Cooper's Choice Ardmore 2008
$81.99
Ardmore may just be one of the brashest of Mainland malts on the market. And I mean that in a good way. Whisky drinkers, by nature, aren't really looking for subtlety after all. Even so, Ardmore requires a bit of recalibration of the taste buds. The distillery has consistently been producing peated Highland malt since its earliest years when it was founded by the Teachers family in 1898. Ever since, the vast majority of production has been earmarked for Teachers Blended Whisky. The mid-level peating of a more mainland-style malt has meant a universally valued spirit. Especially in the eyes of the blenders.
Fortunately for us, however, the distillery's output is large enough to allow them to sell barrels to independent bottlers like Cooper's Choice. And this is where we find the real gems. This 2008 Ardmore is an earthy and smoky dram that has been finished in an ex Port Pipe. Expect a nice tangy fruitiness to complement the deeper ribbons of smoke here.
46% abv, natural color and non-chill filtered.
700 ml
Maltbarn Braes of Glenlivet 1994
$329.99
Longrow 18 Year 2017
$199.99
Springbank Society Longrow Sauternes
$104.99
!YOU MUST BE A SPRINGBANK SOCIETY MEMBER TO PURCHASE! - 1 Per Member/No Discounts
Bottled exclusively for members of the Springbank Society*, this 9 Year Longrow was bottled at 56.3% after maturing in Sauternes barriques. It is only available from the distillery, and KWM for Canadian members!
Distiller’s Tasting Note
Nose: Light smokiness, fresh plums, honeycomb, chocolate peppermints, walnuts, almonds, sticky toffee pudding, chocolate crepes, sugarcane, dark chocolate.
Palate: Cocoa powder, spice, pepper, dates and prunes. Raspberry coulis, caramel, ripe bananas, cherries and a mineral note. Slightly dry with a sticky mouthfeel.
Finish: Cherries, dry smoke, soot, raisins, burnt embers, baked apples, poached pears, biscuit base, shortbread, caramel shortcake, ginger and crushed black pepper.
*Contact us if you would like more details on the Springbank Society and how to join.
Springbank Society Hazelburn Sauternes
$109.99
!YOU MUST BE A SPRINGBANK SOCIETY MEMBER TO PURCHASE! - 1 Per Member
Bottled exclusively for members of the Springbank Society, this triple distilled Springbank, aka Hazelburn, was bottled at 53.9% after maturing in Sauternes Hogsheads. It is only available from the distillery and KWM.
Distiller’s Tasting Note
Nose: Orchard fruits; fresh juicy green apples and pear skins. Rich and creamy; creme brûlée, hints of toffee and Seville Oranges.
Palate: Syrup engulfs the mouth. Honeycomb emerges with milk chocolate, prunes, vanilla sponge cake alongside oak and nut notes.
Finish: Raisins and pecan pie develop, followed by liquorice root, coffee bean and blueberries.
Kilchoman 100% Islay KWM Cask 10 Year
$146.24
SOLD OUT!
Our 7th exclusive KWM single cask of Kilchoman is also our most unique, and not because it is 10 years old... we already have one of those! It is our first KWM exclusive cask of Kilchoman's 100% Islay. Distilled on August 21st, 2008, the whisky was bottled on August 21st, 2018 at exactly 10 years of age. Only 209 total bottles at 56.6% after maturing in Ex-Bourbon.
100% Islay is whisky that Kilchoman produces from its own barley, grown, malted, mashed, fermented, distilled, matured and bottled on site. This is farm to bottle whisky, with 100% of the production taking place at Rockside Farm. Kilchoman refers to it as Islay's only "Single Farm Single Malt". 100% Islay is peated to approximately 20ppm, though this can vary, considerably lighter than the distillery spec malt at 50ppm.
This KWM Cask Kilchoman was featured on Day 24 of our 2018 Whisky Advent Calendar.
Andrew's Tasting Note
Nose: soft and creamy, delicate smoke, wine gums and white cupcakes with vanilla icing; poached pear and cooked apple, candied lemon and chewy malt; a touch waxy with white chocolate and fresh berries: raspberry and strawberry; so-oh buttery.
Palate: still buttery, silky, honeyed and sweet; loads of white chocolate, vanilla and caramel; the soft earthy peat and faintly medicinal smoke build quickly with some seafood-y tones; the mouthfeel is big and oily, delicately coating the palate; more wine gums, berry fruits and candied lemon but also melons and pineapple.
Finish: long, coating, buttery and malty with soft earthy peat and bright citrus.
Comment: this is confident, elegant and refined; Kilchoman 100% Islay taking full strides and not looking back; a softer take on one of Scotland's boldest whiskies!
Evan's Tasting Note
Nose: full of brine and pungent oils, like walking past the pick your own olives bar in the deli of a grocery store. Floral and full of fresh malt notes. Aloe vera, eucalyptus, lavender, dryer sheets, mandarin orange, maraschino cherries, almond paste, dried and pressed flowers, thyme, plus a touch of licorice.
Palate: Creamy, ashy, sweet and spicy delivery. Salted caramel ice cream, peanut butter icing, grilled scallops, mushroom pizza with a heavy dose of chili flakes sprinkled on, black olives, blackberries, lemon and lime jujubes, a touch of salty licorice and Fisherman's Friend.
