Visiting Black Fox Distillery was a real treat, as we had tried their spirits in the 2018 Canadian whisky awards where they won in the under-aged spirit category! Compared to the industrial/roaring 20s feel of Lucky Bastard, Black Fox was quite the change – this is a huge, legit farm! Gorgeous grounds, stone building, rolling hills, farm activities for kids. It had it all! John … Continue reading Black Fox Distillery – Saskatoon
Shortly before the pandemic, I left the company I had been with for about a decade for a new job, but a project that was underway needed to be finished before I left. Finishing that project meant accompanying a customer to our plant in Saskatchewan, one of the only provinces I had yet to visit! So of course before heading out there, I called up … Continue reading Lucky Bastard Distillery – Saskatoon
This year has been quite a challenging one for many distillers, but potentially even more so for Ontario distillers. It’s been a hard 18 months of pandemic restrictions with not a lot of payback on the governmental side of things. Yet, whisky keeps flowing to the mouths of Canadians willing to support their domestic industry. Among those distillers are one of the big players in … Continue reading An Interview with Master Blender, Bill Ashburn | Forty Creek Distillery (Grimsby, Ontario, Canada)
Travel – something we haven’t been able to do a lot of in the past 18 months or so, but when restrictions within Canada were eased, jumping at the first opportunity to visit a new place was a priority and thus a trip to Newfoundland was planned. Of course, no trip is complete without visiting whatever distilleries exist in the location, so a call to … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: The Newfoundland Distillery Co.
Happy 2021 everyone! While this post should’ve come after the conclusion of the planned 4th annual Wonderful World of Whisky Show in Cornwall, Ontario back on March 26-28th in the year 2020, unfortunately it became one of the first things to be cancelled during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the whisky world has moved even further online, I had the absolute … Continue reading An Interview with Head Distiller, Ned Gahan | Waterford Distillery (Waterford, Ireland)
In July 2020 we had a virtual tasting with Bernard Walsh of the Walsh Whisky Distillery in Ireland, presented by Woodman Wines and Spirits. Bernard gave us an overview of the history of Walsh Whiskey, and the ins and outs of their two brands, Writer’s Tears and The Irishman. We had a chance to try 5 expressions from those brands, and the group consensus was … Continue reading Walsh Whiskey Distillery tasting with Bernard Walsh
Back in January I ended up at a tasting at Alo Salon in Toronto and I had the very opportune chance to interview Mr. Andy Chu who came all the way from the Dornoch, Scotland to lead this tasting for us. Andy is the bar manager for the Dornoch Castle Hotel Whisky Bar, a member of Scotland’s independent whisky bars. Dornoch Castle Hotel was also … Continue reading An Interview with Bar Manager and Distillery Operator, Andy Chu | Dornoch Castle Hotel Whisky Bar and Dornoch Distillery
(This distillery write-up was written by Toronto Whisky Society member Stephen Sheps. Another big thanks to him for sharing the experiences he had visiting Islay back in 2019!) Part 3 of my Islay Journey is a bit of out chronological order, but it was so good that it needed to be saved for last – Bruichladdich. I should probably preface this review with 2 caveats: … Continue reading Bruichladdich Distillery Review
(This distillery feature was written by Toronto Whisky Society member Stephen Sheps. Thanks to him once again for letting us publish his experiences on Islay!) Day 2 of my trip to Islay was a memorable one to say the least – while nothing could top the stunning high of our visit to Bruichladdich the previous afternoon (saving the best for the last review), we knew … Continue reading Ardbeg Distillery Review (With a Stop at Laphroaig and Lagavulin!)
(This distillery review was written by Toronto Whisky Society member Stephen Sheps who was recently in Islay. Thanks to him for sharing his distillery experiences!) Ahh, Islay. There is really no place quite like it, even in Scotland. It’s a place that, despite my having literally zero Scottish roots feels like where I have always belonged. Of course you might be thinking to yourselves now … Continue reading Bunnahabhain Distillery Review
So it’s quarter to 9 in the morning on a chilly Thursday in the middle of December. This week has been as bitter-cold as Southern Ontario gets and yet here I am taking a GO Bus to Guelph. Why? Well that’s because I went to explore one of the most interesting new distilleries in Ontario: The Spring Mill Distillery! Not many whisky fans in Ontario … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: Spring Mill Distillery, Guelph, ON
It’s the final true day on Islay, and to finish this journey off with a bang I decided to leave the most anticipated tour for last: the Laphroaig Distillers Wares Tour. Laphroaig was one of the first distilleries that truly got me in to drinking single malt whisky. So as I venture onto my final booked tour on Islay I’m very much excited to see … Continue reading Laphroaig Distillers Wares Tour
Toronto Whisky Society 