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Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Day 1 - Cadenhead Dailuaine 2004 KWM Cask

Posted on November 27, 2023

Welcome to the Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar!

For the 4h straight year we have curated and assembled our own bespoke Whisky Advent Calendar. We hope you will follow our journey of whisky discovery over the next 25 days. Each and every day of Advent we will describe the whisky in question and publish our own tasting note for the day in question's whisky. We will also give you a background on the distillery and producer. You can follow along each day on the Kensington Wine Market Blog: https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/blog/ , Twitter: https://twitter.com/kensingtonwm , Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kensingtonwm/ and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kensingtonwinemarket/ . We encourage comments and feedback.



We are very proud of both the contents and the look of our 2017 Calendar. For that, we would like to thank KWM Alumnist Jean-Paul Berube, who has created the artwork on all four annual editions. We also have Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Tree, which you'll be seeing a lot of over the next month!



I hope you enjoy the Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar, 25 Days of Dram Fine Whisky!

Day 1 - Cadenhead Dailuaine 2004 KWM Cask

We are starting off the Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent Calendar with our first-ever exclusive single cask of Dailuaine and just our second-ever cask from independent bottler Cadenhead. We have been working with Cadenhead for a number of years now as their principal retailer in Canada. Over that time we have been blown away not just by the quality of their whiskies, but also their value. Cadenhead offers some of the best value single malts Scotch whiskies, blends and blended malts. We also love the quirky nature of their firm and the colourful cast of characters who work for them.

Founded in 1842 WM Cadenhead is Scotland's oldest independent bottler. An independent bottler is a firm that bottles whiskies from a range of distilleries under its own label. The business that would come to be known as William Cadenhead (today known as Cadenheads) was founded in 1842 at 47 Netherkirkgate in Aberdeen, from which it would trade for the next 130 years. The vinter and distilling agency was founded by George Duncan who brought his brother-in-law William Cadenhead into the business 10 years later. When Duncan passed suddenly in 1858 Cadenhead took over the business and promptly changed its name. Cadenhead was considered a good businessman, community builder and poet.

In 1904 Cadenhead passed, turning the business over to Robert Duthie. Under Duthie, the business turned its focus more toward independent bottlings. He also had a penchant for producing vatted malts, what we would today call Blended Malts. Duthie's most notable brands were the Heilanman and a more premium offering Putachieside. He was also an innovativ...

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Canadian Harvest - Wine and Cheese with Davis

Posted on November 29, 2017

30 years ago there was not much to choose from in terms of quality Canadian Wine (or cheese for that matter), so we decided to celebrate how far we have come with a tasting of the best Canada has to offer from coast to coast. While the Canadian wine industry is still in its infancy compared to old world producers, that just means we are able to experiment far more in order to find out what works in our various different climates and soil types, which is very exciting! Who knows, one day the Okanagan may be famous for it’s Tempranillo or Gruner Veltliner.
As usual Peasant Cheese supplied all the wonderful cheeses, this time all of them Canadian. Here is what we tasted.

Bella Westbank Gamay
We started off with the Bella Westbank Gamay Noir Ancestral Sparkling wine. Bella is a winery located on the Naramata bench (though the vineyard for this wine is located in Westbank) which produces all traditional method, all organic sparking from exclusively Chardonnay and Gamay Noir grapes. This Rose is all natural and unfiltered Gamay Noir. The notes of rhubarb and tart cranberry worked perfectly with the Brie Paysan. $59.99
Bench 1775 Sauvignon Blanc
Bench 1775’s winery is located on the Naramata Bench just northeast of Penticton BC. They have 3 different vineyard sites, but the Sauvignon Blanc comes from the Naramata properties which have loamy silt soil. The blend is 100% Sauvignon Blanc aged in stainless steel. The style is veering towards New Zealand with notes of Gooseberry, fresh-cut grass, and citrus, which paired nicely with the Lindsey. $27.99
Synchromesh Riesling
Synchromesh is a family owned and operated winery out of Okanagan falls which almost exclusively produces Riesling. The name "Synchromesh" ties in with the family's past-time, which is amateur racing. This Riesling is a blend grapes harvested from their Okanagan Falls and Naramata vineyards. While this Riesling is somewhat sweet in term of grams/L of sugar (37), the insanely high acid and low pH balance it out perfectly. The notes of mandarin, poached pear, lemon and apple “meshed” beautifully with the Gavotte. $29.99
Norman Hardie Cab Franc
Norman Hardie trained as a sommelier in Dijon France, but after 7 years there decided to turn is efforts to making the wine himself. He travelled the world working in some of the best wineries for 6 years, before finding the soil he was looking for in Niagara. The cool climate and the calcareous clay-limestone soils were perfect for the old-world style he sought to produce. He uses a minimal intervention strategy with natural fermentation and utilizes all French oak for ageing his wine before bottling. The notes of dark berry’s worked well with the Migneron de Charlevoix. $46.99
Stag’s Hollow Tempranillo
A great forward thinking winery started in 1992 owned by ex-Calgarians Larry and Linda. They have geothermal power ...

