I count myself fortunate in that my adventures into craft distilling have allowed me to meet some amazing people from around the world. Over 2 years ago a gentleman from Thompson, Manitoba showed up at one of the Distillery Workshops. He was fixated on the traditional method of harvesting nectar from the upper branches of coconut trees and turning that nectar into a distilled alcohol. Time has a funny way of connecting the dots as it were. Last week I had a call from this gentleman and he wanted to know if he could stop by and visit me. He came bearing some treats – 3 bottles in fact.

Finally I was to have a chance to taste this coconut liquor he had talked about 2 years ago. He even showed me some video clips from his recent trip to the rural jungle areas outside Manila in the Philippines. The clips showed people scurrying up tall trees with a pail strapped to their back. Once atop the tree, they would empty smaller vessels full of nectar into the one on their back. The filled container would then be lowered down to the ground via a long rope. The collected nectar would be allowed to ferment naturally before it was distilled. All three bottles had different organoleptic qualities. By far and away the best one was the one at left in the photo. The middle one, made by a local farmer on a crude still in the rural farming area was a close second. To the best of my understanding, the fermented nectar is simply double pot distilled and then proofed down to 42%. Believe me – I could drink this stuff as my daily dram. I am now looking for a craft distillery to participate in a possible business venture that would see 1X pot distilled nectar imported into Canada to be re-distilled, proofed and bottled for sale to the Philippine ex-pat community across the country. I would even go so far as to say a credible Gin could be made from this coconut liquor. Hopefully in early 2020 I have a chance to visit the rural area near Manila and spend some time with the local farmers and artisan distillers.

Back in March at one of my 5 day Distilling Workshops, I introduced the class to Sauvage Gin from Cirka Distilling in Montreal. I actually bought the bottle at a private liquor store in Calgary (Craft Cellars – 32 Ave NE).

Look up the word “sauvage” and you will find that its meaning extends to connotations of wild, untamed and forest. Definitely an appropriate name for a Gin. The response from the class was one of muted enthusiasm. They felt is was good but not bursting with flavor.

One of my favorite food themes to cook is Indian curry. Not all curry is hot and spicy. There are various aromatic dishes that can be found in Indian cookbooks. One dish that I do often is curry fish. The emphasis in this dish is on fresh ground coriander, cumin, ginger, garlic, tamarind, coconut and a small bit of chili pepper. The net result is a flavorful, aromatic presentation.

I have taken to drinking Gin martinis with aromatic type Indian dishes. Last evening I did the fish dish again served with a dry Gin martini made from Cirka Gin. Wow!!! This Gin is a sleeper! When the martini hit my taste buds that were saturated with the flavors from the fish dish, the Gin came alive! Flavors of juniper, coriander, and angelica exploded on my palate. So much so that I quickly poured myself another martini.

If aromatic Indian type dishes are something you fancy, and if you like dry Gin martinis….I urge you to find a bottle of Cirka Gin. To the team at Cirka Distilling – this is a well done Gin. Congratulations on a stellar product.

I am not sure if this bottle of Gin will ever see my next Workshop. I fear that the bottle will be emptied quite soon…..

Today I did a blind tasting with members of the 6-Day distillery Workshop. I served up samples of the Whiskies pictured above taking care to have diluted each sample to 30% alcohol for proper evaluation. The Whisky on left is the very popular Alberta Premium made by Beam Suntory subsidiary Alberta Distillers. The middle product is a recent entrant onto store shelves. The 6 year old distillate is purchased from Collingwood Distillers in Ontario and given a further year of ageing in Kelowna, BC in ex-bourbon casks, ex-red wine casks and Hungarian oak casks. The product on right is a small batch whisky made by Shelter Point Distilling in Campbell River, BC on traditional pot stills. The class comments were uniform. The Shelter Point product was deemed to have the best mouth-feel and finish. The Bearface exhibited good oak character, but was lacking in body and texture. The Alberta Premium was the least appreciated of all with comments indicating a certain harshness on the palate. I later pointed out to the class that the Shelter Point product is a pot distilled whisky – hence its good mouth-feel. The other two products are column distilled which removes far too much flavor from the distillate. This tasting exercise supports what I have been long saying – if you are going to make a Whisky, then make it on a pot still using the double pot distillation technique.

In the most recent Gin Experience Class, we started our exploration with a blind tasting of four London Dry Gins. I was expecting them to be all generally the same. But, surprise, surprise! The class by a wide margin selected Beefeater as its favorite of the four in terms of aroma, texture and mouthfeel. We went on to compare Beefeater to some craft distilled “contemporary Gins” and found that Beefeater stood out in a positive way. I for one am now set to re-visit the entire subject area of British Gins. My prevailing attitude towards British Gins has been changed by this Beefeater experience. Next time you are at your favorite watering hole, ask for a sample of Beefeater and a sample of one other London Dry Gin. Eyeball the level of the liquid in the respective glasses and add half again as much water to each to effectively reduce the % alcohol to 30% in each of your samples. Assess the aroma, mouthfeel and finish of Beefeater and you will see what I am talking about.

