Here is the reprint.... Hope it gives a few people some ideas on how to present or host an evening in your home. Cheers!
I haven't been blogging for the last couple of weeks for good reason: I was busy getting everything
done at work so that I can leave for a short sailing vacation, helping my
youngest daughter get a job in NS, pack and move, having fun trading samples
with fellow bloggers/enthusiasts and getting my fall schedule ready for tastings and whisky events I want to attend.
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| Bad influences - SMYC ladies! |
So, a funny thing sort of happened after the four young ladies from Show
me your Canada where here. I, for one, drank too much; which doesn't
usually happen. I recall finishing a bottle of Compass Box Spice Tree and
I think we also drank a lot of Tobermory but I could be wrong because things got
a bit fuzzy as the sun went down on our evening boat cruise... :s
I do remember Graham driving us
home and walking the dogs with my brother in law at 1:00am so that's good. What I seem to remember the most was the reality
at 6:30am - getting up for work and being one hurting unit! So after
sitting at my desk for almost 2 hours waiting for the Advil and coffee to kick
in, I had had it. I went to the Feel Good Store here in Saint John (A GOD SEND)
and Anne was there to save me. "I need something for this hangover,
please!" I begged. She has a tea that she makes herself called Cold
Blaster Tea, rich in vitamins and nutrients to help the immune system. I
HIGHLY recommend you have this in your cupboard, not only for colds... :)
Long story short, Anne had attended my
ladies introductory class to whiskies and we talked while she was
preparing my tea. She reminded me how much she had enjoyed the Bowmore
Darkest 15 and I basically told her there was a whole island of whiskies that
were delicious like that. She gasped and lit up like light bulb, which in turn I lit up like a light bulb with my next tasting adventure.
I made it through the end of that day and by the time I got home that
night was feeling much like myself again. I told Graham about my idea and
he lit up like a light bulb. The next day I tweeted a few of the other
girls I had met at the tasting who had said they liked the peaty ones the best and
invited them to my home for a "tabletop" Islay tour. I invited
another friend who I had recently introduced to whiskies and she lit up like a
light bulb too (I was starting to notice a trend!) Date decided, total we were 6
girls in. I asked Graham if he minded being in the "chair" so
that I could sit back and relax a bit.. NO prob! Graham asked me
one question: What whiskies do you want them to try? I gave him a list
and he did the rest. Now our collection is quite a good one I think and we have
at least one bottle from almost every distillery on Islay, except Port Ellen which I can't afford so we knew we were going to have a
great night and really introduce these lovely whisky maidens to Islay in proper
style! The excitement built over the course of a few weeks and finally,
Once arrived and all seated, Graham took us along a lovely
whisky trail visiting distillery after distillery on Islay. He went into
a bit of detail and also had a few other surprises (including a very nice dram
of the Octomore and Kilchoman Sherry Cask). The ladies loved it! We
started the evening at 7:00 and it seems to me they left around 10:00pm.
It was a great night with five wonderful women who love Islays as much as
I do. I'm discovering more and more that I'm not the unicorn I thought I
was, all alone in this part of the world with only the "boys" to
drink with. Most of the time I am ok with but I have to say there's something special about being in a roomful of
women who experience whiskies with all their senses. The stories, the
whiskies, the friendships and the knowledge we all shared made our table top
exercise a rather beautiful and at the same time serene
experience for me, although we were noisy and boisterous sometimes laughing
like fools, on the inside I was at peace and feeling like I found a space I
belonged. To the whisky sisterhood I raise my glass! To the #whiskyfabric, thank you for bringing me the sisterhood, at last :) To Graham, thanks for the great tour!
On my bicycle (ring, ring) pedaling
down the Islay trail, humming a happy little tune.
Lassie
Sounds like an amazing night. I think I'll make it my life's aim to have a bottle of something from every Islay distillery - similarly sans Port Ellen...
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