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!
Compass Box GKS Glasgow KWM Cask 3
$94.99
Our 7th KWM exclusive Compass Box, and 5th "Marrying Cask," is a bottling of the Glasgow Blend, finished in an ex-Clynelish, ex-Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cask for roughly 1 year, bottled at 49%. Married: June 16, 2022, bottled: July 2023.
The Compass Box Glasgow Blend, is the firm sherried and peated blend, inspired by the type of whiskies Glasweigans used to prefer 100 years ago. This batch of this malt-heavy Blasgow Blend (before marrying) was 35.2% 10 year old Cameronbridge from First Fill exBourbon, 34.1% 10 year old Craigellachie from sherry casks, 18.2% 8 year old Laphroaig from Refill Bourbon, 9.9% 9 year old Clynelish from First Fill ex-Bourbon, and 2.6% Highland Blended Malt from French oak.
Clynelish 14 Year
$109.99
Although the current Clynelish distillery was founded in 1967, it's origin can be traced to it's now demolished sister distillery, Brora. Founded in 1819 it was originally known as Clynelish. Interestingly in the 18thC. it was held in such high regard that the whisky was privately sold. Today the majority of Clynelish is destined for blending, with only a small amount for bottling as single malt.
Producer Description
Clynelish whisky is closer to an Island style than other mainland malts, with a complex and fragrant nose and an agreeable, long finish that leaves a lingering fresh-fruity flavour. This 14-year-old is a less heavyweight whisky that's deliciously drinkable and makes it an excellent aperitif.
Compass Box Orchard House
$74.99
This whisky was featured on Day 6 of our 2024 KWM Whisky Calendar. You can read Evan's blog post on it here.
This is a game-changing whisky from Compass Box, built not from acquired aged components, but rather new make spirit acquired and filled into Compass Box own casks. Orchard House is composed of primarily Linkwood (39%), Clynelish (29%), Benrinnes (20%) and Caol Ila (2%), all from First Fill ex-Boubon Barrels, along with Highland Blended Malt (2%) from custom French oak casks and a secret Speyside single malt (8%) from Revatted Oloroso Sherry-Seasoned Butts. Hmmm, a "Distillery near the town of Aberlour" sounds a lot like Benfarclas... 46%.
Producer Description
"What is more universally delicious than ripe fruit? Even the greatest chefs have been known to serve a simple dish of strawberries or a single, perfect peach as a dessert.
"Orchard House gathers together some of the fruitiest malts Scotland has to offer, including whiskies from the Linkwood and Clynelish distilleries; what’s more, we have sourced many of these whiskies as new spirit and laid them down in our own oak casks. This, our monument to fresh fruitiness in Scotch whisky, has been many years in the making."
Clynelish 10 Year Special Releases 2023
$191.24
First Fill Bourbon American Oak. What a perfect way to showcase 'the waxy one'. Unquestionably, one of the most exciting of the 2023 Special Releases.
57.5% abv
Boutique-y Highland #2 Batch 2 19 Year
$219.99
This undeclared Clynelish single cask, Highland #2 in That Boutique-y Whisky Company's classification, is sister cask to our own exclusive bottling of Boutique-y Clynelish 20 Year KWM Cask. This bottling, batch 2, is a year younger, bottled from a single Hogshead cask at 48.1%.
Producer Description
"This is a 19 Year Old single malt from a Highland distillery that we are unable to name. It’s our second release, the first was a custom bottling for a big supporter of Boutique-y Whisky in Canada; Kensington Wine Market in Calgary. What can I tell you? It’s from a single hogshead, probably the most
common cask in Scotland by a country mile, that was laid down in August 2000."
About the Label
"While we are not able to name the distillery on our label, being That Boutique-y Whisky Company with clearly recognisable labels gives us an opportunity to have some clues as to where this could have originated… Our label is a riff on ‘The Highlander’ movie poster that we liked. It had to be, didn’t it? For our characters we chose our highland cats from another of our labels. Our murderously brutal barbarian being The First Duke of Sutherland, controversial for his role in the Highland Clearances, and our immortal Scottish swordsman being our candle bearing cat. The ‘Can Has Only One’ is a reference to our cat meme source…Corny, shockingly bad punnage, and hilarious again!"
G&M Private Collection Clynelish 1972 50
$16,800.00
Johnnie Walker Gold Reserve
$89.99
The Gold Label from the Johnnie Walker line of Blended Scotch has a small but strong following, likely due Clynelish being one of its core components. The likes of Cardhu and Caol Ila also make up the base of this blend which contains a total of 14 to 16 different distilleries in its makeup. Much of the marketing talks about it being best served chilled, but that is entirely up to you. Bottled at 40% ABV.
Clynelish Distillers Edition
$104.99
Only 60 bottles have come into Alberta and KWM has snagged 30 of them! This Oloroso Seco finished Clynelish has been bottled at 46%. My tasting note: "Nose: Orange notes, orange citrus, candied orange and dried orange peel; the waxy honeyed notes Clynelish is famous for come out with patience and some ginge spice; Palate: creamy and spicy with more candied orange, orange peel, dried ginger and thick-waxy-creamy-unpasteurized honey; the spices take over on the second sip with some dried fruits; Finish: coating, waxy and spicy fruits!"