Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 25 - The Grand Finale - Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.117
Posted on October 25, 2024
KWM Whisky Advent 2017 Day 25 – The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.117: Smoky, salty, sweet porridgeWords by Andrew and Evan
As has become a tradition, we are capping off the Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar with a special 100mL bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Why a 100mL? Because you made it through the first 24 days and you deserve it… actually, it is because the Society doesn’t bottle 50mls, but they do bottle 100ml whiskies, and we redesigned our Whisky Advent Calendar box a few years back to accommodate it.
About the Scotch Malt Whisky Society: The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is the world’s largest whisky club, and also an independent bottler. As a club it has close to 30,000 members all over the world, and branches in close to 20 different countries. It is an independent bottler that has been thrice accorded the honour of Independent Bottler of the Year by Whisky Magazine. It bottles as broad a range of single cask, single malt Scotch whiskies as any other firm, and it doesn’t stop there. It has also bottle Japanese whiskies, Bourbon, Grain whisky, Cognac, Armagnac and Gin. Whether it is a whisky, or another spirit, the Society always bottles the spirit from a single cask, straight from the cask, Unfiltered. Undiluted. Unrivaled.
Kensington Wine Market is proud to be the original home of the Society in Canada, and its exclusive retailer in Southern Alberta and all parts east. Over the last six years we have introduced more than 500 whiskies to more than a thousand Canadian members. Every month we launch at least 6, and usually 7 new whiskies. Membership is easy and gives you exclusive access to the widest selection of single cask single malt whiskies anywhere in the world. We also hold month outturn tastings at the shop. Only Scotch Malt Whisky Society members can buy our exclusive single cask single malt whiskies, but anyone can try them. We’re confident once you’ve had a taste you will want to join the club. For more information on the SMWS you can visit our web page or www.smws.ca .
For the second year in a row, this year’s Scotch Malt Whisky Society whisky is a cask selected especially for the Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar. Cask 10.117 is not yet available for sale, and will be launched early in 2018. We can’t tell you what distillery #10 is, but there isn’t much you can’t find on the internet anymore. This is the 117th cask of Distillery #10 bottled by the Society. It is from a refill Ex-Bourbon Barrel, bottled at 61.2%. Its name, is “Smoky, salty, sweet porridgeâ€, a named inspired by the Tasting Panel’s tastin...
Kensington Wine Market Whisky Advent Day 24 - Kilchoman 2007 KWM 25th Anniversary 10 Year
Posted on December 7, 2021
KWM Whisky Advent 2017 Day 24 - Kilchoman 2007 KWM 10 YearThe Isle of Islay is the home to some of the most iconic distilleries in Scotland: Bowmore, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich and more. It is a Mecca for whisky lovers the world over, and when Anthony Wills had a dream to open his own distillery Islay was the only place to do it. He didn’t want to build a large modern distillery when the barley is trucked in and the spirit trucked away. The industry has changed a lot over the last century, and some of the charm and tradition has been lost along the way. With Kilchoman (pronounced Kil-ho-man) Anthony wanted to build a farm distillery, returning Islay's whisky industry to its roots.
Kilchoman not only malts some of its barley on site, but it grows it in the fields surrounding the distillery. The distillery was founded at Rockside Farm on the Western side of Islay. For a few short years it was the westernmost distillery in Scotland. An even smaller distillery on the Isle of Lewis bares this honour today. Rockside farm is located a mile inland from the beautiful white sands of Machir Bay, and beyond that lies thousands of miles of open ocean until you hit the east coast of Canada. For most of the 11+ years it has now been producing whisky there was a bit of an uneasy relationship between Kilchoman and the farm, that came to an end a couple years ago, when the distillery literally bought the farm.
In addition to producing the whisky on site, Kilchoman is also one of the few distilleries in Scotland to bottle on site. Would it disappoint you to learn that some of the best know whisky brands in Scotland are reduced to bottling strength with de-ionized city tap water? Both Kilchoman and Bruichladdich Distillery on Islay bottle their whiskies with the same water they use to produce them.
