12 Drammers Dramming – Whisky
Whisky – it’s nearly the perfect gift for this Twelfth and final Day of Christmas (the perfect gift, of course, would be a copy of The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries, but we digress.) Canada is blessed with a wealth of great whisky distilleries, so many we couldn’t include them all in our 12-pack. And though some whisky lovers may play the drum, they all certainly dram a dram. So, here’s to you and your true love finding holiday bliss on Day 12, in the depths of a dram of Canadian whisky, be it single malt, rye, corn or a blend of all three.
Alberta Premium Cask Strength (66%)
Alberta Distillers in Calgary, Alberta, has to be the most misunderstood and underappreciated distillery in Canada. Making whisky from 100% rye grain without using commercial enzymes or malt is pretty rare, but Alberta Distillers makes two such whiskies and they couldn’t be more unlike each other. One typical American-style rye is sold pretty much exclusively in the US. Alberta Premium, an elegant, oh-so-typical Canadian whisky, is exclusively available in Canada.
Continually pushing the boundaries of what Canadian whisky can be, every now and then ADL releases a single one-off whisky that simply astounds. That is the case with Alberta Premium Cask Strength. An initial hit of caramel turns briskly peppery with soft dry cereal notes and hints of dark fruit. Bright, fruity, sweet and very spicy. A golden glow on the finish matches the gold medal last year’s edition won at the 2020 Canadian Whisky Awards. Consider your stocking stuffed if you find a bottle in your’s.
www.albertadistillers.com 750ml $64.75
Shelter Point Distillery – The Collective (46%)
Shelter Point Distillery is widely known for its stellar single malt whiskies. The Oyster River, BC distillery clearly ranks as the distilling gem of Vancouver Island and in the very front rank of whisky distilleries nationally. We are super impressed with a blend of whiskies drawn from five barrels. They call this blend “The Collective.” It includes single malt, unmalted barley, wheat and rye whiskies, each selected by one of the distillery’s workers, and it’s incredible!
Brighter than Rudolph’s red nose, it’s floral and fruity with peaches, raspberries, citrus fruit, prune juice and hints of grain that tail off into grain dust, oat straw and mineral tones. The sweet malty palate surprises with hints of peat smoke that soon turn to smoky billows, followed by some earthy ashy tones. Clear notes of clean grain, wheat germ and barley sugar rest on a creamy, pleasingly weighty palate with contrasting peppery spices and vanilla hints. To satisfy the most judicious palates, the Collective draws all its colour from the barrels and is non-chill-filtered.
www.shelterpoint.ca 750ml $63.48
Two Brewers – Single Malt Release 22 (51%)
This year, when Santa flies over the Yukon, have him pick up a single malt whisky from Two Brewers in Whitehorse. They are all good – excellent even – and are broken out into four styles: classic, peated, cask-finished and innovative, to please the discerning connoisseur. Release 22, an Innovative release, shows broad fruitiness, with Granny Smith apples, berries of some kind, lilacs and hints of vanilla on the nose. A rich and creamy palate starts off with peaches and apricots, then bracing hot spice fades into a warming glow. A lot is going on in this complex and beautifully integrated malt whisky. Sweet, but not overly so, Release 22 builds on a pleasingly oaky backbone, then finishes with lingering spices.
www.twobrewerswhisky.com 750ml $104.99
Eau Claire Distillery – Rupert's Exceptional Canadian Whisky (40%)
Rupert is a moose, but no, Rupert’s Exceptional Canadian Whisky is not traditional Canadian Moose Milk. Instead, it’s an impressive blended whisky, rich in malty cereal notes that take the palate on a journey from one end of the flavour spectrum to the other. Fruity pipe tobacco, maple sugars, scorched firewood, dried fruits, grapefruit juice and wine gums on the nose become fruit and spice on a creamy palate. While visions of salted chocolate, roasted nuts, and fruitcake dance through Rupert’s head, peppery spice and tannic walnut skins strengthen our alcesian hero’s character. Like most connoisseurs’ favourites, Rupert’s Whisky is non-chill filtered and has no artificial caramel colour added.
www.eauclairedistillery.ca 750ml $39
Still Waters – Stalk & Barrel Three Barrel Whisky (43%)
Still Waters opened its doors in 2009, making it one of Canada’s first microdistilleries. Since then, they have released an acclaimed range of single malt whiskies, redefined the flavours of 100% rye whisky and introduced three popular blended whiskies. For their most recent blend, the Still Waters team blended their rye and single malt whiskies with a traditional corn whisky. “The single malt adds complexity and robustness to our blends,” distillery co-owner Barry Bernstein tells us.
For Three Barrel, they have bumped up rye and malt components to get a carefully balanced and wonderfully complex malty, spicy blend with chest-warming spices and cloves. The barley malt shines brightest with creamy vanillas, barley sugar, chocolate covered almonds, cocoa and a splash of citrus before coming to a long warming conclusion. A superb dram for this holiday’s true loves to sip and enjoy together by the fireside.
www.stillwatersdistillery.com 750ml $34.95
Bridgeland Distillery Inc. – Taber Corn Berbon (48%)
Alberta is known to grow some of the best barley, wheat and rye globally, but it is not known for its corn. Still, an obscure variety of sweet table corn grown only in Alberta is highly sought after by gourmets as far away as New York. You too will want to give this bourbon style spirit from Bridgeland Distillery a try. Why? It is distilled from the coveted Taber sweet corn along with 32% Penhold barley and 8% Penhold wheat grown in Taber, Alberta.
