The Toronto Whisky Society was founded in 2016 by a dozen whisky lovers who originally met through Reddit’s whisky subreddits. Fueled by cask strength, single barrel, independently bottled tasting line-ups, we began to explore whisky as a group and established TWS with the following goals:
- Promote the enjoyment and appreciation of whisky in the GTA
- Provide honest, unbiased evaluation of the whiskies we drink
- Organize whisky-centric events and experiences for our members and the public
- Release insider knowledge and advance notice of new LCBO releases
- Facilitate interaction between distilleries and whisky fans
We typically host six events per year, including branded events, summer social, curated thematic line-ups and our Annual General Meeting. We provide members with the option to purchase at least one special private bottling per year and occasionally produce our own glencairns for purchase.
As of the end of 2025, we’ve held 64 events and provided 10 private cask bottlings.
Current TWS Executive Committee
- Bryan Vanderkruk, Co-founder & Executive (2016), President (2023)
- Devon Andre, Co-founder & Executive (2016), Vice-President (2023)
- Elin Lawrence, Executive (2023), Member (2018)
- Scott Fairbairn, Executive (2023), Member (2017)
- Amy Coulterman, Executive (2026), Member (2023)
Become a Member
Members pay an annual membership fee (currently $20) and are expected to attend at least one event per year and abide by our code of conduct. Members also pay a fee for each event, with costs ranging from around $15-$75, with the majority around $20-$30 each.
We currently have a waitlist for membership as we need to keep event participation manageable and in line with our venues, but we welcome applications at any time. New members will receive an invitation to join in December each year.
