ralfy review 976 – Kilkerran 16yo @46%vol:

RYE RE-IMAGINED: INNOVATION EXCELLENCE OPENS NEW CHAPTER IN SCOTCH WHISKY HISTORY 

InchDairnie Distillery releases its first ever product, a Scottish rye whisky 

The ingenious, highly engineered InchDairnie Distillery located at the heart of the Kingdom of Fife has released its much anticipated first whisky.  Named RyeLaw, the distillery has used its sophisticated technology to extract maximum flavour from Scottish-grown rye and barley.  The elegantly designed bottles of this 2017 vintage are available from today, RRP £110 (70cl/46.3% ABV), at select retailers including Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Fortnum & Mason.

The result of years of meticulous planning by distillery founder Ian Palmer is set to delight discerning drinkers the world over as they savour this new, luxury whisky.  A single-minded approach to using innovative materials, methods and maturation practices has resulted in a spicy rye flavour that is unlike any other Scotch whisky.  These include:

• 53% malted rye and 47% malted barley ground extra finely for maximum flavour extraction
• Cereals mashed using a Meura mash filter, one of only two used in Scotland
• Fermented using a rye-specific yeast, which results in lower yields, but higher flavour
• Double distilled in pot stills – not continuous distillation – the first with rare, double condensers and the second a bespoke Lomond Hill still, designed by Ian Palmer alongside stillmaker, Frilli (it is the only precision distilled rye Scotch whisky made in this way)
• Matured in charred new oak casks, created from trees that can be traced back to forests in the Ozark Mountains, USA

Commenting on the release of Ryelaw, industry veteran of 45+ years and InchDairnie Distillery Managing Director Ian Palmer, said: “We’ve been preparing for this day for well over a decade, and it is only now that we feel the quality of RyeLaw meets our exacting standards that we are putting it into bottles.  And what a whisky it is…  While we are rooted in Scotch whisky tradition, we have explored what is possible when agriculture meets industry and innovative technologies combine with methodology, to create a superb rye whisky that is sure to excite palates.”

“The rye spiciness with vanilla, sweet biscuit cereal and dried fruit notes seem much more defined than rye whiskeys from America we’ve compared it to.  There’s a richer, more luxurious mouthfeel and great balance, which are certainly helped by the favourable maturation conditions we have in Fife compared to Kentucky.  The use of malted rye in the mash means we have a softer, more sippable style of rye whisky.  We look forward to hearing if our American cousins agree.”  Added Scott Sneddon, Distillery Manager.

Presented in an elegantly tall bottle, with a ripple effect on one side representing the Company’s “3Ms” philosophy – innovation in materials, methods, maturation – looks like drops of water landing simultaneously, each creating its own ripple effect.  The bottle’s neck is inspired by the special filter of the hammer mill.  With distillation of this inaugural RyeLaw release taking place in just a single week in the whole year, only 200 casks of the ‘year one vintage’ have been bottled and made available worldwide.  Subsequent vintages are already maturing in different types of cask to those from year one’s Ozark Mountains.  In a field of its own, RyeLaw is free from colourings and is non-chill filtered.

With its first distillation on Christmas Day in 2015, InchDairnie Distillery has been quietly building its stocks of whisky, producing different styles, driven by the seasons.  Knowledgeable whisky aficionados have been eagerly awaiting the first release of the distillery’s spirit since news of the engineer-driven, alternative approach being taken at the energy-efficient production facility started becoming public.

Official Tasting Notes:  

Colour: Golden

Aroma: Distinguished rye spiciness mingling with mellow oak above a soft layer of vanilla

Flavour: Cascading pepper from the rye caressingly wrapped in mouth-coating, oily viscosity and sweet biscuity, cereal and dried fruit notes

Twitter: @InchDairnieDist

Instagram: @inchdairniedistillery

Website: www.inchdairniedistillery.com

#RyeReImagined #RyeLaw #InchDairnieDistillery

Notes:

• Product available at Selfridges, The Whisky Shop, The Whisky Exchange, Luvian’s, Speciality Drinks, Harvey Nichols, Hedonism, Good Spirits Co, Fortnum & Masons amongst others.
• RyeLaw is produced by the InchDairnie Distillery Ltd, and the only product currently available from the Company
• The Company is led by Founder and Managing Director, Ian Palmer
• Distribution worldwide is conducted by MacDuff International Ltd and their network of affiliate partners in each market.

