Orkney 17 Year Old – 2000 | North Star

An exciting new release from North Star Spirits, distilled September 2000 at an undisclosed distillery on the Isle of Orkney, matured for 17 years and finished in a ex Pedro Ximénez sherry hogshead. Only 366 bottles of this single malt Scotch whisky were bottled September 2017 at 55.2% vol.

£70.00

KWM Whisky Advent 2017 Day 22 – Glenfiddich 18 Year

For the second time in the 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar we are featuring a distillery bottled Glenfiddich, and we are excited to do so, because revisiting the Glenfiddich 18 Year is a little like reconnecting with an old friend. While some things changes, others standfast and hold true. The family owned firm of William Grant & Sons, parent company of Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries is a good example of this, as their 6^th generation starts to get involved in the business.

In some ways it is remarkable that the firm is still family owned and going strong. In 1953 William Grant Gordon, the 3^rd generation of owners, passed away, bequeathing the firm to his sons. Charles and Sandy were young, 26 and 22 years of age at the time. Many a business might have suffered from such a loss, but William Grants was in safe hands. Charles continued to grow the Blended Scotch whisky side of the business and built the firms grain distillery, Girvan in 1963. A malt distillery was run at the facility from 1968 to 1965, called Ladyburn. In 2007 William Grants opened a new malt distillery on the site called Ailsa Bay.

The other son, Sandy, is the one credited with taking Glenfiddich single malt global. The firm heavily promoted their product in print and on television. They sold an impressive 4,000 cases in their first year, a figure that grew to 174,000 cases in just a decade. Glenfiddich has been the World’s bestselling single malt whisky, with the exception of 2014, when for a year Glenlivet took that honour. Demand for the distillery’s single malt is continuing to grow today. The distillery currently produces a little over $13 million litres of spirit a year, but this figure is set to sky rocket with a whole new production site set to open!

Glenfiddich 18 Year– 40% – Oloroso Sherry & Ex-Bourbon – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: creamy and tropical, treacle sauce and maple butter; melons, mango and papaya; chocolate shavings and cinnamon dusted on top of a foamy cappuccino. Palate: still creamy, tropical and fruity with maple syrup and more subtle treacle notes; more mango, papaya and flambéed banana; more dark chocolate shavings and cinnamon, soft leather and some salted caramel. Finish: long, coating and fruity. Comment: it is nice to revisit the old standbys and remind yourself how pleasant they can be.” – $153 for 750ml – or – $13for 50ml

How do you make the world’s peatiest whisky?

I recently spent some time with Bruichladdich’s production director Allan Logan, learning about how they make the fabled Octomore – including Octomore 8.3, the world’s peatiest whisky. Allan, part of the two-man team that took over the distillery when Jim McEwan retired, is exceptionally passionate about provenance and peating, as well as and making great whisky. Here’s what I learned from him about making a peat monster… don’t try this at home?

Distillery Manager Allan Logan and Head Distiller Adam Hannett

How are peat levels measured?

As humans, we’re pretty sensitive to peat and can detect its smoky, meaty, delicious presence at very low levels. But what we’re sensing isn’t actually peat – it’s the chemical compounds called phenols which are released when peat is burned. There are lots of different phenols, furthermore, each one creating slightly different flavours: everything from smoky, meaty guaiacol, to musty and medicinal o-cresol (if this were the beauty industry they’d all have funky names like superphenol or baconol+, but sadly we’re stuck with what we’ve got).

Phenol levels are measured in PPM – Phenolic Parts per Million. Somewhat confusingly, though, that number is measured from the malted barley (the stuff dried by the burning peat) and not the final spirit. So you’re not drinking 309ppm when you drink Octomore 8.3,  but the barley the whisky was originally made with was peated to that level (don’t get me wrong though, it still tastes super peaty).

