Friday, August 16th 5-7 PM: 

Indian Whiskey: Paul John 

Take a sip of the soul of India! The Great Indian single malt whisky John Paul will be featured at this expert presented tasting.

Distilled in the valley of Goa, India, John Paul whiskey is traditionally made in copper-pot sills without artificial colors, flavours, or chill-filtration. The mash is made from a heritage variety of six row barley, harvested in the foothills of the Himalayas. Paul John’s whiskies have gone on to receive multiple international awards, including Gold from both the World Whisky and Wizards of Whisky Awards.

Click Here to RSVP

WHISKY EXPERTS WELCOME VISITORS TO AUGUST EVENTS 

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society prepare for Edinburgh’s busiest month with an array of experiences 

As Edinburgh welcomes visitors from around the world in August, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) is putting on a number of special events, making it the perfect location for whisky-lovers in the city.

Throughout the month, SMWS are hosting the ultimate Edinburgh Fringe whisky tasting events at their Kaleidoscope venue at 28 Queen Street.

Hauf ‘N’ Hauf

They will also be celebrating the Hauf ‘N’ Hauf, a traditional Scottish serve of a dram and a half-pint, by pairing Society whiskies with specially selected craft beers.

As the world’s leading authority on single cask whiskies, the Society have paired their rare drams with complimentary beers in order to enhance the flavours of both drinks. Their experts will guide drinkers through the best beer pairings for their drams and have created a specially crafted menu of pairings.

The menu includes; ‘Ester Fest’, a Young & Spritely whisky served with a wheat beer to bring out the estery flavours of bananas and pineapples and ‘Sweet Dreams’, an IPA to be enjoyed alongside a Juicy, Oak & Vanilla SMWS whisky, where the dram’s refreshing sweetness will bring the best out of the bitter ale.

Edinburgh Fringe events 

All Senses Ahead! 

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/all-senses-ahead 

28 Queen Street, Edinburgh

7pm – 9.45pm

Throughout August, every day except Sunday and Monday

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will be bringing a true taste of Scotland to the Fringe, with an all-encompassing sensory feast that celebrates the best of Scottish culture.

Within their beautifully restored Georgian building, guests will be treated to an unforgettable evening of a three course Scottish meal with three-dram whisky tasting, storytelling and music.

A truly immersive virtual reality experience will set the scene as guests explore romantic Scottish landscapes before Will Marshall, the real-life host for the evening, offers the audience the occasion to learn historic facts, participate in songs and indulge in Scottish culture.

A Dram is Worth a Thousand Words 

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=whisky&start=10 

28 Queen Street, Edinburgh

Tastings at 1pm, 4pm and 7pm

Every day throughout August

Home of the largest single malt, single cask collection, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society invites whisky enthusiasts to explore their vast collection of single cask, single malts. Experience a three dram tutored whisky tasting like no other, in the company an SMWS brand ambassador.

The full list of Hauf ‘N’ Hauf pairings:

ESTER FEST – YOUNG & SPRITELY & WHEAT BEER

Savour the complementary estery flavours of bananas and pineapples from the wheat beer with a feisty young bourbon-matured dram.

FULL & FUNKY – SWEET, FRUITY & MELLOW & BELGIAN KRIEK LAMBIC

Pair the funky flavours of this fermented lambic brew from Belgium with the full-on fruity notes from this flavour profile.

LIGHT & LOVELY – SPICY & SWEET & PALE ALE

Easy-drinking and lightly hopped pale ale is the perfect counterpoint for the whisky’s prickly spiciness.

THIRST SLAKER – SPICY & DRY & LAGER

Quench your summer thirst with a lower strength lager paired with the strong aromas of our Spicy & Dry drams.

FOR ALL SAISONS – DEEP, RICH & DARK FRUITS & BELGIAN SAISON

A bold pairing of fruity, spicy Belgian saison beer with this deep and indulgent flavour profile.

DARK & DARING – OLD & DIGNIFIED & DUNKEL

Savour our oldest and most distinguished drams along with a smooth, malty dark German lager, to complement the whisky without overwhelming it.

ENTRY LEVEL – LIGHT & DELICATE & PILSNER

Waken up your palate with a Light & Delicate dram alongside a refreshing, hoppy pilsner.

SWEET DREAMS – JUICY, OAK & VANILLA & IPA

The whisky’s refreshing sweetness brings the best out of a more bitter and hoppy Indian Pale Ale.

