Malt Messenger No.69 – Whisky Galore & More
December is just two days away and you know what that means… it’s Whisky Advent Calendar time! Our 2016 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Advent Calendars are in store and ready. Sales have been strong and we have less than 20% of our opening inventory left for sale. Demand is so strong, we transfer
a dozen or so to the store daily to keep up. Why am I telling you this? It’s simple. If you want a Whisky Advent Calendar buy it now to avoid disappointment! Our first Whisky Advent Calendar blog airs this Thursday December 1.
The MS Calgary Whisky Festival is only 7 weeks away. Tickets for Calgary’s best whisky festival are now on sale with general admission tickets at early bird pricing until tomorrow, Wednesday November 30th! Buy your tickets before December 1 and you will be entered into a draw to win a KWM 2016 Whisky Advent Calendar! There are two classes of VIP tickets this year which include a special cut crystal Glencairn glass valued at $50. Further details are available below!
I’ve written up my own tasting notes for our two new Gordon & MacPhail Caol Ila Casks! These stunners have been flying out the door over the past two weeks and demand is still strong and showing no signs of abating. The 2005 is a bourbon cask and the 2006 is sherry. They nicely contrast the two different oak types showing how important good wood really is for whisky. Tasting notes and details follow below. Pop into the shop for a free sampling.
We are formally launching our new 25th Anniversary Glenfarclas 25 Year KWM Cask Strength tonight. 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 1/5 of the bottles have already sold in just a matter of days! More details and a tasting note below.
I don’t normally write about wines in the Malt Messenger as this is a whisky newsletter, but I do have two wines that I am really proud and excited to share with you. I traveled to Portugal in May of this year to aid in their selection as well as ticking off a box on my liquor industry bucket list. The result of this trip was a partnership with Taylor Fladgate and Pacific Wine & Spirits to bottle a 20 year Tawny Port $70 and a 1992 Vintage Port $85 to celebrate KWM’s 25th Anniversary! More details below.
In addition to our selection of KWM single casks currently in stock, we are expecting three additional casks over the next three weeks. Next week we will be launching our 6th and 7th single casks of Arran and the following week we will be launching our first ever single cask of Amrut. A few teasers can be found below. Stay tuned for more details in the weeks ahead.
We are thrilled to be welcoming Old Malt Cask Whiskies back at KWM. It has been a few years since they graced our shelves, but with Lee Hanson of Barrel Hunter as their new Alberta importer, we’ve jumped at the opportunity to bring in some new exclusives. And the pricing is superb, 20 to 27 year old Old Malt Cask whiskies for just $170-210… and an Old & Rare Tullibardine at just $285. Get em while they last!
There is more still to this Malt Messenger. We have some exciting new whiskies from Springbank, Kilkerran (Glengyle), Wyoming Whiskey and Paul John Distilleres of India. There’s lots to feast your eyes on in this Malt Messenger… try not to drool on your keyboard!
Sláinte!
Andrew Ferguson
Kensington Wine Market
In this Edition
- T Minus 7 Days Until KWM Whisky Advent!
- MS Calgary Whisky Festival 2017
- Two New KWM Caol Ila Casks
- Glenfarclas 25 Year Cask Strength (KWM 25th Anniversary)
- 2 KWM 25th Anniversary Ports – Vintage & Tawny
- New KWM Casks Coming Soon!
- Hunter Laing’s Old Malt Cask is Back at KWM!
- New Springbank Whiskies
- Introducing Kilkerran 12 Year
- New Wyoming Whiskey Alberta Single Cask
- New Indian Single Malts from Paul John Distillers
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. Impressed by the sample, we are in love with the bottled whisky. Pop into KWM for a sample! $160
More Information
Calgary Exclusive Canadian Single Malt Whisky!
Shelter Point Inaugural Run Single Malt
The first ever release from the Shelter Point distillery on Vancouver island is exclusive in Alberta to KWM. Bottled at 46% from barley grown on the distillery’s own farm! $80
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2016 KWM Whisky Advent Calendar
Whisky Advent, this year’s edition is more than 80% 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/
Two New KWM Exclusive Caol Ila Casks
One Bourbon, one Sherry, both Cask Strength and they are going fast!
