Dalwhinnie 25 Year 48.8%
$699.99
Released as part of Diageo's 2015 special releases, this is only the 2nd Dalwhinnie 25 year old ever bottled. Distilled in 1980 and matured in Refill American Oak, 3000 bottles were released at 48.8%. Only 6 bottles coming to KWM!
Distiller's Tasting Note
Nose: Quite closed, soft and waxy at first, then grassy, with notes of hay soaring above a sweet, malty base. Things open up to reveal fresh high notes of vanilla and floral honey, and heathery moorland and peat.
Palate: Smooth, creamy texture. Menthol-cool, lightly sweet and citrusy with a fresh edge; malty too, with an unusual yet pleasingly perfumed mid-palate. Finally, drying at the back.
Finish: Quite short and appetisingly dry. Cooling, minty with fragrant pine resins and some very late smoke, finally becoming leafy. With water, dry, warming and softly pungent.
Note: From the highest, coldest distillery in Scotland comes a creamy, aromatic, and crisply-focused Dalwhinnie. Drier and less honeyed than you may expect, it drinks very well, both straight and with a little water.
Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 5
$116.99
Since their launch a few years back the Glendronach Cask Strengths have been one of the most popular whiskies in our shop! Glendronach Cask Strength Batch 5 has been bottled at 55.3%, with approximately 12,000 bottles released world wide. Glendronach selects Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Sherry matured whiskies for the Cask Strength releases.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: prunes, marmalade, new leather and Demerara sugars; building spices: ginger, cardamom and anise with treacle sauce and cooked plums; a touch of tobacco, cedar and cocoa powder.
Palate: honeyed and fruity with loads of cedar and spices; more Demerara sugars and treacle sauce with anise, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon hearts; more marmalade, prunes and underneath some softer fruits like melons and bright orange; still plummy the palate evolves and comes in waves.
Finish: long, smooth and leathery with dark and lighter fruits that fade out slowly with the notes of cedar and spices.
Comment: it is damn near time to do a vertical of these and see how this one stands up to the previous four releases; it could be my mood, I'm just back from a little time off, but I think it is brilliant!
Distillery Tasting Note
Nose: A perfect combination of sweet golden sultanas and rich fig syrup holds a contrasting warmth of ground almonds, orange bitters and a gentle dusting of black pepper.
Palate: Demerara sugar-glazed dark fruits lighten to apricot syrup infused with stem ginger and vanilla. Crisp candied peel and gentle cigar box spices combined with mellow notes of freshly mashed barley add great complexity to the long, classic palate.
Finish: The combination of elegant sherry influences and robust Highland style creates a perfect example of the traditional GlenDronach character.
Bruichladdich Octomore 7.3 Islay Barley
$149.99
Don't panic, it isn't sold out yet, it is new! More bottles coming...
This is the 2nd Release of Octomore Local Barley, produced from malt peated to 169ppm and bottled at 63%. The whisky, heavily peated as it is was distilled in 2010 from barley grown the previous summer at Lorgba. The whisky was fully matured partially in Ex-Bourbon barrels (80%) and partially in Ex-Wine barriques from Spain, from the Ribera del Duero bodega (20%).
Andrew's Tasting Note
To Come!
Distiller's Tasting Note
Nose: Opens with the unmistakeable hit of peat smoke followed by ozone and salt spray, then lemon cake. The marine notes characteristic of maturation by the shores of Lochindaal. Warm the glass in your hand and wait as apricot jam, cinder toffee, vanilla, buttercups and lilies rise and interweave.
Palate: The texture is a striking testament to the Distiller’s art, rich and satin smooth despite the high strength. Initially there is salt on the lips with sweetness from the American Oak combining with the peat smoke. A second sip uncovers the heart of the dram through layers of peaches, apricot, melon and ginger syrup. Once there, malted Islay barley and toasted oak compliment floral notes of wild thyme, mint and buttercup.
Finish: Everything about this dram speaks of Islay and our slow distillation, the peat smoke and salt spray powerful yet gentle and complex. The Islay-grown barley gives a character like no other. The culmination of many hours of hard work, determination and skill, long after the glass is empty the peat embers from this whisky remain alive on your taste buds.
Mood: Walking an Islay beach with the wind at your back. Salt-laden sand blowing past your feet. Returning home to a peat fire and the warmth of the family hearth. Contentment.
Bruichladdich Octomore 7.4 Virgin Oak
$125.99
Don't panic, it isn't sold out yet, it is new! More bottles coming...
The Octomore 7.4 has been peated to 167ppm matured in new (virgin oak) and bottled at 61.2%. Distilled in 2008, 12,000 bottles were released world-wide. It is exclusive to just a handful of shops in Alberta including two in Calgary, one of which is KWM!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Coming soon!
