Created in and around Montreal and Ontario, the first Canadian whiskies were made from wheat with a little bit of rye added in for flavor. In 1890, the Canadian government implemented a law requiring all whisky to be aged for two years, and later the law increased aging requirements to three years. At the time, small producers were not financially able to allow their whisky time to age, leading the industry to concentrate into several large distilleries. In 1928, Sam Bronfman purchased the Seagram’s distillery and reinvigorated the Canadian whisky industry as it struggled through the US Prohibition Era. Bronfman is often credited for a popula
r new style of Canadian whisky that was less expensive to export to the US.
In the 1970s, as in other parts of the whisky world, Canadian whisky began to shift towards lighter styles of whisky and gradually consolidated to just eight operating distilleries. By 2010, brands like Forty Creek and WhistlePig, along with the growing number of Canadian craft distillers, began to release much more flavorful and interesting Canadian whiskies than in years past.
Canadian Whiskey can be made in any province in the country of Canada.
Canadian whiskies are different in a few ways: Unlike the US, Canadian whiskies can be aged in used barrels, which in combination with their generally cooler climate allows them to produce some very long aged whiskies. Additionally, some of the larger producers ferment, distill, and age individual grains separately. These producers vary how low or high they distill the whisky, making it either heavier and more flavorful or lighter in character. They will also age these different spirits in either newer or older barrels and add more or less wood color and flavors to the spirit. This gives blenders an incredibly large array of flavors to draw upon when creating a Blended Canadian Whisky.
A distillate or mixture of distillates made from a fermented grain mash or a fermented mixture of cereal grains, distilled, and aged in wood barrels for at least three years in Canada, and bottled at 40% ABV or higher. Canadian whisky may contain added caramel coloring, and up to 9.09% added flavoring that consists of wine or a spirit aged at least two years in wood.
A US legal term for any Canadian whisky that is made by mixing different whisky types such rye, wheat, corn, or malt whiskies etc.