I often feel a little cowardly when browsing the scotch section at the local liquor store, and quickly shuffle past the Islay section. Everything about whisky from Islay can seem daunting. The billows of smoke, the oil slick iodine, the gold plated price tags. Getting into Islay feels like getting into an exclusive club, where there is a splash of hazing prior to full membership. One Islay which delivers the full peated experience, but at a slightly gentler flavour and price point is Laphroaig’s Quarter Cask. Battled at 96 proof …

Last week I partook in one of my personal favourite rituals: picking one of the first cartons of eggnog from the grocery store shelf. This event signifies many changes in my lifestyle as fall and winter inevitably approach. While I will no longer be spending evenings imbibing in the pleasures of Vancouver summers, there are two patio activities I will bend over backwards to extend. The first, cigars,  requires a nice heavy jacket, and one that I don’t mind picking up a light aroma of cigar smoke. The second, bbq, …

Unlike Whisky, Wine wears many hats in the beverage world. Some wines go with a meal, some wines are themselves a meal. There is more variety and value than ever before, making wine as accessible as it has ever been. Interestingly, the wine world still feels pretentious for most consumers, despite the disappearance of the most pretentious niche of wine drinkers. The image of the gentleman’s wine cellar seems like a long-ago memory, and the gentleman wine drinker is strikingly absent from today’s wine demographic. I feel that several rituals …

The Redheaded stepchild of Orkney Distilleries, Scapa has had some ups and downs since being founded in 1885. From 1994 to 2005 the distillery was closed entirely. The industry giant, Pernod-Ricard, then acquired and reopened it. The initial release was this 14 year, which replaced the traditional Scapa 12. This year Scapa has replaced their 14 year with a 16 year, at a much higher price point. If you want to try this good value malt you’ll probably need to act somewhat quickly.

Men love a party where they can enjoy a good glass of scotch and a fine cigar. Something about this combination exclaims manliness and men happily partake of them in the company of other men. Parties unfortunately don’t last forever, but the worst part of them can: a smelly or stained suit. What happens in the event that some precious liquid falls onto your fine suit? What about getting that cigar smell out of your clothes (sure you love it, but your wife and coworkers don’t)? This guide will help you keep the great memories of the party without living with a scotch stain or a suit that smells like cigar smoke.

The Art of Manliness recently had a great article on the 15 manliest smells.  Here were (understandably) my 2 favourites on the list:
Scotch: “The warm, rich, smokey smell of an aged scotch whisky [...], a scent that will put hair on the chest of any man who takes a whiff”
Pipe Smoke: “A whiff of a nice clove or cherry wood blend summons images of kindly older men in tweed jackets sitting in a chair next to a warm cozy fire with an old dog nearby.”
Some others that hit my soft …