I don’t use normal whiskey glasses anymore. I have discovered that many of the bars and most of the distilleries that make good whiskey use the newly designed Glencairn Glass, which is supposed to heighten the whiskey experience by concentrating the aroma before you sip. I don’t know if I have mastered the art of concentrating the aroma, or whether there’s enough time before I sip a whiskey, but I am learning. The “new” design came out only ten years ago, which is an innovation considering that most good whiskies on the market today were laid down even before the first glasses came out. So I haven’t really risen to the occasion because I have not been able to find a proper Glencairn glass in Timmins. But I was at Winners last week and I saw these stemmed glasses which are quite close in design. So I bought them. They will make do until I am able to find a set of the right glasses. In meantime, I am going to sign off so I can practice my sipping.

Whisky, whisky and me ...

I was absolutely delighted today to learn something new about whisky and about my own taste in whisky. I have a new textbook on the history of world whiskies and how various forms were developed. People who know me know I am not a whisky snob. I don’t stick to single-malts, only. I like some very nice blended whiskies. Two of my favourites are J&B and Cutty Sark. Can you imagine my surprise when I discovered that both brands were developed more than 80 years ago by master blender Charles H. Julian. As the story goes, Julian created Cutty first, for the U.S. market. It was such a hit that he was hired by Justerini & Brooks to create a similar blend for the U.K. market. Well that just blew me away because I remember the first time I tasted both ( a couple of years apart) and thinking what a nice whisky it was. Tonight I will drink a toast, or two, to Mr. Julian. By the way, that photo is from the blog posting I first entered here on August 3, 2006. Go ahead and check the archives over there on the right side of the page. Soon, I will explain why I have changed my style of whisky glass.

October weather is strange this year ...

Almost two weeks into October and this is my first posting this month. I have been busy and I am glad to say the Ontario election is over. I am not glad with the result. Interestingly, Northern Ontario rejected the Liberals. It was also the lowest voter turnout in Ontario since Confederation! I guess people are just fed up with politicians. Back at work today after spending a few days with Jenn and Scott and Tyler and Nathan. It was so good. I was glad to spend a lot of time with them, but we missed other members of the family. Don and Denise were in Arizona. Christine, Dimitrios and Victoria had to stay in the city. We still had fun. We got a few cases of warm pop, set them up as targets and shot them with pellet guns, making them explode. Yes, it's silly … but still a lot of fun.
Jenn and I called up Neil and had a nice chat with him. He is making plans for a visit at Christmas. Maybe by then we will have some seasonal weather. The weather this past weekend was bizarre because it was so much like July! The high temperature Saturday was 28. Who would believe it. And there was a forest fire up near Westree. They had to close highway 560 near the sawmill for two days. Some finished lumber and some heavy equipment was destroyed in the mill yard. This is definitely not normal October weather. The sun is still shining brightly today and the weather is so warm. Not going to complain at all.