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Making Canadian Whisky By law, Canadian whisky may be flavored up to 9.09 percent by adding an imported spirit, domestic spirit, younger spirit or wine aged no less than two years in small wood. The corn, rye and malt mash is fermented like bourbon. “We go through a primary distillation, getting the alcohol content to around 70 percent,” says Canadian Mist’s David Dobbin, who manages the distillery. “We go through two other distillation steps: an extractive distillation and then a rectification, where the water is removed again. We end up with a much higher alcohol content after distillation than bourbon. It’s then cut with water again and barreled for three years.” At the Canadian Mist facility, water comes from the Georgian Bay, some 200 meters from the distillery. “We purify it through a process called reverse osmosis, which is a type of filtration,” Dobbin says. “We have a very high- grade of water that we use in our product.” Mixing with Canadian Whisky It’s important for mixologists to not lump Canadian whisky with American whiskey, says Josh Durr, Director of Research and Development for the Hawthorne Beverage Group & Molecular Bartending LLC. “Canadian whisky is a lot softer than most American whiskies,” Durr says. “You would want to utilize ingre- dients that would be softer and that would not overpower it.” But Tim Laird, Chief Entertainment Officer for Brown- Forman—the company’s chief mixologist of sorts—believes Canadian Mist Black Diamond was made with the mixologist in mind. It’s perfect for Manhattans, Old Fashioneds or ginger-based cocktails that accentuate the high sherry and rye flavors of Black Diamond, he says. “Canadian TASTING NOTES ON SELECTED CANADIAN WHISKIES Canadian Mist Black Diamond Bearing the signature of its Master Blender, Steve Hughes, Canadian Mist Black Diamond sports a robust, smooth flavor profile that nicely balances sweet and spice with a subtle finish. Of all the Canadian whiskies, this one pushes the sherry and rye content envelope in a different style that mixes nicely with fruit-based liqueurs. Retail price is around $15. BROWN-FORMAN Collingwood Brown-Forman’s new premium Canadian whisky hit shelves in February and is the only maplewood-mellowed Canadian whisky on the market. Around $27 retail per bottle, it gives slight green pepper and dried apricots on the nose, followed by a toffee, maple syrup and spicy finish. It mixes nicely with orange flavors. BROWN-FORMAN New Collingwood is the only maplewood- mellowed Canadian whisky on the market. Mist Black Diamond is really flexible for making cocktails,” Laird says. “It has a lot of potential. I really hope bartenders don’t dismiss it just because it’s Canadian whisky.” Unfortunately, Canadian whisky is still an afterthought for many younger mixologists. For this story, we tried to find a bar actively promoting a Canadian whisky–centric cocktail menu, but couldn’t track down a single one. Even Durr, who grew up just down the road from the Wild Turkey distillery and frequently speaks at industry events, says he’s among the many mixolo- gists who just don’t mix with Canadian whisky on a regular basis. But when asked to get creative, Durr concocts a unique bitters-laced Canadian whisky cocktail called The Accidental, boasting 1½ ounces of Crown Royal Cask No. 16, ¼ ounce Trader Tiki’s Falernum, 1 ounce Cocchi Americano and two dashes of Bitter Truth Orange Bitters. It’s garnished with an orange zest—and it’s delightful. With excellent product available and creative mixologists in abundant supply, we predict there’s a Canadian whisky cocktail trend just waiting to happen. Send your favorite Canadian whisky cocktail recipe (with or without photo) to cocktails@tastingpanelmag.com. We’ll publish the first ten received on www. tastingpanelmag.com. —Editor june 201 1 / the tasting panel / 79 WhistlePig 100% Rye Quality I once had WhistlePig, made by former Maker’s Mark distiller Dave Pickerell, next to a Canadian who said, “Now that is what Canadian whisky is supposed to taste like.” That sentiment seems to be shared among the Canadian whisky crowd. WhistlePig gives wonderful aromas of rich chili pepper, cinnamon, vanilla and Chinese allspice. A smooth nutmeg finish follows toffee and butterscotch flavors that are nicely complemented by the chili spices. It’s perfect for mixing, but the cost of $75 a bottle might prove prohibitive. WHISTLEPIG FARM