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The Calgary Ardbeg TracTour Dinner - July 16, 2014

Posted on August 28, 2014

 

Time has really flown by this summer, and what an exciting summer its been! The Ardbeg TracTour made a pit stop in Calgary in early July, its only Canadian port-o-call. It was seen all over the city at events, including one here at KWM on July 11. Later the next week a very exclusive Ardbeg Dinner was held at the Shawnessy Barn, a historic relic of the 1920s, when Calgary was a smaller, quieter place. When it was built, Calgary was 15 kilometers away, today the barn is some 5km within the city's limits. In the 1920s Shawnessy was rural agricultural land, making the barn a fitting place to host the TracTour and a curious whisky I'll get to a little later.



Ruaraidh McIntyre, Arbeg's ambassador to Canada, was on hand to guide us through a very special range of whiskies at an event put together with great care by Moet Hennessey's local brand  ambassador Jordan Cameron. Participants were stylishly whisked from downtown by limousine to the venue where we were greeted with a welcome whisky and the roar of the TracTour.



An elabourate dinner  was put on for us by Nicole Gomes of Nicole Gourmet. Nicole finished 3rd in Top Chef Canada and its no wonder why. The food was superb, starting with a bite sized twist on pulled pork. The first course was the finest piece of salmon I've ever had. Lightly smoked and cured with coriander, it was served with fresh corn and maple-soy-butter.



After the salmon I had my first Rumbledethumps Croquette, a comfort food in Scotland, but an obscure delicacy on this side of the pond. It was made with Berkshire ham, Sylvan Star smoked gouda, organic potato and loving plopped in a parsnip puree.



By the third course many were filling up, but with such delicious and beautiful delights on the plate,  most of us stayed the course. Next up, personal wee Scottish Pies made with curried Driview Farm lamb and raisins, garnished with smoked apple relish and white onion puree.



No meal such as this would have been complete without desert, room or note, and on this fine evening it was a Peppered Pineapple Tart Tatin with cinnamon lemon creme fraiche. Nicole did a wonderful job on the menu and each of the whiskies was lovingly and successfully paired with a dram from the Kildalton coast. For the evening we sampled:

Ardbeg 10 Year
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Ardbeg Auriverdes
Ardbeg Galileo
Ardbeg Uigeadail
Ardbeg Blasda



As if the sumptuous meal, wonderful whisky and roaring TracTour weren't enough. Our hosts had one final treat in store for us. A bottle of Ardbeg Kildalton (2014) had been spirited across the Atlantic and the North American continent just for the evening's tasting. The whisky, only available at the distillery (so kindly don't request a bottle from me or...

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The Kensington Wine Market Fall Wine Times is On-line, and our Fall Tasting Schedule is Open for Registration!

Posted on August 26, 2014

Our Fall 2014 Wine Times store newsletter is on its way to select mail boxes across the city. If you don't receive it by mail or if you can't wait to get home and browse it, you can view it on our website.



Our Fall 2014 Tasting Schedule is also on-line and open for registration. We have a wide variety of wine, scotch, beer and other liquor tastings to dazzle your taste buds. We have wine, beer and whisky festival as well as master class style sit down tastings. There is truly something for everyone to enjoy. We look forward to seeing you this fall!...

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Our Andrew Ferguson (AKA the Scotch Guy) Accepts the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Posted on August 25, 2014

After being challenged by Don Tse of (www.beerstoyou.ca) our Scotch Guy Andrew Ferguson has taken the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Andrew has made a donation to ALS Canada and will be donating an additional dollar (up to a max of $100) for every re-tweet of this post: "#IceBucketChallenge Accepted @BeeryDon I nom: @SMWSCanada @whiskyintel @rt_crump @roiderouxhttp://youtu.be/k05GOkzcxG0" from his account @scotch_Guy in the next 24 hours!

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Andrew has in turn nominated Rob & Kelly Carpenter from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada, Lawrence Graham from Whisky Intelligence, his friend Trafford Crump and Ruaraidh McIntyre Ardbeg Ambassador for Canada!...

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Ciders of the Season w/ Hunter Sullivan Thursday Aug 21, 2014

Posted on August 23, 2014



This was a really fun tasting! We had some very enthusiastic cider samplers who took a journey with us exploring some of the most interesting ciders on the market. We started with the delightful and delicate Michel Jodoin Rose Sparkling Cider 2009 ($29.99), a rose cider done in a champagne style. It offered us  a dry and enticing flavor profile that eased everyone into the evenings line up. Next we featured the Julian's Black and Blue Cider $11.95 as it swirled in our mouths we were taken on a scramble through the bramble, encountering notes of blackberries and blueberries all mixed together. This fruit infused cider was a clear favorite on the night, many of our participants were seen scrambling to buy a few. Next came the Mayador Limited Siddra ($14.99), a KWM exclusive, which was like a jaunt through the woods after an autumn shower. This beautiful cider transports you to the middle of a moody forest, fresh with hints of the forest floor, damp leaves and wet wood. All fell in love with this cider at first scent! Finally our excursion ended on a bittersweet note as we readied ourselves for the rich decadence of the Sea Cider Rum Runner ($18.99). A fantastic display of rich desserts, spices and tart apples. It felt like we'd ended the night with a little taste of Christmas! Thanks to all who attended, hope to see you again next time!

 ...

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The Ardbeg Star Event at Lake Louise, September 19, 2014

Posted on August 22, 2014



Space is full of stars, planets, asteroids and comets... and Ardbeg!

Since we launched Ardbeg's first whisky experiment in 2011 it has been orbiting the planet on the International Space station at 17,227 miles per hour, 15 times a day. The experiment is due back on Earth in the coming months, where the maturation secrets of the universe will be revealed at events across the Globe!

Our Canadian members are invited to join Ardbeg Ambassador Ruaraidh MacIntyre as he leads you through different tastings and culinary matches; Star viewing with renowned science journalist and space expert Peter McMahon; visual entertainment with an amazing party atmosphere!

Date: FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Location: THE FAIRMOUNT CHATEAU LAKE LOUISE

Time: Festivities start at 19:00hrs and continue on to the wee small hours...

Tickets: Tickets and room rates start at $273 (based on double occupancy) and can be booked online at  resweb.passkey.com/go/chartonhobbs

SPACE IS LIMITED AND THE BOOKING DEADLINE IS AUGUST 31 2014

For more information contact Charton Hobbs at 403.640.2022...

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