Kensington Wine Market's 2023 Whisky Calendar UBER EDITION Day 1 - SMWS 42.73 – QUIET CONFIDENCE
Posted on December 4, 2023
by EvanWelcome to Door Number One of our very limited 2023 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Calendar: UBER Edition! This marks the first step on our 25 day/dram long journey through what we hope you will agree is some fantastic whisky. Creating the KWM Whisky Calendar each year is a labour of love (and stress, and blood/sweat/tears/etc) that only a few companies are masochistic enough to undertake.
… Wait – I feel like I said pretty much the same thing for our other whisky calendar… I did, didn’t I? Well, If you purchased the UBER Whisky Calendar, you already know the spiel, but you are also likely going through these upcoming days and weeks in a two-fisted fashion, with drams in both hands. Kudos to you on that, and apologies in advance for having to read my typing for 50 blog posts instead of a mere 25! Feel free to mute me as we go along through these missives by tuning out the typing and instead focusing on the pretty pictures along the way.
If you already opened up Door Number One on the main KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar, you are already aware of the Daftmill 15-Year-Old Cask Strength that we showcased there. But, what is the focus to Day One in the 2023 UBER Calendar? Today’s UBER drample is from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The name of the bottle is SMWS 42.73 – QUIET CONFIDENCE, AND THE REASON I AM NOW TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS BECAUSE I AM SUPER EXCITED THAT WE ARE ABOUT TO TASTE A 25-YEAR-OLD LEDAIG!
That’s right, we are starting the UBER Calendar off with a young whisky, only just distilled back in 1995. Ledaig is not the name of a distillery currently, but it once was the name of Tobermory Distillery until the name change happened in 1979. Ledaig is currently the name used for Tobermory Distillery’s peated whisky releases, and that is what this sample from SMWS 42.73 is.
But wait… If you look at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s own flavour profile classification for this bottle, they say it is “Sweet, fruity & mellow”. That sure doesn’t sound like a peated whisky to me. What gives?
Sweet, fruity & mellow Ledaig, they say… Well, there could be a reason for that. Maybe this all has to do with time. Two-plus decades in the cask can change a whisky quite a bit. It can make a light whisky big, bold and over-the-top sherried in style given the right (or wrong cask), It can make A big, meaty and savoury whisky go tropical, fruity and funky just like your Uncle Dennis; who spent his career as a big, burley fireman, but now that he is retired you only see in flip flops and floral print button-up shirts. Just give it time 20+ years in a refill cask. Don’t believe me? I have an example of it here. Not of your Uncle Dennis, but a whisky that has softened with age.
Perhaps Uncle Dennis is an even more perfect exam...
KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 3 - Berry's The Perspective 21-Year-Old Blend
Posted on December 8, 2023
by EvanToday's whisky in the 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar is Berry's The Perspective 21-Year-Old Blend. But what does that all mean?
Perspective. Such a great and important word, that. It is the thing that seems to be lacking most in the inflexible, sound-byte-driven news and social media world we live in. So much of what we should be thinking and feeling is veritably screamed into our ears and shoved down our throats with the intent of making us meekly comply, or worse, become one with the shouting mass itself. Ideas and concepts and points of view are not something we are given time to ponder and develop. Instead, they are swung at us like the bluntest of instruments at a terminal velocity, used to inflict and provoke immediate and precise reactions in everything we do and towards everyone we meet.
Sorry. I am not quite sure where I was going with that. Maybe it is best to take a deep breath, pull back a little, and focus on the little bottle in front of us instead of trying to suss out the Big Picture. What is Perspective, and while we are at it; what does Berry have to do with it?
Berry’s – in this case – refers to Berry Bros. & Rudd, which is the oldest Wine Merchant in the world. The company was founded 325 years ago, back in 1698, at the address of 3 St. James Street in London, UK. The family-owned company first started in the coffee business by a woman referred to as The Widow Bourne. Her first name has since been lost to history. The focus on coffee diversified over time to include cocoa, tea, spices and exotic goods.
The company entered the wine game in the 1700s and that has been its focus ever since. It was the first wine merchant to launch a website, which happened back in 1994. Over its history, Berry’s has offered and managed private bottlings of whisky for its many clients and customers, but in 2002 it started publicly selling its Berry’s Own Selection single malt releases to the public, becoming an independent bottler.
Berry Bros. & Rudd also created the Cutty Sark blend, owned the Glenrothes brand (but not the actual distillery) for a time, and currently has a minority stake in Cotswolds Single Malt Whisky, but those are stories for another time.
The Berry’s Perspective series was released in 2019. The 21-year-old we are tasting today is actually the youngest in the lineup, as 25-year-old, 35, and 40-year-old versions were released as well. Each of these Blended Scotch Whisky releases features the black and white photography of Lindsay Robertson. The creation of each blend in the Perspective series was undertaken by Master Blender and Senior Spirits Manager Doug McIvor, who has been with Berry Bros. & Rudd since 2001.
The 21-year-old was a batch release of 6300 bottles at 43% ABV. Nothing is stated about what whisky is in the blend. The p...
KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 2 - That Boutique-y Whisky Company Teaninich Batch 6 - 12-Year-Old
Posted on December 8, 2023
by EvanIt is time to crack open Door Number Two and see what lies behind in our 2023 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Calendar, so cross your fingers and hope we packed it correctly! Day Number Two is represented by That Boutique-y Whisky Company Teaninich Batch 6 - 12-Year-Old!
Because I have written about this in the past, and because I am lazy, here is a rundown on That Boutique-y Whisky Company.
