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

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

PART 2 - Tribute for International Women's Day - THE LASSIES

Tomorrow's women

Unbeknownst to these two young women, I was impressed by them the first time we "met".  All virtual of course since it was on twitter.  Last summer I had asked one of the two to answer a few questions for me and that I would eventually blog about her, since she is a whisky "woman".  When I was done reading what I wrote, I deleted it.  It simply wasn't what I was trying to convey.  It bothered me for the longest time.  What was I trying to say?  What was the message I wanted people to "get".  It sat...  I waited.   Then in November, after I met Cis and Dot (Part 1) it hit me and I instantly knew what I wanted to write.  Funny enough, Alwynne contacted me about two weeks before International Women's Day and asked that I take part in her blog about it.  I gladly did, still keeping my secret about posting about her...   (Sorry Alwynne, hehe)

http://misswhisky.com/2013/03/06/inspirational-whisky-women-for-intl-womens-day-part-1/

The other woman I am writing about today is a daughter and wife at this point in her life.  Again, as I posted in my last blog:  Did she win a nobel prize? Is she famous? Do most of you even know her?  The answer to all that is no.  She's just "some girl" who lives down the street from her dad in Bedford who is married, has a couple of dogs, likes whisky (like I do), works a full time job and also goes to university.  So why am I writing about these two women? Because unlike Cis and Dot Caron (Part 1 - Grand Dames), these two lovely young ladies are from the same generation as my daughters:  the "Yers".  These women are in their 20's to early 30's.  Labelled as tech savvy, educated, focused, family-centric, achievement/team oriented and attention craving.  Let me explain the last one especially as it's not what it seems.  They are a generation of women who look for guidance and feedback.  They like being kept in the communication loop and openly seek and benefit from having mentors.  This generation put themselves first with regards to their choices about education, marriage, beliefs, religion, etc...   AND if/when ready to have children are more likely to find a balance between home life and work.  Choosing to stay home for the first years or making arrangements through work (if either is possible) with the end result being to make their work hours more flexible.  They have a completely different vision of workplace expectations and try to prioritize family over work.  It's what my mother's generation fought for and my generation struggled to find.  So here is what I love about Alwynne and Kat's story.  It was shaped by men; more importantly their dads.  This in my opinion is where the shift in society has clearly taken place.  Men stepped in and did the most wonderful thing.  They raised their daughters. 

ALWYNNE GWILT:  Born and raised in Canada.  Her mother passed away just as she was becoming a teenager.  A difficult time enough for most young girls. Her father did not skip a beat and raised her as a single parent. When she turned 17, he gave her plane tickets to Colombia as a grad present.  Not some cash or a car but a trip to South America.  Why?  Because he instilled in his daughter that life is about taking chances and spreading your wings when you can.  He strongly encouraged taking risks and always choosing your own path to achieve your goals.  So she did.

Side by side....

Alwynne went to South America that summer.  When she came back, she didn't attend a local university in British Columbia.  She left and chose a university on the east coast (the opposite end of our very expansive country).  After she finished that, she moved to England.  After that, she started her adventure into whisky and then writing about it.  Not once did her father judge or deny her choices.  Her dad didn't keep her in his shadow or try to protect her but did just the opposite: he let her go. Would she make mistakes?  Probably, we all do.  But how else could Alwynne become a strong independent person. She is a well respected, smart, educated, friendly and knowledgeable whisky persona.  I asked her once if she thought men and women had different whisky profiles (sparked by some companies coming out with "feminine" whiskies...) and she replied:  "I think people have different profiles because every person has a different palate".  She takes the gender out of the whisky equation and as a result it's changed the way I think about it too. 

KAT PRESLEY:  Born in Thailand. At a very early age her biological father was no longer in the picture and by the time she was seven Dave Worthington stepped in.  He married her mother a few years later, they had more children and they never looked back.  Dave did not have to "be" her dad but he loved her like she was his own and raised her accordingly.  The eldest of three, she is about 10 years older then her brother and little sister.  Kat moved out before she was even 20 and has been independent and making it on her own ever since.  I don't know alot about her. She is married, has two beautiful dogs, works full time and still manages to take university classes part-time.  I had the opportunity to skype with her and Dave one afternoon and I was in awe of how comfortable and at ease she seemed not only about herself but life in general.  She and her dad share a whisky passion and blog together.  She is smart, funny, close to her mum and dad and seems driven to succeed.  Good head on her shoulders, a sense of humor and like Alwynne had a strong positive male influence in her life. 