What’s better than one single cask of Caol Ila? Two of course! And it is even more exciting when they are different cask types offering very different flavour profiles! Although Caol Ila is normally a very heavily peated whisky, neither of them come off that way as the oak character is very prominent. Don’t ask me to choose between them, they are both excellent. But the sherry matured one is likely to sell out first as curiously there are just 127 bottles. Seems the angels may have been dipping into this one!
- G&M Caol Ila 2006 KWM Cask – 57.5% – Refill Fill Sherry Hogshead – 228 Bottles – My Tasting Note: “Nose: nutty Oloroso sherry notes leap out of the glass with generously salted trail mix (raisins, peanuts and M&Ms); becomes more decadent with maple syrup tones and building clean smoke; while the dark fruits dominate, there are some more delicate ones like orange and lemon below. Palate: big, rich and very sherried: while there are some nutty Oloroso like tones, the sweeter Pedro Ximenez notes seem to dominate; bacon infused chocolate with Christmas cake and a leather tobacco pouch; very layered, rich and bold but not rough. Finish: long drying and very smoky with salted caramel coating the mouth; syruppy with dark fruits and more bacon infused chocolate. Comment: this is a winter warmer if ever there was one… the big peaty sherry notes will warm your mind, body and soul; this is top of the mountain whisky on a cold, snowy, windy day! – $130
- G&M Caol Ila 2005 KWM Cask – 54.2% – Refill Bourbon Barrel – 127 Bottles – My Tasting Note: “Nose: honeyed with bacon wrapped scallops cooked in butter; firm smoke with strawberry and rhubarb jams; creamy and orangey, big juicy malt with some lovely citrus notes. Palate: sweet, very honeyed and creamy and then the fragrant smoke drifts in coating the mouth with salt, peat and juicy malt; more strawberry and rhubarb jam but also Moroccan marmalade and quince paste; more seafood tones: bacon wrapped scallops cooked in butter with brown sugar. Finish: big and long; stays sweet and creamy with clean peat smoke and more bacon wrapped scallops. Comment: for such a heavily peated malt, I can believe how fresh, sweet and fruity it is; this is top of the mountain on a sunny winter day whisky!” – $135
Glenfarclas 25 Year KWM Cask Strength
Our first 25th Anniversary Whisky!
In May of 2017 Kensington Wine Market will be marking an auspicious occasion, the 25th Anniversary of our founding as a business. Nancy Carten established the shop in 1992 before deregulation as a wine only store, one of the first private liquor stores in Canada. Within a few year the Alberta government decided to get out of the retail liquor business and KWM started selling beer and whisky. Over the last two and a half decades we’ve built quite a reputation in Canada for our expertise in wine and beer and internationally in the whisky world. To mark our 25th Anniversary we are bottling special wines, ports, whiskies, beers and other spirits to mark the occasion.
Our first three 25th Anniversary bottlings are here, two different ports (see next section) and a special Glenfarclas bottling. We started discussing the possibility of a 25th Anniversary Glenfarclas botlting early in 2016. The distillery came back to us with a fascinating opportunity, a cask strength version of their ever popular Glenfarclas 25 Year. Usually bottled at 43%, they proposed to bottle a select number for us as cask strength, before diluting the rest of the batch. When they agreed to incorporate our 25th Anniversary logo on the label and box we really started getting excited, but it got even better… Glenfarclas and their Canadian importer Pacific Wine & Spirits managed to get the bottle to us at a price that puts it at just $20 more than the regular 25 Year! We couldn’t be happier, and we know you’re going to love it too. If you can’t make tonight’s release tasting (it is sold out), pop into the shop for an opportunity to sample this amazing new whisky!
