Petra Milde - Guest blog: The "women only" Sharing Angels Club

NOW!!!! Before you go and send me a bunch of hate mail stating it's reverse sexism... please hear me out because women are treated differently then men are in some whisky circles and that's our reality.... Not yours. It's still common practice for me to go to a whisky event and endure demeaning remarks, assumptions that I'm my husband's designated driver or that I'm nothing more than a wine drinker who is taking a walk on the wild side so will be offered whisky that won't offend or cause me to pass out in hysterics??!

Parity... I'm not even talking equality. We are asking for the right to have parity. The opportunity to attend, gain knowledge and continue our whisky journey without ridicule, abuse or harassment. So how do we do that? How do you build confidence if you feel like you know nothing, or if you find yourself at a bar and the guy behind it can't pronounce Auchentoshan but still denies you the benefit of the doubt that you love whisky and can pick your own damn dram without his unqualified help or opinions!?

I'm a huge proponent of having a women's only space or a women's only group for a few reasons. 

1. You are with a group of your peers.

2. You feel safe and are not judged because of where you are in your whisky journey.

3. By women, for women. I'm sorry but after what I've seen on some of the whisky forums and facebook groups - we need a space that is respectful toward women or where the administrators have the teeth to block the idiots that don't. 

4. Women, especially new whisky imbibers, need a space to explore, speak freely, ask questions without fear to help build their self confidence and knowledge base. You can't get that with old creepy guy wrapping his arm a little too tightly around your shoulders, spitting on you while he mumbles: "If it's not scotch, it's crap!"  Yah... that will make me want to come back to this club and drink more whisky!??

And simply said... The reality is Luddites still exists in our world. 

It's International Women's Day so I thought it might be nice to visit a club in Germany although still in their infancy are quickly growing in size and popularity because... It's a women only club.  

Petra, Margarete, and Julia

What happens when three women meet up for a private tasting on a warm summer evening in 2014? Well, they start to talk about the possibility of starting a tasting club of course!?

That's exactly what happened with Margarete Marie (whisky blogger), Julia Nourney (independent spirits consultant) and Petra Milde (author/whisky blogger) did. They had just experienced a fantastic evening of spirits (whiskies & gins) and all said: "This was so much fun, we should really do it again". They started to share some ideas and expressed how much of a shame it was that too few women they knew were getting to experience the special togetherness and sisterhood the three of them had felt that night. 

And... from necessity the three whisky ladies of invention created The Sharing Angels Club, for women only. The name didn't come right away. That materialized as a result of a discussion on a private Facebook page for women. Julia Nourney posted: "Being a new member I would like to ask the group if someone has a good idea for a short but memorable name for a group of female whisky tasters?" Many people responded but when all three saw The Sharing Angels Club, it was immediate and perfect. They knew they would face questions by people who might disagree about a women's only whisky club but in her own words Petra shares the following: 

Oh yes.... “That’s discrimination!” – We have often heard this cry of reproach since we started our private whisky group, The Sharing Angels.

Some men say it in a humorous way but some are quite serious and mean it in a kind of huffy manner. Well, most of us don’t really care and to be honest we sometimes (often…) enjoy seeing them experience what we women have been used to being subjected to for ages: 

Having to stand outside of the closed circle because of our gender. 

Don't get me wrong as we are not purposely trying to widen the divide between whisky drinking men and women!? Not at all! That is the furthest thing and never the intention of the Sharing Angels. It is truly to the contrary: We love mixed groups in bars and during whisky events because we enjoy sharing good drams with like minded men. 

The reality, however, is indeed often different: Women’s liberation and equality hasn’t really reached the whisky scene yet here in Germany. In my experience women at whisky tastings and events are still a small minority. But I digress because our club never took up women’s liberation as a cause and are far from considering ourselves whisky-suffragettes that want to fight for a female quota at whisky events. Our sole intention and goal is to encourage women to have fun, enjoy their drinks and talk about it without thinking: “HE can analyze and assess whisky much better than I can, I'm only a woman”. Our reply to that is quite: "No Ladies, he can’t do it better than you. He just does it louder and with much more self awareness, so... so what!?" 

