Whisky and such.

I thought I would take a stab at introducing the third issue that interests me and that is whisky…so here goes with a bit about me and my introduction to whisky.  Later on in some of the blogs I’ll chat about the drink itself.

When I was a lad I knew my father liked to have a tipple or two.  He didn’t drink a lot but he did enjoy a whisky of an evening as he sat in his favourite chair and read his latest book.  He was quite well read and made regular trips to the local library.  We never had a lot of books around the house but Mum and Dad always had a book at hand.

Dad had two favourite tipples, one was The Famous Grouse and the other was Bells. These are both fine blended Scotch whisky’s.  I doubt that he ever had a single malt and he would only consider rye whisky if it was in a glass with lots of ginger ale.  I know for a fact that rye and ginger was a staple in the Sergeant’s Mess and Officers Mess at the Lake Street Armoury in St Catharines.

I never developed much of a taste for whisky as I grew up, I stuck to beer.  I really like beer and although beer doesn’t like me as much today I still really enjoy a fine English bitter or proper IPA.  The Kingston Brewing Company has one of the nicest IPA’s around and Fuller’s (yes that’s right) London Pride or Best Bitter is right up there as well…not to mention Tank House Ale from Toronto…but this could go on for quite a while.

My first real experience with whisky happened some years ago, after my Dad had passed in 1997, when my sister and I took Mum back to the old country for a visit.  We were on our way north in Scotland and stopped in Inverary for a “tea and pee” break.  I had need of either so walked down the main street (which is actually called “Main Street”) toward a tartan shop I’d seen on the way in….fancied myself in a kilt didn’t I.

As I ambled along I came to a shop that had nothing but bottles of whisky in the windows.  I was intrigued so wandered in to look around.  Loch Fyne Whiskies was indeed nothing but whisky, wall to wall.  I didn’t know there were that many different whiskys.  The owner finally asked if I needed help and I said I was just browsing but he wasn’t letting me get away with that.  “What kind of whisky do you favour?”  I mentioned the Grouse and Bells and he indicated they were fine blends but what about malts…what about malts indeed.

I confessed to knowing nothing except that I did try some McClelland from Islay and that I really liked the smoky stuff, at which point he reached under the counter and pulled up a bottle of Ardbeg.  He poured a dram and said “Try this”.  The nose alone was enough to tell me that heaven wasn’t far off.  I took a sip and immediately went there.  Where had this stuff been all my life?

We chatted quite a bit, he told me how to pronounce “Islay” and he gave me a copy of his newsletter and a “price list” which was really more of a catalogue explaining the benefits of each item.  I ended up buying two wee bottles, the kind you get on an airplane, one of Oban since we were going that way, and the other of Talisker, since we weren’t going that way.

That evening in a B&B looking over the harbour of Oban I had my very first private nosing of two very fine single malts.  A week or so later we ended up in Leicster, England and while Mum, my sister and my cousin Carol were sipping red wine, I was provided with a very nice bottle of Highland Park 12 year old, part of my late cousin Ivor’s collection.  In this very short period of time I had sampled whisky from Islay, the West Highlands, Skye and the Orkney’s, as diverse a range as you could fine…and I was hooked…and I still hadn’t even heard of the Spey River Valley.

I’ve sampled quite a few malts since then…even had some Port Ellen…which is to die for. I joined one of the local Single Malt groups in Kingston and have done a few nosings of my own.  I also have an extensive personal cupboard…but I don’t think I’ll forget the kind treatment I got at Loch Fyne Whiskies or that special evening all alone with two new friends.