I hope you are all well and enjoying the spring weather (its currently snowing as I type this on the last day of April.
In March, I hosted a handful of tastings across the region and had a blast doing it. Much Irish Whiskey was shared and the people that came out to explore these drams made these some of my favourite events to date.
I have some huge news to share with everyone.
The first ever Whisky Explorer Awards were given out in February this year. I will post a link below to see the full list so you can see how your favourite bottles fared. One of the cool features of these awards was that every whisky considered had to be on sale at a retail location in Canada at some point in 2023. Another really interesting part is they held a few categories of "People's Choice" awards...
I am very proud and humbled and honoured to announce that I took home the People's Choice award as Canada's Best Influential Whisky Guru.
It was a complete shock to have this award and it means even more that it was 100% voted on by whisky fans across Canada.
The link below will take you to the Whisky Explorer Magazine - Winter 2024 edition which has all the awards listed in it, as well as part 2 of my part 4 series in a Deep Dive into Irish Whiskey.
Now for some updated events that have been lined up in the future.
May 26 - Chartier Restaurant - Beaumont Alberta
The DarkCloud is proud to once again host The Sunday Spirit Club at Beautiful Chartier restaurant. This time we are pairing the world class food with spirits from another local gem, Hansen Distillery. I am so very proud to team up with both of these local hero establishments to provide not one, but two seatings where the chefs at Chartier will whip up amazing delicacies to pair with a variety of Hansen spirits.
Tickets can be found at the link below.
November 29, 30th - Banff Whisky Experience - Banff AB
Dubbed "The Most Beautiful Whisky Festival on Earth" the Banff Whisky Experience is one not to miss. Masterclasses, panel discussions, special presentations spread over two days and a world class main event to end it all off. Imagine sitting in a masterclass and looking out the huge full pane glass windows onto the majestic Rocky Mountains all while sipping the best spirits in the world! Oh, there may just be a special masterclass hosted by Canada's Best Influential Whisky Guru! More info below!
I will be updating this website a lot more regularly going forward this year and beyond. I want to definitely add quite a few more reviews as well as some pretty cool article ideas rattling around inside my head. Til then, cheers and thanks for the taking a quick minute to read this update.