Dear Malt Messenger Subscribers,
Thanks to all of you who made it out to either our Spring Single Malt Festival last Thursday or the Ultimate Auchentoshan Dinner on Friday. Both events were a huge success and a lot of fun. We’ve had some excellent feedback from both participating agents and as well as customers, and are thrilled with the results.
Father’s Day is just around the corner—this Sunday as a matter of fact—and after the success we had with them last year we’ve decided to throw some gift packs together. We’ve two gift packs for you to choose from, the creamy peaty one (Bowmore Tempest) and the spicy sherried one (Springbank 1996). Both gift packs come in a double sided cedar box, the bottle of choice, two glasses and a copy of the most recent Malt Advocate Magazine. More on these gift packs can be found below. We ask that you please pre-order them to give us time to put them together.
If your father/husband might prefer a tasting to a bottle of whisky, have we got the tasting for you! Our Rare Malts tasting this coming Tuesday—June 22nd—features some of rarest and most interesting whiskies in the market, and there is still some room available. We will be sampling whiskies from closed distilleries including Rosebank, Glen Mhor and Pittyvaich. The highlight of the tasting will be a 40 year old bottling of Springbank from Signatory which is exclusive to Kensington Wine Market. For more information please see below.
Finally, those peat freaks amongst you will be pleased to know that the latest release of Octomore, the Octomore 2.2 Orpheus has arrived. The Orpheus has been matured in Bourbon casks before finishing in Chateau Petrus Bordeuax casks. Only a very limited quantity of the Orpheus has been brought into Canada. More on that below too!
I hope you enjoy this little Malt Messenger Bulletin, and a Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there…
Slainte!
Andrew Ferguson
Father’s Day Gift Package Springbank 1996 – $149.99
Treat your father to a bottle of our superb 1996 Springbank Oloroso cask, a couple of Glencairn crystal single malt glasses and a copy of Malt Advocate Magazine. Dad’s gift will be packaged in a double sided cedar box complete with ribbon. Assemble in this gift bundle you save $25.
Springbank is Scotland’s oldest family owned distillery (1828) is the most traditional and the most handsome distillery in Scotland. Cask No. 269 has been bottled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market and was matured in an Oloroso sherry cask. It has been bottled at a cask strength of 55.8%. Nose: sweet, Christmas spices, brown sugar, milk chocolate; palate; really spicy and sweet, candied fruits, drying oak and some salty smoke; finish: rich, long and smooth with more spicy-sweet notes.
Please pre-order.
Perfect for the lover of sherried whiskies.
Father’s Day Gift Package Bowmore Tempest – $124.99
If Dad prefers a peated Islay single malt then the Bowmore Tempest Father’s Day gift pack is for you. This gift pack is also presented in a double sided cedar with two Glencairn glasses, the Bowmore Tempest and a copy of Malt Advocate Magazine. Purchasing these items in the gift bundle saves you $20.
The Bowmore Tempest has been matured exclusively in first-fill American oak ex-bourbon casks. Earthy smoke and brine water, notes of crème brulée with orange blossom with butter cream. Palate: Bursts of citrus, lemons and orange with the distinct peaty Islay character and a sea salt tang. Finish: Long, lingering yet clean and fresh. This is a peaty whisky but not oppressively so. Its high proof, 55.3% is also surprisingly approachable. The Bowmore Tempest is exclusive to Kensington Wine Market.
Please pre-order.
Perfect for the lover or Islay whiskies, but also those looking for something a little different.
Rare Malts – Tuesday June 22nd – $80
This is our final Spring whisky tasting, and what a tasting to end the session on. The Rare Malts tastings is our opportunity to showcase whiskies which are rare, older or from closed distilleries. This edition will be no different, and I am very excited about the line-up. The Rare Malts tastings are normally conducted blind so I won’t tell you all the specifics, except to say that we have expressions from Rosebank and Glen Mhor (both of which are closed) and we will also be sampling the new Pittyvaich 20 Year (also closed) and Signatory Springbank 1969 40 Year (exceptionally rare). The Springbank alone retails for more than $1200, and should make the tasting worthwhile.
Space is limited to 20 participants. Call the store, 403-283-8000 or go online www.kensingtonwinemarket.com to register.
Octomore 2.2 Orpheus – $139.49
Octomore, Bruichladdich’s most heavily peated single malt is an unusual dram for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Octomore’s barley is peated to a level of 140ppm, the highest in the industry. This gives the whisky a robust smoky earthy character that borders on the insane. Bruichladdich’s tall slender stills soften the punch somewhat. Secondly, the whisky has been matured in Bourbon casks and was finished in Chateaux Petrus Bordeaux red wine casks before being bottled at 61%.
Some reviews have been quite favourable, others have pondered whether Bruichladdich has lost its way, or its mind. Whatever the case may be they come up with another beautifully packaged whisky and yet another creative marketing angle. From the distillery:
– Orpheus in the Underworld: In Greek mythology the epic tale of a hero’s journey down into the underworld, a katabasis, is one of bravery and devotion. To voyage into the unknown – and yet return. This Orpheus did. To be “Orphic” is to be mystic, fascinating and entrancing, for he was believed to have discovered mysteries, purification from sins, and by music, the means of averting the wrath of the Gods. Truly, this is Octomore.
– Flame red tin signifies the fires of Hades which Orpheus braved to rescue his wife Eurydice, from the underworld.
Tasting note to come!
If you have any whisky questions or comments concerning The Malt Messenger please contact me by e-mail, phone, or drop by the store. Feel free to forward me any whisky news you feel should be included in a future issue of The Malt Messenger; it might just get included.
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!
You can follow me online on Twitter at www.twitter.com/scotch_guy..
Thanks for reading the Malt Messenger!
Slainte!
Andrew Ferguson
KWM Scotchguy
403-283-8000
888-283-9004
1257 Kensington Rd. NW
Calgary, AB, Canada
T2N 3P8
scotchguy@kensingtonwinemarket.com
