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Irish Whiskey Renaissance Monday March 17 - A Taste of the Irish!

Posted on March 19, 2014



A group of intrepid whiskey tasters met at Kensington Wine Market on St. Patrick's Day 2014, Monday March 17,  to sample through a selection of very tasty Irish whiskies. While some around town were stumbling around blind drunk on cheap beer dyed green, our guests were blindly tasting their way through seven sophisticated Irish whiskies including. We sampled a few blends, a blended malt, singles malts and two pure pot still Irish whiskies. Here is our range:



Midleton Very Rare 2011 - 40% - Andrew's Tasitng Note: "Nose: guava, kiwi and another exotic tropical fruit I can't put my finger on; soft oily grains, movie theater popcorn and delicate floral top notes; minty and fresh there is also a hint of raisin and dehydrated apple cubes; Palate: very clean, floral and decadent with vanilla extract, Demerara sugars and maple glazed almonds; soft toasty oak yields to some bold citrus, melon and tropical fruits that are more subtle than those on the nose; Finish: grainy with some oily pot still notes; the toasted oak becomes a faint bit bitter, showing its age, while a crisp citrus note pops up at the end." - $160.99
Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey - 40% - Andrew's Tasting Note: "Nose: a big hit of lemon oil furniture polish, green barley and fruit flan; creamy and rich with whipped cream atop apple strudel; corn syrup and buttermilk crepes; Palate: lots of body with some chewy  barley, creamy oak, oily green grasses and a touch of peppery leather; tart citrus notes build in intensity with some rhubarb pie and vanilla ice cream; Finish: long and coating with more creamy oak and fading dusty grain pushed asside by more tart fruits; Comments: interesting and tasty, but a bit strange all the same!" - $86.99
Redbreast 12 Year - 40% - Andrew's Tasting Note: "Nose: apple sauce and Cinnamon Toast Cruch; celery salts, dusty grains and creamed honey with oranges and almond paste; Palate: dusty and grainy like the palate with loads more apple, orange peels and spice; I can't help but find it salty which is a surprise; classic pot still whisky, not as interesting as the Green Spot but very good; Finish: dtrying and still dusty with some cream and more floral-appley notes." - N/A
Adelphi Limerick Slaney 11 Year - 57% - Cask 9929 - 235 Bottles - Andrew's Tasting Note: "Nose: massive caramel and chewy malt, more Scottish than typical Irish: green grasses, dew-covered flowers, Werther's caramels and heather honey; some notes of melon and orange emerge from beneath the surge of malt with patience; Palate: big and juicy with loads of green malt and more big caramel/toffee notes; the flavours come in waves with coconut and vanilla icing on the second pass while all the while the spices tingle the tongue; candied orange, melons and a big hit of ginger and cinnamon come next followed by freshly mowed damp green grass and a hint of clove; Finish: long and coating with the malt a...

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Gilles Dumangin Visits Kensington Wine Market!

Posted on March 15, 2014

KWM has been selling Dumangin Champagne for over 13 years, and finally, last week (Friday March 7  and Saturday March 8) we had an opportunity to meet with Gilles. Lunch at Teatro (Gilles declared his meal of Alberta beef superb) and a brief meeting with Josh, Teatro’s sommelier (fingers crossed you might find Gilles’ wines at the bar!) started our two day marathon. After lunch we introduced Gilles to our store and KWM staff had the benefit of a personal “tour” of Dumangin wines.

The Brut Reserve $44.99 and the Rose $47.99  are bestselling staples at KWM. Gilles brought the 2004 Vintage and his Blanc de Blanc, which proved to be  real winners. Look for them on our shelves later this spring.



Dinner at Brava Bistro with Riley Fisher (Riley is the event planning manager for KWM as well as web manager and Australian Wine Expert) was a great way to end the day and Dewey, owner manager, made us all feel so welcome. Thanks Dewey! Saturday Don Conrad and Grant Graves (KWM official greeters) introduced Gilles to River Café. Warm greetings from Bruce Soley, Cellar Manager and Sommelier, confirmed Calgary’s reputation for great hospitality. Our good bye dinner at Avec Bistro, where Jackie Cooke, proprietor and keen champagne lover, (Jackie is in Champagne as we write but sadly Gilles will be in New York, so not visit) made us feel very welcome. The evening ended with a promise to meet again soon, not in 13 years.