That is our purpose and mission at the Sharing Angels group: It's a learning arena for women who might feel unsure or intimidated by the subject of whisky. We love to show them how easy it is to talk about the drink in one’s glass and that there is no right or wrong regarding any of it because in the end it's all about your own taste/experience.

And don't think for two seconds that the women in our club look for a "woman's" whisky. Do you want to know what we consider a woman's whisky?

Ardbeg, Dalwhinnie, Glenfarclas, Glenmorangie, Highland Park, Kavalan, Knob Creek, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Macallan, Mackmyra, Säntis, Talisker, Tomatin or a Yamazaki and so many more! Are you getting what I mean? There is no such thing as a whisky for women. They are for everyone, male or female. It has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with some may or may not like. That's all. 

Our group started as a small contingency of women in Germany, then our Facebook group started to and is constantly growing (close to 200 now) and our Sharing Angels are everywhere! There are women working in the spirits business, some that have been enjoying whisky for ages or many that are just starting to discover the world of spirits. We share news and thoughts, have organized two online tastings, visited a distillery and there are many plans for more group events. 

For those women who are not part of Facebook (and there are some!) we actually built up a website to stay in contact and provide them with information, too. The site is not completed yet but will be soon. Our angels are spread all over Germany and some other countries as well. We make it a point at every whisky event to organize a small gathering to share a dram together in sisterhood and to get to know more whisky women. 

It’s always amazing and you can believe me: The Sharing Angels are becoming well-known and much-noticed in the Germany whisky scene. Our trademark is our lovely whisky button.  If you happen to see someone wearing a blue button it's because we have devised a way to show appreciation for our male friends/fans who support our club. Although we won't let any men join we certainly appreciate their efforts at letting people know they support our group. 

We are so thankful for people like Götz (Julia's husband) for creating our Logo, Frank (my husband) for hand-manufacturing our buttons and supplying us with delicious food during our foundation tasting. And all the importers and brand ambassadors that invited our group to visit and taste their spirits. We truly feel honored and supported in this wonderful time of whisky change."   

Thank you Petra. Her blog can be found at: www.meinwhisky.com

I can tell you things are changing. In my country, there is parity. Women are now close to 40% of the people that attend whisky events. And the days of having "booth bunnies" in high heels behind the tables are a thing of the long lost past. So... while the rest of the world catches up, please remember to not judge anyone, male or female as where they are in their journey. Help them along anyway you can because once, long ago or maybe not that long ago... you were a newbie too.

My newly elected prime minister, Justin Trudeau brought in 15 women into his 30 member cabinet back in November of 2015. 

When a journalist asked why 1/2 were women he simply replied: "Because it's 2015". Here's to all the women and men who support this idea, I and the next generation of whisky women all over the world sincerely thank you for it.

Thanks again to Petra Milde for her contribution. I hope some day to make it to Germany and imbibe with this lovely ladies group!

Cheers,

Lassie

Can you say light bulb!? Virtual tour of Islay whiskies...

This little exercise was something we did in late summer of 2012. Some friends of mine wanted to experience a few Islay whiskies. Graham and I put our heads together and created a virtual tour of the distilleries on Islay. We had a whisky from every distillery and presented them accordingly.  The ladies had a great afternoon, learned a lot about the Islay whiskies and better yet - Got a free Islay vacation :)

Here is the reprint.... Hope it gives a few people some ideas on how to present or host an evening in your home. Cheers!

I haven't been blogging for the last couple of weeks for good reason: I was busy getting everything done at work so that I can leave for a short sailing vacation, helping my youngest daughter get a job in NS, pack and move, having fun trading samples with fellow bloggers/enthusiasts and getting my fall schedule ready for tastings and whisky events I want to attend.

Bad influences - SMYC ladies!