Men who chose to take on the responsibility of raising daughters.  Keyword: CHOSE.

Adele - Before?

Adele - After?

There is a sad part of this though.  In my opinion, Alwynne and Kat don't remotely represent what advertisers want us to believe is tomorrow's woman.  We seem to still be stuck in a moulded, air brushed, anorexic looking, bubble headed plastic version of something that most size 12's don't recognize.  Anybody know who Leymah Gbowee is? How about Kate Rubins? Maybe Julia Rivard? No hunh...  Well do yourself a favor and look them up.  Those are the women of today and tomorrow! So why do our teenage daughters not know or read about them?  Because "News" channels get much better ratings announcing the 20th time Lindsay Lohan crashes her car while talking on her cellphone drinking vodka.  Women making a positive influence for others is simply not news.  Snooky getting pregnant, what dresses were worn at the Oscars and the Mobwives, now that sells and impresses.  Seriously?!

I rest my case....

I remember when Brittany Spears first came on the scene in 1998, my youngest was 8.  She sang along to her songs because she heard them on the radio and of course her older sister and her friends listened to the music too.  Both wanted me to buy her CD for them.  Then, something wonderful happened.  They saw the video "Hit me baby one more time" on Much Music (Canadian version of MTV).  The eldest who was almost 15 and a sports jock was utterly disgusted.  The youngest who was a bit of a tomboy and skateboarder sat mesmerized.  Why is she dressed like that?, she asked.  I didn't want to push my own judgments on my daughters so I turned the question around on them.  Why do you think she is dressed like that in that video?  Both sat and watched the whole video.  When it was done, the 14 year old said I don't think she dressed herself.  I think a bunch of adults who were responsible for making the video decided how she should act and dress.  The youngest listened wild eyed.  But why?  Why would they do that?  So, I explained to them both how I felt.  That sometimes people who make the decisions don't always do what is the smartest.  That if some girls watched those videos they would think that is how they are suppose to look and act.  Nothing more was ever said about Brittany Spears in our house and even when they both had money of their own, not one CD ever appeared. 

I digress...  As I do sometimes (sorry... hehe).  I guess the point I am trying to make is that some women from this generation had fantastic role models, some not exactly maternal or even related to them but in the end it is what I think made the difference.  The fantastic part of being the parent for the children of this generation is watching them soar.  The hardest part:  Letting go.  Especially of our little girls.  The world can still seem like such a cruel place for women at times.  I would like to think that we have prepared the Alwynne's, Kat's, and Erica's (mine) of today.  Chances are bad things will still happen but I have a sense of pride in knowing that whatever they decide they will be ok.  That their voices will be heard when it needs to be and gender injustices will continue to melt away.  My mother's generation was angry and opened the door to change.  My generation put the laws in place and started the change.  The Y generation is by far more educated and they are in a position to create global change, but it takes time.  We have come a long way since Betty Friedman published The Feminine mystique in 1963 (50 years exactly....)  In an interview in 1982 she stated she envisioned a future where women and men raised their children together, where the duties of the family as a whole would be fair.  Where women would be in positions to create change in a peaceful manner and that their husbands would be there to support them.  She died in 2004 so I'm not sure if she thought we had achieved that or not.  What I do know is that looking at the women like my daughter, Alwynne and Kat, I have a sneaking suspicion we have. 

To all the women who came before us paving the way and for those to come I leave you with this, my favorite quote from Betty Friedman, 1963:  "Some people think I'm saying, Women of the world unite - you have nothing to lose but your men.  It's not true.  You have nothing to lose but your vacuum cleaners" 


Looking far ahead on the whisky trail, I remain... Grandaughter, Daughter, Mother (and maybe Grand Mother before I'm 50)...

Me & Erica now... Girl's night facials

Whisky Lassie 

Tribute for International Women's Day - THE GRAND DAMES

DATA COLLECTED BY LAUREN STREIB

I am a Canadian woman born in 1966.  Less then 50 years after women were recognized as "persons" and no longer considered an object owned like livestock or a coffee table.  I have the right to vote, marry whom I choose, drive, wear pants, own property, get an education, receive equal wages, be free of sexual harassment, have my own bank account or go out on my own without fear of prejudice, imprisonment or death.  According to a study done in Newsweek Magazine in 2011, I live in one of the top three countries in the world when it comes to the rights and quality of life for women. It's hard to comprehend living in a time where I would have to ask my 13 year old brother's permission to get $50.00 from my own paycheque so that I can buy myself a bra or worse where the simple act of getting on a bus by myself would automatically equal being gang raped.  However, the sad and sobering reality is that in 2013 this does still happen in almost half the countries on this planet. It seems like a heavy burden for the generations to come.  I have hope that before I pass, education and changing times will create better living conditions for women everywhere. 