Ready, Set, Save…

Can you believe it? Kensington Wine Market will be 31 years old on Monday… Curiously that fact isn’t as hard to wrap my head around as the end of our 30th Anniversary year is… but I digress.

As we do every year, we are celebrating another trip around the sun with our annual Birthday Sale. The sale starts at 10 AM today (Friday, May 12) in-store, and is already live online.

There are nearly 4000 products on sale, discounted 10-50%.

There are almost 400 whiskies discounted 15-40%.

This is our last store-wide sale until August, so it’s a good time to stock up.

Whether we see you in-store, online, or even if you resist temptation and sit this one out, thank you for 31 great years!

Happy Hunting!

Andrew Ferguson

Kensington Wine Market

The Deets!

The sale is online and in-store only. No phone orders, please. You can save: 10-50% on most in-stock Whisky.

To make your browsing a little easier, we have linked PDF files below highlighting Whiskies 15%-50% off.

BROWSE WHISKIES DISCOUNTED 15-50%

The CSPC in the left-hand column on both lists can be used in addition to the product name to search for and order products on our website.

Shop in-store or online at: 

www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/ 

In-store pickup will be available throughout the sale and we will also offer Free Delivery for orders over $100. Customers wanting to pay by cash or debit are encouraged to shop in-store.

The Sale Fine Print

• No additional discounts or promotions can be applied to the sale price.
• Prices do not include GST.
• In the event of a discrepancy in price, the point of sale at KWM will be taken as correct.
• Sale pricing will not be applied retroactively or carried forward past the end of our Fall Super Sale at midnight (11:59 PM), Monday, May 15, 2023..
• The sale is in-store and online only.
• Phone orders are ok, but will be written down, time-stamped and fulfilled in the same queue as our web orders.
• Email orders are also welcome, we will follow up with you as we are able!

If you order online, please wait for confirmation that your order is ready for pickup before heading down to the shop.

FREE DELIVERY

We are proud to offer Free City Wide Delivery on all orders over $100 Monday-Friday! Orders under $100 are subject to a flat rate $10 delivery fee.

403-283-8000

Store Hours

Mon – Wed 10AM – 8PM

Thurs & Fri 10AM – 9PM

Sat 10AM – 8 PM

Sun 11PM to 6PM

*All Prices Quoted here are subject to change and do not include GST. In the case of pricing discrepancies, the price at our point of sale will be taken as correct.*

Sow
Good.

Getting our first batch of (hand sorted) bere barley in the ground last spring was another milestone moment for us, although perhaps not quite as thrilling as harvesting the beautiful, ripe new grains later in the year.

In fact it was an exciting year for whisky all round, as we sold out our inaugural cask offer in under 90 seconds, allowing us to order the long dreamed of equipment we need to turn that bere in to our very first distillation.

Stay tuned for some extremely important whisky updates as this year progresses and we host our first open day as part of the Hebridean Whisky Festival in the summer, before our brand new equipment starts arriving to take its place at Nunton.

NUNTON WHISKY

Dalmore 10 Year Old “Hart Brothers Finest Collection” K&L Exclusive Cask Strength First Fill Sherry Butt Unchillfiltered Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) (Pre-Arrival) $69.99 View

Dalmore is one of those malts that will forever be controversial. They’ve made a name for themselves selling old sherry barrels at astronomical prices, but we rarely see the malt bottled as single barrel or at cask strength. When we do come across the odd independent bottling, it’s almost always in 2nd or 3rd fill barrels destined otherwise for some big-name blend and while those can be lovely whiskies, they simply don’t capture the essence of The Dalmore like you might expect. That is, of course, because the brand has become synonymous with sherry aging. Now, for the very first time, we can offer a proper single cask of Dalmore aged entirely in sherry! It’s bottled at full cask strength and is fully nonchillfiltered, nor is there added coloring. The resulting whisky is exactly what all the whisky geeks hoped for: AMAZING. When you’re tasting those distillery bottlings, loving the flavors, but ultimately crying out for more character, intensity, and power — this is the barrel for you. If you’re a classic Dalmore lover, you’ll probably want to take one home, even if it falls out of the distillery’s typical soft and round character. That said, with a nice splash of water this gorgeous thing relents easily, reminding us that the Dalmore is really a gentle dram, given the right environment. There’s no question that sherry lovers of all stripes will appreciate this excellent and well-priced cask.