Distiller's Tasting Note
Nose: There is huge presence with this whisky, taking the cork from the bottle will unleash something unique. The room fills with the sweet, smoky aroma as the first glass is poured and you know this is the prelude to a whisky like no other. The smoke is powerful but tempered by sweet, rich oak, two heavyweights that complement each other - there is balance between them. As the whisky opens, the complexity and intensity of the virgin oak gives notes of dried fruit, raisin and apricot then toasted bread, chocolate orange, coffee, coconut, buttery vanilla. There is a hint of barbeque and pine needles along with more fruit, this time from the spirit – green apples and grapefruit with a dusting of cloves and cinnamon. It is captivating.
Palate: Prepare for an elevation in the octomore experience. As the first taste of 7.4 meets your taste buds the sensation is truly spectacular. The mouthfeel is rich and sumptuous then there is a detonation of flavour. Sweetness, peat smoke and the richness of toasted oak clamour for your attention as the warming strength of the spirit ignites. Wow! A drop of water will release exotic coconut and clove, lemon peel, caramel, turkish delight. Sweet orange blossom honey and more and more oak fill the palate, all of this is veiled in peat smoke, almost medicinal in its character it is peppered with sweet spicy notes of cinnamon and clove. The floral, fruity, style of Bruichladdich is evident through all the power of the oak and smoke reassuring us that we have not let this age too long in the intensity of the fresh oak casks.
Finish: True to our beliefs this distillation was slow and careful to ensure the texture and balance is perfect and this allows the flavour to last for an eternity. Honeysuckle and rose mingle with liquorice and clove, dried dates, apricots and honeyed vanilla released from the oak will slowly fade then the smoke will linger for an age competing with the sweetness of the oak for the last word on an unforgettable experience.
Old Pulteney 1989
$339.99
The follow up to the very succssful 1990 "accidentally peated" release has also been bottled at 46%, after maturing in American Oak Ex-Bourbon. Just landed in Canada, it won "World's Best Single Malt" Whisky Magazine's World Whisky Awards!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose:
Palate:
Finish:
Comment:
Distiller’s Tasting Note
Nose:Spices of the Orient and tangy green apples are wrapped in a veil of warm wood smoke. Honey and vanilla cut through the middle with a lemony top note and a faint floral accent.
Palate: It starts dark and peaty with a heavy, spicy underpinning. The sweeter and lighter notes soon follow, bringing to mind vanilla custard laced with runny toffee, a touch of coconut, worn leather and a generous helping of bitter orange marmalade. The peat smoke flickers and changes, revealing a very mature, spicy and tannic side of this suberb Vintage. Long lasting and satisfying.
Adelphi Glenborrodale Batch 1
$83.69
The Adelphi Glenborrodale Blended Malt Batch 1 is a small batch release of only 1226 bottles aged 8 years old. Amongst the malt in this whisky are reported to be some Macallan, Highland Park, Bunnahabhain, and Glenrothes. There also might be some Glengoyne in there.
According to Adelphi this whisky is rich and sherried in style with some smoke and peat in the mix as well.
Coopers Choice Highland Park 20 Year
$224.99
This Madeira finished Highland Park was distilled in 1995 by the Vintage Malt Whisky Company, under the Coopers Choice label. 288 bottles were filled at 46%, of which just 60 are coming to Alberta, exclusively to KWM!
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: honeyed, fruity and decadent; Wine Gums, jujubes and heathery floral tones; peaches in cream, dried apricots and clean ashy smoke; salty with chocolate, decadent spices, melons and dried orange cubes.
Palate: very creamy, honeyed, floral and fruity with clean ashy smoke and more soft candies; the peaches in cream and dried apricots are still here with melon and so much more; the fruits keep coming with mango, kiwi and pineapple; the oak becomes bigger and toastier while the spices develop more slowly.
Finish: very long, warming and spicy, the oak oils cling to the palate while the clean smoke and waves of fruit waltz into the sunset.
Comment: this is a beautiful Highland Park, true to the distillery's house style but with a very soft, deep and fruity profile; this exclusive was a gamble which has far exceeded my expectations. Chalk one up for the good guys!
Coopers Choice Glen Esk 30 Year
$449.99
Coopers Choice Garnheath 1986
$269.99
Exclusive to KWM, the only ever release of Garnheath we've ever seen... This 28 year old Bourbon cask matured Single Grain Scotch Whisky is from a single Bourbon Barrel cask 22156, and bottled at 48.5%. 410 bottles produced, 60 of which are coming to Alberta!
The closed Garnheath grain distillery opperated near Airdrie, Scotland, east of Glasgow in the town of Moffat! The distillery was established as part of a complex that included the Glen Fladger distillery.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: honey warming in a pan with granola and butter; Mandarin orange, rose petals and silky vanillans; white pepper and melon with cooked pineapple.
Palate: silky, honeyed, creamy and very floral; round and fruity with Dulce leche and loads of fruits, sugars and floral tones; more melons, pineapple and juicy Mandarin oranges with Demerara sugars, white chocolate sauce and more floral tones: roses and geraniums.
Finish: long, creamy, coating and toasty; the juicy fruits, honey and floral notes slowly fade out.
Comment: this is a stunning single grain, dangerously drinkable, lots of character and no trace of the bitter old oak that holds some grains back!