Wine to Water reached out to me quite some time ago on Facebook and Twitter, but I hadn’t really sat down to look at their organization until this past week. Founded in 2004, the non-profit organization focuses on providing clean water to countries throughout the world, and has already made a huge difference in countries including Sudan, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Haiti.

The organization was founded by former North Carolina bartender, Doc Hendley. In January of 2004 the first fundraiser was held and by August of that same year Doc was living in Darfur, Sudan installing water systems for victims of the government supported genocide. From their website:

“When the idea came to me to start Wine To Water the only real world job experience I had was tending bar. I dreamed of building an organization that fought water related death and disease using completely different methods than anyone else. So I started raising money to fight this water epidemic the best way I knew how, by pouring wine and playing music.”

And so far, Wine to Water has made a huge difference throughout the world. Earlier this week, I received a message on Twitter from Doc that peaked my curiosity:

“Need a HUGE favor. We are 3 weeks away from the end of CNN Heroes. Please take 2 seconds, follow link & vote for Doc http://bit.ly/1J9CHo“

On November 26, for the third year in a row, CNN plans to honour the efforts of everyday people making a difference. Each of the top 10 CNN Heroes will receive an honorarium of $25,000, and the CNN Hero of the Year, making the biggest impact will receive an additional $100,000 in recognition of their efforts to better the world.

Through Cocktails and Cordials, I promise I won’t ever ask you to donate to me or the website, or any other cause for that matter, but I sincerely hope you will take the two minutes to recognize the extraordinary efforts of one of our own to make the world a better place. Doc Hendley is doing an amazing job, and I certainly count him among my own heroes. Please vote for him at:

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/vote/

For more information, or to find out how you can get involved, please visit:
http://winetowater.org/

Popularity: 62% [?]

When I first posted about the G’Vine Gin Connoisseur Program at the beginning of the month, word had yet to extend to the majority of the bartending masses. As of this week, the once quaint competition has officially gone global, registering participants from the 24th participating country so far.

In the spirit of the recent surge in participants, G’vine has extended the deadline for the completion of their program, in order to give all of the new registrants a fair shot at competing. The new dates are below.

Deadline #1: January 15, 2010
Complete all 4 of the online multiple-choice exams, plus write and submit your Gin Marketing Essay.

Deadline #2: March 15, 2010
Write a blog entry, create a signature G’Vine cocktail, serve and sell up to 50 bottles of G’Vine Floraison or G’Vine Nouaison gin.

G’Vine not available in your market? (Just like here in Ontario) Not a problem. While the majority of the 12 finalist slots are reserved for participants from some of G’Vine’s big markets, they’ve also reserved a few slots for international “wildcards”. The course and competition will take some time to complete, so quit putting it off. Get started today.

The course focuses on providing bartenders with a better knowledge of Gin and the G’Vine brand, with huge prizes for the participants who demonstrate their knowledge the best. Care to learn more? For more information on the G’vine Gin Connoisseur’s Program, click here.

Popularity: 30% [?]

While at Whisky Live this year, I got to spend some time talking with Ian Millar, Global Ambassador for Glenfiddich. Ian commented on the evolving state of the scotch category, and where he sees his product in the current cocktail revolution. Following this, I was invited to a tasting of the very tasty, very rare, Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve 1977.

Glenfiddich has long been recognized as a leader within the scotch category, and as whisky continues to enjoy a surge in popularity, Ian feels the company is positioned well as consumers grow increasingly discerning.

With the whisky crowd growing younger, Ian says that the “badge of maturity” earned by enjoying a quality spirit vs. drinking a vodka soda helps to instill a sense of curiosity and pride in young drinkers, whose initial thoughts on whisky can be fiery and harsh.

While categories like gin, who similarly have earned the “grandfather’s drink” type designation are enjoying success through new, hip marketing aimed at attracting a younger crowd, Glenfiddich doesn’t feel the need to re-brand. In fact, Ian says that rather than primarily aiming to increase Glenfiddich’s market share, more effort is being made to increase the value of the brand to consumers.

As global ambassador, that’s where Ian comes in. With the current state of the economy, it’s becoming increasingly common for consumers to remain home to drink, rather than going out to bars. As this happens more and more often, the ambassador’s role changes dramatically. Depending on where in the world his job sends him, Ian’s role on that day can be very different.

In the UK, an already established scotch market, the role of ambassador is focused more on the education and training of bartenders with the Glenfiddich range. Compare that to Japan, a whisky market grown exponentially in the past few years, where Ian’s role focuses more on the end consumer. By educating consumers on the value of a quality scotch, Glenfiddich aims to not only drive sales of their own brand, but to increase the demand for the whole scotch category within the market.

The Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve 1977
Alcohol Content: 54.1% ABV
Size: 750 mL
Price: £375.00 (Approx. $654 CDN) – Sold Out

Unfortunately, one of the masterclasses I attended at Whisky Live ran over time, so I missed out on the tasting of Glenfiddich’s 12, 15, and 18yr old scotch, but in the end, I got to taste something truly unique. Ian brought with him a few bottles of the Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve 1977, to an exclusive crowd of 20 or so eager tasters.

