HIDE A CASE “Canadian Club”

Canadian Club has dusted off one of their more successful campaigns of f the past, and at the end of this rainbow (sometime in 2012) some lucky player will be pocketing $100k U.S.

 Here is an excerpt from the local paper where C.C originated.

“It’s the intrigue. It’s the mystique,” said Dan Tullio, Canadian Club’s Windsor-based brand ambassador. “We’re bringing that back.”
A total of 25 cases of Canadian Club Whisky were hidden around the world during the original campaign. Adventure-seeking members of the public were encouraged to recover the cases, with clues of the exact locations conveyed through elaborate magazine ads.  Sixteen of the cases were found, sometimes years after they were hidden.  The hiding spots included such exotic locales as Mount Kiliminjaro, Africa’s greatest mountain; Angel Falls in Venezuela, the tallest waterfall in the world; and the largest reef system on the planet, the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.  There were also stash sites within the borders of the U.S. — Death Valley, Nevada; the forests of Oregon; and the urban environs of New York City and Washington, D.C.  Nine cases were never recovered. The new campaign’s goal is to find one of them…..

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Popularity: 31% [?]

Forty Creek Port Wood

It has been a little while since I tasted Canadian Club 20 yr CC or Wisers Red Letter (2 of my all-time favorite Canadian Whisky’s) but I have to think that I’ve just tasted this writers favourite Canadian whisky.
This past weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Kittling Ridge Distillery in Grimsby Ontario, for the unveiling of Forty Creek Port Wood Reserve.

But don’t just take my word for it.
Read what first generation Whisky maker John Hall says…

“I believe it is one of the best whiskies I have tasted.  I only wish I had made more of it.  I started this whisky in 1993 by preparing vintage port wood barrels.  My vintage ports were made from Niagara grown grapes and aged in white oak heavy charred barrels.  I must confess I am fond of vintage ports so the patient waiting was rewarded not only with a wonderful whisky, but with some very tasty ports.
My Port Wood Reserve is made in the same style as Forty Creek Barrel Select and Double Barrel, in that I do not use a mash bill. My varietal whiskies are aged separately, and once completed, they are brought together for further rounding out.  In this whisky, the forty Creek blend was aged in the vintage Port Wood for another two years prior to bottling.”

Relating to Forty Creek, check out these opinions from world renowned whisky experts

Only 3000 bottles Ontario only get yours signed soon

Popularity: 88% [?]

Local content means whisky, too

By Ted Whipp, Windsor Star

An informal seminar at Hiram Walker’s Canadian Club brand heritage centre earlier this week on the merits of Canadian rye, Kentuck bourbon and, uh, Scottish scotch offered insight and interesting bits of information. Consider:

• Canadian Club actually contains most of its grain from U.S. farmers, about 60-40. The C.C. whisky is aged six years. But the premium versions aren’t just aged longer, but the formulation changed to improve the whisky. Hint: try the 10-year-old, which may not get as much attention as the 12-year-old reserve.

• The brand remains a big seller, here, there, worldwide. Almost three million cases annually.

• The ‘e’ in the American and Irish spellings of whiskey in contrast to the Canadian spelling sans ‘e’ relates to the heritage. Many Irish settled in the U.S. and brought their traditions with them, including the spelling of whiskey. In Canada, whisky’s heritage here connects with Scottish settlers.

• The rule of two applies to enjoying Canadian Club, says a brand manager, Dan Tullio. That is, two cubes of clean ice (see next note), two ounces of C.C. in a glass and let sit for two minutes. Sip, say ahh. Elegantly simple dontcha think?

• Clean ice. Fresh ice cubes are the best in drinks; that is, ice made within 24 hours. Otherwise, the ice can pick up freezer odours affecting flavour. Who knew?

