The good folks at Woodman Wines and Spirits invited us to a tasting a while back to try a line-up of AnCnoc bottles available at the LCBO. After the event, we had the opportunity to share the whisky with a few of our members to pull together some group reviews. AnCnoc is produced at a small distillery in the Highlands called Knockdhu, and is owned … Continue reading AnCnoc Line-up Group Review
Continuing on with our Irish Whiskey phase, I had the opportunity to interview Managing Director, Bernard Walsh of Walsh Whiskey – producers of Writer’s Tears and The Irishman. Competing in the premium category, Walsh Whiskey is a family owned distillery with values in farming, terroir, grains and distillate types. The Toronto Whisky Society got to sit down with him and sample 7 whiskies coming to … Continue reading An Interview with Managing Director, Bernard Walsh | Walsh Whiskey (Writer’s Tears, The Irishman)
This month, I had the opportunity to interview Master Distiller / Blender Darryl McNally from The Dublin Liberties. We talked about his newest release Dead Rabbit Whiskey, working with Jack McGarry and Sean Muldoon of Dead Rabbit NYC and the landscape of American-Irish whiskey. Dead Rabbit Whiskey is a collaborative project between The Dublin Liberties and Dead Rabbit NYC (the bar). Being all Irishmen, they … Continue reading An Interview with Master Distiller Darryl McNally | Dead Rabbit Whiskey
GlenDronach bottles and sells my favourite whisky. As much as I like peat, a well-aged sherry single malt just does it for me (Editor’s Note: Yes, we know that prior to 2002 GlenDronach was peated, but I think DistillAsian means very peated whisky here). So the first thing I want to do when visiting Scotland is hit up the GlenDronach Distillery. It’s not as hard … Continue reading GlenDronach Distillery Tour
Thanks to Wiser’s for giving a number of Toronto Whisky Society (TWS) members a chance to try the 2018 Northern Border Collection. The 2017 Northern Border Collection had some of the best new Canadian whiskies we tried last year, so expectations are high for this year’s release. The first of the 2018 Northern Border Collection will come to Ontario in almost a week. Sadly the … Continue reading 2018 Northern Border Collection Review – Rare Series
I signed up for the last available Distillers Wares tour first thing Sunday morning. However two days before that I found myself driving right past the visitor parking lot and parking right outside of the of the Mash House after the distillery had closed to the public for the day. An acquaintance was able to get my wife and I a private tour of the … Continue reading Laphroaig Distillers Wares
All the rumours are true: Bunnahabhain feels like the most remote and difficult to get to of all the distilleries on Islay. The final stretch is spent driving a long way down a nondescript single lane road. What they don’t tell you is that the Bunnahabhain Distillery complex looks like something out of a nuclear fallout movie, with seemingly old and rundown industrial buildings. Any … Continue reading Bunnahabhain Warehouse 9 Tasting
After Lagavulin, we ate a lovely lunch at the Islay Hotel, where we ended up getting seated beside and chatting with an Australian that had made the trip to Islay on his own. Happily full and ready to go, we were off on the 40-minute drive to Bruichladdich. As this was my wife’s first time driving on this trip, I was understandably nervous and sober … Continue reading Bruichladdich Warehouse Experience
If you have been paying any attention, the original Lot 40 Cask Strength 12yr was the darling of Canadian whisky releases last year. A well priced, cask strength 100% rye that was widely available. Also helps it was bloody delicious. I would like to thank Corby/Wiser’s who provided the sample of Lot 40 cask strength 11 year, the bottle of the 12 year I purchased … Continue reading Head-to-Head: Lot 40 Cask Strength 11yr (2018) vs Lot 40 Cask Strength 12yr (2017) Review
My wife was kind enough to indulge my whisky obsession and not veto my idea to make the trip to Islay, aka Whisky Mecca, during our trip to Scotland. She said that I could go to as many distilleries as I could fit into three days on Islay. Well, the joke is on her because the answer to that question is 7 in what turned … Continue reading Lagavulin Warehouse Demonstration
Central City Brewing has been a stalwart in the craft brewing scene in BC since 2003 with their Red Racer line, and entered the distilling game in 2013. Brewmaster Gary Lohin and Head Distiller Stuart McKinnon used their collective expertise to develop an innovative line-up of Lohin McKinnon single malts. The regular Single Malt did very well in our inaugural Great Canadian Whisky Tasting in 2017, as did their … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: Central City’s Lohin McKinnon Single Malts
Review: Glenfiddich Experimental Series Fire & Cane 43% ABV No age statement Peated malt Finished in Latin rum casks First and foremost, we would like to thank Glenfiddich and their Canadian ambassador Beth Havers for letting a couple Toronto Whisky Society members try the new Glenfiddich Fire & Cane release. Below are the combined notes and scores of the three TWS members who had a … Continue reading Review: Glenfiddich Experimental Series Fire & Cane
Toronto Whisky Society 