Whisky for Love!

I have done a great deal in my lifetime for love of family and Shalom Bayit. Some of it has been shared publicly (in this space, in fact) and some of it is better left to the imagination.  But, never in my wildest dreams, could I have imagined that in the interest of a happy household, I would be working at a whisky trade show as an non-paid shill!  And yet, that is exactly how I will be spending my Kabbalat Shabbat this evening.  

I have shared with you all on many occasions of The Husband's and Twin Son's venture into the strange and cultish world that is the whisky industry.  While policy wonks in various governmental and regulatory bureaucracies have attempted to stall their progress, the two tenacious lads (very Scottish, no?) are still plugging away with their life's mission to bring untasted and better tasting whisky and spirits to the unsophisticated North American palates that are pretty much sated with rotgut!! As we enter into year 4 of this business, the guys have taken their passion to the next level with the launch of their online store. www.whiskyworks.ca. Please visit and shop until you drop. The holidays are coming and there might be an aficionado on your list that might be served well.  Mama has a need to eat and my children's education is still not fully paid!! If you are interested in the other end of their business, check them out at www.premiumbottlers.com.

As part of their ongoing attempts to educate the whisky-drinking public, the guys will be prominently featured at the Whisky Live show this evening in heart of downtown TO.  Since they are a start-up bootlegging (oops, sorry for the slip)-I mean-legitimate whisky importing operation, they don't have any money to hire shleppers and grunts to help them out with the heavy work.  As such, they have co-opted family members on many occasions to package, bottle, label and shlep.  Both of the progeny have done time in the warehouse, (literally and figuratively!) as have the offspring of Twin Son and his Better Half. But, it is at the trade shows, where the spouses are put out front as if we were hot babes at a car show! (OK! Maybe we aren't in the same league as the long and lascivious, but we don't don't embarrass the cause either.) I am so far out of my league at this events, it is beyond the comical. As a true teetotaler who is far more schooled in the differences between Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi, I find myself answering questions about the "nose" and "finish" of particular drams.  I sound a bit like Sarah Palin answering questions on the role of the Vice President!! Bullshit is a kind word for the crap that I have slung.  The Better Half is far more suited for this role of shill then am I.  She can speak with authority on everything from the variances of the highland or lowland distilleries, to the floral qualities versus the fruity qualities. (This is in reference to the Scotch and not the attendees of the shows who, in my humble and totally biased opinion, can on occasion tend to border on the pretentious.  Either that, or they are total boors who guzzle everything in sight!) It is a lovely break in our sentences-I mean time at the show-when a true whisky lover approaches and speaks with understanding and authority on the subject. It is at that point that the guys take over the conversation, but as I stated earlier, this is a family business and I need to do all that I can to aid in the cause. So, I am heading down later this afternoon to act as a combination waitress/hostess/cash girl. (I can only hope!) If any of you in the GTA find yourselves with nothing to do this evening and would like to spend your Shabbas tanked, head on down to the convention centre.  If you cannot or are outside of safe travelling distance,  please check out the aforementioned websites. Tell your high-spirited friends and family! (pun absolutely intended!) In a bad economy, what better place to spend your dwindling assets then on booze!!  And they tell me, that this is the GOOD STUFF!!!