by Michael Wetmore

Created on: January 20, 2007   Last Updated: February 18, 2009

Determining the world's best whiskey is not a task which should be undertaken by the faint of heart. About a year ago I set out to do just that and the consequences were extreme.

A friend of mine had complimentary tickets to a whiskey tasting festival and when he offered one to me I told him yes without hesitation. I am after all, a whiskey lover and the notion of tasting hundreds of whiskies from all over the world had me whipped into a frenzy. I grabbed the telephone and dialled a taxi. This was not a night for either of us to be driving.

I had never been to a whiskey tasting before. Wine tastings I had experienced, and I often found the crowd full of pretentious opera loving types who had a knack for attributing laughable adjectives to whatever wine they happened to be sipping, good or bad. In actuality however, these folks could probably never tell the difference between Chardonnay and Sherry. Nowhere else will you find such pretentious behaviour.

I thought and hoped that whiskey would appeal to a much different demographic. And although I figured there would be a few wine snobs lollygagging about at the whiskey festival, I expected to see more people like myself; the hard-wired types who enjoy all the merits of a good strong drink. Something that warms your belly and keeps you coming back for more. I consider this type of person the true whiskey lover. Someone who can appreciate the tradition and the work that goes into a particular whiskey. The history behind it all - the craftsmanship.

Such people were everywhere. I felt right at home. After checking my coat I got right down to business. The search for the world's best whiskey began.

Now in a setting such as this it's easy to become overwhelmed. There is whiskey from everywhere in the world and the importance of a well thought out starting point is critical.

The first thing to realize at a whiskey festival is that you're not going to be trying all of the whiskies. That is of course, unless you plan on having your stomach pumped before midnight. Some may choose to thwart over-intoxication by simply tasting the drink and then backwashing in their glass and dumping it. I however, consider this sacrilege.

But back to my point about knowing where to start. One should have a good awareness of whiskey before attending such an event as this. It's important to know the basics of what is available and what appeals most to you.

For example, whiskey comes in a variety of forms. Among them are scotch, rye, and bourbon just

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