Waterford Single Farm Ballymorgan 1.2
$101.99
Distilled in 2016 and bottled in 2020, this 4-year-old Irish single malt whisky was bottled at 50% after maturing in a typical Waterford mix of casks: 34% First Fill ex-Bourbon, 20% Virgin American Oak, 23% ex-Wine French Oak and 23% Vin Doux Naturel. The barley for the whisky was grown by Robert Milne in County Wexford. Produced from Overture barley, and fermented with Mauri Distiller's Yeast for 136 hours.
Producer Tasting Note
Nose: Dried herbs, malt, red apple, plums, milk chocolate, vanilla, fennel seeds and custard.
Taste: Apple crumble with toffee, milk chocolate, slight fudge, cloves, a green apple collated in caramel, with pepper heat and aniseed.
Finish: Lingering spice heat with a mouth-watering oiliness that turns mouth puckering.
87pts Whisky Fun
"A single farm and some more wood-sorcery (US first fill, US new oak, French oak, vin doux naturel). I had thought Ballymorgan 1.1 was superb (WF 88), I can't wait to try Waterford al natural (refill and basta). Colour: straw. Nose: some fruity varnish and a lovely touch of natural rubber, then rather pine liqueur and damp chalk, all that on a bed of gooseberry jam. With a glass of Monthélie blanc on the side. With water: chalk, some lemon now, quinces, and more Monthélie blanc. Mouth (neat): a few pears for starters (it's young) and notes of orangettes, plus fresh panettone, and a little pepper and cinnamon. With water: gets breadier. After all, this is made out of barley. Finish: the new oak feels a little more. More cinnamon, white pepper, nutmeg. Comments: absolutely lovely but I have to confess I liked the 'Organic Gaia' even better the other day. I will buy a bottle of this Ballymorgan, but I would buy a case of that Organic Gaia. And that's got nothing to do with the fact that it is organic. Also, it is not impossible that I like Ballymorgan 1.1 a tiny notch better than Ballymorgan 1.2. SGP:561 - 87 points."
About Ballymorgan Farm
In the rain shadow of the Wicklow Mountains, the Slaney river winds its way southwards through County Wexford. Here Robert Milne exploits one of Ireland’s premier barley terroirs. Farming now with his son and nephew, five generations of his family have farmed these fertile fields with their loamy, clay soils derived from slate and granite, and where the famous Clonroche Series of soils dominates.
There’s something about the spirit derived from Robert’s barley in 2015. In our tastings at the distillery, we have been drawn to glass containing his whisky particularly frequently, and we’re delighted to share it with drinkers.
Waterford Single Farm Sheestown 1.2
$101.99
This single farm origin single malt was produced from barley grown by Philip O'Brien at Sheestown Farm in County Kilkenny. Distilled in 2016 and bottled at 2020 after 4 years at 50%. Matured in a a mix of 33% ex-Bourbon, 19% Virgin American Oak, 25% ex-French Wine & 23% Vin Doux Naturel casks. Produced from the Irina barley variety, and fermented with Mauri Distiller's Yeast for an impressive 131.5 hours.
About Sheestown Farm
Baile an fhasaigh, the ‘place of the lush grass’, is surely a fitting place to grow barley. The Shees clan settled here to the west of the Nore river in the 15th Century. Defined by a geology of limestone and sandstone, Sheestown is a rolling, lowland terroir of well-drained loamy soil with outcrops of gravel and drier hilltops. Philip O’Brien has farmed here for half a century, while his daughter, Maura, works with us at the distillery.
Sheestown takes its name from the Shees, a family from Kerry who settled in Kilkenny and became loyal supporters of the House of Butler, earls of Ormonde, during the 15th century. Sir Richard Shee was deputy to the Lord Treasurer of Ireland during Queen Elizabeth’s reign but his descendant, Marcus Shee, was outlawed as a Jacobite in 1691 and fled to France. One of Marcus Shee’s descendants was the charismatic Duke of Feltre, who served as Napoleon Bonaparte’s Minister of War.
Waterford Single Farm Hook Head 1.1
$101.99
This single farm release was produced from barley sown and harvested in 2015, malted in 2016 and distilled in February on 2017. The whisky was bottled February 14, 2021. Produced from Popino barley, fermented for 142 hours with Mauri Distiller's Yeast. Bottled at 50% after 3 Years, 8 Months, & 25 Days of maturation in a mix of ex-Bourbon (46%), Virgin American Oak (22%), ex-French Wine (15%), & Vin Doux Naturel Casks (17% / Mostly Marsala & Some Sherry).