Why don’t they measure the PPM in the whisky? Allan explains: ‘it’s an industry standard to talk about phenol on the malt, not the spirit, because the latter changes and there are so many variables.’ Adding that even the barley measurements can be misleading, due to the fact that there are about six different methods of doing it, Allan also says that Bruichladdich has debated publishing the PPM of the whisky instead of, or perhaps alongside, the barley figure – something to look out for in future?

Which type of peat?

It’s no longer a case of burning whatever peat happens to be near the distillery because it’s a cheap and convenient source of fuel. Nowadays distillers can pick and choose their peat depending on the desired effect, because different types of peat – whether that be cuts from higher or lower in the peat layer, or from varying parts of the country – have different effects on the barley. If you’d like to read more about this, I recommend this great article on peat terroir by Dave Broom in online whisky magazine scotchwhisky.com

Ironically, Bruichladdich, which has a strong focus on provenance, has struggled to use local peat: ‘We’ve done some experiments with local peat on Islay,’ says Allan. ‘Wwe couldn’t get the PPM above 44. We did it in exactly the same way as we use the peat from Aberdeen and we just couldn’t get the same result.’

How do you peat barley?

Once you’ve got your hands on some really peaty peat, you then have to get its phenols into your barley – which in the case of Octomore 8.3 comes from Islay’s Octomore farm, where it’s grown by James Brown, known to Bruichladdich as ‘the godfather of soil’.

Most distilleries and maltings – places that produce barley for whisky-making – use a traditional method: they burn the peat for around 25 hours then dry the barley with fan-driven hot air.

Bruichladdich, however, has worked closely with its maltings Bairds to evolve the process and make much peatier barley than can normally be produced. As Allan explains: ‘The secret of Octomore is that we’re basically cold-smoking it for five days. The trick is to get smoke not heat, if you heat the barley and dry the barley it eventually will not absorb any more phenolic content.’ They have developed two key techniques to achieve their aims: recycling the smoke so it passes more than once through the grain, and misting the grain with water so that more smoke can stick to it – but not enough so that it starts growing.

Despite this diligence and innovation, there is actually no way to know what the PPM value of the barley will be until the process is finished. ‘The PPM will change based on the time of year, the moisture of the peat, even how agile the guy stoking the fire is!’ says Allan.

How do you distil peaty whisky?

Having painstakingly put all the peat into the barley, the distiller now spends the rest of the process shaking it out. ‘You lose phenols during mashing, fermenting and distillation’ explains Allan. ‘Depending on how you distil you can lose anything between 60-80% of the original PPM, so when you’ve made your spirit you could find you’re anything like 80% less than you started with.’ Taking the back-of-a-napkin approach, this means that Octomore 8.3 could, in reality be as low as 61.8ppm – low being a relative term…

Bruichladdich isn’t, however, focused on making the peatiest-tasting whisky in the world. Allan and the team actually discard quite a large number of the chunkier phenols when they distil, by letting a larger-than-usual proportion of the spirit run into the ‘heads’ (the first, highest-alcohol portion of liquid which comes off the still, which is always redistilled). By sacrificing these phenols, Allan explains, they create a more balanced whisky that has more to offer than heavily robust smoke. ‘It’s more elegant, and we get the flavours of the distillery, the fermentation, the malted barley as well.’

How does peaty whisky age?

The Bruichladdich team chooses not to add water to Octomore before it’s barrelled, as Allan explains: ‘We want the whisky not to take on too much influence from the barrel in the early years; we want it to have the DNA of the spirit.’ In addition, Octomore is also always bottled at cask strength, because the oils are held together at higher strength and preserve the whisky’s flavours and nuances. As any Octomore drinker will tell you, as soon as you add water the phenols open up and it becomes much smokier – but the flavours also quickly disappear.

How peaty can whisky go?

In a few short years Octomore’s whiskies have risen from the initial 80ppm to 309ppm. But is there an upper limit? There’s certainly no concrete number, but there are many barriers to further progress, including physical limits to how much barley can absorb.

