Old Perth Macallan & Highland Park 14
$214.99
A blended malt composed of Highland Park and Macallan, distilled in 2004 and bottled at 14 years of age at 43.7%. I have to admit my blinders were on with this one. The old Perth line visually does nothing for me, which is not the best way to approach whisky. It is after all only the juice that matters. Secondly, the double barrel thing has been done lots, and rarely well. I was thinking gimmick... again, blinders, not proud of myself. Then it arrived in-store, I had to try it and it does not disappoint. Sadly, only 18 bottles are coming through KWM!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: fig jam, Tiger Tail ice cream and fruity sherry; soft new leather, damp Cuban cigar tobacco, dark chocolate and maple syrup; chocolate ganache cake with a side of moms rum soaked Christmas cake; a faint hint of the sea and soft peat smoke.
Palate: sweet and fruity but also drying and leathery; more maple syrup, Tiger Tail ice cream and fig jam; more dark chocolate ganache and Mom's Christmas cake; a touch nutty, the damp sweet Cuban cigar tobacco is still there with some fancy new leather and a curious creamy vanilla-honey backbone; a touch of oily peat, sea breeze and engine oil, but you have to look for it.
Finish: sweet, fruity and smooth; a fine balance of candied fruits, dark chocolate, tobacco, syrup and oak.
Comment: this is far from the gimmick I feared; I suspect it is a sherry finish, but who cares it is eminently drinkable; it will also be gone in a flash!
Scotch Malt Whisky Society Peat Faerie
$164.99
PEAT FAERIE
The Society's second-ever blended malt, this 10 year old is a combination of 1st fill barrels and refill hogsheads from Speyside and Islay, and comes in at 50%.
Flavour profile: Lightly peated.
Outturn: 2948 bottles.
Panel's tasting note: "The Panel enjoyed the gentle unfurling of aroma in this one. A soft but smoky heather ale note emerges at first, followed by freshly rolled oats, a smouldering hay bail, wet beach pebbles and a hint of buttery marmite toast. Water reveals lemon wax, orange bonbons, smoked teas and Sudocrem.
The peat is louder in the mouth, a big, bold and leanly muscular wave of drying phenols and hot air from a peat furnace. Some anthracite smoke, a distant puffer-boat exhaust and finally a return to more farmyard qualities with cow sheds, earth and wood embers. A suggestion of green peppercorns in brine and a soothing sootiness. Reduction produces notes of roasted pine cone, frying bacon and freshly ground black pepper along with a meaty, fennel sausage note."
Compass Box Tobias and the Angel
$749.99
This is a very special limited edition Compass Box Blended Malt composed of old Clynelish and Caol Ila. Bottled at 47.6%.
Producer Tasting Note
"Distant bonfires underlay ethereal herbal and fruit characters, the result of extended maturation."
Producer Description
"Made from just two parcels of whisky, which we are unlikely to source again at these ages, Tobias & the Angel is a culmination of two decades of whiskymaking. We have a long-held reverence for the whiskies of the Clynelish and Caol Ila Distilleries. Ever since Eleuthera, which we created in 2002, we have understood that these two distillery whiskies complement each other exquisitely. So great is our reverence for the flavour profiles of these distilleries, and so elevated are the ages of the individual whiskies we have used in this blend, to inspire our label artwork we turned to the paintings of the Renaissance."
"We’ve chosen Tobias & the Angel, produced at the studio of Andrea del Verrocchio in the 15th century. One of the young apprentices, and the painter of the small tousle-haired dog and the gleaming fish Tobias carries, was Leonardo da Vinci. We love the beauty in the work, and the symbolism of the naïve boy and the divine angel. It speaks to how we see the relationship between the ethereal character of the 24-year-old whisky, sourced from the Clynelish Distillery, and the aromatic smokiness exhibited by the considerably older spirit from Caol Ila Distillery. Like the painting, this whisky charms and dazzles. It is a singular work, a testament to all we have learned in nearly 20 years of whisky blending."
Adelphi The E & K
$157.49
A unique fusion of Scotch whisky from Ardmore and Glenrothes distilleries and malt whiskies from Amrut Distillery in India, The E&K is an exquisite tribute to a remarkable Scot: Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin and 13th Earl of Kincardine. 57.8%.
Producer Tasting Note
Appearance: vibrant copper gold.
Aroma: tropical fruits to the fore: papaya, ripe mango and fresh fruit salad. Tempered by sweet, sooty smoke and moorland scents, with spices, coconut, milk chocolate and lingering hessian.
