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KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 2 - That Boutique-y Whisky Company Teaninich Batch 6 - 12-Year-Old

Posted on December 8, 2023

by Evan

It 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...

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KWM 2023 Whisky Calendar Blog Day 1 - Daftmill 15-Year-Old Cask Strength

Posted on November 1, 2025

by Evan

Welcome 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 &nda...

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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 EDITION

Inside 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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Welcome to the Kensington Wine Market 2023 Whisky Calendar

Posted on November 3, 2023

Welcome to the Kensington Wine Market 2023 Whisky Calendar

Inside 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.

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 once again be holding 5 nightly Whisky Calendar Recap Tastings over Zoom: on December 5, 10, 15, 20, and 27, which are open to anyone with one of our 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
...

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Wiens on Wine - Sparkling Wine (Part 5 – Wrapping Up)

Posted on October 6, 2023

This post originally appeared in our Wine Line email newsletter. Stan was kind enough to let us post it on our blog as well. Thanks, Stan!

Learn alongside Stan as he completes WSET Level 4.

Days to Final Exam: 314

This week’s focus: Sparkling Wine (Part 5 – Wrapping Up)

Let me start with my conclusion, wax eloquent and then prepare for the next series which will be on fortified wines (Port, Sherry, etc.).

The bottom line is being able to purchase sparkling wine confidently for any occasion. I think this category of wine, even though it is the fastest-growing category worldwide, could and should be growing faster! Why? Being a lover of red wine, I have expanded my appreciation for how well sparkling wine pairs with food, refreshes the palate and has an incredible variety of styles to fit any and every occasion. Therefore, sparkling wine IS for special occasions AND for any occasion! So let’s tie up some loose ends.

This five-part series on sparkling wine provides a glimpse into how fascinating and detailed this beautiful category can be. Key foundations to your understanding: methods used to make sparkling wine; comfort with reading the label; and navigating some of the key regions for sparkling wine around the world. With this knowledge, you are well on your way to being able to choose and enjoy sparkling wine for the patio, dinner, and special occasions.

We have covered Champagne and Italy in detail but it would be helpful to know that every wine region produces some form of sparkling wine. I will briefly comment on Crémant and Cava but be aware of key sparkling wine regions of Germany (called Sekt, Deutscher Sekt etc.), England, the USA and South Africa (called Cap Classique for traditional method wines).

Crémant is a term used to identify traditional method sparkling wine from France, outside of the specific region of Champagne. In France, there are eight key regions of which three completely dominate: Crémant de Alsace, Crémant de Bourgogne (Burgundy), and Crémant de Loire. Crémant typically is: whole bunch pressed; hand-harvested; nine months lees aging (the extended time the wine spends aging on the yeast cells which have died during fermentation, giving a brioche, biscuit aroma); 13% ABV maximum; typically uses the grape variety the region is known for; and a minimum four atmospheres of pressure (remember the difference between frizzante and spumante?). So if you love Chenin Blanc as a still white wine variety, try a Crémant de Loire, as it will likely use this same variety.

Cava is a term used to identify traditional method sparkling wine from the northeast region of Spain, known as Cataluña (Rioja and Valencia also produce some Cava). Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada are the common local grape varieties bu...

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