The point of my blog on this day is to write about two generations of women I have met and come to be inspired by.  They are not famous.  They didn't win Nobel prizes, invent a life saving piece of equipment or do anything to warrant them time on your local TV news channel.  They are four women who have lived under different circumstances simply following the path they have chosen for themselves.  I hope their stories make you smile and appreciate them for who they are:   Strong Women. 

GRAND DAMES (Part 1) - It all seems too strange now in hindsight.  Bob Caron and I befriended each other on Twitter in August of 2012 totally by accident really.  I believe he tweeted something about his love for two Canadian whiskies.  I tweeted back and in the end because I travel for work to Maine on a regular basis I was able to mail him some within a few weeks. A couple of days after receiving his package he sent me a lovely picture of him, his two aunts and the evening that ensued.  I was delighted.  It seemed befitting that I would meet all three of them on my birthday in November when we traveled to New Hampshire and after spending a day with these two women, I was compelled almost immediately to tell their story.   Here it is...

Dot & Cis - Basketball in the 50's

Willie and Josephine Caron were French Canadians looking for a life that didn't involve farming. After the birth of their first two boys, Izzy & Lucien, they picked up roots and moved to the US where Hurb and Moe soon came along.  Cis was born on May 5, 1930 and Dot on September 13, 1933 in Nashua New Hampshire where they both still reside today.  They went to school and helped around the house.  While the other girls graduated from high school and searched for the perfect husbands, Cis and Dot took a non-traditional road and went to work for electronics companies.  Secretaries?  Nope:  Cis started her career in production then moved to quality control until her retirement whereas Dot started as a circuit board resistor assembly line employee then moved on to circuit design and drafting.  They both lived at home, which certainly helped the family financially. Both involved in sports: softball, basketball and Dot also was proficient at bowling.  Most of the sporting events usually ended with a bit of socializing.  Dot says: "Nobody drank vodka back then, it was mostly just beer and whisky".  She recalls her first whisky was Seagram's 7 and eventually switched to Canadian Club with water or sometimes on the rocks.  The Canadian whiskies were commonly referred to as Rye.  Cis, on the other hand had Scotch as her first experience.  She was at a company Christmas party and her plant manager plopped a glass of whisky in her hands:  "This is what you should be drinking and this is how you drink it".  It was Chivas Regal.  To give you a bit of perspective of the times:  The bars, clubs and lounges in New Hampshire in the 50's were gender segregated.  Men were free to be in the women's lounge without an escort however women could only enter the men's lounge by invitation only.  The neighboring state of Massachusetts did not have the same restrictions so post game partying often headed there instead.  Cis being of legal drinking age would sneak Dot in by showing her own ID and claiming that she and Dot were twins, it worked every time.  Back then their whisky journey wasn't a varied one.  It was more about the camaraderie and having a good time with friends.  "There wasn't much to pick from and there was not much guidance".  

Heading up the volcano - Canary Islands

Life moved on as did the ladies.  Together they have rode a camel in the Canary Islands, drifted in a balloon over the African Savannah, rode in a Tundra Buggy on a polar bear expedition in Canada, visited exotic places like Iceland, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand as well as toured most of the US by car.  All the while living in the homestead in Nashua.  Luckily enough for them, the house had been partitioned.  Upstairs was their brother Hurb's family (including son Bob) whereas downstairs housed Cis, Dot, two of the brothers and their parents.  Hurb was the only one of the siblings to have children so Cis and Dot always felt like they had all the advantages of having kids but without any of the hassles.   This from Bob: "If we were being a pain in the butt while we were downstairs, they would simply send us home  but as you can probably tell my aunts and uncles were the coolest adults on the planet to us so we did our best to not misbehave. Growing up in a big extended family seemed like nothing out of the ordinary until we got a bit older and compared our lives to those of our friends.  We quickly realized just how lucky and grateful we were to have them in our lives."  I asked the sisters if they had ever looked back on their lives with any regrets or whether they would have done anything differently given the chance?  Their reply:  "We figure that everything turned out just the way it was suppose to and near perfect.  No regrets what so ever".   So, what makes two sisters buck the trend and do things that were practically unheard of in that era?  How does one look around and say I don't care what others are doing, I am doing this!  From my perspective my mother pounded into  my head the importance of education, self reliance and independence but I was born and raised in the late 70's & 80's.  Cis and Dot beat most of us by almost 40 years.  I asked what value did they hold dearly and were most proud of about themselves.  "Perseverance.  Hanging in there through the toughest of times.  Also, not having any regrets".