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Intro to Single Malts

Posted on November 7, 2017

By Hunter

In line with most introductory classes, one is generally inclined to try and show basic concepts of spirits through the various bottles poured. When this is considered, it might seem strange that we look to particular bottlings to express these characters. It is obvious that doing so creates a loaded scenario in which the taster is in one way or another swayed by the various factors hidden behind the label of a bottle. This isn't to say that every whisky enthusiast is inclined towards subtle persuasions, but a question could be posed along the lines of: wouldn't it be a more pure experience to taste these spirits blind? In this capacity, one can grasp more fully the premise behind the style of a spirit and ideally take away more than just a singular impression of a distiller or bottling. Under this thesis and for the sake of practical knowledge I ventured to pour the seven whiskies selected blind to try and establish a more firm understanding of what makes each bottle a unique and particular expression of the single malt class as a whole. To add a little spice to the experience, I asked my colleague Shawn (beer wizard at KWM) to select a handful of the bottles and blind them from myself as well. It's not too often I can say that as the instructor I wasn't fully aware of what I was tasting, but I can definitely say the experience was enjoyable and challenging. Here is what we tried under the purest of circumstances.



Cadenhead Tamdhu 1991 24 Year
The idea behind this whisky was to show off how older whiskies and American oak interact. This bottling was fat and opulent, full of honeydew, bowls of sliced stone fruit with a side of honeysuckle nectar. Follow this up with bunches of flowers, creamed honey, and even tones of tropical fruit. This release is arguably the perfect expression of middling to older American oak matured spirit.  $235

Cadenhead Knockdhu 2006 10 Year
Young American oak influences in a handful of ways, but usually one can expect tons of vanillins, grass, citrus, coconut, as well as a clean conveyor of distillery character. This bottling is no exception, characterized by the classic Knockdhu barnyard tones, hay, lemon zest, lychee, and barley dust. Delightfully vibrant and fresh with tons of power, and, arguably, a clear example of a young American oak spirit. $115

Tormore Cote Rotie
As with the previous options tasted, an understanding of wine barrel maturation is a must. In the current market, wine barrel matured whiskies are becoming a foundational aspect of most distilleries core range. This release, matured in a red wine barrel from France, holds a heaping of the typical wine barrel characteristics to be expected, and more. The nose offers Welch's soft fruit candies, purple bubblegum tape, cranberry spiced punch, and a handful of red fruit concoctions. Tasting yields a lovely array of juicy, slightly acidic berries,...

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Awesome Acidic Ales All Around

Posted on May 24, 2018

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to talk about one of my favourite kinds of tastings ever. Just you try to stop me from doing a sour beer tasting. I dare you! I love the puckery acidic feeling, I love the tart funky quality given by wild yeasts, and I love that old world feel of Brettanomyces and the addition of weird fruits. Not to mention how well Cheese and meats pair with them, I mean how could you even resist a tasting like that?
Well, it was a small crowd this time around, which is often the case shortly after the summer comes to an end, plus a long weekend. But taste we must and taste we did! Here’s the fantastic selection we went through.