So, a funny thing sort of happened after the four young ladies from Show me your Canada where here. I, for one, drank too much; which doesn't usually happen. I recall finishing a bottle of Compass Box Spice Tree and I think we also drank a lot of Tobermory but I could be wrong because things got a bit fuzzy as the sun went down on our evening boat cruise...  :s 

I do remember Graham driving us home and walking the dogs with my brother in law at 1:00am so that's good. What I seem to remember the most was the reality at 6:30am - getting up for work and being one hurting unit! So after sitting at my desk for almost 2 hours waiting for the Advil and coffee to kick in, I had had it. I went to the Feel Good Store here in Saint John (A GOD SEND) and Anne was there to save me. "I need something for this hangover, please!" I begged. She has a tea that she makes herself called Cold Blaster Tea, rich in vitamins and nutrients to help the immune system. I HIGHLY recommend you have this in your cupboard, not only for colds...  :)

Long story short, Anne had attended my ladies introductory class to whiskies and we talked while she was preparing my tea. She reminded me how much she had enjoyed the Bowmore Darkest 15 and I basically told her there was a whole island of whiskies that were delicious like that. She gasped and lit up like light bulb, which in turn I lit up like a light bulb with my next tasting adventure. 

I made it through the end of that day and by the time I got home that night was feeling much like myself again. I told Graham about my idea and he lit up like a light bulb. The next day I tweeted a few of the other girls I had met at the tasting who had said they liked the peaty ones the best and invited them to my home for a "tabletop" Islay tour. I invited another friend who I had recently introduced to whiskies and she lit up like a light bulb too (I was starting to notice a trend!) Date decided, total we were 6 girls in. I asked Graham if he minded being in the "chair" so that I could sit back and relax a bit.. NO prob! Graham asked me one question: What whiskies do you want them to try? I gave him a list and he did the rest. Now our collection is quite a good one I think and we have at least one bottle from almost every distillery on Islay, except Port Ellen which I can't afford so we knew we were going to have a great night and really introduce these lovely whisky maidens to Islay in proper style! The excitement built over the course of a few weeks and finally, Sunday came. Around 4:00pm, Graham flitted about getting all the whiskies, glasses, and everything else he needed including a HUGE table top map of Islay ready for the arrival of the ladies.

Once arrived and all seated, Graham took us along a lovely whisky trail visiting distillery after distillery on Islay. He went into a bit of detail and also had a few other surprises (including a very nice dram of the Octomore and Kilchoman Sherry Cask). The ladies loved it! We started the evening at 7:00 and it seems to me they left around 10:00pm. 

It was a great night with five wonderful women who love Islays as much as I do. I'm discovering more and more that I'm not the unicorn I thought I was, all alone in this part of the world with only the "boys" to drink with. Most of the time I am ok with but I have to say there's something special about being in a roomful of women who experience whiskies with all their senses. The stories, the whiskies, the friendships and the knowledge we all shared made our table top exercise a rather beautiful and at the same time serene experience for me, although we were noisy and boisterous sometimes laughing like fools, on the inside I was at peace and feeling like I found a space I belonged. To the whisky sisterhood I raise my glass! To the #whiskyfabric, thank you for bringing me the sisterhood, at last  :)  To Graham, thanks for the great tour!

On my bicycle (ring, ring) pedaling down the Islay trail, humming a happy little tune.

Lassie

Funny thing happened on the way to the Compass Box Twitter Tasting

One of the most difficult things about being on twitter sometimes is sitting on the sidelines watching the UK twitter tastings.  I liken it to that kid that would show up at the soccer game and he would just stand on the white line watching.  "Come on!" the other kids yell to him.  But he can't because he's wearing his school uniform and good shoes.  So he just stands, watches and envies that all the other kids get to play.  If you don't follow twitter as often as I do (hourly), Whisky Twitter Tastings happen weekly.  I can spend two hours watching 12-20 people trying the latest whiskies and discussing them at length.  Me and my "good shoes" can't take part because we are in North America.  Sigh...  So you can imagine my surprise and excitement when http://www.thewhiskywire.com/, one of the leaders using social media (since 2011) for whisky tastings, tweeted that they would be hosting a transatlantic twitter tasting for International Women's Day using Compass Box. Not only was it a first for a twitter tasting and for women it was COMPASS BOX!  I quickly responded to be on the list. People may not realize the work that goes into hosting a whisky tasting, even less about a virtual one.  The logistics are mind boggling and I was nervous from the get go as to how they would pull this off.
So here is where it sort of gets silly as my life often does.  The samples were coming from New York and being sent to a personal American mailbox I own in Maine.  As of Tuesday (two days before the tasting) I had yet to receive a message stating they were in.  Thursday, I was really starting to get nervous but thankfully around 2:00pm I got the call.  I literally dashed to my car and drove to my mailbox arriving at 3:15 to find a sign on the door stating they were out for 15 minutes.  I waited.  Their debit machine was down and I had no cash so now I find myself jumping into the car and driving to two different banks before I found one whose banking machines were not down.  By the time that part of my fiasco was over with and I had parcel in hand it was 3:55.  I crossed into Canada, declared my samples which of course lead to going in and paying for duty/taxes, etc..   After a poor confused officer finally understood what I was talking about (thankfully I had the twitter tasting invite on my IPhone) I paid minimal duty/taxes (he was now convinced I wasn't trying to sell my samples in Canada) and I was sent on my way.  It's was now 4:20.  The tasting was due to start at 5:00pm Atlantic Time and I had at least one hour to drive before I was in my own driveway.  Well I thought, I'll drive until I can't drive anymore and then I'll park it to do the tasting if it comes to that.

