Thursday Jun 19, 2014: 19:00 until 21:00

Salt Bar
82 Seymour Street
Marble Arch W2 2JB

(1 places remaining)

Brits love Canada – the mix of rustic country life and unexpectedly chic urban centres. The vistas, the nature, the moose, all that room!! But our relationship with Canadian whisky has had it’s issues. From the roots of Rye to the wrangles over the Glen, Canadian whisky has come a long long way.

Resident Canuck Squaddie Elise will take us on a coast to coast tour of the Canadian whisky scene to explore the new spirits coming from small and large distillers. It’s a spirit as unique and diverse as Canada, and there’s lots to discover!

And Elise adds,

“There’s a lot of interesting whisky-making happening in Canada these days. We don’t tend to get a chance to try many of the outstanding Canadian spirits here in the UK, and that’s a shame.   The Canadian whisky story goes back as far as the earliest settlers, and from coast to coast there is a rich heritage of whisky making – one as storied as the US but far less well known. Misconceptions about Canadian whisky abound-so here’s a chance to learn a little about how Canadians make whisky and to try some top drams.

Let me set your minds at ease about a couple of things to entice you to come along:

1. Yes, there is some crap Canadian whisky. There is also some crap Scotch whisky. We won’t be drinking any of either.
2. We didn’t have prohibition so Canadians have made rye whisky for 200 years uninterrupted and we’re damn good at it. We’ll try some of the very best and see how nuanced this spirit is.
3. We also make single malt whisky. Yup, I went there. And within 4 years we’ll be producing it from 5 distilleries and on both coasts. We’ll try some that isn’t widely available in the UK.
4. Many of the Canadian whiskies are gold medal winners-we’ll try some of them too.
5. Finally, the tasting will include a couple of whiskies that you can buy in the uk, but most are not easy to get here (or are pretty pricey so you’d be unlikely to take a chance on them). And there will be some Canadian whisky cleverly disguised as American as well.”

7pm upstairs at Salt Bar, corner of Seymour Street and Edgeware Road.

Please note: the time for this tasting has moved to 7pm. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Whisky Squad events are informal, informative evenings geared to learn about and responsibly taste whisky – aimed at everyone from beginners through to cognoscenti, it’s a brilliant fun way to experience and discover.