The 2024 MS Calgary Whisky Festival is just 4 days away… and we have 350+ reasons for you to attend.
The pour list for the event is 330 products deep, and add to that we have 9 Master Classes each featuring 5-6 products. We have attached the pour list for the event to this newsletter, it is our biggest ever!
Kensington Wine Market will be there with about a dozen of our exclusive bottlings and for the first time ever a pop-up shop. We won’t be selling bottles for takeaway, that was going to present too many additional complications, but rather we will be offering some great deals for delivery or pick-up in-store. One night only.
A quick word on the Master Classes, there are still a few spots left for most of them, and a few of them have upped their lineups, so we have updated our photos and descriptions for them.
So if you haven’t already purchased a ticket for the event, I hope you’ll reconsider and come check out Calgary’s biggest whisky festival, and support a great cause!
That’s all for this Malt Messenger Bulletin, we’ll have another email out on Monday with some exciting new releases!
As always, in the event of a price discrepancy, the point of sale at KWM will be taken as correct. Online ordering and in-store purchasing are always our preferences. You can email your requests in, but they may not be dealt with as quickly as the web orders… especially if I am busy!
Sincerely,
Andrew Ferguson
Kensington Wine Market
2024 MS Calgary Whisky Festival
Thursday, January 18, 2024
The MS Calgary Whisky Festival is just 1 week away, and tickets for the event are more than 3/4 sold out.
General Admission (7 PM) Ticket – $125 (includes a Glencairn glass)
For more information and to buy tickets click here! You will be redirected to the MS Society’s event page.
Master Class tickets are now on sale too, with 9 of them running during the show. Please note, you need to have a General Admission or VIP ticket to attend a Master Class…
All Master Classes are $40 with 100% of the proceeds going to the MS Society. All Master Classes are limited to 20 participants.
The schedule of Master Classes can be found below:
Master Classes
5:30 PM VIP Master Classes
VIP MC1 – Rare & Old Douglas Laing Whiskies with Dougal Barr: Independent bottler Douglas Laing & Co. marked its 75th Anniversary this year. Dougal Barr, Global Brand Ambassador for Douglas Laing, will guide participants through a range of older whiskies including the XOP Bunnahabhain 35 Year, Big Peat Mizunara Cask, and the King of Scots 50 Year Blended Scotch Whisky. SOLD OUT!
VIPMC2 – Ardbeg Limited Editions with Bry Simpson: Ardbeg Canada Brand Ambassador Bry Simpson will guide participants through a range of six Ardbegs, mostly limited edition expressions and all of them heavily peated. Highlights will include the Ardbegs Anamorphic, Anthology, BizarreBQ, and the Traigh Bhan 19 Year Batch 5.VIP MC3 – Tomintoul Distillery with Cody Reynolds: Angus Dundee Distillers Brand Ambassador Cody Reynolds will take participants on a tasting tour of Tomintoul Distilleries. Five expressions will be sampled including Tomintoul 10, 14, 16, 21, and 25 Year Olds.
Purchase Master Class Tickets
7:00 PM Master Classes
MC4 – Benromach Curiosities with Richard Urquhart: Richard Urquhart is part of the 4th generation of his family to work for Gordon & MacPhail, the independent bottler behind Benromach Distillery. Richard will guide participants through a range of 5 single malts, none of which will be available for tasting on the festival floor, including a 2002 Kensington Wine Market single cask and two pairs of Benromach Contrasts expressions.
MC5 – Adelphi & Ardnamurchan with Connal Mackenzie & Carl Crafts: Adelphi is a well-respected independent bottler which celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2023. In 2014 they opened the Ardnamurchan Distillery, on the remote peninsula it is named for. The distillery has been turning a lot of heads and is currently putting out some of the best young Single Malt Scotch available. Connal & Carl will guide you through a range of limited-edition bottlings from both Adelphi and Ardnamurchan.
MC6 – Westland Whiskey with Tyler Pederson – Westland Distillery is one of the pioneers of American single malt whiskey. Tyler Pederson, Westland’s Master Distiller, will guide you through a range of 5 Westland Single Malts, primarily from their Outpost Range, including two different releases of their famous Westland Garryana.
