Signatory Glenlivet 1981 33 Year
$346.49
This 1981 vintage Glenlivet was filled into a Hogshead, cask #9452 and bottled after 33 years at 52.1%. Only 173 bottles were produced by the cask, with just 12 of them coming to Calgary exclusively to KWM. Distilled on the 11th of May 1981 it was bottled on the 19 of January 2015.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: butterscotch, caramel and creamed honey with floral tones and subtle fruits: melons, pear and lemon drops; vanilla bean, clotted cream and potpourri.
Palate: toasty, warming and coating with more sugars than the nose let on: barley and Demerara sugars with some licorice; the butterscotch and caramel are still there but the honey is richer, more of a Manuka honey; beeswax emerges with floral tones and vanilla, the fruits are there: white fruits, melon and citrus, but the rich oak and more decadent notes are more dominent.
Finish: big, fruity and coating; loads more sugars, balanced oak, floral tones and fruits.
Comments: the 32 year old, cask 10982 is softer, but this is richer and more decadent.
Signatory Dufftown 1997
$161.99
Exclusive to the Kensington Wine Market in Calgary this bottling is from single cask 19495, a Hogshead filled on 9/12/1997 and bottled on 04/07/2014.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: very Bourbonny, creamy and toasty; orange marzipan, almond paste fill croissants and Moroccan marmalade; some melon and exotic fruits, guava?
Palate: dried honey, chunky oak, crisp spice and Demerara sugar with coffee dregs; very Bourbonny still, but also juicy and fruity, with more melons, marmalade and almondy notes; the palate has nice layers and the alcohol is well balanced.
Finish: long, toasty and honeyed with more almonds, orange and Demerara sugars.
Comments: half way between Bourbon and Scotch, this malt may open doors in either direction!
Signatory Glenlivet 1981 32 Year
$341.99
Bottled at 48.6% from a single Hogshead cask #10982. Only 6 of the 234 bottles from this cask have found their way to Calgary where this whisky is exclusive to KWM. Distilled on December 21 of 1981 and Bottled on August 8 of 2014.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: floral and decandent, melons, sauteed pears, toasted oak and spices (ginger) and bright sugars; a touch of pineapple, raisins and white chocolate.
Palate: very toasty and sugary with coating oak and more delicate fruits: pear, melon and cooked pineapple with dried ginger candies; the whisky is very sweet, sugary and coating with decadent honey and white chocolate notes.
Finish: warming, toasty and spicy with the fruits and sugars lingering longest.
Comments: while it is starting to show its age, this whisky has a lot of life left!
Blackadder Raw Cask Auchentoshan 21 Year
$229.49
This Blackadder 21 year old Auchentoshan was filled into cask on December 9 1992, and has been bottles at 54.5%. From the Raw Cask line, this whisky has been bottled with only the most basic screening and no filtering. There are some chunks of charred oak in each bottle from the cask it matured in, Hogshead 7746. Exclusive to KWM in Calgary, only 6 bottles have come into the shop!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: floral and creamy with heather honey and some bright citrus notes; white chocolate, raisins and some developing melon.
Palate: creamy, floral and toasty with some peppery spice; more heather honey, honeydew melon and white chocolate coated raisins; a faint grassiness devolops late fading into fresh lemon and lime;
Finish: long, soft, floral and spicy; the citrus notes linger long with coating oaky tones.
Blackadder Raw Cask Auchentoshan 23 Year
$260.99
This Blackadder 23 year old Auchentoshan was filled into cask on December 9 1992, and has been bottles at 54.5%. From the Raw Cask line, this whisky has been bottled with only the most basic screening and no filtering. There are some chunks of charred oak in each bottle from the cask it was matured in, Barrel No. 3061. Exclusive to KWM in Calgary, only 6 bottles have come into the shop!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: honey suckle, lilacs, brandy soaked cherries and orange rind; mango and some tropical fruits with a touch of Demerara sugar, licorice and cinamon sticks.
Palate: very floral, more honey suckle, lilacs, rose petals and other flowers; the whisky is sweet with more Demerara, brandy soaked cherries and orange rind (a little like a classic old fashioned); the fruits emerge with citrus, mellon and mango.
Finish: long, coating, creamy and still very floral; very elegant.
The Nikka 40 Year
$5,399.99
Only one bottle of this whisky has come into Canada, and there may not be a second. This 40 year old Nikka was released to celebrate the Nikka Whisky Company's 80th Anniversary, and to mark 120th Anniversary of its founder-Masatak Taketsuru's birth.
The whisky is a Blended Malt or Pure Malt - yes they can still use that term in Japan - consisting of whskies from the Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries. One of the Yoichi wiskies used in the vatting was distilled in 1945 and there is also some Miyagikyo 1969. Only 1000 bottles were released World Wide at 43% in a bespoke decanter and beautiful presentation box.
Signatory Bunnahabhain 1988 26 Year
$260.99
Bowmore Tempest VI
$96.99
Matured exclusively in First Fill Ex-Bourbon casks in the storied No. 1 Vaults of the Bowmore distillery. The series was released to highlight the island's stormy and tempestuous environment, and the affect that has on the distillery's whisky. Batch 6 has been released at 54.9%.
Distiller's Tasting Note
Breathe in a tropical fruit explosion of sweet mandarin, zingy pineapple and papaya.
Sip toasted coconut, sweet almond and mellow peat.
Savour passion fruit, pomegranate and tropical ocean dew finish.
Jura Boutique Barrels 1995 Sauternes
$143.99
It is finally here... I can't emphasize "finally" enough! Our own exclusive cask of Sauternes Finished Jura, cask No. 8, distilled in 1995. The whisky was bottled in August of 2013 and was matured in Ex-Bourbon before finishing in a Sauternes Barrique. Yes, we have been waiting ages for this one, but the wait is finally over. Of the original 270 bottles released at the distillery, 204 of them have found their way to our shop!
We were originally offered the whisky in the Spring of 2014, about 8 months after it had first been bottled. We reviewed about 3 or 4 different casks and this one was the standout winner. It was supposed to be here in time for Christmas 2015, but a change of agency and some other hiccups delayed its until just now! Bottled at 58.9% you barely notice its impressive strength on the nose or palate. Each bottles is numbered and bares Willie Cochrane's signature.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: soft creamy and coating with vanilla, citrus and floral malty notes - a little like a fine French soap; Wine Gums and darker notes of leather, eather and oak slowly start to emerge; there are also underlying silky tendrils of honey;
Palate: it starts light and soft but quickly builds with more honey, citrus and oak; the alcohol is held very well in check by soft and subtle layers of fruit, chocolate, leather and earth; more Wine Gums, building spices and nutty notes;
Finish: long, layered and fruity (lots of orange) with fading spices and coating oaky oils;
Comment: this one was well worth the wait; the staff loves it and so will you!