Balblair 18 Year Old 50ml MINI
$10.50
This bottle was featured in mini form on Day 20 of our 2020 KWM Whisky Calendar.
Full-sized bottles can be found here.
Part of the new core range from Balblair Distillery, which focuses on age statements rather than vintages. Bottled at 46% after maturing in ex-Bourbon and finishing in First Fill ex-Sherry Seasoned Spanish Oak Butts. Bottled at 46%, unchill filtered with no colouring added.
Boutique-y Clynelish 20 Year KWM Cask
$164.99
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!
Kingsbarns Dream To Dram 50ml
$5.00
This 50ml / Mini bottle was featured on Day 6 of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar. Full-sized bottles can be found here.
The distillery's flagship single malt is matured in 1st Fill ex-Bourbon and STR casks before bottling at 46%. This Lowland single malt was made using Fife barley. The Kingsbarns Distillery was founded by the Wemyss family, who also own Wemyss Malts, an Independent Bottler!
Producer Description
"Under the supervision of the legendary whisky expert Jim Swan a carefully considered combination of 1st fill ex-Bourbon and 1st fill STR - that's Shaved, Toasted and Re-charred ex-Portuguese red wine casks- were used to mature our flagship whisky."
Millstone Single Grain 9 Year 50ml
$6.00
This bottle was featured on Day 19 of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar
Full-size versions of this mini bottle can be found here.
This whisky was selected for Canada by Craftwork Spirits. It is a selection from multiple casks and includes whisky made from a mash of rye, malted barley, corn, spelt, and wheat. All whisky in this bottle was aged in virgin oak casks and the batch originally had a strength of around 47% or so before it was decided to bottle it at 46%.
Kilchoman Machir Bay 50ml
$9.00
This bottle was featured on Day 23 of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar
Also available in full-size bottles
The Kilchoman Machir Bay is matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry casks, but much heavier on the ex-Bourbon side of things. The peat level of the malt is around 50 PPM and sourced from Port Ellen Maltings. This is the same spec that Ardbeg Distillery uses. Thanks to its peaty profile and mostly ex-Bourbon cask makeup, Kilchoman’s website states that the main traits of this bottling include “Citrus fruit, layered vanilla and butterscotch”.
Boutique-y Inchfad 13 Year 50ml
$9.50
This bottle was featured on Day 20 of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar.
Also available in full-sized bottles
Along with Inchmurrin and Inchmoan, Inchfad is one of three "Inch"es and a slew of other names/labels made by Loch Lomond Distillery. Also like many of the styles of whisky made at Loch Lomond Distillery since it started production in 1965, Inchfad gets its name from one of the islands within the freshwater lake the distillery takes its name from. This Boutique-y Inchfad is 13 years old and bottled at 49.5%.
For more information on this bottle, check out this video from Andrew Ferguson and Dave Worthington:
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Boulder Peated Single Malt 50ml
$8.00
This bottle of Colorado Single Malt was featured in our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar on Day Nine.
Full-size bottles are available here
Made from 100% peated Scottish Malt, this American whiskey was matured in virgin American Oak barrels with a number 3 char.
Kilchoman Sanaig 50ml
$10.50
The Kilchoman Sanaig was featured on Day Ten of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar. You can find the blog post on it here.
Also available in full-size bottles
The Sanaig is part of Kilchoman's regular release lineup along with the Machir Bay. Kilchoman Sanaig, which is named after an Inlet off the NorthWest coast of Islay, is made from a combination of about 20% ex-Bourbon casks and 80% ex-Sherry Casks - mostly Oloroso Sherry in style. We have noticed the colour on this dram has gotten a fair bit darker over the past few years - possibly due to more first-fill ex-Sherry casks being used... Bottled at 46%.
Boutique-y Speyburn 10 Year 50ml
$10.50
This bottle was featured in on Day 11 of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar. Read the blog post here.
Full-size bottles of this release can be found here
This bottling of Speyburn Distillery Whisky is brought to us by That Boutique-y Whisky Company. It is a 10-year-old bottled at 49.5%. 1540 500ml bottles were made for the world.