Glenfarclas 25 Year KWM Cask Strength – 52.0% – My Tasting Note: “Nose: buttery, creamy and very fruity; rhubarb jam, blueberry compote, dried apricots, mandarin orange and vanilla custard; floral rose petals, honeycomb and rich but balanced spices: ginger, cardamom and nutmeg; soft leather, sweet tobacco leaf and slowly dark fruits. Palate: immediately bold, but balanced and very layered with lots of subtle nuances; begins with soft leather, blueberry compote and sweet tobacco before developing into dark fruits and crisp but delicate spices; the buttery tones start to come out on the second sip with some lovely vanilla custard notes and clotted cream; more bright mandarin orange and stewed rhubarb emerge with some more delicate floral tones and toasty oak; later the spices take their turn at center stage with more cinnamon, cardamom and ginger but also hints of clove and anise. Finish: long, and delicately layered; waves of fruits, leather, vanilla, oak and spices. Comment: I wish I could take personal credit for selecting this one, but the work was all done by George and his team at Glenfarclas; never the less we are thrilled with the result and to have our reputation attached to such a brilliant whisky!” – $285 <
Two Exclusive KWM 25th Anniversary Ports
Celebrate with us and complement your whisky selection this holiday season!
For the most part I leave KWM’s wine selection to my amazing team. They know their wines much better than I and they have a passion for them as I do for whisky. But there was one thing I knew I wanted to do for our 25th Anniversary and that was to bottle an exclusive port. To that end I started up a conversation with Pacific Wine & Spirits who are the distributors for Taylor Fladgate and Fonseca in Canada. If anyone could help us find a good port wine, they could.
I traveled to Portugal in May of 2016 to visit Taylor and Fonseca and sample some options. I had it in my mind that we would want to bottle a 25 year old tawny, unfortunately the rule governing port set down by the Instituto do Vino do Porto only allows for 10, 20, 30 and 40 year old tawnys. As a compromise, Taylor blended a few different 20 year old Tawnys for us to choose from and one really stood out. They also had an additional surprise in store for us! They were sitting on bottles of 1992 vintage port from a vineyard they used to own (Delaforce). Due to Porto rules and regulations they couldn’t bottle it as a Taylor Fladgate or Fonseca port, but they could bottle it for us as a KWM vintage port. How could we turn down such an opportunity? So we bottled both a 20 Year Tawny and a 1992 Vintage Port to celebrate our 25th Anniversary!
- KWM 25th Anniversary 20 Year Tawny Port – This 20 Year Tawny 25th Anniversary celebration Port comes from Taylor Fladgate’s cellars in Vila Nova di Gaia. The blend was created especially for KWM and the average age of the tawny in the blend is 20 years old. Approved by the Port Wine Institute, as all things Port must be, we are just tickled “port” to be able to offer this special bottle to all of our loyal customers. The color is bright and lively amber showing characteristic brown caramel tones on the rim. The nose offers dry white raisins and stewed prunes with brandied cherries and dark chocolate. The taste is lovely and subtle, good acidity, some nice walnut hues, and picks up on the Christmas cake spice theme. – $69.99
- KWM 25th Anniversary 1992 Vintage Port – This 1992 25th Anniversary vintage was produced by the house of Delaforce. The family has been in the port trade since the early 1800’s and formed their Port business in 1868. They built their reputation on vintage and aged tawny style Ports. The Fladgate Partnership acquired Delaforce approximately 10 years ago, mainly for their aged tawny stock. Along with the purchase of this inventory came some very fine classic vintage ports, such as this 1992. Vintage Ports are made and declared only in years of exceptional climatic and quality conditions. After bottling, they mature slowly for many years to gain the unforgettable richness that places them among the world’s greatest wines. This 1992 shows very dark opaque purple color, with a typically spicy nose and intense underlying aromas of blackberries and blackcurrants. On the palate enormous weight and structure with a marvelous balance of dense black fruit flavors and firm tannins. – $84.99
New KWM Exclusive Bottlings Coming Soon
Our Arran Single Casks Arrive Next Week and Amrut the Week Following!
On the whisky side of our business, if there is one thing we take great pride in, it is our selection of single cask whiskies, bottled exclusively for the Kensington Wine Market. We have nearly sold through our Bernheim Kentucky Wheat and more recent Ridgemont 1792 Bourbon Casks. Our BenRiach 1996 Cask 189 is also 3/4 sold and may be gone by Christmas! A couple of months ago we received our 5th Kilchoman Cask, a 2011 PX Finish, and it too is already half sold! Our two new Caol Ila casks (detailed a few sections up) from Gordon MacPhail and our Glenfarclas 25 Year Cask Strength (2 sections up) are also doing well, and are flying off the shelves… Well, we have three more to tell you about, which will be trickling into the store over the next three weeks, two Arrans (6th and 7th casks!) and our first ever Amrut single cask. Exciting times… stay tuned to the Malt Messenger and Social Media for our tasting notes!
