Wisers That’s Spiced UP! Halloween launch event
Established in 1857, Wiser’s is one of Canada’s oldest whiskeys but the Spiced Up blend is one of the newest kids on the block. I attended a Halloween-themed launch event earlier this week where we got to try the brew out in a number of different scenarios – neat, simple bar mixes, hot toddies over an outdoor campfire with smores and extravagant cocktails like the Headless Horseman (see below for recipe!) In fact, many of the suggested recipes are quite feasible in the most lacking of home-bars, given a bottle of Angostura bitters or other, are on hand.
And now a word from our sponsors, errr flavour experts! “Offering French vanilla with traces of raisins and English toffee on the nose, rich amber colour, a full body, and a flavour profile boasting sweet caramelized toffee and dried fruit rounded off with pleasant vanilla, Wiser’s Spiced provides Canadians with a new way to enjoy its expertly crafted whisky. Wiser’s Spiced is available in the LCBO for $27.95.”
Other highlights of the event were a costume guessing contest based on famous literary characters. Some of the get-ups were tricky like cryptic crosswords — a girl in spandex and a 80s side-pony tail was 1984. Death of a Salesman and the Portrait of Dorian Gray were a little more straightforwards, see below for all the pics!
The Headless Horseman” (created by Mixologist Gavin MacMillan)
Ingredients:
1.5 oz Wisers Spiced Canadian Whisky
2 oz Pumpkin Cider*
0.5 oz Egg White
Method: Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled coupe with cinnamon sugar rim.
*Note: For this cocktail you may substitute Apple Cider for Pumpkin Cider, if you cannot purchase pumpkin cider or do not wish to make your own.
During Halloween season, Pumpkin Cider can be purchased at Toronto-based Chasers Fresh Juices at their store or through their website (http://www.chasersjuice.com/).
But you can also make Pumpkin Cider at home in a few easy steps, by following this recipe:
Ingredients:
1 can pumpkin purée
2 litres fresh apple cider (not apple juice)
4 lemons, juiced
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Method:
Mix all ingredients in a blender, then heat in a saucepan on a low simmer, stirring often. Chill before serving.
Spiced Apple and Ginger
1 oz Wiser’s Spiced Canadian Whisky
3 oz apple juice
3 oz ginger ale
Build all ingredients in a highball filled with ice and garnish with a wedge of lime.
Vanilla Old Fashioned
2 oz Wiser’s Spiced Canadian Whisky
1 tsp sugar
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 tsp water
Add sugar to the bottom of a rocks glass and add Angostura bitters and water, stirring to dissolve sugar completely. Add Wiser’s Spiced Canadian Whisky, fill glass with ice, and stir. Garnish with an orange zest.
Canadian Coffee
1 oz Wiser’s Spiced Canadian Whisky
½ oz Kahlúa
2 oz espresso
Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.
Spiced Sour
2 oz Wiser’s Spiced Canadian Whisky
1 oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz sugar syrup
Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice.
Vanilla Iced Tea
1 oz Wiser’s Spiced Canadian Whisky
4 oz chilled orange pekoe tea
1 tsp sugar
Build in a highball filled with ice and garnish with a lemon wheel.
Hot Toddy
1 ½ oz Wiser’s Spiced Canadian Whisky
1 tsp sugar
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 lemon wheel
Top with hot water
Add all ingredients to a specialty coffee mug.
WHAT ZODIAC NEEDS: EX-WEEKND PRODUCER GETS SIGNED AND ACCESS TO FANCY STUDIO
Photo: Sean Berrigan
Posted on Oct 9th 2012 3:00PM by Jesse Ship
A lot has happened to Jeremy Rose a.k.a. Zodiac in the past couple of years. Barely 23, he was (arguably) robbed of some of his most valuable credits for his work with The Weeknd (snapped up by Drake) but on the other hand, he’s just been recruited by multi-Grammy winning super-producer Paul Epworth (Adele, Bloc Party, Foster the People,Lana Del Rey) to write music for his fledgling label Wolf Tone Records.
