Diony Distillery from Red Deer Alberta reached out recently asking if we’d be interested in trying their whiskies and of course, we said … of course! The whiskies recently arrived and we gave them a shot, so here’s a little about the distillery, their core expressions, and our thoughts on them. Diony refers to Dionysus, the creator of wine from Greek mythology, which we aren’t going to rehash here because we’re more interested in whisky than marketing, but we encourage you to check out their website to learn more! Stéphane Pilon is the master distiller at Diony and is PASSIONATE about support ..read more

We held our AGM as usual in December 2023 and it was a great one, highlighted by amazing food (including a brisket smoked by member Sheps and Canada goose jerky hunted, prepared and cured by founding member and re-elected exec member Bryan. In addition to great food, we had some great whisky, including the leftovers from the 2023 TWS Canadian Single Malt awards, and a ton of heels brought by members. We also enjoyed this Indri single malt, sent to us by the distillery, and when we posted this picture on instagram, it went viral! At this time it has nearly 2600 likes and 48,000 impressions ..read more

We don’t know if it’s general inflation or just increased demand (spoiler: it’s inflation), but it seems that every time you turn around, the price of whisky has increased. It’s remarkable how many bottles, including ones well loved and formerly reasonably priced, have become priced out of the “every day” category. Since the holidays are fast approaching, at a recent TWS event, we asked the membership “what are your picks for best whiskies under $100”. (Please note that these are LCBO prices. If you live in another Province, State or Country, your prices are probably better and you may have so ..read more

So after a full day of tasting, finding winners of 4 categories and 2 sub-categories, We had to determine our overall winners. 7 finalists were compared blind head-to-head and re-ranked to find our winners for the year. Congratulations to Macaloney’s, Two Brewers and Okanagan for having multiple entries each in the finals! Here are the winners: HONOURABLE MENTIONS RUNNER-UP 2023 CANADIAN MALT OF THE YEAR Huge congratulations to the winners! Here are some family shots of the distilleries that made it to the finals and their medals: Can’t wait till next year ..read more

These malts participated in other categories but were distinct in that they came from a single barrel before release. You can see the full details of this single STR Port barrel Macaloney’s release in the finished whisky category. the LMD release was a single barrel Islay cask finished whisky, which participated in the peated category. The Two Brewers Release 37 single cask was the big winner here, taking this sub-category along with the cask strength category ..read more

Either by happenstance or intentional permanent release, there are some great malts out there that are under 3 years of age, and technically not whisky. Our entries in this sub-category this year were produced about as far apart as possible from the shore of Newfoundland to the coast of Vancouver island! This young malt also participated in the Classic malt category and as of writing is likely ready to be released as a full fledged whisky now! The Peated Mac Na Braiche was obviously also in the peated category and won top under-aged malt this year ..read more

We had two cask strength malts submitted, from the Yukon and BC. Release 37 from Two Brewers is a single cask release made from standard barley plus Honey malt and Vienna malt. It was aged 8 years in a second use white oak barrel. This Okanagan Laird of Fintry Black label is cask strength, aged 5 years in white oak and finished for 6 months in Quails Gate Foch casks. WINNERS – CASK STRENGTH In this category we actually had a TIE in the original round, so it was decided to send both to the finals and see how they stacked up in a larger line-up. After the final round the results were: Congra ..read more

We had 6 malts that fit in this category, ranging from BC to the Yukon, to Alberta. The Laird of Fintry Red Label was finished in Black Sage Vineyards Port pipes and aged over 5 years! The Kirkinriola is a single cask release, aged in STR Portuguese port pipes. NCF and 46%. Diamond S from Rig Hand is a 5 year old malt aged in ex-wheat, ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks! Two Brewers Release 36 was aged using 7-8 yr barrels including both regular malt and some sour mash malt. Finished in Moscatel sherry barrels. Indigenous World Spirits is the only indigenous owned distillery in Canada! Their ..read more

We had 3 peated entries for 2023 from the Yukon, BC and Sask: Macaloney’s Peated Mac na Braiche (son of malt) is a single malt spirit, as it’s under 3 years of age. We first tasted MNB at an event in 2017 and saw some real potential already then. This peated malt from Two Brewers, release 38, is over 10 years old! This Smokey Single Malt from Last Mountain was distilled in 2016 and while not actually peated, it was primarily aged in an ex-bourbon cask and then finished in an Islay Barrel, imparking a strong peat character. WINNERS – PEATED MALTS Congrats to the winners, and especially to ..read more

The Classic single malt is primarily ex-bourbon barrel, regular range proof, and we received 5 malts that fit in this category. They hailed from coast to coast to coast, representing the Yukon, Newfoundland, BC and Alberta! Two Brewers Release 35 was built from 8 and 11 year old liquids, this was a Gold Medal Winner at the Canadian Brewing Awards 2023. This <3yr malt was aged in virgin oak and ex-bourbon, and around now it is hitting 3 years old. When released it will be the first whisky released that was fully produced in Newfoundland! (PS. check out our visit to the NFLD distillery last ..read more