‘THE SPIRIT OF SONG’

AN EVENING OF MUSIC AND WHISKY

Glengoyne Distillery, Dumgoyne. Glasgow, G63 9LB

March 20^th 2020 7pm

Tickets priced £13.50 are available from EVENTBRITE

The Spirit of Song is a brand-new event hosted by Scottish singer-songwriter Kerri Watt. Born out of Kerri’s appreciation for two of Scotland’s biggest exports – whisky and music – this will be an intimate night filled with acoustic music by Scottish artists. Guests will also receive a dram of Glengoyne’s world famous whisky on arrival.

This first show, of what is intended to be an ongoing series, will be a very special all female line up in conjunction with “Write Like A Girl” to celebrate March’s Women’s History Month. Kerri will be joined by Liv Dawn (runner up of the BBC Scottish Songwriter Award) and Beth Keeping (founder of movement “Write Like A Girl”), with one further name to be announced,

Having spent the last few years touring around the UK and Europe opening for the likes of Coldplay, Keith Urban, Celine Dion, Embrace and Nina Nesbitt plus regular trips to Nashville to perform in ‘writers-rounds’ Kerri is coming home to support the local talent that helped her get started. Set against the magical backdrop of the Glen lit up at night, the show will take on a writers-round format with the 4 performers on stage together sharing their stories and songs – a really special way to experience the music by these exciting up-and-coming artists.

About Kerri Watt kerriwatt.com 

Best known for her blend of pop-rock songs with a difference, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician Kerri Watt is a festival staple, a favourite on BBC Radio 2, and a regular face and voice in the media. Since her debut single in 2015 Kerri has amassed many career highlights including festival slots at Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk Festival and British Summer Time in Hyde Park, has shared the stage with the likes of Keith Urban, Coldplay and Embrace, and released a collection of singles that have been playlisted on radio stations including BBC Radio 2. Now signed to Cooking Vinyl she will release her debut album ‘Chasing Aeroplanes’ later this year.

About Glengoyne glengoyne.com

Glengoyne is one of the leading premium malt whiskies in the world. An award winning malt, it’s the product of remarkable ingredients, an unconventional process, world class wood and the pride and passion of its people. Glengoyne is a beautiful wee distillery that creates a wonderful dram through Scotland’s slowest distillation. Visit for tours, tastings and our unique blending session.

CHARITY TASTING:
A TOUR OF AUSTRALIA

Hosted at our Covent Garden shop, this charity tasting has been set up as part of a month of activity by The Whisky Exchange to help contribute to the Australian bushfire relief effort. Come along and sample some excellent Australian drinks including Four Pillars gin, Regal Rogue vermouth, Starward whisky and more – not to mention a whole spread of Australian wines, hand-picked by our head buyer, Dawn Davies MW – all for just £15.

BUY TICKETS

Benromach Whisky Tasting
With Michael Urquhart

Browns Covent Garden
7pm-8.30pm
£45
Tickets on sale now.

BOOK NOW

This is your chance to be part of whisky history as we celebrate our Whisky of the Year 2020 winner: Benromach 15 Year Old.

Join us and former Gordon & MacPhail Managing Director, industry legend Michael Urquhart, as he steps out of retirement to host this one-off, exclusive tasting and accept our Whisky of the Year award on behalf of the iconic Speyside distillery that he helped reopen.

This tasting is sure to be one for the books and tickets are limited.

BENROMACH 15 YEAR OLD

Introduced to the Benromach line-up in 2015, this lusciously rich Speyside single malt is a fruity, chocolatey and lightly smoky dram that will delight fans of traditional styles. Matured in a mixture of ex-sherry casks and ex-bourbon casks, with a greater emphasis on sherry than the Benromach 10 Year Old, this is a charming reflection of Speyside both past and present.