Aberlour 11 Year Old “Hart Brothers Finest Collection” K&L Exclusive Cask Strength First Fill Sherry Butt Unchillfiltered Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) (Pre-Arrival) $89.99 View

A rare independently bottled Aberlour, made that much more unusual by its maturation in a first fill sherry butt. The Aberlour distillery sits on the edge of its namesake, a gorgeous little hamlet right at the center of the Speyside region. The distillery seems tiny from the outside, but the malt here packs a punch. Founded in 1879 by James Fleming, it’s become a pillar of the Chivas family in the last two decades since the French spirits giant Pernod Ricard purchased the distillery. Outfitted with 4 stills in the early 70s, it can produce nearly 4 million pure liters of alcohol per year running full out. Apparently, that’s simply not enough as the increased popularity of this special malt has seen stocks dwindle and prices soar. Their own heavily sherried cask strength offering, albeit higher proof and likely significantly younger, is selling for upwards of $110 in the market today. We felt pretty confident that this single cask sherry version for less than $100 represents an exceptional value. Hart Brothers has consistently afforded us access to exceptionally high quality and rare stocks at reasonable prices and this year’s batch is no exception. This Aberlour will likely be a favorite of the 2023 whisky season.

Caol Ila 10 Year Old “Hart Brothers” Single Hogshead Cask Strength Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml) $89.99 View

This perfect cask of Caol Ila from the excellent Glasgow blender and bottler Hart Brothers is the first Islay cask that they’ve yet to furnish K&L exclusively. Filled into a high-quality hogshead, this famously ocean-y peater is in full form here. Full bodied and intense, the weighty mouth feel is contrasted by the tangy seaside character. We rarely come across young Caol Ila that’s not excellent, but occasionally we are happy to encounter some that are truly superlative. This is obviously in the latter category.

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

NEW IN AT
THE WHISKY EXCHANGE

Our new arrivals include a duo of Fèis Ìle 2023 releases from Bunnahabhain, in celebration of Islay’s renowned whisky festival taking place this month. The first has been matured exclusively in rarely-used Canasta sherry casks, which held a combination of Palomino and Pedro Ximénez grapes, while the second is a 1998-vintage nutty single malt which has been finished in first-fill Manzanilla sherry casks for six years.

We’ve also welcomed limited-edition spirits to celebrate the upcoming coronation of King Charles III and The Queen Consort, from Wolfburn, The English and Pusser’s, along with the inaugural release from innovative Fife distillery Inchdairnie, a single grain whisky bursting with peppery rye spice.

  SHOP NEW ARRIVALS 

Welcome to this week’s episode of the show in which I’ll be taking a look at some releases from Henstone Distillery in Shropshire and the Pocketful of Stones Distillery in Cornwall.

https://youtu.be/gH3kpWRYB-4

Bunnahabhain Distillery unveils trio of new expressions to mark Fèis Ìle 2023

• Bunnahabhain Distillery is celebrating Fèis Ìle with three new limited release expressions: Canasta Cask Matured, 1998 Manzanilla Cask Finish and 17 Year Old Triple Cask Moine

• The distillery has also created a virtual reality experience, transporting whisky lovers to the Northernmost tip of Islay from the comfort of their own homes 

•    Bunnahabhain Day at Fèis Ìle will be celebrated across the world, through a series of online and in-person events at the distillery on 2nd June 2023

To mark Fèis Ìle 2023, Islay’s renowned whisky and music festival, Bunnahabhain Distillery has unveiled three new expressions: Canasta Cask Matured, 1998 Manzanilla Cask Finish and 17-year-old Triple Cask Moine.

Fèis Ìle is one of the biggest events in the Single Malt Whisky lovers’ calendar, with thousands of people travelling to Islay to visit the nine distilleries that each get their own dedicated ‘day’ – Bunnahabhain’s being on Friday 2^nd June.

For the first time ever, Islay’s most remote distillery is also launching a fully immersive virtual reality experience for those who can’t make it in person. This virtual reality experience allows users to fully immerse themselves in the world of Bunnahabhain, explore the distillery in 360 degrees, and enjoy tastings with the distillery team, including Master Distiller Brendan McCarron, from the comfort of their own homes.