- Arran 2008 KWM Cask 2011 – 56.8% – 7 Year – Distilled December 3 2011 – Lightly Peated – 270 Bottles – Tasting Note Coming Soon! – Expected in store Wednesday December 7! – $105
- Arran 1997 KWM Cask 1085 – 51.4% – 19 Year – Distilled July 21st 1997 – 258 Bottles – Tasting Note Coming Soon! – Expected in store Wednesday December 7! – $145
- Amrut 2010 KWM Virgin Oak Cask 891 – 60% – 6 Year – 90 Bottles – Tasting Note Coming Soon – Expected in store Wednesday December 14! – $135
Hunter Laing’s Old Malt Cask is Back at KWM
5 Expressions of Old Malt Cask as well as an Old & Rare!
We never stopped being fans of Hunter Laing’s Old Malt Cask and Old & Rare ranges, but we could no longer do business with the old importer in Alberta. We couldn’t be happier with their decision to switch over to Barrel Hunter. We’ve been working with Lee on the First Editions range and when we heard he had access to the Old Malt Cask whiskies, we jumped at the opportunity to select some exclusives for KWM. The pricing on these new releases is better than those of the old importer. 27 year old Tormore for $210, 21 year old Strathmill for $169and 24 year old Jura for $200 are but two examples. And the quality of the bottlings does not disappoint either. I’ve sampled them all, please find my tasting notes below:
- Old Malt Cask Arran 19 Year – 50% – Refill Hogshead (HL11885) – My Tasting Note: “Nose: Nose: creamy, floral and honeyed; loads of melon, fresh picked oranges and grapefruits; Belgian waffles with whipped topping; some tangy jammy notes too and English marmalade. Palate: very creamy, and coating with loads of vanilla: custard and white chocolate; still jammy, more English marmalade and dulce de leche; more melon, orange, grapefruit and Belgian waffles with whipped topping. Finish: long and ethereal, still creamy, delicately floral and decadent; loads more whipped topping right through the finish and delicate fruits. Comment: it is hard to screw up an Arran, especially in the American oak and this one is beautiful; one of the oldest Arrans we’ve ever seen!” – $170
- Old Malt Cask Fettercairn 18 Year – 50% – Refill Hogshead (HL Ref10839) – My Tasting Note: “Nose: Old Fashioned cocktail, brandy soaked cherries and shortbread with spicy icing; vanilla panacotta and matcha ice cream; wine gums, Demerara sugar and orange rind. Palate: soft and spicy with decadent sugars; more Demerara and some candied orange; white fruits, more shortbread with spicy icing sugar and matcha ice cream with chocolate shavings; some chewy barley with smooth new leather and dark spice: anise and a hint of clove. Finish: long, toasty and fruity with fading Demerara, white fruits, shortbread and spices. Comment: this is classic unpeated Fettercarin, medium bodied and bright with a touch of spice.” – $147
- Old Malt Cask Miltonduff 20 Year – 50% – Refill Hogshead (HL Ref 11205) – My Tasting Note: “Nose: creamy and floral, French crepes with lemon juice and powdered sugar; apple pie, poached pears and Scottish shortbread; white chocolate Hershey’s Kisses. Palate: creamy, waxy, honeyed and floral; more white chocolate, shortbread, some creme brule and more French crepes with powdered sugar and lemon; layered and very honeyed with delicate spices. Finish: long, waxy, honeyed and creamy; still floral with delicte citrus tones and decadent confectionary notes. Comment: Miltonduff never fails to disappoint… and this one is no exception, a stunner!” – $175
- Old Malt Cask Jura 24 Year – 50% – Refill Hogshead (HL Ref 12288) – My Tasting Note: “Nose: dried orange rinds and lemon drops; almond slices, French baked goods, toasty oaky tones and honeycomb; chai creme brule and licorice sticks. Palate: big, rich and fruity with ore of a sherried character than the nose let on; loads of honey, chocolate and orange marzipan, Chai crem brule and licorice sticks; lots of toasty oak, some salty tones and more creamy French bakery goods and smooh leather. Finish: long, honeyed, spicy and very fruity; more dark fruits, marzipan and tobacco. Comment: this is amazing value for a 24 year old whisky and a fresh tasting old Jura!” – $200
- Old Malt Cask Strathmill 21 Year – 50% – Refill Hogshead (HL Ref 10122) – My Tasting Note: “Nose: floral, honeyed and creamy; clotted cream on English scones, lemon oil polished church pews and dripping tallow candles; polished new leather shoes in a room freshly painted with latex based paint. Palate: very smooth, silky and vegetal with prominent but soft floral tones; more clotted cream with scones and a side of homemade raspberry jam; becomes more honeyed and citric (lemon) with green vegetal malt and tingling drying spice. Finish: light, floral and refreshing but long; more lemon oil, drying oak spices and traces of green malt. Comment: I like the nose, but love the palate; this is a breakfast whisky or patio sipper… very refreshing!” – $169
