English Whisky Company Smoky
$81.99
This is a new for 2017 release of whisky from England's St. Georges Distillery. The whisky is matured in Ex-Bourbon and produced with peated barley. This whisky was featured on Day 3 of Kensington Wine Market 2017 Whisky Advent.
Andrew's Tastin Note
Nose: bright orange, cigar ash and grassy malt; a touch green and youthful with some tart grapefruit, honey and vanilla.
Palate: creamy with a firm base of clean smoke and chewy green malt; more vanilla and honey, white fruits and citrus: bright orange a touch of tart grapefruit; there is a flinty minerality to the spirit that also has clean oily body.
Finish: medium, smooth and coating; the smoke quickly fades leaving the fruit, malt and vanilla.
Comment: a lovely dram; I would prefer to see it bottled at 46%, I can’t help but think that would concentrate just a little more character; but having said that I love the distillery’s artisanal approach to making this spirit!
Producer Description: “The English - Smokey. Aged to perfection in specially selected casks. A peated (45ppm) single malt whisky. A lovely waft of smoke on the palate, ideal alternative for the Islay fan.”
Producer Tasting Note: “A gentle aroma with hints of vanilla, aniseed & ginger, a creamy palate, a little peat initially and then the smoke bomb! Finish is long, spicy and smokey.”
About St George’s
“St George’s is the home to The English Whisky Co. The beautiful distillery was designed and built by the Nelstrop family for the specific purpose of producing the very finest English Single Malt Whisky.
“Why England and more specifically Why Roudham, Norfolk? Well, there are only two main ingredients in whisky, barley and water and we have them both. We draw the purest, cleanest water from the Breckland aquifer deep beneath our distillery. Norfolk is one of the world’s premier growing barley regions, so our supply is plentiful and local.
“The only other thing needed to create the very best malt whisky is oak casks. We don't add colour, we don't add flavour, we let the barrels do that for us, so we have to buy only the very finest oak casks. Most of ours are supplied by direct from America, having first been used for the maturation of bourbon. We also mature in sherry casks, and various other wine casks.
Our whisky is batch made by hand with no computers, filled into casks and then left to sleep until our distillers consider it perfect for bottling, which of course we do by hand - one bottle at a time.
“We are really proud of these things and believe you will taste the difference too.”
Convalmore 32 Year
$1,649.99
COMING SOON to KWM!
This 32 year old distillery bottling of Convalmore was distilled in 1984 and filled into Re-fill American oak Hogsheads. It was bottled earlier this year at 48.2%. Bottlings from the closed Convalmore distillery are very rare, even from independent bottlers. This is only the 4th official bottling ever done of this whisky. 93pts Serge @whiskyfun.org.
93pts Serge @WhiskyFun.org
"Convalmore 32 yo 1984/2017 (48.2%, OB, Special Release, refill American oak hogsheads, 3,972 bottles) Five stars Loved the previous ones, especially the 1977/2013 (WF 94!) The 1978/2003 Rare Malts was great too (WF 90). Colour: pale gold. Nose: the wonderful self-restraint and beauty of these old-school Speysiders that never saw any sherry or any newish oak. Superb beeswax, olive and sunflower oils, verbena tea, menthol cigarettes (mum’s Kools), then assorted slightly overripe garden fruits, certainly apples and timid pears, an old bottle of linseed oil, rubbed grapefruit skins, a spoonful of honeydew, some gum arabic, and just a touch of natural rubber. I find this splendid, and so beautifully elegant and complex at the same time! And so un-modern… Mouth: awe… The most superb combination of herbal teas and soft fruit juices, on a waxy base. Some fresh mint for sure, verbena again, a touch of wormwood, honeysuckle tea, some pink grapefruits bringing the fruity contribution, and finally, a little bit of paraffin, going towards beeswax but not totally so. After three minutes, a few drops of cough syrup are starting to drip over it (eucalyptus, with hints of camphor). Finish: Comments: could this baby be the best within the bunch this year? I haven’t tried the Port Ellen yet at time of writing, but what’s sure is that this superb Convalmore is a strong contender. To think that Diageo managed to come up with four thousand bottles just like that… This is highly impressive! SGP:562 - 93 points."
