Signatory 30th Annv Glenlossie 1984
$1,129.99
Exclusive to KWM, this 33 year old Signatory has bee bottled at 56.7% after maturing in a single Refill Sherry Butt, No. 2533. 530 Total Bottles. We brought in just 2, one for a special tasting leaving only one more for us to sell! Part of Signatory's 30th Anniversary line. Distilled: 01/10/1984. Bottled: 27/07/2018.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: old school sherry, sticky toffee pudding and treacle sauce; Demerara sugar, cold tea and a hint of old Cognac: perfumed grape-y fruits, soft earthy leather and fruity tobacco; candied orange, caramel apple and dried, diced tropical fruits.
Palate: rich, round and fruity; more old school sherry notes, sticky toffee pudding with treacle sauce floating in vanilla cream; tastes old, antique-y and Cognac-like; more grape-y fruits, earthy leather and fruity tobacco, not so much the perfume; on the subject of fruits, more orange (peels this time), dried apple chunks and some more tropical ones too: melons, mango and papaya; becomes increasingly spicy with everything from cinnamon sticks and fresh ginger to Dutch licorice; there is even some dark chocolate with chili oil.
Finish: though the palate is big, bold and layered the whisky finishes more subtly; I hesitate to say the finish is short, it is just much lighter than the palate with vanilla, dried fruits and spices lingering long.
Comment: Glenlossie is an underappreciated malt, and one we rarely see bottled anymore; this is a lovely Glenlossie, very old school style sherry with a lovely nose and palate; the only weak point, if you can even call it that, is the finish; very elegant and spicy!
Signatory 30th Annv Mortlach 1991
$1,049.99
Bottled at 51.7% after 27 years in a Refill Sherry Butt, No. 4239, only 542 Bottles were filled. We have brought two bottles in to Canada, for a special one off Signatory 30th Anniversary Tasting. At the time of writing, we have only one remaining for sale. We are not sure if we can get any more.Part of Signatory's 30th Anniversary lineup!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: classic big sherry Mortlach; Eatmore candy bars, chocolate fudge and aged brandy soaked Christmas cake; meaty and a touch leathery with both decadent and dark spices; wet Jujubes and licorice babies; a touch of sweet pipe tobacco.
Palate: round, rich and spicy; this is big, earthy, leathery and nutty; more meaty-leathery tones with earthy dunnage warehouse notes and bolder, firmer tobacco than the nose implied; more crisp, decadent and dark spices: clove, anise, licorice root and wormwood; there is a touch of chocolate, like the nose, but it is unsweetened and bitter; the Eatmore candy bar is there too along with some chewing tobacco.
Finish: long, drying, nutty and very spicy; this a bold, meaty sherried dram from start to finish.
Comment: I know a lot of you are reading this with your thumb on the sulphur panic button... I'm pretty sure you won't find any here, other than the characteristic meatiness of Mortlach whisky; having said that, this is a very darkly sherried dram, not a sweet style of sherried single malt; see a lot of parallels to Macallan 25 that was and Yamazaki 25 to boot; I'd be curious to see how this whisky opens up as it oxidizes in an open bottle; big, bold, lovely... Mortlach!
Signatory 30th Annv Port Ellen 1982
$2,999.99
This 35 year old Port Ellen is from a single Refill Sherry Butt, bottled 55.1%. It is exclusive in Canada to KWM. We purchased a dozen bottles, and just 2 are left! 93pts Serge @Whisky Fun!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: savoury with a fine balance of elegant smoke, juicy fruits and salty maritime tones; Alaskan King Crabs and Nova Scotia Lobster dipped in butter; soft oily peats, dried kelp and ripe fruits: honey dew melon, lemon, pineapple and candy apple; salted caramel and white chocolate.
Palate: creamy, fruity and savoury with more clean elegant smoke; the seafoody-maritime notes continue with scallops poached in butter with a balsemic reduction; more lobster and crab; the soft fruits are still there, as is the vanilla and salted caramel; still oily and tarry with a touch of Dutch licorice; the tropical fruits pop up again, ripe, expressive and a touch waxy; more bright lemon; silky and seductive.
