There's a place.... Way the heck out somewhere past Victoria Park subway station, towards the area known as "The Beaches." The address is 962 Kingston Road. The neighborhood seems an unlikely place to find a secret as sophisticated as this -- a pub with 430 single malts!
The interior certainly harkens to the classic sense of a pub of the Isles. Dark wood. Cosy tables. There are pictures on the walls, many featuring the owner of the establishment, taken at various distilleries. The menu is typical fare - I had the fish'n'chips (which I practically lived on the semester I spent in London) and Michael had the prime rib special which came with his first ever serving of Yorkshire Pudding.
We weren't there for the food, though. After the meal, with which we had water, we got down to serious business. The proprietor was kind enough to loan us the pub copy of The Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch to assist us in making our choices. We each ordered four singles to try...
Michael:
Cragganmore Doublewood 1984
Highland Park (sherry cask) Cask Strength 1988*
Macallan (Speymalt) 1978*
Auchentoshan 21 yr Cask Strength*
Jennifer:
Bunnahabhain 10 yr*
Bowmore Dusk*
Edradour Cask Strength 1976*
Mortlach Cask Strength 1980*
*Private import (which means it's pretty hard to get elsewhere)
Barely scraped the surface. Will need to revisit. Definitely.
Posted by Jennifer at October 10, 2004 9:33 PMThe various single malts were well worth the trek out there, and I'm looking forward to going back (and more than once). My favorite scotch from among those I ordered was probably the Auchentoshan 21 yr Cask Strength, but they were all good, as were all of yours.
Posted by: Michael at October 10, 2004 9:47 PMI think I'd have a very difficult time picking a favorite from among the four. They were all so interesting and good. Perhaps the Edradour.
Posted by: Jenn at October 10, 2004 9:57 PMMmm. Sherry cask.
Yummy.
Need to get in more of my house brand, the Glenmorangie aged in sherry...
Posted by: jenn at October 12, 2004 9:09 PM