Distiller's Tasting Note
Nose: A mellow base aroma, soft and sweet, like a buttery pastry case, lightly dusted with nutmeg ready for a custard filling, or perhaps almond oil and oak shavings. Above this, there’s a fruity filling of gently sour apples, spiced pears and ripe melon, orange peel too, before an intense brown sugar sweetness builds. The spicy notes continue to develop, with clove and cinnamon-laced biscuits balanced by candied lemon, more sharp apple and an underlying green herbiness. A drop of water introduces a waxy note and suppresses the fruity elements.
Palate: Smooth, sweet and fruity, with a trace of crisp acidity and oak spice to balance the sweetness before it can cloy. The apples and pastry on the nose persist, now caramelized and bitter-sweet, as part of the fruity centre palate. With a splash of water the taste becomes lightly sweeter, while light acidity again steps in to reveal more complexity. The fruit is savoury; light floral notes appear; the oak picks up char; the spice is toasted and fragrant.
Finish: Warming, spicy and lingering, with liquorice that fades to stewed, baked and fresh-sliced apples and warming oak that persists in closing, bitter-sweet flavours.
Producer Description
A natural cask strength Single Malt Whisky from the closed Convalmore Distillery at Dufftown, Speyside. From refill American Oak hogsheads filled in 1984, it's a rare and unusual old whisky. Subtle in style, yet possessing hidden depths and showing considerable balance and poise, this characterful spirit makes a luxurious apéritif.
Port Askaig 100 Proof
$88.99
This bottle of Port Askaig was featured on Day 17 of our 2021 KWM Whisky Calendar.
Mini / 50ml bottles are available here.
Port Askaig is a line of mystery Islay single malts. Many (but not all) of the whiskies are reputed to come from the Caol Ila distillery. The 100 Proof is a no-age statement whisky bottled at 57.1% (100 British Proof). It is named for Islay's ancient ferry and fishing port on the island's northeast coast.
Lohin McKinnon Lightly Peated Canada 150
$69.99
From Central City Brewers and Distillers comes the Lohin McKinnon Barley and Rye - lightly peated whisky. Bottled to celebrate Canada's 150th Anniversary, this whisky is made from a combination of lightly peated malt whisky aged in Oloroso Sherry barrels and malted rye whisky aged in ex-Bourbon barrels.
43% ABV
Lohin McKinnon VQA Barrel Finish
$69.99
From Central City Brewers and Distillers comes the Lohin McKinnon Wine Barrel Finished Single Malt Whisky. The whisky is finished in VQA Wine barrels that previously contained Black Sage Pipe (fortified wine similar to Port).
43% ABV
Bull Run Single Malt Whiskey
$102.99
This American Single Malt Whisky is distilled, matured and bottled by Bull Run Distillery of Portland, Oregon. It is 4 years old. The malted barley was sourced from the Klamath Basin, distilled at Bull Run then aged in new American Oak barrels.
44.54% ABV.
Clynelish Select Reserve
$1,199.99
Limited to 2946 bottles, this limited edition official bottle of Clynelish was bottled in 2015 at 56.1% ABV.
Glann Ar Mor Single Malt Whisky
$135.99
From the coast of Brittany comes Glann Ar Mor, a world class Single Malt in its own right. This is clean young whisky, produced in the traditional Scottish style. And not only the Scottish style, but the archaic and classic methods we so adore: wooden washbacks, small direct-fired stills and worm tub condensers. Whisky geeks, cheer loud and long! The spirit was then put into ex-bourbon barrels and left to mature in a place where the seaside imparts its own character on the whisky. Expect gorgeous grain notes and soft fruits.
46% abv
White Oak Akashi Single Malt Whisky
$134.99
White Oak Akashi Japanese Single Malt. It is bottled at 46%, the product of lightly peated malt. It is composed of 7 year old sherry matured, 5 year old white wine, and 4 year old ex-Bourbon casks.