Malt Messenger Bulletin – Winter Tasting Schedule & Our New Arran Casks – Whisky News
Malt Messenger Bulletin – Winter Tasting Schedule & Our Two New Arran Casks
Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers,
Our Winter 2017 Tasting Schedule is now online and open for registration.
We have a great range of tastings planned for this winter, including our Burns Bash, a facing off of Octomores, a Highlands, Islands & Campbeltown Festival and the first Ancient Malts tastings in years. But there is more: we are also tackling the oldest 9 BenRiach Batch 14 releases… And then there is the head to head pitting Evan, Hunter and I to see who’s whisky prowess dominates. There is something for everyone in our Winter Tasting Schedule including some great wine and beer tastings too! Details below and the full schedule can be viewed on our website!
We are three days into Whisky Advent Calendar 2016 and I hope everyone is enjoying the ride! We’ve had some great feedback and comments thus far on our social media feeds. There are still some 2016 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Advent Calendars available and they make a great Christmas gift. We are down to just a little over 10% of our opening inventory. Every day of Whisky Advent we will be posting that day’s whisky, the distillery it comes from, and our own tasting note.
Tickets for Calgary’s best whisky festival on Thursday January 19 are flying, and are already more than 60% sold. The VIP Master Class with Ruaraidh MacIntyre is sold out, and there are just over 50 VIP early entry tickets left! The VIP early entry tickets are a deal at $150, considering they include a special cut crystal Glencairn glass valued at $50. The general admission tickets are now $110. Further details are available below, or by clicking the above link!
I’ve written up my own tasting notes for our two new Isle of Arran Casks! Our 6th and 7th exclusive Arran single casks will be arriving in store on Wednesday, and as you might expect, they won’t disappoint. We have a 7 year old lightly peated Arran, think of it as a single cask of Machrie Moor. Our other new Arran is our oldest yet, a 19 year old from a Bourbon Hogshead. Tasting notes and details follow below. Pop into the shop for a free sampling.
We formally launched our new 25th Anniversary Glenfarclas 25 Year KWM Cask Strength on Tuesday. It is the first of a number of planned 25th Anniversary whiskies we will be launching to mark our 25th birthday in May 2017. Bottled at 52%, it is a stunner, very layered and fruity. The pricing is great too, at $285 it is just $20 more than the regular 25 year bottled at 43%. So it is no surprise that the first 1/4 of the bottles have already sold in just a matter of days! Or that we had already sold out of everything we had in store prior to Tuesday’s event. Rest assured there is plenty more coming, but at the pace it is selling it won’t last long!
We are expecting some other new whiskies in store this week too, I will go into greater detail on them in the next Malt Messenger. They include Talisker Port Ruighe, Lagavulin 12 Year 200th Anniversary, Jura Tastival 2016, and Laphroaig 30 Year. The last of these won’t last long. Of the dozen odd bottles we are expecting to receive, the first 9 are already sold!
Finally, we are getting a very small quantity of some “in demand” Japanese whiskies. These are limited to 1 per person, and due to demand and supply, we are not offering any discounts. We received just a handful of bottles of each! There are a couple new offerings, including a pair of no age statement single malts from Yoichi and Miyagikyo, as well as a couple blends. We also have received a couple of age statement Taketsurus. They will be the last of these we see for a while!
I hope this wee Malt Messenger Bulletin finds you way! The next time you hear from me it will be the annual Malt Messenger Christmas Gift Guide.
Sláinte!
Andrew Ferguson
Kensington Wine Market
In this Edition
- KWM Winter 2017 Tasting Schedule is Now Online
- Our Two New Arran Cask Are Coming This Week!
- 2016 Whisky Advent is 3 Days In!
- MS Calgary Whisky Festival 2017
- New Japanese Whisky
PS- PS – Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter:
@scotch_guy, Instagram: @thescotch_guy/
or @kwmwhisky and Facebook: facebook.com/scotch.guy.1
Our 5th exclusive Kilchoman Cask!
2011 PX Cask 444
Our 5th exclusive Kilchoman single cask, 444, was distilled in 2011 and has been bottled at 57.5% a week shy of 5 years old! Matured in Bourbon it was finished in PX Sherry to add some richness. $160
Glenfarclas 25 Year KWM Cask Strength 25th Anniversary
Just $285
The first of our 25th Anniversary whiskies is a stunner and we can’t keep it in stock! Soft sherry influences and silky smooth at 52%! $285
MS Calgary Whisky Festival 2017
More than 60% sold!