THE LINE UP

Benromach Organic
Benromach 10 Year Old
Benromach 15 Year Old
Benromach 2011 8 Year Old Sherry Cask #400 Exclusive to The Whisky Exchange
Benromach Cask Strength Batch 1
Benromach Peat Smoke 2008
Benromach 35 Year Old

Browns Covent Garden
7pm-8.30pm
£45
Tickets on sale now 

BOOK NOW

JJ CORRY ‘THE BRIDIE’ LAUNCH PARTYMilroys of Spitalfields – 03/03/20 – 5pm
Hosted by founder, Louise McGuane

Tickets £15.00

Join us for our newest and most exciting release of the year, our second release of JJ Corry – ‘The Bridie’

In celebration of this monumental bonders’ whiskey, we are hosting a launch party at Milroys of Spitalfields. Join our team, as well as the founder, Louise McGuane for the chance to pick up a signed bottle. Louise will also host a tasting between 5pm – 6pm on the ground floor whisky bar. (Womens Whisk(e)y Night will proceed as normal at Milroys Soho, 6.30PM, ticket link online)

No bottles will be released to the public until after the launch event. Apologies, we are not able to take pre-orders for The Bridie release. Remaining stocks will be released on a first come, first served basis.

Ticket prices include one dram of The Bridie and a Highball cocktail designed by the team at The Proofing Room.

The Bridie will retail at £79.95

Strictly 1 bottle per person. Tickets are limited.

SPEYSIDE SHOWS ITS SCOTCH PROWESS UNVEILING PROGRAMME FOR FINEST WHISKY FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD​

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has announced its 2020 programme of events, which will bring the best of the iconic whisky region to the public this spring. This year’s Festival will be the biggest yet and is expected to bring thousands of visitors to Speyside in celebration of all things Scotch.

Whether its having exclusive behind the scenes access to distilleries not usually open to the public, taking part in an archeological dig at an illicit distilling site or trail running and canoeing through the region of whisky mastery and heritage, visitors will have hundreds of events to choose from during the six-day Festival (29 April – 4 May 2020), with even more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Now in its 21st year, the celebrations provide the ultimate opportunity for the traveller, whisky lover, outdoor activity enthusiast or local community to explore, taste and learn about the world-famous Speyside region. Last year visitors across the globe took part in the Festival, which is no surprise given whisky tourism is currently at an all time high in Scotland*, with three in five visitors drawn to Speyside specifically for its Scotch credentials.

The full programme of around 700 events can be viewed on the Spirit of Speyside website, with tickets on sale from 12pm noon today (Wednesday 19 February).

Programme highlights include:

· Dalmunach Distillery Manager’s Tour – Chivas Brothers: One of Scotland’s most contemporary distilleries will open its doors exclusively for the Festival to give visitors an understanding of what it takes to build a state of the art distillery, designed with innovative energy efficient technology at its core.
· Archaeological Excavation – The Cabrach Trust: A guided tour of the excavation site at Blackmiddens Historic Distillery followed by a whisky tasting.
· Aberlour & Macallan Whisky Brunch Trail Run – Run Speyside: A trail run through the heart of Whisky country, learning about the history of the region along the way, finishing with a dram and brunch at The Macallan Distillery.
· Women in Whisky – The Dowan’s Hotel: A topical discussion hosted by Georgie Bell of #OurWhisky, exploring the career stories of a panel of female whisky masters.
· Banquet in the Barn – Elchies Estates: A five course communal dining event at Campbell Cairns Farm.

Each year, the Festival continues to grow by welcoming more partner distilleries and organisations to help stage the world’s finest whisky festival. New members that will host events this year include The Cabrach Trust, The Boat Country Inn and Byres Farm in Fochabers. Both Glenlossie and Linkwood Distilleries, two distilleries not usually open to the public, will offer tours to festival-goers too this year.

Angela McOwan, Events Coordinator at The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, said: “This year we are celebrating 21 years of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, now recognised as the world’s finest whisky festival. Our diverse programme is jam packed and will be our biggest yet, with more events to be announced in the coming weeks.

“There really is something for everyone, whether visitors want to get to know Speyside as an outdoor adventure destination as well as enjoy our whisky, taste its delicious larder, learn about industry innovations from our whisky masters or explore distilleries that will open their doors especially for the Festival.

To view the full programme of events visit www.spiritofspeyside.com
Tickets go on sale at noon on Wednesday 19th February

​

Edinburgh: 27th February 2020

Society on Tour 

Firstly, we would like to thank you for making the transition to our online Society Portal.  Despite some initial teething problems, most of you have now managed to sign up and buy a bottle of our latest release of Hazelburn 11yo which should be in your glass at home very soon. Now that you are on the system and we have the first ‘portal bottle’ nearly complete, future releases should run more smoothly.

Society on Tour

Alongside our “new look” Society, we want to make sure we are doing as much as possible for our members. One idea we’ve had is to take the Society on the road and host tastings more frequently and further afield from Campbeltown.