We joined Rose on the phone just before he set off to England to work in his private studio on a new album. It looks like this astrologically-minded dreamer will finally get his reward.
“When I first heard that Paul was interested in me, I was like… ‘Oh nooooo, what am I going to do now??'” he tells Spinner. “I’m not used to good things happening. I’m always kind of scared of screwing up, but I’m in a far more positive mood now.”
There’s no doubt that his past experience laying out the groundwork for Abel Tesfaye of The Weeknd somewhat marred his experience with the music industry, but he’s hoping to move on as quickly as possible, and will be stepping up his instrumentation in a much bigger way thanks to the Epworth’s studio.
Boys Noize ft Snoop Dogg – Got It
What? Snoop Dogg and Alex Ridha aka Boys Noize?? I had a sneaky suspicion that the BNR label woudl be up to more celebrity endorsement-style collaborations after they dropped that “Burst” track with Peaches. I actually asked them if there would be more to come to which I got no response. I was a bit skeptical as to if anyone actually read the feedback forms anyways…. oh well, this is great news, love this track!
Oh, and here’s the Peaches vid…. just cuz :)
Wolfgang Gartner @ Kool Haus
I’ve been meaning to interview Wolfgang Gartner for a while, so I went to see what he was made of this past Thanksgiving at the Guv/Kool Haus Complex. I’m pretty skeptical of this new wave of EDM djs as rock stars but I was actually incredibly impressed with not just his track selection, but more so the way he blended samples of more obscure 90s rave classics, like the hard desert trance sirens, with say, some now anthemic Deadmau5 bars…. or Deadmau5 with dub reggae . This guy’s got street cred, and a killer, no holds barred attitude to go with it if you follow him on Twitter.
While Wolfgang’s set delivered everything and more, I felt bad for people who had shelled out $50+ dollars, since all the scheduled headliners (Wolfgang Gartner, Adventure Club, Above + Beyond) were playing at the same time but in different rooms, that granted, all catered to their specific core fan base, but what’s a music lover to do when faced with a 3-way musical bang? Another issue I had was that aside from Wolfgang Gartner’s two openers in the Kool Haus who are on tour with him, the other rooms both used the same djs as openers AND closers. Yeah, this probably saves the club a bunch of money but it’s taking Toronto’s musical calibre down a notch. We have so much talent, why not make use of them? #supportTOdjs
Palladium Baggy Lites Review
The first thing you’ll notice when you pick them up is that they are incredibly light weight, weighing in at just a few pounds. If you are concerned about heavy plodding-encouraging footwear, then these are a good boot for you. The bottom sole is made of a squishy foam/rubber which seems a bit flimsy at first but have held up over the past few months without much wear or deterioration or loss of treads. My only concern is that the body its self is not sturdy enough to make much use of the thick grooves. You’re not really going to want to take these on a serious hiking trip, they are more for aesthetics or urban exploration.
The body is made of a cotton blend rip stop canvas-style fabric, with a striped lining as you can see on the inner sock lining. The striping, which you can fold up or keep exposed by button-down ankle cuff snaps is innovative for accessorizing and adding accents to your regular wardrobe. Not only that, but the striped material is made of Drilex an engineered fabric wicks sweat and moisture away. To me, this implies that Palladium is encouraging people to go barefoot in their boots, so that’s just what I did, with comfortable results. I actually rocked the sockless style on an eight-hour flight from Europe which was a hell of a lot more comfortable than those crappy pseudo-socks and slippers you’ll get on some flights.
The product description touts a two piece sockliner with a “hugging heel cup and thick die cut EVA create a comfortable stepping ground.” I’m not really sure what that means but my step has always been in fairly good form with these guys, although maybe a bit loose at times due to the light ripstop body. Again, I stress, do not take these on a serious hike, especially if you have ankle or arch problems.
