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2016 KWM Whisky Calendar Day 13 - Kilchoman 2011 KWM PX Cask 446

Posted on December 8, 2022

If you've made it this far whisky pilgrim, you are halfway to the finish line on our journey. Today's whisky is the second Kilchoman Kensington Wine Market exclusive single cask to be featured in one of our Whisky Advent Calendars. Last year Islay's Farm Distillery agreed to bottle both Loch Gorm and our Kilchoman 2010 KWM Cask 440 in 50ml bottles, just for the Advent Calendar. There are not many distilleries willing to sell single casks to retailers these days, and there are even fewer who would go one step further and agree to going to trouble of bottling 50mls of your exclusive cask for you. To say the least, we think pretty highly of the team at Kilchoman, and it is not just because we love the whisky.

[caption id="attachment_4683" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Kilchoman on my first visit in 2006."][/caption]

In September of 2006 I made my whisky pilgrimage to Scotland, including the fabled Isle of Islay and Kilchoman Distillery. I fell head over heels in love with Scotch whisky. Over the last decade I've had a front row seat for the industry's Golden Age, and it has been quite a journey. The industry's growth and evolution have been exciting to watch, and this is especially true of Kilchoman. When I first visited in 2006, the distillery had been in production for just over a year. Its first ever release of single malt whisky (a 3 year old) wouldn't be bottled for another three. A lot has changed since then.

[caption id="attachment_4684" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="The first barrel of Kilchoman ever filled, 1+ years old in 2006!"]

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The distillery is still small, but it is growing. In 2015 Kilchoman acquired Rockside Farm. In addition to being home to the distillery, the farm also grows barley for the distiller's 100% Islay range. 100% Islay is produced from Islay barley, malted on site at the distillery. From farm to bottle the whole process of producing 100% Islay takes place within a few kilometers of the distillery. This was founder Anthony Wills' vision, when he set out to build his own distillery on Islay in the early 2000s.

[caption id="attachment_4685" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Rockside Farm in 2006"][/caption]

Until it's release of Machir Bay in 2012, Kilchoman had no core expressions. Since then they have added Loch Gorm and Sanaig (Day 2) in addition to a number of limited releases and single casks. From 2009 trough 2012 the distillery released seasonal offerings, roughly once a quarter. The distillery's whiskies were young, but that never seemed to be a problem. Anthony Wills was given some very good advice when he founded the distillery. Starting a distillery from scratch requires an enormous capital in...

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Whisky Advent Day 12 - Glengoyne 18 Year

Posted on October 25, 2024

Another first for the Kensington Wine Market's 2016 Whisky Advent Calendar, a distillery bottling of whisky from Glengoyne. We were thrilled to put our hands on the Glengoyne 18 Year for the 2016 Calendar, the first time we have featured a whisky from this distillery in three editions. The Highland distillery located just north of Glasgow is a curiosity in that while the distillery and its water source are located in the Highlands, the warehouses just across the road are technically located in the Lowlands.

Glengoyne was officially built near the town of Dumgoyne in 1833, but distilling was taking place on the site and in the area well before the official founding date. In 1823 the Small Stills act came into force making it easier to get a license to legally distill. Distillers founded around and after this date were often caught distilling illegally, and compelled to take out a license. The town of Dumgoyne is located in an area of hills and forests known as the Trossachs. Illicit distillers, as many as 18 at time in the immediate area, would have used the vantage of the Dumgoyne hill to keep an eye out for the taxman and other authorities. The close proximity to Glasgow would have ensured a ready and thirsty market.

Sherry casks are an important part of Glengoyne's style, here is the distillery's take on their importance, in their own words: "Our sherry casks are rare and expensive. However, they werenâ€™t always so hard to source. In the 1870s the sherry business was booming in London, and we took the ready supply of empty casks for our spirit. The sherry-soaked wood transformed the maturation â€“ taking the flavour of Glengoyne to new heights, and the colour to rich new depths. Then the supply dwindled, and the price of each cask soared. We had a choice: switch to more plentiful alternatives, or stay true to the flavour of Glengoyne. We chose the flavour, and went to the source. We took direct charge of the entire six-year journey our sherry casks take from oak forest to Highland Distillery. Weâ€™re involved at every stage, from selection to drying and seasoning."

