Glenfarclas Family Cask 1991 w19 2nd Sku
$494.99
Berry's Orkney Islands 1998 21 Year KWM
$159.99
Our last Orkney Island Cask from Berry Bros., an 18 Year, sold out in less than 2 months. We'll see how long this one lasts... I don't expect much longer. Distilled in 1998 and matured in a Refill Hogshead, Cask Ref 17. 342 total bottles, bottled at 53.0% exclusively for Kensington Wine Market.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: creamy, honeyed and floral with delicate fruits; dried apricot, juicy orange, baked apples and grilled pineapple; soft, ashy, earthy smoke and toasted oak; chewy malt and candied ginger.
Palate: soft, creamy, floral and smoky with juicy fruits; buttery with more baked apples, grilled pineapple and dried apricot; soft muddy peat, salty maritime tones and clean ashy smoke; toasted oak and crisp spices: cinnamon stick and licorice root; white chocolate, almond paste and baked French pastries; creamed heather honey, Earl Grey creme brule and butterscotch pudding.
Finish: creamy, juicy and floral with clean smoke; buttery, oily and very fruity with more pastries; long, lush and layered.
Comment: as with our last Berry's Highland Park, this one will not appeal to those who are looking for something like the distillery bottled 18, 21 or 25 Year; especially the most recent releases; but that misses the bigger point, which is that this honeyed, lighly peated and very fruity malt is quite simply sublime.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 137.2
$204.99
WAR SEAHORSE
The first release from distillery 137 for SMWS Canada.
From England, this 8 year old was matured in a refill barrel and is 62.3%.
Flavour profile: Peated.
Outturn: 240 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "This powerhouse of a dram opens with lemons charring on the BBQ. Beyond there is smoked and peppered mackerel and hot smoked salmon. Enough to induce hunger! There’s also a cognitively jarring briny and ozone-rich quality about it. A whole shellfish platter has been placed before you. Notes of chopped dill, polished metal and some exotic fruits hiding underneath.
Water reveals camphor and burlap with notes of chalk and smoked whelks. The palate unfolds with a mighty, crashing wave of peat on a shore of sandalwood, wet rocks, mineral-encrusted creel nets and then hay, smoked earth and silage. With water the farmy aspects are heightened with notes of dried herbs and some smoked butter. Stonking stuff!"
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 68.29
$101.24
SCOTTISH TRIFLE WITH ITALIAN LIQUEUR
This 10 year old from the Highlands comes in at 55.7% and was matured in a refill hogshead.
Flavour profile: Juicy, oak & vanilla.
Outturn: 296 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "Some of us got on the nose neat vanilla custard, Victoria sponge cake and lilies of the valley whilst others got sauté potatoes with sea salt and rosemary, fresh carrot juice and a Bloody Mary garnished with a celery stalk and lemon wedge. On the taste initially sticky, bittersweet Seville orange marmalade followed by banana ice cream all culminating in a juicy cranachan trifle.
With a drop of water the bananas were now caramelized and on the palate we enjoyed traditional Jewish egg bread called challah with salted butter and Manuka honey as well as a glass of Galliano Italian liqueur."
Scotch Malt Whisky Society 13.65
$163.99
PEPPERY PEARS AND PRALINE
This 13 year old from the Highlands was matured in a 2nd fill barrel and comes in at 58.6%.
Flavour profile: Spicy & sweet.
Outturn: 155 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "The nose greeted us with an exuberant display of cut grass, tart plums and lemon drizzle cake. A waft of spice danced between pink peppercorns and sandalwood whilst being wrapped in a delightfully creamy texture that sat somewhere between linseed oil and butter. This progressed towards custard cream biscuits and soft pears with lemon boiled sweets as we approached the peppery palate.
A spicy warmth cooled to mint and menthol on the tongue as wondrous flavours of praline and toasted pine nuts emerged from dry burlap sacks. Soft sponge cake arrived with a topping of dark chocolate and hazelnuts as floral notes merged into putty on a finish of fresh straw and wood."
Blackadder Raw Cask Westport 1997 53.2%
$179.99
This Blended Malt from Blackadder's Raw Cask range was distilled in 1997 at Glenmorangie. It was bottled 22 years later at a cask strength of 53.2% ABV. 170 bottles came from the Hogshead it was aged in.
Westport is not an actual distillery, but it is the name typically given to 'teaspooned' Glenmorangie. Teaspooning refers to adding a small amount of a different distillery's whisky to a cask so that it can no longer be called a single malt or be given the actual distillery's name. The practice is used by a few distilleries such as Glenmorangie, Balvenie, and Glenfiddich with stock that is sold or traded to other companies.
Blackadder Raw Cask Bowmore 2002
$179.99
SOLD OUT - Only 12 bottles have come to KWM, and they are all sold, 1 per customer.
Bottled under Blackadder's Raw Cask line, this 2002 vintage Bowmore was matured in a Refill Hogshead, #20199, and bottled after 17 years at 53.4%.
Blackadder Raw Cask Blairfindy 1992
$424.99
Bottled under Blackadder's Raw Cask line, which only very roughly screens its whisky before bottling, leaving bits of barrel char to find their way into the bottle. Blairfindy is code for Glenfarclas, and this 26 year old, distilled in 1992 has been bottled at 51.6%. Exclusive to KWM in Canada. Limit 2 per customer!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: deep, dark, earthy and nutty; musty oak casks in a dunnage warehouse, espresso bean and woody spices; fennel, clove and pink peppercorns; dark chocolate, Christmas cake, candied fruits and nuts.
Palate: earthy, spicy and big on candied fruit and Christmas cake notes; the clove and fennel are still there along with candied ginger and orange peel; oily and nutty, Nocillo walnut liqueur; leathery with fruity tobacco and dark chocolate espresso beans; softer and more exotic fruits emerge with time.
Finish: long, coating, spicy and very oily; more Christmas cake, chocolate and espresso beans; a classic nutty Oloroso sherry style Glenfarclas.
Comment: 26 year old heavily sherried Glenfarclas? Yes please! This is a dry-sherry style, with loads of spices and earthy tones; but there is still fruit, Christmas cake and a touch of elegance and delicacy beneath!
Blackadder Raw Cask Blair Athol 29 53.2%
$359.99
Only 12 bottles of this 1989 Blair Athol have come to Alberta, exclusively to KWM. Bottled after 29 year at 53.2% under Blackadder's Raw Cask line.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: soft, fruity and elegant; a bit musty at first, but if you give it a few minutes to breathe that blows off; bread and butter pudding, chocolate brioche right out of the oven and coffee cake; honey dew melons, dried apricots and some under rype tropical fruits.
Palate: soft, oaky, decadent and very fruity; this is an elegant, old school style whisky; more baked goods and desserts; soft fruits: melons, dried apricots and a tropical fruits: mangoes dusted with pepper, grilled pineapple and papaya; crisp decadent spices: cinnamon hearts & sliced fresh ginger; soft leather and maple syrup.
Finish: long, coating, decadent and fruity; more trop fruits, baked goods and spices.
Comment: this is a lovely, old school style whisky; big and spicy, but soft and elegant; smooth leather, tropical fruits and baked goods; a touch musty, but let it breathe... you won't be disappointed!