Over 40 people attended the Brant Historical Society and the Canadian Military Heritage Museum’s fourth annual Scotch Tasting fundraiser on Friday, January 23, 2026.
Set up amongst the exhibits of the Canadian Military Heritage Museum, the event was hosted by whisky enthusiast Geoff Kempster, who led guests through the tasting of five different Scotches, each poured as a half-ounce sample. The tasting featured The Dalmore 12-year-old Highland single-malt, Té Bheag blended Scotch, Ardmore Legacy Highland single-malt, Ardbeg 10-year-old Islay and Dun Bheagan Islay single-malt Scotch whiskies.
Esther Brouwer, Myrtleville House Museum’s Education Programmer and organizer of the event, said the scotch whiskies, which were all produced in Scotland, varied in price and flavour.
“The first scotch of the night is going the most light and has more of a fruity flavour, and then as we through the tasting, they’ll get stronger and stronger so that by that time we get to the last one, it should be very peaty and very smoky,” she said. “Geoff, who is our host for the night, will be introducing the scotches and describing the flavours. He’ll also walk through how everyone should be drinking them, so looking at the colour, smelling the sample, sipping it and then tasting it again with a drop of water.”
In keeping with customary Robbie Burns Day celebrations, midway through the evening, James Williams piped in Scotland’s national dish, haggis, and read Burns’ “Address to a Haggis.”
“Haggis is a Scottish meal that is typically cooked in a sheep’s stomach,” explained Brouwer. “It’s made from the offal from a sheep, so the hearts, liver and lungs, with grains and spices. In Canada, we’re not allowed to use the offal of certain animals, so they typically use ground lamb instead.”
During some down time, guests were encouraged to take a look at six different portraits of Burns and guess which was painted first and last. The winner took home a gift basket of Scottish treats.
Brouwer also provided a bit of background on Robbert Burns and read two of his poems including, “To a Mouse” and “My Heart’s in the Highlands.”
As the night was nearing its end, dancers from Brantford’s Angus Academy of Highland Dance performed several traditional Highland dances for the guests, including a sword dance, “The Fling,” “The Lilt,” “Pas de Basque” and a choreographed routine to the song “Tell My Ma.”
Tom Wilson, who was attending the event for the second time and won the gift basket, said he enjoyed the evening.
“I came back in 2024 after a friend invited me so I was very excited to come back,” he said. “I very rarely buy the same scotch or whisky twice because I like to keep playing the field, so it was nice to come and try some new ones.”
When asked which of the five Scotch whiskies was his favourite, he said it was the Dun Bheagan Islay single-malt Scotch whisky.
“It’s straight from the cask and it had a really nice, smoky finish, but I personally found it was one of the sweeter tasting ones,” said Wilson.
The guest added that overall enjoyed the night, especially the haggis, and that he particularly enjoyed Brouwer’s reading of “My Heart’s in the Highlands.”
“The last poem she read was quite memorable, it just had a bigger impact on me and I found it relatable too,” he said. “But it was a good night, I always enjoy it and I appreciate that it’s held here at the military museum too, it always reminds me I should come back here more often.”
Now in its fourth year and the third hosted the military museum, the annual event was initially inspired by Brouwer’s college placement days.
“I actually got to work at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum in Scotland back in 2013, so I got to know all about the Robbie Burns Day [January 25] celebrations while I was there,” she explained. “People there typically get together to drink whisky, eat haggis and do poetry readings so I always thought, ‘I want to do that at museums I work at in Canada,’ and luckily, the first museum I worked at in Dundas actually had a couple Burns artifacts, so it tied in well.”
Now with the Brant Historical Society, Brouwer thought it would be a great idea to host their own scotch tasting event as a way to fundraise for the organization. In all, over $1,000 was raised.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