Two of the new expressions, the Canasta Cask Matured and the 1998 Manzanilla Cask Finish, will be available globally with a special experimental peated expression, the 17-year-old Triple Cask Moine exclusively sold at the distillery and at bunnahabhain.com.

The Canasta Cask Matured is a distinctive expression, inspired by the success of the Bunnahabhain 1980 Canasta Cask Finish limited release. Canasta casks are rarely used in whisky making and were once home to a skilful blend of Palamino and Pedro Ximenez grapes before being used for whisky making. This spicy and sweet combination compliments the Bunnahabhain unpeated spirit exceptionally well, adding layers of complexity and richness. No added colour and non-chilled filtered, the expression has been created to enjoy as nature intended, with an ABV of 51.2%.

The 1998 Manzanilla Cask Finish is a celebration of the influences experienced at Bunnahabhain’s unique coastal home at the Northern most part of Islay. Manzanilla is famed for its coastal, nutty and salty characteristics, which pair beautifully with Bunnahabhain’s unpeated sherried spirit resulting in a warming and welcoming dram, bottled at cask strength with an ABV of 52.3%.

The 17-year-old Triple Cask Moine expression is exclusively available at the distillery. This experimental expression was inspired by Julieann Fernandez, Bunnahabhain’s Master Blender, and her love for rum and raisin ice-cream. A contrast to Bunnahabhain’s house style, the 17-year-old has an ABV of 52.6% and is a marriage of three skilfully blended peated single malts that offers notes of the finest artisan rum and raisin ice-cream, with a wonderfully smoky finish.

Brendan McCarron, Master Distiller at Bunnahabhain, said: “We’re so excited to welcome whisky fans from across the globe to celebrate the world of Bunnahabhain at Fèis Ìle once again. We look forward to the festival every year as it is a great way to spend time with whisky lovers, bring them into our world and share some fantastic drams in such a beautiful setting.

“Our Canasta and Manzanilla expressions showcase the very best of our distillery home and our signature unpeated, sherried house style. Fèis Ìle also gives us a fantastic opportunity to experiment with the limited peated spirit we have, and our 17-year-old triple cask is a uniquely wonderful and smoky expression to add to the celebration. We’re very much looking forward to raising a dram with fellow whisky lovers later this year.”

To join the virtual Bunnahabhain experience, tasting kits and access to the virtual guide are available from www.bunnahabhain.com.

Notes 

About Bunnahabhain:

Established in 1881 and situated on Islay’s most northerly point, Bunnahabhain is the island’s most remote distillery, overlooking a notorious passage of ocean known by seafarers as the sound of Islay. It has long established links to the sea, previously only accessible by boat – with ships loaded up daily before transporting their important whisky cargo back to the mainland for sale.

The word ‘Bunnahabhain’ is Gaelic for ‘mouth of the river’ referring to the Margadale River, its source of pure spring water which is distilled in the island’s tallest stills, creating the renowned malts. It’s the use of pure spring water that is piped to the distillery which gives it its unique light colouring setting it apart from other darker liquids on the Islay landscape. The distillery goes against the grain – quite literally – with a portfolio made up of broadly non-peated expressions, however, its peated Toiteach A Dhà expression recently won in the Scotch Islay: No Age Statement category at this year’s World Whiskies Awards. Bunnahabhain took home a further four titles in the 2020 awards ranging from silver to gold certificates – showcasing the calibre of its range

Tasting notes:

Bunnahabhain Canasta

Colour: Polished Mahogany

Nose: Classic sherried nose, sweet and caramelised fruits, honey roasted nuts, waves of cinnamon and clove with a hint of rancio.

Palate: Maple syrup leads with creamy vanilla, dried figs, poached pears and a sprinkle of cocoa. A gentle twist of orange appears in the background.

Finish: Long and sweet with notes of brown sugar, red apples and vanilla custard.

Bunnahabhain 1998 Manzanilla Cask Finish

Colour: Chestnut

Nose: Notes of freshly baked pastry with sweet almonds, rose petals, grapefruit and dried spices are balanced with a touch of mahogany and incense.