Purchase Master Class Tickets
8:30 PM Master Classes
MC7 – GlenAllachie & Co. with Andrew Mustard – There is more to Billy Walker’s GlenAllachie Distillery than their eponymous and well-regarded single malt. They also bottle MacNair’s Blended Malts, the White Heather Blends, and they are about to release something new and smoky. Participants in this tasting with Brand Ambassador Andrew Mustard will be the first in Canada to sample the new heavily peated GlenAllachie, Meikle Toir, as well as 4 other whiskies exclusive to this master class.
MC8 – Tomatin Distillery with Scott Fraser – Tomatin Regional Sales Manager Scott Fraser is no stranger to Calgary, or the MS Whisky Festival. For his Master Class, Scott will be highlighting the new Tomatin Portuguese Collection, a trio of 2006 vintage 15-year-old whiskies finished for 7 years in Port, Madeira, and Moscatel casks, as well as a trio of Cu Bocan (peated Tomatin) expressions.
MC9 – Diageo 2023 Limites Editions with Dante Raphael Conception Jr & Arend Lucardie – Participants will sample 5 of the Diageo 2023 Special release bottlings including Lagavulin 12 Year, Oban 11 Year, Roseisle 12 Year, Singleton 14 Year, and Taslisker Natural Cask Strength!
Purchase Master Class Tickets
Pour List Sneak Peak For the Calgary MS Whisky Festival!
Last, but not least: we have had quite a few people asking to view the pour list for the Calgary MS Whisky Festival. So by popular demand, we have added a link to it below! Those of you that would like to pre-plan the drams you are looking to taste can view or download the PDF file. If you prefer no spoilers, feel free to ignore it.
Other Upcoming Tastings & Festivals
Holyrood – The Start of the Journey with Rob Carpenter & Calum Rae· Date: Wednesday, January 24· Time: 6 PM· Cost: $25· In-Store Tasting Holyrood Distillery, which opened in 2019, is the first single malt distillery to operate in central Edinburgh in a century. Join Calum Rae, Distillery Manager, and Rob Carpenter, co-founder as they explain their unique approach to Scotch whisky, consider and question some received wisdom about how Scotch is made and, most importantly, share some drams in Holyrood Distillery’s first launch in the Canadian market. Wednesday, January 24th @ 6 PM
The Macbeth Collection – Act I with Celine Tetu· Date: Thursday, January 25· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $100· In-Store Tasting Our friend Lily (aka Celine Tetu) is in town on January 25th, and with a new range of whiskies from Elixir Distillers to sample, The Macbeth Collection – Act I, we jumped at the opportunity to put on a tasting. The Macbeth Collection is a series of character-led whiskies, selected in partnership with Dave Broom, which will be released in 3 Acts. The labels for the bottlings were created by celebrated cartoonist Sir Quentin Blake. For the tasting, we will be sampling, Ardbeg 19 Year, Ardmore 12 Year, BenRiach 31 Year, Blair Athol 10 Year, Cambus 31 Year, Glen Garioch 31 Year, Ledaig 18 Year, and Linkwood 31 Year. In all a combined 183 years of whisky in one act! Thursday, January 25th, 2024 @ 7 PM
The Burns Bash Whisky Festival· Date: TFriday, January 26· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $50· Festival The Burns Bash is back… though this year we’re marking “the Bard’s” birth, a day after his actual birthday! This whisky festival will feature a mix of the latest and greatest new arrivals at KWM and some very good deals. We’ve cut out the poetry, bagpipes and haggis, but you’ll get to sample some great malts while enjoying food from our neighbour Peasant, and catching up with friends new and old. We think that Rabbie would approve of that! Friday, January 26th from 7 PM to 9 PM
Doc Swinson’s Bourbon KWM Cask Launch· Date: Tuesday, February 6· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $40· Virtual Tasting The Bourbon Cask that Harmony and Evan selected back in June of 2023 is arriving soon, which means it is time to do a Doc Swinson’s Virtual Tasting! Join us to explore a goodly amount of different cask-finished Bourbon (and maybe a Rye or two) from Doc’s portfolio, plus the new 6-and-a-half-year-old KMW Cask Bourbon! If the stars align, we may just get a virtual tour of the distillery at the same time! Tuesday, February 6th @ 7 PM