For Bruichladdich, in any case, it is clear that its focus is on producing fine and enjoyable whiskies, rather than merely chasing numbers.

Ralfy offers a swatch of the label with Ralfy Review 706 – Balvenie 17yo Doublewood @ 43%vol

KWM Whisky Advent Day 20 – Glengoyne 15 Year

Glengoyne was officially founded in 1833, as Burntfoot Distillery by the Edmondson family, who were the areas major landowner. There was distilling taking place on the site for decades before the 1830s. The distillery sits on the edge of the Highlands, its warehouses technically in the Lowlands. A great hill rises behind the distillery, shorn of trees by Scotlands tempestuous climate. It would have provided an excellent vantage point from which to spot the taxman approaching.

The distillery was acquired by the McLelland family in the 1850s and passed on to the Lang brothers of Glasgow in 1876. The changed the distillery’s name to Glen Guin, which was anglicised to Glengoyne in 1905. The distillery was acquired by Robertson & Baxter in 1965. This firm would later become part of the Edrington Group (A Trust) who own Macallan, Highland Park, Glenrothes and Glenturret). It was an important component in their blends.

The distillery’s single malts slowly started to gain a following in the mid-2000s, after it was acquired by Ian Macloed Distillers in 2003. Ian Macleod had and eye to increasing Glengoyne’s exposure as a single malt. The Glengoyne 15 Year, the whisky we are sampling tonight, was introduced in 2012 and has been a staple in our shop ever since. Glengoyne, like Macallan, Glenfarclas and Glendronach, is a whisky predominantly matured in European oak Ex-Sherry.

The distillery’s production, a little over 1 million litres, is small. It’s focus is on quality over quantity, and it is not afraid to take its time. It has very long fermentations and distillations in comparison with other distilleries. The consistency of its spirit profile the most important consideration.

Glengoyne 15 Year – 43% – Cask Specifications: 30% 1st Fill American Oak Bourbon. 20% 1st Fill European Oak Sherry, 50% Hand-selected quality Oak Refill casks. – My Tasting Note: “Nose: English marmalade on burnt toast, firm leather and milk chocolate; creamy and fruity; citrus fruits and new rubber boots in the rain. Palate: big, rich and smooth; loads of caramel, toffee and milk chocolate; Toffifee; more marmalade on burnt toast before heading out in the drizzle in a new pair of rubber boots; the silky fruits follow with tropical tones and dried apricot. Finish: medium, it tapers off but gently lingers. Comment: very easy drinking, complex but not a thinker; the kind of dram you want after a long and exhausting day!” – $90 for 750ml – or – $11 for 50ml!

Raise a dram of Benromach this Christmas 

A bottle of Benromach Speyside single malt scotch whisky is the perfect Christmas gift for friends and family. Benromach has a range of expressions that will suit all tastes, from sweet and fruity to heavily peated. It’s available across price points to suit every budget and has been handcrafted and lovingly matured by the watchful team of four distillers in Speyside. 

For the old school whisky fan 

Matured in a mixture of first fill bourbon barrels and first fill sherry casks, Benromach 10 Years Old is an impeccable dram. It exemplifies the classic pre-1960s Speyside single malt character, with notes of rich sherry, delicate spice, green apples and a touch of light peat smoke. It is the perfect malt for those who enjoy the sweet notes of a traditional Speyside whisky. RRP £34.99.

For the whisky connoisseur

A full bodied and complex dram, Benromach 100° Proof will be a welcome Christmas stocking surprise for whisky lovers across the globe. Intense sherry notes lead on the nose, followed by stewed apple, pear and vanilla aromas that give way to delicious toasted malt with an underlying menthol edge. Flavours of cracked black pepper and juicy fresh strawberries and raspberries lead on the palate, before creamy notes of milk chocolate emerge. With a long, rich finish of lingering, subtle smokiness and bonfire embers, it is a sumptuous, festive dram. RRP £49.49.

