Here is Daedelus’s “Flying Sail” (featuring Computer Jay) for a bit of a late-afternoon pick-me-up. I will hopefully be going to see Daedelus, Salva and Ryan Hemsworth at Wrong Bar this coming week, if all goes according to plan. Imagine this magic, live:

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Where: 1602 Dundas West, 1602 Dundas West
What: Anne’s birthday party!
Also what: Scotchy scotch
Price: $6.50-$15.00+, depending on your particular brand and age of poison
Bonus: About 100 unapproachably attractive men standing around awkwardly; surprisingly loud electrobeats

Last night, I braved the slushy, windy, generally horrible dregs-of-February conditions outside to go to the always-lovely Anne’s birthday party at an understated Scotch bar, which is known simply by its street address, 1602 Dundas West. The bar with no name: kind of like the horse with no name? (Click here for awesomeness.)

There is not much I consider worth going outside for on a cold Friday night, but friends with alcohol is a sure bet. (Perhaps the only thing?) This is especially true when it involves a bunch of Mount A alumni who have been transplanted to Toronto over the years since we graduated. (Which happens to be, I point out with grim realization, many years ago now.)

I am relatively unschooled in the art of drinking Scotch, but I do enjoy learning about all kinds of new things. I can’t tell you many interesting facts about the types of alcohol that I drank, other than they were warm and delicious. My selection process was quite refined: read a word on the menu board, attempt to remember that word on the short walk over to the bar, massacre pronunciation of the word when trying to order. I highly recommend this method for any novice Scotch-drinkers.

I tried the Auchentoshan on the rocks first, which the internet tells me is a triple-distilled single malt Scotch Whisky. It was nice and warm, nothing too intense. Perfect for a slushy Canadian winter night. Our little posse had a prime spot near the front door of the modest venue, allowing for a gust of fresh air to wash over us periodically, but this place got crowded, warm and very loud pretty quickly. I recommend getting there early if you want to snag a seat or to actually be able to hear the people you came with.

My second choice was a Laphroaig, aged 10 years, straight. It touts itself as “the world’s most richly flavoured Scotch Whisky,” and it is indeed intense. This whisky had a lot more kick, and tasted potent and leathery. Smelling it was almost tasting it. And it smelled like an old leather boot, in the best possible way. A good drink to nurse whilst talking about the good things in life. (Is this adulthood?)

Concluding thoughts: this bar is homey and inviting. It’s the next best thing to actually swimming in a warm and friendly pool of Scotch, if that’s your idea of a good time.

Go here if: you have an affinity for Scotch, or you are trying to impress someone who has a love of the drink, or you are trying to meet someone with said affinity. It’s a good cure for the end-of-February blues.