Tuesday, April 8, 2014

#C2CC twitter tastings are truly a Canadian experience

From the moment I opened my twitter account and started adding whisky people, I noticed there was something happening, mostly in the UK, called Twitter Tastings. I immediately started applying to be included, but alas I had the wrong postal code :(

So, in my usual well if I can't join them I'll do them myself style, that's exactly what I did.  I started contacting people across Canada (we drink lots of whisky too) and created a network of whisky imbibers from coast to coast. I dare say (with a bit of panache) that "we" cover 7,723km geographically so I'll start a rumor that we are the "largest" of the twitter tastings, hehehe....  Hence was born the hashtag #C2CC - Coast 2 Coast Canada.

I try to make our twitter tastings somewhat unique, something that will set us apart from the others and again, I'd like to think that we do that. We don't take ourselves too seriously most of the time and end up having quite a few good laughs, not to mention get to try some interesting drams.  So for our latest twitter tasting I put out a call for a competition and the goal was to crown "national" champions.  

Rules:

1. Teams of 2 or more to be submitted
2. Blind sample sent to each team member
3. Based on 10 questions (worth 100 points) guess what the whisky is.
4. Submit 1 team answer
5. Take part in the twitter conversation & reveal

Prize:  The pride of being called the Canadian National #C2CC Competition Champions for 2014, a couple of cheesy little trophies & a whisky bottle to share with the winning team.

I had 16 teams, a total of 42 people submit their information from the Yukon all the way to Nova Scotia. 

It was a huge undertaking but in the end as always, so very gratifying because people got to interact, imbibe, discuss & decide collaboratively what they thought they were nosing/tasting.  

The winners were a team of two from our country's capital of Ottawa:  Dan Davies & Emmett Hossack - Team Dram-atic Irony.  They were crowned national champions for 2014 and the province of Ontario gets to gloat for the next year that they have two of the best whisky noses/palates in Canada. WELL DONE!
Then in true Canadian style (we are all sooooooo wonderful over here, well except for Rob Ford - we apologize for that), I was contacted by the team and they did something great. They donated their "prize". The bottle I had chosen to test everyone was the Glenfiddich Distillery Edition 15 year old. So, to honour the fact that they almost scored 100% (they guessed the Solera) they requested that I ensure the prize (valued up to $100) would be donated to the Wounded Warriors Canada chapter. 

The organisations's motto is "Honour the fallen, help the living". One of the reasons we Canadians are so proud of being who we are is because of our kindness to each other. We are "good" people. :)

Unfortunately, many Canadian soldiers come back from their tour of duty alive but "broken" and in many cases are discharged from the military because they can no longer do their "job". I cannot imagine what some of these very brave people & their families must go through during and after the effects of war, military exercises or whatever else their tour of duty involves. I am thankful for organisations such as Wounded Warriors, they make a difference in many people's lives. I am also thankful that Glenfiddich is in partnership with this group and donates $2.00 for every bottle of Solera sold across Canada to Wounded Warriors. As of November of 2013, they had raised almost $150,000. 

Canadians... we are known for being unique & so kind, however I am always in awe & so thankful when I discover just how kind we can be.

I want to personally thank Dan & Emmett for donating their prize to this wonderful cause. I hope it reminds us all yet again how lovely each and every fiber of our #whiskyfabric can be. If you want to donate to the cause, please click here:


My hat is tipped to two fine gentlemen.  Thank you for making our #C2CC inaugural national competition even more memorable.  


Deepest respect and #whiskyfabric love, all the way from Saint John, New Brunswick

Johanne


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