For spice lovers 

With a distinctive golden amber colour thanks to long maturation in sherry and bourbon casks, Benromach 15 Years Old is a stunning dram. Beautifully balanced sherry aromas lead on the nose followed by vanilla and spicy ginger, complemented by delicate chamomile and menthol notes. This is followed by flavours of stewed plum, red apple and the sharp edge of kiwi fruit on the tongue. RRP £51.75.

For the sweet toothed whisky lover

The world’s first wholly certified organic single malt whisky, Benromach Organic is a beautifully balanced malt matured in virgin American oak casks. A delightfully sweet and malty dram with vanilla, toffee and banana influences on the nose. Savour the taste of creamy pepper and sweet fruit flavours followed by a dark chocolate edge with a smooth long finish. Organic from start to finish, this rich, fruity and spicy whisky is the finest choice for a luxury after dinner dram in front of the fire. RRP £37.75.

For the fan of seriously smoky whiskies

The seriously smoky taste of Benromach Peat Smoke is a unique gift for fans of peated whisky. Sweet vanilla, honey and cured meat aromas combine with hints of apricot and lemon and a subtle tobacco note, followed by the rich flavours of cracked pepper, sweet strawberry and orange, hints of aniseed and the lingering edge of bonfire embers. A wonderfully fruity and smoky single malt whisky, perfect on a cold Christmas evening. RRP £37.99.

For further information on Benromach, and to explore the wide range of expressions available alongside stockist information, please visit www.benromach.com.

Introducing…The Cask Club

Just in time for the holidays, we’ve launched the perfect gift for your favorite whisky lover, the Virginia Distillery Company Cask Club.  Purchase a share of a cask and enjoy the journey as the whisky ages.

CLUB MEMBERS RECEIVE:

A 10th of a cask, which guarantees 24 (750ML) bottles of American Single Malt aged in ex-Bourbon casks, aged 4 years

A complimentary tour and tasting for two people

Your name on the “Cask Club” wall at Virginia Distillery Company

Bottled whisky will have an extra label with your name on it

Price: $995 + $49.45 tax    (Retail Value: $1,735)

JOIN THE CLUB

The order is sold through Schneider’s of Capitol Hill and a representative from Schneider’s will be in touch within 2-4 business days to fully confirm the order. The whisky will be available for pick-up or shipping through Schneider’s in DC after bottling.

Please contact casksociety@vadistillery.com for more information

The Malt Messenger 2017 Christmas Gift Guide

There are just 6 shopping days left until Christmas, and that means it is time for the Malt Messenger Christmas Gift Guide… If you need help finding the perfect whisky for entertaining or as a gift, we’ve got you covered. We have a great selection of gift packs, and tons of miniature whiskies. We have also provided or top 5 suggestions by price. Everything from under $75 to the Sky’s the Limit!

Wherever you are reading this. On behalf of myself, and my wonderful team here at Kensington Wine Market, I hope you have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and a Safe & Prosperous New Year!

Sláinte!

Andrew Ferguson

Kensington Wine Market

Special Offers

1. Mackinlays The Journey: The Shackleton Whisky Volume 2 – We were offered a special price to clear out the last of the Mackinlays the Journey, and we are passing it on to our customers. The whisky is a replica of that which Sir Ernest Shackleton took with him to Antarctica during his 1907 expedition. It is creamy, fruity and subtly smoky. Of the 168 bottles we bought, fewer than 40 are left at the time of writing! – Was $205 – Now $150, while stocks last!
2. Berry’s 25 Year KWM Single Barrel Blend – Our first exclusive cask of Blended Scotch Whisky, bottled for our 25th Anniversary. Andrew sampled 6 different single casks of 25 year old Blended Scotch Whisky in May of 2016. The whiskies had been blended, put back into barrels to marry, and then forgotten. Andrew selected cask number 46572 to be bottled exclusively for KWM, as a 25th Anniversary bottling. The whisky was acquired by Berry Bros. & Rudd in barrel, and is a mystery. Bottled at 46%. Just 222 bottles. – $200 – SAVE 25% Through Christmas!

