Boutique-y Irish SM #1 Batch 3 13 Year
$124.99
Mystery Irish Single Malt Whiskey huh... could this be Cooley-aid?
Producer Description: "Our third batch from this undisclosed Irish distillery is a 13 Year Old, a release of just 1,726 bottles at 46.8% abv. If you know your Irish Whiskey history, then you should be able to close down on the distilleries this could come from."
About the Label (Larger Label Under the Tasting Note)
"The inspiration for this label comes straight out of a British made sitcom called ‘Father Ted’ It originally aired on Channel 4 from April 1995 and ran for just three series up until May 1998 Set on the fictional Craggy Island, a remote location off Ireland's west coast, the show is about three priests exiled on the island for various past incidents. Our label comes from an episode called ‘A Song for Europe’ that featured ‘My lovely Horse’."
Boutique-y Irish SM #2 Batch 6 15 Year
$184.99
These Irish single malts have been some of our favorite releases from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. The 13- and 14-year-olds were delicious and juicy fruit bombs. This new 15-year old-Irish single malt (from the same distillery as the previous two releases) was bottled at at 50.2% and limited to just 1,900 bottles.
And if you're one of those folks sleuthing your way through the Boutique-y labels, here's the deets on this one (from the producer):
"Aeneas Coffey was the Irishman who improved upon Robert Stein's column stills and patented his own Coffey (say 'coffee') Still in 1830. His new, more efficient piece of kit was soon adopted all around the world, except, ironically, in Ireland. In fact, the Irish* told him to jog on! They were understandably rather attached to their pot stills and the full flavoured single malts and single pot still whiskeys they produced.
(* represented here by ambassadors James Goggin (TBWC), Liam Sparks (Irish Distillers) and Kevin Hurley (Teeling) as well as Bán Poitín's Dave Mulligan, Irish spirits fanatic Charlie McCarthy and Ableforth's own wild goose Lee Peare."
Boutique-y Clynelish 20 Year KWM Cask
$219.99
It is finally here... we have been teasing and talking about this whisky for months, and it was worth the wait. We are thrilled to introduce you to our first ever KWM exlcusive single cask from That Boutique-y Whisky Company. Although the bottle doesn't explicitly tell you which "Highland" distillery the whisky is from, there are clues on the label... 578 bottles have been filled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market at 51%. But we have nothing holding us back from telling you that Boutique-y Highland #2 is Clynelish... That's right, this is 20 year old Clynelish!
Andrew's Note on the Whisky & Label
Could that be a cat in the clouds, a Wild Highland Cat perhaps? Is it not strange to see a waxy candle-powered balloon? Incidentally, it is lifting the KWM whisky team aloft. And what of the monument? If we told you it was a controversial monument near the town of Golspie dedicated to the infamous Duke of Sutherland, would that give you all the information you need to know? What Highland Distillery has a Wild Highland Cat as its symbol, a waxy profile, and an infamous Duke as its founder?
This label is a cheeky take on a shared memory, with embellishments, embedded details, and Easter eggs, in the tradition of the best Boutique-y Whisky Company Labels. More importantly, it tells a story, which is personally important to my family. My mother was born into the Clann Gunn in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Her ancestors roamed swaths of what is now Caithness and Sutherland in northern Scotland. That is until they were compelled to leave Scotland in the late 18th century, cruelly and rudely displaced to make way for sheep during the early days of the Highland Clearances.
On the label there is a ship at sea, heading to Canada presumably, as hinted at by the flags (the Canadian flag as it is today was only introduced in 1965). On the flat coastal plain at the base of the mountains sheep can be seen grazing. In front of the monument stand a pair of Canadians stand in hockey jerseys. Sam Simmons, Head of Whisky at Atom Brands, and a native Torontonian, stands closest to the monument in what appears to be a hockey jersey. Further back, a native Calgarian, yours truly can be seen waving a white hat, an iconic symbol of "Cowtown", whilst sporting a local hockey team jersey of his own. In the balloon Keith, Evan, Shawn & Curt can be seen waving at Andrew & Sam below. Speaking of those two, what are they doing atop Ben Bhraggie? Funny story that.
When TBWC offered us this cask of Highland Malt, they asked us what we wanted on the label, and I had a cheeky idea. In 2006 I made my first trip to Scotland, and on that trip, I hiked up Ben Bhraggie, a small mountain (really a foothill by Canadian standards) to see the monument of the infamous Duke. Someone had spraypainted the word "Monster" in neon green at the base. When I was sure no one was looking I dropped trow and relieved myself on it. I sent Sam an email of this tale, my connection to the area and my idea for the label. I was sure it was just a little too edgy...
Minutes later my phone was ringing... it was 3 AM in the UK, but Sam wanted to make sure I had seen his reply. He too had hiked Ben Bhraggie in 2005, and he had also paid his own respects to the infamous Duke of Sutherland...
