Canada - The East (from Broom's book)

Question 1

Glenora

Answer 1

-Glenville, Nova Scotia
-founded in 1990 by Bruce Jardine
-First craft distillery, first single malt

Question 2

Caldera

Answer 2

-River John, Nova Scotia
-Farm Distillery
-Grain makeup varies according to the harvest, but Rye is significant
-House yeast and distillation in tiny alembic
-Hurricane #5 is rye forward blended whisky
-Champlain adds some Cognac

Question 3

Valleyfield

Answer 3

-Salaberry-de-Valleyfiled, Quebec
-30 miles sw of Montreal
-built as an industrial alcohol plant in 1938
-post war part of Schenley group = Golden Wedding and Gibson’s Finest
-Now makes base whiskies for Crown Royal

Question 4

Valleyfield Production

Answer 4

-Two 100% Corn based whiskies
-Lighter runs through a beer still and linked columns
-Second richer, more textured, taken off beer still and then re-distelled in a batch kettle with copper column
-Choices created with possiblities of combinations
-Beer Still ONly
-Beer Still + doubler
-or beer still linked with column
-Same design as Gimli, but distillate isn’t the same = water isn’t the same

Question 5

Old Montreal

Answer 5

-Originally the Meagher distillery started in 1873
-by late 1970’s used only for bottling
-Purchased by Sazerac in 2011
-Refurbished with a cooker, four washbacks, a copper column and a hybrid pot
-used for Caribou Crossing and Seagram’s VO brands and Mr Sam

Question 6

Last Straw

Answer 6

-Ontatio
-began distilling in 2015
-Canadian Single Malt from 95% 2-row and 5% chocolate malt
-distilled in stainless steel wash still, then a pot with four plates
-Grain sourced from family farms
-in 2023, Last Straw entered into a joint venture with Heretic Spirits in Collingwood, Ontario

Question 7

Forty Creek

Question 8

Last Mountain

Answer 8

-Lumsden, Saskatchewan
-Colin & Meredith Schmidt in 2010
-Deliberately makes small batch in terms of production mashes

Question 9

Troubled Monk

Answer 9

Red Deer, Alberta
-Charlie Bredo - brewing background, started distilling in 2018
-Play with different types of malts, yeasts, temperatures

Question 10

Alberta Distillers Limited

Answer 10

-Founded in 1946
-made world-class rye that was then shipped to Windsor Supreme and Canadian Club
-also where Dave Pickrell found first rye for Whistle Pig
-only rye distillery that still produces it’s enzymes on site

Question 11

Alberta Distiller’s three main flavoring whiskies

Answer 11

-all from 100% Rye
1) taken directly from beer still
2) beer still + batch kettle
3) entirely from batch kettle
-also rye made in three column configuration

Question 12

Batch Kettle

Answer 12

-Type of still was invented by Seagram’s
-Spirit from beer still is condensed and held in a kettle
-when filled, it is heated and vapor passes into a short column
-only middle cuts collected
-There is one a Fuji in Japan and Diplomatico Rum in Venezuela

Question 13

Black Velvet

Answer 13

-Lethbridge, Alberta
(bonus question, home of our very own Mark Griffith)
-Black Velvet was an established brand in 1970’s
-distilling parameters for three different whiskies
1) 100% corn light in four column
2) 90% rye, 10% corn flavoring
3) All Corn
Rye distilled to 57%
Corn distilled to 65%

Question 14

Highwood Distillers

Answer 14

-High River, Alberta
-Founded in 1974
-Wheat pressure cooker to burst grain open
-then fermented for 90 hours
-for its blended whiskies, Highwood buys the Rye and corn flavoring whiskies