Gift Packs

1. Tomatin Gift Pack – 3x50ml – 12, 15 & 18 Years – $29
2. Teeling Gift Pack – 3x50ml – Single Grain, Small Batch & Single Malt – $35
3. Wee Whisky Gift Box Small – 4x50ml + Glass – A secret selection of 4 whiskies and a glencairn glass! – $45
4. Glenmorangie Gift Pack – 4x50ml – Original, Lasanta, Quinta Ruban & Nectar D’Or – $55
5. Kilchoman Twin Gift Pack – 2x200ml – Kilchoman Sanaig & Machir Bay – $75
6. Bruichladdich Wee Laddie Pack – 3x200ml
7. Wee Whisky Gift Box Large – 8x50ml + Glass – A secret selection of 8 whiskies and a glencairn glass! – $90
8. Scotch Malt Whisky Society Membership Kit – Membership to the World’s largest whisky club comes with a notebook, pin, 3x100ml single cask, cask strength, single malt whiskies and so much more. www.smws.ca . – $230

Under $75

1. Dillon’s Rye Whisky – Fantastic price, better packaging, a great product at the price, and a distillery to keep an eye on! – $36
2. New York Distilling Ragtime Rye – A pre-Prohibition style American rye, made with New York grain, and an homage to the era’s whiskey cocktail culture. – $66
3. Deanston 12 Year – This was a hit in the early days of the 2017 KWM Whisky Advent Calendar, and is a bargain for the price. – $70
4. Nikka From the Barrel – Still one of the best value whiskies on the market, a high proof and very complex Japanese blend. – $62
5. Compass Box Great King Street Glasgow – A more sherried and slightly peatier offering than the regular GKS, a bit grittier like Glasgow itself! – $59

Under $100

1. The Ileach Cask Strength – Still one of our best value single malts, this mystery malt (Lagavulin) is both sherried and cask strength. You can’t beat the price. – $80
2. Ardbeg Warehouse Pack – The closest any of us will ever get to owning a warehouse full of whisky. Comes with an Ardbeg 10 Year. – $83
3. Elements of Islay Ci8 – We love the branding of the Elements of Islay whiskies, and the whiskies even more. This is a small batch cask strength Caol Ila, and it is delish! – $87
4. Shelter Point Montfort Lot 141 Single Grain – The closest analogy is probably Irish single pot still whisky, rather than Scottish grain. Regardless this is delicious, and you need one! – $88
5. Wyoming Wild Rose Country Single Barrel Bourbon – Easily my favourite Bourbon in the store, they hit it out of the park with this single barrel. Decadent & spicy, more coming on Wednesday!!! – $92

Under $150

1. Blanton’s Gold Bourbon – Is Blanton’s the next Pappy? Allocations are getting tighter and tighter, but we’ve secured enough to get us through the Holidays. This is one of the finest whiskies made by Buffalo Trace! – $102
2. Dailuaine 2004 KWM Cask – Our final single cask of 2017 is our first from the Dailuaine Distillery. Very floral with loads of white fruits, vanilla and floral tones. – $120
3. Arran 1996 KWM Cask 964 – One of two 20 year old Sherry Hogshead matured Arrans we bottled this fall. This is the less sherried of the two, and somewhat counterintuitively it is also my favourite. – $150
4. Arran 1996 KWM Cask 1649 – This is the more sherried of the two casks, and the one that looks likely to sell out first. Only 40 bottles left. – $150
5. Tomatin 1996 KWM Cask – Our first ever single cask from Tomatin is flying off the shelves. Finished for 5 years in a PX Sherry Puncheon it is so jammy you’ll want to spread it on toast! – $150

