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On 02, Aug 2011 | 6 Comments | In Book of Ramone, Memoirs | By reggie
I’ve made a realization.
These past few months I’ve been falling behind with my event recaps and blogging in general. I could blame a lot of things – a busy work life, addiction to killing zombies, spending more time at events then actually writing about them. In the end, it’s what I’m invited there to do, and while live tweeting does reach a shit load of people, writing a story will always defeat 140 characters.
Point being, I’ll do my best to cover the fun things I’ve been doing lately.
Actually, I just got off Skype with my mom (also known as The Facebook Queen) who asked, “Are you still drinking Reg? On Fridays?” I told her, “No, just Monday to Thursday and on Saturdays”. Then she recommended I start taking Magnesium pills or something. I don’t really remember the name of it, but I’m sure it has to do with dying blood cells.
Last Tuesday, I was invited to the Collingwood Whiskey tasting at The Spoke Club. For a whiskey tasting, two people come to mind: my cousin Jericho, whom I brought to for the Jack Daniels tasting last year, and my ol’ ex-INK friend Maria (@mariapie). She’s one to love her whiskey, so bringing her along was an obvious choice. We like to call ourselves, the Ex-King & Queen of Clubland – mainly because we both brought social media in Toronto’s club industry for both INK and Uniq Lifestyle (which together, cover about 90% of the nightclubs in the city).
Collingwood is Canada’s only handcrafted whiskey. In a market full of whiskeys that (presumably) cater to toothless old men, Collingwood aims to reach the younger generation with a more youth-friendly, smooth flavour. The lack of burn makes it’s almost kind of sexy. Like disease-free sex.
They’re proud to say they’re Collingwood bred: the water is from the Georgian Bay, ingredients are sourced from various providers in Collingwood, and it really represents all things Canadian. Handcrafted and triple distilled, it tastes a bit like maple syrup but it’s not that obvious: it’s actually toasted Maplewood.
I’m a little shocked at how low the price is: at $29 for a 750mL bottle, I hope that the low price doesn’t distract people from it’s natural goodness. If it’s one thing we know about real Canadians (Read: Not Toronto), it’s that we don’t like expensive shit. And at least they’re staying true to their word.
Okay, before I start getting trolled for saying Torontonians aren’t real Canadians, I’d like to say there is a massive difference between people who live in big cities (namely Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal) versus people who live in small town Canada. It’s no surprise that Torontonians enjoy the enriched life more than most Canadians, but if you haven’t lived 23 years of your life outside of Toronto like me, then you probably won’t agree with the above statement. Hell, I just spent Canada Day in Saint John, New Brunswick last month and I have to say, spending 6 years in Toronto made me forget how patriotic we should be about our country. For my own sanity, I like to think of (us) Torontonians as the modernized Canadian; just replace the cheap draft specials for tasty microbreweries and the off-road four wheelers with Range Rovers.
We arrived and immediately had a glass of Collingwood whiskey on the rocks – first item on the cocktail menu and an obvious beginners choice. It was as advertised: smooth with a tinge of youth. I immediately took aim for the hors d’ourves, all of which had been infused with the whiskey. My favourite? The Potato Fed Beef Tartar.
All hors d’ourves infused with Collingwood whiskey:
We moved to the second and third drink on the menu: Collingwood New Fashioned and the Sour. The New Fashioned was an easy favourite, while the Sour tasted more like a overpriced mixed drink at CiRCA. I stuck with the New Fashioned for most of the early evening.
Collingwood New Fashioned
As a parting gift, Brown-Forman offered up an extra bottle for myself to take home (and subsequently, my circle of friends happily devoured like termites on tree bark). I will most definitely revisit my Canadian whiskey experience soon.
Is it truly Canadian? I’d like to hear your thoughts after you’ve tried it out.
I went to high school in Collingwood! I’m anxious to try this out. I promise to come back and share my opinion of it!
I’m a big fan of Candian Wiskey’s. For a number of years my drink of choice was Gibson’s finest. Almost 10 years ago I was introduced to Forty Creek and then Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve. This past weekend I had the opertunity to sample Collingwood Wiskey. Outstanding, liquid silk. Simply bursting with flavor from the moment it touches your lips and a beautiful lingering finish. Extremely smooth with no harsh burn.
I prefer my Wiskey neat or on the rock. It would seem a shame to muddy a spirit of this caliber in a mixed cocktail but that is only a matter of preference.
Thanks for reading Dan. I agree, it’s initially a “controlled burst” of flavour, minimizing burn and pleasant going down. I’m literally writing down every brand you mentioned and will work it into my next LCBO trip or whisky night.
You wouldn’t happen to have a blog, would you? Your descriptive writing is really good, would love to see you write a food & drink blog, if you haven’t already 
Thank you for the compliment. My writing is mostly comedy. I grew up in a very small and sheltered farming town of 1200 souls and have s
Spent my adult life working in “the big city”. With that kind of contrast the well of material seems bottomless. I have about 50 pages of material to date so a blog may be in my future. I am a true foodie. I’m passionate about preparing and consuming culinary creations. I loved your article. It was humourous and informative, a great read. I look forward to following your future musings.
Cheers!
Not really hiding anything with this post title, eh?
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