• Yes, we did say whisky’s popular. That includes Kentucky bourbon in the great white North, says a brand person with Jim Beam. The market continues to improve in Canada for Jim Beam. And watch for the whiskey-maker’s new Red Stag, a bourbon with, of all things, black cherry flavour. Hint: no, it doesn’t taste like cough syrup. Promise, says the bourbon guy.

• Whisky can replace vodka. Of course, whisky brand people would say that. But they do encourage people to enjoy the flavour and difference, substituting whisky for vodka in drinks.

• And if you haven’t been to the Canadian Club brand heritage centre in awhile, well, it’s still worth a visit. Even if only for the distiller’s art collection alone. Hint: take a look at the marketing material from decades gone, the advertisements and layouts. Shades of Mad Men and the daze of the cocktail age. Wonderful.

Popularity: unranked [?]

I should have thought of that.. (oh ya, I did)

Edinburgh-based Innis & Gunn, which has been selling its oak-aged beers in Canada since 2005, has unveiled its latest special edition, a beer aged in barrels that previously contained Canadian whisky.

“It’s really a gift for our Canadian friends. We’re not releasing it anywhere else in the world,” says Dougal Sharp, brewmaster at Innis & Gunn.

Why a Canadian version? Well, there’s this country’s long tradition of making whisky, for one thing. For another, Canadians – especially Ontarians – have taken to Innis & Gunn’s beers in droves.

Roughly three-quarters of Innis & Gunn’s beer is consumed outside of Scotland. Of that, 60 per cent is sold in Canada.

“It’s our biggest single market, so we wanted to do something special and say thank you,” explains Sharp.

To do that, Sharp went to work trying to find oak barrels that had previously been used to age Canadian whisky. He managed to get some from a distiller here (he didn’t want to say which one), then went to work creating a beer to age in them.

After the beer was brewed, it was aged in the barrels for 77 days. It was the third life for some of those barrels, by the way.

“Before they were used in Canada, some of them were used for bourbon or other spirits, so they were up to 50 years old,” Sharp says.

In addition to several types of malted barley, Sharp decided to use malted rye, to add a reddish tinge to the brew and as a nod to Canadian distilling tradition.

“I know rye is a pretty important ingredient for Canadian whisky, so I thought it would be nice to use some in this beer,” Sharp says.

The resulting beer is darker than the original Innis & Gunn, more reddish-orange than golden. It’s also more complex in flavour, and less overwhelmed by the oak. There’s a bit of the classic vanilla aroma and flavour derived from oak, but not as pronounced as in the original.

Perhaps because of that, other flavours come out, such as dried fruit, the tiniest hint of cocoa, and a bit of a tangy taste (possibly from the rye).

comment:

I think this beer could use a little competition, and I have an idea that may just give them that.

Popularity: 39% [?]

Scotch whisky loses fight to stop Canadians using ‘Glen’

…this story will never go away. and this time I am happy with the current ruling… the following is from The Herald, web issue 3481

A Canadian distillery has become the first in the world outside Scotland to win the right to use the world Glen in the name of its whisky.

After a nine-year legal battle costing nearly £100,000, Glenora Distillers International of Nova Scotia finally won its fight to call its whisky Glen Breton Rare after the Supreme Court of Canada refused to hear an appeal that could have blocked the company from using the name.

The Scotch Whisky Association has zealously guarded the “Glen” monicker, saying it should apply only to whisky made in Scotland; arguing that it may give the impression of a Scottish product; and that the name Glen Breton could imply a connection to famous whisky names such as Glenlivet and Glenfiddich.

But the company faces further legal battles from the association as the small distillery now looks to market the whisky more aggressively on a global scale, with the prospect of further trademark applications. The association, which protects the interests of the Scottish whisky industry, has pledged to take further action against the distiller if it attempts to trademark beyond its borders the only single malt whisky produced in Canada.

