I am back!! Mackmyra Scotch Whiskey and Glen Breton Whiskey Nosing

Sorry I disappeared... It wont happen again.

In the drama filled life of the single man in the Durham Region, Life can sometimes take over.

I went to the liquor store the other day and bought a few bottles of Single Malt that I normally wouldn't. ( and a bottle of Spiced Whiskey cuz the girl giving samples was way too good looking) I bought a bottle of Mackmyra Single Malt Whiskey that is the creation of .... yes I am sure you guessed....Sweden!! The land of Mats Sundin, Peter Forsberg and yes, a new Scotch Whiskey.

The other bottle I bought for sampling was again from a Country not known for Scotch Whiskey, but again, for great Hockey players.
The bottle is called Glen Breton and is from the country of the best hockey players, yes you guessed it.....Canada.

To compare these whiskeys, I discovered after actually comparing, is quite unfair.

Presentation: The Glen Breton Single Malt bottle looks like something from Boardwalk Empire. The graphics are pathetic and old fashioned. And old fashioned isnt all bad, if embracing a classic, stately look, not a printed at Staples and stuck on a bottle look.

The Mackmyra bottle on the other hand has a sexy, chique, young design. From a cool, almost ripped off label, to a sketched out representation of a bottle, to the tone on tone orange colours on the box and label itself. This presentation wins hands down.

Taste:

I had a friend, who shall remain nameless to protect her identity as she cant admit to drinking before 3pm, try both with me.

Glen Breton:
S -mmmm, I love it, it tastes like Weisers and CC combined. With some dirt and poop mixed in!!


Me -yuck!! It tastes like a Rye that is trying to pose as a Scotch. It doesnt even taste like a proper rye or proper scotch....like a bastardized combination of left over stuff from a distillery. Bleck!!

Mackmyra:

S - mmmmm, (apparently my friend is an alchy cuz I then fed her rubbing alcohol and she liked it too and she loved my aftershave...) its spicy and sweet!!

Me - mmmm! its peppery, with some apricot and fruits mixed in. a nice overtone of vanilla. Lemon flavour on the tip of the tongue and Apricot on the back. Beautiful combination of Sweet and Spice combined.

I have to admit the Swedes have completely kicked our ass at Single malt Production. I would recommend to anyone to try this and add Mackmyra to your collection today. It is a nice change from the usual while still providing some classic Single Malt taste.

Cigar Pairing: Something mild with some Vanilla tones to compliment each other. Monte Cristo Edmundo, or Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill.

Bike Trip Day 1

I started out from my house in Bowmanville at 5:00 am, the day promising to be clear and bright. I was suited up in my leathers with a hoody under my jacket, thinking it might be a little chilly.

Ehren and Dana were waiting for me at Ehren's house, ready to go. I pulled in at 5:30 and the journey commenced. Another bike trip!!

Riding up to Parry Sound to meet up with our fourth amigo, Kevin, I realized that I might have underestimated the weather conditions. The temperature was between 9 and 10 degrees with fog in the valleys. This sort of thing is alright when you're in a car, but, when on a bike it is not recommended to douse yourself in moisture and ride 130km/hr in 10 degree weather.

My hands and face were soon sore with cold and as we proceeded up north and my body started shaking as the damp creeped into my bones. I hugged my legs as tight as I could to my motorcycle and prayed that the heat of the motor would somehow transfer through my chaps to warm me up.

I recognized then that this is a prime example of supply and demand....if a man had been standing on the side of the road selling long johns or fur coats, I would have emptied my wallet. My demand was high and my supply was low.

As we stopped for a quick break I realized that my buddies were not fairing any better. Even with heated hand grips (which I do not have) their hands were feeling the damp-cold combo.

We arrived in Parry Sound met up with Kevin and after chugging a cup of coffee to avoid hypothermia, we jumped on the highway and headed North.

Our destination for our first leg of our journey awaited....the bustling town of Wawa.

Luckily the sun was making an appearance and was slowly bringing my body temperature above freezing.

If you haven't ridden a motorcycle before, its a feeling that is hard to describe.

You see more, feel more, smell more.

Its a feeling of freedom, wind in your face, troubles behind, almost like flying, an adrenaline high.

We stopped outside of Espanola at Jeremys for a brunch and more hot coffee then back on the road.

