Discover how whiskey awards are decided and who judges them. Alex Hamer joins us to pull back the curtain on the industry.

Join hosts Joel, Kevin, and Bobby for a candid industry discussion about the spirits world. We explore the specific criteria used in whisky judging, from scale and entry numbers to the hierarchy of medals versus awards. This is a must-watch for anyone curious about what goes on behind the scenes of major competitions.

The conversation also compares the evaluation methods for beer and whiskey, the path to becoming a professional judge, and how the category is growing. We get into the details of media awards and the challenges of evaluating spirits at a professional level. Alex Hamer shares his perspective on these vital topics.

Subscribe for weekly whiskey industry insights, and let us know in the comments if you have a favorite spirit you want us to cover next.

Alex Hamer
www.instagram.com/cdnwhiskyawards/
www.facebook.com/whiskyawards/
www.linkedin.com/company/canadian-whisky-awards
www.reddit.com/user/canadawhiskyawards/

https://spiritforus.ca | Kevin Donde | @spiritforus
Bobby Laevens | @dramsanddrips
Joel Baachus | @scratchnscotch

00:00:00 - Let's Talk Awards
00:08:04 - Favourite Whisky 2002
00:00:32 - Transitioning
00:16:51 - Growing the Whisky Category
00:20:02 - Category Rabbit Holes
00:21:16 - Number of Entries. Scale.
00:23:31 - Canada Corner
00:28:13 - History
00:37:38 - How exactly are the Whiskies selected?
00:43:12 - Number of Judges
00:44:06 - Hierarchy of Awards
00:45:25 - Medals vs Awards
00:54:02 - Refresh our glasses
00:58:07 - Judging in Beer vs Whisky
01:06:08 - Very Easy to Critique
01:09:15 - Bobby needs some Gin
01:12:01 - Waves in Whisky
01:14:40 - How does someone become a judge?
01:19:38 - Answer one leave one
01:21:49 - Media Awards
01:26:07 - Leave a question
01:28:54 - Where can we find you?

Join us at the Gretzky Rick House as we taste a rare eight-year-old toasted rye whiskey. See how this 100% brusetto rye stands up.

We are hanging out with Mark and Jason to break down the profile of this unique release. This toasted rye whiskey spent time in used bourbon barrels before undergoing a final finishing process. We examine the nose, palate, and finish to determine if this expression from the Gretzky Estates whiskey lineup lives up to the hype surrounding older Canadian rye offerings.

Whether you are a fan of 100% rye whiskey or just curious about what the team at the Rick House is bottling, this whiskey tasting review provides a detailed look at the spirit. We discuss the impact of the wood influence and how the aging process contributes to the overall character of the glass.

Subscribe for weekly whiskey reviews and deep dives into Canadian spirits. Let us know in the comments if you have tried any toasted rye whiskey expressions lately.

@gretzkyestates | waynegretzkyestates.com 
@spiritforus | spiritforus.com
@scratchnscotch
@dramsanddrips

We're happy to have Matthew Carroll from Carroll's Distillery join us to discuss all things rum. Matthew, a skilled distiller from New Brunswick, shares his insights into the world of Rum and Rhum Agricole. This episode explores the nuances of rum and even touches on the idea of a fun cocktail.

https://carrollsdistillery.wpcomstaging.com
https://www.facebook.com/Carrolls.Distillery
@carrolls_distillery | [email protected]
@spiritforus | https://spiritforus.ca
@dramsanddrips
@scratchnscotch
@southernontariosippers  

00:00:00 - Start
00:00:51 - Carrolls Distillery Intro
00:05:18 - FIrst Pour : Gannet
00:10:28 - Opportunity to educate
00:13:36 - Side story
00:14:50 - Yeasts & micro-climate
00:17:51 - Rum & rules
00:21:22 - Terroir or Merroir
00:23:06 - Second Pour Cormorant
00:25:22 - Coloured
00:29:09 - Getting barrels
00:35:42 - Cormorant Tasting Notes
00:40:08 - Bird Series
00:51:09 - RHE High Ester Rum
01:08:48 - Advice for young Mathieu
01:10:38 - Rum vs Rhum