The Glengoyne range offers some excellent value. Their new Glengoyne 25 Year, released in Canada this year and bottled at 48%, is one of our favourite new whiskies of 2016. $410 may seem steep, but it is worth every penny, and better priced than many other more in demand malts. The Glengoyne 21 Year has long been a favourite of our customers at KWM. It has gone up in price over the last few years, but still offers good value at $210. Tonight's whisky, the Glengoyne 18 Year, 43%, was originally released in 2012 to replace the 17 Year. Glengoyne 18 is matured in Refill and First Fill Sherry casks.

Glengoyne 18 Year - 43% - Matured in Refill & First Fill Sherry - Andre...

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Whisky Advent Day 11 - Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey

Posted on October 25, 2024

This is our 2nd Irish Whiskey in the 2016 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Advent Calendar, but it is unique. It is the first ever single grain Scotch whisky in any of the three editions (2014, 2015 and 2016). Like single malt, the implication of the word single with reference to grain whisk(e)y, is that it is from a single distillery. Grain whisky is typically made from either corn or wheat in Column, Continuous or Coffey still. If single malts are the highlights of a Blended whiskey, grain whisky is the body. But that doesn't mean there isn't potential.

Grain whisky is generally cheaper to make and less characterful. It is less expensive to produce because the distillation can be done more quickly and in larger batches. It is less charaterful because they distill or refine the alcohol to a much higher level of alcohol, which leaves behind fewer impurities. It is these impurities which give different single malts their own house character. Grain whiskies are much less easily distinguished from one another. Most grain whisk(e)y is not very interesting, because it is put into poor quality wood. It is not there to add pleasant characteristics. That being said there are some fabulous grains out there, and some of the older Scottish single grains are starting to become very popular. This is in no small part because they offer the consumer much better value.

But what of this Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey? It is fully matured in California red wine barrels and bottled at 46%. The whiskey was awarded the "World's Best Grain" at the 2014 World Whiskies Awards. It is one of very few single grain Irish whiskies, and was distilled at the Cooley distillery, before the family sold it to Beam. See below.

[caption id="attachment_4642" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="http://www.irelandwhiskeytrail.com/?pg=cooley_distillery_tour_ireland.php"][/caption]

Dublinâ€™s last distillery closed its doors in 1976, part of an industry-wide consolidation which saw the Emerald Isle left with but two distilleries, Bushmills in Northern Ireland and the giant new Midleton Distillery in the Republic. Even to this day most Irish whiskies hail from the New Midleton Distillery in Cork. But this has begun to change, in recent years distilleries have been popping up all over Ireland. It all began with John Teeling in 1987 when he converted a closed government potato ethanol plant into a whisky distillery. The Cooley Distillery made quite a name for itself in the two and a half decades it operated independently, until selling to Beam Global (now Beam Suntory) in 2011 for USD $95 million. In addition to a huge pile of cash, John Teeling and his sons walked away from the sale with impressive stocks of matured whiskey, the are the basis of the Teeling Whiskey brand which includes award winning single malts, si...

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New beers - December 9, 2016

Posted on October 25, 2024

Howdy folks! I'm back for another week of new beers and dry humor! We're about a week deep into December now, and the weather has just taken a turn for the worse. I find myself taking solace by crawling into a 4-pack of Death by Coconut, and I'm sure you all have your own way of dealing with this. Even my northern blood isn't enough to shrug off this chill after well over a year of decent temperatures and the most mild winter I've seen in my 34 years.

Enough with my complaining though... I mean how can I really complain after such a great autumn? I want to get into the new beers and such because I also just spent the afternoon writing a new edition of "brews news" (which you can receive if you'd like by signing up for our newsletter on our web site!) and my brain is quickly becoming mush. I hope everyone is enjoying their advent calendars! there have been some really nice beers so far, and I just know that there are many more great ones to come. I went ahead and brought a few more calendars in because I know there are always a few who are interested enough that they don't mind playing "catch-up", so if you're one of those people, don't hesitate to contact us and grab one!