Finish: No. I don't want to... Wonderful seafood sweetness battles a final explosion of spice and then a warm and creamy ashiness rules over all.
Comment: When we tasted cask samples and decided on this barrel I was happy with the choice, but I did not think it was quite up to par with that previous KWM cask. Then the final bottles arrived and we cracked one open and I revised my thoughts immediately. This is a very different cask then our first 10-year-old, but it is just as amazing a whisky!
G&M MacPhail's 1949 68 Year Single Malt
$8,400.00
The best priced almost 70 year old whisky you will ever see again! We had the opportunity to select bottles of one of two casks 1949 vintgae Speyside whisky bottled by Gordon Macphail at 41.4% and 68 years after maturing in a First Fill Sherry Butt. Distilled: 3rd June 1949. Bottled: 2nd August 2017. The distillery is not disclosed, that would likely have doubled the price of the bottle, but we suspect it is either Glenlivet or Glen Grant (but more strongly suspect the former). Cask number: 2203. 210 bottles were produced, mostly for China, where 1949 is a significant date. Only a dozen will ever find their way to Canada, exlcusively to KWM.
Andrew's Thoughts on Why This is Such an Amazing Opportunity: There are a lot of factors that make old whisky so expensive. Firstly, time can be cruel, with the angels greedily skimming 1-2% off a year from each and every barrel. Few single casks make it to 40 years at the bare minimum legal strength for whisky, 40%. Secondly, few people and or companies ever thought there would be demand for such old whisky, especially at the prices they now command, and accordingly they didn't plan to keep stocks for so long. Expensive/collectible old whisky is a relatively new phenomenon, only really etting up to steam in the 21st century. Finally, and most importantly, simply leaving something in a barrel for 40, 50, 60 or more years will not guarantee that it will get better. While the best, most interesting and complex whiskies I've ever had have all be old ones, age and quality are not synonymous. I have had a lot of disappointing older malts and blends. Many of these disappointing older whiskies were left in the barrel too long and had lost their vitality. That is the tricky bit about ageing whisky, every barrel matures at its own pace. This is what makes Gordon Macphail's older whiskies so interesting. The firm has bottled the six oldest whiskies I am aware of, including a 75 year old, three 70 year olds and at least two 68 year olds (of which this is one). They are also set to bottle an 80 year old whisky in the next year... Of these truly ancient malts I have yet to have a bad or disappointing one, if anything, the most surprising thing is that all of these whiskies seemingly could have been left to mature even longer.
"Enter into the frame the Macphail's 1949 68 year old single cask. Very few companies have ever released single malts over 50, let alone 60 or more years. When those distilleries which have, like Glenfarclas, Dalmore and Macallan, the whiskies have been many tens of thousands of dollars a bottle, if not closer to 100 Grand. This single cask of 68 year old single malt is among the 10 oldest whiskies ever bottled, and it is inexpensive, even by Gordon & MacPhail's standards (admittedly this is very relative). The distillery is not disclosed, though I suspect it is either Glen Grant or Glenlivet (I am leaning on this one). But consider this, if they had put the distillery's name on the bottle the whisky would have been 2-3 times the price on offer. You will never see another almost 70 year old whisky at this price ever again. We were given the opportunity to purchase bottles from one of two sister casks from 1949, and we felt this one was spectacular. I will have my own formal tasting note out shortly."
Producer Tasting Note
Aroma: Matured in the finest Sherry butt, this greatly aged whisky has developed rich fruit cake aromas with festive spice and a wisp of smoke.
Taste: A sip reveals Sherry character enhanced by rich spices and underlying orange peel. Hints of liquorice lead to charred oak on the long, smooth finish.
Longrow Sherry Wood 14 Year
$121.99
Limit 1 Per Customer
Bottled at 57.8% after maturing 14 years in Oloroso Sherry. This limited edition bottling of Springbank, is of their double distilled, heavily peated single malt known as Longrow.
Distillery Tasting Note
Nose: Very fruity! Toffee apples, pears and strawberry chocolates in the background; salted popcorn kernels, mint leaves and honey.
Taste: Salty and coastal, the fruitiness continues with raisins, chocolate orange and prunes. A dryness develops with demerara sugar and digestive biscuit.
Finish: Drying BBQ spices; cayenne pepper and paprika followed by cinnamon sugar, oats, pecan nuts and the typical gentle Longrow smokiness.”
Thompson Brothers Islay 2005 Single Malt
$229.99
We're seeing this more and more frequently in the whisky world: undeclared / undisclosed single malts from some of the most iconic distilleries in Scotland. It's a move designed to protect the name and reputation of well-established brands, because as we all know, independently bottled single malts can be all over the map in terms of flavour (and quality!). It's releases such as this stunning little nugget from the Thompson Bros (Dornoch distillery) that make you question the soundness of that logic, however. Make no mistake about it, this whisky is an absolute gem.
The lass on the bottle? That's the beloved Bessie Williamson of Laphroaig (cough cough) fame. Bessie was the first distillery manager (and later owner) in Scotland. Her name and likeness have been used many times to hint at the distillery behind some of these heavily-peated darlings. And this 13 year old 'Leapfrog' is 100% in line with what the distillery showcases all the time. Only 217 bottles were released from this single ex-bourbon barrel. 52.6% abv, uncolored and not chill-filtered.