Canadian Whisky

What's Behind The Surging Popularity Of Canadian Whiskies?

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If you're reading this in Canada, there are no spoilers ahead. You should already know your country makes great whisky. But in the U.S. and elsewhere, we're just learning that the range of brown spirits from the Great White North goes far beyond cinnamon-flavored party bombs and middle-of-the-road, big-name basics.

During Prohibition in the U.S. (1920 to 1933), Canadian whisky became a popular go-to, because it was flowing just fine (perhaps literally: rumors abound that Canadian Club's Windsor distillery featured an underwater pipeline disgorging hooch from Walkerville, Ont. to the U.S.). It's the reason Boardwalk Empire's Nucky traffics in the stuff and Mad Men's Don Draper makes it his neat drink of choice. In the 1970s, Seagram's VO, Black Velvet and Crown Royal were among the few "brown" spirits that maintained any legs in a drinking world dominated by vodka, beer and sweet wines.

Unfortunately, that's about as far as most people get with the booze from the North: fuzzy memories of parties gone bad over brash, yet strangely sweet Seven and Sevens, or one too many Fireball shots. Fortunately, all that's changing. Following years of stagnancy, overall sales of Canadian whiskies in the U.S. have increased 6% in the past five years, and are up a whopping 59% in the Super Premium category, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS). More importantly, a whole new range of carefully crafted boutique brands is entering the American market. Blame Don Draper. Blame the rising tide of all sorts of whiskies, from single malts to bourbons. Blame Canada.

"The best Canadian whisky is as richly flavorful as whisky made anywhere in the world," says Davin de Kergommeaux, single malt expert and author of the new book Canadian Whisky: The Portable Expert (McClelland & Stewart, 2012). His book explores the history and processes common to most Canadian whiskies, and offers tasting notes for 100 top expressions, including rarities like Canadian Club 30-Year, Wiser's Special Reserve and Danfield's Limited Edition 21-Year.

Defining what Canadian whisky actually is can be a challenge: There are very few rules governing its production compared with scotch or bourbon. It's long been a point of contention that Canadian products branded as "rye" may have as little as 5% rye content in the mash (American rye whiskeys require at least 51% in the grain makeup and generally run above 80%), and other than a requirement stating it needs to sit in wood (smaller than 700 liters) for 3 years, and come in at 40% alcohol by volume (80 proof, though it's generally distilled at a very high proof, like vodka) there isn't much more. But there are some trends:

"Rather than using a mash bill, Canadian whisky makers distill the grains separately, blending the matured spirits together," says de Kergommeaux. "This mean each grain makes its own contribution to the final flavor. Elegance, spiciness and a cleansing citrus pith are the hallmarks of great Canadian whisky."

Don Livermore, the distiller for Pike Creek, JP Wiser's and Lot 40, argues the freedom and versatility the looser rules offer is an advantage, as are Canada's diverse environmental settings (the summers can be hotter than Kentucky, but the winters are far, far colder — meaning raw spirits see more influence from the barrels expanding and contracting and absorbing the whisky during aging).