Personal Accounts

Smoking Scotch

Beppi Crosariol, wine and spirits critic for the Globe and Mail, Canada's National Newspaper, has launched a weekly video series called Decanter. This informative series covers all things wine in two minutes flat!

 

In this week's segment, Beppi talks single malt scotch, just in time for Robbie Burns day.  

• what is peat, anyway and how it makes scotch smoky.
• three featured smoky scotches: 
  • Laphroaig Quarter Cask Single Islay Malt, C$63.95
  • Lagavulin 16 year old Single Malt, C$124.95
  • Ardbeg Uigeadail, C116.99,(only in BC) world wiskey of the year for 2009
  • Arbeg 10 year old, C$100.00 available widely across Canada)
• Islay is the island where these scotches are produced
• Quarter Cask means the casks are smaller so there is more exposure to wood, giving it a richer taste

Click below to view the video.

Smoking Scotch

Decanting Demystified

Beppi Crosariol, wine and spirits critic for the Globe and Mail, Canada's National Newspaper, has launched a weekly video series called Decanter. This informative series covers all things wine in two minutes flat!

In this first segment, Beppi explains the reasons and benefits of decanting, as well as some nifty tools to stock your bar.

• Wines are decanted to separate sediments in older wine and to aerate (introduce oxygen into) the wine which does improve the taste. Younger wines lose their astringency and soften the flavour.
• Decanting whole bottles to share:  you can use any juice jug, but a number of vessels are available for sale in your homeware stores.   A wide base increases the amount of surface area exposed to air to speed the aeration process.
• Drinking alone?  try the Vinturi Wine Aerator which is a funnel your pour your wine through into your glass.  It is designed with a hole in the side which introduces air as you pour.
• the better the wine, the longer you want to leave them in a decanter, say 1 to 8 hours, but a younger wine really should only be decanted for an hour at most.

Click below to view the video.

Decanting Demystified