I Can Has New Liver? – A Drink Writer’s Diary

As a co-publisher and resident boozehound at Taste T.O.,  I go out a lot. Media events, dinners, tastings and more make for a full calendar, especially since I also have a day job that I need to fit all of this stuff around. And while I certainly can't complain about the fantastic food and drink that I'm lucky enough to enjoy on a regular basis, the schedule can be tiring.

The past couple of weeks have been especially hectic, and especially boozy as well. So much so that I thought a diary-style post to round up the details might be a good idea, if only to remind myself of the damage I've done to my liver, my brain, and my expanding waistline...

Saturday, October 17th

Our first stop of the day involved a drink that was non-alcoholic, but which was also one of the most unique things I've ingested recently: wild civet coffee from the Doi Chaang region of Thailand. This (in)famous and much coveted coffee is made from beans that have been eaten and partially digested by civets, weasel-like mammals that live in the forests and jungles of Southeast Asia. Toronto's Merchants of Green Coffee are working directly with the Akha tribe in Thailand to import both regular Doi Chaang coffee and the much rarer civet-poop version, as well as a more recently discovered version using beans that are regurgitated by the civets rather than passed right through. Yes, the options are shit or spit. And since Sheryl is working on a full article about the coffee and the story behind it, I’ll just say that it was interesting and leave it at that.

A bit later, we swung by C’est What where the folks from CASK!, a group of local appreciators of cask ale, were holding their second CASK! Social. C’est What had their usual fine selection of five casks available, along with a special addition from Mike Duggan of the soon-to-open Duggan’s Brewery, who provided a debut cask of his Number 8 Porter. As you’d expect from the guy who created Mill Street Coffee Porter, it was excellent – dark and rich with delicious notes of cocoa, toffee and roasted malt.

That evening, we headed out to Caplansky’s Deli where Corey Mintz had invited friends and associates to join him to celebrate the launch of his new Toronto Star column, Fed by Corey Mintz. While it sounds kind of cornball to say so, we’re really proud of Corey and his rapid ascent from rookie writer here on Taste T.O. to restaurant critic and now columnist for the Star in just a couple of years. So we were glad to be able to celebrate his success with him, and being able to do so with Caplansky’s delicious smoked meat sandwiches and pints of Duggan’s Number 9 IPA and Amsterdam Oktoberfest made it even better.

Monday, October 19th

The selection of – and appreciation for – American craft beer in Ontario has been improving over the last couple of years. To spur that growth even more, the Brewers Association, which represents over 1000 small and medium U.S. breweries, held a trade and media dinner at beerbistro to promote beers from a half-dozen breweries including Rogue, Jolly Pumpkin, Dogfish Head, Victory, Sam Adams and Lakefront. It goes without saying that chef Brian Morin and his team in the kitchen, the food and pairings were excellent, with highlights including a mini burger with foie gras paired with the fresh and hoppy Victory Prima Pils, and an outstanding cheese trio matched with the tart and woody Jolly Pumpkin La Roja.

Tuesday, October 20th

It was a day of whisky for me, starting with a media tasting at Barchef for the launch of The Black Grouse, an off-shoot of the popular Scotch whisky The Famous Grouse that blends the original (itself a blend of The Macallan and Highland Park) with selected Islay single malts. The result is a darker, smokier whisky that has a surprising complexity and depth of flavour for such a reasonably priced blend.

In the evening, it was over to Mildred’s Temple Kitchen where the LCBO was celebrating Canadian whisky with an Iron Chef-style competition between chefs Tyler Cunningham of Mildred’s and Frank Romano from Far Niente. Each chef prepared four dishes – soup, fish, pork and dessert – made and paired with four Canadian whiskies – Canadian Club, Crown Royal, Forty Creek and Wiser’s. The always animated Kevin Brauch acted as MC for the event, which was broadcast live on the LCBO website, and a judging panel including chef Lynn Crawford, CityTV’s Frank Ferragine, Michelle Hunt of Martini Club, and singer/whisky aficionado Matt Dusk voted Cunningham the winner in the competition. It must’ve been a tough choice, as there really wasn’t a bad dish in the bunch, although Cunningham’s pork shin braised in Forty Creek and apple cider was my personal top plate of the night.

Wednesday, October 21st

We’ve never been shy about our love for Harvest Wednesdays at the Gladstone Hotel, and we’re always sad to see them come to an end for another year, but at least chef Marc Breton and the Gladstone gang always wrap up the series in fine style with a generous harvest feast. This year the communal tables were heaving with platters of grilled speckled trout; eggplant, fennel and yellow pepper salad; gnocchi in garlic cream sauce; glazed carrots and brown butter broccoli; roast turkey with mushroom stuffing; and freshly baked pumpkin pie; all made with as many fresh and local ingredients as possible. A selection of VQA wines was available in flights or solo, but I opted for the always welcome and very food-friendly Hockley Valley Dark Ale.

