Winner!

“Chairman’s Award” 2016 Retailer of the Year

Alberta Liquor Store Association

Runner-Up 2015 & 2016

Whisky Magazine Icons of Whisky: Rest of the World

Retailer Single Outlet “Highly Commended”

Malt Messenger Bulletin – A New KWM Cask, Whisky Advent Early Bird & Whisky Week!

!!!EARLY BIRD EXTENDED!!! for The Kensinton Wine Market 2018 Whisky Advent Calendar 

Early Bird Pricing in Effect – SAVE $35 Until October 7, 2018

25 Days of Dram Fine Whisky is Back! SAVE $35+gst, by pre-ordering your Kensington Wine Market 2018 Whisky Advent Calendar before October 8th. This years edition features 25 all new whiskies, with a high proportion of single casks, and independent bottlings. The bulk of the Calendar is single malt Scotch whisky, with a few single malts from Canada, England and France. We will also have a Japanese whisky in the 2018 edition for the first time!

The KWM Whisky Advent Calendar consists of 24 50ml premium whiskies, one for each day of Advent. There is also a bonus 25th bottle, a 100ml Scotch Malt Whisky Society cask strength, single cask, single malt Scotch whisky. This year’s Society whisky will only be featured in the Calendar. You can follow along on social media with us, as well as on the KWM Blog, as we highlight the day’s whisky and its producer. The Whisky Advent Calendar also includes a discount card, giving you the chance to save on any must have bottles…

The  KWM 2018 Whsky Advent Calendar will be ready for pickup around the beginning of November. We are taking pre-orders now, including a $150 deposit. The balance of payment will be applied a week before the Calendars are ready for pickup. Order a KWM 2018 Whisky Advent Calendar for yourself or as a gift before October 8, and you will be able to take advantage of our $35 early bird discount.

You can order the Kensington Wine Market 2018 Whisky Advent Calendar in-store, by phone 403-283-8000 and  online.

New Whisky Week Tastings 

The Fall 2018 KWM Whisky Tasting Schedule

Our Fall Tasting Schedule has been online for about 3 weeks and a few of the tastings have already sold out, including our ever popular and legendary Fall Single Malt Festival. No surprise there, it is always popular and one of the first tastings to fill. But we had indications from a lot of out of town customers tat they were planning to make the trek out to Calgary, so fret not, we have added a second festival night on Thursday November 15. The whisky featured both nights will be equally impressive.

We have also added 5 new Brand Ambassador led tastings to our tasting schedule. We will have tastings from Springbank, anCnoc/Old Pulteney, Carn Mor (Morrison MacKay), Port Askaig/Elements of Islay, and a very Rare Old Gordon Macphail tasting. Here are the 5 Whisky Week Tastings:

1. Springbank with Ranald Watson – Sunday October 28, 5PM – Ranald Watson is no stranger to KWM, so we are thrilled to have him back for a Master Class tasting at KWM. We will pour a range of whiskies from Springbank, Hazelburn and Longrow, including a couple of Springbank Society releases. – $25
2. anCnoc and Old Pulteney with Gordon Stevenson – Monday October 29, 7PM – We are excited to have Gordon Stevenson back, for a Master Class tasting focused on the anCnoc whisky, (Knockdhu Distillery). We’ll be pouring some older expressions of the whisky including the 22, 24 and possibly an even older bottling. We will also feature a couple of new Old Pulteneys! – $40
3. Celebrating Carn Mor with Peter MacKay – Tuesday October 30, 7PM – Morrison MacKay Sales Manager Peter MacKay will leads us through a range of whiskies from their Carn Mor, Celebration of the Cask and Old Perth ranges. – $20
4. Elements of Askaig with Chris Maybin – Wednesday October 31, 7PM – If Chris’ name sounds familiar, that might be because he was John Glaser’s right hand man at Compass Box for years. He is now in charge of Speciality Drinks, owners of the Elements of Islay and Port Askaig lines. We’ll have a very peaty range of whiskies, possibly paired with Halloween candy! – $25
5. Rare Old Gordon Macphail with Richard Urquhart – Monday November 12 – We are putting on a mind blowing tasting with Richard Urquhart of Gordon Macphail. We’ve selected a range of whiskies from the discontinued Rare Old line, and we are cracking them open for a tasting including: Coleburn 1981, Glenesk 1980, Glenlochy 1979, Convalmore 1975, Mosstowie 1979 and Glencraig 1975. A range worth more than $8500! – $200

Here is the rest of the Fall Whisky Tasting Schedule:

