Single Malt Whisky Tasting At Cape Breton’s Glenora Distillery
It’s wonderful to be back in Cape Breton, especially on a hot cloudless sunny day. After crossing Canso Causeway and following Route 19 on Ceilidh Trail, we picnicked on the rocks of the Celtic Shores Coastal Trail, a hard-packed gravel trail which snakes along the western shores of Cape Breton from Port Hastings all the way north 92 kilometers to Inverness. In Glenville, we stopped at the Glenora Distillery to sample the single malt whisky (can’t call it Scotch since we’re not in Scotland). We stepped into the bar and listened to the live Celtic music from local fiddlers and singers while sampling a flight of five whisky choices. The Glen Breton 10 year-old whisky was smooth, but we loved the 19 year-old cask strength whisky finished in a barrel used for ice wine to add a hint of sweetness at the end. Then we took a tour around the distillery to see how they produced 150 barrels of whisky this past year. Built in 1990, Glenora is the first distillery in North America to attempt to make single malt scotch. The water stems from the shimmering McClellan’s Brook which runs through the bucolic property, while the malted barley comes from Saskatchewan and the fast-acting yeast from South Africa. The finished product is aged in oak barrels from the Buffalo Trace bourbon distillery in Kentucky. The result is award-winning single malt whisky, worthy of a stop.
We arrived around 10 am at the Bangkok Airport with more than enough time to catch our first flight that day to Hong Kong, which would then connect to our Boston flight home. We checked the Cathay Pacific website before we left the hotel and our first flight was on time, as scheduled. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. We were told at airport check-in that our first flight had technical problems and would be delayed. There was no way we could make the connecting flight in Hong Kong and the next flight from Hong Kong to Boston would be exactly 24 hours later. Uggh.
If you’ve been following this blog over the years, you know I cherish the rare wilderness experience found in Maine’s northern woods. To get lost in this vast land of tall pines, 4,000-foot peaks, and far too many waterways to count, where moose tend to outnumber humans, is an unparalleled experience in the northeast. As part of the Maine Woods Initiative, which I first wrote about for 
Enter Toronto’s 
On May 27th, the Boston Globe will debut the redesign of its new travel section. I’ve been asked to write a weekly column called “Go Play!” where I’ll take a detailed look at one hike, one bike ride, one mountain climb, one beach stroll, one sea kayaking jaunt, or one river paddle. It’s often what I write about in this blog, so thank you for being my soundboard and helping me hone the concept! Next week, I’ll be blogging live from San Antonio. I usually don’t like to write live from location, because any work takes away from your enjoyment of the locale. That’s why tweeting works so beautifully. On a trip, I’d much rather spend 30 seconds on a tweet than 30 minutes on a blog. But I’ll give it a go and see what happens. Enjoy the weekend, and yes, go play!
Lavaux’s majestic vineyards are sculpted into the steep hillside like the rice terraces of Bali. Many of the stone walls that hem in the rows of vineyards were first created by monks. The perfect introduction to the beauty of Lavaux is aboard the circa-1910 paddle steamer,