Nova Scotia looks right smack dab into the expanse of the northern Atlantic Ocean. It’s bucolic on the best of days and darn right nasty when a sea fueled squall (or worse) rushes in to darken, dampen and chill its door. Hearty souls are created in these extreme conditions. And whiskey can only be expected to help warm the insides when needed. It’s easy to imagine a local sipping a dram on a beautiful summer day dockside with gentle waves kissing the shore. It’s also easy to imagine a bundled up denizen hunkered down at home or at a friendly pub in front of a crackling fire with a favorite whiskey in hand to get him or her through a long day and night of bitter cold. “Pull up a stool, Mr. Brass Monkey, you look like you need a dram to help thaw out.”

Back in the fall of 2016, I was graciously sent various Canadian whiskey samples by one of Nova Scotia’s finest gentlemen. Bruce Fraser is well-known for his affinity for brooding heavy metal as well as a biting charm and wit, love of his family and fondness for a whiskey or two. His well-curated box of said spirits covered local and not-so local Canadian whiskey from Ontario to Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia with a rousing variety that easily had this taster yearning for a journey to eastern Canada and its Maritime Provinces, if only to sit back with Bruce and drink while listening to an incessantly slow death metal dirge from a band that he only knows as we discuss the topics of the day, or just to laugh ourselves silly over absolutely nothing or over our teenage daughters which easily will drive one to drink. And smile.

Now, my musical tastes happily range from screeching incomprehensible metal to Francis Albert Sinatra, and many points in between. But it’s difficult for me not to think of a certain treasured trio when even remotely pondering any aspect of Canada. Staples and terms like Maple Syrup, Poutine, Old Time Hockey (eh), Polite, First Nations, The Loonie, Tim Horton’s, Johnny LaRue, Geese, Inuit, and “World’s Longest Undefended Border” only reinforce to me that I want dual citizenship so that I can happily call Rush one of “our” own!

And on the occasions of tasting this group of whiskies from north of the border and a dog leg to the east, my head turned to the sounds of Rush in all of their many layers. With music never far away for an analog kid thanks to the digital age, I spent an evening or two random sampling Canadian whiskey new to my palate with the sounds of Lee, Lifeson and Peart (a Macallan man, by the way) filling the invisible airwaves. We will save speaking at length on the complexity and grace of Rush and the impact they and their music have had on this whiskey drinker and let their music speak for itself, paired with Canadian spirits courtesy of Sir Bruce…

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Caldera Distillery Hurricane 5

NAS, 40% ABV

River John, Nova Scotia

Color : Light, weak tea

: Light, weak tea Nose : Butterscotch pudding a tad burnt, lemon, brown sugar, shoe leather from days when shoes were made of leather

: Butterscotch pudding a tad burnt, lemon, brown sugar, shoe leather from days when shoes were made of leather Taste : Sharp rye notes, over the counter medicine-y, light, oak, burnt sugar (not Burt Sugar), faint sweetness

: Sharp rye notes, over the counter medicine-y, light, oak, burnt sugar (not Burt Sugar), faint sweetness Finish: Short, slightly astringent

Jacob’s Ladder

The clouds prepare for battle

In the dark and brooding silence

Bruised and sullen storm clouds

Have the light of day obscured

Looming low and ominous

In twilight premature

Thunderheads are rumbling

In a distant overture

All at once,

The clouds are parted

Light streams down

In bright unbroken beams

Follow men’s eyes

As they look to the skies

The shifting shafts of shining

Weave the fabric of their dreams

Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Lyrics: Neil Peart

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Forty Creek John’s Private Cask No. 1

NAS, 40% ABV

Grimsby, Ontario

Color : Medium brown

: Medium brown Nose : Vanilla, oak, light, fruity

: Vanilla, oak, light, fruity Taste : Very spicy, bit of peppercorn coarsely ground, warm mouth feel, viscous, dry, cinnamon, butterscotch

: Very spicy, bit of peppercorn coarsely ground, warm mouth feel, viscous, dry, cinnamon, butterscotch Finish: Long-ish (more ish than long), sweet, lingering spiciness

Middletown Dreams

Dreams flow across the heartland

Feeding on the fires

Dreams transport desires

Drive you when you’re down

Dreams transport the ones

Who need to get out of town

The boy walks with his best friend

Through the fields of early May

They walk awhile in silence

One close, one far away

But he’d be climbing on that bus

Just him and his guitar

To blaze across the heavens

Like a brilliant shooting star

Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Lyrics: Neil Peart

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Canadian Club CC 20

20 Year Old, 40% ABV

Windsor, Ontario

Color : Dark amber

: Dark amber Nose : Mango, pineapple, wet firewood waiting for a toss into the burning embers, oak like a barrel it came out of

: Mango, pineapple, wet firewood waiting for a toss into the burning embers, oak like a barrel it came out of Taste : Cinnamon, burnt banana, marshmallow, wisps of orange, black tea, a slow burn with a thin texture

: Cinnamon, burnt banana, marshmallow, wisps of orange, black tea, a slow burn with a thin texture Finish: Long, warm, soothing, really nice and balanced

The Garden

In this one of many possible worlds, all for the best, or some bizarre test?

