Either by happenstance or intentional permanent release, there are some great malts out there that are under 3 years of age, and technically not whisky. Our entries in this sub-category this year were produced about as far apart as possible from the shore of Newfoundland to the coast of Vancouver island! This young malt also participated in the Classic malt category and as of writing … Continue reading Under-aged Malts
We had two cask strength malts submitted, from the Yukon and BC. Release 37 from Two Brewers is a single cask release made from standard barley plus Honey malt and Vienna malt. It was aged 8 years in a second use white oak barrel. This Okanagan Laird of Fintry Black label is cask strength, aged 5 years in white oak and finished for 6 months … Continue reading Cask Strength Malts
We had 6 malts that fit in this category, ranging from BC to the Yukon, to Alberta. The Laird of Fintry Red Label was finished in Black Sage Vineyards Port pipes and aged over 5 years! The Kirkinriola is a single cask release, aged in STR Portuguese port pipes. NCF and 46%. Diamond S from Rig Hand is a 5 year old malt aged in … Continue reading Sherry, Wine and other Finished Malts
We had 3 peated entries for 2023 from the Yukon, BC and Sask: Macaloney’s Peated Mac na Braiche (son of malt) is a single malt spirit, as it’s under 3 years of age. We first tasted MNB at an event in 2017 and saw some real potential already then. This peated malt from Two Brewers, release 38, is over 10 years old! This Smokey Single … Continue reading Peated, <50% ABV
The Classic single malt is primarily ex-bourbon barrel, regular range proof, and we received 5 malts that fit in this category. They hailed from coast to coast to coast, representing the Yukon, Newfoundland, BC and Alberta! Two Brewers Release 35 was built from 8 and 11 year old liquids, this was a Gold Medal Winner at the Canadian Brewing Awards 2023. This <3yr malt was … Continue reading The Classics: Unpeated, <50% ABV Malts
In 2017 we first launched the Annual TWS Canadian Whisky Awards, handing out medals across multiple Canadian whisky categories. Our process was an in-person blind tasting of whiskies by category, collaboratively aligning on which were the best. We continued this in 2018 and 2019, with fantastic results. When COVID hit in 2020, our in-person process wasn’t feasible, so we cancelled the awards for that year, … Continue reading 2023 Toronto Whisky Awards – Canadian Single Malts
The fact that it was quite hot that Saturday in August was fitting. This summer, Toronto Whisky Society’s special once a year non-whisky event was a voyage to Greece to sample tsipouro and brandy spirits. The tsipouro and brandy spirits in question came from Thesaloniki Greece and the family spirit makers @dourodoulispirits. Members were greeted with Greek music and their choice of specialty cocktail. The … Continue reading Tsipouro Tasting
In September, TWS members visited the Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario. This wasn’t the first time for some of us, as the TWS founders visited in 2017. We toured the grain receiving, fermenters, the stills, the Pike Creek warehouses and then had a blending session with Dr. Don Livermore where we applied everything we learned (and tasted) to make our very own blends. Fueled … Continue reading Hiram Walker Distillery Visit 2023
Last year we acquired a collection of vintage malts and blends and have a series of events lined up to drink them with the club. The first of these was our Ardbeg tasting with Bry Simpson earlier this year which featured an Ardbeg 10 from the 80s. The next vintage tasting was comprised of the many old blends we received, and there were some real … Continue reading Vintage Blends Tasting
There are a few scotch brands that everyone loves that should be a staple tasting event for any reputable whisky club…. and we hadn’t done one of those yet in our 6 years since founding! Bry Simpson, the Canadian brand ambassador for Ardbeg and Glenmorangie is even a former TWS member, and YET we still hadn’t managed to pull off an event yet. That all … Continue reading Ardbeg & Glenmorangie Tasting – April 2023
