North Star Vega 1990 28Year Blended Malt
$149.99
Another probably ex-Edrington Blended Malt Scotch Whisky from North Star spirits. Bottled at 46.7%, the whisky was matured in a mix of European and American oak casks. 800 bottles produced globally, it is averaging 88.73/100 on Whisky Base.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: polished new leather shoes, Christmas cake, tobacco and maple syrup; Jujubes, honey and vanilla; earthy with a touch of musty dunnage warehouses; nutty with Demerara sugars and orange rinds.
Palate: juicy, fruity and malty; old school sherry; dry, nutty and leathery with a sweet backbone; more polished new leather, walnuts and candied orange coated in dark chocolate; more Demerara, Christmas cake, jujubes and more maple syrup; becomes spicier and seems to show a faint touch of peat.
Finish: medium, drying and coating with the chocolate, tobacco and spices in control.
Comment: for a 28 year old heavily sherried whisky this is superb value at $150; more Macallan than Highland Park; dangerously drinkable.
Compass Box Oak Cross
$69.99
Part of the core range from Compass Box - the Oak Cross is a blended malt that is given a secondary period of maturation in specialised casks fitted with new French oak heads.
Producer Description
A rich, medium-bodied blended malt Scotch whisky, OAK CROSS combines vanilla characters from American oak and spicy, clove-like characters from French oak. We begin by sourcing whiskies from three single malt distilleries; one for its ethereal fruity character, one for its enchanting perfume and one that lends a complex and substantial structure to the blend.
All are aged in American oak casks before we place a portion into innovative hybrid casks featuring heavily toasted new French oak heads. These give the whisky an added richness and spice-like complexity. By carefully blending back the French oak-aged whisky with its American oak-aged forebear, we are able to create a refined, rich, but well-mannered malt whisky, with fruity aspects that will remind you of baked apple or pears, complemented by a rich, toasty oak character.
Compass Box Myths & Legends III
$274.99
One of 3 whiskies released as part of the Compass Box Myths & Legends Series, released to debunk common "whisky myths". Myth three, the single malts used in Blends and Blended Malts are always better on their own than blended with other whiskies. If you subscribe to this theory, you clearly don't know Compass Box. To prove their point Compass Box took the creation Myths & Legends II and blended it with peated single malts from two celebrated island distilleries. 46%.
Producer Description
"Scotch whisky has a rich array of stories, myths and legends. However, what start as myths can become received wisdom, influencing our understanding and restricting our enjoyment. We have deployed blending to challenge assumptions, biases and prejudices concerning Scotch in this limited edition series we call Myths & Legends."
"For Myths & Legends III we have taken some of the same parcels of malt whisky used in Myths & Legends II and added peated malt whiskies from a pair of celebrated island distilleries. Some would object to our actions on principle. Famous single malts are always too precious for blending, they say; the sanctity of the category seems to take precedence over quality."
"However, thanks to our parcels of well-regarded malt whiskies, the tropical fruit and butterscotch notes of Myths & Legends II are now further enriched by a deep and enchantingly aromatic smoke profile. Never blend the famous names? The breadth of generous and complex flavours found in Myths & Legends III dismantles such superstitious thinking."
A.D. Rattray Williamson 2011 KWM No. 131
$91.99
WE ARE EXPECTING MORE STOCK IN APRIL/MAY 2020
So this isn't exactly a single malt, it is a teaspooned Laphroaig. Distilled in 2011 and filled in to a Refill Sherry Butt, Cask 131, where it matured 8 long years before bottling in November of 2019 at 59.9%.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: malty, ashy, honeyed and creamy with bright citrus and salty maritime tones; creamy and a touch floral with melons and grilled prosciutto wrapped figs.
Palate: yeeeessss... ; this is a cracker!!! starts soft, creamy and honeyed with loads of chewy malt; vanilla, creamed honey and building maritime smoke; the brash, tarry, medicinal, muddy peat quick catches up to you along with smoke mussels, seaweed and with patience, juicy malt and all those missing fruits: citrus, melon and grilled prosciutto wrapped figs; spicy.
Finish: medium in length, but bold; more smoked mussels, hickory, tarry peat and spices.
Comment: the nose is spectacular and the palate not so shabby; if you enjoy brash, young, peated malts, this is your ticket to heaven; layered, complex and lush, with a very tarry bold classic young Islay profile; this is the Laphroaig-ish you are looking for!
North Star Vega 22 Year Blend Malt
$139.99
These mysterious North Star Blended Malts are proving very popular with our customers. Sherried, sometimes peaty, though not in this case. Always vaguely Macallanesque... This one was distilled in 1996, bottled at 43.9% and European and American Oak Barrels. It is lovely, 88% Whisky Base.
My Tasting Note
Nose: soft and chocolaty, with salted caramel, Christmas cake and fancy new leather; tobacco, date squares and silky white chocolate emerge.