I have now made the acquaintance of a big, complex Scotch which I have been looking to acquire for some time now. As you can tell by the level of the liquid in this photo, I have now had a couple drams. I can pick out subtle notes of ripe stone fruit. I can pick out a pleasant spiciness on the finish along with a wee touch of what reminds me of green apple (wood tannins). All in all, this is a complex dram and maybe that is why it bears the moniker “the beast of Dufftown”. I definitely recommend getting yourself a bottle (if you can find it). I got mine at the BC Gov’t Signature Liquor Store for $81.

Next time you are at your local liquor store you may notice a new product – Bearface Canadian Whisky.

I first saw this stuff back at Christmas in an Ontario LCBO Store.

I have since been busy piecing together the puzzle. Here is what I have found:

This Whisky was actually made on the shores of Georgian Bay. Hence, I have to assume it was made by Collingwood Distillers in Ontario, who are owned by Brown Foreman, the parent company of the Jack Daniels brand. Collingwood makes its base Whisky from western Canadian barley according to the book Whisky – The Portable Expert by D. DeKergommeaux.

After 6 years of ageing, a quantity of this Collingwood Whisky was then sold to Mission Hill Vineyards in Kelowna, BC. The six year old distillate seems to have been then divided into three portions. One portion was added to ex-bourbon barrels, one portion to ex-red wine casks and one portion to Hungarian Oak casks. After one more year of ageing, these barrelled portions were blended together, proofed to 40% and bottled as a 7 year old product.

The bottle bears the scratch markings of a bear and even the label has a wee tear in it for added authenticity. In the world of Canadian Whisky – don’t forget that marketing is everything. And what is more authentic in Canada than using a bear as your marketing symbol?

I have now had a chance to evaluate this product. I followed my usual protocol of first diluting my dram to 30% so I could evaluate the aroma. I noted slight evidence of pears and fruit which would be the ethyl acetate
molecules in the liquid acting on my olfactory senses.

Next I added more water to take the dilution to 20% where I turned focus to the mouthfeel and structure. This is where disappointment set in. You see, Canadian Whisky is largely made on column stills which by their very
design strip out much of the flavor from the distillate. Contrast this to Scotch or Irish Whisky where pot stills are used to retain body and flavor.

Bearface in my opinion lacks body, backbone and texture. I will admit though that it is a smooth dram and on the otherwise long finish I could detect a slight bit of what I thought was red wine (from the ex-wine casks) and a bit of spice (possibly from the Hungarian oak casks or possibly from any rye grain used to make the Whisky).

I immediately followed up this taste test with a dram of no age statement Glenlivet Scotch where I was immediately reminded (and refreshingly so…) what body, texture and backbone feel like on the palate.

If I had to assign a numerical score to Bearface, I would rate it only 80 out of 100. I have no doubt that you will soon see the so-called experts release their glowing descriptions and high numerical ratings of Bearface describing how they can taste buttterscotch candies, fresh mown hay and Unicorn tears. That is entertainment fodder for the masses. Don’t be fooled.

On a related note, this experience speaks to what I have been long saying in the 5 Day Distillery Workshops. And that message is – forget trying to make Whisky on a column still. The Canadian market is drowning in Whisky made on column stills where the flavor and character has been stripped away. Craft distillers who have been unwittingly sold a column still, are only adding to the over-supply problem. If craft distillers want to do something unique, they ought to be using the double pot distillation process as is custom in Scotland and Ireland. If you are a craft distiller reading this post and if you are using the pot distillation process, then I wholeheartedly salute you! Consumers in Canada have a long standing habit of mixing their Whisky with cola or ginger ale. If that is your wont,then Bearface is something you can buy. But if you want a dram that you can sip after adding only a tiny bit of water, then there are better products on the shelf to look at.

If a person stopped you on the street and asked you to name the 3 nations in the world that make the best Whisky, what would you answer?

I would answer, Japan, Scotland and India. There are two notable Whisky brands from India – Paul John and Amrut. Both are top shelf excellent, yet both are distinctly different. The Paul John is peated, smoky and bold. Just the way I like my Whisky. In your travels, if you see Paul John, get a bottle. You will enjoy it. Add a bit of water to your dram to open up the Whisky and release all it has to offer.

In your travels, if you ever see Nikka Gin, get yourself a bottle. If you are a whisky afficionado you already know the reputation that Japanese Whisky has. I was not surprised then to taste that that same level of craftsmanship has been applied to Gin. The citrus flavor in this Gin derives from the use of Yuzu, Kabosu and Amanatsu citrus fruit. Apple is used to lend some body and mouthfeel and Sansho Pepper is used to give a nice finish. Expensive? At $78 for a 750 ml bottle, I would argue that yes, it is expensive. But it is a product that you do not drink everyday. I can take a dram of this Gin and savor it for a long while as I nose its beautiful aroma and gently let the citrus-laden droplets tease my taste-buds.