Who says Trick or Treating was just for kids?!
Well that was fast! Fall has almost come and gone and we still have a week left in October. Winter fast approaches and the WWC has a couple very exciting things to look forward to as the weather gets colder and our view becomes whiter. More on these things later.
First, let’s talk about how October has been so far. Mark had arranged a most excellent extracurricular event named Dram Room III on October 15th, which featured Travis Watt of Rare Drams and Independent bottler, Morrison & MacKay. This event featured whiskies from M&M’s Carn Mor Strictly Limited, and Celebration of the Cask lineup. All of the expressions sampled had wonderful flavour nuances, and also featured some whiskies that don’t necessarily find recognition through single malts, distilleries that are found in large quantities within blended whiskies. The popularity of single malts these days have certainly helped brands that did not even consider releasing single malt expressions to go for it, and results from Glentauchers and Glen Elgin certainly caught my attention for the first time. If you missed out, don’t fret, we are planning many more Dram Room events for the future so stayed tuned on our Facebook page and website for information on upcoming events. And thank you very much for joining us and sharing your wares with us Travis!
October is also our 3rd last event of a very successful year as a club! We like to throw little themes into our events to better educate those who are interested, and to keep our board members constantly looking for expressions that are new and exciting. I think we’ve done that again this month. You are all in for a Treat, or a Trick? This month will feature some very exclusive bottles from SMWS. (Scotch Malt Whisky Society) You cannot purchase these bottles without a yearly membership, so I am certainly very excited to see what the SMWS is all about.We also have our most expensive bottle to date to sample as a club! Here’s our haul for your dramming enjoyment!
Càrn Mòr Mortlach Sherry Butt 47.5% vol.
SMWS 26.136 Clynelish “Candy Floss & Carousels” 59.6% vol.
SMWS Craigellachie 44.116 “Pirate Ship in a Storm” 68.2% vol.(no, not a mistake!)
Smokehead Sherry Bomb 48%
Bunnahabhain French Brandy Finish 52.5%
Blackadder Statement Glen Scotia Raw Cask 57.8% vol ($$$$)
As we’ve become a petri dish for Covid here in Winnipeg, we will yet again be holding this meet virtually. Which has its supreme benefits this month in particular….Just look at those ABVS!!!!! Make sure you have a water dropper on the ready for a few of these beastly whiskies to fully experience their flavour potential, and don’t worry about driving home, you’ll already be there!
Now for the future! November was supposed to be our yearly Christmas party Gala, where we can all mingle at my personal favourite restaurant in Winnipeg, Hy’s steakhouse. However the reality of large groups is not even legal at the moment, so we may find ourselves online again until we see light at the end of this long tunnel. But as I’ve said before, the whisky will still be flowing, and as awesome as we can possibly make it. All our members and guests should be applauded for their patience with us as we navigate Zoom meetings and remote tastings. Thank you all.
Lastly we have plans for whisky at the end of December so stay tuned, BUT, our board member Mike has donated a pile of his time to bring whisky to us via a 25 day Advent calendar! Starting December 1st to 25th we will have the chance to try 25 unique and awesome whiskies that Mike has hunted high and low for, and maybe even some one of a kind whisky samples that Mike has spiked into random individual calendars! But we will hear more from Mike when the time approaches.
All of us at Winnipeg Whisky Club are very excited to host another virtual tasting for you on October 28th at 7pm! Virtual high fives will be handed out for all those appearing in costume for the tasting! And maybe even a treat for best costume of the night! See you soon!
James W.W.C. VP