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Time was, all the cool kids swilled Canadian Club at
London’s Savoy Hotel and tossed back V.O. at New York’s Manhattan
Club. They drank it neat. They drank it in cocktails. They drank a vast ocean
of the soft, sweet spirit.
Lately, a new generation of Madison Avenue swells have convinced us that imbibing
smoky single-malt scotch and spicy small-batch American bourbon will transform
us into urban sophisicates. But today Canadian whisky-rye, as it’s
colloquially known-is mounting a comeback. Canadian Club has launched a
blitz of ads trumpeting its old-school street cred. Mixologists are returning
to understated blended rye as an ideal mixer. And these winning Western spirits
are getting the last laugh.
The modern-day promotional blitz for mass-market rye coincides with the rise of
some regional distillers adopting the small-batch production ethos and quality
control procedures of fine winemakers and handmade, artisanal spirit-makers around
the world.
With this combination of modern innovation and throwback charm, rye is winning
palates over once again. Praise from critics like spirit guru Jim Murray have
helped put Western Canada’s classic ryes back on the map and back behind
the bar.
Inject some rye humour into your own liquor cabinet-even single-malt devotees
will marvel at its smooth, warm taste. Following are our five favourite spirits
of the West, complete with tasting notes (or conduct your own taste test, just
to be sure).
Crown Royal
Known for That most iconic repository for marbles and more grown-up
stashes, the plush purple bag.
Pedigree The jewel in the former Seagram crown, now produced
by Diageo at its massive plant in tiny Gimli, Manitoba.
Recipe Blended from Alberta barley, Saskatchewan rye and Manitoba
corn.
Taste There’s a reason it makes a dynamite Manhattan: it’s
lusciously soft and smooth, with a big, bold flavour and the round fruitiness
of rye.
Trivia This Canadian brand sells best in the southern U.S., and
is the world’s top-selling Canadian whisky. Rick Robinson, the Gimli plant’s
director of operations, says: "I think it’s got an air of class and
sophistication that’s well recognized."
Black Velvet
Known for Its ads, running since 1969, which feature women draped
in black velvet-from Christie Brinkley, Cybill Shepherd and Cheryl Tiegs
to current-day model Tami Donaldson.
Pedigree Owned by Constellation Spirits and distilled at its
Lethbridge, Alberta plant.
Recipe Made from prairie corn and rye and pure Rocky Mountain
water.
Taste A rich, toffee flavour. Ideal in mixed drinks if you like
your rye and Coke on the sweet side.
Trivia When this ultra-smooth whisky was first introduced in
1951, it was so popular it had to be rationed to liquor stores.
Highwood Canadian Rye Whisky
Known for It’s the brother spirit of Pearl Vodka, the Rocky
of the distilling world (longshot who takes home the title).
Pedigree Highwood Distillers in High River, Alberta, one of few
privately owned Canadian distilleries.
Recipe The base distillate is made from wheat, which gives the
whisky a clean taste, but not such a powerful character.
Taste A crisp, clean, light flavour, thanks to the wheat distillate,
with pleasing caramel notes. Nice with a splash of soda.
Trivia Try to get your hands on a bottle of Centennial 10 Year
Old Rye Whisky; Highwood made just 480 bottles for Alberta’s 100th birthday
in 2005.
Alberta Premium & Alberta Springs
Known for The former was named best whisky in Canada-and
among a handful of the best in the world-in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.
Oh, and its under-$30 price tag.
Pedigree Both made by Alberta Distillers in Calgary.
Recipe The bold, spicy flavour belies the 100 percent rye content.
(Most Canadian blended whisky doesn’t even contain the 51 percent rye required
to actually be sold as rye in the U.S.)
Taste Premium has a firm structure with the spicy, fruity, full
flavour of rye. Springs is a tad more refined and less feisty on the palate.
Trivia It’s tough to find Alberta Premium in most "upscale"
bars-even in Alberta. Shame, shame.
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THE NEXT ROUND
Up-and-coming producers
Within a few years, three new distilleries-the Okanagan Valley’s Spirit
West and Vancouver Island’s Barking Dog and Shelter Point-plan to
produce handcrafted single-malt whiskies. The first to hit the market will likely
be Spirit West, an offshoot of Holman Lang Wineries. Its distiller Laurent LaFuente
already produces fruit brandies and hopes to have a single-malt whisky ready by
2010.
It’ll take longer than that to taste a drop from Shelter Point, where owners
Jay Oddleifson and Andrew Currie are not only building the distillery from scratch,
they plan to partner with local farmer, Patrick Evans, who will grow organic barley
for the boutique operation. As Oddleifson says, "What we’re going
to make in a year is what the big guys would spill."
And in Victoria, Barking Dog’s owner Ken Winchester will start distilling
a malt whisky this year, though it won’t be ready for at least another three
years. So high is the anticipation for his craft-distilled whisky, Winchester
says, "We’re in the Whisky Bible and Whisky magazine, and we haven’t
made a drop of whisky yet."
The Manhattan
One of the greats in the pantheon of cocktails, when made traditionally this drink
always uses rye. (A bourbon Manhattan is like a vodka martini-an upstart
party-crasher.) It is also one of the easiest drinks to make.
3 parts rye
1 part sweet (red) vermouth
3 dashes bitters per drink
Maraschino cherries
Stir first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice; strain and
serve in a martini glass. (Or, if you want to make like the Rat Pack, stir each
drink in a rocks glass with three nice big cubes.) And for heaven’s sake,
don’t overthink it and decide to leave out the cherry; it brings out the
soft side of this tough drink.-Neal McLennan
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