Whisky Galore

Whisky Galore

It was our first tasting evening and what fun! Over a lovely themed five course meal and an evening amongst serious enthusiasts, and great company, we tasted Old Pulteney, Ben Raich, Sheep Dip and Glen Parker single malts and a mystery whisky that turned out to be oriental in origin rather than from the glens. Known as Yamazaki from Japan it nearly turned the seasoned Scots tasters Kamikaze! This was the Sixth Tasters of Tatamagouche single malt tasting experience and there will be many more but perhaps none so surprising. I can’t wait!

Last November the group tasted a whisky from the only single malt whisky producer in North America , which just happens to be right here in Nova Scotia. Glenora Distillery at Glenville, Inverness County, Nova Scotia was established in 1990 on a 300 acre site. It produces over 250,000 litres of whisky using the traditional copper pot stills and only three ingredients: Barley, Yeast and Water to make their rare single malt whisky. It cannot be called 'Scotch' unless it is produced in Scotland, hence here in New Scotland it can only be called Canadian Single Malt Whisky.

It was our first tasting evening and what fun! Over a lo

A Taste of the Caribbean

A Taste of the Caribbean

Who would have thought there was an island as good as any in the Caribbean right on my doorstep? Pictou Island sounded as far from Tortola as the North Pole to me but their website (www.pictouisland.com) photos persuaded us to take the short boat ride and we are so glad we did. We arrived at the Ferry port in Caribou and were able to park next to the small boat that would take us on the 45 minute trip. We climbed aboard the Pictou Island Ferry with an assortment of visitors, tourists and residents and we soon learned much about the island. No stores for shopping, no restaurants, no transport – what were we doing! The unspoilt beauty is what makes the island a real treasure with nature everywhere – butterflies, birds, wild-flowers, shellfish and sea glass, shells and sea-dollars to collect. The beaches are wide with pure white clean sand and the air clear and fresh. There is no power so the residents live completely off-grid and in a great degree of luxury. What a great example of being able to live an eco-friendly life in a true island paradise!