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The Wiserhood

The Wiserhood is a social organization that arose from obscure origins in the late 1850’s1 in Eastern Ontario. A society of men who refused to compromise in all aspects of their lives, they were also drawn together by a shared love of Wiser's whisky. For the first 50 years the organization simply called themselves The Society of Uncompromising Men, but this was later shortened to The Wiserhood, in honour of their founder J.P. Wiser.

History

John Philip Wiser, or J.P. as he was more commonly known in Prescott, Ontario, was frustrated with the impure, under-aged whiskies of the day and envisioned a whisky made with careful precision, and aged to perfection in white oak barrels. He hand-picked a group of men who shared his uncompromising commitment to quality as his employees and together they began to build the Wiser’s legacy. These men comprised the original members of The Wiserhood. After the death of J.P. Wiser, the distillery and the Wiser’s whisky family was sold to Henry Corby of Corby Distilleries Limited. Production was moved to the Belleville, Ontario area in 1932. It was believed by many that The Wiserhood disbanded with the demise of the Prescott distillery as the secret society went underground.

In 2008, The Wiserhood re-surfaced with an open search for new members. Described no longer as a secret society, The Wiserhood has developed into a place that welcomes uncompromising men once more, asking only that they pick up some more ice on their way over.

Organizational structure

While in recent years The Wiserhood link title has adopted the bottom-up style of management popularized by progressive marketing firms (too industry sounding) in the mid-1990’s5, it is not a true flat organization as several hierarchical levels remain.

The Chairman The highest ranking member of The Wiserhood, he is responsible for welcoming new members into The Wiserhood. When a new member is welcomed to The Wiserhood the Chairman is always seated in a chair similar to the one in which J.P. Wiser sat during the inaugural signing of The Wiserhood’s Official Looking Handbook. The position has been held by Gerald Longmot since 1973, the date of his inauguration into the Hall of Fame.

Secretary The Secretary of The Wiserhood is responsible for day to day quality control and new membership training. A spot currently held by Hall of Fame member Chris Henderson who was also recently inducted into The Wiserhood Hall of Fame for never “threading the needle”, doing the “running man”, or pulling out “the lawnmower”.

Principles and Activities

Rituals & Symbolism

The Crest of Integrity: The official looking emblem of The Wiserhood.

The Slow Clap is the ceremonious act that signifies ones entry into The Wiserhood. All members present at the inauguration of a new member take up the slow clap; striking their hands together in a slow, deliberate motion.

Legend has it that J.P. Wiser himself invented this ritual to represent the slow and careful whisky-making process. But many believe the slower clap made it easier for him to hold a glass in one hand without spilling the contents.

From these humble beginnings, The Slow Clap has stood as a symbol of honour and integrity for over 150 years, marred only slightly in the mid-eighties when it was appropriated by a string of bad Hollywood movies.

The “4 S” System The drinking ritual of The Wiserhood. The details of which are outlined in the Official Looking Handbook of The Wiserhood – a 36 page document members are encouraged to commit to memory.

See Once poured, swirl* your glass and hold it up to the light to admire the rich, deep amber colour of the liquid.

Sniff Add an equal amount of water to your Wiser’s and place it to your nose. Another gentle swirl* should release the oak, toffee, caramel and vanilla aromas. Sip While an amateur may attempt to hurry, a real Wiserhood man appreciates his whisky tasting by letting the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity roll over his tongue. The sweetness can be found, as a result of the charred oak barrels in which the Wiser’s was aged, on the tip of your tongue, while the sides of your tongue will pick-up a slight bitterness from the tannins. The two will exist in perfect contrast—a true sign of a balanced whisky.

Serve Never forget to offer your friends their own glass to sample and swirl*.

• The Universal ‘S’

Swirl The swirl is an essential part of the whisky tasting process. This gentle, circular motion awakens the complex flavours resting within the golden liquid. And even if it didn’t, you have to admit it still looks really, really cool.

Wiserhood lingo

ABV: The alcoholic content in a beverage in relation to the total liquid volume.

ATV: Atlantic Television Network.

Proof: A measure of ethanol in an alcoholic beverage, approximately twice the ABV. Not to be confused with the mildly successful 2005 mathematical thriller.

Congeners: 1)Compounds that transfer flavours formed during the process of producing whisky. 2)The name of the Wiserhood recreational curling club.

Distillation: The process by which alcohol is separated from water by heating. Dram: A small amount, mostly used to describe a glass of whisky. It is actually a Scottish legal measurement of spirit.

Shot: For those us who are uncomfortable saying the word “dram”.

Fermentation: An often vigorous process in which yeast attacks the sugar to produce the alcohol and carbon dioxide in the form of foam.

Grist: The dried malt ground in a mill during the mashing process.

Micronesian Brush-Finch: A rare bird that Wiserhood member Clive claims to have seen outside the clubhouse while washing his hands in the birdbath. Of course, none of us have the heart to tell him it was a pigeon.

Maturation / Aging: The period during which the whisky is kept under such conditions of storage as may be necessary to develop its characteristic flavours and bouquet.

Quixotry: 365 pt. triple word score played by Wiserhood Hall of Famer Gerald Longmot. To this day no one has been able to use it in a sentence.

Membership requirements

All members of The Wiserhood must refuse to compromise in their life’s choices and actions.