Calgary’s best Whisky Festival is in it’s 6th year. Three different ticket packages, and they are going fast!
Thursday January 19
A Perfect fit for under the ole Christmas Tree
The 2016 KWM Whisky Advent Calendar!
For the third straight year we have designed and built our own exclusive Whisky Advent Calendar, featuring a custom logo Glencairn glass, 24 50ml whiskies and a 100ml Christmas Day bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Thursday January 19
Kensington Wine Market Winter 2017 Tasting Schedule is Now Online
Great tastings and events in to tantalize your taste buds in January, February & March!
Our 2017 Winter Tasting Schedule is now online. We have some great tastings coming up this Winter and some of them will go quickly. Book early so as not to be disappointed. Please note all tastings start at 7PM and are held at KWM. Also please be aware of our cancellation policy:
- Registrations are transferrable so you are welcome to send someone in your place if you cannot attend a tasting.
- If you contact us more than 48 hours prior to the tasting date in order to cancel one or more seats, you will receive a store credit for the value of the cancelled seat(s).
- Store credits can be used for any future purchases, including tastings or products.
- Cancellation requests received within 48 hours of the tasting date are not refundable.
- NO EXCEPTIONS
Our 2017 Winter Whisky & Spirits Tastings
- Enter the Octomore Octagon – Tuesday January 10 – We’ve been hoarding Octomore releases for a special tasting to celebrate the launch of the Octomore 10 Year 2nd Edition seems like as good a reason as any to crack them. 8 Octomores, 1 tasting. Are you ready to enter the Octomore Octagon? – $40
- Finishing School – Tuesday January 17 – Whether they call it “Aced”, “Finished” or “Extra Matured”, finishing a whisky in a different cask can be a way of adding character and offering variety. Discover the effects of different finishing casks. – $35
- Burns Bash – Wednesday January 25th – Join us for a mini whisky festival featuring our favourite KWM exclusive whiskies. There will be haggis, bagpipes and no fewer than 50 exclusive whiskies open for sampling. – $40
- Cadenhead on the Speyside – Tuesday January 31 – We have some fabulous exclusive Cadenhead Small Batch whiskies and single casks. We’ve selected a range for a great Speyside tour: Aberlour, Mortlach, Glenrothes, Strathisla and three others! – $60
- BenRiach Batch 13 Vertical – Thursday February 9 – This tasting is insanely good value… half the price it should be. We can’t squeeze all twelve of the BenRiach Batch 13 vintages into one vertical tasting, but we can make room for eight of the oldest vintage single cask single malts. Vintages 1994-1975, one night only! – $150
- Rare Malts – Thursday February 16 – Only malts 20+ years of age from Closed Distilleries and or the Very Rare need apply for this special tasting. – $80
- To Peat or Not to Peat – Tuesday February 21 – Many distilleries now bottle both peated and unpeated expressions. Join Evan for a taste off, pitting peated and unpeated single malts against each other from four pairs of distilleries. – $40
- Whisky Geek Paradise – Thursday February 23 – Hunter is putting a new twist on our old Classic Malts tasting showcasing value propositions that will still delight even the most discerning palate. – $30
- Highlands, Island & Campbeltown Whisky Festival – Thursday March 9 – Travel the highlands and islands of Scotland at a festival highlighting whiskies from these regions as well as the town of Campbeltown. Includes your own Glencairn glass. – $60
- Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey – The style came about as a way of avoiding the English “malt tax” and is still, even today, the most Irish of Irish whiskies. We’ll sample a range of seven Single Pot Irish whiskies and learn a little history. – $50
- Head to head -Andrew vs Evan vs Hunter – Thursday March 23 – Join us for a one night only battle royal pitting three of our whisky experts against each other. Whose whisky picks will reign supreme… – $40
- Ancient Malts – Wednesday March 29 -or- Thursday March 30 – It’s been a few years since we’ve put on an Ancient Malts tastings and frankly, we’re overdue! We have some very special bottles selected; including a pair of 1967s for what will be a memorable evening. – $200
Call 403-283-8000 to register, or do so online: kensingtonwinemarket.com/tastings/tasting-schedule/
Our Two New Arran Casks Are Coming This Week!
And we’ve got tasting notes on these two new gems!