Palate: big, rich, sherried and nutty; loose leaf tobacco, dark bakers chocolate and loads of dried dark fruits; candied fruits and nuts with crisp decadent spices: cinnamon sticks, licorice root and cloves; more Christmas cake.
Finish: long, drying and earthy with leather, spices, tobacco and more dark fruits.
Comment: a more muscular side of these almost certainly ex-Edrington Blended Malts; also much more Macallan than Highland Park; whatever it is composed of, it is very drinkable for the age and price…
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Toasty cinnamon and black pepper, with a touch of earthy pine. Layers of dried fruit build after a few minutes in the glass.
Palate: Tobacco, caramelised nuts, dates, toffee pennies and honeycomb.
Finish: Softly sherried, with enough Christmas spice to give it some heat.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society Peat Faerie 2
$136.99
PEAT FAERIE 2
This 7 year old is the little brother of the 10 year old original Peat Faerie released last year. The single malts in Peat Faerie 2 come from both barrels and hogsheads from Islay and Speyside. The peat is ramped up a bit from the original Peat Faerie and the bottling comes in at 50%.
Flavour profile: Lightly peated.
Outturn: 2172 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "The nose enticed with vanilla, pineapple and white chocolate, while a sweet dustiness reminded one panellist of chalk board dusters. We found a distinct maritime edge, smoked salted butter and old fashioned straw pressed cider. The peat smoke led on the palate accompanied by salty peanut brittle, caramelised red apples and watermelon jelly.
A splash of water brought toasted (borderline smoky) coconut, while soft minty notes gave way to lightly smoked white fish. The palate was slightly drying at first with a building sweet intensity. Flakes of sea salt were lightly sprinkled onto tropical fruit making for a sweet and savoury crescendo fitting of this regional marriage."
Cadenhead Creations 22 Year Blended Malt
$169.99
Limit 1 per customer!
Only 12 bottles of this Blended Malt Scotch Whisky are coming to Canada, exclusively to KWM. Built around Ben Nevis single malt, it was blended with Blair Athol and Tomintoul, all distilled in 1996. The whiskies were married together in 2007, spending most of their lives marrying together in a Hogshead. The whisky has been called "Light, Fruity, Syruppy", and is bottled at 45%. 91pts Whisky Fun!
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Sweet, juicy fruits, butterscotch and pink peppercorns. Quite waxy on the nose.
Palate: Chewy, old fashioned sweet shop with fruitier notes coming through - raspberries, blueberries and strawberries with golden syrup.
Finish: More golden syrup, toffee apples, kiwi and then some plantain and lime juice.
91pts Whisky Fun
"Said to contain Ben Nevis, Blair Athol and Tomintoul. With Ben Nevis inside, I suppose it won’t be only ‘Light Fruity Syrupy’. What’s to be noted here is that the three malts were blended together in 2007 already. So a long marriage (which are the best - says my dear wife). Colour: straw. Nose: yep. Ben Nevis takes the lead from the first second (could be that they’ve used the BN cask for the marriage – just a personal remark). Butterscotch, clay, soot, plasticine, pinewood smoke, liquorice wood, some burnt apples (very Ben Nevis indeed), a small sulphury meatiness, some fresh sawn wood, some garden peat, black earth… Well, what a nose! I love it. Mouth: woo-ooh! Who did the blending back in 2007? Works extremely well, it’s actually amazing that one of the lightest malts around (Tomintoul) and one of the heaviest (Ben Nevis) manage to tango this well. Could be that Blair Athol makes for a perfect go-between. What’s really cool as well with these long marriages, is that there’s a feeling of a proper ‘whole’, almost as if this was some single malt whisky. Excuse me? What does it taste like? Like a slightly lighter Ben Nevis. Finish: rather long, perfect, slightly smoky. Exceptionally good. Comments: I guess my little score will shock a few citizens of Whiskydom, but really, I’ve totally emptied my tasting glass and even took a few more drops. Please don’t tell anyone. SGP:562 - 91 points."
Cadenhead Creations 31 Year Light Fruity
$254.99
This blended malt runs under the Light, Fruity, Syrupy label of Cadenhead Creations. Distilled in 1987 and bottled at 31 years of age, it has been married together in a single cask since 2004. 50.1% ABV.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Juicy fruits, faint warming spices and apricot jam.
Palate: Proper old school mouth feel, chewy and fruity with passion fruit, guava and blood orange.
Finish: More chewy fruit with soft spice that fades away - a dram to savour.
Comment: A blended malt bottled from a single cask that was married together in 2004.
Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt
$95.99
*Limit 1 per customer!*
This whisky is a stunner both as an NAS, or No Age Statement whisky, and as a Blended Malt or Pure Malt as they still call them in Japan. Composed of whiskies from Nikka's Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries, the whisky is named for the company's legendary founder Masataka Taketsuru. The whisky is said to consist of malts that are on average 10 years of age with a high proportion of fruitier Miyagikyo whiskies. There is also likely some imported malt whisky in the mix, likely Ben Nevis.