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Whisky Advent Day 17 - Balblair 2005 Vintage

Posted on October 25, 2024




Balblair is one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. The official founding of the distillery  was in 1790, by a local man named John Ross. There are records though that indicate the distillery may have been operating on its original location, as far back as 1749. Built near Edderton, the original distillery was moved a half a mile north in 1895, to make better use of the Inverness to Ardgay rail line. The distillery operated until 1911 when tough economic times forced its closure. It would not reopen until 1949.



The distillery was expanded twice in the 20th century, to take advantage of the boom in demand for Scotch whisky in the 1960s and 1970s. A major expansion took place in 1964, followed by extensive improvements in the 1980s. The distillery was owned by Hiram Walker from 1970 until 1996. In 1996 the distillery was sold to Inverhouse Distillers, who already owned Old Pulteney and Knockdhu (anCnoc) Distilleries. They would later add Balmenach before that firm was itself sold to a beverage industry giant now known as Thai Beverage Inc.

Like Glenrothes, Balblair doesn't have an age statement range, but rather it releases its whiskies in vintages. Currently we have 2005 (which we are sampling today!), 1999, 1990 and 1983 in the market with 1969 available by special order. All of the whiskies are bottled at 46%, without artificial colouring. The Balblair 2005 vintage from the calendar today has been matured in Ex-Bourbon barrels, and has been bottled at 11 years of age.

 




Balbalir 2005 - 46% - Ex-Bourbon - Andrew's Tasting Note: "Nose: waxy and buttery, creamed honey and white chocolate Hershey's kisses; Granny Smith apples, dry grassy malt and muddled mint and sugar (like the dregs after a mojito). Palate: round, chewy and very toasty; almost a faint hint of very clean smoke? crisp citrus, white pepper, aloe and more muddled mint with sugars; white fruits and still there with a vegetal quality and toasted coconut chips; some musty earthy notes and worn old leather. Finish: medium in length, light in body, but bright and refreshing. Comment: not overly complex, but without flaws and very pleasant; a summer sipping whisky! - $90

Order a bottle of Balblair 2005 here!

 

 

Stay tuned tomorrow, for KWM Whisky Advent Day 18!
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Whisky Advent Day 16 - G&M Distillery Label Glenburgie 10 Year

Posted on October 25, 2024



It is a busy Friday at KWM, the second last until Christmas. Our 2016 Malt Messenger Christmas Gift Guide was just sent out via email. If you're not a subscriber to our famous Whisky E-Newletter, check it out... We're busy, but not too busy to carve out a little special Whisky Advent time. Today's whisky is the Gordon Macphail (we abbreviate this to G&M) Distillery Label Glenburgie 10 Year. If this seems a little familiar, you're not far off. We featured the G&M Distillery Label Miltonduff 10 Year on Day 8.



If you've never heard of Glenburgie, you're not alone. Though the distillery, dating from 1810 is among the oldest operating in Scotland, very little of its whisky ever finds its way into single malt bottlings, even among independent bottlers. The vast majority of its production goes into Chivas blends, like Chivas Regal. Sales of this blend have been growing in recent years, especially in Asia. The distillery produces 4.2 million liters, which makes it all the more surprising they don't promote the whisky as a single malt. We've had a few interesting Scotch Malt Whisky Society Glenburgies: 71.41: Curious and intriguing and 71.42: Sinbad preparing for a journey. We also have a lovely Cadenhead Small Batch Glenburgie 1992. But other than that we've seen very little in the way of Glenburgie, in quite a while!



More about Glenburgie (Courtesy Gordon Macphail): "Set close to the A96, near the village of Alves, lies Glenburgie Distillery which looks over the Moray Firth. The distillery was originally called Kilnflat, although in 1878 after a period of disuse, it was renamed Glenburgie. Nearby is Burgie Castle, which dates back to the 16th century. For a short while Glenburgie also produced another single malt, Glencraig. This was produced using Lomond stills and is available in our Rare Old range."



