Bearface, Japanese whisky, and Whisky Events
A summary of the season.
With rumours floating that The Whisky Topic podcast will be back, I’ve been busy tasting whisky. The truth is, COVID times have been tough and I’ve not been drinking (or even tasting) whisky. The link between socializing and my enjoyment of whisky is firm. I’m grateful to all the wonderful brands that have invited me out for whisky events around Toronto. They’ve been a good reminder of what’s important. People.
As a creator, I struggle with what I feel I need to create vs what I want to create. In that spirit, I’ve been curious about expanding YouTube as a platform. YouTube is hard. I have no big aspirations there but I enjoy the format.
The idea is, create a corny thumbnail, write a click-bait title, and pay-off with content. I’ll be honest, I’m terrible at writing short clickbait titles but hey, part of being a good writer is learning to be concise.
Anyway, enjoy my review of Bearface Whisky! I provide a brief life update at the end:
Japanese Whisky is Back!
My writing career started with affordable Japanese whisky that was plentiful to, within a blink of an eye, disappearing off the shelves. Nikka was nice enough to invite me to an event last month. Their new releases is good! Like, “old times” good. If you’re in Ontario, they have a good selection of whiskies between $60 and $300. They’re all priced appropriately for the quality of the drink.
The sudden demand in the early 2010s has hurt the quality of the juice we’d get in North America but so glad to see that’s changed.
Bad Japanese whisky without a hint of where the alcohol comes from is still an issue. The story above, that’s about one of you lovely subscribers! I hope you don’t mind me using the story (though in hindseight, I think the Japanese whisky was a gift and not a purchase).
Whisky Wonderland Event in Eastern Ontario
I’ll be there February 17th and 19th. I committed to the event late so I might miss some of the events, but Jamie and will have a space to record our podcast so that’s going to be exciting. Much of the events are sold out but the main show still has tickets. If you’d like to join, use the discount code CLUB2023 when signing up for a 20% discount!
Fred Minnick Assesses Whisky
I enjoyed Minnick’s write-up. There’s so much more to add to this but tasting whisky is as complex as we are:
In other words, as tasters, we have no recourse but to trust our instincts. Your taste buds and memory are intertwined, and bourbon will tap into your taste bud memories. The lesson here: the tasting experience is all about you.
Old Forster will always have banana notes for me. Always! It likely comes from the yeast that Old Forster and Woodford Reserve share.
Waterford Distillery Releases Whisky
My trip to Ireland was one of my more memorable trips before the lock-down. I still haven’t tasted the final products from Waterford Distillery, but I’m a big fan of the direction they were going at. If you happen to be in-market for them, I highly recommend picking up a bottle. They’re reasonably priced! I really like seeing reasonably priced whisky. It’s a rarity. For $100 Euro, you’re getting a ton of flavour. Have a look at their online store.