With more than a decade of distilling behind it, and demand that seemingly outstrips supply each and every year, Kilchoman has a lot of wind in its sails. The distillery is in the midst of a big expansion, at least by Kilchoman's standards, with production set to more than double from 200,000L a year, to more than 450,000L a year. This might sound like a lot, but it is still less than 1/8th of Laphroaig’s production and not even 7% of Caol Ila's. But still fans of this bold but smooth Islay malt, can expect to see a lot more of it in the decades ahead.
And more importantly, this year we have a special treat. To help us celebrate our 25th Anniversary, Founder and Owner Anthony Wills was kind enough to let us select and bottle one of Kilchoman’s oldest casks. Our 2007 Kilchoman is the oldest whisky from the distillery to be sold in Canada, and it doesn’t disappoint. A sign of even greater things to come!
Kilchoman 2007 KW...
Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 23 -
Posted on November 12, 2023
KWM Whisky Advent Day 23 – Gordon Macphail Highland Park 8 YearHighland Park was until recently Scotland’s northernmost distillery. Officially established in 1798 it was also one of the first to be licensed. But the distillery’s actual origins are shrouded in the mists of time, and the fog which frequently blankets the Orkney archipelago. The distillery was either founded by the legendary and larger than life priest Magnus Eunson, or a farmer named David Robertson. There is also some indication the distillery may have originally been called Rosebank, and later Kirkwall. But for today lets work on the assumption the distillery was established as Highland Park by Magnus Eunson.
Before he took his distillery legit, he was said to have been a prolific illicit distiller and smuggler. In one tale he caught forewarning of a raid by the exciseman, or gauger…  Legends suggest he hid his barrels in a church and covered them with a white cloth. When the guagers arrived they found the men kneeling in prayer. Eunson is said to have whispered “small poxâ€, and that was all the taxmen needed to hear!
Highland Park is one of the most beautiful distilleries in Scotland, tucked into the hills on the outskirts of the Orkney capital of Kirkwall. The buildings are built from an assortment of dark stones, which if memory serves, would have originally served as ballast in the many ships that visited the island. The island was the final stop most British ships traveling to Hudson Bay would have made. They would have taken on provisions including fresh water and whisky. One of the earliest purchasers of whisky from the island would have been British traders sailing for Hudson’s Bay. By the 1850s Highland Park had a reputation for good quality single malt, and was also supplying the biggest blended whisky brands: Ballantines, Dewars and Chivas with stock.
Highland Park is one of less than a dozen distilleries to retain its tradition floor maltings. This malting accounts for about 20% of Highland Park’s production, and is heavily peated with Orkney peat. Orkney peat is famous for having a lighter more delicate impact than other Scottish peats, owing to the archipelago’s geography and climate. The Orkneys are so far north, and exposed to such power winds, that few trees can take root. As a result the islands peat does not contain any wood or crucially pine needles, which give a more acidic, medicinal profile. The 20% of heavily peated malt is blended with unpeated malt from the mainland before mashing.
Gordon Macphail Highland Park 8 Year – 43% - Refill Sherry Hogshead & Ex-Bourbon Barrels – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: honeyed and waxy;...
Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 22 -
Posted on November 12, 2023
KWM Whisky Advent 2017 Day 22 – Glenfiddich 18 YearFor the second time in the 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar we are featuring a distillery bottled Glenfiddich, and we are excited to do so, because revisiting the Glenfiddich 18 Year is a little like reconnecting with an old friend. While some things changes, others standfast and hold true. The family owned firm of William Grant & Sons, parent company of Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries is a good example of this, as their 6th generation starts to get involved in the business.
In some ways, it is remarkable that the firm is still family owned and going strong. In 1953 William Grant Gordon, the 3rd generation of owners, passed away, bequeathing the firm to his sons. Charles and Sandy were young, 26 and 22 years of age at the time. Many a business might have suffered from such a loss, but William Grants was in safe hands. Charles continued to grow the Blended Scotch whisky side of the business and built the firms grain distillery, Girvan in 1963. A malt distillery was run at the facility from 1968 to 1965, called Ladyburn. In 2007 William Grants opened a new malt distillery on the site called Ailsa Bay.
