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KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 9 - Arran 2013 KWM Cask

Posted on December 9, 2023

by Evan

Arran Whisky is a long-time favourite for us at Kensington Wine Market and many others in Alberta and Canada as well.

Going by my own faulty memory - Arran has been sold in Alberta since around 2003 or 2004. I was introduced to Scotch for the first time back in 2002 and immediately fell in love and started going to tastings and festivals. This is probably why Arran is so near and dear to my own heart. It feels like the distillery’s own evolution in whisky somehow mirrors my own personal growth and experience with whisky.


The Still Room at Arran's Lochranza Distillery

Arran started distilling and then releasing their first bottles at a fortuitous time both within Alberta and within the Scotch Industry as a whole: Alberta was in the midst of its economic boom. The province had also had privatized liquor stores (such as Kensington Wine Market) for a decade at this point and seen a large jump in the amount of available whisky available to new enthusiasts such as myself.

The Scotch Industry was also starting to see a much-needed boost in sales and was entering a boom of its own. Part of this was a new generation of drinkers turning their backs on that boring, intentionally flavourless alcohol known as vodka and looking for more interesting libations. The other part had to do with emerging markets of China, India, and Russia and the new middle class (and luxury class) that had opened up overseas.

The Isle of Arran has seen quite a few changes over the last three 25 years, at least when it comes to whisky. In 1995, just outside of Lochranza which is located at the northern tip of the island, the Isle of Arran's first legal distillery in over a century opened. Now we are in 2019 and a second distillery has just opened on the island, this time at its southern edge in a town called Lagg.



Lochranza Castle on the Isle of Arran

The Arran Lochranza distillery has always focused on distilling unpeated malt, with limited forays into peated malt happening during only a very small amount of its operation. The Lagg Distillery, which is also owned by Isle of Arran Distillers, is heading into much more peated territory, making a burly, heavily peated new make spirit that comes off very earthy, fruity, and even mezcal-like in style. Islay lovers will have to keep an eye out for future releases from Lagg once it has whisky more to release.

Back to this bottle in front of us: This single cask of Arran is the 13th we have selected from the distillery to be bottled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market. It is the first whisky we have picked from the distillery that comes from an ex-Sherry Butt. What does that mean? Well, it means more bottles for us to sell for one thing – 516 total bottles of this Arran specifically. Quite a bit more than the 180- to 220-ish bottles we received of any previous Arran KW...

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Kensington Wine Market's 2023 Whisky Calendar UBER EDITION Day 8 - Claxton`s Tobermory 26 Year Old

Posted on December 8, 2023

by Evan

Okay, guys – I swear it wasn’t just me who selected the whisky for the UBER Calendar. I am only realizing now that we have two single casks from the Tobermory/Ledaig distillery. The first one was the SMWS 42.73 - Quiet confidence on Day 1. This guy for Day Eight of the UBER Calendar? Is it an unpeated Tobermory, or a peated Ledaig? We will have to delve into the glass and decide for ourselves, I think.

Regardless: one of the cool things about his and the SMWS Ledaig is that they were both distilled on the same year: back in 1995. We have been seeing a few different 1995 Tobermory and Ledaigs over the past few years, so at some point, a parcel of casks must have been sold through a broker and spread about to indie bottlers such as the SMWS, Claxton’s and more.



A relatively new independent bottler, Claxton’s was founded in 2011 and launched its first releases in 2015. The company established it’s first warehouse to store their casks in 2019. Claxton’s bonded warehouse is located on Dalswinton Estate, on the northern edge of Dumfries in Scotland. The warehouse is a traditional one-level with an earthen floor dunnage building. The site also contains a tasting lounge and bottling facilities.

So, what makes this Tobermory different than the SMWS Ledaig we tasted on Day One? A few things, possibly. While there has been some debate over whether the SMWS bottle was a true, peated Ledaig or not an unpeated Tobermory. This bottling from Claxton’s is labelled as Tobermory – full stop. This Claxton’s bottling is also from one single ex-Sherry Butt, not a first-fill ex-Bourbon Hogshead like the SMWS bottle. That should create a marked difference in the style. Shall we taste it and decide?