Strapped in for the drive!

I stopped on the side of the road, unwrapped the three lovely samples   and strapped them into the passenger seat beside me.  If we (me and the samples) were in this together, then by all means they had to be as ready as I was.  Come hell or high water I WAS ATTENDING THIS TASTING!  At 4:45 I was getting close to a small town so I turned off the highway and proceeded to drive through St. George NB (pop 1500).  There is one hotel in that area and I knew it had WIFI so I put the blinker on and parked the car in the furthest part of their parking lot.  I scrambled for pen, paper, something to nose my whiskies from and of course get my phone ready.  All the while, I must admit giggling to myself out loud at the absurdity of my situation.  If this doesn't show dedication to my passion, I don't know what does? 

yes that's a snowbank!

So, with a few minutes to spare I took the lovely bottles and placed them on my dashboard.  Pen in hand I took down the hashtags:  #WhiskyandWomen and #IWD.  And so we began, women from around the world on twitter together, ready to sample and discuss three lovely mystery whiskies from Compass Box, with me in my car on the side of the road in a hotel parking lot.  (It never dawned on my at the time that to anyone else this may sound particularly disturbing or worse illegal but I'll get back to that at the end of my story...)  Where was I?  Oh yes, we were beginning.  Our hosts Steven Rush and Compass Box Lilly welcomed everyone and we immediately began nosing whisky sample #1.

#1 - Nosing:  Very light and floral in nature with a bit of a variety of soft warm spices.  I was transported to a sweet tropical fruit salad:  Coconut, bananas, mangoes, ripe pears and melons.  The spices were there but almost honeyed in nature.  Palate: (I took a very small sip and swished it around) I immediately tasted lovely green grapes, tangy sweetness.  Another small sip and I was getting a lovely creamy lemon curd.  Truly delicious on the palate.  We were asked to guess the ABV, I stated it was about 42%.  I also thought it was so refreshing that a wine finished whisky may have been used as part of the equation.  Well, I was close on the ABV but this is a 100% grain whisky bottling. The big reveal:  HEDONISM.  I was floored!  

Only made once or twice a year, 43% ABV, non-chill filtered and natural color.  100% first fill American Oak Barrels (or rejuvenated American Oak Hogsheads).  Uses older grain whiskies from Cameron Bridge (first to produce grain whisky and is the largest grain whisky producer 30M gallons/year in Scotland), as well as whisky from Carsebridge, Cambus, Dumbarton and Port Dundas.  Hedonism was on my to try and get list for 2013.  It's not available in Canada so I wasn't holding out too much hope that I was going to get to try it.  Quite surprised!  This dram is perfect to start off a lovely evening or to end as a nice sipper.  The light and quite creamy nature of this whisky is one that I can say without a doubt is truly an original.  Well done John Glaser!  So where is this available.  Well if you are lucky enough to be in the UK or Europe:www.thewhiskyexchange.com carries it for £52.75. If you are in the US -> Park Avenue Liquor Store $110.00, Binny's for $99.00 and K&L Wine Merchants $94.99.  If you want a whisky that isn't heavy or peated, this is absolutely lovely and I'm super happy and thankful to have tried it.

