Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/49694
HISTORY Canadian Club used magazine advertising in 2007 and 2008 to say that yes, your dad drank Canadian Club. "There are bottles of CC all over the place" in Boardwalk Empire, says Dan Tullio, Master Ambassador for the Canadian Club brand. "On the water, on trucks, everywhere." And Canadian Club was all over the place during Prohibition. There were an estimated 30,000 speakeasies in New York City alone during that time, and if you wanted the good stuff, you asked for Canadian Club. There's lots of evidence that Canadian Club played a big part in slaking America's thirst during Prohibition. A tunnel under the river that founder Hiram Walker had built to ease his commute to Detroit became a major conduit for Prohibition booze. Twenty rail cars loaded with cases of whisky were pulled from the Canadian side to the American side, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At the height of the operation, it was believed that 20,000 cases of Canadian Club were making their way from Canada to the United States every month. The firm used coded messages to communicate with its brokers. Each buyer would be assigned a unique code, which could then decipher the messages from Canadian Club about the number of cases to be delivered, the time and place of arrival and how the firm wanted to be paid. These paper scraps are still on display at the company's brand center in Windsor, Ontario. Canadian Club has never been afraid of leveraging its legacy. Even Hiram Walker himself took an early dispute with the government and turned it to his advantage. Walker began selling seven brands of blended whisky in 1858, and one of them became immensely popular. "It was lighter than scotch, smoother than bourbon," Tullio says, and soon it was being served at many of the best gentleman's clubs. It became known as Club Whisky. But the bourbon boys across the border took issue, and they successfully Millionaire's Manhattan ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 2½ parts Canadian Club Whisky ¾ part Harvey's Bristol Cream Sherry 1 dash bitters 1 Maraschino cherry zest of orange rind ■ Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a cherry. A glass of Canadian Club on ice, with the bottle from 1920s and the bottle today. 82 / the tasting panel / december 201 1