Frederick H. by The Bruery: Frederick H is the new and improved incarnation of the Hottenroth Berliner Weisse. The traditional style is made a little more unique with the use of their in-house yeast strains, and intensely cultured Foeders. Light bodied, decently tart, and lightly funky. ($13.89 for a 750mL bottle)

No Regratze by T0 0L: A smoked sour! Don't see too many of these around. This one boasts a mostly fruity profile with light smoke undertones. Pleasantly tart with a medium body and a decently dry and still tart finish. ($5.69 for a 330mL bottle)

The Dandy Wild Sour: Using a newly sourced wild yeast strain, the Dandy boys took their sour game to the next level. Their wild sour is light bodied with a big round acidity. ($9.99 for a 650mL bottle)

Oude Gueuze by Mikkeller and Boon: Mikkeller and Boon Gueuzerie collaborate to bring you this delightfully tart and complex blend of lambics, done in the traditional way, but aged in ex-Calvados barrels. ($18.89 for a 750mL bottle)

Celebration Yuzu Sour by Mikkeller: Fairly tart and funky brew with very notable zesty citrus aromas and flavours (but definitely distinct from your standard citrus). ($6.99 for a 500mL tall can)

The Dissident by Deschutes: A distinctive Oud Bruin, Flanders-style brown ale done with cherries, with a fruity, distinct aroma, along with malty brown sweet bread notes, oak, spice and a good fruity tartness. ($26.79 for a 650mL bottle)

Belle Royale by Driftwood: Tart cherries with mild mulling spice-like notes on a decently sour base. A wonderfully tasty beer that challenges the best out there! ($15.69 for a 650mL bottle)

A pretty darn tasty range if I do say so myself. I’d say there are some favourites in there! And one that made it hard for me to pick a #1, but my guests all agreed that Mikkellers Celebration Yuzu sour was the best of the bunch. Followed by Mikkellers Gueuze, and then T0 0Ls smoked sour.

And that's about all for this post, My next tasting blog will be for Autumn Ales, taking place this Friday, which is sold out I'm afraid. We are, however, releasing a new tasting schedule in a few weeks, and I've thought of a few excellent tasting...

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Scotch Malt Whisky Society Outturn for November 2017

Posted on November 5, 2017

November is the busiest months of the year when it comes to whisky tastings here at Kensington Wine Market. With nearly a tasting every day (and sometimes two in one day!) of the week for the first two weeks we are running non-stop to set up tastings hosted by ourselves, by Brand Ambassadors, and to tear apart the store for an upcoming sold out whisky festival. Just to add more fun to the mix we also through in a wine and/or beer tasting or three just to add to the fun!

The month started with two Scotch Malt Whisky Society Outturn tastings on Wednesday, November 1st and then there was a third SMWS tasting on Saturday the 4th. It was my privilege to host the two Wednesday tastings and Marty pitched in to run the Saturday event.

How does the Outturn look? As always it is an interesting and varied lineup featuring a 26-year-old Grain, two Islay Malts (one unpeated!), and a beautifully peated Highland Malt among others. Post-Brexit pricing still seems to be in effect as only one of the bottles in our lineup tipped surpassed $200 - and it did so just barely. Flavour and Value are the watchwords here, and Quality has not slipped one bit.

A big shout out to our neighbour's at Peasant Cheese for providing the small bites to compliment the whisky as always.

Curious about other available SMWS bottles? You can check out what is currently available at our store here. Feel free to fire Marty or myself an email if you have questions on any of them - or pop into our store for more information on and perhaps even taste of the curious and ever delightful green bottles.

Dive into the Society notes down below!

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
twitter: @sagelikefool
instagram: @kwmwhisky @sagelikefool

The Lineup:



G8.8 - BOTANIC GARDENS AND A SAWMILL
This 26 year old single grain whisky from a closed distillery comes in at 56.7% after maturing in a refill hogshead
Flavour profile: Light & delicate
Outturn: 222 bottles
Panel's tasting note: "The initial nose has subtle fruits and flowers – patience coaxes out soft toffee, chocolate-coated bananas and mandarins in syrup; all on clean new oak. The palate has an attractive delicacy – caramel wafers, ice-cream, honey and cherry chocolates, balanced by spiced bourbon, nuttiness and hints of grapefruit. On the reduced nose, sweet treats of orange and lemon candied slices, candy corn, and shaved coconut on chocolate custard are laid out on a table somewhere between the botanic gardens and a sawmill. The reduced palate has vanilla, custard creams, chocolate limes and marrons glacés, with some bourbon-like char and spice in the finish."
Drinking tip: "When you have the luxury of time"
$168

48.87 - FRISKY WHISKY
This 11 year old Speysider from a 1st fill...

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