Whisky #2:  Such a lovely fragrant nose.  Rum raisin soaked sultanas.  So rich and creamy smelling my mouth watered.  This one has more depth and character right up front.  A bit more aggressive on the nose than #1.  Aromas of dried fruit like figs or dates.  It reminded me of light version of sticky toffee pudding.  On the palate I immediately was hit with vanilla biscuits or sweet sponge cake followed by a bit of tinned pears.  Others could smell/taste a bit of smoke but honestly I was lost in the flavors of fruit and cake.  I found it to be very full bodied and estimated the ABV to be 43-46%.  Reveal:  Great King Street, Artist's Blend.  I was a bit shocked?  I own this bottle and thought I knew it fairly well.  Bottled at 43% ABV, blend of Lowland (46%), Highland (45%) and Speyside (9%) whiskies.  Non chill filtered and natural color.  I love this whisky in a high ball with some soda water but I have on occasion been surprised by Graham and enjoyed it as a mystery dram, just like I did this time.  This is available in Canada (Ontario LCBO's) for $46.95, and again at Whisky Exchange for £23.95, Park Avenue for $40.00, Binny's and K&L for $39.99.  This is a steal and excellent value for money whisky that you should consider having in your collection.

#3 was a no-brainer for me as soon as I removed the cap from the bottle.  It screamed THE PEAT MONSTER and I stated so immediately.  Then Lilly said, ahhh but is it?  I hesitated, hmmm was it?  On the nose:  Beach fire and medicinal.  Very maritime'ish.  I stated it reminded me of two whiskies I thoroughly enjoy:  Either Talisker or Ledaig to which Lilly stated I had hit one of the components to this whisky on the head.  It's quite powerful dram on the nose.  Going back to Hedonism, it almost smelled like water!? On the palate:  Delish, full bodied peated whisky with wisps of dark fruit but the driest finish of the three samples, also the highest in alcohol I gathered (quite a burn...) So I stated that I thought it was peat monster (again) and that if it wasn't I was guessing the Entertainer and also thought the ABV was higher at 46%.  

The reveal:  PEAT MONSTER.  What satisfaction in knowing this one as it's one of my favorite Compass Box bottling or at least it's the one I have drank the most and replenished in my collection (4 bottles, so far...)  This whisky is not for the faint at heart.  Living in the far eastern part of Canada we are subjected to temperatures below -40C during our long winters.  This is warmth in a glass.  Available in Canada, Kensington Wine Market (Alberta) for $57.49, also in BC but not able to find price range there, sorry.  Whisky Exchange for £36.95.  US market:  Park Avenue Liquor $65.00, Binny's and K&L for $55.00.

My favorite for this particular tasting was the Hedonism as it surprised me the greatest and of course when I discovered what it was I more than elated to have tried it, knowing it might be awhile before I get to have it again. As we started to wind down the twitter tasting, I noticed my phone was now at 4% power and that it was going to shut down any minute.  I had time to say my goodbyes, thank everyone who attended and text Graham what I wanted for supper and it shut down.  Wow, I thought as I sat there in my car looking around (probably for the first time really), that was AWESOME!  Even though I was faced with so many little things that could have totally ruined the tasting event for me, I refused to let that happen.  I took every twisted turn and strange little bump with stride and found the humor and fun in the adventure. Which is why I love whisky to begin with.  My life, since finding this passion has been nothing but one great adventure after another filled with stories and memories to last me a lifetime.  

BIEBER FEVER!!

I had the utmost pleasure of meeting John Glaser this year and I won't lie when I say I probably looked like a giddy school girl meeting Justin Bieber.  Why? Because little Canadian East Coast girls don't usually have the chance to meet the innovators of the whisky world.  On twitter, the folks from Compass Box are friendly, educative, and quick to reply or direct people to where they can get the answers they are looking for.  No other company or distillery to my knowledge has ever extended a twitter tasting to people across the Atlantic Ocean and no other entity other than Whisky Wire somehow managed to have it be for just women. Not to say that I think it should always be that way, but where this was for International Women's Day, it was truly a wonderful way to not only include us but showcase some of the great female noses/palates there are in the world.  So I extend my deepest thank you's to both Compass Box and the Whisky Wire for being the leaders and innovators they are known to be.