Redbreast Irish Whiskey 12 Year
$104.99
Redbreast is one of the best-known Irish whiskies on the market. Check it out: Complex with great depth. Huskier than Powers but that same robustness, with apple notes. This Single Pot Still Irish whiskey is as Irish as it gets. 40%.
What is Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey you ask? It is whiskey made using a combination of malted and unmalted barley. Why do this you ask? Why, to dodge unfair taxation, of course! The Malt Tax came into being in Ireland for a short time starting in 1785, enforced by the (insert expletive said in your best Irish accent here) English. The Irish, being Irish, decided that they didn't need to use malted barley for the entirety of the mash used to distill whiskey and started adding portions of unmalted barley. Necessity being the mother of invention, this eventually became a legitimate style of whiskey-making that is now not just celebrated but codified into law in Ireland with the Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey classification.
Waterford Arcadian Sr. Organic Gaia 2.1
$109.99
This is the 3rd release we've seen of the Arcadian Series, Organic Gaia. Bottled at 50% after maturing 4 years in a mix of First Fill Ex-Bourbon, Virgin American Oak, Bordeaux, and Vin Doux Naturel casks.
Composition
39% First Fill ex-Bourbon
17% Virgin American Oak
19% ex-Bordeaux
25% Vin Doux Naturel
Waterford The Cuvee
$99.99
Bottled at 50% after 4 1/2 years in a mix of First Fill Ex-Bourbon, Virgin American Oak, Bordeaux, and Vin Doux Naturel casks, The Cuvee is "the "Difinitive Waterford Whisky!"
Producer Description
"We rigorously apply the ancient terroir methodology to today’s verdant landscape of Ireland, home of the world’s finest barley. Now for the first time in single malt whisky – unashamedly inspired by the legendary châteaux of France – we reach the apogee of this radical philosophy.
"Our distillery, the technological marvel we call the Facilitator, enables us to create elite whisky – farm by farm, terroir by terroir. State-of-the-art equipment marries with ancient knowledge, locally grown Irish barley with extended fermentations, unhurried distillation & an array of exceptional oak. It has provided a unique library of Single Farm Origins – each expressing its own identity, its own voice.
"This unprecedented spectrum of flavours must now reach its crescendo: we have celebrated & explored the singles; now we produce our more immersive concept album. For layered together inthis cerebral fusion of flavours, these component Waterford Whiskies come together, culminating in our ultimate experience: textured, complex & compelling.
"The Cuvée, a synthesis of Single Farm Origins, an enigmatic gestalt, a milestone in our journey. The definitive Waterford Whisky. Our LodeStar."
Waterford Biodynamic Luna 1.1
$114.99
This 3 year old Waterford Single Malt is billed as the world's first Biodynamic whisky. The barley was grown on a number of farms and the spirit was matured in a mix of First Fill Ex-Bourbon, Virgin American Oak, Bordeaux, and Vin Doux Naturel casks.
From the Producer
"Eccentric to some, regenerative to others, biodynamic agriculture goes beyond the ordinary ecological mindset. Drawing upon ancient lore of lunar cycles & exotic preparations, it seeks to charge soils with vitality & barley with vibrancy. Practised by the most visionary & curious, we too are intrigued about the most natural flavours we can capture in spirit. For this landmark whisky, distilled from Ireland’s only biodynamic barley, we invoke the goddess of the moon for our most esoteric & evocative bottling."
Composition
35% First Fill ex-Bourbon
17% Virgin American Oak
26% French Wine Barriques
22% Vin Doux Naturel
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.
Smirnoff Vodka
$30.99
The original Smirnoff Vodka distillery -- a favourite of the Tsars -- was started by one Pyotr Smirnov in Moscow in the 1860s. However, this mega-brand is far gone from the days of producing vodka in Russia. The brand is part of Diageo's massive alcohol portfolio and is made in numerous distilleries owned by the company. As of 2010, countries that have Diageo-operated distilleries that produce Smirnoff Vodka include Argentina, Albania, Brazil, Canada, Honduras, India, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Mongolia, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Smirnoff Vodka is purportedly made entirely from corn, which makes it gluten free.