Our 6th and 7th exclusive Arran single casks are due in shop on Wednesday. We’ve had a chance to snap a photo of the bottles, and more importantly write a tasting note. I’m very happy with these whiskies, the lightly peated 2008 cask is full of character for a 7 year old whisky with no rough edges. Think of it as a single cask of Arran Machrie Moor. The other barrel is our oldest Arran yet, but at a very competitive price. There was a slight mixup in the bottling hal with the label, and while it says it is a Sherry Hogshead on the label, it is an Ex-Bourbon Hogshead. We don’t want a detail like that to get in the way of a good bottle of whisky, so we won’t… Here are my tasting note on these two great KWM exclusive Arrans!
- Arran 2008 KWM Cask 131 – 56.8% – 7 Year – Ex-Bourbon Barrel – Lightly Peated – 270 Bottles – My Tasting Note: “Nose: very soft, loads of cream and especially honey: honeycomb and creamed honey; elegant smoke wafting over tender grassy barley; toffee chews and treacle sauce with fresh picked oranges and lemons. Palate: a surge of silky honey and soft peat oils; more tender malt and added notes of Demerara and barley sugars; fresh orange and lemon peels with building spices and firmer earthy peat tones; a touch of dark bakers chocolate and clove. Finish: long but lithe; more gentle fading peat oils, all sorts of honey and citrus peels with spice. Comment: very interesting to compare with the sister cask bottled for the Companions of the Quaich. The latter was more juicy and oaky with this one I find to be a little more elegant, but also even more smoky!” – $105
- Arran 1997 KWM Cask 1085 – 51.4% – 19 Year – Ex-Bourbon Hogshead – 258 Bottles – My Tasting Note: “Nose: dates squares, chocolate-orange marzipan, Fig Newtons and layered coconut cream cake; sweet orange, ripe honeydew melons and sliced mango appear on the fruit side of things; heather honey and gentle floral tones. Palate: big, rich and creamy with a firm but balanced oaky backbone; very fruity, juicy, more sweet orange, melon and mango; a touch of cooked pineapple too, the Fig Newtons are still there with dates, raisins and and honey; gentle oak spices emerge with some delicate floral malty tones; the palate keeps coming in layers a touch of leather, darker spices and more fruit. Finish: long and toasty with loads of coating-mouth-watering fruits; floral vanilla and honey all the way to the far off end. Comment: big but balanced American oak notes meet the gentle spirit of Arran and give birth to a beautiful, joyous malt; there is something in this whisky for everyone!” – $145
2016 KWM Whisky Advent Calendar
Whisky Advent is now 9 Days in, and this year’s edition is more than 90% sold!
For the 3rd year in a row, Kensington Wine Market is producing its own Whisky Advent Calendar. 2014 and 2015’s editions were a huge hit, and this year’s edition should is expected to start trickling in store over the next two weeks.
We are really excited about our 2016 KWM Whisky Advent Calendar. For the third straight year we have designed and built our own exclusive Whisky Advent Calendar, featuring a custom logo Glencairn glass, 24 50ml whiskies and a 100ml Christmas Day bottling from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (The Society). The Society is the world’s largest whisky club, and bottles whiskies exclusively for its members. This year’s Calendar has a single cask from the Society that has been selected and bottled exclusively for the Calendar and Canadian Society members (750ml bottles will be made available to Society members in January!). In collaboration with the Society’s Canadian branch, we were even given the opportunity to name the whisky… Since Society whiskies are exclusively available to Society members, this is an opportunity for non-members to get their hands on a Society whisky. Recipients of the KWM Whisky Advent Calendar will be the first people to sample this exciting new whisky!
The Kensington Wine Market Whisky Advent Calendar is more than just a product for us, it is a way for us to share and connect with other whisky lovers in Calgary, Alberta and across Canada. Details on the whiskies released and their distillery will be posted on the KWM Blog each day. Recipients of the Calendar are encouraged to share their thoughts with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The KWM Whisky Advent Calendar also comes with a 10% discount card, good for any of the whiskies in the Calendar (excepting the Society whisky), subject to availability.
Order a Kensington Wine Market 2016 Whisky Advent Calendar $399.99+GST
MS Calgary Whisky Festival 2016 Tickets Now On Sale
Early Bird Deadline Extended Until November 30 & There is a Prize!