- Old Malt Cask Tormore 27 Year – 50% – Refill Sherry Butt – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: sweet and mellow with rich vanilla and fruits. Palate: smooth and buttery with nutty Christmas pudding. Finish: long, sweet and dry with a late touch of oak.” – $210
- Old & Rare Tullibardine 25 Year – 47.9% – Refill Hogshead – My Tasting Note: “Nose: marzipan, almond paste filled croisants and Old Englsh Butterscotch ice cream; liquid white chocolate, fresh picked roses and waxy Sunburst candies. Palate: soft, smooth and very creamy; more floral tones, red licorice shoe laces and more starbursts; malty with leather and juicy sugars. Finish: long, malty and honeyed; waxy with more red licorice. Comment: very delicate, beautiful soft Tullibardine!” – <
New Springbank Single Malts
A pair of 12 year olds and a limited new 21 Year Single Cask
Springbank has long been one of our favourite distillers. Scotland’s oldest family owned distillery is also it’s most traditional. There are a pair of new 12 year old Springbanks, including a limited edition Burgundy Matured and the latest incarnation of the 12 year old cask strength. Neither are expected to last long… There is also a new Springbank 21 Year Single Cask, also very limited. The price on the new 21 single cask is very competitive, $35 less than the regular 21 year at 46%!
- Springbank 12 Year Cask Strength – 56.3% – Matured in 70% Sherry & 30% Bourbon – My Tasting Note: “Nose: dark, oily and foreboding, hard salty licorice, stewed fruits; strawberry rhubard pie, pleasantly nutty, a base of firm gently malt and clean smoke. Palate: big, rich, oily and nutty… loads of dark fruits, spices and leather; firm smoke and more hard salty licorice candies; espresso bean, big salted caramel and more gently peated earthy malt; some more tropical tones beneath the prominent sherry. Finish: big at first it tappers off with soothing, refreshing feel; the sherry influence and peat hang on for a long while fading into fruits. Comment: much firmer than the current batch of Springbank 15 Year (September 2015) but still far from over sherried and no sulphur taint for those paranoid Murray fans out there!” – $92
- Springbank 12 Year Burgundy Wood – 53.5% – Matured in Burgundy Wood – My Tasting Note: “Nose: chocolate fudge, Dairy Queen’s Peanut Buster Parfait, candied orange slices, salted caramel sauce and rum and raisin pudding; sour buckwheat pancakes with blueberry compote syrup; smoking cigars in a new leather chair. Palate: big, leathery and very fruity with savoury sea salt; stewed fruits and more blueberry compote syrup on sour milk buckwheat pancakes; clean cigar smoke, more new leather sofa and layers of fruit from bright orange and canned pineapple to dried cranberry and figs in honey; an element of chocolate, vanilla and nuts (my Peanut Buster Parfait). Finish: big, long and rich; layers of fruits mingle with chocolate, leather and more clean cigar smoke. Comment: a curious but delightful Springbank, sweet with clean smoke and beautiful Burgundy influence; the wine casks have given it a very pleasant and unique style; still identifiably Springbank, but a different style.” – $115
- Springbank 21 Year Single Cask – 49.2% – Oloroso Sherry Matured – My Tasting Note: “Nose: melted butter and brown sugar with dried apricots and more exotic tropical fruits; a hint of mescal based margaritas, gentle peat and Old English Butterscotch ice-cream and Moroccan marmalade; clean coal smoke, dusty dunnage warehouse notes of sweet spirit and musty old oak; loads of nuts and gentle leathery sherry tones. Palate: firmer smoke than initially expected, but it fades into cream, apricots and salty-mescal notes; still very citrusy, more dried apricot and lime-driven citric sugars; then the sherry starts coming in, very nutty, drying and earthy with loads of tobacco, leather and later spices; but the cream comes back with salty smoke and more dried apricots; more Old English Butterscotch ice-cream, cross contaminated with some sea salt caramel! Finish: long and surprisingly smoky, cream, leather and gentle-peaty-earthy tones. Comment: quite the contrast from the past few 21 year olds, more smoke to my mind, still creamy and fruity, but with a very intriguing savoury mescal note!” – $350
Stay tuned for some details new Springbank Society releases!