To get the ball rolling we’ve decided to hold a small tasting for members in Edinburgh.  The tasting will be held on Thursday 27th February in the Waverley Bar, Edinburgh, starting at 8:00pm.

The tasting will be free of charge to society members and will give you the chance to catch up with some of the Springbank Sales Team in attendance whilst enjoying some tasty drams.

If you are available and in the area and would like to come along to the tasting please click on this link

Society on Tour – Tickets

Please note: The tasting area is not very big so there are only a maximum of 30 places for the tasting which means the first 30 people to get in touch will be given a spot for the tasting. It is not possible to book more than one place. 

If you can’t make it this time but would like to be involved in future tastings near you, send us an email with where you would like to see future society tastings taking place.

We look forward to seeing our members who can come along and, for those who can’t make it, we hope to see you soon.
Slainte,

Springbank Society
The Springbank Team

To join the Springbank Society contact them at Springbank Society society@springbank.scot

Win Tickets To A VERY Exclusive
Octomore Event

Thursday 2nd April

Octomore X is another whisky dimension, a parallel universe where the conventional laws of whisky wisdom cease to exist. It will be Islay unlike you have ever seen before.

Fancy a chance of winning this exclusive, experiential masterclass? Buy any bottle of Octomore at whiskyshop.com before 15th March to be entered into our ballot.

This is a VERY exclusive event not open to the general public. Don’t miss out on your chance to be there!

Full terms and conditions can be found here

Join us for a 4-course dinner prepared by Funky’s Catering paired perfectly with hand-selected Scotches by The Party Source.

TICKETS & MORE INFO

Scotch whisky producers are invited to prepare for the launch of the second annual Scottish Whisky Awards, the national awards programme which aims to recognise and reward people, teams and products operating in the business of Scotch.

Following the huge success of its inaugural year, the Scottish Whisky awards continues to fulfil its promise to reward the achievements of Scotland’s greatest global product.

The industry focussed competition offers 9 business categories alongside the taste competition which will be operated under strict blind tasting conditions and adjudicated by the international sensory management consultancy, Cara Technology.  The taste competition will assess the four main categories of Scotch; Single Malt, Blended Malt, Blends and a Single Cask & Speciality category.

The competition will be judged by highly regarded independent judging panels comprising a wide range of experts from Scotland, the UK and abroad.  The judging panels will again be chaired by Professor Alan Wolstenholme.  He commented;

“This year the focus is on expanding the range of whiskies we will welcome into the competition after our hugely successful inaugural year.  Now that our Scotch producers are confident that this competition is rigorous, fair and has real credibility, they will want to be showcasing their best work from the last year.  Winning a Scottish Whisky Award, as we know from great business success stories of last year, will give finalists and winners a fantastic advantage in an increasingly crowded global market.”

The judging panel will also seek to recognise the outstanding contribution of an individual who has made their mark in the business of Scotch.  The Dr Jim Swan Award for Services to Scotch Whisky was established as an annual award after being presented to Dr Swan posthumously in the inaugural year of the awards.  Presented at the discretion of the judging panel, the award will recognise the dedication of the industry’s unsung heroes.

The Scottish Whisky Awards is open for entry until Monday 27th April.  For advice on categories, putting together your entries and how to maximise your marks please contact Pippa at KDMedia on 0131 337 6232 or email pippa@kdmedia.co.uk

The annual awards dinner and celebration will take place in Glasgow at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel on Thursday 3rd September 2020.  Tables can be booked here.

Limited sponsorship opportunities are available.  For further details, contact Maxine at KDMedia on 0131 337 6232 or email maxine@kdmedia.co.uk

The Taste Categories

The top three performing products will be awarded Gold, Silver and Bronze Scotch medals in age ranges within in the following categories:

Single Malt
Blended Malt
Blends
Single Cask & Speciality

The Business Categories

Scottish Whisky Distillery of the Year
Product Launch of the Year
Newcomer of the Year
Independent Bottler of the Year
Brand Experience of the Year
Excellence in Branding
Excellence in Sustainability
Community Contribution of the Year
Tourism Destination of the Year

Meet The Judging Panel

Malt Messenger Bulletin

Whisky Events Next Week & Two New KWM Exclusive Whisky Casks! 

The Family Day long weekend approaches, and we have exciting new whiskies to tell you about, as well as an exciting week of whisky tastings ahead. Not going away this coming week? No problem, we have some awesome events and new whiskies with which to keep you busy!

