Visky, Babee
by Patricia Noonan

I've always loved that Greta Garbo response to the barkeep when asked what she'd like to drink in one of her old movies.
"Gimme a visky....and don't be stingy!"
Her haughty answer leaves me frustrated. I wish I knew what a dame like Greta would order in the whisky department....
Since it was an American film, one might assume it was probably Bourbon. Maybe not. Which brings me to choices. I have trouble making up my mind when there are too many choices on any kind of bar list, which is why it's a good thing that the sommelier at Via Allegro Ristorante is a whisky specialist too.

I enjoyed one of the best whisky cocktails I've ever encountered, which Sommelier Joseph Cassidy came up with. I was a little leary at first, but being an invited guest, I had to have what everyone else was having. It was a Champagne style cocktail, using Prosecco as the bubbly. Rather than the usual brandy, Joseph used The Woodford Reserve Bourbon. I was impressed. Joseph hadn't named the drink so I thought about the origin of the ingredients. Italian wine and American Bourbon. Another writer at the table piped up with "Spaghetti Western" which everyone thought was hilarious, but fitting.

After the preprandials, the whisky dinner commenced. Mike Harrison of Cutty Sark and The Glenrothes Distillery was the guest of honour. The highlight of the night was the foie gras. The chef changed the Calvados-duck jus reduction and added one of the single malts we were tasting. Joseph decided that The Glenrothes 1994 would be best. I have to admit, the marriage was heavenly. What made it work? The fact that the Glenrothes is very fruity, functioning like a fruit brandy.

With Via Allegro in mind, it's quite fitting that the restaurant just hosted the UK publishers of Whisky Magazine and their special awards event for the first time in Canada.

'Canadian Icons of Whisky Awards'

The full list of Icons of Whisky are:
• DISTILLER OF THE YEAR: Kittling Ridge Estates
• HIGHLY COMMENDED: Diageo

• VISITOR ATTRACTION OF THE YEAR: Canadian Club Visitor Center
• HIGHLY COMMENDED: Glenora Distillery, Cape Breton

• INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR: Diageo
• HIGHLY COMMENDED: Glenora Distillery, Cape Breton

• AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR: John Hall, Kittling Ridge
• HIGHLY COMMENDED: Dan Tullio, Beam Global

• RETAILER OF THE YEAR (MULTIPLE): LCBO
• HIGHLY COMMENDED: Alcool

• RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR: Via Allegro Ristorante, Toronto

• WHISKY BAR OF THE YEAR: The Whisky Café, Montreal
• HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Lunar Rogue Pub, Fredericton

This awards event was the lead up to Whisky Live, which kicks off on Saturday October 20th, 2007 at the Constitution Hall of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, from 2pm to 9pm.

And don't worry. Thinking about what Greta Garbo would drink created a little discussion with Ian Millar, the Global Brand Ambassador for The Glenfiddich, here for Master Class tastings at Whisky Live. We were going through a decontructed tasting of several malts that make up the Glenfiddich Solera Reserve 15 Year Old. I think the combination of American Bourbon, Spanish Sherry and new oak would have appealed to Greta very much. Somehow, the discussion of men came up and Ian's response was "The rich one's ain't sweet and the sweet ones ain't rich but you can consistently get rich and sweet from this 15 Year Old malt." So maybe that's what Greta was aiming for when she said don't be stingy.... There'll be a lot of whisky to go around, from almost every whisky producing country, so the word stingy won't even enter into this event. Ticket prices vary, from $40 to $95 for the all day VIP package. Sweet.

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