Introducing: Kilkerran 12 Year
The distillery’s first ever core expression is here, and flying off the shelf!
Kilkerran single malt is the product of Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown. The owers, Mitchell’s (who also own Springbank and Cadenhead) like to call it the “newest old distillery in Campbeltown”! The distillery is the only one I am aware of opened out of spite, to settle a dispute with the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) who would not recognize Campbeltown as a whisky region. This even though it had once been the most important center in the Scotch whisky industry. In the late 1990s Cambeltown had just two active distilleries, Glen Scotia and Springbank, the oldest family owned distillery in Scotland owned by Mitchell’s owner Hedley Wright. As the Lowlands had three distilleries and were considered a region, Hedley, who’s family has owned Springbank since 1826, and who’s uncle founded the original Glengyle distillery, reasoned that if Campbeltown had three active distilleries then it would have to be considered a region too. Hard to argue with that logic, and no one, especially the SWA thought they would hear any more on the matter.
Hedley was adament though, Campbeltown would be a whisky region again, so he tasked his then manager Frank McHardy with rebuilding the old Glengyle Distillery. In 2000 they purchase the long abandoned old Glengyle distillery site, just around the corner from Springbank. It was a mess having been used as a gun range and famers cooperative before being abandoned. They quickly got to work on restoring the building, including conducting a “war on pigeon waste”. It took three years of restoration before the distillery buildings were ready to be kitted out. Some of the equipment was purchased new, but they managed to salvage stills from the closed Ben Wyvis distillery and acquire an old mill from Craigellachie. On March 7 2004 the distillery was formally opened, the first new distillery in Campbeltown in 125 years. Hedley Wright perfomed the first ever cut of the new make spirit, forever settling the argument that Campbeltown was a whisky region in its own right!
The Kilkerran 12 Year old is the first regular release from Glengyle distillery. It was matured in 70% Bourbon casks and 30% Sherry casks, and has been bottled at 46%. The whisky is made with lightly peated malt, with a phenolic level of 12-15ppm. The whisky cannot be called Glengyle, as a low budget blend goes by that name today. Instead it is named in honour of Campbeltown’s history. From the Distillery: “Kilkerran is derived from the Gaelic ‘Ceann Loch Cille Chiarain’ which is the name of the original settlement where Saint Kerran had his religious cell and where Campbeltown now stands. Kilkerran is
thought to be a suitable name for a new Campbeltown malt since it was unusual for the old Campbeltown distilleries to be called after a Glen, a custom more usually associated with the Speyside region.” A subtle dig at Glen Scotia perhaps?
Kilkeran 12 Year – 46% – Distiller’s Tasting Note: “Nose: oak notes are dominant, followed by toasted marshmallows and dried fruit pudding, as well as cherries, marzipan and a hint of peat. Palate: initially fruity with citrus notes and orange peel, after this: vanilla, butterscotch, honeycomb and digestive biscuits can all be tasted and enjoyed. Finish: velvet and smooth with lemon meringue, to conclude, there’s an oiliness and a saltiness that you’d expect from a Campbeltown dram.” – $82<
New Wyoming Whiskey Single Cask
A Bourbon Selected and Bottled Exclusively for Alberta
A hit at our Fall Single Malt Festival, this Wyoming Bourbon single cask was selected by Fountana Beverage Co. (the importer) to be bottled for the Alberta market. It is going fast and not expected to last long!