Firstly, the new whiskies. I’m a week behind getting the word out on the first of these, our 3rd KWM exclusive Compass Box Blend! If you follow us on social media, you may have already caught wind of it. Tasted blind you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would identify the Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow KWM Marrying Cask as a Blend. It is big, rich and sherried with a prominent coastal peaty core. Love sherried Ileachs? This whisky is a steal at just $94+gst.

Our second new exclusive single cask is the Tipperary 2002 KWM Rum Finished Cask. The whisky is a joint bottling with our friends Keg n Cork in Edmonton. They wouldn’t put both of our logos on the front of the bottle, only individually on the back. So cheekily we found a work around, the label indicates the whiskey is “Exclusive to Canada’s Best Whisk(e)y Shops”. Tipperary is a new Irish whiskey producer, backed by Stuart Nickerson of GlenGlassaugh fame. It is is our second exclusive cask of Irish whiskey, following hot on the heels of our Teeling 16 Year KWM Single Cask. Curiously, both whiskies might have been sourced from the same distillery…

We have a trio of great tastings coming up this week including a Whisky Festival… starting Monday, we have Valinch & Mallet with Davide Romano, 6PM. This is Davide’s first Master Class at KWM and we have an awesome range planned, $2000 worth of single cask whisky, in just 7 bottles, cost $50. More details below.

Then Wednesday we will be featuring Victoria Caledonian Distillery w/ Graeme Macaloney, also at 6PM. The Victoria Distillery is one of the diaspora of Jim Swan (think Kilchoman and Kavalan) distilleries scattered around the globe. Founder Graeme Macaloney will be launching his distillery’s first ‘own distillation’ whiskies. The cost, just $15. Details below.

Finally Thursday, the main event: our 6th annual Feis Ile: The KWM Islay Whisky Festival. We will have on offer a range of 100 whiskies from Islay, as well as a few Islay-ternatives. I can’t be sure, but I am taking credit for coining this term about 4-5 years ago… An Islay-ternative is a peated whisky from anywhere else in the World… Tickets are $60 and include a KWM logo glass, food from Peasant Cheese, and all the peaty drams you can reasonably (and safely) sample in 2 hours! More details below.

I hope this Malt Messenger Bulletin finds you well. Please let me know if you have any comments, questions or requests. As always, in the event of a discrepancy in price, the Point of Sale at KWM will be taken as correct.

Slàinte!

In This Edition

1. NEW KWM CASK: Introducing the Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow KWM Marrying Cask #34
2. NEW KWM CASK: Introducing the Tipperary 2002 KWM Rum Finished Cask
3. Monday at KWM: Valinch & Mallet with Davide Romano
4. Wednesday at KWM: Victoria Caledonian with Graeme Macaloney
5. Thursday at KWM: Feis Ile: The KWM Islay Whisky Festival

Andrew Ferguson

Kensington Wine Market

PS – Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter:

@scotch_guy, Instagram: @thescotch_guy/

or @kwmwhisky and Facebook: facebook.com/scotch.guy.1

NEW KWM CASK: Introducing the Compass Box Great King Street Glasgo KWM Marrying Cask #34 

If You Think That is a Mouthful… Wait Until You Try the Whisky!

This is our third KWM exclusive Compass Box Blend, and it is one for the peat heads! It is also our second marrying cask from the Great King Street line – this time from the Glasgow Blend – which means it has a bit of sherry cask influence and a dash of peat or more as well! Bottled at 49%, the whisky is the 2018 Glasgow Blend, finished for just under 2 years in a second fill Sherry Butt from the Craigellachie Distillery. The whisky is 18% Laphroaig, and it dominates the blend. The sherry matured Craigellachie 34% plays second fiddle, while the 35% Cameronbridge grain, matured in First Fill ex-Bourbon, plays a moderating role, adding an elegant touch!

 Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow KWM Marrying Cask #34 – 49% – Visit Our Website for a Full Breakdown of the Components, Ages & Cask Types! – My Tasting Note: “Nose: big, rich and nutty with ashy peat and Dutch licorice; a touch waxy with round fruits: orange, melons and apricots; soft leather, dark chocolate, earthy dunnage notes and crisp oak spices; underneath the top note of sherry loads of creamy vanilla and honey. Palate: big, bold, round and smooth; bold leather, chocolate and tobacco along with ashy peat, tar and Dutch licorice; as the sherry pulls back it unveils elegant vanilla and delicate fruits: juicy orange, soft melons and dried apricots; the smoke is firm with an ashy, subtly medicinal edge; malty, meaty and nutty with late spices: cinnamon heart, ginger and cloves. Finish: long, coating, creamy and warm with decadent spices, smoke and a subtle medicinal edge; rich and elegant. Comment: wow, we tried the cask sample all those many months ago, but the final bottled whisky is even better; Laphroaig accounts for less than 20% of the Blend, but is without question the heart of the Blend; the Cameronbridge has added a touch of delicacy while the Bourbon matured Clynelish and heavily sherried Craigellachie also make their presence felt, but Laphroaig is standard bearer leading the charge.” – $94

NEW KWM CASK: Introducing the Tipperary 2002 KWM Rum Cask 

Our Second Ever KWM Exclusive Irish Cask – Matured in ex-Rum!

Our 2nd ever KWM exclusive single cask of Irish whiskey is here. It is a shared cask with our friends Keg n Cork in Edmonton, bottled by Tipperary, a new Irish whiskey firm headed by Stuart Nickerson of GlenGlassaugh fame, and his daughter Jennifer. Tipperary is still a ways away from building its first distillery, and is sourcing mature stocks from other Irish Distilleries. This whiskey is likely from the Cooley Distillery, or failing that Bushmills, regardless, the spirit was distilled in January 2002, and bottled in October of 2019, just shy of 18 years old, after maturing in a single Rum Cask. Only 108 bottles filled at 55.7%.

Tipperary 2002 KWM Rum Cask – 55.7% – 17 Year – Rum Cask 141 – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: decadent, juicy, tropical and fruity; the chewy malt is still there after almost 18 years, toasted oak, shredded coconut and bags of fruit: fresh pineapple, kiwi fruit, green mangoes and dried apricots; soft, floral and enticing. Palate: round, toasty and surprisingly spicy; rich and coating the palate comes in waves each one pushing further than the last; green grass and more chewy malt; vanilla and oak spices before making way for the fruits: at times tropical fruit punch, at others green apple and then melons; a touch of salted caramel, loads of coconut including shredded and toasted; big, decadent, toasty and fruity. Finish: long in length and coating; the spices fade before the finish, leaving room for vanilla, coconut, toasted oak and loads of fruit. Comment: not quite as tropical as our Teeling cask, but there are similarities there; surprisingly creamier and more decadent; why surprising? rum casks are typically more tired and less yielding of character than a first fill ex-Bourbon barrel; as with our Teeling we don’t know if the spirit is from Bushmills or Cooley; probably the latter, but who cares? it is great juice at a great price!” – $165

Monday at KWM: Valinch & Mallet with Davide Romano 

We Have an Awesome Range of Single Malts 

Valinch & Mallet is a small independent bottler founded by a pair of Italians with a passion for Scotch whisky. We have been very impressed in recent years with the quality of their whiskies, and their ability to source excellent single casks, so we are thrilled to welcome Valinch & Mallet co-founder Davide Romano to KWM for his first Master Class tasting at KWM. It will feature 7 whiskies including: Bruichladdich 15 Year, Cameronbridge 37 Year, Glenlossie 25 Year, Glentauchers 21 Year, Tamdhu 20 Year, Wardhead 21 Year & 1 more!

6PM Monday February 17 – $50

Please call 403-283-8000 to register, or register online!

Wednesday at KWM: Victoria Caledonian with Graeme Macaloney 

Your Chance to Sample the Distillery’s First Whisky Releases

Graeme Macaloney’s dream was to establish a distillery on Vancouver Island, which he achieved in 2016. While the distillery’s own production matures, they have released a mix of Young Spirits and Blended Malts to build excitement. Graeme will be sampling our guests on a mix of these, as well as giving a preview of the distillery’s first whisky release.

6PM Wednesday February 19 – $15

Please call 403-283-8000 to register, or register online!

Thursday at KWM: Feis Ile: The KWM Islay Festival February 20th, 2020

All The Islay and Islay-ternative Whiskies You Can Sample in One Night!

We’ll be cracking as many Islay whiskies as we can put our hands on, as well as some Islay-ternatives, all in the name of peat and Scottish West Coast culture. The whisky list is growing rapidly, currently just over 100 and counting. Includes a KWM logo Whisky Glass.

Please call 403-283-8000 to register, or register online!

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