The other son, Sandy, is the one credited with taking Glenfiddich single malt global. The firm heavily promoted their product in print and on television. They sold an impressive 4,000 cases in their first year, a figure that grew to 174,000 cases in just a decade. Glenfiddich has been the World’s bestselling single malt whisky, with the exception of 2014, when for a year Glenlivet took that honour. Demand for the distillery’s single malt is continuing to grow today. The distillery currently produces a little over $13 million litres of spirit a year, but this figure is set to sky rocket with a whole new production site set to open!
Glenfiddich 18 Year- 40% - Oloroso Sherry & Ex-Bourbon – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: creamy and tropical, treacle sauce and maple butter; melons, mango and papaya; chocolate shavings and cinnamon dusted on top of a foamy cappuccino. Palate: still creamy, tropical and fruity with maple syrup and more subtle treacle notes; more mango, papaya and flambéed banana; more dark chocolate shavings and cinnamon, soft leather and some salted caramel. Finish: long, coating and fruity. Comment: it is nice to revisit the old standbys and remind yourself how pleasant they can be.†- $153 for 750ml – or – $13for 50ml
Stay tuned for KWM Whisky Advent Day 23 Tomorrow!
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Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 21 - Glengoyne 15 Year
Posted on November 12, 2023
KWM Whisky Advent 2017 Day 21 - Glengoyne 15 YearGlengoyne was officially founded in 1833, as Burntfoot Distillery by the Edmondson family, who were the areas major landowner. There was distilling taking place on the site for decades before the 1830s. The distillery sits on the edge of the Highlands, its warehouses technically in the Lowlands. A great hill rises behind the distillery, shorn of trees by Scotlands tempestuous climate. It would have provided an excellent vantage point from which to spot the taxman approaching.
The distillery was acquired by the McLelland family in the 1850s and passed on to the Lang brothers of Glasgow in 1876. The changed the distillery’s name to Glen Guin, which was anglicised to Glengoyne in 1905. The distillery was acquired by Robertson & Baxter in 1965. This firm would later become part of the Edrington Group (A Trust) who own Macallan, Highland Park, Glenrothes and Glenturret). It was an important component in their blends.
The distillery’s single malts slowly started to gain a following in the mid-2000s, after it was acquired by Ian Macloed Distillers in 2003. Ian Macleod had and eye to increasing Glengoyne’s exposure as a single malt. The Glengoyne 15 Year, the whisky we are sampling tonight, was introduced in 2012 and has been a staple in our shop ever since. Glengoyne, like Macallan, Glenfarclas and Glendronach, is a whisky predominantly matured in European oak Ex-Sherry.
The distillery’s production, a little over 1 million litres, is small. It’s focus is on quality over quantity, and it is not afraid to take its time. It has very long fermentations and distillations in comparison with other distilleries. The consistency of its spirit profile the most important consideration.
Glengoyne 15 Year – 43% - Cask Specifications: 30% 1st Fill American Oak Bourbon. 20% 1st Fill European Oak Sherry, 50% Hand-selected quality Oak Refill casks. – My Tasting Note: “Nose: English marmalade on burnt toast, firm leather and milk chocolate; creamy and fruity; citrus fruits and new rubber boots in the rain. Palate: big, rich and smooth; loads of caramel, toffee and milk chocolate; Toffifee; more marmalade on burnt toast before heading out in the drizzle in a new pair of rubber boots; the silky fruits follow with tropical tones and dried apricot. Finish: medium, it tapers off but gently lingers. Comment: very easy drinking, complex but not a thinker; the kind of dram you want after a long and exhausting day!†- $90 for 750ml – or - $11 for 50ml!
Stay tuned for KWM Whisky Advent Day 22 tomorrow!
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