Another thing, lets face it, guys like brands, logos and typography, even more so if they are done subtly and follow an aesthetic form – the Baggy Lites have a few. There’s one sewn onto both the inner and outer tongue, so that it is showing regardless if it’s folded up or not. Another smaller Palladium logo sewn into the grommet on the eye hole, printed on a contrasting fabric. There’s also a thick rubberized Chuck Taylor-style logo on the inner ankle lining that will get hidden if you lace them up all the way. Not much lost there, and all in all very subtle.
I feel like the boots were made with the tactile person involved, from the squishy soles to the soft pillowy Drilex lining and textured ripstop body, there’s a sensory zoo going on with them. With price (~$75) and lightness in mind, along with over all classic french minimalist design, I’d easily recommend Palladium’s Baggy Lites as an off season boot for all your styling pleasures. You can find them and a wide variety of killer styles and cuts at www.palladiumboots.com/
Mario Lopez for Coffee Creamer Prez on National Coffee Day
How low can the bar go? According to the last South Park episode where Cartman squares off with Honey Boo Boo in a pasghetti death match, it’s pretty murky, but I think we might be setting new levels here.
The US elections conscious marketing whizzzz’s at Baileys Non-Alcoholic Coffee Creamer have dreamt up a new celebrity-endorsed campaign featuring former C-listers turned E!-listers, Mario Lopez, Nick Lachey and Bill and Giuliana Rancic. Mario here is representing Caramel flavour because…. of his burnt-olive mediterranean complexion maybe? The pay off is that the celeb that gets the most votes will be giving $25,000 to the charity of their choice, and one lucky winner gets a trip to LA.
Gottwood Festival Afterparty
To all my London crew, Gottwood Fest is celebrating a number of award nominations at the UK Festival Awards, in the areas of “Best Small Festival”, “Best Dance Event”, “The Grass Roots Festival Award” and “Best Toilets”! Personally I’d also nominate them for Most Hilarious Festival Tip Sheet but I’m not sure that category exists…. Anyways, here’s a bit about the after party.
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Unfortunately the end of everyones favourite season is drawing near, so in keeping with true Gottwood tradition we thought we ought to announce the annual London based Gottwood Festival afterparty. This year we’ve snapped up an incredible new intimate venue in the heart of Shoreditch – Bedroom Bar. It’s split over two floors and features decor that is very fitting with Gottwood, there’s a great outdoor terrace and a Funktion One system to ensure the sound is just the way we like it! This year we have handpi
cked a selection of the finest DJ’s who all performed at the festival this year –
DOWNSTAIRS Rebel (Lower East / Mexa) UPSTAIRS Tristan Da Cuhna (Back To Basics) REBEL: Johnny aka Rebel was the man behind the set before Max Cooper on the Caravan at Gottwood this year – for those that experienced it there is no need for you to really read any further! For those of you that didn’t catch it then you really missed out, and now here is your chance to make up for that mistake! Rebel is known for his dark and progressive take on the current house scene and he’s also known for taking dance floors to pieces leaving no room for by standers. This is going to be one hell of a headline slot in the downstairs room. TRISTAN DA CUNHA: Tristan’s first encounter with the Gottwood faithful was this year when we asked him to fill in for Move D’s headline slot just hours before Move D was meant to go on… not many would of taken it as smoothly in their stride as he did – the bumping and jackin’ ride he took us on whilst closing the festival was incredible and we had to get him back! He’s an avid record collector and music junkie and provided the soundtrack to many of the legendary ‘Back To Basics’ parties in Leeds, we don’t think theres anyone better placed than Tristan and his tardis of a record bag to headline the upstairs room. CHARLIE BANKS: Charlie’s name is one that seems to be striking a chord with most at the moment, and if there was ever a safe bet, then Charlie Banks exploding during 2012/13 would probably bit it. He’s only just old enough to get into a club (18) but he’s already had a chart topping EP on Berlin’s Dirt Crew Recording’s, he has a forthcoming release on Hypercolour and seems to have mastered the straight up bumpy house and bass sound. Big things are coming his way, big big things! Gottwood regulars ARCHIE HAMILTON, REAL NICE, ELDOKO and NIXWAX will also be behind the wheels of steel, forming a line up which guarantees that this party is going to go off! As you can probably tell we’re pretty excited about this line up, so get a ticket, come on down and lets draw out the very last of the festival atmosphere. It is an intimate venue and we are firm believers in having space to dance so buy early to avoid disappointment. Before Bedroom Bar turns into the afterparty, it is also a great place to get some food. The drinks are very reasonably priced all evening – £3.50 / Pint of lager. We will be starting from 9pm so don’t leave it too late to come out! |
Rebel (Lower East / Mexa)
Charlie Banks (Hypercolour)
eLDOKO (Gottwood / What! What!)
