Sun Peaks Liquid Gold Beer and Wine Festival: Whiskey school’d [Review]

Sandy and Paul enjoy the Liquid Gold Beer & Whiskey Festival Sun Peaks Resort at a surprise whiskey tasting with the famous Jim Murray.

The whiskey seminar at the Liquid Gold Beer and Whiskey Festival saw 30 enthusiasts shuttled to McGillivray Lake Outpost Cabin where, much to everyone’s surprise, world renowned author and whiskey guru Jim Murray was on site for the event.
Murray’s Whiskey Bible has sold over 250,000 copies globally and he’s considered by most whiskey drinkers to be the world’s preeminent sources of all things whiskey; he judges the amber nectar only on its quality and never for a price.
With a trademarked name, Murray’s response if you or the distillery is dissatisfied with his judging: “too bloody bad.”
So, what do you do when you’re at a remote cabin with the world’s most outgoing whiskey writer? You sit, listen and taste. With 16 whiskeys numbered in front of the group for this blind tasting, one could sense a long evening ahead. After Murray educated the crowd on the nuances of how to nose and taste the spirits, the test had begun. The first was paired against the second, the third against the fourth and so on until a winner was determined.
Murray led us down a path of whiskey enlightenment with the humour of Monty Python and a knowledge only someone that sleeps with whiskey would have. Single malts were pitted against bourbons, ryes and blends and the only judge was your nose and palette.
“I’ve given around 30 tastings a year for over 20 years and I’ve never done one in a real log cabin out in the woods,” quipped Murray with a smile.
One by one some the best whiskeys available fell by the wayside until there were only two left standing. After throwing out such stalwarts as Glenmorangie 10-year old and Laphroaig Quarter Cask, one could only imagine the historic lineage of the final two.
After one final nose and swish the winner was declared much to the amazement of those attending. While the runner up was a single malt from the Ardbeg Distillery founded in 1815, the winner was much closer to home than anyone expected; it was none other than Alberta Premium Rye.
That’s right, $25 at the Heffley Store will get you one of the best whiskeys out there. Murray rated it 95.5 out of 100 while his World Whiskey of the Year, an Old Pulteney 21-year scored only 2 points better.
When posed with the conundrum of the winner’s standing Murray was quick to point out that whiskey is not scotch alone.
“The biggest misconception of whiskey is that everyone thinks it’s scotch whiskey or nothing, and tonight proved it’s all about quality. It makes no difference where it comes from, it’s about how well it’s made and how it’s matured,” said Murray. “The whole point is to get people to actually look at whiskey like they never have before, without anything in front of them to distract them but what’s in the glass, and suddenly they realize ‘bloody hell’ our Canadian Whiskey is some of the best in the world.”
For more on Jim Murray and his Whiskey Bible 2012 visit www.whiskeybible.com