Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 15 - Glenglassaugh Torfa
Posted on November 12, 2023
KWM Whisky Advent Day 15 - Glenglassaugh TorfaFirst a quick appology for yesterday's Instagram post. In the bustle of the season we accidentally posted today's whisky... oops! We're sorry.
Glenglassaugh distillery is built into the sand dunes above the east end of the Sandend Bay on the Moray coast. Established in 1875 by Col. James Moir the distillery remained in the family until just 1892 when it became a part of Highland Distillers. The distillery was established at its location near the growing town of Portsoy to supply the town’s growing grocery business. It also helped that the distillery sat on the plentiful clean Glenglassaugh Springs, and it was also surrounded by bountiful barley fields. Highland Distillers, who also owned Macallan, Glenrothes and the Famous Grouse Blend owned the distillery from 1892 through 2008. The distillery didn’t operate uninterrupted during these years.
In 1960 the distillery had a major upgrade, they doubled production and changed to producing a lighter spirit. But the good times were not to last, the late 1970s and early 1980s were a difficult time for the industry. An enormous number of distilleries were closed between 1981 and 1993, many never reopened. Only 26 years after its major upgrade Glenglassaugh joined the list of closed distilleries. The industry downturn was brutal, but it didn’t last forever. In the 1990s interest in Scotch whisky, especially single malts began picking up, many of the closed distilleries we brought back to life, none of them later than Glenglassaugh; though Brora, Rosebank and Port Ellen are set to change this. It is surprising that Glenglassaugh ever re-opened at all, as the distillery was very remote and not especially well known, bottled seldomly even by independents.
In 2007 a group of Dutch investors, the Scaent Group, who had been looking for a distillery to purchase found their way to Glenglassaugh. They purchased the distillery and approximately 400 casks of pre-1986 stock from Highland Distillers. They took possession the following year and released the oldest introductory core range that any Scottish distiller ever has, consisting of 26, 30 and 40 year old single malts. After 6 months of intensive refurbishments, the First Minister of Scotland was on hand to turn on the mill for first time, November 28th 2008, reviving the distillery. In 2013 the distillery was purchased by the BenRiach Distillery Co. who also own BenRiach and Glendronach distilleries. BenRiach Distillery Co. was itself purchased by Brown Forman in 2016. As the post 2008 stocks mature, it will be interesting to see how the whiskies develop. They can’t be the same as the pre-closures stocks as much of the equipment changed, but in the hands of the BenRiach Distillery Co. they will be sure to make a mark. While we wait for more mature ...
Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 14 - Writers Tears Copper Pot
Posted on November 12, 2023
KWM Whisky Advent Day 14 - Writers Tears Copper PotToday’s is the first whisk(e)y in the 2017 edition of the Kensington Wine Market Whisky Advent Calendar not to be from a single distillery. For Day 14 of Advent, we are delving into our second Irish whiskey, but a more traditional one than the first. The Writers Tears Copper Pot is a blended Irish whiskey, composed of 60% pot still and 40% malt. There is a lot to unpack here, but before we go any further let’s quickly discuss the Irish spelling of the word whisk(e)y. The Irish, along with the Americans, are the only people in the world to employ an “e†in the spelling of whisk(e)y. The difference relates to Anglicizations of uisge beatha Scots Gaelic and usice beatha Irish Gaelic for “water of lifeâ€.
Single Pot Still, formerly, Pure Pot Still, is the most Irish of whiskey styles. The first whiskies in Ireland and Scotland were made from malted barley, essentially distilled beer. Unlike corn or wheat, barley has enzymes which can convert insoluble starches in the grain into fermentable sugars. Barley is also a hardy grain, so it is ideal for storing in cool, wet climates like Scotland and Ireland. Scottish and Irish whisk(e)y production in the 1700s did not escape the eyes of the government in London. Westminster sought to curb excessive drinking and tax its production. One way of doing this was by taxing malted barley by the ton. Although the alcohol yield per ton of barley can vary by strain and by harvest, taxmen could estimate the amount of whisky that would result from a given ton of barley. They could also estimate a distillery’s production for the purposes of taxation.
Over the course of the 18th Century the British imposed a series of “punishing malt taxesâ€. No one knows when or where the practice began, but Irish distillers began using a blend of malted and unmalted barley in their mashes as a way of avoiding or reducing their exposure to the “hated malt taxâ€. As is common in Canadian and American whiskies made principally from corn, you only need a small quantity of malted barley in the mash bill, 10-15%, for an efficient fermentation. So Irish distillers began making whiskey from a small amount of malted barley, and a greater amount of unmalted barley, or green malt. A uniquely Irish style of whiskey, Pure Pot Still, was born. In 2010 the style which had at least two other common names was legally re-categorized as Single Pot Still Whiskey.
Due to the Irish whiskey industry’s contraction, all Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey available today comes from the New Middleton Distillery in Cork. Some Single Pot Still Whiskey is bottled pure, under labels like: Red Breast, Powers, Green Spot, Writer’s Tear...
Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 13 - Gordon Macphail Balblair 10 Year
Posted on November 12, 2023
KWM Whisky Advent Day 13 – Gordon Macphail Balblair 10 YearBalblair 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 distillery bottlings don’t have an age statement range, instead releasing its whiskies in vintages. Independent bottlings of Balblair are increasingly rare, exception today’s Gordon Macphail Balblair, the only other whiskies available from this distillery in Alberta the distillery bottled vintages of 2005, 1999, 1990 and 1983. All of the whiskies are bottled at 46%, without artificial colouring. The Gordon Macphail bottling we are sampling today is from the Macphail’s Collection range, bottled at 43% after maturing in Refill Ex-Bourbon.