Lost in Translation 100 Years of Japanese Whisky· Date: Thursday, February 8· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $60· Virtual Tasting No, we won’t be sampling 100 years worth of Japanese whisky, but we will be sampling a range of whiskies including a few limited editions, all while telling the story of the first 100 years of Japanese whisky. Our range includes the Hibiki Harmony 100th Anniversary, which we will contrast with the regular Hibiki Harmony, as well as two limited-release Nikkas, the new Yoichi 10 Year, and the Nikka The Grain Discovery Edition 2023, a 21 year old Blend, and more! Thursday, February 8th @ 7 PM
Waterford Whisky with Someone from Waterford…· Date: Friday, February 9· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $25· In-Store Tasting We’re not 100% sure who’s coming, but we’ve got a Waterford tasting scheduled for Friday, February 9, at KWM. Whoever ends up gracing our store, we can be sure they’ll have no shortage of interesting whiskies to share with us, including the Waterford Heritage Hunter, and the distillery’s first-ever peated single malts! Friday, February 9th @ 7 PM
Bruichladdich 2023 Limited Editions· Date: Tuesday, February 13· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $40· Virtual Tasting We did an in-person version of this tasting in November, and we were always planning to take it onto Zoom for those of you who couldn’t make it down to the store. We’ll start with the Laddie Classic to give us a baseline, before working our way through Black Arts 11.1, Port Charlotte 10 Year, Port Charlotte PMC:01, and a trio of Octomores: 14.1, 14.2, and 14.3. Tuesday, February 13th @ 7 PM
The Macbeth Collection – Act I Virtual Tasting· Date: Tuesday, February 20· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $95· Virtual Tasting This is a virtual version of the tasting we are doing in-store on January 25, featuring a new range of whiskies from Elixir Distillers, The Macbeth Collection – Act I. The Macbeth Collection is a series of character-led whiskies, selected in partnership with Dave Broom, which will be released in 3 Acts. The labels for the bottlings were created by celebrated cartoonist Sir Quentin Blake. For the tasting, we will be sampling Ardbeg 19 Year, Ardmore 12 Year, BenRiach 31 Year, Blair Athol 10 Year, Cambus 31 Year, Glen Garioch 31 Year, Ledaig 18 Year, and Linkwood 31 Year. In all, a combined 183 years of whisky in one act! Tuesday, February 20th @ 7 PM
New Kids on the Block – Scotland 2.0· Date: Tuesday, February 27· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $35· Virtual Tasting The Scotch Whisky industry has gone through something of a baby boom over the last decade. Step by Step, the whiskies from these new kids on the block are coming of age. Though young, the whiskies from these small independents are Hangin’ Tough in a market dominated by big multinationals. For this range we will feature whiskies from Holyrood, Isle of Harris, Nc’Nean, Ryelaw (Inchdarnie), Torabhaig, and a pair of single casks from Raasay! Tuesday, February 27th @ 7 PM
Rare & Old Whiskies Andrew Wants to Try· Date: Tuesday, March 5· Time: 7 PM· Cost: $225· Virtual Tasting The concept here is pretty simple, even if the price tag appears eye-watering… there are a lot of rare and old things Andrew wants to try, and if he’s interested in them, there’s a good chance you might be interested too! For this round, our selection includes: the G&M Private Collection Glenburgie 1983, King of Scots 50 Year Blended Scotch Whisky, Mythical Beasts Bruichladdich 30 Year, Mythical Beasts Glenrothes 34 Year, Tamnavulin 1979, XOP Bunnahabhain 1988 35 Year (Year of the Dragon), and Whisky Sponge Mosstowie 1979. A respectable 268 years of whisky in 7 drams! Tuesday, March 5th @ 7 PM
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