In case you missed it on the December 8 Blog, here is the rational behind the Gordon Macphail Distillery Label Range (From the Horse's Mouth): "In partnership with each respective distillery, all whiskies in our 'Distillery Labels' range are uniquely labelled. In years gone by many of these unique designs were used 'officially' to bottle the whisky under license from the distillery. Today these trusted relationships with distillers enables Gordon & MacPhail to bottle whiskies at various ages, strengths and vintages - all with their unique distillery label."



G&M Distillery Label Glenbrugie 10 Year - 40% - First Fill Sherry Butts & Hogsheads - Andrew's Tasting Note: "Nose: decadent, honeyed with dried apricots and diced candied fruits (before mixing into Christmas cake); buttery with bright pineapple, creme brule and clotted cream on crumbly scones; big notes of candied orange and lemon drops. Palate: big...

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Whisky Advent Day 15 - Arran 12 Year Cask Strength

Posted on October 25, 2024



This is the first Arran single malt to grace any of the three editions of the Kensington Wine Market Whisky Advent Calendar. I've been fondly selling Arran whisky now, for well over 15 years. At the start their whiskies were young but full of promise. The distillery was founded in 1993 at Lochranza a sheltered harbour at the northern tip of the island of Arran. The island used to be famous for its whisky, though most of it was illicitly distilled. It was the first legal distillery on the island in more than 160 years. The first production didn't take place until August of 1995, delayed to allow a pair of nesting endangered Golden Eagles to raise their chicks. These eagles have become the distillery's emblem.

[caption id="attachment_4739" align="aligncenter" width="533" caption="A 10 years younger version of yours truly at Arran in 1996."][/caption]

Late in 2015 Arran released its first 18 year old, a now sold out Limited Edition. It was followed up by a core release of Arran 18 Year earlier this year. It is a staff favourite, and has been one of our best selling whiskies since its release. This is largely due to a combination of its price and quality. We've had a long and very fruitful relationship with the Arran distillery. This fall we bottled our 5th and 6th exclusive single casks from the distillery. The 5th, was a 2008 vintage lightly peated 7 year old from a Bourbon Barrel. The 6th a 19 Year old Bourbon Hogshead matured Arran distilled in 1997. The latter is the oldest official bottling of Arran yet to come to Canada! The distillery has released a 21st Anniversary 19 year old, but it is not set to reach Canada until in early 2017.



The whiskies from Arran are always good value, and priced competitively. The new make spirit is made with great care, and like Kilchoman, it is close to flawless. The distillery also has a very good wood policy, and only fills its spirit into into good quality oak casks. I can vouch for the quality of their casks first hand. I've sampled many dozens of them over the years while looking for exclusive barrels for the store. More often than note we've bottled two casks instead of one, because we couldn't decide between them.



The distillery follows what I like to call the 46 is the new 40 rule. Distilleries who bottle their whiskies above 46% don't need to put them through a process called chill-filtration. Distilleries who bottle at 43% or 40% (I like to call this accounting department strength), need to run the whisky through a series of absorption filters at a low temperature before bottling. This is a purely cosmetic process that keeps the whisky from going cloudy or hazy if it is chilled or if water is added to it. Whiskies bottled at 46% or higher ABV are able to re-emulsify on their own. There is a lot of debate over hop much chill-fi...

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New beers – December 14th, 2016

Posted on December 15, 2016

Happy holidays everyone!

I can't help but notice an increase in how crazy my Wednesdays are over the last month and a half. Approaching Christmas does that I suppose. To make the best of it, I just have to keep bringing in the most delicious brews that I can find. If I do this then during all the heavy lifting and icy cold 8am shipment receiving, I'll at least have my own little surprises to open. There's just over a week to go, and in typical Shawn fashion, I've not done any of my Christmas shopping heh... it's ok though because everyone is getting either Whisky or beer, and that makes it easy.

Anyhow, that's how things are going with me. As for the store, things are getting super busy, and I'm seeing my shelves empty and fill repeatedly! If you happen to need any gift ideas, maybe consider a gift basket full of beer! Just come and ask me, or give me a shout in the store (403-283-8000) and I can pick out an amazing little selection for you, or better yet, sign someone up for our monthly beer gift club! It's the gift that gives for at least 3 months.

I feel like an advertisement, I have to stop. I'm just going to get to the new beers now.





