Springbank 21 Year

$385.99

More stock available. 

The current batch (15/52) is superb, Andrew's tasting note is coming soon. Bottled at 46% without colouring or chill-filtering, this lightly peated Campbeltown malt is matured in?  

Andrew's Tasting Note Batch 15/52

Nose: creamy, savoury and comforting; vanilla, clotted cream and salted caramel envelop you in a warm embrace; dried apricots, peaches and cream; wood smoke from a beach bonfire and steamed mussels.

Palate: round, creamy, salty and still very savoury; vanilla bean, clotted cream, silky honey and salted caramel; the beach bonfire wood smoke is still there, but clean, without a sharp edge; more peaches and cream, dried apricot and cantaloupe.

Finish: medium in length, it is creamy, coating and fruity with savoury salted caramel tones and clean smoke.

Comment: lovely; I compared it to Batch 12/18 and this is heads and shoulders a better whisky; more akin to the legendary Springbank 21s of more than a decade ago!” 

Distiller's Tasting Note

Nose: A creamy delight. Toffee and cereal notes interspersed with bursts of freshly picked strawberries and ripe watermelon.

Palate: Robust and steadfast with a dry, creamy oiliness. Sugared almonds are heavily present as well as a dash of cinnamon.

Finish: Creamy with an evolving length which coats the mouth and finally gives up its peaty origins.

Teeling Revival Volume II 13 Year

$146.69

This 2nd edition of the Teeling Revival was produced to celebrate Teeling Distillery's year in operation. This 13 Year Old Single Malt Irish whiskey was distilled in 2002. It spent the first 12 years of its life in ex-Bourbon casks. After this it was finished in 12 months in Calvados casks.

We will be getting at least 8 bottles - possibly a little more after that but they likely won't last long! The whisky has been released to mark the 1st anniversary of the opening of Teeling Distillery in Dublin. Teeling Distillery is the the first new distillery in the city in 125 years, and the only one currently in operation. 

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: ginger snaps, short bread cookies, lemon zest and bright cooked apples; crisp grassy malt and polished oak.

Palate: soft, silky and honeyed; more biscuitty notes: shortbread and ginger snaps but also a creamy backbone of vanilla and white chocolate; very appley, classic apple pie, poached pear and zesty citrus notes; round and chewy there is more toasty oak.

Finish: long, coating and smooth; loads of fading barley, vanilla, honey and white orhard fruits; just a hint of citrus.

Comment: another lovely release of Teeling, the casks they kept after selling the Cooley ditillery continue to impress; can't wait to sample the spirit from their new Dublin distillery! 

Adelphi The Glover 18yr

$239.99

The Glover 18yr from Adelphi is a unique Blend of both Japenese and Scottish Malt Whisky. The Japanese malt comes from the closed, legendary Hanyu. The whisky on the Scottish side comes from the Glen Garioch and Longmorn distilleries.

This series is named after Thomas Blake Glover - a Scottish gentleman who helped modernize Japan in the 19th Century.

48.6% ABV

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 66.90

$116.99

STEAM TRAIN THROUGH A PHARMACY

This 12 year old Highlander is from a refill barrel and comes in at 58.5%

Flavour profile:  Peated

Outturn:  204 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "The nose delivered an immediate, unmistakable blast of vanilla smoke – then cigar ash, walnut shells, polished wood pharmacy counters – eventually pine forest freshness. To taste, the smoke had a more tarry character (the taste left after working with bitumen roofing sheets), Buckley’s Mixture and eucalyptus – the balancing sweetness reminded us of aniseed-flavoured Liquorice Allsorts and blackcurrants. The reduced nose had cleaner, more clinical smoke, causing one panellist to recall a journey on the Jacobite steam train (wood, leather, smoke, heather, pine). The palate now flooded our mouths with sweet, succulent easy-drinking joy – restrained hickory smoke and blackcurrant Halls."

Drinking tip:  "To make the last hour of the day (before going to bed) something special"

Cadenhead Small Batch Glendullan 1996

$174.99

This Cadenhead bottling of Glendullan comes from two ex-bourbon barrels distilled in 1996. 480 bottles total with only 12 coming to Canada - exclusively to Kensington Wine Market. Bottled at 53.4% ABV

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 55.24

$199.99

CHERRY PIE MOONSHINE

This 20 year old Speysider is from a 2nd fill hogshead and comes in at 52.7%

Flavour profile:  Spicy & sweet

Outturn:  189 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "We are in a scene from chapter two of Mark Twain’s book ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ back in the 19th century in the Midwest. Tom has to whitewash a big wooden fence but convinces his friends to pay him to have a go themselves. Evocative aromas of late summer cornfields, pumpkin pie, corned beef hash sandwiches and homemade lemonade fill the air. The taste neat was like corn on the cob with salted butter or homemade blackcurrant jam on crusty bread. Water added to that autumn feeling; root beer, candied ginger snaps and to top it all ‘cherry pie moonshine’."

Drinking tip:  "Whilst reading the 'Autobiography of Mark Twain'"

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 4.217

$214.99

NORDIC NOSH

From a refill hogshead, this 19 year old from Orkney is 53.9%

Flavour profile:  Oily & coastal

Outturn:  234 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "We felt like filling our plate from the buffet at a garden party.  Whilst some got smoked mackerel salad with beetroot, sweet potato and horseradish seasoned with red wine vinaigrette, others enjoyed sweet cured marinated herring and new potato salad with sour cream. The main course was sweet and slightly ashy, barbecued succulent herbal sausages, Swedish meatballs, dry-cured smoked ham and summertime sweet pickles. With water, the vegetarian option, grilled glazed kebab skewers with zucchini, eggplant, cherry tomatoes and pepper in a honey mustard oil dressing and in the finish, slightly burnt with a hint of ash, marshmallows."

Drinking tip:  "At a garden barbecue party"

Scotch Malt Whisky Society C1

$218.69

NECTAR CELESTE

The Society's very first Cognac release, this XO Cognac is from a french oak barrel and is 48.4%

Flavour profile:  Spicy & sweet

Outturn:  450 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "The nose neat had a magical intensity; wood smouldering through a magnifying glass, a soldering iron, a burning incense stick, campfire banana splits as well as curled-up treacle scones. The taste offered a pleasant heat with a tingly spiciness of cinnamon and aniseed combined with the creamy freshness of rum & raisin and elder flower & ginger ice cream. A drop of water released herbal/menthol aromas and we were transported into a warehouse on a hot day sharing ‘la part des anges’. Sweet and spicy right on the tip of the tongue and a wonderfully dry, slightly bitter chocolate finish – Celestial!"

Drinking tip:  "Try neat and then add a drop of water and wait"

Scotch Malt Whisky Society 10.90

$117.89

MUCKLE, MASSIVE INTENSITY OF SMOKE

From Islay, this 9 year old is 61.4% and is from a refill hogshead

Flavour profile:  Heavily peated

Outturn:  258 bottles

Panel's tasting note:  "The nose chucked a muckle, massive, immeasurable immensity of peat-smoke and smouldering sawdust all over us – we also found dark toffee, grilled prawns, liquorice, American Cream Soda and a wet dog scampering through flower-beds. The palate was simply breath-taking – tar, smoke, ash and liquorice – but developing cheekily in the glass – barbecued scallops, grass, earth, stone, school cagoules and waxed jackets. The reduced nose gave us nougat, dark honey, heather and ‘Snickers in a humidor’. The palate now – no nonsense, big peat smoke – but balanced with sweetness and savoury pork crackling. Even meek peat freaks will keech their breeks for this!"

Drinking tip:  "End of the night dram or after serious exertion"