Friday, October 23rd

Back to the hard stuff at Whisky Live, an annual sipping and sampling event at the Convention Centre that features a plethora of whisk(e)ys from Scotland, Ireland, Canada and the US, along with a few other top class beverages. This already lengthy article would be twice as long if I listed everything I tasted, but some highlights included Bulleit Bourbon, a terrific sipper with nice notes of spice and honey; Danfield’s 21 Year Old Canadian Whisky, supple and smooth with mellow fruit, toffee and nutty wood hints; and Laphroaig Quarter Cask, a delicious monster of smoke and peat that I smartly saved for my last tasting of the night. Also enjoyable was a blind tasting of Glenfiddich 12, 15 and 18 led by brand ambassador Ian Millar, and as someone who used to drink JD & Coke like water in my younger years, I couldn't resist a sample of the more grown-up and refined Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select. And when I needed a break from the whisky, Innis & Gunn and Mill Street were both on hand to offer another form of barley-based refreshment.

Saturday, October 24th

A road trip with a few of my regular beer tasting buddies took us out Waterloo way to visit a friend who relocated there last year. Along the way we stopped by Grand River Brewery in Cambridge for a tour and tasting led by brewmaster Rob Creighton, followed by lunch at the nearby Golden Kiwi, a place that somehow manages to successfully combine a tiki bar atmosphere with a great selection of local and imported beer and much better than average pub grub. In Waterloo, we checked out the Huether Hotel, a large and maze-like place that includes a café, a sports bar, a pool hall and games room, and a restaurant that’s been serving house-brewed beer for over 20 years. While none of the beers are outstanding, they’re all fine in that mainstream brewpub sort of way, not to mention remarkably cheap at under 4 bucks a pint.

Monday, October 26th

This was going to be a night off, but when I got word from the local Innis & Gunn rep that a seat had opened up at a Charlie’s Burgers dinner featuring their beers paired with food by chefs Jonathan Gushue and Victor DeGuzman from Langdon Hall, I had no problem changing my plans. Innis & Gunn founder Dougal Sharp flew in from Scotland for the dinner and it was a wise decision on his part as the menu was top notch in every regard. We were welcomed with glasses on Innis & Gunn Blonde and passed canapés including smoked salmon and Hudson Bay caviar on oat cakes, and haggis cromesqui with I&G beer mustard. A sinfully delicious six course dinner followed, with delicacies like poached oysters in masala sauce paired with I&G IPA; lobster in Langdon Hall butter with pig cheek & foie gras torchon accompanied by I&G Original; elk tenderloin with smoked tongue, parsnip and collard greens matched with I&G Rum Cask; and for the beer geeks, the not yet available in Canada I&G Highland Cask alongside a rich date and toffee cream cake for dessert. In a word: outstanding.

Friday, October 30th

This evening featured a rare excursion down to the Distillery District, where I started with a quick stop by the Mill Street Brewpub to have a taste of their Nightmare on Mill Street Pumpkin Ale before it was done for the season. It was quite a good pint, a well balanced nutty ale with some pumpkiny sweetness and a good hit of spice. It wasn’t quite the “pumpkin pie in a glass” that some pumpkin ales are, but still enjoyable.

This primed me for the main event: the Rum & Rhythm Festival in the Fermenting Cellar. Presented by the Caribbean Tourism Organization, this third annual event featured just what the name suggests: a selection of rums and live music from various Caribbean nations, as well as food samples and travel information booths. The festival was a bit smaller than last year’s edition, but still had a decent assortment of rum to sample both in cocktail and straight up form. The piña coladas made with Mount Gay rum from Barbados were a treat, and El Dorado from Guyana was nice to sip on its own, although that’s an option that we wouldn’t recommend for Sunset, an 84.5% rum from St. Vincent and The Grenadines that burned even when diluted with lots of fruit punch. As for the food, our favourites were the chimichurri beef with beans and rice from chef Pedro Quintanilla of Focaccia Restaurant, and the succulent goat curry prepared by chef Darryl Alexis.

Saturday, October 31st

Cask Days at Volo is always one of the best beer events of the year, and this year I decided to splurge on one of the 25 “Brewers Breakfast” tickets which included 10 AM admission on Saturday (although the beer didn’t start flowing until 11 as per AGCP regulations), a great buffet breakfast, and a smaller crowd until noon when normal ticket holders were let in. There were over 40 different cask beers available, and thanks to the option of getting 1/4 pints, I was able to sample close to half of them and enjoyed most. The overall level of quality was so high, in fact, that rather than picking favourites, I’ll just list a few that had names I especially liked, such as Stratford Brewing The Empire Strikes Black, Hockley Valley Peanut Butter & Jam Ale, Flying Monkeys Netherworld India Pale Porter, Beau’s Night Märzen, and Cameron’s Jack & Coke Ale. My kudos go out to the many Ontario brewers who really stepped up this year and managed to balance experimentation with quality.

And finally, a good part of my Hallowe’en evening was spent at The Monks Table where Sheryl, myself and a few other media and trade folks were invited for dinner by Bruce Ashley Group, the importers of Wychwood Hobgoblin English Ale. While it’s not a beer that I reach for often, Hobgoblin is still a pleasant ale, with notes of sweet fruit and caramel that went nicely with the pork tenderloin I had for dinner. And for dessert I choose an even better pairing for myself: sticky toffee pudding with Fuller’s London Porter.

Sunday, November 1st

Detox starts. Wish me luck!