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1257 Kensington Road NW
1 (403) 283-8000 / atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com
IT'S BACK - WAS $165 - NOW $120 - More bottles arriving August 19.
Whisky Advocate Magazine gives this Blue Hanger Release a rating of 92 and titled it their 2015 Blended/Blended Malt Whisky of the Year. Exclusive to KWM, only 60 bottles for Canada.
This 11th release is a vatting of 8 total casks: 4 hogsheads, 3 sherry butts and 1 puncheon. Amongst these is purportedly both peated and unpeated malt from Bunnahabhain distillery but the rest of the makeup is not known.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: honey and marzipan mingle with clean smoke and chocolate salted caramel tarts; crisp lemon and orange with loads of creamy vanilla and dried fruits: raisins and apricots.
Palate: round and immediately smoky, earthy and chocolaty all laid over a base of silky vanilla and decadent honey; firm spices develop including bright ginger, black licorice and candied fennel; there are dried fruits hinting at a sherry influence balanced out by muddier tones of sweet peaty malt.
Finish: big, bold and malty with lovely vanillans, leather, dried fruits and spices; delicate clean salty smoke and gentle earthy peat underneath!
Comment: lots going on here though it is not as peaty as some past releases, very layered and complex; a gateway whisky to more heavily peated malts?
Whisky Advocate Tasting Note: "It’s the intensity of flavor that just grabbed me by the lapels and spun me round. It harbors intense tangelo juiciness; that unparalleled concentration of deep citrus skillfully mingled with dark vanilla, dried apricots, and gentle smoke. This goes the distance, delivering wave after delicious wave: peach juice, mandarin, pineapple cubes, and lemon zest. A firm, unctuous finish shows a little charred wood and dark sugar cloaked in fine smoke. Tongue pleasing and very special indeed. £90" (Spring 2015) 92pts Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick"
700 ml
$61.99
This Blended Malt Scotch Whisky is produced by William Grant & Sons, owners of Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and Kininvie distilleries. Monkey shoulder is a blend of the three malts bottled at 43%.
About Monkey Shoulder: One day, our legendary Malt Master David Stewart decided to create the world’s first 'triple' malt, by combining single malts from three of Speyside’s finest distilleries. Why's it so mellow?: Well, for starters, there’s not a single drop of grain whisky in our Monkey Shoulder, and the chosen malts mature in first fill ex-bourbon casks. Our own coopers repair these ex-bourbon casks so that they impart a smooth and mellow vanilla flavour into the resting malt whisky. And then, there's Brian Kinsman who's our new Master now. He always chooses the right combination of casks for every batch he makes, ensuring each one is deliciously smooth and rich as the last. The three Speyside malts are then blended together in a small marrying tun where they hang out making eyes at each other for anything from three to six months.
What is Monkey Shoulder?: The term 'monkey shoulder' harks back to our whisky making heritage. It’s a reference to a condition that maltmen sometimes picked up while working long shifts, turning the barley by hand. It had a tendency to cause their arm to hang down a bit like a monkey’s, so they nicknamed it 'monkey shoulder'.
