Not very long ago, a few of us here at  www.bestofwhisky.com were fortunate to find ourselves with  a bottle of the very rare Monster.  John Glaser, whiskymaker and founder of Compass Box was extremely kind in providing this rare bottle to the organizers of ‘Spirit of Toronto’ (one of the best run whisky events you’d ever want to attend) Monster was the precursor that would really kick start John Glaser’s Compass Box phenomena.  A beast of a grain whisky that was so popular John just had to build on that.  It eventually became his worldwide hit ‘The Peat Monster’  Monster is cask strength and was born of two casks.  The Peat Monster is reduced to 46% and as recent as 2007, won the award for ‘best of  blend or vatted’, here at bestofwhisky. Although I realized the original Monster was made specifically for a Liquor Shop in NY, I did not put 2 & 2 together until I was speaking with the Goldstein’s of Park Ave. What a pleasure to meet these businessmen that have such a passion for great drink. It became time to pick out a few bottles and for this I chose a bottle of Hedonism. I’ve read great things and look forward to sharing with some with good friends. I also picked up Makers Mark 46. This is another bottle I could not get my hands on locally and quite frankly the people at Makers Mark know how to distill great bourbon. Cheers to you all at Park Avenue Liquor Shop.  I was welcomed very warmly and look forward to stopping in again (Hopefully with a few friends…. Hmmm when is New York Whiskyfest again ?)

(note: choose the different background swatches in the top left for background pics of Park Ave)

Windsor’s own Will Predhomme is Ontario’s best wine sommelier.

The 28-year-old, now at Toronto’s acclaimed Canoe Restaurant, recently won the prestigious title from the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, Ontario Chapter. His prizes also include trips abroad and entry into the national competition….local sommelier does well

- No particular order

- No need to rate (your choice)

Pick on the ‘thumbnails’ to visit site

Cheers..

Canadian Club has dusted off one of their more successful campaigns of f the past, and at the end of this rainbow (sometime in 2012) some lucky player will be pocketing $100k U.S.

 Here is an excerpt from the local paper where C.C originated.

“It’s the intrigue. It’s the mystique,” said Dan Tullio, Canadian Club’s Windsor-based brand ambassador. “We’re bringing that back.”
A total of 25 cases of Canadian Club Whisky were hidden around the world during the original campaign. Adventure-seeking members of the public were encouraged to recover the cases, with clues of the exact locations conveyed through elaborate magazine ads.  Sixteen of the cases were found, sometimes years after they were hidden.  The hiding spots included such exotic locales as Mount Kiliminjaro, Africa’s greatest mountain; Angel Falls in Venezuela, the tallest waterfall in the world; and the largest reef system on the planet, the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.  There were also stash sites within the borders of the U.S. — Death Valley, Nevada; the forests of Oregon; and the urban environs of New York City and Washington, D.C.  Nine cases were never recovered. The new campaign’s goal is to find one of them…..

…

I can guarantee you one thing.  The judges here at “Best Of Whisky” had a great time working (err. drinking) through this tournament and although we had a few eager beavers that wanted to keep playing (err drinking) through the weekend, we had the fortitude to stretch it out a bit in between rounds.

So without further delay… Here are the results of the 2009/2010 Scotch Blend Whisky Tournament

Here is an interesting read from the Suntory website about Ballantines 17 Year Old

Get the guys together for a night of sophistication and basketball with the Toronto Raptors Johnnie Walker Scotch Tasting Package.

For only $120 per person you will enjoy:

• Lower Bowl ticket to the game.
• Scotch tasting session with a Brand Ambassador of the Johnnie Walker Family including Johnnie Walker Red Label, Black Label, Gold Label and Blue Label*.
• Pre-game hors d’oeuvres in the Johnnie Walker Hot Stove Lounge.
• Raptors Game Day Program and a Johnnie Walker money clip.

Get Tix Here..

Britain’s leading fine wines and spirits merchant, Berry Bros. & Rudd (BB&R), has announced that it has finalised an agreement under which it will sell the Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky brand to The Edrington Group, makers of The Famous Grouse and The Macallan.

Under the deal, BB&R will acquire The Glenrothes single malt brand from Edrington, which has signed long-term supply agreements to provide whisky fillings and stocks to BB&R. Edrington will retain ownership of The Glenrothes distillery.

The transaction will also involve Edrington acquiring all distribution contracts on Cutty Sark in force at the time of completion. The Edrington sales-and-distribution alliance (Maxxium) will continue to distribute The Glenrothes in key international markets and is also expected to provide a distribution option for other brands within BB&R’s super-premium spirits portfolio.

The agreement is due to be concluded by April 2010. The total consideration has not been revealed.

Team Turismo - Round 1

We just finished off playing Round 1 of ‘Team Turismo’ bracket, and though the favorites will advance, it was much closer than anticipated.I’d have to say that the overall satisfaction of each whisky was very well received. Ballantine’s 17 year was very full.  A true top shelf whisky. J&B rare surprised some with it’s smooth consistent taste. Pound for pound, this well priced bottle holds its own with other house blends.Famous Grouse 12 yr edged out Cutty Sark, ok, maybe edged out is a bit of a stretch.  Although both were enjoyed, it wasn’t that close on the scoreboard.  We are looking forward to the next round with Ballantine’s 17 takes on the Famous Grouse 12

Mahogony - Round 1

It was a wonderful night of tasting as we started play in the Mahogany Region First Monkey Shoulder took on one of its relatives from the Grant and Sons distillery by edging out Grants Ale Cask.  This was much closer than expected (or than price dictates) New as it is (2005), Monkey Shoulder is authentic to its core and uses only malt Scotch whisky from three of Speyside’s finest distilleries. Rooted in malt whisky lore, it is named in honor of the maltmen who once suffered from this injury through turning the barley by hand.As for Grant’s Ale Cask, it is the only Scotch whisky finished in Ale Casks.   This is after the whisky is first matured in oak casks. The second match had the #7 seed Ballentine’s Finest going against the #2 seed Smokehead. This also proved to be closer than expected. Ballentine’s is very smooth and includes the whisky from over 50 single malts. It is regarded as the taste to satisfy a modern style.  The first thing you notice from Smokehead  is its clever marketing of tin and bottle. The second noticeable trait is the ‘nose’  WOW. A full bouquet of  everything that is an Islay malt.

China Grove - Round 1

We started play in the ”China Grove” Region.  Many of you most likely remember the Doobie Brothers from the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson College days.   In a one sided affair Dewar’s White Label just didn’t have what it takes to test Johnnie Walker Gold.  It was quite a privilege to start this tournament with such a fine whisky.  The other match was considered a minor upset as Johnnie Red edged Chivas 12yr  in a ‘drink off’ where we needed to go to the score cards to decide a tie vote.  In this great first week match, Johnnie ensures at least one of the 4 brothers in this tournament is guaranteed a Final Four

(you can also follow this tournament via pages category)

Distillery Live Click Here

USA - 25/9/09 20:00 EDT
UK - 26/9/09 01:00 BST

Distillery Live will be on Friday September 25th at 20:00 (EDT) live from the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, USA.

The event will tell why Makers Mark are so special to Laphroaig (and will of course include a tasting of both) but will also include some food pairings and some very special cocktails!

Bookmark this page as on 25th September you will be able to log in and watch the video as well as submitting live questions to our panel.

To view this WebTV show, you’ll need Adobe Flash installed. If you don’t already have it, you can download it by clicking here. It can take a while to download so make sure you have it installed if you haven’t already before the event.

Distillery Live Click Here