The Story Behind Canada’s Spirit

The making of Canadian Whisky predates Confederation. Thanks to knowledge that came along with Scottish and Irish immigrants, Canadian farmers and mill owners soon recognized the benefits of transforming surplus cereal grain production into a non-perishable value added beverage. Given the difficulty of storing grains for long periods in those early days, not to mention lessening the hardships associated with Canadian winters, the transformation into Canadian Whisky provided both economic and social benefits.

It wasn’t long before the “fathers” of Canadian Whisky, including Henry Corby, Samuel Bronfman, William Gooderham, Harry C. Hatch, Joseph. E Seagram, Hiram Walker, J.P. Wiser, became world renowned for their high quality whiskies. Many of these names still resonate strongly with consumers and are available to explore and enjoy. Canadian Club and Wiser’s each celebrated their 150th anniversary of continuous production over the last few years.

The True North Strong and Free

The French call it “terroir”, that link between where something is grown and made that makes it unique to that place. Canadian cereal grains, Canadian soil, Canadian water help define Canadian Whisky.

The positive image of Canada helps position Canadian Whisky in the minds of international consumers, and iconic Canadian Whisky brands reinforce the quality of Canadian products.

The Mysteries of Aging

Similar to fine brandies, whiskies spend much of their time in wood casks or barrels ageing before being bottled and enjoyed by consumers.

The maturation in wood enhances and develops the character of whisky. But this comes at a steep price because of the evaporation of approximately 0.5% to 2% per year…..sometimes referred to as the angel’s share. This means that after 10 years in barrel, a whisky maker may have lost as much as 20%!

The Art of Blending

Most Canadian whiskies’ brands are blends of various whiskies to attain the result desired by the brand’s master blender. Blending, using a range of distinctive “flavouring” whiskies, provides a full palette to be able to produce a range of final taste profiles and the ability to recreate the same final effect year after year, decade after decade.

The range of Canadian Whisky brands is testament to the art of blending using different grains, ages, pot-still or column still distillates, and various yeast strains.

Cocktails with Character

Reflecting more than 200 years of heritage craftsmanship in every bottle, Canadian Rye Whisky can generally be described as approachable and mixable yet with great depth and taste. Most consumers find Canadian whiskies a little sweeter than their American cousin Bourbon and without the smokiness of Scotch…. a perfect balance for drinking neat or as the ideal base for unparalleled modern cocktails.

The perfect marriage of grain and oak-barrel aging enables Canadian Rye Whisky to deliver more character and taste yet produce smooth silky cocktails for enhanced enjoyment.

No wonder it remains Canadian consumers’ most popular spirit, the number one whisky enjoyed by Americans and savoured in more than 165 countries around the world.

Did you know?

• 3 out of every 4 bottles of whisky sold each year in Canada are Canadian Whisky.
• Canadian Whisky is the bestselling whisky in the US, outselling American Blended, American Bourbon, Scotch and Irish whiskies.
• It takes about a bushel of grain to produce 10 litres of whisky.
• US border officials will not allow any entry of Canadian Whisky without an accompanying certificate attesting to the product’s age and origin provided by the Government of Canada.
• British author Kingsley Amis once famously attributed Canadian Whisky’s great success outside as well as inside its own country to its “Purity”.