Palate: Coastal influence of seaweed and fresh sea air are met with raisins and dates and intertwined with creamy fudge, waxed red apple and a warm sweet spice reminiscent of star anise

Finish: Spicy and aromatic, with caramelised walnuts; the star anise fades to reveal lemon peel and pears with a lingering note of sea salt.

Bunnahabhain 17 Year Old Triple Cask Moine

Colour: Golden

Nose: Perfumed smoke with violet flowers, barbequed pineapple, salted raisins and fresh vanilla pod

Palate: Rippling notes of smoke with double cream, raisins, crispy burnt sugar, ripe bananas and a twist of tropical fruits.

Finish: Rich finish with notes of smoky panna cotta.

Douglas Laing’s “Timorous Beastie” 24 Year Old Limited Sherried Edition Highland Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $300) $109.99 View

91 points Whisky Advocate

 Coconut macaroon, baked sweet pastries, peach purée, sanded oak, Starburst chews, pear, caramel shortbread, strands of orange zest, and crushed allspice and coriander seeds. Far from timorous, this grown-up Highlander has the heart of a lion, with flavors of cooked apple, dark molasses, vanilla pod, lots of oak tannin, pepper, and coriander seed, with a finish of dark sugars and peppery heat. Quite an animal. (JM, Spring-2019)  (3/2019)

K&L Notes

This unprecedented value will NOT be around forever. This is in every sense of the word an “ABSURD” deal. Even in the old days decades ago, finding a sherried unchillfiltered malt of this age and quality at this price would have been a serious score. Timorous Beastie is composed of exclusively Highland malts, the names often batted about for this brand are Glen Garioch, Glengoyne, Blair Atholl and Dalmore, but likely includes whiskies from many other great distillers in the region. They are particularly heavy on the sherry, but not married and finish, instead blended with ex-bourbon casks, for a sherry heavy character. It’s extremely well put together with a gorgeous complex nose and a subtle earthy character to remind us of what great old sherry is all about. You won’t find another store in California selling this for less than $300. Another in our series of “deflationary” buys. Together we can fight high whisky prices!

1982 Douglas Laing’s Big Peat 26 Year “Platinum Edition – The Vintage Series” Islay Blended Malt Scotch Whisky (750ml) (Elsewhere $300) $120.00 View

The Big Peat Vintage Series is an unusual vintage expression of blended malt whiskies from the famous Isle of Islay. Utilizing the deepest stocks of this famous bottler, they’ve put together an unbelievable blend of old peated whiskies. This is the second release in their Vintage Series, and represents an exceptional, value considering the cost of old Islay whiskies (even before we acquired the country’s remaining stock at an enormous price advantage). We were more than happy to sell this exceptional whisky when it was $250+, but for less than half the price, it’s simply irresponsible not to procure as much as you can fit in your whisky closet. Drawn entirely from the 1992 vintage and bottled at a hearty 103 proof, you’ll no doubt notice the complex character of Islay greats like Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore and more. The story goes that every working distillery at the time was included in this blend, but regardless of the components, this whisky simply over delivers in every regard. K&L is committed to offering deflation level deals on the finest whiskies. Together we can fight high whisky prices!

Email: wine@klwines.com
Phone: (877) KL-WINES (Toll Free 877.559.4637)
K&L Wine Merchants 3005 El Camino Real Redwood City, CA 94061 USA
San Francisco, Redwood City, Hollywood CA

The seventh release in The Macallan Archival Series, Folio 7, celebrates a beautiful and deliciously quirky advert. It cleverly features a group of scientists called ‘The Boffins’ in their baffling quest to determine the scientific rationale behind the magic that takes place inside The Macallan casks.

After much investigation, ‘The Boffins’ were left positively baffled by this task, and so, insisted on taking a barrel of whisky back to the laboratory, all in the name of ‘research’.

This fine release exudes complex flavours of raisins, milk chocolate and orange peel that give way to vanilla and baked fruits on the palate, leaving a long, creamy finish with warm spices. Folio 7 will be available to experience as a dram from The Macallan Estate Bar via reservation only from April 2023. There will be limited product availability worldwide.

EXPLORE

The Macallan Distillery Experience, The Macallan Distillers Ltd,  Easter Elchies,  Craigellachie, Moray, AB38 9RX, Scotland, +44 (0)1340 318 000