Real Nice (Love Not Money)
Archie Hamilton (Moscow Records / Fear Of Flying)
Nixwax
London
EC2A 3AY
Super Mario Bros. 2 COIN RUSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH!
So this is fun – Nintendo is releasing new DLC Course Packs for the New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the DS at just $2.50 a pop. The designs have been crowd-sourced to a degree for maximum indulgence (Nintendo level designers: Hey gamers what do you want? Msg Board Fanb0ys: M0ar coins! M000ar power ups!) and there will be two more sets released over the span of the next couple of months. Seems like a smart way for Nintendo to get into the DLC market. My nine year old Gameboy-dependant self would have puked rainbows and gold coins of joy had these been available in my day.
Nuit Blanche Toronto 2012 and the Post-Modernist Revolution
Highlights of Toronto’s Nuit Blanche 2012
– Being featured in Vice’s scathing critique of post-modernist art and e-tard exploitation.
– Douglas Coupland’s Museum for the End Of the World. Maybe I missed a few things but it would have been enough for me if none of the other installations existed except for this wacky world of raw meat loving Santa’s Helpers and zombie socialites.
– The free party at the Red Bull office with one of Toronto’s hottest future bass exports, Christian Anderson aka XI, and other djs like My Man Henri.
– The upside down living room at the Virgo House in Kensington Market (not an official installation)
– The lean against a fence installation that my group spontaneously created. Who ever thought the fence on Dundas that borders Scadding Court could be so comfortable! We met a dude on shrooms who was tripping out over his teacher that died recently, and one of our group actually knew who he was talking about! Then some bike cops came by and we invited them to join the fence too. They werent really feeling it but we kept ‘m talking for a good five minutes until they politely excused themselves stating there were ‘”other things they had to take care of.” Pffft, yah whateverrrr.
Lowlights of Toronto’s Nuit Blanche 2012
– Having the smart bits cut out in my Vice interview! I was just getting to the good part where I realized, hmm, maybe using my cellphone as a dictionary is post-modern enough? Alas, Vice just wanted to shoot people being douchebags, as usual.
– I was hard pressed to find anything that really knocked my socks off, ’nuff said about that.
– If the purpose of Yonge-Dundas was to create a safe space for the GTA’s under age drinking population as some kind of socio-political commentary, then I guess that was a job well done?
– Getting a media invite to what I thought was a street art installation at Joe Fresh on Queen W. Turns out it was a VIP shopping party (oooh, 20% off!) in the store with glasses of New Zealand’s version of Jackson Triggs wine and hors d’oeuvres. They actually did have a quarter window installation showcasing some Toronto talent but it was more of an afterthought, visible only from outside. The food and wine was a nice snack but come on….really? Poor taste IMO, Mista Fresh, although i hate to admit, that men’s militaresque sweater did kind of catch my eye at $29.99. What I did learn from my first-time experience at the shop is that you are eagerly trying to earn the title of Canada’s answer to H&M.
Thursday night carousing @ C Space Milano, Cipollini Bikes, Sharp Mag Launch
Thursday night was another hit with the PR and promo people as I hit up Yorkville for the opening of C Space Milano, a Cipollini Bikes (accidentally having a launch upstairs, great timing!), and the Sharp Book For Men Fall/Winter 2012 launch event at the Shangri-La Hotel. On our way out, we couldn’t resist having a bite at the brand newly opened Momofuku. All shots taken with my new iPhone 5, this was more of a test night than anything.
