Helping others with a Drams for Fams whisky fundraiser…harnessing the camaraderie of whisky to help the local community fight hunger.
Bigger than us
Whisky tastings are fun, I’ll admit. Good friends, good whisky, good times. And sometimes whisky tastings can be harnessed for the greater good. Back in 2016, the Edmonton Scotch Club (in Edmonton, Alberta) hosted a whisky tasting to raise funds for their local food bank, then challenged other whisky clubs to do the same…a Drams for Fams whisky fundraiser, as it were. Now there are 12 locations across North America hosting tasting events raising money for their local communities, and over $50,000 has been raised so far.
Here in Boston, the North Shore Whisky Club recently hosted their second annual Drams for Fams whisky fundraiser to benefit the Greater Boston Food Bank. Their goal is to continue having the event each year, and to exceed the previous year’s donation (and I believe they did this year!). Laura Kanzler of Hotaling & Company presented a spirited class (see what I did there? I crack myself up) about the history of whisky in Japan and whiskey production in Taiwan while featuring a wonderful lineup of Nikka Japanese whisky (and a gin) and Kavalan Taiwanese whisky. Not only that, I paired Dark Chocolate Whiskey Fudge with the Kavalan Distillery Select to serve as dessert for the evening, and everyone was pleased. Good times.
Drams for Fams Whisky Tasting featuring Nikka & Kavalan
Hosted by the North Shore Whisky Club, presented by Laura Kanzler, May 17, 2019
Nikka Coffey Gin
Tasting Notes
- Nose: green bushes, juniper, Meyer lemon
- Taste: Meyer lemon, juniper, black pepper, eucalyptus, oily mouth feel
- Finish: ends in black pepper and light eucalyptus
- Comments: the juniper is secondary to the lemon and eucalyptus
Nikka Coffey Grain
Tasting Notes
- Nose: vanilla, toffee, oatmeal
- Taste: soft entry, toffee, then brown sugar and white pepper rise
- Finish: white pepper with some light menthol
- Comments: vanilla and brown sugar oatmeal in a glass, drinkable and pleasant
Nikka from the Barrel
Tasting Notes
- Nose: butterscotch and caramel sauce, cedar, cinnamon stick, brown sugar candy
- Taste: medium body, toffee, basil, light smoke, baking spices and white pepper
- Finish: long finish with baking spices and white pepper
- Comments: approachable with a higher hit, sherry adds so many flavors underneath
Nikka Miyagikyo
Tasting Notes
- Nose: floral and fruity, roses
- Taste: plums, pears with cinnamon, oak, thyme, caramel, thick and oily, creamy body
- Finish: lingers on cloves and thyme, sweet honey syrup
- Comments: lots of flavor from the plums and cinnamon
Nikka Yoichi
Tasting Notes
- Nose: green herbs, hay, honey
- Taste: hay, honey, caramel, white pepper, ash, medium body
- Finish: smoke slowly enters and lingers long with menthol and light honey
- Comments: soft smoke slowly enters after initial honey...very sneaky...just knocks on the door after all the clean flavors are at the party
Kavalan Distillery Select
Tasting Notes
- Nose: chocolate, black coffee, charred oak, hint of vanilla
- Taste: chocolate, smoke, leather, slightly buttery, black pepper
- Finish: finish long and dry, leather, tobacco, hint of sea salt
- Comments: dark flavors complement each other, the slight tanginess adds complexity; good choice for fudge
Kavalan Concertmaster
Tasting Notes
- Nose: coffee, caramel
- Taste: plums, toffee, cloves
- Finish: coffee and baking spices
- Comments: like a cinnamon caramel spiked coffee
Kavalan King Car Conductor
Tasting Notes
- Nose: deep fruit, brown sugar syrup
- Taste: honey, then sharp baking spices, higher hit of white pepper
- Finish: baking spices linger with prunes stewed in brown sugar
- Comments: bourbon influence is strong in this one, more like sherried bourbon
Kavalan Ex-Bourbon Oak
Tasting Notes
- Nose: hay, stone fruit
- Taste: honey, apricot, pears, mango, cinnamon
- Finish: strong fruit finish with cinnamon and cloves
- Comments: a jam filled cinnamon roll in a glass
Kavalan Sherry Oak
Tasting Notes
- Nose: deeply cooked fruit, creamy oak wood, raisins
- Taste: rum, raisins, gingerbread
- Finish: finishes with coffee and rum raisins
- Comments: rum fruitcake, deeply flavored
Kavalan Vinho Barrique Cask Strength
Tasting Notes
- Nose: molasses, raisins, dark rum
- Taste: strong entry, raisins, tannic, gingerbread, medium body
- Finish: raisins, dry and astringent, ginger and cinnamon lingers long and rich
- Comments: deep and rich; an after-drink drink...excellent way to end of the night
Being able to share good whisky with good friends is wonderful, and helping to fight hunger in the community is even better. If you’d like more information about a Drams for Fams whisky fundraiser, head to their website. Better yet, seek out these events in your neighborhood (they’re usually held in April or May), or encourage your local whisky club to join the movement. Let’s harness the power of whisky camaraderie for the greater good!
Slainté! L’chaim! Cheers!
Tammy