Taste: Fruit salad with fresh pepper, sweet and surprisingly rich. Peat smoke and Arbroath Smokies combine well with Highland Toffee and dark chocolate.
Finish: Distant peat fires, bitter chocolate, exotic spices and dusty fruit.
Producer Notes
Content: 1 American oak barrel distilled at Ardmore, Highland; part of an ex-Sherry butt distilled at Glenrothes, Speyside; and 2 American oak barrels distilled at Amrut, Bangalore. Packaging: Adelphi bottle, bespoke blue gift box with inner panel, 4 bottles per case.
Inspiration Behind the E&K
"Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin and 13th Earl of Kincardine, was born in 1849. He spent a lifetime in public service, as a Liberal politician and as Viceroy of India. Known as “the Walking Viceroy”, his progressive and humanitarian policies helped the subcontinent through drought and shaped the extensive railway system still in place today.
"A unique fusion of Scotch whisky from Ardmore and Glenrothes distilleries and malt whiskies from Amrut Distillery in India, The E&K is an exquisite tribute to a remarkable Scot.
Adelphi Glenborrodale Batch 6
$98.99
Although legally only 8 years of age, the whisky is composed of components that are mainly older. A mariage of single malts from Highland Park, Bunnahabhain, Tamdhu and Glenrothes along with young sherry matured whisky from Glenrothes.
Producer's Tasting Note
"Dark gold in colour; Drawn from two Sherry Butts.
"Summer Scottish breakfast with buttered oatcakes and heather honey; dark cherry, white peach and kiwi fruit compote; and hazelnut spread on welltoasted drop scones."
The Whisky Agency Blended Malt XO KWM
$204.99
ONLY 3 BOTTLES LEFT - Pre Order to Purchase!
Only 90 bottles of this Sherry Butt matured mystery Blended Malt are coming to Canada, exclusively to KWM. Bottled at 45.6%. Reputedly a blend of the usual suspects: "older Macallan, Highland Park, Glenrothes, Mortlach, Tamdhu and young Glenfarclas..." and possibly more. No one really knows!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: nutty, syruppy and earthy; musty dunnage warehouse notes meet nutty oloroso sherry tones; a touch of sangria meets Demerara sugar and whisky barrel aged maple syrup; fig jam, date squares and Glosset Raisins.
Palate: round, fruity, nutty and syruppy with more musty dunnage notes and dark fruits: warm date squares, appricot jam and grilled proscuitto wrapped dates filled with blue cheese; becomes drier and more leathery with a touch of tobacco and dark bakers chocolate; late spices, fennel, clove and cinnamon hearts; is there a touch of gentle peat or soft smoke?
Finish: medium-long, coating and fruity; more dark fruits, syrup, leather, tobacco and dark chocolate; late earthy notes, possibly a touch of peat.
Comment: this is a dumpy old school sherried whisky, and an excellent example of the style; the origins of this whisky are shrouded in mystery, but to be quite frank who cares? it is delicious!
MacNair's Lum Reek 21 Year
$259.99
COMING SOON!
The brand has been built on the backbone of the GlenAllachie whiskies Billy Walker & Co. acquired as part of the purchase of the distillery, married with Caol Ila. This 21 Year is bottled at 48%. Great value for a 21 year old malt whisky.
Producer Description: "A blend of some of the finest Islay and Speyside peated malts combined with richer, older GlenAllachie, the Lum Reek 21 years old was aged in Oloroso, Virgin Oak and Red Wine casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour and bottled at 48% ABV, Billy Walker has recreated the peated whiskies of 100 years ago for the modern-day palette."
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Aristocratic peat smoke with dark chocolate and fudge.
Taste: Tobacco, leather, cedar wood and waves of peat reek with oodles of cocoa, vanilla, honey and spices.
Whisky Fassle Fine Blended Malt 1993
$299.99
A mysterious blended malt matured 24 years in a Sherry Hogshead. Bottled at 54.3%. Probably more ex-Edrington stock, ie. Macallan, Highland Park and the like. Regardless, it is excellent stuff!
Sweet Wee Scallywag 13 Year Blended Malt
$104.99
A limited edition 13 year Speyside Blended Malt from the folks at Hunter Laing, matured exclusively in sherry. Bottled at 46%. The whisky is composed of Macallan, Mortlach, Glenrothes and other single malts from the Speyside region.