Best Blended Scotch?

Help us pick our bar rail scotch

On Wednesday January 20 we are putting our incumbent house scotch, Johnnie Walker Red, up against seven challengers to determine which should be our go-to brand. Ballantine's, Chivas Regal, Dewar's, The Famous Grouse, J&B Rare, Johnnie Walker Red, Teacher's, and White & McKay will be sampled in a "blind" tasting.

Makes a great stocking stuffer ;-) Advance tickets are $18 and can be purchased here.

Sunday Dinner

Just like your mother made?

This winter, C’est What? will be featuring a prime rib dinner every Sunday. Roasted prime rib with parsnip mashed potatoes, traditional Yorkshire pudding, and sautéed vegetables. Just as good as Mom’s, but she is not here to force you to eat the vegetables. Available starting at 6:00 p.m. until 10:00, or whenever we run out.

Glenmorangie Tasting

Results

On November 3, 2009 C’est What held another successful whisky tasting which compared the differences between three single malt scotches produced by Glenmorangie: The Original 10 year single malt, The La Santa, and The Quinta Ruban.

The Original was characterized with complex notes of citrus, vanilla and almonds. The La Santa which has extended maturation in sherry casks is known for its rich nutty flavour. The Quinta Ruban is finished in port casks and has chocolate and mint notes. All three were well received, but the Quinta Ruban jumped out as the clear favourite with twenty-one discerning judges (customers) on the whole opining that it had a slightly better ‘nose’, ‘body’, and ‘palate’ than the other two.

The event was hosted by Kelly Burns-Coady, Marketing Director with Charton Hobbs. She gave a very informative history of Glenmorangie, describing the distilling process and explaining the different characteristics found in their whiskies.

All three Glenmorangies are still available at C’est What for those who want to make their own quality judgements.

A full table of the results can be found here.

Ho, Ho, Ho

It must be the season as we have been in a particularly giving mood lately.

All subscribers to our e-news are automatically entered in a weekly draw that gives the winner a dinner and show for two.

Our list is now close to two-thousand names, and the odds of winning while better than a government run lottery are not quite as good as they once were. So for all of you who suffer through this monthly missive we have a boxing week deal: a two-for-one dinner deal from December 26 to January 3. Click here to request your coupon.

Cheers!

An Intemperate History Of Beer In Canada

Local beer geek (or guru if that makes you feel better about the subject) Nicholas Pashley has just released his second beer book. In this age of nose wrinkling do-gooders who seem to pop up when there is the slightest chance of folks having any fun it is heartening to know that there are still irreverent people like Mr. Pashley around. An excerpt from his introduction to give your a flavour of his prose:

"Even in Toronto, where people are proud to spend sixty or seventy hours a week in their offices, there are people who would rather drink beer than work.

This book is for the people who would rather drink beer than work. It's for the people who believe that we should be higher than twentieth in the world in terms of beer consumption. It's for the people who grew up believing that we were better than Americans because we played better hockey and drank better beer. If you're that sort of Canadian (cue stirring patriotic music), this book's for you."

Needless to say, the book makes a great gift for your favourite beer weenie. ISBN 978-1-55468-257-7

Get Real, Get It Live

James Clark Institute

While confronting the ghosts from his past, James Clark puts them to song and twists and turns them into witty rootsy pop tunes. With his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, James gives a nod to Toronto's Infamous Clarke Institute Of Psychiatry via his namesake. His strong songwriting sensibilities have been compared to Elvis Costello; Ray Davies and Warren Zevon.

Full of sardonic bite and heartfelt sadness, the latest James Clark Institute record is an exorcism of emotions felt after a long term relationship went south. Sideshow Unattraction began merely as a therapeutic exercise in the fall of 2005 but by early 2006, 25 songs had been written. Conjuring up the same spirit as John Lennon's "Walls and Bridges" Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours"; Beck's "Sea Change" and Bob Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks", this farewell record to a lost lover/friend was released in the spring of 2008, charted on Canadian campus radio and has recently been added to Not Lame Records roster of independent record releases.

"...a witty, concise and sometimes acerbic lyricist with moving, memorable and often hilarious songs" - Blair Packham - Producer; Singer/Songwriter; Composer; Educator.

"Öne of Canada's finest and highly individual songwriters." - Colin Lynch - RCAT International Online Music Magazine

Appearing on Wednesday December 16, Doors 9:00 p.m., Show time 9:30 p.m., Advance tickets are available for $6.00

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