Claxton`s Tobermory 1995 - 26-Year-Old - 52%

“An incredibly exciting 26-year-old Tobermory matured in Sherry Butt No: C21002, and limited to just 436 bottles. This one almost seems like it has been priced wrong. Sherried whisky, high age statement, and from an 'in demand' distillery. These things don't come along often, especially at this sort of price. Natural colour, non-chill filtered, and bottled at 52% abv”

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Savoury spices and plenty of Sherry. French onion soup, caramelised sugar, dates, fruit leather, orange liqueur, milk chocolate, and a touch of hickory and a whiff of rubber.

Palate: Big and chewy with candied walnuts, dates wrapped with prosciutto, apple crumble, ground pepper, and a dash of soy sauce.

Finish: Lengthy with plenty of fruit leather and spices.

Comment: This is the bigger and bolder side of older Tobermory. It is a bit savoury, but it is all the more delicious for it. The sherry cask had its way with the whisky, but the whisky se...

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KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 8 - Lismore 21 Year

Posted on December 8, 2023

by Evan

Day Eight is upon us for our 2023 KWM Whisky Calendar, and the whisky hiding behind the door is a little bit of a mystery. Say hello the The Lismore 21-Year-Old!

What is The Lismore? It isn’t the name of a distillery, though this bottle does state that it is a Single Malt Scotch. Owned by William Lundie and Co, The Lismore is a brand of Single Malt Scotch, with a lineup consisting of 15 Year Old, 18 Year Old, and 21 Year Old releases, plus a younger version with no age stated. This bottling we will taste today is called The Legend – this is the 21 Year Old, and the oldest of Lismore’s regular releases.

So, that doesn’t tell you much regarding the province of the whisky. Each of the Lismore releases does say that it is a Speyside Single Malt. Everything else beyond the age is a mystery. We get other mystery malts like this as well, though most of them come from Islay. These include the Ileach Cask Strength, Finlaggan Cask Strength, Mr. Peat, Port Askaig, Peat’s Beast, and so on. Each of those whiskies was distilled at a distillery that is not named, just like those in the Lismore range.

Lismore’s parent company – William Lundie and Co. - happens to be owned by J&G Grant. J&G Grant is the same Grant family that owns Glenfarclas Distillery.

Now, all batches of the liquid in the different Lismore bottles (including the 21-year-old) may or may not be made from Glenfarclas stock, but regardless of where the distillery source is those Grants seem to know a thing or two about releasing good single malts. In the past, we have heard rumours Glen Grant and Glenrothes being the source for some batches. What could this bottling of Lismore 21-Year-Old be?

Here is what the company’s website has to say about the whisky.

“Lismore 21 Year Old is adored for its sherry, cherry, cinnamon and sugar flavor notes, Lismore 21 year-old is a real mouth-filling whisky. One little drop envelops your entire mouth. The finish is Vanilla-y fudge and dried fruit.”

Shall we give it a go?

The Lismore 21 Year Old - 43%

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Honeyed, nutty, and full of butterscotch notes, Caramilk bars, raisin tarts, Apple Jacks cereal, plus a touch of rum and eggnog.

Palate: Sponge toffee, fresh-pressed and unpasteurized apple juice, more rum and eggnog, banana chips, and a touch of clove.

Finish: Smooth and rich all the way down, with a touch of dryness on the fade.

Comment: The soft yet decadent style of this whisky makes it a smooth and easy drinker. Tasty stuff.

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Facebook & Instagram: @sagelikefool

You can find all blog posts for Kensington Wine Market’s 2023 Whisky Calendar Here
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Kensington Wine Market's 2023 Whisky Calendar UBER EDITION Day 7 - Boutique-y Caperdonich 23 Year Old

Posted on December 8, 2023

I have talked about That Boutique-y Whisky Company in a few blog posts over the past two or three years, thanks to their inclusion in our prior KWM Whisky Calendars. I will skip going into more detail on them for now, but let’s talk about Caperdonich.

Caperdonich Distillery does not exist. The end. Shall we give the whisky a taste?

…

Okay, just kidding. Sort of.

Once upon a time (read: about 125 years ago), in a land far, far away (Scotland) there was a distillery known as Glen Grant. In 1897, when Scotch Whisky was amid one of its boom times and the temperance movement/fun police had not yet arrived in full force to spoil things, the Glen Grant distillery was doing so well that owner James Grant decided to build a second distillery right across the road.

