Tasting reviews — BLOG — The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries

The Newfoundland Distillery Whisky (43%)

Decisively, on November 30, 2023, Newfoundland joined the rest of the country as a legal whisky-making province. That’s when the partners released The Newfoundland Distillery Company's first single-pot still Newfoundland Whisky.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsDecember 18, 2023The Newfoundland Distillery Co.Newfoundland Distillery Company, Newfoundland Distillery, Whisky, Barley, Canadian Distillery, Canadian Distilleries, Canadian Spirits, Canadian Whisky, Pot Still Whisky

Bridgeland Distillery Taber Corn Berbon

In Calgary, those familiar Taber highway skid marks now appear in front of Calgary’s Bridgeland distillery. There they make a spirit called Taber Corn Berbon, proving that now you can eat your Taber corn and drink it too.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsJune 11, 2021Bridgeland DistilleryAlberta, Alberta Distillers, Alberta Distilleries, Alberta Distillery, Berbon, Bourbon, Taber Corn Berbon, Bridgeland Distillery, Bridgeland, Canadian Whisky, Canadian Grain, Taber, Taber Corn, Penfold, Canadian Liqueur

The Newfoundland Distillery Company Seaweed Gin

In 2017, the Newfoundland Distillery Company in Clarke’s Beach on Conception Bay began making gin to bridge the gap while their whisky matured. After a tenure as a chef in Ottawa cooking for high-profile names, Carter had returned to Newfoundland. His experience in the kitchen honed his approach to the culinary arts – making humble seasonal ingredients pop on the palate. Gin was already in his culinary DNA.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsJune 8, 2021Newfoundland Distillery CompanyNewfoundland Distillery Company, Newfoundland, Newfoundland Distillery, Seaweed, Seaweed Gin, Gin, Canadian Gin, Canadian Distillery, Canadian Distilleries, Peter Wilkins, Conception Bay, William Carter, Vikings, L'Anse Aux Meadows

Dubh Glas Lockdown Whisky

When Canada went into lockdown, Grant Stevely was prepared. Stevely, who owns The Dubh Glas Distillery in Oliver, BC, isn’t that crazy person who spent the past few years stashing batteries, ammunition and water into a generator-powered bunker. No, he stockpiled his distillery with 100% British Columbia barley to distil into whisky.

Willibald Farm Distillery Gin

Yellow, it is said, is the colour of divinity and madness. Many people assumed those qualities had possessed the very young Cam Formica and brothers Jordan and Nolan van der Heyden when they opened a distillery with only an aged gin on the shelf and a bright yellow label to attract customer’s attention.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsApril 20, 2021Willibald Farm Distillery & BreweryWillibald, Willibald Farm Distillery, Willibald Distilling, Willibald Distillery, Ontario Spirits, Ontario Distillery, Ontario Gin, Willibald Distillery Gin, Willibald Gin, Willibald Aged Gin, Aged Gin, Gin, Ontario Distilleries, Ayr, Ayr Ontario

Vodkow

A few years ago, McDonald questioned if milk permeate could be fermented and distilled. A researcher at the University of Ottawa helped answer that question with a yeast strain that has an insatiable appetite for milk sugars. From here, McDonald wove together a plan to distil vodka from local raw milk permeate sourced from Canada’s largest dairy.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsApril 13, 2021Dairy DistilleryOntario Spirits, Ontario Distillery, Ontario Vodka, Vodka, Dairy Distillery, Almonte Ontario, Almonte, James Naismith, Milk, Milk Vodka, Milk Permeate, Omid McDonald, Dairy

Shelter Point Ripple Rock Whisky

It would take a little over 50 years for another Ripple Rock explosion to occur. This one, 30 minutes south of the original blast at Shelter Point Distillery. This time the distillery crew packed a new whisky full of explosive flavour that detonates on the palate.

Lone Pine Distilling’s Gateway & Earl Grey Gins

Edmonton has the nickname “Gateway to the North, and now bartenders can shake it into cocktails. Back in the day, the North Saskatchewan River that twists through the city proved a significant waterway for Canada’s fur trade. Indeed, two warring companies, the Hudson’s Bay Company and the North West Company, occasionally came to blows while paddling their wares through Edmonton.

Distillerie Shefford’s Vodka d’erable

In the spring of 2020, when Lacroix and Métivier decided to sell their distillery, the Bourassa brothers acquired it, adding spirits to their extensive range of maple products. Among these is a maple vodka that keeps the distillery on that innovative path. This is no boring vodka made by drowning neutral spirit in maple flavour. That’s not the Shefford way, and neither is it Bourassa’s.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsMarch 23, 2021Distillerie SheffordCanadian Artisan Spirits, Canadian Distillery, Quebec, Distillerie Shefford, Canadian Distilleries, Quebec Distillery, Vodka, Quebec Vodka, Canadian Voka, Canadian Vodka, Maple Vodka, Maple Spirits, acerum

A Beautiful Man;

Jay Wheelock was a kind and generous soul, grateful for every opportunity to share his love of whisky with others. He was admired and respected throughout Canada’s whisky world. So, when Jay died unexpectedly in 2020, Canadian whiskydom went into shock. It is not surprising that another kind and generous whisky soul, Grant Stevely of Dubh Glas Distillery, has chosen to quietly honour Jay’s memory with a commemorative bottling.