Black Lager by Tofino brewing: Tofino has seen a more than warm welcome in Alberta, and for good reason. Their beers are approachable, and well made. This dark lager has the crisp, clean qualities of a lager, but with noticeably fuller body, and dark roasted flavours to strike a wonderful balance of bold flavour and refreshment. ($9.09 for a 650mL bottle)

Dry Craft Cider, and Dry Hopped Cider by Uncommon Cider: Uncommon Cider is Alberta's first craft Cidery! Both ciders are light and crisp with ripe fruity notes, though the dry hopped version is hopped with Citra and Mosaic hops (the beer lovers are already drooling here), that give the cider beautiful floral notes and hints of citrus and tropical fruits ($10.99 each for a 500mL bottle)

Four Thirty session stout by Bent Stick Brewing: Four Thirty is in reference to our short winter days and the darkness that tends to come a little too early sometimes! This so-called Edmonton style session stout is a little lighter than other stouts, and as a result is super easy to drink with silky dark malts and chocolate notes. ($7.39 for a 650mL bottle)

Blue Monk Barley Wine and Bourbon Barreled Barley Wine by Brewsters: Blue Monk Barley Wine is an English style strong ale characterized by an intense, fruity flavour with notes of bread and toffee, dried fruits, and a hefty alcohol through it. In the Bourbon Barreled version, the barrel lends notes of boozy prunes, creamy American oak and furthers the sweetness. ($6.49 for non-barreled version, $8.29 for barreled version, each 330mL bottles)

Saison Fleurs Sauvages: A very unique saison made with wild elderflowers, raspberry and heracleum. The flowers give the beer an ...

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Whisky Advent Day 14 - A.D. Rattray Cask Islay Single Malt

Posted on October 25, 2024



On the 14th day of Kensington Wine Market Whisky Advent I expect that I am either a hero or a villain, all dependent on whether or not you are a fan of peat! Yesterday it was our Kilchoman cask, a monster, today it is another peated beast, the A.D. Rattray Cask Islay Single Malt. This whisky is what we call a mystery malt. The single malt is sourced from a distillery on Islay, but the producer is not at liberty to say what it is... we however are under no such restrictions. I can't divulge my source, but I can say that I am confident that the whisky was produced at Laphroaig.



A.D. Rattray is a family firm with long established roots in Scotland. I'll let the firm summarize it in its own words: "In the latter part of the 1800s A D Rattray Ltd came to represent a number of well-known Highland Malt distilleries – most notably Stronachie – selling bulk whisky to West of Scotland wine and spirit merchants, publicans and the main Scotch whisky blending houses in and around Glasgow. A D Rattray Ltd has now returned to the family and is owned by Mr Tim Morrison, previously of Morrison Bowmore Distillers and fourth generation descendent of Andrew Dewar Rattray. The company’s resurgence came about in 2002 with the bottling of a ‘new’ Stronachie 12yo. In April 2004, using his extensive knowledge and expertise in the whisky industry, Mr Morrison then bottled a selection of his own handpicked stock of whiskies for market release and the A D Rattray Cask Collection was born."



A.D. Rattray today bottles a range of whiskies including Stronachie, Cask Islay and the Bank Note blend. They also bottle a range of whiskies under their "Cask Collection" range. These whiskies are hand selected single casks, bottled at cask strength. The first of the casks were acquired by the owner Tim Morrison, before he sold his remaining interest in Morrison Bowmore to Suntory. Other casks have been collected over the intervening years. While the firm no longer owns a distillery, they have a visitor center and shop in Kirkoswald, Ayrshire. If you're visiting the Ayrshire region to pay homage to the Bard, you might want to make time for a tasting.



About Cask Islay: (From the Producer) "Cask Islay is carefully crafted from a relatively small number of selected casks from one distillery. Between 5 to 10 casks make up one batch of our delicious malt which is then bottled. This is called a small batch whisky. Every cask that goes into a batch of our Cask Islay has been carefully measured and monitored during its maturation to ensure it has reached the desired flavour profile for inclusion in the mix."

A.D. Rattray Cask Islay - 46 - No Age Statement - 35ppm Phenolic Content - Matured in Ex-Bourbon & Ex-Sherry - Andrew...

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