Since 1999, Glenfiddich has bottled at least one “Vintage Reserve” edition of their whisky per year. In 2008, the options were narrowed down to four casks – three filled in 1975, three in 1977, and a panel of some of the world’s most skilled whisky tasters went to work to determine the right fit for that year’s bottling.

How did Glenfiddich determine 2008’s Vintage Reserve bottling was the right fit? Read my post here, and check out a video of their tasting panel in action.

The end choice was Cask No. 4414, an ex-Sherry cask made from European Oak, imparting 33 years of flavour onto the Glenfiddich new make spirit. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to jot down my own tasting notes on this spirit, but here’s what Glenfiddich suggests you’ll find:

Colour
Dark amber

Nose
A rich and complex aroma with deep, sherry notes (raisins, dates, sultanas) and a beautiful oaky sweetness. Addition of a little water releases a vibrant spicy character with hints of vanilla, butterscotch and polished leather.

Palate
A wonderful balance of rich oak notes and sweet, fruity spice. Initially very intense with lots of oak tannin and mouth-coating wood flavour. After a few minutes a subtle vanilla sweetness and gentle fruity character develops (baked apple, rhubarb, ripe pears). The layers of flavour continue to unfold over a very long period meandering from oak to sweet to fruity to spicy and back again.

Finish
Very long and lingering with a warm, sweet afterglow.

Over the course of the past year, as smokey spirits have found a spot close to my heart, my opinions on Scotch have changed dramatically. The spirit that once made we wince, is quickly becoming one of my favourites, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity to taste such a stellar product. Thank you very much to Glenfiddich and Jesson & Company Communications for the opportunity.

Biography – Ian Millar, Glenfiddich Global Ambassador
Ian Millar joined William Grant & Sons Ltd in 1998 as Distilleries Manager for the company’s flagship Glenfiddich and Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whisky distilleries. Since then, he’s taken on the role of global ambassador for the Glenfiddich range, and spends his time traveling the world, spreading word about the scotch.

With more than 30 years experience in scotch, he is seen as one of the foremost authorities on the spirit worldwide.

Click here to visit the Glenfiddich website.

Popularity: 30% [?]

While researching the Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve 1977, I came across the following video. If you have 20 minutes to kill, it’s a great look at the selection process that their panel of tasters goes through to determine what’s worthy of being featured behind the Glenfiddich name that year.

Every year since 1999, Glenfiddich has produced at least one “Vintage Reserve” bottling, and 2008’s was the Vintage Reserve 1977. Here’s how they decided:

Popularity: 4% [?]

If you weren’t able to guess by now, I’m a Whisky fan. My tastes rarely stray to this side of the border when choosing my spirit of choice, though, and quite often, bourbon trumps all. That’s why this past Friday at Whisky Live Toronto, I was more than a little surprised to find my favourite product of the show being local – distilled and aged less than 15 minutes from my home.

Price: $69.95 CDN
Size: 750 mL
Alcohol Content: 45% ABV
Produced by: Kittling Ridge Estate Wines and Spirits

Forty Creek Whisky, the flagship spirit of Grimsby, Ontario’s Kittling Ridge Estate Wines and Spirits, is no stranger to North America. Despite the fact that it was introduced a mere seven years ago, in 2003, it’s wasted no time in developing a name for itself. The winner of countless awards, and worldwide recognition, Forty Creek’s latest offering may just well be my favourite yet.

In 1993, the heavily charred, white oak barrels for the Forty Creek Port Wood Reserve were readied, as the latest batch of Niagara Port had just completed bottling. Rather than be discarded or sold, distiller John Hall had a different plan. He never thought it would turn out this great.

Made in the same way as the Forty Creek Barrel Select and Double Barrel bottlings, the Port Wood Reserve uses no mashbill in distillation. Instead, each grain – rye, barley, and maize (corn) is distilled and aged separately, and then blended and “finished” for an additional two years in the Port barrels before being bottled.

This special edition marks the third limited release Forty Creek whisky created, and with only 3000 bottles produced, this is the smallest batch made so far. It just hit shelves in the LCBO, and will be available for a very short time. After tasting this for the first time at Whisky Live, I had to jump on purchasing a bottle before it was too late.

While I’m not quick to advise the addition of substantial mixers to this Whisky, I’m certainly very eager to see how it holds its own in my next Manhattan, and have no problem in recommending you to add this to your own bar.

Appearance: Burnt orange, honey colour, with thick, slow legs that cling to the glass forever.

Nose: Ginger, cinnamon, chocolate, orange, subtle hints of vanilla

Palate: Sweet and smooth, with hints of cloves, almonds, and an initial hint of smoke and honey

Finish: This is where the port really shines – Sweet, smokey, and spicy, extra long lingering finish

If you want a bottle, snatch it up before it’s too late. After a quick peek at the LCBO’s inventory, it’s a shame that none of the 3000 bottles made its way to the spirit’s home here in Niagara. Most can be found in the Greater Toronto Area, and if you’re so inclined, distiller John Hall will be doing bottle signings at LCBO locations from now until December 19th, at various times and locations across the province. For a full list of dates, click here.

Popularity: 34% [?]