From the Producer: “We’re not owned by some beverage giant or
traded on the Big Board. We are independent, family-owned whiskey makers with a world-class distillery in the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming. Our company and products are a collaboration between our partners and 97,818 square miles of Wyoming. The state defines us; it’s in our blood and in our whiskey.”
Wyoming Whiskey Alberta Single Cask Bourbon – 53.5% – Evan’s Tasting Note: “Nose: New lumber, oak staves, cloves, bread dough, almonds, crushed walnuts, peach & ginger tea, cranberries, coconut, hints of marzipan, nougat, and pancake syrup. Palate: Wood spices along with fresh ginger up front, peaches and nectarines, toasted walnuts & almonds, sponge toffee, ripe bananas, cantaloupe and honeydew melon with a light drizzling of honey over it all. Finish: The spices are right up front and they linger. Over time they soften and make way for a soft sweet finish. Comment: A fresh, spicy, yet approachable high strength single barrel bourbon.” – $92
New Indian Single Malts
From Paul John Distillers from Goa, India
Make room Amrut, there is another Indian whisky brand in Canada. Paul John Whisky is the product of John Distillers of Goa India. Established in 1992 to creating international calibre liquor brands. Their flagship brand Original Choice Whisky sells 10 million cases a year. What they’ve exported to Canada is their single malt line, under the Paul John brand name.
- Paul John Brilliance – 46% – Producer Description: “All the brilliance of Goa is bottled up in this Single Malt. Its sparkling hues are reminiscent of sun-kissed beaches. The six-row barley for this whisky comes from the foothills of the Himalayas. Brilliance is matured in bourbon casks, to give you absolute sensory delight.” – Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: The Demerara sugars give off a whiff of sweet fragrances, with a hint of cinnamon, dash of honey and faint spices. Palate: Sweet and spice and all things nice, make this Single Malt. The honey-like smoothness is offset by the crunchy-bar-like crispness. Somewhere, there is also a tinge of cocoa. Finish: Brilliance has a smooth and beautifully relaxed finish, with a hint of mild spices and deep intense vanilla.” – $63
- Paul John Edited – 46% – Producer Description: “Edited is for the extraordinary. We poured forth all our mastery into crafting this Single Malt. The hint of peat has been skilfully created from discreetly chosen cask profiles. All to delight the true whisky connoisseur.” Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: Honey and cocoa are laced with a hint of smokiness and a shot of espresso. A deeper whiff reveals fruity fragrances. Palate: The grassy flavours of barley show up first, but gently make way for subtle peat notes. They slowly dissolve and pave the way for a rush of mint and mocha. Finish: The finish is long and drawn out. You can sense a hint of spice and chocolate mint as it ends on gentle peat notes.” – $69
- Paul John Bold – 46% – Producer Description: “Bold is a journey that leads you down the unexplored, unchartered terrains of Goa. It offers you a slice of its best-kept secrets, unravelling the mysteries, bit by little bit. This expression of ours invites you to leave the trail, tread the path less taken and plunge headlong into the delicious depths of Goa.” Producer Tasting Note: “Nose: After the slightest whiff of smoke, a dizzying array of Manuka honey, prickly spice and bourboneque red liquorice takes over. Palate: This melt-in-the-mouth malt has the most profound flavours crashing in like waves. At first, the delivery feels sublimely silky and studded with oak-like honey. And just when you think you’ve savoured it all, you are surprised by a hefty second wave of spice. This is followed by a cloudy, smoky feel that coats the roof of the mouth and leaves a tidal wave of dry molasses, peaty soot and a degree of copper in its wake. Finish: Bold has a light finish with a tinge of copper slowly making its presence known. You can also sense a gorgeous smoked mocha shaped by delicate and intricate spices.” – $75
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Thanks for reading the Malt Messenger.
Slainte!
Andrew Ferguson
Owner & Scotchguy
Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
www.kensingtonwinemarket.com
Owner & Operator
Ferguson’s Whisky Tours
www.fergusonwhiskytours.com
scotchguide@fergusonwhiskytours.com
Kensington Wine Market
403-283-8000
