Adelphi Bowmore 1994
$449.99
Only 8 bottles are coming to KWM of this 25 year old Bowmore. Matured in a Refill Sherry Butt #554, filled in 1994, and bottled at 54.2%. Scoring a very respectable 89.71 on Whisky Base.
Producer Tasting Note
"A rich colour of maple syrup with a good bead. On the nose we found honey cured gammon with roasted pineapple, Kilpatrick oysters, Applewood smoked cheddar, burnt fruitcake, sultanas and a mix of dates, almonds and pecans nuts. An incredibly layered whisky on the palate starting with Ardennes pate with rowan berries, sooty, salty & sweet. At the back of the palate you find Raclette and finishing with an ashy chocolate mud cake."
Cooper's Choice Skara Brae 2002 54.5%
$106.49
The Secret Orkney is a euphemism for Highland Park... sure, there is another distillery in the Orkneys, but it almost certainly didn't produce any of the mystery Orkney single malt flooding the market these days! Distilled in 2002, and matured in an ex-Bourbon cask, No. 77, for 16 years. Exclusive to KWM, just 30 bottles available. 54.5%.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: honeyed and malty with clean smoke; heather in full bloom, candied cherries and bright juicy orange; a touch of tarry peat oils and scallops poached in lemon and butter.
Palate: starts slow but builds rapidly in to a lush, savoury and elegantly smoky malt; more butter poached scallops with lemon; juicy orange, candied cherries, canteloup and bags of honey; the smoke is clean and the peat only a light delicate touch; thick, oily and coating with big chewy malt.
Finish: honeyed, creamy and coating with more citrus, clean smoke and honey… have I mentioned honey yet?!
Comment: don’t let the pale colour deceive you… this is a sweet, thick and very honeyed Highland Park; juicy, malty and oh so honeyed, with clean smoke and faint, delicate Orkney peat; yum.
Cooper's Choice Caol Ila 2009 52% Muscat
$119.99
This 2009 vintatge Caol Ila from Cooper's Choice is one of a pair of new Caol Ila's we have seen from this bottler recently. Unlike its more naked sibling, this 10 year old was finished in a Muscat Wine Cask before being bottled at 52% ABV.
Producer Tasting Note
"Nose: lightly smoked mussels with lemon and peat alongside an aromatic sweetness.
Palate: oily with bacon fat and liquid smoke. Citrus notes and sweet malt amongst all the peat. Big bodied and enormously satisfying.
Finish: fantastic length with smoke and fruit."
Cooper's Choice Croftengea 2006
$104.99
Distilled in 2006 and matured in an ex-Bourbon Cask, this 13 year old Heavily Peated Loch Lomond has been bottled at 52.5%.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: grassy peat with soft fruity notes; farmyard aromas.
Palate: a good punch of peat with sweet malt; roasted nuts, smokey spice and herbal notes.
Finish: earthy soft peat ash; tar and salt.”
Valinch & Mallet Wardhead 21 Year
$213.74
A superb 21 year old single cask of Wardhead or "teaspooned" Glenfiddich, distilled in 1997 and matured in an ex-Bourbon Hogshead. Whether it was teaspooned or not, the whisky is predominantly if not entirely Glenfiddich. Bottled at 54.8%. Only 6 bottles are coming to KWM, and we opened one for a tasting... so make that 5!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: nutty with heather honey and bright tropical fruits; mango, papaya and Kiwi fruits; honeydew melon, oak shavings from a cooper's shop, chewy barley and pine resin.
Palate: soft, floral decadent and very tropical: more mangos, papaya and Kiwi fruit; the honeydew melons are still there with some midori thrown in for good measure; still decadent, waxy and floral with agave nectar.
Finish: big, bold, long and decadent with soft spices and loads more tropical fruits; still waxy, decadent and floral; more agave nectar.
Comment: the best bottling of Warhead I have yet to experience; elegant, complex and very drinkable.