This was July 1, 2011 and my ipod was rocking the Canadian music for Canada day. Blue Rodeo-5 days in May-Beautiful scenery, The Hip- New Orleans- Trees and Lakes on all Sides, Bryan Adams- Amazing Rock faces, just rockin on as we flew along at an average speed of 130 km/hr. Tom Cochrane, Nickleback, Avril Lavigne.....screech, yes, I almost wiped out. What the heck? Avril Lavigne?? who according to this song wears the pants?

You see, I have a shared itunes account with my ex wife. I have requested numerous times for friends of mine who are more tech savvy to set it up so I only get my kind of music. They always say that they will definitely help me with this and never do.

I believe they take a perverse pleasure at the degree of discomfort I feel when Avril or New Kids on the Block comes on. This, in my opinion, is sadistic. I might want to question my friend's sense of humour.....

Barenaked Ladies and I'm back to cruising.....

Highway 129!!! one of the nicest riding roads I have been on, cruising between lakes, rocks, wild life, rivers, falls with a beautifully twisty circuit that can be approached aggressively like Dana hitting speeds around some corners that I would not even guess at, or approach like myself ( a little cautious)

I don't embrace the unknown...twisty corners over blind hills are not my style at break neck speeds.

And when I came over a hill with a hard twist and discovered that for some reason the road was slicked in oil, I thanked myself for my caution.

Bike etiquette says that when a hazard is on the road, whether refuse or pothole, we signal by pointing a foot towards the problem. A quick kick of a foot can save your buddy from riding into this hazard and wiping out.

Kevin was behind me and I knew he could see the oil slick, which went on for several kilometers. I thought it would be nice to warn him of the potholes....
Problem was, there were so many potholes, I was doing my own version of Riverdance!

I shrugged my shoulders and figured he got the picture.

We got through unscathed and made our way to Wawa without incident, having a fine dinner, some drinks and an after dinner cigar.

We stayed at the prestigious Sportsmen's Hotel and got a great nights rest.

Day 2 will follow shortly.....

Scotch Report #1

Recently we held an informal Blind Scotch Tasting at my humble headquarters.

My friend Mike W and myself tried 4 common Scotch types available at most LCBO stores.

Here are the notes from that evening.....

Glenfiddich 12 year

Mike- This Scotch has a smooth start, a little smoke and a sweet fruity finish
Jason- This Scotch is relatively unimaginative, smooth but no real body, blah...but it will get you drunk...

Glenmorangie "The Original"

M - This Scotch has a sweet, shmooth start. bitter on the outside of the tongue, smooth at the end
J - This Scotch tastes like caramel at the start, complex flavours with some citrus, smooth over all

The Macallan Select Oak

M - This Schotch hass a strong start, smokey, bitter flavour, no after taste, nope! none haha! nice fresh after taste. yummy!! Don't waste this one!! its yummy, yummy yummy!!
J - Smooooooth!! This ones a keeper! Oak and Sherry flavours. Explodes on my tongue and takes over, pitches a tent, has a party and leaves no garbage behind.

Theabagh- Blend.

M - Scotchy, Scotch, scotch. Scotch in my belly. Lots off bite at the beginning, lots of aftertaste, bold, eat with red meat, ahhh schit, I dont know, I'm Making all this crap up!! It makesh me sshmile!!

J - Shmokin!! Thish has more smoke than a cub scout fire starting contest. Blends Shmends...itsh alright. my lips are numb...loshing feeling in my toes.....


Looking back, I realize we should have probably limited our tastings to a 1 oz shot each instead of the half cup samplers we were downing.

We did learn:
that the ever popular Glenfiddich is definitely the scotch with the least personality.
Theabagh, the cheapest, is not that bad for a blend and for the price.
Glenmorangie should be a staple in anyones cabinet.
Macallan Select Oak is worth the money but should be savoured like a fine wine.

Maple Festival- Bowmanville

I recently attended the Maple Festival in Bowmanville Ontario.

Bowmanville is located just 10 mins East of Oshawa, Ontario and is a quaint, quiet town that is growing quickly and yet, has preserved the small town feeling of the downtown.

The festival features several Jazz bands, jugglers, magicians, face painting and most importantly, FOOD!!!

I went to town at about 10 am and proceeded to try chocolate covered bacon, maple baked beans, homemade preserves, maple donuts and then had a large pancake breakfast that included orange juice, 3 large pancakes, sausages, real maple syrup and coffee for only $5!!!

The chocolate covered bacon was alright...I was kind of surprised at it's mediocre taste.  I have always claimed that bacon and anything is an amazing combination. To the degree that on several occasions I have claimed that I would willingly partake of the southbound remains of a northbound dog....as long as accompanied with bacon that is...you get what I'm saying....