Under $200

1. Compass Box Kensington Wine Market 25th Anniversary Blend – There is no other whisky in the store I am more proud of than our Compass Box blend. Getting to work with John Glaser on it was the experience of a lifetime. It is beautiful whisky, and has sold for over 3 times our retail price at auction in the UK! – $160
2. Craigellachie 17 Year – Like the rest of the distillery range this is a phenomenol whisky. If you haven’t tried it, you must! – $173
3. Elements of Islay Oc4 – This whisky has one of my sommeliers spinning around in circles saying things like: tight, insane and sicko… these are all compliments. – $190
4. Old Malt Cask Bowmore 21 Year KWM Cask – This is the Bowmore you are looking for, and it only took us 10 years of searching to find it. Sadly there are just a little over 60 bottles left! – $200
5. Kilchoman 2007 KWM Cask 10 Year – Our first ever 10 year old Kilchoman single cask, is the oldest Kilchoman ever to be sold in Canada. It does not disappoint. – $200

Under $250

1. Cadenhead Glen Moray 1992 KWM 25th Anniversary – If you are in search of a light, complex and satisfying malt, you would be hard pressed to do better than this. It is also superb value for a 25 year old! – $205
2. anCnoc 24 Year – Another excellent value old single malt, the anCnoc 24 Year is bottled at 46% after maturing in sherry and bourbon casks. – $210
3. Kavalan Solist Peaty Cask – Matured in casks which had previously matured a peated Islay single malt, the Kavalan Solist Peaty is a cask strength, single cask whisky, and my favourite recent release from the distillery. – $215
4. Redbreast 21 Year – Hands down my favourite Irish whiskey. This single pot still Irish whiskey is very well priced for its age, there is a severe shortage of older whiskies. – $220
5. Compass Box The Double Single 2017 – Those who say simplicity is the ultimate sophistication would find comfort in this elegant Compass Box Blend. One single malt and one grain, doesn’t get any simpler than that! – $250

Under $300

1. Adelphi Bowmore 1997 – A big sherried Bowmore, single cask and cask strength. Only 18 bottles came in to the shop! – $280
2. Glenfarclas 25 Year KWM Cask Strength – At just $20 more than the regular Glenfarclas 25 Year, this is phenomenal value. Rich, layered and elegant. – $285
3. Kavalan Solist Vinho Celebrating Canada Cask – A more delicate and nuanced twist on the Vinho that was named World Whisky of the Year. We think it is even better, and it is exclusive to Canada! – $285
4. Ledaig 19 Year Marsala Finish – Only 24 bottles of this whisky found their way exclusively to KWM. Ashy, fruity and honeyed with earthy spices. – $285
5. Amrut Greedy Angels 8 Year – This heavenly malt is one of the oldest Amruts ever bottled. It is sublime. – $300

Under $500

1. Archives Bladnoch 1990 – The label, from the “Fishes of Samoa” line is unique, and the whisky more so. Light, tropical and smooth. – $340
2. Cadenhead Creations 1980 Rich Fruity Sherry – Don’t think Blended Scotch has anything to offer to single malt aficionados? This creative blend will set you straight. – $350
3. Springbank 21 Year 2015 – The best 21 year old we’ve seen from Springbank in years, getting close to as good as the legendary 21 year olds releases in the early 2000s. – $385
4. Cadenhead Small Batch Mortlach 1987 – Just over 1/3 the price of the distillery bottled 25 year old, but cask strength, 30 years old, and a much better whisky! – $425 – Only 2 left! 
5. Berry’s 40 Year KWM 25th Anniversary Blend – Quite simply put this a bargain for a 40 year old whisky that tastes like the middle aged love child of Macallan & Highland Park that it is. Malt heavy, we’re not sure if there is any grain in this at all – $430