SUMMERY SEASIDE – OILY & COASTAL & CITRUS BEER

Explore how a sharp citrusy beer cuts through the oily mouthfeel and marine notes from this flavour profile.

DARK AND SMOKY – LIGHTLY PEATED & STOUT

A deep, rich stout with a creamy head that’s light on the hops allows a Lightly Peated dram to shine.

THE DOUBLE P – PEATED & PORTER

Dive into a robust pairing of higher strength dark porter with a good blast of peaty goodness.

FULL SHILLING – HEAVILY PEATED & 80/- HEAVY BEER

A full-flavoured old school combination with an 80 shilling that’s lighter on the hops and heavier on cereal to stand up to our most heavily peated drams.

Ask us at the bar for more details and pairing prices.

Notes:

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 26,000 members and branches around the world
• The SMWS bottles rare single cask, single malt whisky, and a range of other spirits
• The Society bottles single malts, unique single casks and exclusive blends
• The Society has bottled whisky from more than 138 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
• The Society offers a new batch of around 20 single cask, single malt whiskies every month
• The Society offers a variety of membership packages which can be tailored. Please see https://bit.ly/2uqKanT
• For more information about the Society, visit https://bit.ly/2HHiNyC
• Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk

MALTSTOCK 2019

And then there was only one month before Maltstock 2019! Icredible how relaxed time moves on and brings us back together again!

We are in full ‘prep mode’ now and can’t wait to meet you guys! And look at our relaxed program! It’s one of the most relaxed ones we’ve ever had! With a campfire hosted by Dave Broom, Sam Simmons and Mark Watt, a new set-up for the whisky quiz, and a Saturday filled with all new set-up for tastings. No less than 30 ‘Drinks with…’ sessions to make you even more relaxed! And of course meeting old and news friends sharing drams and stories. If you haven’t got a ticket yet… haste ye back to our shop, in a relaxed way of course 🙂

Annette, Bob, Klaas, Stan and Teun

Retox walk

11 years ago it started as a detox walk. That all changed when Jan & Dennis took over. It’s now a retox walk…

Saturday morning we have a relaxed walk, enjoying the beautiful scenery surrounding the Maltstock venue. It’s made all the more relaxed by sharing a few drams. Dennis and Jan are Irish Whisky Ambassadors, so no prizes for guessing where the whisky will come from.

But we do know that there will also be one rather nice and surprising whisky during the walk. So definitely not to be missed!!

Relaxed Masterclass reminder

If you have tickets to Maltstock but (for any reason) haven’t let us know your Masterclass preferences yet, please let us know before the 25th of august. If you did not get your invitation e-mail, please let us know at info@maltstock.com A.R.A.P. (As Relaxed As Possible).

Wanna win?

Win a relaxed trip to Schotland

How about this for a relaxed prize? Three nights in the best whisky bars in Scotland: Fiddler’s Loch Ness – Dornoch Castle Hotel and Highlander Inn – Craigellachie
And it can be yours! It’s our relaxed grand prize in the Maltstock raffle.

Big thank you to Jonny Fiddler, Tatsuya Minagawa and Phil Thompson & Simon Thompson for the continuous relaxed support!

Tickets are still available

Make sure you don’t miss out on what promises to be a very special edition of Maltstock! We’ll get the full program online soon, but what a line-up it is, wow!!

So if you haven’t done so already, get relaxed and get your Maltstock ticket here

Click here to go to our webshop

Single Malt Tasting

Mossburn Distillers

with Brian Johnson

Thursday, August 8

4:30 P.M. or 6:00 P.M.

Saturday, August 10th 11AM-6PM:

World Whiskies: Penderyn, Kilchoman, and Gouden Carolus with Sam Filmus 

Keeper of the Quaich and guiding light of JVS imports, our friend Sam Filmus returns to The Whisky Shop with a selection of world class single malts. Islay distillery Kilchoman, Penderyn Welsh Whiskey, and Belgium’s Gouden Carolus will be featured at this tasting.

Pourlist to be revealed as event approaches – RSVP to stay up to date.

Click Here to RSVP

Malt Messenger Bulletin – Surprise Summer Sale!

