Heartwood Calm Before the Storm Review * 66.4% ABV * 7 years old * First-fill ex-Oloroso sherry cask Well this should be fun, my first Heartwood review. Massive thank you to TOModera for letting me try this. Nose: Not the most complex, tons of sherry and spice. Raisin, clove, pepper, brown sugar. Oak and leather, some alcohol as well. … Continue reading Heartwood Calm Before the Storm Review
Wayne Gretzky. To some Canadians, he’s royalty. To others, he’s merely the son of Canadian royalty, and part of the reason we have more gold medals then we deserve (1 more, if you’re following). To others, he’s a hockey player, right? However you’re not here to discuss hockey. That would be an easy discussion: He was a good hockey player, and certainly gives back to … Continue reading Wayne Gretzky Distillery (& Winery, if you’re naughty)
Baseball and Bottled-in-bond Bourbons… doesn’t get much more American than that! Except I’m in Canada, and I’m watching the Blue Jays. I’ve had these two bottles for a while, and the Henry McKenna came in a swap with /u/lecheconcarnie nearly two years ago. Realized I could do a three-way BiB multi-review, so let’s see how they fare! (both the bourbons and the Blue Jays… I’ll give updates … Continue reading Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon & Blue Jays Baseball Bonanza
We’re back with another group review! The Laphroaig Select is a new entry level bottling from Laphroaig, and is a combination of malt aged in Oloroso sherry butts, virgin American white oak, PX seasoned hogsheads, Quarter Casks and first fill ex-bourbon casks. Laphroaig made 6 combinations and sent them to some Friends of Laphroaig, allowing them to choose the blend that would go into this new bottling. … Continue reading Group Review: Laphroaig Select
2023 UPDATES UNDER EACH ENTRY BELOW It seems a lot of Ontario residents are looking for advice on which whiskies to buy! Our Best Scotch Whisky under $100 and Best Bourbons/American Ryes under $61 are two of our most popular posts here and continue to be viewed daily, and people asked for a similar list of Canadian whisky LCBO deals. Canadian whisky was considered by some … Continue reading Best Canadian Whiskies under $65 at the LCBO
Ledaig 4 SC Face-off (SMWS 42.22, 42.27, Old Particular 16yr and 18yr Co-op SC) If you like the peated/Islay profile, Ledaig is one of those distilleries that until recently was overlooked. Sadly they have grown more popular recent, and prices have started to increase. Recently has the chance to sit down and drink four different Ledaig single casks, so that us see how they stacked … Continue reading Ledaig Four Whisky Face-off (SMWS 42.22, 42.27, Old Particular 16yr and 18yr Co-op SC)
Traveling as a whiskey fan can be quite daunting picking where you should go. You want to find those hidden gems, those amazing places that have Glencairns and great selection and good prices and maybe something interesting. Time is a commodity you don’t want to waste. Dublin. A city split in two, with two cultures on either side of the river. Tourist traps, great times, … Continue reading 7 must stops in Dublin for whiskey (Number 3 is a number!)
So I’m at the precipice of hitting both 300 scotch reviews and 500 total whisky reviews on reddit and plotted out my path to those milestones. Inspired by /u/tomodera‘s recent Arran-pocalypse posts (Part 1, Part 2), I decided to do a smaller multi of the Arran drams I haven’t posted here in the past. It’s kind of like the B-movie version of his post… it’s Piranha … Continue reading Arran-mageddon: 12 reviews of Arran single casks, LEs and crazy finishes
Recently (as in a month ago) I visited Dublin during their summer, which lasted for 6 days. Your welcome Ireland, I brought the sun. I control the weather, like a pudgier, more dick centric, and a lot more pale version of Storm. Before I get into anything else: All pictures taken were taken by my amazing wife. Please check out her flickr account here. Now … Continue reading Teeling Distillery Tour
Thanks to Rob from Whisky In The 6 for gifting me the remainder of this bottle! Checkout his reviews on YouTube (just search “Whisky in the 6”) Balvenie 15, Single Barrel – Sherry Cask, (European Sherry Butt) 47.8% ABV, $105 USD Nose: Nice rich sherry. Raisins, red plums, pears, green apple, starfruit. Taste: Really nice chocolate notes, chocolate cake, carrot cake without the carrot (just … Continue reading Balvenie 15 Single Barrel – Sherry Cask
Quick mention about letting whisky sit, oxidize, and open up before you drink it: You’ve heard about allowing whisky to breathe one minute in the glass for every year in the cask? (18 year old whisky; let it sit for 18 minutes). I HATE this rule! It simply just doesn’t apply to the majority of whisky. Especially when it’s peated, especially when it’s cask strength, … Continue reading Bruichladdich Octomore 6.1, 6.3, 7.1, & 7.3
Back in June, TWS held a tasting event with Brown-Forman at JOEY in the Eaton Centre. This was a joint event with @MaltCollective on Instagram, and was a great evening, enjoyed greatly by the 20+ attendees who were there! The team at JOEY brought out some amazing food and the service was second to none! A huge thank you to the animated and knowledgeable John Breckon … Continue reading Brown-Forman Tasting Event at JOEY
Toronto Whisky Society 