We have a lot going on in this one. In Canada Corner, we talk about mushroom whisky and Bearface's Elementally Aged. The Canadian Whisky Awards and Wisky Wonderland have also come and gone and Kevin and Joel chat Australia and Portugal.

https://www.bearfacewhisky.com/ | @bearfacewhisky
https://spiritforus.ca | Kevin Donde | @spiritforus
Bobby Laevens | @dramsanddrips
Joel Baachus | @scratchnscotch

00:00:00 - Here we go!
00:01:22 - Mushroom Whisky
00:02:43 - Elementally Aged
00:10:32 - Pricing in Australia
00:15:51 - Crazy cocktail
00:20:50 - Vermuth from the Barrell
00:23:19 - Fun stuff from Don
00:25:56 - Ballad of Michael Scorn
00:28:15 - Hip Hop Scotch
00:33:22 - Canadian Whisky Awards
00:33:55 - Last straw awards - whiskies
00:34:52 - Spirit For Us Whisky awards
00:37:49 - Best vs Gold
00:41:58 - Award Surprises
00:46:18 - Best in Category
00:54:17 - Baldurs call out
00:55:49 - Coming up
01:00:11 - Spirit in Niagara Release
01:03:28 - Dillons Rye
01:08:03 - Rum
01:13:00 - Coming up
01:22:21 - Whisky Wonderland

On this very special St. Patricks day episode we hang out with Cooper Sleeman and talk everything Spring Mill distillery, John Sleeman & Sons whisky and the 200 year legacy and all the stories that come with that. We were also the first to try the new Single Cask Aeneas Coffey Whisky released for St Patricks day. 

https://johnsleemanandsons.com/ | @wardbar1836 | @johnsleemanandsons
https://spiritforus.ca | Kevin Donde | @spiritforus
Bobby Laevens | @dramsanddrips
Joel Baachus | @scratchnscotch

Just a short one for today. We are on a bit of a hiatus until our one, but we felt we had to address our recent success at the Canadian Whisky Awards. 

00:00 - Start
00:09 - How do we do this again?
00:23 - Spirit For Us Awards
00:57 - Best Podcast Award
02:19 - UP Album Features
03:21 - Cheque's in the mail
03:49 - Amber Whisky
05:13 - Thanks all round
06:00 - New name?

Unpoured Perspectives : Your mind on whisky!
We find out more about the newly redesigned Taste Experience: The London Food and Drink Experience from Stephen Rich. A fresh new chapter celebrating the incredible flavours of Canada with a 250 ft bar, aiming to have 1000 beverage/alcohol products and many other attractions. Even if you can't attend the show directly, we had a wonderful conversation, finding out about the goals and design of the show. I'm looking forward to January 9th & 10th 2026.

‪@definitionale | https://definitionale.com/
@scotchponder | https://www.scotchandponder.com/
@tastewfd | https://www.tastewfd.com/
 @spiritforus | https://spiritforus.ca/
 @southernontariosippers  
@scratchnscotch

00:00:00 - Start
00:00:30 - Intro
00:01:02 - London Food & Wine rebranded
00:01:28 - Show guest experience
00:04:42 - Growth
00:06:11 - Spirits & Cocktails guest experience
00:10:20 - What's on the table?
00:13:15 - Gotta get the experts
00:16:40 - Shift in philosophy
00:22:11 - North West Territories beer
00:23:40 - Bar geography
00:28:37 - What else will be there?
00:31:44 - The Stage
00:33:24 - What about future years?
00:37:39 - Keepsake
00:40:01 - Make up of the bar
00:42:16 - Exciting samples
00:43:11 - Tormore Remembered
00:43:43 - Curators
00:44:53 - It's worth it!
00:47:03 - Pushback at first.
00:47:59 - Answer one leave one
00:58:09 - Outro

Your mind on whisky!
The guys do a ‘state of the union’ type podcast where we explore past, future and present endeavours from both Spirit for Us, Southern Ontario Sippers and Unpoured Perspectives. Kevin gets hyped up for the evolving London social scene, Joel gets nostalgic and Bobby fends off a whisky thief-live!