Surprise… we’re have a SURPRISE SUMMER SALE! This Sale is such a surprise, it is even a surprise for our staff. It seems my Store Manager Dave and I forgot to tell the floor staff about it, until a couple of days ago… Lets be honest, long weekends are slow in the retail world, so we thought we’d give you a couple of reasons to pay us a visit, whether in-store or online. If you are not in town, or are hiding out in a tent or at the Cabin, no problem, you can submit your order online, or even by email. Simply hit reply and let me know what you’d like. We have huge savings on Whisky, Wine, Beer & Spirits. In fact full 99% of our inventory is on SALE, with just a handful of exceptions. Save 10-30% on all in-stock Whisky*. Save 15-40% on all in-stock Wine. Save 10-30% on all in-stock Spirits: Gin, Rum, Cognac, Brandy & More. And Save 5-20% on all in-stock Beer. The Sale is only in-store and online (including email). No phone orders please. I have attached a PDF of all the whiskies and other spirits discounted by 15% or more. Many of them are down to just 1-2 bottles of each! You can view it by clicking this text. I have also attached a PDF of all of the Wines we have discounted by 20% or more! You can view it by clicking this link.

Sale Rules – There are always conditions, but we believe ours are fair!

• In the event of a discrepancy in price, the point of sale at KWM will be taken as correct.
• Sale pricing will not be retroactively extended, nor will the sale prices be carried forward beyond the end of the sale.
• The sale pricing applies only to in-stock inventory, with the exception of exclusives. If we can get more we will honour the price on exclusive wines and whiskies – as long as they are paid for during this sale weekend.
• Sale pricing cannot be combined with other discounts or promotions.
• Most Scotch Malt Whisky Society whiskies are not on Sale, as are about a dozen new whiskies such as Compass Box The Circle and No Name No.2 are also excluded.

I hope this Malt Messenger Bulletin finds you well, and that you find something tempting… Please let me know if you have any comments, questions or requests. Feel free to submit an order by email if that is more convenient. As always, in the event of a discrepancy in price, the Point of Sale at KWM will be taken as correct. Slàinte!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

Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers,

New Summer Tasting Schedule  

We Have a Wide Range of Tastings to Keep You Refreshed During the Dog Days of Summer! 

Whisky & Spirits Tastings, all start at 7PM, unless indicated:

1. Scotch Malt Whisky Society August Outturn Tastings – Friday August 2 aka tonight!) 8PM – Want a peek into the world’s largest whisky club? We have opened up the August tastings to non members. You will taste the Society’s latest, exclusive offerings. We host SMWS tastings the first week of each month. Become a Member and you save $10 on class registration. This month’s tastings are especially cool, they involve beer pairings. Want to know more? – $50 ($40 for Members)
2. The Price is Right: Scotch Edition – Tuesday August 6th – The wine staff had so much fun with the concept that the whisky staff went ahead and stole it! Can you taste the difference between a top shelf dram and a bargain bottling? Find out whether you’re the frugal sort or if you truly have expensive taste in this blind Scotch tasting. – $40 – SOLD OUT
3. Compass Box No Name No.2 / The Circle Launch – Thursday August 8 – Two new Compass Box Whisky Co. limited editions is as good a reason as any we can think of to put on a tasting, so that’s exactly what we’ve done. We will be tasting the new releases: The Circle and No Name No.2. Just for fun we have tracked down a bottle of No Name No.1 for comparison. 5 other Compass Box Whiskies will round out our range! – $35
4. Blinded by Bourbon – Thursday August 15 – Brown paper bags are covering all the bottles for this blind Bourbon tasting. We are hiding your biases from you and giving you the chance to discover – or rediscover – a new favourite! – $35
5. Indie Cred: Unofficial and Exciting Whisky – Tuesday August 20th – Official bottlings are usually good and often great, but everybody loves an indie darling. We’ll indulge in some of Scotland’s best-kept secrets, which typically come in small batches or single casks, and on occasion…a dose of mystery! – $50

Register in-store, by phone 403-283-8000 and 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

www.kensingtonwinemarket.com

Virginia Distillery Company to Release Third Annual Charity Cask on Aug. 3 to Benefit Nelson County Pantry

LOVINGSTON, Va. (July 30, 2019) – Virginia Distillery Company will release its Coffee Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky next month as part of its third annual Charity Cask program to support the Nelson County Pantry, a local nonprofit providing meals, fresh produce, baked goods and non-perishable foods to families in need. The new batch of whisky was made in collaboration with Snowing in Space, a cold brew coffee company in Charlottesville.

