A change of the seasons brings about a toast at an Enderby Clydesdale farm from a North Okanagan company. Horse Drawn Okanagan is hosting a new event at Black Isle Farms, a 200-acre hay farm and home to a small herd of Clydesdales, on Saturday, Sept. 28.
The tasting will be led by Andrew Laird of Okanagan Spirits. He will guide guests through the different qualities of each of the four scotch samples with a blind tasting. The selection includes scotch from the Highlands, Islay, and Orkney Island regions, and the Okanagan.
"Everyone will come away with a thorough understanding of each scotch, including the origin, type, colour, complexity etc. as well as what flavours you can expect when sampling scotch such as peaty, citrus, smoky, floral or spicy," said event coordinator Kelly MacIntosh of Horse Drawn Okanagan. "Note cards will also be provided.
" Not only is there going to be a selection of four single malts, but guests will also enjoy a horse drawn wagon ride with the Clydesdales around the farm and to the oat field where a station will be set up for the tastings. Don MacLeod of North Okanagan Pipes and Drums will delight guests with a bagpipe performance. Adam Degenstein and his horses Doc and John, will provide a walking plow demonstration at the site where oats have recently been harvested.
And of course, Scottish-themed appetizers will be served out of a vintage horse trailer bar. “It’s about as close to being in Scotland as you can get," said MacIntosh. "Scottish horses, fantastic scotch, bagpipe music, beautiful scenery, but with good weather and we won’t won’t be serving haggis!" MacIntosh said part of Horse Drawn Okanagan's mandate is to keep traditions alive through use of draft horses.
"But as a group, we all seem to love many cherished Scottish traditions, so we’ve brought together a few of those in this event," she said. "I’d like to say a special thank you to our hosts, Ken and Kara McNair, for opening their farm to the public.” Farm gates open at 3 p.
m. (if you’d like to watch the horses be harnessed), wagons depart at 4 p.m.
, and the event wraps up when the sun goes down. Pre-registration is required at . Black Isle Farms is located at 642 Enderby Grindrod Rd.
.
