Canadian Club 100% Rye
$28.99
Although bottled under the Canadian Club moniker, the 100% Rye is made right here in Calgary, Alberta by the legendary Alberta Distillers or ADL. 40%.
Producer Description
"This is a whisky made for those who love rye. It was created in the heart of Alberta’s unforgiving rye country, by a team who have spent the last 60 years mastering the art of distilling with rye. This whisky is truly unique and deliciously distinct, with caramel and oak notes up front, followed by a spicy finish. It’s so good, you’ll want to sip it neat. And so versatile, you’ll want to use it in all rye-forward classic cocktails."
Great Plains 18 Year Jerez Brandy Finish
$119.99
A curious new Canadian whisky made from a Corn/Rye Whisky sourced from the Potters Distillery in Kelowna. It was matured 17 years in ex-Bourbon and finished in 15 months in Jerez Brandy barrels from Osborne (Andalusia, Spain). Bottled at 54.5%, the spirit was made from a mashbill of 91.5% corn and 8.5% rye.
Producer Description
"This totally unique Whisky is our first release. We handcraft it in limited quantities starting with a superb legacy whisky from the old Potter’s distillery in Kelowna B.C. We then custom finish in vintage Solera casks and finally blend at high proof without colouring or chill filtering to yield a taste and character unlike anything else on the market."
WhistlePig Piggyback 100% Rye Whiskey
$54.99
Piggyback is the younger sibling of the Whistlepig 10-year-old. It is made from 100% Rye matured for 6 years before being bottled at 48.28% ABV. Both stylistically and price-wise the Piggyback is meant to work both on its own as well as for mixing in cocktails.
Great Plains 22 Year Cognac Finish
$139.99
Producer Note: "This is the very first batch that we acquired at the beginning of our journey into the whisky business. The bond year of this batch is 2000 and continues to finish in Cognac barrels. It’s pretty great, but the brandy finished stuff was ready ahead of time. So we’re letting this batch sit bit longer and now it’s ready for a partial release."
Batch 1 was created by marrying three single casks of 100% corn whisky from the lost Potters distillery. It spent 17 years in ex-Bourbon barrels before being re-racked for 5 years in 25 year old Cognac barrels from Charente, France.
58% abv
Alberta Distillers Rare Batch No.1 23 Yr
$159.99
The Alberta Distillers Rare Batch No.1 is a 23 year old Rye Whisky bottled at 50%.
Producer Description
"From world-renowned Alberta Distillers Limited comes this Rare BatchTM/MC Issue No. 1 – the first in a special series offering the best of the best. First barreled at the turn of the millennium in 2000 and aged for 23 long years, this rare whisky’s resting time has finally come to an end. Out here, where the prairie gives way to the Rocky Mountains, lies the perfect place for distilling spirits. A pristine, epic land. Of Space and Freedom. Of wide blue skies, clean air, and vivid light. Of Pure, mineral rich glacial water, and robust prairie grains."
John Sleeman & Sons Cooper`s Rye Whisky
$67.99
Bottled at 48% ABV, this new offering from John Sleeman & Sons was distilled at their Spring Mill Distillery which resides in Guelph, Ontario. The whisky was matured in barrels made from Canadian Oak.
Producer Description
"This 100% Canadian Rye whisky is made from 100% rye grain and aged a minimum of 3 years in new Canadian white oak barrels made by Quinn Sleeman. The virgin white oak lends a gentle sweetness to the distinct spice of rye uninterrupted by other grains."
JP Wiser's 42 Year Canadian Whisky
$509.99
Shots fired! This is the JP Wiser's 42 Year Old answer to the Canadian Club Chronicles series of 40+ year old Canadian Whisky. Oddly enough, the whisky for both come from the 165+ year old Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor, Ontario. The Wiser's 42 Year Old was distilled in 1982 and bottled at a respectable 52% ABV.
Producer Description
"The new whisky produced back in 1982 was 90 per cent double column distilled grain whisky and 10 per cent single column produced rye. There was nothing unusual there: These were pretty typical, tried-and-true beginnings for a Canadian whisky. But this spirit was destined for greatness thanks to an unusual and special maturation.
First, the sheer length of it is unique. Not many Canadian whiskies have been aged for decades and decades. Wiser’s was doing something long overdue: creating an opportunity to showcase how the greatness of Canadian whisky can reveal itself in a high-aged expression — creating a whisky that’s both ready for the world stage and a source of pride here at home.
Second, the whisky is aged in Canadian oak barrels, ex-bourbon casks and Speyside single malt casks — a recipe for complexity and depth of flavour.
Third, the distillery and aging warehouses stand near the banks of the Detroit River, where climate conditions — the hot, humid summers and cold winters that the Great Lakes region is known for — bring out unique flavours in whisky as it ages."
Canadian Club Invitation 18Yr High Proof
$91.99
Like the 15 Year Old Canadian Club, this is also part of the Invitation Series and is apparently a limited release. It is bottled at an impressive 58% ABV, which must be the highest proof ever for a bottling of Canadian Club.
Producer Description: "Enjoy the smooth, well balanced taste of CC Classic aged for 18 years, bottled at a higher proof for a full bodied Canadian whisky."
Pivot Spirits Rye Whisky
$87.99
Made from Rye grown in Lars - the distiller's own farm. Distilled by Pivot Spirits in Rolling Hills, Alberta. Bottled at 46%.
Producer Description
"The modern, high-yielding hybrid rye varieties cultivated by Lars on our irrigation farm yield a true Canadian classic whisky! Velvety, smooth, and mellow, this whisky boasts oak notes and flavours of baking spices and caramel. This nod to Alberta agriculture is the perfect addition to any whisky collection."
About Pivot Spirits
Pivot Spirits was founded in 2018 and resides in Rolling Hills, Alberta — about a 30-minute drive south of Brooks. If you zoom in on Rolling Hills from a satellite image on Google Maps you will see where the name Pivot Spirits comes from: all the fields in the area have the tell-tail rounded and circular shape of pivot irrigation. The distillery is co-owned by Lars Hirsch and Rachelle Fiset. Lars is an irrigation farmer with fields just across the roads from the distillery and the distiller as well. Just about all the grain used at Pivot Spirits uses for making Whisky, Gin, and other spirits comes from his fields. The only exception to this is when Lars uses corn, which he gets from his neighbours. Pivot Spirits does not malt or roast any of the grains it uses — it comes directly from the field, is ground down, and made into a mash.