One last little nugget, Keith, who is a personal trainer and headed to Beijing as a Team Canada Skeleton coach, felt his arm didn't look appropriately burly, in an early draft of the label. So we had the artist, Emily Chappell, 'bugs bunny' his arm... In case it isn't already apparent, nothing is sacred (especially when it comes to The Duke of Sutherland and Keith's pipes)!
And the rest as they say is history. On the back of every bottle, That Boutique-y Whisky Company includes the following text: "We are passionate about great whisky, we don't take ourselves too seriously and we LOVE a good story." No wonder these chaps are such a great fit to work with!
G&M CC Balblair 1997 KWM Cask
$314.99
Bottled to celebrate our 30th Anniversary, this 1997 vintage Balblair was bottled after 24 years in a Refill Sherry Hogshead Cask No. 1870, at 58.3%. This gorgeous, fruity, and old school single malt, nearly a quarter of a century old, is arriving soon!
G&M CC Glen Scotia 2000 KWM Cask
$264.99
This 2000 vintage Glen Scotia was filled into a Refill American Oak Hogshead, cask #325, bottled after 22 years at 56.9%. Our second-ever KWM Cask of Glen Scotia is here!
G&M Generations Glenlivet 80 Year
$140,000.00
ONE BOTTLE SOLD, & ONE BOTTLE LEFT... IN THE WORLD! - Bottle #121 Available!
This was the oldest bottle of whisky ever bottled, for a little over a year and a haldf, and it is exclusive to KWM in Alberta! Only 4 of the 250 decanters produced are destined for Canada. Distilled February 3rd, 1940, at the Glenlivet Distillery, the whisky was filled into a First Fill Sherry Butt, and matured 80 years before botlling on February 5, 2020, at 44.9%. It isn't inexpensive, but it is stunning, and beautifully presented! 93pts Angus @ Whisky Fun!
We launched exclusively in Canada, a sister cask, the Gordon & Macphail Generations Glenlivet 70 Year around a decade ago. Details on our archive!
Producer Description: "On 3rd February 1940 in a quiet corner in the north of Scotland, George Urquhart and his father, John, had the extraordinary foresight and vision to lay down spirit from Glenlivet Distillery in a bespoke Gordon & MacPhail cask to be enjoyed by future generations.
"On 5th February 2020, leaning on the unique skill and experience acquired by over more than 125 years, the decision was taken to finally bottle the cask’s precious out-turn of 250 decanters."
Glenfarclas 21 Year KWM Cask Strength #2
$199.99
The 4th and possibly final bottling in the "Andrew's Ego Collection" series is a Glenfarclas 21 Year, bottled at 51.9%, bottled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market. This bottling celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the night in 2011 our own Andrew Ferguson, and Glenfarclas' George Grant, were inducted into the Keepers of the Quaich; hence the nickname: "10 Years Keeping Quaich-y with it!" We had originally hoped this bottling would arrive in 2021... but you know the story... logistics! Once more this is not a single cask, but a batch of Glenfarclas 21 Year, bottled at cask strength!
If you are unfamiliar with the story behind the Andrew's Ego Collection, it all started with a cask strength Glenfarclas 21 Year we called Ferg in the Spey! Long story short, it is a play on a bottling Glenfarclas did for an American called "Ferd (Ford) in the Spey," which was bottled to commemorate a visit to Glenfarclas that ended with a Ford rental car in the Spey River. It was intended to be a one-off, but was so popular that it was followed with a cask strength Glenfarclas 15 Year, which we called Ferg in Front of the Store. Now we were starting to have some fun with it...
So a third bottling was commissioned, a 25 Year bottled at 50%, the Ferg in Homage to George Grant. Andrew wanted the third bottling to be even more whimsical or if you prefer, ridiculous, than the first two. It takes its inspiration from an advertisement for Glenfarclas circa 15 years ago featuring a reclining George Grant in a kilt with a selection of whisky in front of him. Our versions features Andrew in homage, with the 5 prior KWM exclusive Glenfarclas bottlings laid out in front of him. Some of our customers referred to it as "Reclining Ferg" and "Homage to Burt Reynolds."
While Andrew's ego would continue to inflate with a 5th release, the 4th bottling may very well be the last in the series. It almost never happened... Demand is finally catching up with Glenfarclas, and all of the whiskies over 21 years of age are going to be tightly allocated in the years ahead.
Rockford Cabernet
$84.99
From Rockford, we welcome high quality traditional wines made from some of the best old Barossa vineyards. The winery is actually part of a paved courtyard surrounded by the stone buildings that date back to the early settlement of Krondorf. This Cabernet embodies Rockford and what they bring to the core!
Best's Great Western Pinot Noir
$32.99
Few wineries are as historic or as atmospheric as Best's. They have some of the oldest vineyards in the country and only two owners over many generations. Very impressive. Here's a fruit-driven Pinot Noir with abundant dark cherry fruit and earthy notes. Soft tannins with balance, structure and length. Enjoy a taste of Down Under with grilled salmon.