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That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an Independent Bottler, owned by parent company Atom Brands. Atom Brands in turn is owned by massive drinks company AB InBev, which acquired the group in April of 2018. AB InBev is responsible for a few minor Beer brands that you may have heard of including Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois.
Atom Brands itself is responsible for more than That Boutique-y Whisky Company. They also bottle Gin and Rum under the That Boutique-y xxxx Company moniker. Plus, they own Master of Malt – a popular UK internet-based whisky retailer. In conjunction with Master of Malt, Atom also runs Drinks By The Dram – which rebottles whisky into smaller, dram-sized minis that are sold individually or repacked into gift packs and – get this – something called a Whisky Holiday Calendar. Crazy idea, no? The company is the originator of the whisky calendar idea, as far as I can tell, and Kensington Wine Market first carried one of these whisky calendars a year before Andrew created the first of our own back in 2014.
Back to That Boutique-y Whisky Company itself. If none of the above two paragraphs made any sense to you, the idea of an independent bottler may be a new concept as well. If that is the case, then prepare yourself for a potentially exciting new phase in your Whisky Journey!
That Boutique-y Whisky Company is an Independent Bottler of Scotch Whisky and other spirits. An Independent bottler purchases spirit and whisky from distilleries and brokers and then bottles it under their own label. Independent Bottlers typically bottle whisky in either small batches or from single casks. They aren’t as concerned with the consistency of style as a company that owns the distillery might be and do not have to worry about one batch being different from the next. Indie Bottlers care more about getting interesting whisky that shows well and will sell well. Because of this, they tend to be a great way to explore a distillery or style beyond what you get from the official bottlings.
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Yeah, I did brazenly rip off my own blog post from last year by copying and pasting those five paragraphs directly from Day 4 of the 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar. Here are a few points to consider with this:
The post I copied and pasted this from was also concerning a Teaninch from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, just like this post is.
The...
KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 1 - Daftmill 15-Year-Old Cask Strength
Posted on December 8, 2023
by EvanWelcome to the starting line for our exploration through the 2023 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Calendar! This marks the first step on our 25 day/dram long journey through what we hope you will agree is some fantastic whisky. Creating the KWM Whisky Calendar each year is a labour of love (and stress, and blood/sweat/tears/etc) that only a few companies are masochistic enough to undertake.
We truly appreciate you purchasing (or being gifted) our 2023 Whisky Calendar and any of the KWM Whisky Calendars you have broken open the doors of and pillaged in prior years.
Hopefully, you can join me along the way via each day’s blog post, and perhaps even join, Andrew, myself and possibly other Kensington Wine Market crew during our 5-day recap tastings virtually, online in real-time or through the recordings on YouTube after the fact. Our biggest wish is that the activities we build around this Calendar are as exciting to you as they are to us.
Before I go all sappy and drown us all further in soliloquy (sniff – I love you all!), we should probably celebrate Day One of the 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar with a dram. That is what we are here for, right? So, let’s take that beautiful, pristine 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar box and start ruining it by inflicting the first of 25 scars on its surface. There is no turning back, and no returns, after this. At least this clandestine act of vandalism is all done for a good cause, and that cause is whisky!
Which whisky lies in wait behind Door Number One? Well, if the KWM staff packaged everything correctly, the whisky now in your hands should be the Daftmill 15-Year-Old Cask Strength!
That’s right, we are going cask strength right off the bat with this year’s KWM Whisky Calendar – and this is not just any cask strength whisky, either. This is one of the oldest bottlings to be released from one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland.
Daftmill Distillery produces around 20,000 litres per year. That is only barely more Coca-Cola than the average Canadian drinks annually if I recall. Just kidding, but that is a very small amount of spirit. Why so little? Well, there is only one wash still and one spirit still at the distillery, so that is part of it.
The most significant limiting factor though is that Daftmill Distillery resides on Daftmill Farm, and it is mostly operated when the farm is off-season. There are about four months each year when whisky production is prioritized – two in the summer and two in the winter. The barley used by the Distillery is all grown and harvested from Daftmill Farm. Francis and Ian Cuthbert; the farm's owners, also own the Distillery.
Daftmill Distillery and Farm reside in the Lowlands, near Cupar, which is in the county of Fife. Its nearest distillery neighbours include Eden Mill &ndas...
Welcome to the Kensington Wine Market 2023 Whisky Calendar UBER EDITION
Posted on December 13, 2023
Welcome to the KWM 2023 Whisky Tasting Calendar UBER EDITIONInside you will find twenty-five 28ml bottles filled with single malt scotch and a couple of other whiskies from around the World. There is also a wee Glencairn Glass and a KWM Discount Card valid through the end of 2024.
From December 1st to 25th you can follow along as we share each whisky’s distillery information and tasting notes on our blog:
www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/blog
You will also find the same information and be able to comment on our Facebook Page:
fb.com/kensingtonwinemarket
We would love for you to share your thoughts and photos with us on Facebook and Instagram.
#KWMWhiskyCalendar
@kwmwhisky & @kensingtonwm
In addition, we will be holding 5 nightly Whisky Calendar Recap Tastings over Zoom, just like we do with the other Calendar: on December 5, 10, 15, 20, and 27 @ 8:30PM Mountain time, which is open to anyone with one of our UBER Whisky Calendars!
We hope these whiskies lift your spirit this season, and that you enjoy what we like to call, 25 Days of Dram Fine Whisky!
Slàinte!
Andrew Ferguson
Kensington Wine Market
kensingtonwinemarket.com
You can find all blog posts for the UBER EDITION of Kensington Wine Market’s 2023 Whisky Calendar Here
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