In a fit of creativity, James decided to name this new concern Glen Grant No. 2. So it was that Glen Grant No. 2 was up and running in just a short period later, allowing it to operate for nearly a handful of years before the whisky market crashed and the distillery closed for the first time in 1902. Worry not for this darling distillery though, for it quickly opened again just a short six decades later in 1965, once again helping boost the production of Glen Grant No. 1.

One expansion and one dozen years later, in 1977, Glen Grant No. 2 was finally considered important enough to get its own, unique name: Caperdonich. After years of riding on the coattails of its famous big brother, Caperdonich finally was able to develop its own personality and soul. The owners did not like that concept, though, so in 1985 new copper stills were installed. These stills were directly modelled after Glen Grant No. 1’s stills, with the hopes of correcting the pesky and unwanted individuality that Caperdonich exhibited.

These efforts were ultimately for naught, and Caperdonich’s owners eventually grew tired of it not being Glen Grant, and gave it up for adoption in 2001. Pernod Ricard took over and fostered the distillery for an entire year before also giving up, shutting Caperdonich permanently, and selling the distillery site to Forsyth’s. After the copper stills and equipment were sold off and anything of value carried away the site was demolished in 2011.

There is the story of Caperdonich. It never stood a chance. It made decent whisky, but it did not make Glen Grant whisky the way it should have. Because of this, it does not exist anymore, and there is nothing to remember it by other than a few bottles like this one.

Stories like this are sad, but a dime a dozen in the cruel and harsh whisky industry. For every booming distillery and company out there that has survived hard times such as war, prohibition, and economic downturns, there are the ghosts of the dead that did not.

If you are lucky enough, you get to taste what some of these ghosts produced wh...

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KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 7 - Dumangin Starward 2017

Posted on December 7, 2023

by Evan

Starward Distillery. This is perhaps not a name that jumps to mind when thinking of Single Malt Whisky. Especially if you live in Canada. We have yet to receive any official bottlings from this Australian Distillery.

Starward was founded in 2007 by David Vitale in Melbourne, Australia. Since its inception, one of the things that has set Starward apart is its use of ex-red wine casks for much of its whisky maturation. We are not talking cask finishes here – this is full-term maturation in ex-red wine casks for much of the whisky it produces.

Because of Melbourne's climate, which can feature some chaotic weather with a good amount of temperature fluctuation, Starward’s maturing whisky has a lot of interaction with the casks it ages in. Casks of maturing whisky often lose more water than alcohol due to evaporation/the angels share, meaning that the alcohol level actually goes up over time. This is not unique to Starward, but it is a far cry from what happens in the quiet, cool and damp warehouses maturing whisky in Scotland.



Okay, so there is a bit of info on Starward Distillery. But what does a Champagne house in France have to do with this bottle?

Champagne Dumangin is owned by Gilles Dumangin, whose family has roots in viticulture dating back to the 1650s. Gilles is a fourth-generation Cellarmaster and Winemaker in charge of selecting and blending the Champagne for his house.

Gilles has also expanded the Dumangin repertoire over the past 20 years to include Ratafia and Whisky. Ratafia Champenois which is a fortified wine from the Champagne region of France typically made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Brandy or a neutral grape spirit is added to the grape juice before fermentation. Dumangin has also become an independent bottler of whisky - sourcing casks from various Scottish, American, and European whisky makers and then finishing the whisky in his own Ratafia Casks.

Here is what Champagne Dumangin has to say about this cask:

“The best mix between Australia and France. Australian ingredients with a pale malted barley mix from Victoria, original ageing in Barossa red wine barrels then shipped to France for a finish in Ratafia Champenois barrels. The fiery side of the red wine ageing couple with the sweetness and creaminess brought by the Ratafia Champenois touch…”

When I think of Australia, I always think BIG. Big Shiraz. Big personalities. Big spiders. Big knives. Etcetera. Big seems to the name of the game when it comes to Starward’s approach to whisky as well. With this single cask from Dumangin show Starward’s grandiosity? Let's try it and find out!



Dumangin Starward 2017 - 47%

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Candied and herbaceous up front, with peppermint candy c...

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