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Montreal trip - Whisky recommendations

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@dougwatts
dougwatts started a discussion

I'm visiting Montreal in late September and hoping for some Connosr member tips on places to visit and stay and things to do.

Recommendations of a whisky / wine / beer bent would be particularly appreciated. I believe there are some vineyards around the Eastern Townships.....I need to look into that. I'm not at all familiar with Canadian whisky/rye. It's a major gap in my knowledge of all things whisky, relative to Scotch/Irish/Other European/US/Japan. So no suggestion too basic.

Thanks in advance and with apologies to the vast majority of connosr members for whom this discussion is irrelevant and boring!

8 years ago

14 replies

@Victor
Victor replied

Late September is a great time to visit Quebec province. Much depends on how much time you have. Whisky purchase in Quebec is all the Provincial vendor SAQ. SAQ is not too easy to deal with much of the time. You need to hit the biggest of their stores to get good selection. You'll have better whisky availability, especially of the Canadian products, if you drive an hour+ west and shop the biggest of the Ottawa Ontario Province LCBO provincial stores.

For individual Canadian products check out the lists by Paddockjudge and Victor. Most of the best Canadians on those lists are not easy to find in Canada either.

Montreal is a fun big city with lots going on, but if you want charming, get up to Quebec City (2 1/2 hour drive) for a few days. The best Quebec history and sights are there. If you get to Quebec City be sure to take a drive around the charming l'Isle d'Orleans, just outside the city. You should be able to buy some nice wines there.

8 years ago 4Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

If you're going to Montreal you must go to the following Restaurants:

  1. Lafleur - best french fries in the world

  2. Scwartz's (in French "Charcuterie Hebraic") - in the running for 1st or second best smoked meat - order "medium old-fashioned" and the fries are ok too. Pairs beautifully with Cott's Black Cherry soda (not cherry cola)

  3. Gibeau Orange - Orange Julep. A huge Orange sherical building off the Decarie expressway. Best non-whisky beverage in the province.

Please forgive me, my best memories from Montreal stem from my childhood....

8 years ago 3Who liked this?

@dougwatts
dougwatts replied

Many thanks chaps - I'll be sure to check out some of those suggestions. I'm in the area for two weeks, flying in and out of Montreal from Manchester, UK. I'm sure I'll make it to Quebec City for a couple of days.

8 years ago 0

@Pudge72
Pudge72 replied

Old Quebec City is a UNESCO World Heritage site. If you are a history buff, it is a MUST visit. Basically, the settling/founding of modern day Canada played out here (militarily at least) in the 1750's. Too many sites to go through here, but pick up Fodor's travel guide. There should still be one that focuses on Montreal and Quebec City, so it will be perfect for your travels. It won't steer you wrong.

8 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Pudge72
Pudge72 replied

For a Quebec City stay, the Best Western Hotel l'Aristocrate in Quebec City (Ste. Foy, 3100 chemin St. Louis) is only a 15 minute drive to old Quebec...though taking a cab from/to the hotel and walking Old Quebec may work better for you as parking in the area could be tricky.

8 years ago 0

@Spitfire
Spitfire replied

I can offer no suggestions re Montreal. However, just over a year ago now I was in Quebec City for a business conference (set to coincide with Winter Carnival). We stayed at Hotel Le Concorde, which is located just outside Old Quebec--but easy walking distance. Old Quebec us highly recommended (even when it's -25, as it was when I was last there). I can't remember any of the restaurant names, but they were all good, so I don't think it really matters.

8 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

In Montreal, if you feel like making yourself a gourmet meal, go to St Viateur (La Maison de Bagel) for fresh hot bagels, buy some cream cheese, and get your smoked salmon from the Victoria fish market. They make it themselves, they cut it by hand, it's like sashimi only better!

I'm reliving all my food fantasies and realities on this thread!

8 years ago 1Who liked this?

@SKEPTIC
SKEPTIC replied

What about anyone who actually LIVES currently in Montreal?

8 years ago 2Who liked this?