Okay, okay... enough of that. Here are the new products for this week.

Pinot Suave by Deschutes brewing: It's always exciting to get a wax sealed bottle of beer right? Deschutes has been experimenting with wine casks for a while now, and being in Oregon, there is a good reason for this! Pinot Suave is a Belgian ale with a light flavoured malt profile that is aged in barrels that held pinot noir grape must. It has lovely oak notes with plenty of grape and dried fruit flavours along with a hint of acidity and tannin. ($25.49 for a 650mL bottle)

Anne-Francoise by New Belgium and Orval: How many breweries do you know that get to do a collaboration with Belgium's Orval? This dark Belgian strong ale is brewed with toasted American oak, spruce tips and grains of paradise. All resulting in a medium bodied dark ale with plenty of dried cherry and raisin notes along with malty brown sugar, caramel and molasses. ($9.44 for a 330mL bottle)

Bier de Garde by Oasthouse: I like seeing more bier de gardes roll through the province! This one is an off dry, malty, Belgian-y (Belgianish?) brew with plenty of dried fruit and caramel. This would be a nice one to try beside our exclusive Dandy bier de garde! ($6.99 for a 750mL bottle)

Spiced rum porter by Innis & Gunn: Yet another rum barrel aged beer from I&G! this time a spiced rum, and a porter at that! Off dry and spicy with notes of clove and baking spice, on top of a brown sugary base. ($4.59 for a 330mL bottle)

Peculiar old fellows old ale by Blindman and Troubled monk: Hooray for local collaborations! This brew sold so fast the first time around, they ha...

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Whisky Advent Day 10 - Glenmorangie Original 10 Year

Posted on October 25, 2024

Glenmorangie is one of the World's best selling single malt brands. Although single malts have been bottled and sold internationally for over 100 years, it was not until the 1960s that the big whisky companies started aggressively promoting single malts. The first four distilleries to do so were: Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Macallan and Glenmorangie, in that order. Interestingly, 55 years on, those four distilleries are still the best selling single malt whiskies in the world, and are ranked in the same order for sales.

There are a few distinguishing characteristics which make Glenmorangie unique. First and foremost, its stills, which are the tallest and most slender in all of Scotland. "They are 8 metres high (26ft 1/4 inches) with their long copper necks standing at 5.14 metres (16ft 10 1/4 inches), the same height as a fully grown adult giraffe!" These stills ensure that only the lightest and most delicate vapours make it to the condenser, thus resulting in lighter more delicate spirit. The distillery was converted from a brewery originally established on Morangie farm in the 1730. Rather than the more traditional dumpy pot stills, the founder installed a pair of 2nd hand gin stills in the distillery. Today's stills are modeled on that design.

Glenmorangie also has a unique water supply. The distillery is fed by the Tarlogie Springs, which bubble up from a limestone aquifer, rather than the granite filtered water used by almost every other distillery in Scotland. These natural minerals give it its 'hard' water qualities and provide Glenmorangie with a raw ingredient unique amongst Highland distilleries.

Last but certainly not least, the distillery is famous for its Sixteen Men of Tain. Historically no more than 16 men worked at the distillery. As demand and production grew, there were never more than 16 men on shift at a time. Times have changed, and production techniques have changed too. There are many more than 16 men and women working at the distillery and for the brand today, at last count close to 400 (2004). The company now refers to the "Men of Tain", craftsmen who make the whisky.

Glenmorangie Distillery is located along the Dornoch Firth, about a half hour's drive north of Inverness on the A9. The nearby town of Tain, is Scotland's oldest "Royal Burgh", having been granted its charter in 1066. The distillery was acquired by their largest customer, a family firm MacDonald & Muir, in 1918. Macdonald & Muir was purchased by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy in 2004 along with Ardbeg and Glen Moray distilleries. The latter was spun off, as it was not considered a luxurious enough brand to fall under the LVMH banner.

Glenmorangie Original...

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