AT THE TOP

How to drink like Drake

People in the clubs are already partying to your music, going to your concerts and wearing your clothes. If you’re Drake, how can you monetize fan devotion even further? How about make a whisky and really own bottle service like no one else has before? Drake’s Virginia Black, a “Decadent American Whiskey,” lands at LCBO stores this week. I scored an advance bottle. Realizing that Aubrey Graham himself wasn’t going to make this drink writer’s hotline bling to answer questions about the product, I imagined a conversation between us. So, with apologies to Drake for borrowing his lyrics …

Adam: Now, Drizzy — is it all right if I call you that? — this whisky is billed as a collaboration between you and spirits mogul Brent Hocking, with your partner given the credit for the recipe. I read in a couple of places that this whisky is actually manufactured by MGP Ingredients of Indiana, but the public relations team wouldn’t confirm this for the Post.

Drake: “Pray the real live forever, pray the fakes get exposed.”

A: Hey, don’t be hard on yourself. Contract distilling — an arrangement whereby someone else manufactures your whisky and you put your own label on it — is a longstanding and perfectly fine practice in the distilling industry. I’m especially comfortable with it in cases like this, where you’re not making any claims to being an “artisanal” product or anything precious like that. In fact, the only hint of the regional origins are on the back label, which says: “Not from Virginia.” So let’s talk about how the whisky tastes. That’s what’s important.

D: “I swear this life is like the sweetest thing I’ve ever known.”

A: Well, that’s terrific! And the whisky is pretty sweet, too: Lots of caramel and corn and wood chips, all of which are typically American. But there’s also a lightness that I would associate more with Canadian whisky than American. And it sounds too apropos to be true, given that you’re Canadian and all, but there’s a definite hint of maple syrup.

D: “I’m just saying you could do better.”

A: I have to agree that’s true. But for about 40 bucks this is a pretty OK whisky, and you could easily have gotten away with giving the consumer something mediocre.

D: “Let’s celebrate with a toast and get lost in tonight.”