Theatre North West is having a fundraiser, on ice or neat.
Those who love scotch are an exclusive and passionate segment of the social libation population. The potent whisky native only to Scotland is a patriotic elixir to many of highland heritage, and it is a burning tongue tonic to an inclined club of drinkers from any nationality. Few shrug about scotch - either you dislike it or you really like it.
Theatre North West has a family of staff, board and regular supporters in the latter camp. They have teamed up with the city's scotch drinkers club for a public invitation to enjoy some of the most winsome of these whiskies, with proceeds going to the professional theatre company.
"Theatre North West is hosting its first-ever scotch and social night, and you are invited," said TNW's director of marketing and development Carli Staub.
"Please join us for an evening of scotch, wonderful food from our favourite local restaurant, and great company. Tickets are $100 and include three tastings of rare, single malt scotches as well as appetizers. There will also be an opportunity for an additional tasting of a unique scotch."
The scotch club's David Wharrie said the night will be similar to past events held exclusively for the group, but for the first time they are opening the proceedings up to the public in aid of a worthy local arts group.
"We started about six years ago and we haven't been very active lately, so this was a great way to get us all together again, talking about scotch, learning new things, and tasting some wonderful stuff," Wharrie said. "What happens is, you get to sample an amount of three or four different kinds of scotch. For each one, you make notes and at the end there is a discussion about each kind and what people thought of it."
That is joy enough for many participants, but Wharrie said there is an added feature that adds to the fun by raising the quality and the stakes of the night.
"We also buy a significantly more expensive bottle of scotch. Most people will pay in the range of $100 to $150 for a bottle, but we will buy one in the range of $800. That is beyond what most people can pay, but we can do it by offering the chance to buy tickets for a dram of that special brand.
"We sell those tickets for about $20 each, and there is a series of draws for a pouring of the expensive scotch until the bottle is empty. Quite often a table will go in on some tickets, and if the table wins, everyone at the table gets a little sample from the dram. It's a camaraderie thing."
The scotch tasting happens May 30 at 7 p.m. at Theatre North West (No. 36 - 556 N. Nechako Rd.). Contact Staub for tickets and more information: 250-563-6969 x30 or [email protected].