Under $800

1. Glendronach Batch 15 1990 – You could have 3 of these for the price of a Macallan 25 Year, and this is bottled at cask strength. Only a handful left. – $590 – Only 1 left! 
2. Laphroaig 25 Year 2016 – The best of the vintage 25 year old we’ve seen from the distillery in 3 or 4 years. Update packaging too. – $670
3. G&M Rare Old Littlemill 1991 – Are Littlemill bottlings the next Brora or Port Ellen? If so this is the best priced Littlemill there is. – $700 – Only 2 left! 
4. Kavalan Solist Moscatel – Part of Kavalans premium lineup, this single cask, cask strength Taiwanese whisky was matured in Ex-Moscatel sherry casks. – $580
5. Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1990 – The replacement for the Quarter Century is still 25 years old, but will now be sourced from a single vintage. The first is 1990 and it is lovely. Very fruity, layered, elegant and smooth. – $785

Under $1200

1. Ardbeg Twentysomething 23 Year – The oldest Ardbeg to come to Canada since the legendary Ardbeg Double Barrel. This whisky is exclusively available to Ardbeg Committee members! – $875
2. Highland Park 30 Year – One of my favourite whiskies for over a decade now, we haven’t seen this in a long time. – $960
3. Cadenhead Small Batch Convalmore 1977 40 Year – Releases as a part of Cadenhead’s 175^th Anniversary Small Batch release. Only 18 bottles have come to Canada. – $1000 – Just 1 left!
4. BenRiach Batch 13 1977 Cask 3111 – Bottled at an extremely low cask strength of 43.1% after finishing in a Tawny Port Hogshead. – $1050
5. Glenfarclas 1981 Family Collection – The oldest ever Port Matured Glenfarclas was bottled in honour of the late George S Grant. – $1100 – Only 1 left! 

Sky’s The Limit

1. Laphroaig 27 Year – At least partly matured in Quarter casks, this 27 year old Laphroaig has an extremely low cask strength due to the barrel mix. – $1430
2. Laphroaig 30 Year – This is a stunning malt bottled last year, a step up on the 32 year old released the year before. – $1450
3. Macllan 25 Year – We only see these a few times a year! – $1600
4. G&M Rare Old Port Ellen 1980 – This is the best priced Port Ellen we have seen in year, and it is excellent. – $1900 – Only 1 left! 
5. Ardbeg 1815– Less than a handful of bottles of one of the rarest Ardbegs ever bottled are coming to Canada. Bottled to celebrate Ardbeg’s 200^th Anniversary. – $8000

2018 MS Calgary Whisky Festival Update 

Tickets more than half sold out!

Calgary’s biggest and best whisky festival is just a little over 5 weeks away, and we have an exciting lineup this year. The event will take place again at Arts Commons, in the Foyer of the Jack Singer Concert Hall on Thursday February 18 2017. We are expecting a sell out crowd of 550 participants, with a range of 250+ whiskies for sampling. There are also Master Classes and a VIP Hour available for a little extra. Last year’s event was a massive success, raising over $50,000.00 for the MS Society.

There are three classes of tickets available.

1. VIP Early Entry – Includes the VIP Hour and Cut Crystal Glencairn Tasting Glass – $175 – Only 51 Left
2. VIP Early Entry with VIP Master Class – Includes the VIP Hour, Cut Crystal Glencairn Tasting Glass & a VIP Master Old Pulteney Master Class (5:00) Including the 35 Year and soon to be Launched 25 Year & 1983 Vintage – $200 – Only 17 Left
3. General Admission – 6:30 Includes a standard Glencarin Tasting Glass – $125

There are also two Master Classes:

Tickets are available exclusively through the MS Society www.calgarywhiskyfestival.ca for more information or click here if you would like to jump straight to purchasing tickets!