Valinch & Mallet Tamdhu 20 Year
$278.99
This is an exceptional single cask of Tamdhu, distilled in 198 and matured in an ex-Bourbon Hogshead. The whisky was bottled after 20 years at a cask strength 53.3%. Only 18 bottles came to Canada. Tamdhu is a distillery best known for producing sherry cask matured whiskies, and used to be a part of Highland Distillers along with Glengoyne and Macallan...
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: dumpy, candied cherries and orange peel soaked in an old fashioned cocktail; doughy, dense and decadent; cookies n cream and cardamom flavoured ice ceram; molten white chocolate and caramel chews; cantaloupe and mangos with black pepper.
Palate: thick, chewy and very rich; creme caramel, more molten white chocolate, caramel chews and cardamom ice cream; bright orange rind and candied cherry pulled from an Old Fashioned cocktail; Strawberry Twizzlers and fruit Jelly Bellies; butter tart filling.
Finish: coating, creamy, fruity, spicy and long; more waxy Strawberry Twizzlers and Jelly Bellies.
Comment: this is soft, floral, fruity and very elegant; a stunning 20 something single malt, and a stark contrast from distillery matured Tamdhu which is typically more heavily sherried.
Valinch & Mallet Glenlossie 25 Year
$374.99
Distilled in 1993 and matured in a single ex-Bourbon Barrel, #19-2501, this 25 year old Glenlossie is a stunner! Only 6 bottles coming to KWM, and then it is gone forever... we opened one for a tasting too!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: soft leather, floral tones and candle wax; toasted oak chunks, lime zest and fruit fla; marcona almonds, potpourri; fresh raspberries and Starburst Fruit Candies.
Palate: light, fresh and fruity; raspberries galore: fresh, jammed and in sorbet; honeyed with candied lemon peel and limoncello; still waxy (fruits), more Starbursts and candle wax; more salty marcona almonds.
Finish: fresh, drying and very fruity; light but long and floral.
Comment: a very pretty, elegant malt; Davide hates this descriptor, but it is "very smooth...!" ;) .
Valinch & Mallet Bruichladdich 15 Year
$264.99
This is a curious unpeated Laddie, a distinct profile which has its fans, but it is a polarizing whisky, not everyone will love it! Distilled in 2003 and matured in a Madeira Butt before bottling after 15 years at a cask strength of 54.1%.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: leathery, musty and earthy with firm spices and a tart acidity; toasty with dried apple, cinnamon sticks and sherry vinegar; struck matches on a cool, damp, morning.
Palate: big, salty and toffeed with more dried apple and loads of spices: cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and ginger root; still tart, acidic and musty; decadent with sugars, leather and oak tannins; struck matches.
Finish: long, coating, drying, decadent and spicy; still musty and earthy with more baked apple and cinnamon.
Comment: I'm really torn on this one; I love the spice and fruit, even the hint of sulphur; but the acidity is too much for me... I know this style of Bruichladdich has its fans; look at it like this, lambic beers have legions of fans, but try as I might, it is not my cup of tea!
Rest & Be Thankful Fettercairn 2008
$122.99
A single ex-Bourbon Barrel matured cask of Fettercairn bottled at 55.9% after 10 Years.
About Rest & Be
"The name Rest & Be Thankful comes from the inscription on a stone made by soldiers who built a military road in 1753 in the West coast of Scotland; the road out of Glen Croe was so long and so steep that it was traditional for travellers to rest at the top and be thankful for having reached the highest point. Officially it is the A23 Trunk road. For centuries however it is known as the Rest and Be Thankful. Nearly 300 Years later, we want the joy of relaxing with a dram of a Rest & Be Thankful bottling, to have that same feeling of joy and satisfaction; one cannot always enjoy a dram at one of the most beautiful spots in Scotland but one can enjoy a taste of the unique beauty of Scotland anywhere in the world."