News

Formerly Toronto-based Yongehurst Distilleries announced it had merged with The Farmhouse Spirits Company in Bradford, ON, in late April, “to come together to create a broad portfolio of the highest quality craft spirits produced right here in Ontario.”

Spirit of Toronto announced that its 2020 festival has been rescheduled to October 15 at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto: register to be informed when tickets go one sale in September.

Spirit of Toronto festival is also running an Online Masterclasses Series, with tasting samples shipped in advance. Upcoming: “Rum for Whisky Lovers” on June 17, “Whisky & Chocolate” on June 18, “Whisky & Port” on June 19, “Whisky & Sherry” on June 20 and “Whisky & Peat” on June 21.

Bridgeland Distillery in Calgary received a bronze medal at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition for its unaged Single Malt Spirit, Mash #1, made with 100 per cent local barley from Red Shed Malting in Penhold, Alberta.

Ampersand Distilling in Duncan, BC, won the best Canadian Varietal Vodka as well as the World’s Best Varietal Vodka at the 2020 World Vodka Awards for its wheat-based Per Se Vodka.

Newfoundland Distillery Company’ s Gunpowder and Rose Rum won Best Spiced Rum in Canada at the 2020 World Rum Awards.

The cover story of the May 2020 issue of Calgary’s Avenue magazine touted the region’s local artisan distillers. Bridgeland Distillery, Burwood Distillery, Confluence Distilling, Last Best Brewing and Distilling, Romero Distilling, Skunkworks Distillery, Tippa and Two Rivers Distillery were among those featured.

A “Good Spirits” cover story in the Toronto Star’s weekend supplement was one of many pieces of local coverage featuring distillers providing hand sanitizer to essential workers and their communities. 

News, Events & Openings

In the News

Spirit Awards for Blind Tasters

At Niagara College in Ontario, students in the country’s first college-level Artisan Distilling program competed late last year to develop the kind of skills coveted by our own Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition. During the first annual Spirit Awards at the Canadian Food & Wine Institute, they competed in a blind-tasting challenge of four-spirit flights each of London dry, Ontario, contemporary, signature botanical and flavoured gins. Students applied sensory evaluation training to choose winners in each category.

Do you conduct blind-tasting and comparative-tasting sessions with your staff? Here are some spirits sensory evaluation tools, from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, the Society of Wine Educators and a Canadian Whisky Tasting Wheel from Pernod-Ricard WhiskyDoc, Dr. Don Livermore, to help get you started.

Vancouver Island Forges a New Trail

The new Vancouver Island Spirit Path invites tourists and locals into the distilleries that define five regions of the Island, providing maps and routes for each. Tourism Vancouver Island partnered on the slick website, which includes on-point socially responsible imbibing and B.C. Craft information for consumers.

Events + Openings

Events

• January 15–26: Tribute to Craft Spirits Festival brings together B.C. and Alberta distilleries in Lake Louise and Banff, culminating in a two-day street festival of tasting on the second weekend.

• February 23: Rig Hand’s Geoff Stewart continues with a series of Distilling 101 workshops, an introduction to mashing, fermenting, distilling and dilution/flavouring in Nisku, Alberta.

• April 4: BC Distilled in Vancouver. 40 Artisan Distilleries will showcase their spirits at Canada’s largest artisan distillery festival.

• April 6–8: American Distilling Institute’s 2020 Craft Spirits Conference and Vendor Expo lands in New Orleans.

Openings

• Island Shiners (Sooke, B.C.)

• Wiseacre Farm Distillery (Kelowna, B.C.)

• Mainland Whisky (Surrey, B.C.)

• Two Rivers Distillery (Calgary, A.B.)

• Bridgeland Distillery (Calgary, A.B.)

• The Crabbie Goat Distillery (Valleyview, A.B.)

• Distillerie Cote des Saints (Mirabel, Q.C.)