news you feel should be included in a future issue of The Malt Messenger; it might just get included.

All of the products mentioned in THE MALT MESSENGER can be purchased in store, over the phone or from our website at www.kensingtonwinemarket.com. All prices quoted in the Malt Messenger are subject to change, don’t include GST. In the case of discrepancies in pricing, the price in our in store point of sale will be taken as correct.

Thanks for reading the Malt Messenger.

Slainte!

Andrew Ferguson
Manager & Scotchguy
Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
www.kensingtonwinemarket.com

Owner & Opperator
Ferguson’s Whisky Tours
www.fergusonwhiskytours.com
scotchguide@fergusonwhiskytours.com