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

403-283-8000

KWM Whisky Advent 2017 Day 20 – G&M Auchroisk 2005

We have our second Connoisseurs Choice whisky of KWM Whisky Advent 2017 tonight, for Day 20 we are featuring the Gordon Macphail Auchroisk 2005. We’ll get into the whisky, but first a little about Gordon Macphail. The firm opened its doors for the first time on the 24th May 1895 as reported in the Elgin Courant: “in New, Centrical, and Commodious Premises, No’s 38 and 40 South Street… a Family Grocers, Tea, Wine & Spirit Merchants”. The firm was founded by James Gordon and John Alexander MacPhail, and one of their first employees was a 15 year old John Urquhart. One of his jobs was to help select and purchase casks of malt whisky for the shop. John also helped create house blends for the firm’s many customers in the north of Scotland.

When Mr. MacPhail retired in March of 1915 John Urquhart was made a partner. Two weeks later he became the senior partner when James Gordon suddenly passed away. The business has been in the Urquhart family ever since, currently in its 4th generation. John continued to grow the whisky brokering side of the business begun by James Gordon and began filling his own casks of whisky from distilleries across Scotland. This is a practice the firm continues to this day, setting them apart from other independent bottlers. Most of the casks were Ex-Sherry casks acquired by the firm through their wine business. John Urquhart also began the practice of laying down stocks of whisky for extended periods of time, an uncommon practice.

John’s three children joined him in his business beginning in the 1930s with George and Betty in 1933 and Gordon in 1950. By the 1950′s Gordon & MacPhail had the largest range of bottled whisky held by any firm in the world. Few distilleries bottled their own whiskies as single malts in that day. In the 1960s distilleries like Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan, Glenmorangie and Bowmore began bottling their own single malts and promoting them globally. During the same period George Urquhart released a new line of single malts under the Connoisseurs Choice range which caught on very quickly in markets across Western Europe and the US.

About the Connoisseurs Choice line (Courtesy Gordon Macphail): “In the 1960s George Urquhart, one of the first of four generations of the Urquhart family to shape the future of Gordon & MacPhail, pioneered a range of single malt Scotch whiskies, which he selected, matured, and bottled. In doing so, he effectively invented a category in a market previously focused entirely on blended whiskies. The ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ range broke innovative new ground, giving a platform to many of Scotland’s single malt distilleries from across all regions, some of which had never before been bottled as a single malt. Over the past five decades, we have maintained our belief that every distillery has a personality of its own. The collection of whiskies in the ‘Connoisseurs Choice’ range is constantly evolving, aiming always to highlight the unique characteristics of the individual distilleries.”

Auchroisk distillery was built in 1974 by J&B (Justerini & Brooks), located in the heart of the Speyside, in the hills between Rothes & Keith. Auchroisk is a whisky almost never seen, save from independent bottlers like Gordon & MacPhail. Its pronunciation, “oth-rusk”, is also a bit challenging for many. The distillery is owned today by Diageo and is primarily produced for blends.

Gordon Macphail Connoisseurs Choice Auchroisk 2005 – 46% – Refill American Oak Hogsheads – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: very honeyed, vanilla cream liqueur, sandalwood, woodshop dust and a bag full of assorted Jelly Bellys; fresh cut wet grass and chocolate Jell-O pudding cups. Palate: round, creamy, malty and toasty; loads of wood: freshly sanded maple, singed oak and sandalwood incense; still honeyed, fruit candies and Jell-O pudding. Finish: light, fresh, floral and malty. Comment: Auchroisk does well in Ex-Bourbon, more so than Sherry IMHO; sadly this is not a whisky we will have for sale in minis or full size bottles; it is a WAC exclusive!” – $N/A

Hidden in the dense melting pot of Speyside, there lies several hidden and unknown gems, this little bottle is one of them. Glen Elgin, a distillery that is not only underrated but also misunderstood. Diageo own a whole host of distilleries and this guy, a long with Clynelish, Dailuaine and North British go under he radar to nearly all whisky drinkers. This is an easy contender for the big sherry crown that is normally held by Glenfarclas, Macallan and Dalmore, but much more affordable although not easily available. As you may be able to tell, i’m quite a fan of this distillery and hopefully, if you get your hands on it, you will be as well! Cheers!

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