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The worst Canadian Whiskey is made in Collingwood On and is called "Canadian Mist". We Canadians don't have to worry about drinking this slop as virtually 100% of it's production is exported to the USA. LOL
Yesterday I went to my favorite local liquor store (we have five for a community with about 12,000 people) and looked hard at the Canadian whisky collection with the intent of buying a fifth (750ml). I thought the ones that weren't "bottom shelf" were overpriced, so I went for a fifth of Fighting **** Kentucky Bourbon - six years old and 103 proof - and got change from fifteen dollars!
Yesterday I went to my favorite local liquor store (we have five for a community with about 12,000 people) and looked hard at the Canadian whisky collection with the intent of buying a fifth (750ml). I thought the ones that weren't "bottom shelf" were overpriced, so I went for a fifth of Fighting **** Kentucky Bourbon - six years old and 103 proof - and got change from fifteen dollars!
Canadian whisky producers still create brands that are ONLY sold in the USA, and yes they do ship it by tank railway cars. By doing it that way, they can legally state, on the label that it was MADE in Canada, but it was bottled in the USA.
A bit of history...... Gooderham and Worts, were at one time the largest distillery in the British empire, and at the turn of the 20th century, their Toronto plant employed 14,000 people, making it the largest employer in the city. Their company goes back to 1832, and the two families were at the very top of the social scale, along with the Massies, Eatons, and Simpson's. The former distillery plant location still has over 50 buildings, and it is the largest Victorian industrial complex in the world.
link to the Distillery District shopping and entertainment centre.
The Gooderham family also built the King Edward Hotel, on King Street, as a place for their wealthy customers to stay in , while in Toronto, buying products. The famous "Flat Iron Building " at Church and Front streets, was the head office of Gooderham and Worts, for mnay years, and it featured a underground passage that connected it to their bank, across the street. Before 1929, private banks in Canada were quite common. The Molson family also had a bank of their own.
Another Canadian distillery that had it's own town, was Corby's. The town, near Trenton, Ontario, was called Corbyville. It was the sole company factory, and the homes were all rented to the workers employed by Corby's. A nearby town was Bataville, the location of the Bata shoe factory in Canada. Bata shoes is still a world wide shoe maker, with plants in 67 countries. The Bata Shoe museum is located in Toronto.
Walker's distillery also had a company town, Walkerville, on the outskirts of Windsor, Ontario.
During the period of Prohibition in the USA, Canadian brewers and distillers made a huge profit, by selling their products to any one who wanted to buy it, in Canada, and get it into the USA. A ship could load up in Windsor, leave with a shipment to "cuba " and be back the next day. as it was actually off loaded on the Ohio side of Lake Erie. Perfectly legal, in Canada. The Seagrams company, owned by the Bronfman family of Montreal, made millions a year.
Canadian whisky is made from rye, not corn, so it has a different taste and aroma. Many are blended, not single creations. One of my favourites, not made any more, was known as Captains Table, by McGuiness Distillers. It had a distinctive shaped green bottle, that had a very wide base, with a long neck that was designed not to topple over. Nice and smooth, and medium priced, back in the 70's, at about $12 a bottle, then.
For those that wanted a cheap buzz, the LCBO had " Old Sailor " wine at $1.05 a bottle back then. Come alive for a dollar five, was the slogan on the streets of Parkdale, a low class part of Toronto, made up of cheap rooming houses, that at the turn of the 20th century had been luxury homes of the rich. By the 60's it was a run down and dirty slum. Today, Parkdale is sort of gentrified, but still has pockets of poverty living.
Today, we see some small scale boutique whisky makers, who only produce a few hundred casks a year, but of very high quality. Unusual flavours with honey, spices, and other non traditional recipes are now on the Canadian market.
I have to disagree with you . Here in Canada some of us still call it "Rye Whisky " as in "make me a Rye and coke ", or Rye and ginger ale.
Jim B.
Toronto.
I have to agree with the Yankee.
Rye whisky is used as a flavour characteristic, however it's a mix of other grain and corn based "bourbon" whisky as well.
It is a common misconception that Canadian whiskies are primarily made using just rye grain.[SIZE=2][1][/SIZE] The use of rye grain is not dictated by law,[SIZE=2][6][/SIZE] and the primary grain used to make most Canadian whisky is corn.
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