1. Making Bourbon Great Again -Thursday, October 11th, 7PM – Trump might be an a–hole, but we still love Bourbon in spite of a less than great US President with no taste! We’ll take you on a trip down the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and to other parts of America, all in search of Great American Whiskey! – $30
2. Very Rare Cadenhead – Tuesday, October 16th, 7PM  – We will dig into some real curiosities at this tasting, including a 1973 blend, a 1989 Bunnahabhain and a 1992 peated Irish single malt from Cooley! – $80
3. Glorious Grains – Thursday, October 18th, 7PM – Looking for an old whisky that is also excellent value? There are some glorious old grain whiskies out there and you need to give them a closer look! – $50
4. The Ginessaince – Tuesday, November 6t, 7PM – Gin is well into its new Golden Age. We’ll highlight some of the best local, craft and extremely small batch gins, and dabble in a few gin cocktails. Plus we’ll have a special expert guest! – $30
5. Fall Single Malt Festival I – Thursday, November 8th, 7PM – Our world famous, ever popular, Fall Single Malt Festival is back. Limited to 100 participants, we will feature nearly as many whiskies. Oh, and it includes a KWM logo Glencairn glass! – $65
6. Fall Single Malt Festival II – Thursday, November 15th, 7PM – This event is so popular, we had to offer a second night…  The evening is limited to just 100 participants and will feature nearly as many whiskies. Oh, and it includes a KWM logo Glencairn glass! – $65
7. Masters of Malt – Thursday, November 29th, 7PM – Nothing but the oldest, rarest and most special whiskies are showcased at this tasting. Truly the Masters of Malt! – $125
8. Merry Mex-mas – Tuesday, December 2, 7PM – We’ll celebrate the approach of Christmas like other Canadian Snowbirds by heading south! Join us in Oaxaca – beat the cold and stay festive with Mezcal and Mezcal cocktails. Feliz Navidad! – $35 

You can register for the tastings by phone 403-283-8000, in-store and online! 

NEW Cadenhead Linkwood 2006 KWM Cask 

Fresh, fruity and complex beyond its years!

Our first new KWM exclusive cask of 2018 is an 11 Year old Linkwood from an ex-Bourbon Hogshead bottled at a natural cask strength of 58.7%. It take a lot to get our owner excited about Linkwood, but this one got Andrew, Evan and Curt excited. 288 bottles are available of this dangerously drinkable whisky.

Cadenhead Linkwood 2006 KWM Cask – 58.7% – Ex-Bourbon Hogshead – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: lemon and pear drops, tapioca and white chocolate Hershey’s Kisses; shortbread dusted in coarse sugar with a touch of lemon; jammy dodgers and other cream filled cookies; freshly baked donuts, chocolate éclairs and tarte tatin. Palate: sweet, honeyed and fruity; oily and toasty; white fruity and glossy citrus tones; lemon cream cookies, jammy dodgers and more sugar dusted shortbread; decadent and doughy, like an old-fashioned donut shop: carrot cake with creme cheese icing, custard creme and apple curler donuts, and also more chocolate éclairs; lots of lemon and white fruits, creamsicles and building decadent spices. Finish: long and elegant beyond its years; creamy with doughy tones and lots of honey; soft spices and minty floral tones and bright fruits. Comment: this is a sessionable and dangerously drinkable whisky; tasted blind, you would never know this Whisky is 11 years old or nearly 60%.” – $110

lntroducing Springbank Hazelburn 13 Year Sherry Wood

Hazelburn is Springbank’s triple distilled single malt. It is named for a now closed distillery in the town of Campbeltown. The spirit is other than Auchentoshan, the only other triple distilled whisky distilled annually in Scotland. The whisky was first produced in 1997, on the advice of Frank McHardy, who had just taken over as distillery manager, returning from Northern Ireland. The Hazelburn 13 Year Sherry Wood is a limited annual release of 12,000 bottles.

Hazelburn 13 Year 2018 – 47.4% – Matured in Oloroso Sherry – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: Full bodied; creamy and rich with dark chocolate. Rose petals and ginger biscuit snaps with freshly brewed espresso coffee. Palate: Bursting with fresh cream and strawberries, all developing due to the maturation in Oloroso Sherry; Turkish delight, clotted cream, strawberry jam followed by marzipan and walnuts. Finish: Brown sugar, dates and toffee; sticky toffee pudding! Cream coffee liqueur, red apple peels, banana chips, vanilla and black pepper.” – $125

New Very Limited Sprinbank 21 Year 

70% Matured in Rum…

Unfortunately the allocations on whiskies like this aren’t getting any better. Only 3700 bottles have been released globally. That may sound like a lot, but the reality is that is just a drop in the bucket. KWM is set to receive just 18 bottles of the 2018 Edition of Springbank 21 Year. We likely won’t see another release until mid-2019. This year’s edition is a curiosity, 70% of the whisky was sourced from Ex-Rum Barrels… we can’t wait to give it a try. Fortunately we’re expecting a visit from Springbank in October, and I have a feeling a bottle just might get opened! It is limited to 1 per customer.

Springbank 21 Year 2018 – 46% – Matured in 30% Ex-Bourbon and 70% Ex-Rum Casks – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: A burst of heather and freshly mowed grass followed by honey, pear skin and wood shavings. Hints of butter; cheesecake, fresh cream and digestive biscuit. Taste: Elegant and gentle. Butterscotch and vanilla, sugar cane and molasses develop as the influence from the rum casks engulfs the palate with apricots, peaches and paprika. Finish: A soft smokiness is present in the background. Toffee apples, raisins and oat biscuits emerge. In the foreground; peppercorn, almonds and apricot jam are prominent.” – $425 – !Limit 1/Person!

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

Kensington Wine Market

403-283-8000