Highlights from the Ontario Craft Brewers Conference 2016
Yesterday saw the greatest gathering of well-bearded folk in all of Toronto — the Ontario Craft Brewers Conference & Suppliers Marketplace. Taking place at the Allstream Centre, this conference was to inform, educate and network, all while drinking the seemingly endless supply of good Ontario craft…
The Balvenie Caribbean Cask is a Sweet, Complex Speyside
When whiskies get a lot of hype, I get a little worried. Will they live up to it, or disappoint me? Am I buying a decent dram or simply buying into a successful marketing campaign? Of course there is another alternative — it exceeds the…
Non-Alcoholic Beer: What’s the Point?
I know what you’re thinking — this article’s about non-alcoholic Budweiser, there’s simply no way it could be positive right? Mostly wrong, actually. I tried a free sample at the supermarket. And to be blunt it tasted exactly like Budweiser, which is to say “pretty…
19 Crimes Shiraz is Criminally Good
I first spotted the dusky, opaque bottle of 19 Crimes Shiraz on the wine shelf of a friend’s house. It’s branding looked so good I was compelled to ask about it. They loved it — a wine they kept around for an occasion that called for…
Norlan Whisky Glass: A Review
Just to make it perfectly clear, I don’t Kickstart things often. But when I took a look at what Norlan had planned for a whisky glass, I simply couldn’t resist — especially when my backing would net me two glasses when the project came to…
Touring Talisker: A Behind The Scenes Look as Skye’s Whisky
When I went to Scotland, I decided to make it a priority to visit the distillery which made my (currently) highest rated scotch. That distillery was Talisker, and that whisky was their unbelievably good 57 ° North, a NAS, cask-strength beast of a dram. It…
What Makes a Great Lager? 3 Speed vs. Captain’s Log
What makes a great lager? I wish I knew for sure. It’s a bit tricky. Lagers are renowned worldwide for their drinkability, their simplicity and — perhaps unfairly — their mediocrity. They are the beers your sports-loving uncle drinks. They’re the cheap pints, and the cans…
Basil Hayden’s Bourbon: Good for Bond, Not for Me
When you think of James Bond’s drink, you think of – well you know what it is. But it’s not simply agitated vodka drinks the suave spy goes in for – it’s bourbon too. In the 2011 Bond novel Carte Blanche, James keeps Basil Hayden’s…
Wine Tasting: Less Bullshit Than You’d Think
Ok, let me be quite frank. There is some element of bullshit to wine tasting. Wine tasters and critics who are able to eke out every faint soupcon of flavour may tend to exaggerate just a tad. And what about those wine critics who were…
Lot 40 Whisky Has a Lot to Offer
Canadian whiskey has traditionally gotten a bad rap. Mostly thanks to brands like Canadian Club serving the “bottom shelf mixer whiskey” slot with extreme consistency (although their Chairman’s Select Rye proves they can deliver a decent dram.) But dawn is breaking for Canadian whiskey lovers,…