 @shortpours
@logans_libations
@scotchponder | https://www.scotchandponder.com/
 @MsLaurynHill  

Dram Mor | https://drammorgroup.com/
El Tequileno | https://www.tequileno.com/
London Taste Experience | https://www.tastewfd.com/
Gretzky Estates | https://shop.waynegretzkyestates.com/wayne-gretzky-craftmanship-series-ginger-beer-rye
Bridgeland | https://bridgelanddistillery.com/
Denver and Liely | https://us.denverandliely.com/products/whisky-glass-1
L'Encatada | https://lencantada.fr/en/
Denningers | https://denningers.com/
Supply and Demand | https://www.beerlab.com/
https://singlecasknation.com/ | https://singlecasknation.com/pages/podcast
@LastCallWhiskyPodcastLast | Call Whisky Podcast

00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:30 - What's in our glasses?
00:01:35 - Dram Mor event
00:04:16 - El Tequileno
00:09:34 - What's happening with SFU?
00:16:53 - Next episode
00:20:34 - Revisiting our last episode
00:24:53 - Canada Corner
00:35:03 - Innisfail
00:40:51 - Glenbow Single Blend
00:48:33 - Disclaimer
00:50:55 - L'Encatada
00:56:06 - Next SOS event
00:58:57 - Next podcast
01:03:33 - Joel's address.
01:03:59 - Denver's leave one
01:09:17 - Lauryn Hill
01:13:01 - Last Call Whisky Podcast
01:13:45 - Outro

Your brain on whisky! Unpoured Perspectives was lucky enough to visit Gretzky Estates for the release of their new Ginger Beer Cask Rye. We were lucky enough to get a tour of the facilities from Mark Evangelista (Blending & Maturation Lead), and then, we got to interview Mark and the new head of both Spirits and Wine, Jason Roller. The tour will be part 2, even though we technically did the tour first. And of course for Canada Corner we have the Ginger Beer Cask Rye. There are lots of exciting things planned at Gretzky Estates, including a couple that we got to try on the tour. 

@gretzkyestates | https://waynegretzkyestates.com 
Bobby Laevons | @dramsanddrips
Joel Bacchus | @scratchnscotch
Kevin Donde |  @spiritforus  | https://spiritforus.ca

00:00 - Intro
00:12 - Recooping barrels
03:16 - Blending Room
04:25 - Blending in progress
05:22 - 8 year-old Rye Toasted Barrel
09:04 - 7 year old Barley Virgin Oak
13:31 - Outro

Your brain on whisky! Unpoured Perspectives was lucky enough to visit Gretzky Estates for the release of their new Ginger Beer Cask Rye. We were lucky enough to get a tour of the facilities from Mark Evangelista (Blending & Maturation Lead), and then, we got to interview Mark and the new head of both Spirits and Wine, Jason Roller. The tour will be part 2, even though we technically did the tour first. And of course for Canada Corner we have the Ginger Beer Cask Rye. There are lots of exciting things planned at Gretzky Estates, including a couple that we got to try on the tour.

@gretzkyestates | https://waynegretzkyestates.com |
Bobby Laevons | @dramsanddrips
Joel Bacchus | @scratchnscotch
Kevin Donde |  @spiritforus | https://spiritforus.ca

00:00 - Your mind on whisky
00:27 - What are we drinking
00:49 - How have things changed for you?
01:34 - Sweet/Fire water
02:20 - Easter Eggs
03:06 - Good whisky?
03:47 - Signature/Craftsmanship series continuation
04:27 - Canada Corner
06:15 - From wine to whisky
08:13 - Favourite child?
10:07 - What are you drinking at home?
11:32 - Ian Buxton quote
14:09 - Craft or Commercial?
16:37 - Recipe
17:51 - One question each?
21:04 - Favourite Beverage
22:04 - Beer Program?
22:49 - Answer one, leave one
28:04 - Where can we find you?