Here is what we have in stock of Dumangin right now. It’s easily the best selling champagne in the shop, and beats all the others on price and taste!



Gilles Dumangin Rose

The Dumangin family tend their vineyards around the village of Chigny-les-Roses. This non-vintage blend is made up of 54% Chardonnay, 36% Pinot Noir and 10% Pinot Meunier. It is a truly delicious wine, pale salmon in color with an enticing scent of strawberry. Wondering what to serve with breakfast?  Why, Champagne, of course! $47.99

Dumangin Grande Reserve

The Brut Non-Vintage Grande Réserve is a staff and customer favorite. Made from 25% Chardonnay, 25%  Pinot Noir and 50% Pinot Meunier, the Grande Réserve boasts a collection of accolades including gold, silver and bronze awards. Full-bodied and very complex, it’s just marvelous served with triple cream brie cheese. Cheers! $44.99

We also have the 375 ml of the Grande Reserve at $25.99. Just the perfect size for when you’re by yourself!

Lilly Bollinger, matriarch for one of the grand houses, had this to say about Champagne:

“I only drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad.
Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone.
When I have compa...

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Perfect Partners – Beer & Cheese March 2014

Posted on March 14, 2014

We tasted six beers,  each of which was carefully paired with a unique cheese by Janice Beaton Fine Cheese. Cheese is in many ways an even better pairing with beer than wine, the effervescence can enliven the cheese while the cheese can highlight some of the beer's more subtle tones. Our beer and cheese pairings at Kensington Wine Market are some of our most popular tastings.

The beers samples on this evening were:

MOA Estate Methode Pilsner - Moa Methode is a German style pilsner with a high bitterness balanced with a relatively full mouth feel. Citrus hop characters dominate aroma with the presence of fresh bread yeast notes. - $10.09/bottle
New Belgium Fat Tire - Fat Tire is one of the two founding products for New Belgium. This amber ale won fans with its sense of balance: toasty, biscuit-like malt flavours coasting in equilibrium with hoppy freshness. - $18.19/6pack
Septem Thursday’s Red Ale - Thursday's Red Ale is an Irish style red ale based on an English recipe. Aromas of caramel, grass and citrus. The grass and citrus hop bitterness on the palate  is balanced by caramel malt sweetness. - $5.19/bottle
Het Kapittel Watou Dubbel - An abbey style Dubbel brewed by Van Eecke. It has a rich malt aroma of malt, yeast, dark fruit, and spice; flavours of sweet malt, yeast, caramel, dark fruit, raisins, and spice, with a faint touch of pleasant bitterness. - $4.69/bottle
Nøgne Ø Imperial Rye Porter - A collaboration with Terrapin Brewing, this Imperial Rye Porter is a dark ale with lots of character. Aromas of chocolate, roasted grains and licorice. The palate shows the chocolate malty sweetness with roasted grain, coffee and licorice. - $9.79/bottle
He’Brew Death of a Contract Brewer Black IPA - He'Brew commemorates the first anniversary of opening their own brewery after 16 years as a contract brewer. Roasted malt aromas. Hops add piney notes to the aroma with some bitterness on the palate finish. Dark chocolate and nutty notes on the palate. - $7.99/bottle

The Night's Two Most Popular Beers Were:

Het Kapittel Watou Dubbel
Septem Thursday’s Red Ale
...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society Canada March 2014 Outturn

Posted on March 9, 2014


 

The last of three sold-out SMWS Canada March Outturn tastings have just wrapped at KWM, and we're ready to introduce you to our most recent offerings. If there was a theme it was whiskies uncharacteristic of their house style, such as an almost malty very old grain whisky, a sublimely tropical Pearl (30th Anniversary) Dram, an almost smoky Mortlach and a Laphroaig with a style that was closer to Ardmore. It was another great release of Society whiskies and demand was strong, almost evenly across the board!



