|
|
| |
|
|
Canadian Whisky Today
Is it Something to Sing About?
By Charles K. Cowdery
 Many songs have been written about drinking — specifically
about beer and wine — and certainly tequila. “One Bourbon, One Scotch,
One Beer” is a Rock/Blues classic. But Canadian Whisky?
Hard as it may be to believe, there are at least two songs dedicated to
the whiskies of Canada. Nanci Griffith recorded a ballad called
“Canadian Whisky,” written by Tom Russell, in 1998. More recently, Dave
Teichroeb wrote and recorded a different song by that name, and called
his new album “Canadian Whisky,” too. Does all this singing mean
Canadian Whisky finally is gaining respect?
Possibly. Canadians have made whiskey for just as long as their
Southern neighbors, but while the United States was developing straight
whiskeys such as bourbon and rye, and doing things like using new
charred barrels to get as much flavor into the whiskey as possible, the
Canadians were going in a different direction with their native spirit.
As the chorus to Tom Russell’s song says, it is “pure blended whiskey,
so light brown and fine.”
All About the Rye
In history, Canada was distinguished from the United States by its
continued allegiance to Great Britain, and this is reflected in its
whisky-making traditions, too. From the spelling (no “e”) to the way it
is made, Canadians owe a large debt to the Scots. The major deviation
comes in the choice of grain. While the character of all Scottish
whiskey, both single malts and blends, comes from malted barley, in
Canada it is all about rye — sometimes malted, sometimes not. This is
true even though the primary grain distilled there is corn, and wheat
and barley also play a part. What the Canadians do is make very
flavorful rye whisky, then mellow it with nearly-neutral whisky made
from the other grains.
The other major characteristic of Canadian whisky is right out of the
Old Country handbook, and that is blending. It was blending –– and
specifically the combining of flavorful, low-distillation-proof malt
whisky with nearly neutral grain spirits –– that took Scottish whiskey
(in the hands primarily of English merchants) out of obscurity in the
Highlands and into international prominence.
This is the basic formula for Canadian whisky, too, and unlike the
Scots, who now sell their single malts as well, all Canadian whiskies
still are blends. In addition to the nearly-neutral whisky (usually
made from corn) that gives Canadian whisky its characteristic mildness,
multiple rich flavoring whiskies of various ages are blended in a
secret combination that is proprietary to each maker. The whiskey is
aged primarily in used cooperage, typically barrels that originally
held bourbon. The result is a well-mannered drink, sweet and fruity
almost like sherry or port, usually with a little spice and a lot of
vanilla.
Behind the Labels
Canadian whiskey is almost exclusively sold in North America, in
Canada itself and in the United States. Very little of it goes to
Europe or other international markets. For decades, the Canadian whisky
market has been dominated by two companies, Canadian Club (now part of
Jim Beam Brands, since the recent break-up of Allied Domecq) and
Seagram’s (now part of Diageo).
Although similar in most respects, there is one major difference in the
way these two companies make their whiskey. Seagrams blends a selection
of mature single-grain whiskies while Canadian Club blends their
whiskies together when they are new and then ages them. Other major
brands of Canadian whisky include Black Velvet (Barton) and Canadian
Mist (Brown-Forman).
Canadian whisky became popular in the United States during Prohibition
for obvious reasons, and still today enjoys its greatest consumption in
the states nearest to the Canadian border.
Although all Canadian whisky has a fairly mild flavor, the least
expensive brands tend to have the least flavor and deserve the label
“brown vodka.” They are good primarily for mixing, generally with
something simple such as club soda, cola, ginger ale or lemon-lime. The
better brands usually are mixed, too, and make great Manhattans,
Whiskey Sours and other whiskey cocktails. Pretty much any recipe that
calls for bourbon or rye can be made with Canadian whisky, but the
milder flavor of Canadian whisky will tend to emphasize the other
ingredients more.
Crown Royal promotes a tasty drink called the Crown of Roses that
combines one ounce of Crown Royal, amaretto, one ounce of pineapple
juice, cranberry juice and three dashes of Angostura bitters, shaken
with ice, served straight up and garnished with a cherry.
Crown Royal, Canadian Club and the other top brands also can be enjoyed
neat or on the rocks, and while no one will ever call them challenging,
they can be a nice change of pace from bourbon or single malt scotch.
They also can be a solid starter whiskey, an alternative to an Irish or
Scottish blend for the novice whiskey drinker. Someone who finds
Canadian Club too strong never will embrace Wild Turkey or Lagavulin.
Many people call Canadian whisky “rye,” and although rye grain
contributes most of the whisky’s flavor, you shouldn’t confuse it with
American straight ryes such as Old Overholt or Rittenhouse Rye. They
are two very different beverages. People also sometimes confuse
Canadians with American blends, in part because the leading American
blended whiskey also bears the Seagrams name. These two types are
similar, except that while Canadians are 100 percent aged whisky
(albeit some of it distilled at such a high proof as to be almost
neutral), American blends contain un-aged whiskey and neutral spirits.
In a bar or nightclub, it pays for your servers, and certainly for your
bartenders, to understand these distinctions. Although it won’t happen
very often, if someone asks for Canadian whisky, it is in your best
interest to make sure that is what they get. Here is a tip: they all
have the word “Canada” on the label. NCB
Canadian Whisky Trends
As has occurred with all whisky/whiskey categories in recent years,
Canadian producers have begun to realize success with premium products.
Both Black Velvet and Canadian Club now have a pricier “Reserve” line
extension, and Crown Royal has its “Special Reserve.” Also available
are age-dated expressions. Canadian Club has 12- and 15-year-old
expressions, and an 8-year-old finished in sherry casks.
Small producers have also been making a name for themselves, most
notably Forty Creek, which is located barely across the Canadian border
near Niagara Falls. They are an independent producer and make a true
“small batch” whiskey in two expressions, Barrel Select and Three
Grain. The Barrel Select is sherry finished and gives up caramel,
vanilla and a little dark fruit. The Three Grain is drier, with an
undertone of raw spirit.
Also notable are Lot No. 40 (no relationship to Forty Creek), several
Wiser’s expressions, and several products sold by the Preiss family
under the Hirsch name.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