Bacon and chocolate was a bit of a let down.

They featured many local and specialty artisans that had great pieces of artwork, leatherwork and metalwork.

What a great wholesome way to spend a Saturday!!

I did end up buying a new belt which was handmade and probably necessary due to what I had eaten.

I would highly recommend this event to anyone with children or anyone that enjoys eating.

Get out and have a great time!!

British Style Pheasant Hunt

I recently had the privilage of being included in a British Style Pheasant hunt. This is when a group of Gentlemen go hunting in the pursuit of pheasants to shoot with 12 guage, break action, shotguns.

 This was held at a private Hunting Club near North Bay, of which I am not a member. Luckily for me, my friend Leo Stakos extended the invitation as he knew this would probably be the only way I would ever get invited to such an exclusive event.

This is a hunt without the customary camouflage or "hunters orange" attire as this is replaced by tweed hunting jackets or oil skin coats.

It was really quite an experience and a slice out of history.

The day begins with a slight fogginess, which could be attributed to the weather, or to the amount of scotch consumed the night before by the hunters.

As I dress for this event, I realize this is the first time that I have ever worn a button down shirt and tie to go hunting.
The day was warm, the stubborn mist clinging to the ground as we were outfitted with beautiful break action Beretta Shotguns, ranging in retail price from $2500-$25000.

I nervously held my gun, not because of lack of familiarity, more due to the fact that if I dropped it in the mud, would have to sell all my assets to replace it.


The Gentlemen I was joining on this hunt know how to do things right. To preserve authenticity, they had hired a bag piper to pipe us out.
The sound of the pipes wailing on that foggy morning gave me a slight case of the heebie jeebies and I recognized why the German Soldiers in WW1 called bagpipers The Ladies from Hell, imagining British Soldiers in kilts advancing on me with that ethereal whining preceding them.

I lit a cigar, burped up some of last night's scotch mixed with this morning's bacon, and proceeded to trek up the hill towards the designated hunting area.

We were participating in a tower hunt, a type of hunting I was unfamiliar with. This is when the hunters surround a hill; birds are released into the wild from on top of the hill and hunters, attempt to shoot while they fly by at full speed.
Not my usual approach to hunting, but, a good excuse to fire a gun I will never be able to afford.

I was handed 2 boxes of shells and told where to position myself. (I laughed internally at their optimism that 2 boxes of shells would last more than 10 minutes as I am not a crack shot by any means)

I await the beginning of the hunt, listening to the dog handlers trying to control their excited workers, the other hunters heckling each other as we load up and my insides making noises I hoped were not indicative of anything being seriously wrong with me.

I will skip over the details of the hunt itself, other than to say those birds must have spoken to each other and all flew towards me. Word got out that this would be the safe path and I didn’t disappoint.

Having burned through over 4 boxes of shells, I believe I had better chance of causing the forest to develop lead poisoning than I did to actually eat something I had harvested.

The hunt was followed by a black tie dinner where we were regaled with stories of fellow hunters prowess, (I left for a bathroom break at this point) and consumed a 6 course meal. Wow what a meal! Lobster Bisque, Salad, Prime Rib with baked potato, asparagus and peppers, Roast Suckling Pig, Crème Brule..... Heaven!!

All in all a beautiful day!! Lots of cigars, new friends and the smell of gunpowder.

All birds that were shot were cleaned and divided among the hunters on the trip. (even me)

Chest Hair

I feel that the Gentleman in the Durham Region needs a spot to let it all out, a spot to find out the latest restaraunts, clubs, review cigars, fine wines, scotch, fishing and huntings spots, complain about sports teams and to just be men.

I hope to provide us a forum to do this.

I was visiting my sister for my beautiful nieces birthday this past week. I was wearing my typical button down dress shirt, open at the collar. One button had come undone, accidentally and my sister proceeded to reprimand me that I was without etiquette for exposing some hair that wanted to escape from the confines of my shirt.
I told her to relax, its no big deal. She said it was...

So, for my first Gentlemans Blog, I am going to ask the age old question.....

Is it offensive to have chest hair exposed? does the amount have something to do with the allowability??

Should a man get his chest waxed? Shaved?

I am of the belief that if there is some hair, its not that offensive. If you could be mistaken for an escaped Gorilla at the Zoo, you may want to look at getting a groomer.

Please tell me what you think....

J