In 2007, the Trademarks Opposition Board in Canada ruled that the use of the word Glen was not misleading but last year the Federal Court of Canada overturned that decision following an appeal from the Scotch Whisky Association. The Federal Court found that “the trade is confused” by the trademark, that Glen Breton was often listed as “single malt Scotch” and that “the ultimate consumer who thought he or she was ordering a new Scottish single malt would never know that something else was served”.

However, in January the Federal Court of Appeal upheld Glenora Distillers’ trademark registration for Glen Breton, launched in 2000, and taking its name from its hometown of Glenville.

Now the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest court in the country and the final court of appeal, has ended the legal argument by blocking the Scotch Whisky Association’s challenge. Glenora can now register its trademark in Canada.

Glen Breton is already sold in Canada, theUS, Europe and Asia, but Glenora has said the legal challenges had concerned importers and made it hard for the company to market its whisky as widely as it would have liked.

David Williamson of the Scottish Whisky Association said the body was disappointed by the court decision. “We will continue to monitor the marketing of this product to ensure there is not continued confusion to the consumer, and we will be looking to oppose the trademark’s registration in any markets where such confusion is likely,” he said.

“What the Canadian courts have consistently held is that this trademark is causing confusion within the market. Therefore it is disappointing that the court has decided not to give leave to appeal.

“Canadian courts have found in the past that the use of the word Glen’ on a whisky that is not produced in Scotland is causing confusion over the product’s origin.

“We wrote to the company to warn that if they proceeded to register this trademark it would cause confusion in the market. Regrettably that’s what happened. We never received a reply so we had to oppose the application for the trademark.”

“It’s a really huge victory for us,” said Glenora vice-president Bob Scott. “Our message is: try this unique product from Canada.”.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Meet the Makers…

The LCBO is currently running a very impressive promotion where they introduce customers to “the makers” of our favorite spirits and beers.  As we continue to feature some of the makers;

Today let’s meet:

John K. Hall, First Generation Whisky Maker

It wasn’t always about whisky for John Hall, Far from it.  As the vintner and owner of Kittling Ridge Estate, he built his reputation over 30 years by pursuing his first passion: wine.  However, in looking for a new challenge John didn’t have to stray far, as the allure of crafting whisky beckoned.  In learning the art of distilling whisky he drew on his wealth of knowledge while expanding his seasoned palate and expert skills.  Eleven years later, the success of the award-winning forty Creek Barrel Select whisky is testament to the man’s enthusiasm and determination to produce a rich, resonant and distinctive Canadian whisky here in the shadow of the Niagara Escarpment.

Popularity: 46% [?]

A Special bottling from Forty Creek

John Halls, First Generation Whisky Maker has announced the upcoming 2009 Forty Creek Whisky limited release. Forty Creek Port Wood Reserve is the smallest of their special releases with only 3,000 bottles produced. This release is exclusive to Ontario and will only be sold in limited quantity at the LCBO and here at our distillery boutique in Grimsby. Once again, for a limited time, Canadian Whisky lovers an opportunity to reserve their own bottle number of Forty Creek Port Wood Reserve. Customers can reserve any number between 0003 and 3000.

Popularity: 38% [?]

Meet the Makers…

The LCBO is currently running a very impressive promotion where they introduce customers to “the makers” of our favorite spirits and beers.  As we continue to feature some of the makers;

Today let’s meet:

Ian Ross, Master Distiller

Wiser’s Canadian Whisky

For generations, Wiser’s has brought friends and family together to share in the taste of a classic Canadian whisky.  It’s no surprise then that a whisky first established in southeastern Ontario by J.P. Wiser is now overseen by a Master Distiller who hails from the shores of Lake Superior in northwestern Ontario.  Granted, his opinion may have a slight bias, but Ian Ross considers Wiser’s and enduring tradition for Canadian, right alongside hockey, fishing and the social times that typically accompany chilly winter nights.  Indeed, the heritage of craftsmanship and quality that has been an inherent part of the Wiser’s brand continues to inspire Ian and satisfy its admirers as it has for over 150 years.

Popularity: 42% [?]