A smash hit can be a double-edged sword. Look at ‘80s rock bands and their drippy power ballads. The euphoria of financial success from mass commercial appeal slowly turns to torture. Day in, day out, they’ll play that song ad nauseum for the rest of their professional career. Do you honestly think Foreigner still wants to know what love is? Then, by contrast, there are hits written away from a major label, and voila, it connects on an entirely different level.
Read MoreWhen Stevely decided to bottle a 57% expression of his Noteworthy gin, he wasn’t planning on leading the way for Canadian distilleries to make a navy strength gin. Instead, he was thinking about his success in making cask strength whiskies.
Read MoreWhen 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.
Read MoreIt 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.
Read MoreJay 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.
Read MoreThomas 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.
Read MoreShelter 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.
Read MoreOne 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.
Read MoreStorm 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.
Read MoreP49 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.
Read MoreShelter 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.
Read MoreFrom Stillhead Distillery, on the southern outskirts of Duncan, BC, comes a richly fruity gin unlike any other. Although this region is not exactly wilderness, The Island is wild, rugged country, where even city folk live pretty close to the land and its wildlife. So, it makes sense that the main component of this gin is wild blackberries harvested locally by hand.
Read MoreCanada 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.
Read MoreIf your true love buys you eleven pipers piping for Christmas, before you reach for the earplugs, take a minute to listen. The harmonies of the pipers united in song is the very essence of great gin. Then, having savoured the pipers’ aural thrills, put the earplugs back in and dream of the palatable indulgences these 11 gins will bestow on you and your true love.
Read MoreAccording to some scholars, scholars with way too much time on their hands by the way, ten lords-a-leaping represent the Ten Commandments. OK, let’s run with that. Here we present 10 vodkas you may covet in good conscience, while hoping you find them under the Christmas tree.
Read MoreCanada’s immense land area has produced a selection of gins that explore the thousands of flavours that grow coast to coast. For distilleries near the sea, this includes taking flavours from the temperamental oceans and taming those flavours into its gins.
Read MoreOkanagan Spirits Craft Distillery knows what you really should do when you have a Partridge in a Pear Tree. Set the bird free, wait until the pears are perfectly ripe, then crush, ferment and double distil them into a spectacular Bartlett Pear Brandy aka Poire Williams.
Read MoreCampbell released a soup brand in 1970 using the name “Chunky,” to imply “appetizing.” An advertising campaign that followed, aired for years during game shows like The Price is Right. The premise, two burly men with limited vocabularies, argue about how to eat soup:
Read MoreEmbedded onto Prospector’s label is a topographic map. Does it lead to a forgotten British Columbia mine or a creek for panning gold? Only when cork is pulled, filling the room with the fragrance of brown sugar, peaches and black cherry, does the map reveal its real treasure – 100% Northern British Columbia rye grain sealed in the bottle.
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