We were surprised last year when we only got a few bottles that qualified for this category, (and even some of those could have been put in multiple), and then this year we were overwhelmed with the sheer number of entrants! We split this category randomly into two sessions, took our top 3 from each group of 8 and then put those head to head … Continue reading 2018 TWS Whisky Awards: Canadian Whiskies
Our inaugural tasting’s single malt category was a highlight, and as primarily Scotch drinkers, we’re always excited to see the progress Canada is making in this category. We have a few repeats and a few new entrants in the category this year and were very excited to see how they stacked up. As always, these were tasted blind and are presented in the order in … Continue reading 2018 TWS Whisky Awards: Single Malts
Last year, one of the highlights of the TWS Whisky Awards was the opportunity to try some under-aged spirits from Canadian distilleries across the country. We decided to continue this category so our followers could follow the progress of young distilleries as their barrels age! The bottles are listed in the order we tasted them. We tasted them all blind, and our notes and the … Continue reading 2018 TWS Whisky Awards: Under-aged Whiskies
A year ago, the Toronto Whisky Society founders decided to commemorate Canada’s 150th birthday with a competition dedicated to Canadian whisky from across the country and various categories. The feedback we got on it from distilleries and readers was so positive that we decided to make it an annual event! For 2018, we made a couple of improvements, based on the feedback we got: We … Continue reading 2018 TWS WHISKY AWARDS – Intro
Kinsip House of Fine Spirits (Prince Edward County, ON) is a relative newcomer to the Canadian distilling scene – at least as a corporate entity and brand. The distillery itself has been around since 2012, and was formerly known as 66 Gilead Distillery (named for its street address), making unique, crafted white and brown spirits. When the former owners decided to sell the business, a … Continue reading Distillery & New Release Spotlight: Kinsip House of Fine Spirits & Cooper’s Revival Rye
A couple of years ago, Corby Spirit and Wine started their Rare Cask Series of whiskies – a collection of one-off bottlings with unique characteristics, production methods and stories – highlighting the innovative potential inherent in Canadian whisky and their warehouses. The first three releases were Last Barrels (a bourbon-style mashbill whisky), Dissertation (comprised of whiskies from Dr. Don Livermore’s PhD experiments), and Union 52 … Continue reading New Release Spotlight: J.P. Wiser’s Seasoned Oak 19 year
In November, we held our TWS Annual General Meeting of the membership, and heels party of all the whiskies we had received from distilleries throughout the year. A number of folks also brought their own heels from home to share with the group. Much fun was had, many drinks were drunk, all the food was eaten, the leftover bottles given away and transit was used … Continue reading 2017 Year-end Social and AGM
On a recent trip to Nova Scotia, my wife and I drove the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton and made a stop at the Glenora Distillery for a tour and tasting. I write in detail about the distillery and its history here, and have included this post to cover the reviews we did of the drams we tasted. Previously reviewed Glen Breton bottlings can be … Continue reading Glenora Distillery Multi-Review
When most people think of Canadian whisky, their minds go to blends or rye (whether the whisky contains any rye spirit or not). Rarely do people associate Canada with single malts, although there are a number of distilleries producing them today with the craft distilling boom hitting the Great White North. But before that boom, while brown spirits were giving way to white spirits in … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: Glenora Distillery, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia
Halifax has become a hotbed for breweries, and now also has two distilleries operating in the city. We had a chance to visit both of them, and the write-up of the brand new Compass Distillers was previously posted here. The Halifax Distilling Company is the other and actually finds its roots on Prince Edward Island as the Prince Edward Distillery started by Julie Shore, a … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: Halifax Distilling Company, Halifax, NS
When you exit Cape Breton Island and start driving back towards Halifax, most travelers don’t think about taking Highway 344 and heading down the East shore. This is somewhat unfortunate, as there are a number of beautiful towns with waterways running through them and it’s an incredibly scenic drive. It also includes the future site of a commercial spaceport, which means the number of cars … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: Authentic Seacoast Distillery, Guysborough NS
If you were asked which Canadian province had the most distilleries per capita, Nova Scotia likely wouldn’t be top of mind. However thanks to a government seeing the value in this industry, it has that distinct honour. Nova Scotia has created a tax environment where entrepreneurial spirit lovers can follow their passion and be profitable, while providing attractive prices to consumers. They introduced graduated mark-ups … Continue reading Distillery Spotlight: Compass Distillers, Halifax, NS
Toronto Whisky Society 