Now in its 6th year, the MS Calgary Whisky Festival, Calgary’s best whisky event
of the year is back! We are expecting more exhibitors this year and even more whisky. There are three ticket classes this year:
– VIP Early Admission & Master Class (5PM) $175
– VIP Early Admission (6PM) $150
– General Admission (7PM) $100 Until November 30 $110 Thereafter
VIP ticket packages include a cut crystal Glencairn glass to enhance your tasting experience. 100% of proceeds from the event go to the MS Society. Last year we raised $50,000. Help us do even better this year!
The VIP Master Class is an Ardbeg Deconstruction Tasting with Ruaraidh MacIntyre!
Tickets are available online from the MS Society: http://calgarywhiskyfestival.ca/tickets/
Kensington Wine Market403-283-8000
New & Returned Japanese Whiskies
A pair of new single malts, some new blends and some old favourites!
Japanese whisky is so hot right now that the industry is struggling to manage demand. I long for the good old days when we were seemingly the only retailer in Canada who new how good and interesting it was. Yoichi 15 year, Chichibu, Karuizawa and Taketsuru 25 were seemingly unlimited to us. Well, those days are long gone… we are receiving a very small amount of some in demand Japanese whiskies from Nikka this coming week. Because supplies are so small they are limited to no more than 1 per person, and strictly on a first come first serve basis. Please note there will be no discounts on these as I am receiving just 6 bottles of each, except the Super Nikka (not to be confused with Super Nikka Revival which is sold out!).
- Mikagikyo NAS – 45% – Producer Description: “This is a single malt from the Miyagikyo distillery, Nikka’s second distillery built in 1969. The founder Masataka Taketsuru chose this site in the mountains of Sendai to contrast with his first distillery, Yoichi, located in the coastal area. Using less peaty malt and distilled in a pot still heated by indirect steam, Miyagikyo single malt has an elegant fruitiness and a distinctive aroma with a strong Sherry cask influence.”- $115 – Limit 1 per customer!
- Super Nikka – 43% – Note this is different from the Super Nikka Revival – Producer Description: “One of Nikka’s classic brands, the Super Nikka was introduced to the market in 1962. Its luxuriant aroma, gentle hints of peat and scent of vanilla and chocolate are all in harmony, and its flavor is smooth, rounded and well-balanced.” – $70 – Limit 2 per customer!
- Taketsuru 17 Year – 43% – Producer Description: “The strength of this whisky lies in the way the subtle aroma of peat builds up over time,” says world-renowned British whisky critic Jim Murray in appreciation of Taketsuru 17 Years Old. Its mellow, well-rounded nose and palate are sure to please.” – $280 – Limit 1 per customer!
- Taketsuru 21 Year – 43% – Producer Description: “This pure malt whisky is characterized by a deep and flavorful richness and excellent balance unique to whisky matured for 21 years. You’re sure to enjoy the nose, which blends the richness of ripe fruit with the elegance of the aged cask, and the complex changes in character that appear as the finish approaches.” – $385 – Limit 1 per customer!
- The Nikka 12 Year Blend – 43% – Producer Description: “There is nothing more suitable than a blended whisky to represent Nikka’s way of whisky making. The asymmetry design of the bottle is inspired by the neck of a “Kimono”, just as if the layers visualize all the passion and craftsmanship devoted in the history of Nikka. The honorable golden emblem engraved was designed by Masataka Taketsuru for his very first Nikka whisky bottle. Malty, soft and well-balanced, this expression portrays our gratitude to the heritage and our will to advance our tradition.” – $160 – Limit 1 per customer!
- Yoichi NAS – 45% – Producer Description: “This is a single malt from the Yoichi distillery, Nikka’s first distillery built in 1934. The founder Masataka Taketsuru chose Yoichi in Hokkaido because of the similar environmental conditions to Scotland, where he learned whisky making. Yoichi single malt has pleasant peaty notes and smokiness originating from the traditional direct coal-fired distillation as well as a briny hint delivered by the sea breeze during the aging process.” – $115 – Limit 1 per customer!
Thank You for Reading the Malt Messenger!
Contact & Disclaimers
If you have any whisky questions or comments concerning The Malt Messenger please contact me by e-mail, phone, or drop by the store.
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 and 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
Owner & Scotchguy
Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Owner & Operator
Ferguson’s Whisky Tours
scotchguide@fergusonwhiskytours.com
