Behind the Barrel

A hot toddy is the drink I reach for when the weather turns. Hot water, a measure of Scotch, honey, lemon, and a few spices: it comes together in five minutes and warms you right down to your ribs. It also has a long history as a cold-night comforter and a folk remedy for a […]

Most people assume blending is something that happens behind locked doors at big distilleries, done by a small circle of masters with silver tastevin cups and thirty years of training. There is truth to that, but it is only half the story. The same instincts those blenders use, balancing grain against malt, softening one cask

Bourbon is the loud, confident cousin of the whisky family, and for Canadian drinkers raised on the quiet restraint of rye, it can feel almost indecently generous. Yet there is a reason more bottles are crossing the border into Canadian cellars than ever before. Bourbon is America’s native spirit by law and by temperament, and

Peat is the single ingredient that can turn an ordinary malt into something you smell from across the room. Open a bottle of Laphroaig or Ardbeg and there is no mistaking it: bonfire smoke, sea air, tar, a medicinal edge that some people love and some people cannot stand. There is very little middle ground

Canada had 389 distilleries as of 2024, and that number has grown roughly 10 percent a year since 2019, according to IBISWorld. A decade ago, you could count the serious craft whisky producers in this country on two hands. Now there’s one in almost every province, and the best of them are winning awards that

Buying whisky at auction is one of the best ways to find bottles you will never see on a store shelf. Old distillery bottlings, closed-distillery releases, single casks, and the odd Canadian rarity all pass through the saleroom at some point. The catch is that auctions reward preparation and punish impulse. The difference between a

A whisky collection looks after itself right up until the day you open a bottle and it tastes flat, or you notice a label peeling, or a cork crumbling into the neck. The difference between a collection that holds its quality (and its value) for decades and one that quietly deteriorates on a shelf comes

There’s a particular feeling that comes with sharing a good bottle in a room full of strangers who all care about the same thing you do. Someone pours a 15-year-old single malt, someone else asks about the cask, and ten minutes later you’re trading tasting notes like old friends. Whisky festivals bottle that feeling and

There is something satisfying about watching a clear, raw spirit turn into a glass of whisky that tastes of smoke, orchard fruit, and old oak. Most of us pour a dram without giving the process a second thought, yet the steps between the barley field and the bottle shape everything you taste. If you have

I’ll admit it: I’ve caught the whisky bug, and if you’re reading this, you probably have too. It’s easy to see why. There’s something magnetic about a good dram, from the history in the glass to the people you end up swapping bottles with. And you’re far from alone in it. There’s a large, generous