About the Gordon Macphail “Macphail’s Collection†(Courtesy Gordon Macphail): At the very heart of our business lies the sample room; its contents, the sum of over a century of experience maturing and bottling the finest Scotch whisky. We regularly sample the contents of our casks to make sure they are maturing well, only bottling them for sale when we believe they are truly ready. This approach to cask curation means we know exactly how spirit with a specific distillery character matures in different styles of oak. Using this knowledge, which has been handed down through four generations of the Urquhart family, we created 'The MacPhail's Collection': a selection of seven unique distilleries from across Scotland; providing the perfect starting point for a spirited journey to discovering the outstanding diverse flavours of single malt Scotch whisky.â€
Gordon Macphail Balblair 10 Year – 43% - Refill Ex-Bourbon Barrels – Andrew’s Tasting Note: “Nose: honey and orange strike ou...
Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 12 - Tullibardine Sovereign
Posted on November 12, 2023
KWM Whisky Advent Day 12 – Tullibardine SovereignTullibardine was founded in the old town of Blackford in 1949, a few miles down the road from the storied Gleneagles golf course. Though the distillery is relatively new by Scottish standards, the town of Blackford has been in the drinks business for 6th centuries. Situated just a few miles from the Ochil Hills, the town has long been blessed with pure, clean water, perfect for making beer. James IV famously made a visit to the town as a teenager in 1488, to acquire a cask of ale for his coronation. Legend holds the town, situated at a ford on the River Allan earned its named when Hellen, Queen to King Magnus, drowned in a storm.
The current Tullibardine distillery is the second to bear the name. The first operated for a year beginning in 1798 and again between 1814 and 1837. Though the distillery didn’t take hold the town remained a prominent brewing center with a maltings and three breweries. The Gleneagles Brewery was the last of these to close in 1927. William Delme-Evans, the mid-20th Century’s most famous distillery designer bought the old Gleneagles site in 1949 and set about opening Scotland’s first new distillery in half a century.
The distillery was built to supply young malt whisky for blending, and it was brought into service at the very beginning of the 20th Century’s first whisky boom. Over the course of the next 44 years it served as a workhorse of the rapidly expanding blended whisky market, changing hands a number of times until it was acquired by Whyte & Mackay in 1993. The following year they mothballed it, a decade into the crises which had closed nearly half of Scotland’s distilleries. It would lay silent for just under a decade. In 2004 the distillery and its buildings were purchased by a consortium of investors.
A lot of work was needed to get the distillery and buildings up to speed. Some of the site was sold off for a commercial development to raise cash. Much of the whisky was found to be matured in sub-standard casks, so it was re-racked into an assortment of fresh new barrels. The years between 2004 and 2011 may well be looked upon as the golden age of Tullibardine. Many stunning old whiskies were bottled, all of them at cask strength or at the very least 46%. There was a core range of vintages and young wine finishes. The distillery was seemingly on a roll, and then it was sold!
In 2011 the French wine and spirit group Picard took over. They have done much good for the distillery, including recently opening its own cooperage. The portion of the site originally sold off as a retail park, which had failed by the middle of this decade, was bought back by Picard, and is now being repurposed for the distillery. But they made one crucial decision that has not sa...
Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 11 - Shelter Point Single Malt
Posted on November 12, 2023
KWM Whisky Advent Day 11- Shelter Point Single MaltWhen Shelter Point whisky burst on to the scene with their Inaugural Run Single Malt last year, they took Canada by storm. At least Western Canada. We all knew it was coming, the first of the wave of BC Craft Distilleries to get a mature whisky to market. The Inaugural Run Single Malt, and the follow up, the Shelter Point Distiller’s Select Cask Strength (a single malt/rye hybrid) were both very well received. Shelter Point actually out sold Crown Royal Norther Harvest Rye, at least in our shop. This fall they have released two very interesting new releases: Shelter Point French Oak Finish and the Shelter Point Single Grain Montfort Lot DL 141.
Shelter Point Distillery was founded by Patrick Evans in 2011 in Oyster River BC. The distillery and the farm it sits on are located half way up the eastern coast of Vancouver Island. Patrick is a third generation farmer in the Comox valley, his family having been early pioneers in the area around the turn of the 20th Century. In 2005 Patrick and his family bought a University of British Columbia research farm that was once owned by his father. The farm sits on fertile land, ideal for the growing of barley, and atop a large natural aquifer.
The farm covers 380 acres with 2 kilometers of oceanfront. The farm is run in as sustainable a manner as possible. In the Distillery’s Words: “We do not plow or cultivate the soils. Instead, we use a heavy-duty grain seeder that cuts through the previous year’s stubble, opening up the ground with a round disc and allowing new seed to be dropped in the soil and then covered for germination. We over-seed harvested fields with winter wheat, rye or winter peas to increase the organic matter in the soil and rebuild the soil naturally. This action also benefits the many visiting waterfowl who overwinter on the farm, and minimizes the potential of soil erosion during winter rains. On some fields, we also apply a heavy spring application of compost or manure.â€
In 2009 when the decision was made to open a distillery, Patrick wanted to make sure they did things right. With the help of some Scottish investors and the Diageo veteran Mike Nicholson, a Vancouver Island transplant the distillery construction was completed in 2010, with the first distillation taking place in the spring of 2011 with barley grown on the farm. The distillery produced a range of vodkas and liqueurs while the early casks of whisky lay sleeping.
Shelter Point’s first single malt, the aforementioned Inaugural Run Single Malt, was released in May of 2016. We had early exclusivity on the product and were very impressed by its quality. Subsequent releases have not disappointed.
Shelter Point Single Malt - 46% - Matured in American Oak – A...
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