Buttery corn cobs and sweet caramel on the nose with touches of peppery lumber and spiced vanilla. Black pepper bursts with young wood and sizzling hot grassy spice. Cereal notes and the warmth of fresh charred oak stay on the finish long enough to ring in 2021.
www.bridgelanddistillery.com 500ml $48
Kinsip House of Fine Spirits - Cooper's Revival (42%)
In the heart of the gourmet-renowned Prince Edward County, Kinsip House of Fine Spirits makes “County Quality” spirits on a picturesque heritage farm complete with heritage fowl. A product of great spirit, in-house cooperage, and careful blending, Cooper’s Revival amuses the nose and delights the palate. Wild herbs, flowers, creamy strawberries and ice cream with bold, spicy rye notes is complemented with a slathering buttery mouthfeel. The whisky matures in re-coopered red wine barrels, which lend dark fruit aromas and flavours to a sweetish palate with hot spices that fade into a warm finish with more berries, then lovely herbal tones.
www.kinsip.ca 750ml $59.95
Last Mountain Distillery – Single Cask 5-Year-Old Rye (45%)
Made from 100% Saskatchewan rye grain, this whisky gets a short power ageing in new 10-gallon barrels before spending 5 years in used bourbon barrels. The nose is quite aromatic with vanilla, baking spices, dark fruits and fruit juice. A rich, sweetish palate seems almost smoky as it exudes peppery spices, dry grain, vague barrel tones, real rye bread, and blistering spices. Hot stuff indeed, and very flavourful.
North of 7 Distillery – Canadian Whiskey Four-Grain Mashbill (45%)
Corn, wheat, rye, barley
There’s good reason this five-year-old is North of 7’s best-selling whisky. It’s a complex, satisfying spirit that carefully balances the spicy rye and cereal-like wheat notes by dialling back the corn’s sweetness. The result is a cautious, vanilla-laden honey with whole wheat toast, hints of dark fruit, the earthiness of cooked corn cobs, and a pleasing oakiness. A sudden, quick flush of spice will have you doubting these notes, until it quickly subdues and resolves into chocolatey toasted cereal. The folks who run North of 7 are not particularly flashy and marketing oriented. Otherwise, we’d hear a lot more about their award-winning distillery. So, for now, you can present your true love with a glorious whisky that is still in the classic underground stage.
www.northof7distillery.ca 750ml $60
Gimli Distillery – Crown Royal 10-year-old (40%)
Why do people buy more Crown Royal than they do Canada’s 2nd, 3rd and 4th best-selling whiskies put together? Quality. Quality spirit, quality maturation, and above all else, unparalleled blending. Crown Royal Limited Edition 10-Year-Old is a clear example of that quality and sadly, it is available in Canada only. After at least 10 years in various barrels, and not until they have reached their full maturity, select batch-distilled corn whiskies are blended together in a lush, rich, flavourful dram. Crown Royal’s signature bourbonesque vanilla sits front and center along with barley sugar, floral tones, juicy sweet apples, citrus notes, hints of red wine, brisk peppery spices and the feel of Carnation condensed milk. An elegant whisky with endless subtle nuances in both a distinctive Canadian and Crown Royal fashion balance breadth and flavour.
www.crownroyal.ca 750ml $42.95
Devine Spirits – Ancient Grains (45%)
Although this is not yet old enough to be called whisky, Devine’s Ancient Grains makes all the right noises to please the experienced whisky palate. Distiller Ken Winchester calls it ‘Alternative Whisky’ – a modern, new world spirit made using uncommon grains and techniques at the distiller’s fancy. Winchester’s whims include using BC-grown barley, spelt, emmer, khorosan and einkorn – ancient grains originally from the fertile crescent. That’s the area of the Middle East where grain was first cultivated around 12,000 years ago.
Winchester also uses new American oak quarter casks, which are much smaller than those used by most distillers, giving a greater ratio of oak to spirit for more rapid flavour extraction. Ancient Grains is sweet, fruity and spicy on the nose. The palate retains sweetness with restrained peppery spices, hard candy, more fruity notes and an earthiness like the dust in a grain bin. The ever-present peppery spices never intrude. Dump the milk down the drain and leave this whisky out for Santa so he too can enjoy exotic fruits and a lush, full palate.
www.devinevineyards.ca 750ml $72
Central City Distillery – Lohin McKinnon Thomas Haas Cocoa-Aged Whisky (43%)
In 2013, when Vancouver’s Central City Brewing decided to add stills to their brewery, they hired Scottish distiller Stuart McKinnon to work with their brewmaster, Gary Lohin. Together, Lohin and McKinnon have created a line of world-class single malt whiskies. One of the ideas that Lohin brought to the partnership was the concept of using roasted brewing malts to make a broader range of whisky flavours, including a spectacular chocolate malt whisky.
Their Thomas Haas Cocoa-aged whisky has been matured with real chocolate – cocoa from Vancouver’s renowned chocolatier Thomas Haas. The result, predictably, includes flavours of dark chocolate and malty cereal notes, subtle sweet spices, and vague vanilla. Wait for them and you’ll find leather and hints of coffee latté late in the finish.
www.centralcitybrewing.com 750ml $55.95
78 spirits and 76 distilleries in 12 Days. There are many more spirits to be found in our book The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries – a gift suggestion in itself and one that’s worth its weight in five gold rings, calling birds, leaping lords and French hens. You can ruin Christmas by buying your true love milking maids – or – you can save the day with a bottle of Canadian Spirit and The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries wrapped under the tree. If there was ever a time to support your local distillery, this is the year.