Finish: big, coating and very elegant; tarry oils, clean smoke, savoury seafood, salted caramel and long lingering lemon and tropical fruits cloaked in waxy vanilla.
Comment: this is one of the oldest Port Ellens I have ever tasted, and it does not disappoint; there is an almost perfect balance between the oak and original spirit character; time has imubed tropical fruits and silky-waxy character; superb!
93pts Serge
"Port Ellen 35 yo 1982/2018 (55.1%, Signatory Vintage, 30th Anniversary, refill sherry butt, cask #2040, 567 bottles) Five stars
Paw! Colour: straw. Yes, only straw, greatest of news. Nose: there are three words in the name of the cask: refill, sherry, and butt. The one that’s important is ‘refill’, in my opinion. Indeed, there’s no embarrassing raisins in sight, no half-sulphur, no prunes on a binge, and no unnecessary spices. Rather a very subtle, almost whispering coastalness, with ideas of langoustines, kelp, crab, drops of petrol, and the most complex softer olive oil, the one that’s made out of those small pink olives, the name escapes me. Wonderful complexity here. With water: charcoal, beach bonfire, cigar smoke, lanoline, paraffin… It remains rather incredibly soft and elegant. Hope the palate won’t have gotten weak and flat (yeah right). Mouth (neat): well, given the soft nose, I had thought the palate would be easy and almost smooth indeed. I lose, game, set and match. In truth this is a wonderful example of a Port Ellen that became akin to some kind of peated and tarred limoncello. Add bits of seashells and olives, and there, you have it. Indeed, it’s not a matter of complexity, it’s a matter of cohesion and fullness. With water: please call the Anti-maltoporn Brigade, sofort! Once again, it’s not spectacular, it’s not very complex, it’s not even loud on the markers (tar and such), it’s just a splendid, perfectly chiseled whole. Port Ellen. Finish: and there, it gets more extravagant, more citrusy, almost youthful. Only there, in the aftertaste, we shall feel one or two raisins from the sherry. Comments: seriously, it’s incredible that it would have remained this vibrant, despite the thirty-five years in that old butt. But then again, it was refill...SGP:467 - 93 points."
Glenfarclas Family Cask 1989 Winter 2018
$1,189.99
This 1989 vintage Glenfarclas from the distillery's Family Cask range was bottled in the winter of 2018. It is 28 years old at a cask strength of 51.4% ABV. From a Sherry butt, cask 13010. Only five bottles in total are available. It currently has a Whiskybase score of 92.00.
Old Malt Cask 20th Annv Arran 21 Year
$234.99
Exclusive to KWM, this 21 year old Arran is one of the oldest independent bottlings from this distillery, which only opened in 1995. A 1997 Arran, matured in a Refill Sherry Butt
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: chocolate sauce, thick caramel, candied fruit and fig jam; soft leather, fruit cake and apple strudel with whipped cream; the feel on the nose is silky, there are layers I can't even reach... but the pleasure is in the effort.
Palate: big, rich, candied and fruity; chocolate sauce, more rich caramel, Jujubes and orange peels pulled from an Old Fashioned cocktail; bags of fruit, more figs, citrus and white fruits: the apple strudel with whipped cream is still there.
Finish: long, soft and creamy; more fruits, Jujubes, caramel, vanilla and whipped cream.
Comment: simply lovely; silky, fruity, honeyed and decadent; this is a flawless single cask of Arran, and a dangerously drinkable one at that!
Producer’s Tasting Note
Nose: Ripe plum, strawberry, creamy vanilla and caramel.
Palate: Hints of almonds, black tea, mineral notes with more sherry influence.
Finish: Long and sweet with marzipan and honey.
