Winnipeg Whisky Fest superb sampling opportunity

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/03/2019 (2369 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a word, wow.

And I do mean WOW!

The Winnipeg Whisky Festival was an exciting, eye-opening, palate-pleasing, sublime sensory adventure that I can’t recommend highly enough. What a superbly well-organized and elegant event! I’ve only attended one such session that could possibly compare — a Champagne sampling several years back that was a precursor to the Winnipeg Wine Festival’s Friday night public tasting. I must admit I headed to the Whisky Festival the first weekend in March with a fair bit of trepidation. I’m not a regular whisky drinker, although I’ve certainly tasted many different ones over the years. While I like whisky, it’s not something I would usually seek out. But since both my parents were Scotch aficionados, I would always try anything that presented itself with them in mind.

But the Whisky Festival was the big time. Producers, experts, much more experienced whisky tasters and appreciators than I. This was new territory for me.

However, as it turned out, I loved every minute of it!

I found a bunch of whiskies I really enjoyed — more on those in a minute — and was delighted by the unbelievable food on offer by the fabulous chefs at The Fairmont Winnipeg, where the event was held. A prime rib and pork tenderloin carvery, a seafood and raw bar with sushi aplenty, an Asian noodle bar, a taco/fajita bar, an extensive array of cheeses, and a dessert bar to boot. Granted, the food was a necessity, given the potency of the samples being sipped, but it was absolutely delicious and kicked the evening up several notches on the exclusivity scale.

There were educational sessions as well as mixology and cocktail sessions to take in, but most of the near-capacity-of-400 crowd focused on the well over 200 whiskies, bourbons, tequilas, cognacs and more that were poured at the 45 booths on The Fairmont’s mezzanine floor.

My first stop was at the Ardberg booth, where a very enthusiastic Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries product consultant who’d asked to work that particular booth dazzled me with his obvious passion for the Ardberg Uigeadail The Ultimate Islay Single Malt Scotch ($162.55 for a 750 ml bottle), a beverage, finished in sherry casks, that won the World Whisky of the Year Award in 2009. It was delicious.

I then grabbed a heaping helping of prime rib, gobbled it down and then rushed to a seminar on The Glenlivet, and was blown away by the presentation by Keith Trusler, The Glenlivet ambassador. The history of the company is fascinating, and the product was truly lovely as well. In addition to The Glenlivet French Oak Reserve 15-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky ($90.49) and The Glenlivet 18-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch ($149.99) — an audible “ahhh” went up in the room once we all tasted the latter beauty — those of us at the seminar had the exclusive opportunity to sample the The Glenlivet XXV 25-Year-Old Single Malt, finished in Cognac casks. It sells for $399.99 in Manitoba — for some reason it’s $100 less here than in any other location — and it practically brought all attendees to their knees.

My husband, not a whisky drinker at all, turned to me after his first taste of The Glenlivet XXV with an ear-to-ear grin on his face.

“Dammit!” he said, his eyes alight. “ I LIKE it!”

And so did I.

Despite the fact it was 57 per cent alcohol, it was dreamily smooth and indescribably delightful. I was smitten.

But time was a-wastin’, so once the session was over, I headed back to the tasting room to try as many more samples as the hours of operation and my palate would allow, so what follows are simply the ones that turned my head through the rest of the evening.

Because my almost-sister is from Wales, I was really keen to taste the three Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whiskies being poured. The Penderyn Legend was smooth and not very peaty — it’s available for $67.89 at Liquor Marts, and I liked it very much. The other two — Myth ($62.74), a little smokier, and Celt ($75.58), which was my favourite of the three — are not yet available at Liquor Marts, but I hope response from the show encourages these Welsh winners to be listed.

Then it was off to try The Macallan. I really enjoyed the 15-Year-Old Triple Cask Highland Single Malt Scotch ($174.99) and was very much enamoured by the $399.95-price-tagged Rare Cask Highland Single Malt Scotch.

I found the Bowmore 18-Year-Old Islay Single Malt Scotch ($126.99) very pleasant, The Balvenie Doublewood 12-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch ($99.99) equally so, and The Balvenie Doublewood 17-Year-Old ($299.99) absolutely delightful.

If you like peat, the Bruichladdich Octomore 7.1 Islay Single Malt Barley Scotch ($250.99) is for you! And the only beverage I had a second wee dram of the whole night was the Bruichladdich Black Art 6.1 Islay Single Malt Scotch ($399.99).

The Dalmore Cigar Malt Reserve Highland Single Malt Scotch ($205) was very nice, and the two Jura products — the Superstition Single Malt Scotch ($75.14) and the Origin 10-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch ($57.14) — were both bargains for the price. In my notes, I wrote of the Superstition that it had “a little burn” on the finish, and of the Origin, this: “It starts soft, and then grabs you by the throat like a really deep French kiss.”

I also thought the Bearface 7-Year-Old Triple Oak Canadian Whisky was amazing for its price of $39.99.

As usual, the Crown Royal Limited Edition Canadian Whisky ($36.49) was lovely, and the exclusive Crown Royal XO incredible. I’m so proud this renowned brand is from Manitoba!

Ancnoc 12-Year-Old Highland Single Malt Scotch ($63.99), which I’d tried some years ago courtesy of the late, great Bill Paton, was terrific, the Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch ($58.99) very tasty, and Shelter Point Artisanal Single Malt Canadian Whisky ($69.99) really nice.

The Irishman Small Batch Single Malt Irish Whiskey ($69.99) was beautiful, and the Stalk & Barrel Red Blend Canadian Whisky ($32.99) was smooth and different. My notes read, “It’s just fun! It’s herbal. It tastes like a garden. A lush garden!”

Whew! And these are just a handful of what was available to taste. It’s my hope that from this small sampling you can find something to enjoy, and perhaps something special with which to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. And seriously, if you’re a fan, consider attending next year’s Winnipeg Whisky Festival. No matter how much you sample, it’ll be a night you’ll never forget!