I S L A N D E RTIMES COLONIST | timescolonist.com D7SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2014
AROUND TOWN
A s tantalizing a blendas wine, women andsong might be, it got
some competition openingnight at the ninth annualVictoria Whisky Festival.
Women Tasting Whiskywas the main eventat Hotel Grand Pacific,a magnet for single-maltmagic and a new genera-tion of whisky aficionadosthis weekend.
Ninety women filled thePender Island Ballroom,where Alwynne Gwilt,a.k.a. Miss Whisky, taughtthem almost everythingthey wanted to know aboutwhisky.
Hodie Rondeau, chiefchocolate officer withXoxolat, demonstrated thewonders of pairing finechocolate with aged top-shelf whiskies includingCompass Box, Glenfid-dich, Nikka and BenRiach.
“Tonight is a greatexample of the fact loadsof women love whisky,too,” said Gwilt, a London-based whisky educatorand writer who grew up inPrince George.
“They’ve liked whiskyfor ages but it’s been morehidden. Ads always seemto show men drinkingwhisky. It doesn’t lenditself towards the idea thatwomen are part of the fra-ternity.”
Rondeau said whiskyand chocolate are “verystrong players” that areparticularly well-matched.
“They both have a lot ofintensity,” she said. “It’seasier to pair beautifulwhisky and chocolate thanwines. The intensity ofwine often isn’t strongenough to play nicely withchocolate.”
Connoisseur Davin deKergommeaux, author ofCanadian Whisky: ThePortable Expert, agreedthat whisky is reaching awhole new audience.
“I think the new genera-tion doesn’t look uponwhisky as a man’s drink.They think it’s a person’sdrink,” he said, adding29 per cent of Canadianwhisky drinkers are nowwomen.
He attributes itsgrowing popularity in partto new batches of flavour-ful whiskies and the allure
of shows such as MadMen.
“Canadian whisky isgetting some cachetagain,” he said before hisappearance at the Cana-dian Whisky Awards.“A lot of these womendrinkers are younger peo-ple who don’t care whattheir father or motherdrank. Over the past threeor four years, a lot ofwhisky conoisseurs havebeen looking outside ofScotland. We’ve seen a25 per cent growth inexports of Canadianwhisky in 2013 alone.”
The Canadian whiskyguru says consumersshouldn’t be put off bywhat some so-called afi-cionados regard as“heresy” — adding a littleclub soda to a glass ofwhisky.
“It makes it taste big-ger. The bubbles grab theflavour first in yourmouth,” de Kergommeauxsaid. “Whisky shouldn’t bemystical.”
Co-founder Iain Hooey,who organizes the eventwith festival presidentLawrence Graham, was onCloud 9 opening night, andhe hadn’t touched a drop.
The whisky festivalsold-out faster than ever,said Hooey, noting atten-dance has ballooned from450 in its inaugural year to1,600 this year.
The festival has47 events over four days,including a grand tastingfeaturing master blenderRichard Paterson, a.k.a.The Nose, and masterclasses in premium prod-ucts from distilleries incountries including Scot-
land, Ireland, Japan, Tai-wan, India, Canada and theU.S.
“We’ve proved to thewhisky world that Victoriais truly a whisky destina-tion,” Hooey said.
“When we started therewas one whisky club intown. Now there are atleast nine.”
Hooey proudly notesthe festival has no paidexecutive director oremployees and 100 percent of proceeds go tocharity — Victoria CrimeStoppers and The TLCFund for Kids this year.
“We’re just a bunch ofvolunteers who likewhisky,” said Hooey,whose team still strictlyenforces its no drinking-and-driving policy andprovides complimentaryrides home.
Opening nightat annualfestival has awoman’s touch
MICHAEL D. [email protected]
Tammy Fairbairn sipping BenRiach Pedro Ximenez at the Grand Whisky, Women and Chocolate event.
Photographs by BRUCE STOTESBURY Times Colonist
Whisky: Not just a man’s drinkAl Giesbrecht, Veronika Irvine and Iain Hooey Hodie Rondeau and Anya Keefe from Krave Chocolat.Whisky and chocolate: A delicious combination.
John Hall from Forty Creek Whisky, author Davin de Kergommeaux, Richard Zeller fromMastersons and Brent Archer of Diageo Canada Inc.
Whisky lovers Michele Tucker and Angie Poirier. Alwynne Gwilt shares her whisky expertise.