G3.5: Chocolate cafe latte - 49.6% - 33 Year - Refill Hogshead - Grain - Outturn: 159 Bottles - Panel's Tasting Note: "After the first impression on the nose neat of apple and pear juice as well as buttered corn on the cob, the aromas turned wonderfully sweet; spun sugar, maple syrup waffles, freshly made American pancakes and Turkish delight. The taste was like a super sweetpoached pear, pink and white nougat, rosewater and a little spice -a café latte with a cinnamon sprinkling on top. Water turned the nose nutty, peanuts as well as a chocolate hazelnut spread on a toasted crumpet, whilst in the finish we found orange chocolate liqueur. On the palate sweet ripe fruits, some oaky flavours andbutterscotch. This very velvety and soft example comes from an Edinburgh based distillery which shut its door in 1988." 
Drinking Tip: "At a tailgate party." - $229.99
72.31: Something old, something new - 48.3% - 29 Year - Refill Hogshead - Speyside - Outturn: 206 Bottles - Panel's Tasting Note: "The Panel was greeted with a lot of ‘new’ aromas; the inside of a new car, new leather and a newly varnished wooden floor. With time deeper and ‘older’ notes appear; like a very old dusty leather bound library book in a new shiny cover. It does not stop there - tobacco leaves, caramelized apples, brandy butter and waxy lavender candles are also mentioned. The taste has an enticing combination of wood,nuts and spices; ginger, cardamom and paprika powder. With water oily like hazelnut syrup lacing a coffee as well as almonds, figs and dried cherries. The taste now sweet and juicy like a mango smoothie or an apricot frangipane tart. The never ending finish is that of a Peshwari naan bread with mango chutney." Drinking Tip: "Whilst reading or watching Aladdin." - $229.99
44.58: A bittersweet sensation - 59.1% - 13 Year - Refill Sherry Butt - Speyside - Outturn: 560 Bottles - Panel's Tasting Note: "All of us, well the not-so-young ones, were transported back in time to an old fashioned candy shop, wooden floor boards, saw dust and glass jars absolutely everywhere. There are so many aromas let’s mention a few; saltwater toffee, rhubarb and custard swirly lollies, apple and pear bonbons and strawberry chewits. The taste neat redberry jam, ripe Morello cherries and cho...

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Analysis of the Great Macallan Vertical Featuring 'M'

Posted on March 7, 2014

Nearly 8 years ago I hosted two back to back Ancient Malts tastings at Kensington Wine Market, the first of their kind. The piece de resistance of the two tastings was a bottle of Macallan 50 Year Lalique, the first of a planned six releases in Macallan’s series of Lalique crystal bottlings.  I opened the bottle and tasted it for the first time in an interview with a CBC reporter. The whisky and the tastings were a huge hit. We've since done many incarnations of Ancient Malts with more than a few old and rare whiskies some worth up to twenty grand.

Flash forward to 2013, Macallan stunned everyone by announcing that they'd be phasing out age statement whiskies and launching a new line called the 1824 Series. Consisting of four whiskies named for their colours, Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby the range would be lorded over by a fifth whisky, the Macallan 'M'. When these bottles started trickling into the market late in 2013 I knew we had to set one aside for a special tasting, and so we did.

On the 5th of March 2014 a group of intrepid whisky tasters joined us for a special tasting at Kensington Wine Market. We began by exploring blind a range of six Macallans including the four 1824 Series whiskies named for their colours: Gold, Amber, Sienna and Ruby. We also threw into the tasting a 15 year old Macallan bottled by Old Malt Cask and Batch 3 of Master of Malt's That Boutique'y Whisky Company Macallan. My tasting notes on those six whiskies follow:



Macallan 1824 Gold – 40% -  Andrew's Tasting Note: "Nose: honeyed, grassy and citric with some crisp grassy malt; Palate: honeyed and chewy with more citrus notes, grassy malt and some developing dark fruits like raisins and dates; Finish: good length, I find my mouth waters as it dries going from honey and malt to leathery oak. - $63.99
Macallan 1824 Amber – 40% - Andrew's Tasting Note: "Nose: big caramel and toffee with some new leather shoes; browning apple and Demerara sugars; Palate: medium bodied, and honeyed with some dark chocolate, juicy orange and more new leather, browning white fruits and Demerara sugars; Finish: honeyed and leathery, with fading citrus and more browning white fruits. - $83.99
Macallan 1824 Sienna –43% -  Andrew's Tasting Note: "Nose: candied fruits and spice, Aunt Jemima, Bing cherries and candied orange slices with expensive leather handbags and Eatmore candy bars; Palate: rich and nutty, more Aunt Jemima, marzipan, candied fruits and smooth expensive leather; classic dark fruit notes, licorice and Christmas cake emerge with another helping of Eatmore candy bars; Finish: long and nutty with more Christmas cake and soft leather; Licorice Goodies and candied fennel offer a final flourish. - $159.99
OMC Macallan 15 Year – 50% - Distilled: October 1997 – Bottled: F...

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