A release celebration at the distillery’s Visitors Center will take place on Saturday, Aug. 3 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Last year, Virginia Distillery Company’s Charity Cask initiative raised $5,000 and benefited Almost Home, Nelson County’s SPCA, and was chosen by the public through a voting process on social media. The distillery selected the Nelson County Pantry as this year’s beneficiary, because they were the runner-up during last year’s voting. The inaugural Charity Cask supported the Nelson County First Responder teams as a thank you after these local teams put out a forest fire on the hillside behind the distillery in November 2016.

“We’re proud to be able to support the important work this organization does for the local community while having the opportunity to collaborate with a local business,” Virginia Distillery Company’s CEO Gareth H. Moore said. “Our community is important to us. Each holiday season our staff volunteers at the pantry to help pack meals for local families to pick up.”

For the unique finish, Snowing in Space brewed coffee in a Virginia Distillery Company whisky barrel. The whisky was then filled back into the cask after the coffee was emptied from the barrel. The whisky finished for 14 months, which added notes of cocoa nibs, walnuts and roasted coffee beans. Straw gold in color, the palate offers hints of vanilla and mocha, melding together for a smooth and vibrant finish.

The single cask offering produced 318 total bottles and will be available for purchase on site at the distillery’s Visitors Center. The 750 ml bottles retail for $67.99 plus tax. Net proceeds from the cask will benefit the Nelson County Pantry.

The Coffee Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky is one of several offerings from Virginia Distillery Company’s award-winning Virginia-Highland Whisky series, including a Port, Cider, Chardonnay and Beer cask finished whisky. Its Port Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky won Best American Blended Malt at the 2019, 2018 and 2017 World Whiskies Awards and the Cider Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky ranks No. 13 on Whisky Advocate Top 20 whiskies of 2018.

The distillery is preparing for the 2020 launch of Courage & Conviction, its signature American Single Malt whisky. The name is a nod to a phrase founder Dr. George G. Moore was often heard saying: “Always have the courage of your convictions.”

For more information, visit the distillery’s website at www.vadistillery.com.

About Virginia Distillery Company: 

Virginia Distillery Company is currently crafting its ultra-premium American Single Malt whisky, Courage & Conviction, at the distillery located in Lovingston, Virginia. These whiskies yield a complex taste, due to the influence of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains and maturation in former Bourbon, Sherry and Cuvée wine casks. The casks have been resting since November 2015 and the Flagship offering will be released in the Spring of 2020. A sneak peek pre-release product called “Prelude: Courage & Conviction” will be available in the Fall of 2019. While Courage & Conviction ages, customers may enjoy the Virginia-Highland Whisky series.

Saturday, August 3rd  11AM-6 PM:

Japanese Whiskies with Chris Udhe 

Whether you’re a curious newcomer or Japanese whiskey fanatic, this tasting is not one to be missed! Presented by ‘Whisky Evangelist’ and SoCal Whisky Society founder Chris Udhe, this event features rare and award-winning Japanese whiskies from Kurayoshi, Ohishi, and Fukano distilleries.

Click Here to RSVP

10 to 14 October 2019

The Inagural Whisky Colours Festival

Sorry you have not heard from us for a while.  This Newsletter is focused on our new festival which we launched earlier this year which some of you will be aware of.

The first Whisky Colours Festival will be held from 10 to 14 October 2019.  It is a celebration of all things whisky and is centred in Dufftown, the malt whisky capital of the world.  We have been inspired by the vast range of whisky colours that are mirrored in the beauty of the phenomenal autumn scenery in and around Dufftown with the woodlands displaying their stunning colours and the bright golden barley in the fields.  Ypu will be able to get up close and personal with some of the biggest names in the whisky industry to provide a truly intimate whisky experience.  Our aim is to bring you extra special whisky experiences with an autumnal theme that will be truly something to remember.

We are partnering with Tannochbrae Restaurant, Cragganmore Distillery, Glen Moray Distillery and Glenfarclas Distillery for dining and tasting experiences.   We are teaming up with Morrison & MacKay and the Highlander Inn, to bring a unique autumnal tasting and lunch.  There will also be masterclasses from the likes of Adelphi, Berry Bros & Rudd, Kilchoman Distillery, Murray McDavid and Speyside Distillery.  There is also a special tour to Aberlour Distillery with a walk to Linn Falls. With more to be announced.

The festival will culminate in a closing event hosted by key partner Tannochbrae Cuisine that will bring together all elements of the festival: whisky, music and food with lots of fun.   The festival website is the place to go for details on all the events (www.whiskycoloursfestival.com).  Tickets are on sale now and the programme as it stands is below.

BUY TICKETS HERE