The parting glass

Last night I visited Meaford with my mom and her partners to hear The Irish Descendants, an iconic Newfoundland band. They are touring a new album of Stan Rogers covers, and between those pieces and the Irish Descendants’ own repertoire, I think I sang along with just about every tune they played.

Afterwards we headed across the street to The Dam Pub. This whisky bar is one of my favourite pubs in the world. It has over 1000 whiskies in the collection, a supremely knowledgeable staff and a great kitchen. It has been a longstanding tradition whenever I visit this region that we visit The Dam Pub. When my dad was alive we would go on Sunday for the prime rib dinner, and as was always our tradition, we would finish the evening with a nip of very excellent whisky. I’ve spent many nights there with friends and even sitting in with the traditional music session once.

Last night we took our seats at the bar and found out that this was going to be the last weekend of The Dam Pub. After starting in Thornbury in 2006 and moving to Meaford in 2022, Stephanie is finally calling it quits and retiring. The pub has been sold and much to my sadness, the whisky collection will be auctioned off.

This is surely the end of an era, and for me it feels almost like a right of passage. The Dam Pub was a ritual of my visits with my father especially. He died in 2021 and every visit since to the place was like circling up with one of his sweaters. It filled me with warmth, love, and the friendship and community that has gathered in and around those 1000 bottles over two decades.

Last night I ordered a nip of a 1993 Ledaig bottle commissioned by Gordon & McPhail. Tim, the bartender slid the ladder over and went to the very back of the top shelf, pouring me a nip and offering a little pipette and some distilled water to open it up.

That was to be my very last whisky at The Dam Pub. I wished Stephanie and Tim all the best and closed the book on a sweet and meaningful little ritual of my life. I’ll miss them terribly.

Here’s the Dam Pub’s last whisky menu preserved for posterity.