Boutique-y Irish SM #1 Batch 3 13 Year
$93.74
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 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!
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."
Loch Lomond 2011 KWM Cask #5733
$111.99
Our first ever single cask of Loch Lomond, a distillery bottling too, is here... Distilled in 2011 from a mash on unpeated malt, the spirit was produced in a straight neck still configuration and was cut at high strength. The whisky was matured 11 years in a Refill Bourbon Barrel, cask #5733, bottled at 60.4%, exclusively for Kensington Wine Market!
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."
Ardbeg Heavy Vapours 46%
$174.99
Limit 2 Per Customer!
The 2023 Ardbeg Day special release, Heavy Vapours, is bottled at 46%, from a parcel of spirit made without Ardbeg's spirit purifier.
Producer Description
"A missing purifier. A dram forsaken. Who will restore the balance? Something weird has been going down at the Distillery. The legendary purifier on the still – responsible for Ardbeg’s exalted balance – is nowhere to be seen. And this whisky – Ardbeg Heavy Vapours – is the consequence. The familiar harmony between peat and floral fruitiness has been disrupted. What have risen are the untamed darker flavours and notes, gathering and filling the senses. It is an ominous dram of dramatic, aromatic pungency. Heavy Vapours will rise. Non chill-filtered at 46% ABV."
G&M Glen Grant 1952 Platinum Jubilee 70
$35,000.00
This whisky seems even more poignant now with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's recent passing. Although a decade has passed, it doesn't seem so long ago when we launched the Gordon & Macphail Glen Grant 1952 Diamond Jubilee bottling with Michael Urquhart. Bottled from cask number 381, a first fill sherry butt, this 1952 Glen Grant was bottled after 70 years at 52.3%. 93pts Whisky Fun / 93.25pts Whiskybase.
Producer Description
"Honouring the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection 1952 from Glen Grant Distillery has spent the past 70 years maturing in a first fill Sherry cask. It was bottled on 6th February, the date of the Queen’s accession, and serves as a fitting tribute, exemplifying how character, patience and wisdom can mature over decades to deliver an exceptional legacy."
G&M CC Bladnoch 1988 KWM Cask #2107
$1,399.99
NOW AVAILABLE
Once again our friends at Gordon & MacPhail have outdone themselves by offering us the opportunity to bottle this gorgeous cask. At 33 years of age, this 1988 vintage Bladnoch is the oldest KWM exclusive cask we have had the privilege of bottling since our Berry's 40-Year Blend more than 5 years ago. Filled into a Refill Sherry Hogshead on August 17, 1988, there were only 53 bottles left in the cask when it was bottled on the 21st of July, 2022 at 54.1%. A sister cask to this whisky, filled on the same day, is currently scoring 89.43pts on Whiskybase. I expect ours is even better!
This is another one of those KWM casks, where prior to sampling the whisky, Andrew said there was no way we were going to buy a full cask at that price. But the whisky is stunning, and when it was sampled by the KWM whisky team we knew we had to have it. It didn't hurt that the cask had only 53 bottles of liquid left in it at the time of bottling... those are some greedy angels!
Due to the limited number of bottles, we are limiting pre-orders to 1 per customer. We will revisit this limit after the whisky arrives in market!
G&M Glen Grant 1957 Mr. George Legacy 2
$10,600.00
Distilled on the 10th of October, 1957, the second release in Gordon & MacPhail's Mr. George Legacy Series was bottled November 9, 2021, after 64 years in a First Fill Sherry Butt at 56.1%. Only 298 bottles have been released globally! The whisky has a 93pt score on Whiskybase and scored 92pts from Serge @WhiskyFun.
Producer Description
"Distilled on Thursday 10th October 1957 and spending its entire maturation in cask no. 3483, a first-fill Sherry butt, the second edition of the Legacy Series was bottled on Tuesday 9th November 2021 at a cask strength of 56.1% ABV."
About the Mr. George Legacy Range
"Honouring Mr George Urquhart, a member of the second generation of the company’s owning family and the man who helped bring single malt whisky to the world, the Gordon & MacPhail Mr George Legacy 1957 from Glen Grant Distillery is the second expression to be released as part of the whisky creator’s annual Legacy series. It was laid down 64 years ago while ‘Mr George’, as he was known to those who knew him best, was at the helm of the business. Only 298 bottles of this single cask whisky are available, highlighting the scarcity of this rarely seen vintage from Speyside’s Glen Grant Distillery."