Company:
Freelance
Job:
Whisky Writer & Author
Website:
canadianwhisky.org
How long
have you been working in the whisky industry?
I’ve been writing about whisky since 1998 and have
been writing full-time since 2010.
What has
been your biggest career highlight to date?
Publication of my Canadian whisky book by a top
publisher has been my biggest achievement so far. However, there have been many
really magic moments along the way. Distilling marc with Serge Valentin in
Alsace, meeting Johannes van den Heuval in Amsterdam – that was before the Malt
Maniacs were formalized – he was so enthusiastic about whisky and so generous,
visiting Islay before the festival went viral, judging the World Whisky Awards,
being part of the Victoria Whisky Festival as it has become one of the best in
the world. Honestly, there are so many highlights and it has been fun, fun, fun
the whole time.
Can you
remember your first dram, and indeed what it was?
My dad always kept a bottle of Johnny Walker Red in
the liquor cabinet. I knew it was good stuff when our party-animal neighbour
showed up one Sunday saying he had unexpected guests and needed to borrow a
bottle of Johnny Walker. That was back in the 1960s.
When my folks were out my brother and I would pour
ourselves a dram and replace it with water to maintain the level in the bottle.
I’m pretty sure Dad knew what was going on, but he said nothing, and the bottle
was replaced often enough that we could keep up our raids without diluting it
too badly.
It was a foul and smoky brew at first but we soon
learned to enjoy it. Then I remember someone pouring me a dram of Irish whisky
at a party and I was quite taken aback at how flavourless it was compared to
the Scotch we had at home.
What does
whisky mean to you?
First and foremost, whisky means whisky friends. I
enjoy the conversations and camaraderie that go along with being a whisky geek.
Whisky itself is all about flavour. It is what the
whisky does on my tongue. I don’t care how it is made, what rules it complies
with, what grains are used, whether it has spirit caramel or not, or soap, or
any of the things that so many people seem to care about. I drink whisky
because I enjoy the flavours and not because of some romantic idea about it
being a craft product.
Where
would you like to see yourself in five years time?
I would like to have another successful book on the
market. Again, it has to be something original, something really new. I am
working on that now and there are still several years of research and writing
to go before I’ll really be ready to talk about it.
What was
your last dram?
Pike Creek Canadian whisky, export version. I am
doing a series of head-to-heads with port- and wine-finished Canadian whiskies.
My most recent single malt was the staggeringly
wonderful Glengoyne single cask #1219 distilled in 1989 and bottled for Corman
Collins in 2004. I finished that yesterday.
Do you
have a favourite whisky and food pairing combination?
I love whisky with raw oysters and I love sherry
malts with chocolate but generally I don’t think whisky pairs well with most
foods and I am not a big fan of whisky dinners. With a meal I would prefer to
have wine or beer. Or water.
What’s
your favourite time and place to enjoy a dram?
I prefer to dram at home, in the evening, with a
fire in the fireplace and family on the sofa. I also enjoy tasting new whiskies
with my whisky buddies so we can compare notes. Typically each one tries to
outdo the other by providing the most sought after new whisky. This is classic
at PLOWED get-togethers in Las Vegas. We go from one ah-ha moment to the next.
What do
you think is going to be the next big thing on the whisky horizon?
It’s hard to know but I think Canadian whisky is
just poised to make a big breakthrough. The whiskies are great and the
companies are beginning to promote them to high-end consumers. People who have
not known me for long might think I am saying that because I am known as the
Canadian whisky guy. It’s true that since my book came out I have become the
go-to guy for Canadian whisky. But that is not my background and I most
certainly don’t have an agenda to boost the Canadian whisky industry without
regard to quality. However, there really is a lot of good stuff here that is
flying under everyone’s radar right now.
As a long-time Malt Maniac and whisky judge I have
tasted and enjoyed thousands and thousands of single malt Scotches. I continue
to do so almost every day. Tasting new whiskies regularly is a wonderful way to
develop your palate and discover new flavours. I was there when the Malt
Maniacs put Japanese whisky on the whisky map and the same with Indian whisky.
That opened my mind to new whisky styles.
Remember, many of us were pretty focused on Single
Malt Scotch to the exclusion of everything else, and we were as surprised as
anyone when Japan suddenly swept the Malt Maniacs Awards. At the same time some
blended whiskies were beginning to show up among the gold medallists. It made
me think that maybe I should give other whiskies another try.
Suddenly I discovered that I was sitting on this
gold mine of new whisky flavours and I had to tell all my whisky buddies about them.
Of course the Scotch snobs pooh-poohed it. And some of my fellow Canadians were
the worst. However, now that some of the world’s top connoisseurs are starting
to say good things there seems to be some-what of a bandwagon effect. Suddenly,
Canadian Scotch snobs who even a year ago spoke disdainfully about Canadian
whisky want to be seen as experts on the subject – discerning experts. That tells
me I am onto a good thing and I have great expectations for Canadian whisky in
the next few years. The trouble right now is that a lot of the best whisky is
only available here in Canada. Fortunately, that is changing.
Canadian whisky is not single malt whisky and the
flavour profiles are very different. In fact much of the Scotch whisky mindset
does not apply at all. But people who are secure in their palates and open to
new experiences are beginning to recognize that there are some really great
whiskies made here in Canada. I think as prices of other whiskies continue to
climb and connoisseurs continue to say good things about Canadian whisky, it
could very well be the next big thing. Right now Canadian whisky is comparatively
inexpensive. That will help a lot.
Serious whisky lovers and anyone looking to get
ahead of the curve really need to try top-end Canadian whisky. Not the cheap,
bottom-shelf stuff, but award-winners such as Lot No. 40, Alberta Premium Dark
Horse, Forty Creek Port Wood Reserve, Confederation Oak, Century Reserve Lot
15/25, Gibson’s Rare 18, Wiser’s 18, Wiser’s Legacy, Masterson’s and so on.
What’s
the one dram you couldn’t live without?
That is a very difficult question. If I think about
that as my desert-island dram then I guess it would have to be something
flavourful and not too challenging. I tend not to drink alone a whole lot
unless I am writing tasting notes. When I am with my whisky buddies I like to
drink whisky that we can talk about.
More commonly though, I drink when I am with family
or at a social occasion and then I like something that doesn’t intrude too much
on the conversation. Maybe this is heresy, but I’d have to say maybe
Rittenhouse 100, or Forty Creek Confederation Oak. Perhaps Glenlivet 12 or
Gibson’s 12. There are so many.
For my final dying dram the question is a lot
easier: Gooderham and Worts 15 year old Centennial Whisky from the 1960s or
70s.