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History In A Bottle Day 2: Glen Grant Cask Strength 1966

Posted on December 2, 2022

This post is Bonus Content. It has information on one of the KWM Cask bottles that are featured on the back of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar box. You can find the blog post for the mini bottle for Day Two of our Whisky Calendar here.

The KWM Casks of Yesteryear: G&M Glen Grant Strength 1966 KWM Cask

by Andrew

Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 1966 KWM Cask

We stayed up in the big leagues for our second-ever KWM single cask bottling, sticking with Gordon & MacPhail. But unlike the Strathisla 1960, this 1966 Glen Grant took a little longer to sell. In some respects, this is a whisky which was a little ahead of its time. Firstly, although Gordon & MacPhail has always bottled some fine old Glen Grant, the distillery didn’t have much of a profile. Until recently the distillery didn’t see fit to bottle its own whiskies, other than a 5-year-old for the Italian market. This has changed in recent years, aided in no small part by the ancient bottlings of Glen Grant that Gordon & MacPhail continue to roll out. But in the late 2000s, Glen Grant was a somewhat unknown producer.

Secondly, and more importantly, though this was another example of fine old Glen Grant, it wasn’t as dark or sherried as some might have hoped. The reason this makes it a whisky ahead of its time is that there is a greater appreciation in this day and age for old Refill cask whiskies, which tend to become very fruity as they age. It is a style that I am especially fond of, and this is a whisky I would be thrilled to bottle today and list at $500… As with the Strathisla, thankfully my tasting note has survived!

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: ripe orchard fruits, citrus, poached apple, sauternes, chocolate orange and gentle spices and moderate hints of sherry.

Palate: sweet and gentle with rich spices, and buttery sherry notes; becomes drier, darker and more chocolaty with each sip; traces of raw cocoa and coffee bean.

Finish: long and soft with warming sherry notes; drying with soft but firm oak and more hints of citrus.

Link to archive:

https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/product/734051

Andrew Ferguson

Owner

Kensington Wine Market
...

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History In A Bottle Day 1: Strathisla Cask Strength 1960 46 Year Old

Posted on December 1, 2022

This post is Bonus Content. It has information on one of the KWM Cask bottles that are featured on the back of our 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar box. You can find the blog post for the mini bottle for Day One of our Whisky Calendar here.

The KWM Casks of Yesteryear: G&M Strathisla Cask Strength 1960 46-Year-Old

by Andrew

In our storied 30+ year history, we have selected and bottled more than 145 single casks. Admittedly, that number includes a handful which have yet to arrive. It is may seem hard to believe, but the first single cask ever selected by and bottled exclusively for Kensington Wine Market, was a 46-year-old Strathisla, way back in 2007. The whisky, distilled in 1960, was matured in a Refill Sherry Hogshead and bottled at an impressive 58.2%. I remember it like it was yesterday, Michael Urquhart from Gordon & MacPhail was on hand for the launch, and despite the excitement, I was nervous about the prospect of having to sell 179 bottles at $550. But my fears were misplaced, the whisky was a hit, and it sold out in just 6-7 weeks… I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the start of something big, which would set us apart from other retailers in our market.

Miraculously, my tasting note has survived…

Gordon & MacPhail Strathisla Cask Strength 1960 46 Year - 58.%

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: surprisingly approachable for 58.2%, caramel, fig, and a big dose of candied fruit show early. Subsequent passes reveal brown sugar, new leather, tobacco, spcies and moist aged Christmas cake.

Palate: starts big, but very smooth at its natural strength. Dry crisp oak, tobacco, wood smoke, dark chocolate, ripe prunes and black cherries at the front; treacle and Christmas cake notes compliment a spicy backbone. Let your palate adjust to the strength instead of adding water!

Finish: very smooth, long, dry, treacle, cigar smoke, dark chocolate & a touch of butter...

Link to the Archive:

https://www.kensingtonwinemarket.com/product/727787

Andrew Ferguson

Owner

Kensington Wine Market
...

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KWM 2022 Whisky Calendar Day 2: Lindores Abbey Single Malt Scotch

Posted on December 2, 2022

BONUS CONTENT: Read Andrew's write-up on the 2nd KWM Cask ever selected here!

by Evan

Door Number Two for the 2022 Kensington Wine Market Whisky Calendar is in front of me, just begging to be opened. What is inside? It’s the Lindores Abbey Single Malt Scotch!

While Lindores Abbey itself has a long history, the distillery does not. It was only just founded in 2017 on the site of the ruins of the former Abbey by owners Drew and Helen Mackenzie Smith.

Lindores Abbey is one of only a handful of Scottish distilleries that has the ability to make Single Estate Whisky, thanks to being able to use barley crops grown on fields close by that were owned by the Abbey dating back to the 1400s.

Lindores Abbey itself dates back more than two centuries prior to that. It was founded by the Earl of Huntingdon around 1178. The site included a church and monastery and is responsible for the earliest known record of Scotch Whisky: In 1494 King James IV paid Friar Jon Cor of Lindores Abbey: “To Friar John Cor, by order of the King, VIII bolls of Malt, wherewith to make acqua vitae"

The Abbey was ordered to be torn down in 1559, and now, nearly half a millennium later, only the ruins of a few walls and old grave sites remain to show where it once stood.

The site and the distillery residing on it are located in what is considered the Scottish Lowlands near the town of Newburgh, east of Perth and West of St Andrews, near the southern shore of the River Tay. Most of its closest distillery neighbours are also relatively new. Daftmill Distillery is about a 15-minute drive south. Kingsbarns Distillery is a 50-minute drive to the East. Or you could travel to the much older Glenturret Distillery which is a 50-minute drive to the West.

That is enough of that for now. Let’s taste some whisky!