It is what it is – and whatever

Time is still the infinite jest

The arrow files when you dream, the hours tick away – the cells tick away

The Watchmaker keeps to his schemes

The hours tick away – they tick away

The measure of a life is a measure of love and respect

So hard to earn, so easily burned

In the fullness of time

A garden to nurture and protect

In the rise and the set of the sun

‘Til the stars go spinning – spinning ’round the night

It is what it is – and forever

Each moment a memory in flight

The arrow flies while you breathe, the hours tick away – the cells tick away

The Watchmaker has time up his sleeve

The hours tick away – they tick away

The treasure of a life is a measure of love and respect

The way you live, the gifts that you give

In the fullness of time

It’s the only return that you expect

The future disappears into memory

With only a moment between

Forever dwells in that moment

Hope is what remains to be seen

Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Lyrics: Neil Peart

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Myriad Distillery Strait Whiskey 43

NAS, 43% ABV

Rollo Bay, Prince Edward Island

Color : Shockingly light (did it see the inside of a barrel or just look at Polaroids of one?)

: Shockingly light (did it see the inside of a barrel or just look at Polaroids of one?) Nose : Mellow citrus like that orange someone cut, forgot to eat and left on the counter for a few days, pepper, bit of wood

: Mellow citrus like that orange someone cut, forgot to eat and left on the counter for a few days, pepper, bit of wood Taste : Honey, lemon, mint(!)(did he say “!”?), a quick burn that fades fast

: Honey, lemon, mint(!)(did he say “!”?), a quick burn that fades fast Finish: Medium that fades ultimately like a Clayton Kershaw curveball that the bottom fell off of

Something for Nothing

Waiting for the winds of change

To sweep the clouds away

Waiting for the rainbow’s end

To cast its gold your way

Countless ways

You pass the days

Waiting for someone to call

And turn your world around

Looking for an answer

To the question you have found

Looking for

An open door

You don’t get something for nothing

You can’t have freedom for free

You won’t get wise

With the sleep still in your eyes

No matter what your dreams might be

What you own is your own kingdom

What you do is your own glory

What you love is your own power

What you live is your own story

In your head is the answer

Let it guide you along

Let your heart be the anchor

And the beat of your own song

You don’t get something for nothing

You can’t have freedom for free

You won’t get wise

With the sleep still in your eyes

No matter what your dreams might be

Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Lyrics: Neil Peart

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Glynnevan Double Barrelled Rye

NAS, 43% ABV

Guysborough, Nova Scotia

Color : Medium dark

: Medium dark Nose : Faint sea air on a spring afternoon a few blocks from the coast, cloves, vanilla

: Faint sea air on a spring afternoon a few blocks from the coast, cloves, vanilla Taste : Pepper, burnt rye, burnt maple, sweet fruits, slightly oily

: Pepper, burnt rye, burnt maple, sweet fruits, slightly oily Finish: Long, full, lingering, rich

Available Light

The restless wind

Has seen all things

In every kind of light

Rising with the full moon

To go howling through the night

The sleepless wind

Has heard all things

Between the sea and sky

In the canyons of the city

You can hear the buildings cry

Oh the wind can carry

All the voices of the sea

Oh the wind can carry

All the echoes home to me

Run with wind and weather

To the music of the sea

All four winds together

Can’t bring the world to me

Chase the wind around the world

I want to look at life

In the available light

Play of light

A photograph

The way I used to be

Some half forgotten stranger

Doesn’t mean that much to me

Trick of light

Moving picture

Moments caught in flight

Make the shadows darker

Or the colors shine too bright

Oh the light can carry

All the visions of the sea

Oh the light can carry

All the images to me

Run to light from shadow

Sun gives me no rest

Promise offered in the east

Broken in the west

Chase the sun around the world

I want to look at life

In the available light

All four winds together

Can’t bring the world to me

Shadows hide the play of light

So much I want to see

Chase the light around the world

I want to look at life

In the available light

I’ll go with the wind

I’ll stand in the light

Music: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Lyrics: Neil Peart

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Glen Breton Rare Single Barrel Select, Cask #14

10 year old, 62.6% ABV

Glenville, Nova Scotia

Color : Lighter than expected for the age

: Lighter than expected for the age Nose : Rubber bands right out of the package, acetone, seaweed (right out of the package)

: Rubber bands right out of the package, acetone, seaweed (right out of the package) Taste : Sweety, nutty, salty, coffee, thiny

: Sweety, nutty, salty, coffee, thiny Finish: Fiery (ooh la la!), hot (yowza!), sweet, relatively short (gotta go, baby!)





La Villa Strangiato

Music: Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart

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Special thanks to Bruce Fraser for a taste of Canadian whiskey, and to Rush for providing the music to pair them with.