@dougwatts
dougwatts replied

I'll definitely look into Quebec City. I'll be with my fiancée and nearly-2 year old daughter, plus perhaps another whisky-loving pal and his family, so accommodation and activities etc will primarily be dictated by family considerations - my own boozy leanings a distant second. However, will hope to get some stuff planned in. I'm not sure if whisky tourism has caught on in Canada (or Vermont, or other NE states) in the same way it has in Scotland. As I mentioned, i'll look into brewery tours (if any exist) and vinyards too.

8 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor replied

@dougwatts, there are nice microbreweries to be had in Quebec. We like one in Beaupre, which is just North of Quebec City, and we especially like the beer and view of the river from the Microbrasserie D'Orleans in Ste. Famille, on the western side of the Isle d'Orleans. That's a great spot for lunch and beers.

If you stay in Vieux Quebec, you can walk to everything in what mostly resembles an 18th century French city. There is no better place to behold the soul of French Canada than wandering around and hanging out on the streets of Vieux Quebec. It's even more authentic in the wintertime when there are almost no tourists, and you see all around you exactly why the colours of the flag of La Belle Province are pale blue and white. But in September you will have to put up with good weather. Outside the walls of the Old City, Quebec sprawls and has many of the less charming features of modern development.

8 years ago 0

@Nelom
Nelom replied

Will you be renting a car? If so, you may want to consider a visit to Michel Jodoin. It is located about an hour outside Montreal, and they make cider, spirits and apple juice. They've got tours and tastings. I've never been, but it's on my todo list for my next visit to Montreal.

Some links: www.micheljodoin.ca/en/guided-tour-tasting/ goo.gl/maps/p9TY6iAKva12

8 years ago 0

@dougwatts
dougwatts replied

Michel Jodoin looks excellent - I'll add it to the list. I have been to one or two small farm calvados distilleries in Normandy and had lovely, individual tours. This looks a bit more professional than that but the spirits sound very good.

Ditto the Microbrasserie D'Orleans in Ste. Famille - I'll hope to get there too, Many thanks.

Is anyone aware of any Canadian whisky/rye distilleries that are open for tours in this part of the world?

8 years ago 0

@Nelom
Nelom replied

I don't think there are any whisky distilleries near there, but Cirka does vodka and gin and they do tours. You have to contact them to book it first.

Website: cirka.ca/en/distillery

There's also Les Subversifs and while they aren't a whisky distillery either, they have a kinda interesting whisky-type product called Chien Blanc. You buy 1 gallon of grain spirits and with it you get a 5-litre white oak barrel for aging the grain spirit.

I don't see anything about tours on their website, but it doesn't hurt to contact them and inquiring.

Some links: subversifs.ca/lessubversifs/… subversifs.ca/lessubversifs/home.php/…

8 years ago 0

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

@Dougwatts I am from Montreal. The big names for restaurant are Toqué for fine cuisine, Joe Beef for... Beef! And Au pied de cochon for a cuisine mixing classic french cuisine with some really typical Quebec products like maple syrup and a farmy twist. Nozinan gives you great ideas about where to get the food specialities of Montreal: Schwartz, St.Viateur Bagels and Victoria's Fixh Market. There is also many new Chocolatiers if you like your chocolale.

There is so many Microbrasseries in Quebec you can have your pick. My favorite is not a place you will be able to visit since it is at Les Îles de la Madeleine in the middle of the St. Lawrence Gulf. But you should be able to buy La Corps Mort. That beer is made with some malt that have been smoked in the same smokehouse where they smoked the cods so there could be traces of smoked cod in the beer there the name Corps Mort (dead body).

Michel Jodoin has a very good apple Brandy and a nice Ice cider, if I remember correctly. There is a very good gin call St. laurent with a beautiful label that is very interesting as well. Near Montreal there is a distillery that has a good gin Piger Henricus. There is also many projects for single malt, but for the moment that what they are: projects.

As for the places to visit, I find Victor's suggestions to be right on. Montreal has a great night life, a nice biodome, a ton of good restaurants but Quebec is the city to visit. If you are late in September and if the time is cold, you could travel in the Laurentides, the maple trees in red, orange and yellow offer a view to remember but you probably have the same at home.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask.

8 years ago 0

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@Pudge72