Lindores Abbey Single Malt – 46%

Full-sized bottles can be found here

This Lindores Abbey Single Malt Scotch is composed of 3 to 4-year-old whisky that was matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry, and ex-Wine casks. Full-sized bottles of this release are also available.

Evan’s Tasting Note

Nose: Pine resin, milk chocolate, honey on toasted rye bread, Earl Grey tea, vanilla-scented candles, and Kellog's Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal.

Palate: Soft and honeyed, oatmeal with brown sugar, salted Marcona almonds, chamomile tea and plateful shortbread cookies and gingerbread cookies on the side,

Finish: Smooth and warming with lingering salty almond and honey notes.

Comment: A very solid first release from a distillery worth keeping an eye on.

Two days in and we have covered quite a bit of ground, going from the Beast of Dufftown to one with the youngest whiskies wit...

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KWM 2022 Whisky Calendar Day 1: First Editions Mortlach 2009 KWM Cask

Posted on July 15, 2025

BONUS CONTENT: Read Andrew's write-up on the first KWM Cask ever selected here!

by Evan

Welcome to the 2022 Edition of our Kensington Wine Market Whisky Calendar!

This year marks the 7th 12th 9th iteration of our very own store-made whisky calendar, with the first release dating back to 2018 1901 2014. Who knew, back then, that the concept would survive this long? The concept of adult-oriented and booze-themed holiday or advent calendars has exploded over the intervening years, and we now see versions focusing on everything from Beer to Lego to Port to Prosecco to Rum and beyond. A customer asked if there is a Tequila/Mezcal calendar available. There is not one in our market yet, but I am sure we will see one eventually.

What is my point in all of this? I would just like to mention that we are truly thankful that our customers continue to support us in a very crowded market. We realize that there are many options out there vying for your hard-earned money (heck – we sell every holiday/advent calendar I mentioned above except for the Lego version. You might have to hit Walmart up for that one). The KWM Whisky Calendar is a labour of love. We spend a lot of time every year sourcing the bottles and building the packaging, fretting over which spelling mistake we are going to add where and what bottle shot we are going to mirror as an easter egg for you all to find.

These blog posts are part of the labour and love that go into our KWM Whisky Calendar – a bit of a value add – or at the very least an opportunity for me to shout my own thoughts and opinions loudly into the void. I appreciate your continued tolerance if you are one of those reading this.

Perhaps the most fun Andrew, myself, and the other whisky staff get to have in December is participating in the online recap tastings held every five days. This is something we started just two years ago as video streaming took off during Covid, but it has quickly become a permanent value-add for the KWM Whisky Calendar that gives us a fun venue to connect with customers after their purchase and see how the lineup we spent a long time curating shows. We love hearing about your favourites (and least favourites for that matter!), your thoughts on the order, and what you would like to see in the next edition. Sure, making money is an important part of selling this product, but hearing how we could make it even more exciting next year keeps us excited about the future possibilities this all might bring.

Hmm. That is probably enough self-aggrandizing for the moment. You didn’t really come here to read all of that garbage, did you? Let’s go ahead and tackle what all of us are here for: opening Door Number One on the 2022 KWM Whisky Calendar.

Crack open that first perforated window which is located on the bottom left of the front of this ye...

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Going Natural Wine Club - June 2022

Posted on June 15, 2022

by Eli

Sperling: Ruby Pet-Nat

Located on the benches of southeast Kelowna, Sperling Vineyards strives towards a better tomorrow with a focus on pushing into the biodynamic and organic world while still maintaining tradition. The family has been producing wine on the same land in the Okanagan since the 1930s, with the tradition of winemaking stretching over four generations. Although the Vinyards have been farmed and used to make wine since the 1930s, the company Sperling Vineyards was officially founded in 2008 and received its Organic Certification in 2017. Head winemakers Ann Sperling and her husband, Peter Gamble, travel around Canada helping winemakers and Vinyards to advance their winemaking style. Ann grew up on the Sperling property and has been experimenting with low intervention, biodynamic, organic viniculture, and winemaking practices since the 1980s. This has allowed her to maintain the family’s traditional winemaking techniques while also pushing the envelope, which is a difficult balance to achieve.

With a blend of 85% old vine Marechal Foch, and 15% Pinot Noir, this wine stands out from other Pet-Nat's due to the fact it’s red! Don’t let that fool you though as this wine has crisp acidity and low tannins with notes of fresh Haskap berries and just picked red cherries. After harvest the Marechal Foch goes into the fermentation tanks as whole berries and clusters where they let the juice begin to ferment inside the skins of the grapes (a process called Carbonic Maceration), it is then pressed, blended with a touch of Pinot Noir, and then bottled with no added yeast, sugar, or sulphur. The secondary fermentation that goes on inside the bottle brings the wine to 1.5 atmospheres, giving it a healthy amount of bubbles. Because they don’t disgorge the yeast from the bottle before capping, there is a small layer of the leftover yeast left at the bottom of the bottle. This wine drinks reminiscently of Lambrusco, making it the perfect pairing for the Canadian version of traditional Italian Pizza, Greasy Hawaiian Pizza! Please drink cold or else you’re going to have red wine spray all over yourself and anything else that’s close to you when you open it, not a threat, just a warning.

Les Cortis: Neumite

Based in the small, little-known French winemaking region of Bugey, which is just east of Lyon at the base of the Rhone-Alps. This small winery was started in 2016 by Isabelle and Jérémy Decoster Coiffier with support from investors. Jérémy has worked with some of the most well-respected natural winemakers in the world, the experience and knowledge gained while working under the likes of Agnes and Olivier De Moor, Lilian Duplessis, and other well-known producers, he decided to settle down and start his winery in Bu...

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