Canadian Whisky Flashcards
How many distilleries are there in Canada?
Small number. 8 account for most of the production.
How is the industry structured?
Like Japan they do not trade with each other. Each distiller makes its own base whiskies and its own flavouring whiskies.
What grains are used in Canadian whisky production?
Corn for nearly all base whisky; and sometimes wheat.
Rye the most important grain for flavouring whisky; but corn, wheat and barley also used.
Grains processed separately and only come together in the final blend.
What types of still are used in Canada?
Column and pot for base whiskies.
Pot for flavouring whiskies.
What does ‘rye whisky’ mean in Canada?
A whisky with rye in it, not necessarily a large amount.
What about wood in Canada?
Wide range of wood used. Minimum of 3 years in wood required to be called whisky.
Name some Canadian whiskies.
Canadian Club (Beam Suntory); Crown Royal (launched 1939, ex-Seagram, now Diageo) both have soft character due to large amount of corn-based whisky.
Alberta Premium (Beam Suntory) one of the few remaining 100% rye Canadian whiskies.
Interesting fact about Canadian whisky law.
9.09% of Canadian whisky does not need to be whisky. Can be rectified spirit or even sherry. Originally allowed to help Canadian distillers compete in American market. Now some use it to add interesting things such as rye or sherry.