Old Malt Cask 20th Anv Laphroaig 12 Year
$209.99
Part of Old Malt Cask's 20th Anniversary line, this 12 year old Laphroaig was distlled in 2006 and bottled in 2018 at 50% ABV, as is typical for the OMC lineup.
"These beautifully retro bottles were released to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Hunter Laing's Old Malt Cask series, and man...have they done a bang-up job! Both on the time warp branding and the stuff in the bottle. Each of the anniversary bottlings was fantastic, but this Laphroaig is on a whole different level. If you're a long time peathead, you're bound to recognize the old school fruit-driven flavour profile of this one. I hate to say it, but they rarely make 'em like this these days. Knock out whisky!" - Curt R.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: ozone, juicy malt, hickory smoke and sea-salt; Russian caramel, burnt orange peel and salty Dutch licorice; lemon juice, seaweed wafers, melons and cream.
Palate: Old English Butterscotch, seaweed wafers, smoked creme brulee and more Russian caramel; tarry with more hickory smoke; juicy malt and briny-medicinal notes: detol in a dirty mop bucket; orange, lemon and melons beneath the surging sweet peat; mossy, earthy and tarry with fennel and anise.
Finish: long, coating and medicinal with juicy malt, tarry smoke and briny caramel.
Comment: this is a big, juicy and punchy Laphroaig; chewy with lots of layers but no rough edge; dare we call it an Old School Laphroaig?
Producer's Tasting Note
Nose: BBQ notes, roasted ham, beach bonfire.
Palate: Seaweed, charred wood, rich maritime peat.
Finish: Long, lingering with dense peat and rich ashy notes.
Adelphi Linkwood 1993 48.4%
$379.99
We love Linkwood. Not only have we had a great run of recent indie Linkwood expressions through our doors, but we bought an ENTIRE BARREL of the stuff last year (a wee bit of which is still available!). But while that one was in decent supply, this one will be much more limited. Only four bottles are making their way to KWM. 1993 is starting to be recognized as a special year in Scotch whisky. While we don't typically walk that 'vintage' road that the wine world does, it's becoming increasingly difficult to argue against the fact that certain years seem to be better than others. Keep your eye out for '93 vintages. Mark my words.
48.4% abv. A single ex-Bourbon Hogshead.
Producer Tasting Note
Red Mackintosh apples, clementine zest, marzipan and coconut biscuits. Delicate mouthfeel with angelica root, coconut flakes and dusty chocolate powder. Lingering finish with memories of old school beauty parlours and a kick of aniseed.
Adelphi Glen Grant 1985
$459.99
Someone blew the dust off an old archive bottling! We're not sure why we were lucky enough to receive this old gem, and we're certainly not going to start asking questions now. This is a 'start the car!' kind of opportunity. Grab it and run. This '85 Glen Grant was bottled about a decade ago and limited to a mere 64 bottles! We're getting a mere four of them and almost all are spoken for. Move fast.
62.1% abv
Producer Tasting Note
The nose is prickly and takes a while to yield its secrets: first red wine vinegar, then glacé cherries, glacé kumquats and angelica root, and finally vanilla sponge. Water opens it considerably: fragrant jasmine tea, fondant sweets, and still some glace fruits (now greengages?). The fruits come through delectably - very sweet, but vivacious and even peppery. Creamy but light in the mouth with a long, sweet finish.
Adelphi Ledaig 2007
$144.99
Like most peated whisky, Ledaig works really well in youth. The peat is lively and vibrant, and acts as much more of a driver in terms of the overall flavour profile. And as with most whisky, cask strength is the best way to serve it up. This Adelphi Ledaig has been awakened from its slumber in a refill ex-Sherry Hogshead after 11 long years and bottled at an astounding 61.6% abv.
Only a couple bottles left (if Evan hasn't already scooped 'em up!)
Producer Tasting Note
Sun dried seaweed, weathered barnacles, working dockyards and tarry rope sweetens to rice pudding a white chocolate mice. Charred sticks, smoking kippers, gun powder and salt-encrusted cod. A true West Coast whisky.