Arbutus Baba Yaga Absinthe: Home In a Barrel

Thomas Edison invented the phonograph in 1877 just as France’s “green hour” rose to prominence. At 5PM, everyone from wealthy aristocrats to struggling artists would crowd into cafes and bars to drink absinthe. The spirit quickly became a scapegoat for every ill of society. It was absinthe that was to blame for the decline of civilization.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsMarch 1, 2021Arbutus Distilleryabsinthe, Arbutus Distilery, Arbutus, British Columbia, British Columbia Distillery, British Columbia Spirits, Canadian Distillery, Canadian Artisan Spirits, Canadian Artisan Spirit Awards, Nanaimo, Canadian Spirits, Green Fairy, Baba Yaga, Canadian Absinthe

Yukon Wildberry Brandy (40%)

If you’re not from around here, you might think folks in Canada’s Yukon Territory would need to import fruits and berries if they wanted to make brandy. In truth, the berry bushes up here are tough enough to steal your lunch money if they weren’t so busy surviving the bitter-cold winter.

Tasting reviewsDavin de KergommeauxFebruary 20, 2021Yukon BrewingYukon Distillery, Yukon, Yukon Spirits, Yukon Brewery, Brandy, Yukon Wildberry Brandy, Wildberry Brandy, Canadian Distilleries, Canadian Spirits, Canadian Distileries, Canadian Distillery, Two Brewers, Two Brewers Whisky, Bob Baxter, Alan Hansen

Alberta Premium Cask Strength Whisky

Behind the scenes, years of planning went into this whisky. Alberta Distillers know they make a world-class rye whisky and this release was an occasion to showcase it. Whatever they chose to release would have to show ADL at its best. It turns out that meant all-rye whisky at cask strength.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsFebruary 9, 2021Alberta DistillersAlberta Premium, Alberta Distillers, Alberta Distilleries, Alberta Premium Cask Strength, Alberta, Calgary Distillery, calgary, Calgary, Canadian Distillery, Canadian Whisky, Canadian Distilleries, Rye, Rye Whisky

Eau Claire Batch 004 Single Malt Whisky

Eau Claire's old-fashioned approach to making whisky begins with fitting the latest fall fashions in horseshoes. Then vintage farm equipment is harnessed to a team of draft horses that walk in tandem like equestrian models on a grain runway. This horse-driven machinery cuts the barley, bundles it into sheaves, then kicks it back onto the field.

Shelter Point Smoke Point Whisky

Shelter Point Distillery produces single malt and other whiskies from grain it grows on one of Vancouver Island’s few remaining seaside farms. Those fields of grain mature just steps from two kilometers of Salish Sea beach, and the salty aromatherapy it brings on each sea breeze.

Willibald Farm Distillery Vodka

On June 26, 2019, Canada revised its Vodka Act, and overnight the spirit’s stuffy restraints were loosened. Distilleries that had been making clear spirits with fruit, whey or honey could finally re-label them vodka. Others reacted with new vodkas that celebrated the spirit’s agricultural source. Finally, you could taste the essence of the ingredients and vodka became interesting again.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsJanuary 24, 2021Willibald Farm Distillery & BreweryCanadian Distillery, Canadian Distilleries, Vodka, Willibald, Willibald Distilling, Willibald Farm Distillery, Ayr, Ayr Ontario, Ontario, Ontario Spirits, Ontario Distillery, Ontario Distilleries, Canadian Distileries, Twilight Zone

Wayward Krupnik Spiced Honey Liqueur

One of the thrills of exploring Canada’s new distilleries is the amazing discoveries you make. A distinctive luxury sets Wayward Krupnik apart, as its soft cinnamon, spice cake and brown sugar aromas give way to sweet floral notes, with mild cinnamon, waxy honey, vanilla, crayons, caramel and hints of nutmeg.

Tasting reviewsDavin de KergommeauxJanuary 22, 2021Wayward Distillery, Wayward Krupnik, Wayward Distilling, Krupnik, Polish Liqueur, Honey Liqueur, Liqueur Review, Liqueur, Canadian Distillery, Canadian Distileries, Canadian Spirits, BC Distillery, BC Spirits, Courtenay BC, British Columbia, British Columbia Distillery

Odd Society Spirits Storm Black Plague

Storm Black Plague Whisky, which is bottled at 46%, is deeply integrated, as a blend should be. And within this seamless profile, several flavours from the whisky’s neighbourhood twirl in unison to create a whisky with a sense of community.

Tasting reviewsBlair PhillipsJanuary 19, 2021Odd Society Spirits, Odd Society, Odd Society Whisky, Canadian Distillery, Canadian Whisky, Canadian Distilleries, Canadian Spirits, British Columbia, British Columbia Distillery, British Columbia Whisky, whisky, Brewery Whisky, Brewery Whisky Collaboration, Storm Brewing, Storm Black Plague

Odd Society P49 Old Boy Single Malt Whisky

P49 Old Boy Single Malt Whisky was mashed at the Parallel 49 brewery using a recipe based on its Old Boy Classic Brown Ale. The mash was then transported to Odd Society distillery to be fermented, distilled and matured.

Shelter Point Sunshine Liqueur

Shelter Point’s Barrel of Sunshine fairly bursts with honey, maple, mandarin orange and sweet vanilla. Maple sugar candy and a restrained spiciness lead to a warm glow on the finish as the maple notes surge to the fore, along with juicy canned Mandarin oranges and a lovely hot peppery zip. You don’t have to live in paradise to make a great whisky liqueur, but if you want to capture sunshine in a bottle, it certainly does help.

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