We held our AGM as usual in December 2023 and it was a great one, highlighted by amazing food (including a brisket smoked by member Sheps and Canada goose jerky hunted, prepared and cured by founding member and re-elected exec member Bryan. In addition to great food, we had some great whisky, including the leftovers from the 2023 TWS Canadian Single Malt awards, and a … Continue reading 2023 TWS AGM
We don’t know if it’s general inflation or just increased demand (spoiler: it’s inflation), but it seems that every time you turn around, the price of whisky has increased. It’s remarkable how many bottles, including ones well loved and formerly reasonably priced, have become priced out of the “every day” category. Since the holidays are fast approaching, at a recent TWS event, we asked the … Continue reading TWS’s Holiday Gift Guide / Best Whiskies under $100 at the LCBO
Glenburgie is rapidly becoming one of my very favourite Speyside distilleries. It seems to produce those tropical fruit notes that I go crazy for with consistency, provided it’s had enough time in the cask. The 21 years of age on this distillery-label bottling from Gordon & MacPhail should be enough to get those flavours going. Nose: Ehhhh, there’s some stale sulfur here, and mustiness like … Continue reading [Review] Glenburgie 21 Gordon & MacPhail Distillery Label
Despite a relatively small sample size, Imperial has become one of my very favourite Speyside distilleries. It delivers the tropical and waxy goods regularly, and despite closing in 1998 it doesn’t (yet) have the same dead-distillery premium on it as many of the bigger names. This Signatory bottling from 1976 will be the oldest vintage Imperial I’ve ever tried. Colour: Straw. Nose: Sweet and fatty. … Continue reading [Review] Imperial 19 1976 Signatory Vintage
The first tasting for the new year brought out some familiar faces to celebrate Glenfiddich with a couple stalwarts from their line-up, plus some new ones to the group: Long time friend of TWS Jamie Johnson led the evening with a fantastic lineup including: The 14 Bourbon barrel was familiar to most, but new to a few. The bourbon lovers in the room really loved … Continue reading Glenfiddich 2023 – first event of the year!
Our final event of each year is our Annual General Meeting & Heels Party. Yes, we had another heels party earlier in the year, but since we had to do them virtually the prior 2 years, we figured why not make up for lost time! The turnout was amazing and we got through some important business, including constitutional amendments, and the election of three new … Continue reading 2022 AGM & Heels Party
FINALLY! After over 2 years of virtual events, we returned to in-person events in July 2022. And what better way to do so than with a good old fashioned heels party! We booked the new party room, everyone brought some interesting drams and we partied till the night was no longer young. Here are a few shots of the night and a few of the … Continue reading WE’RE BACK Heels Party
Our last in-person tasting before Covid hit…. the before times. Crazy that it would be a full 2.33yrs before we would be in person again – could almost age a whisky to legal maturity in that time! This tasting was pulled together over time through a combination of members bringing in bottles and the brand ambassador providing a bunch as well. The writer was travelling … Continue reading Tomintoul Tasting – Mar 2020
This past weekend, we had a chance to sample some fantastic independently bottled whiskies from a private collection. Like last year’s event, the tasting was led by Igor of Heads & Tails, who regaled us with tales of drinking with Malt Maniacs, master distillers and whisky royalty, while providing insight into the bottles we were enjoying. This year’s theme was ‘whisky with a twist’ and … Continue reading Event Recap: 2018 Vintages Tasting
We recently had an event with Cameron Millar, the brand ambassador for Edrington in Eastern Canada and tasted some fantastic drams. We both brought a few bottles we had gathered, leading to a great tasting including a number of limited editions and since delisted bottlings including: The Naked Grouse The Macallan Edition No. 2 The Macallan Edition No. 3 The Macallan Classic Cut Highland Park … Continue reading Event Recap: Macallan & Highland Park tasting with Cameron Millar
2017 was a great year for the Toronto Whisky Society (TWS), between hosting a number of wonderful tastings, visiting distilleries, reviewing whiskies, and of course all the great social events with members. It would be a waste to have all these great whisky lovers and not ask them for their whiskies of the year! Read below to see what whiskies were the highlights for a … Continue reading Toronto Whisky Society’s Whiskies of the Year 2017
Macallan Cask Strength, 58.2% ABV, $300 USD Nose: Walnuts, almonds, marzipan, figs, grape jelly, very slight oak, little bit of chocolate-orange, fruit punch flavored Kool Aid powder, Flintstones Vitamins, strawberry and grape bubble gum. Taste: Grape bubble gum, marzipan (big time), cherry syrup, slight oak, strawberry jam, orange marmalade. Finish: Very long, very viscous. Grape bubble gun, slight oak, and chocolate-orange linger. Thoughts: The best … Continue reading Macallan Cask Strength (My 50th Review)
Toronto Whisky Society 