Their outlook on life seems to be that everything they have lived happened as it was suppose to.  It was how they dealt with each situation and not the situation itself that they learned the most from. Neither waited for Mr. Right to come along or retirement to start living.  Their lives were and are still full of adventures. I'm always fascinated with what advice people can give to the next generation.  In this case Cis and Dot have lived and experienced so many things that some of us could only imagine.  The sisters advice:  "Follow your gut feeling every time.  Live your life on your own terms and not by what others or society may expect of you.  Above all, be true to your yourself".  Bob recollects asking aunt Dot once why she never married.  She answered: "Because I never found anyone I liked more than I liked myself".  This touched Bob profoundly and I can't help but wonder how many divorces would be avoided as a result of that advice.  How could you possibly fully commit and love someone else until you truly loved and respected yourself.    

The love and adventure of whisky came back to Cis and Dot's lives when Bob started coming home with a whisky he would have bought for the "boys".  He quickly realized that his "aunties" not only knew a little bit but really enjoyed them too, so began the tradition of bringing whiskies home for them to try every time he came to visit.  Over the years they have come to love some of the delicious bottles Bob has introduced them to.  They both took a shining to Johnnie Walker Green Label for a while and neither are big fans of the heavily peated or sherried drams.  As a bit of an experiment for this blog Bob gathered 13 different whiskies and set up a blind tasting for the three of them.  He diluted all the drams so that they would all be 40%.  He gave Cis & Dot score cards and they were to rate the whiskies on a scale of 1-10.  Although their noses may not work as well as they used to, their taste buds are still quite reliable.  Amid some giggles and good conversation they worked their way through all 13 whiskies.  There was some Japanese, Scotch, Welsh, Irish, French and American whiskies there that night.  But for Cis and Dot the overwhelming winner and best whisky thus far for both is   Brenne French Single Malt Whisky (Allison Patel's baby that I reviewed a few months ago).     

What can those of us learn from these two lovely octogenarians who have not slowed down: Everything.  Their decisions to live their lives entirely the way they wanted to must have been difficult.  Maybe not always for them but for the people around them.  Did Josephine ever wonder why her daughters didn't want to marry or have children?  Were Cis and Dot judged for working instead of marrying or for travelling abroad as two young single sisters in an era where that really wasn't acceptable?  Were they stigmatized or shunned somehow?  What about feared?  Did married women see them as the ultimate threat?  How were they treated in a mostly male dominated work force?  We will probably never hear the answers to those types of questions because frankly these two women don't dwell on the negatives.  They will probably disagree with me on this next statement:  Although they were not feminists burning bras and demanding equal rights they were two women in charge of their own destinies, decisions and lives.  Something every single one of us should have the right to do.  I can only wish I would have had women like this in my life as role models.  Not saying the ones that were there weren't good, but every young girl should have an aunt she can look up to and want to grow up being like.  I hope to see Cis and Dot again someday soon.  In the meantime I revel in the stories and photos that Bob sends me.  Whisky has changed my life in many ways.  This is yet another wonderful part of the adventure that touched me.

If you are a woman or love the women in your life please pass this story along today and remember the fantastic generation of those who came before us.  Some more quiet than others but still creating the place I call the whisky fabric.  Maybe someday when I'm in my 80's some young whipper snapper will sit with me and share a dram just like I hope to do again soon with the Grand Dames of New Hampshire.  

To Cis and Dot, my respect, love and complete admiration.  I am in awe and aspire to living my life the same way you did.

Cis and Dot today, in their home in Nashua New Hampshire

Celebrating being a proud woman, I remain...   Whisky Lassie.

PS:  Bob left the bottle of Brenne at his aunts' house stating he'd be buying more.  "After all, nothing but the best for my Aunties".