I will be very honest with the next part of what I have to say.  There was one small downfall to this twitter tasting for me.  Where were the men? Unlike any other twitter tasting I have ever followed there didn't seem to be men interacting from the sideline (with the exception of one, once).  With all the twitter tastings that take place you constantly see people jumping in, making comments and adding some energy.  In our case, there were the women invited to attend, Compass Box Lilly and Steve.  As fabulous is it was to be partaking in this momentous twitter tasting the men of the whisky fabric were not there partaking or cheering us on (including my own husband) and in the end I felt like something was truly missing.  I love being part of all this and it's great that women around the world said woohoo to a women's only twitter tasting.  I guess for me having Compass Box & Whisky Wire acknowledge and celebrate the fact that we love whisky just as much as the next "guy" meant alot to me.  It would have meant more knowing some of the guys in our lives thought so too and voiced it accordingly even if only to come on twitter and wish us luck, or say "way to go", anything really... 

So back to me and my car which is parked in an obscure part of Canada in the parking lot of a hotel...  Knowing full well I now have drank alcohol (three very small sips mind you) and that I have "said open alcohol" in my car I was faced with yet another little dilemma, how do I get home which is still a 45 minute drive...  So I did what any good Canadian would do, I packed up the alcohol, put it my knapsack and threw it in the trunk.  I drove out of the parking lot of the hotel and right next to the hotel in the very next drive way, pulled into here:

Even small towns have at least one of these...

Which is where I sat for the next 40 minutes drinking a hot mint tea and writing a few notes for my blog.  Had you told me at the beginning of 2013 that I would, at some point in the year, do a twitter tasting from the back seat of my car parked next to a 5 foot snowbank, I would have replied:  "Not bloody likely that would ever happen".  So it goes to show, Compass Box Whiskies are worth driving for two hours and jumping through all sorts of weird hoops to try.  Please consider trying them for yourself, you truly won't be disappointed I assure you.  

As for twitter, well most of you know how I feel about it, it's a fabulous place to discuss, share and learn about the whisky fabric.  As I drove home that Thursday night I was on my way home to a quick supper followed by an impromptu Canadian Whisky introduction to two local twitter personalities in my home town.  I went to bed that night happier than I ever recall being and it all had to do with a Lassie and her love of whiskies.

Onward and forward to the next crazy adventure.  I do hope you will join me, after all nobody does adventure quite the way I do I've come to realize and appreciate.


Whisky trail blazing!!!


Lassie

FIRST EVER - Ladies ONLY tasting in Eastern Canada

Wow!  About two months ago I got this crazy idea.  I thought I could get enough women together in my home town to come to a ladies only whisky tasting.  I started talking about it with Graham.  I started thinking about what whiskies I would serve, what type of presentation I would give and then I sent out an email to a few friends to see what they thought.  I ploughed forward and starting planning, working on a presentation, researching whiskies.  We worked hard, used very little advertising and before we knew it, we were sold out. (I turned away 10 women). Only two small snags along the way:  One which was a bit funny and left us shaking our heads.  We called CBC, an information program and gave them two tickets to give away.  I was called back and given the name and telephone number of the lucky female winner, but when I called her she had no idea she won, her husband had called in for her and...  she hated whisky!?   

I chose Collingwood, Auchentoshan Three Wood, Balvenie Doublewood, Balblair 2000, Bowmore Darkest 15 and Amrut Single Malt - Single Cask.   ALL because they represented characteristics, in my opinion, that women would enjoy.  The surprise was the Bowmore Darkest 15 and I was pleased as I introduced 33 lovely women to Islays (some of which had been warned not to try that region, cause it was "gross".)

The ladies had a blast, the presentation went well.  Many, MANY fantastic questions about everything.  At the end of the night we ranked them:  Auchentoshan, Bowmore and Balvenie tied for 2nd, Balblair, Amrut and Collingwood.  We adjourned the tasting and offered everyone another great Canadian:  Forty Creek Barrel Select, we also did a Mixology 101 bar:  Shots of Rusty Nails, Whisky Diesels and Whisky Sours were made by Graham (in his kilt) with Chivas 12.   

The feedback was great, and now that we know the audience is out "there", we are definitely going to have another, maybe in the fall.   At midnight, I climbed into bed tired but exhilarated that it was truly a huge success!

THANK you to my wonderful partner Graham, for all the hard work, the help and the advice (even if I disagreed with some of it!  :)   

Stay tuned for more from the east coast.  Let the whisky awakening BEGIN!

Somewhere on my whisky trail,

Johanne