THE WONDERS OF WHISKY
Alberta distiller says no two brands taste the same
For David Farran’s team at Eau Claire Distillery, it took three years of planning, making and tasting to create their first Canadian singlemalt whisky.
And it took less than two weeks to sell it all.
But if you didn’t get any, don’t worry. You can still try a shot of it at the distillery in Turner Valley, and there will be new releases from Eau Claire throughout 2018.
“It’s about quality, not quantity,” Farran says. “We’re producing some really fun stuff that will be coming out this next year.” You heard it here first.
If you’re unfamiliar with the whisky world, you may think that they’re all the same. Far from it. It’d take a book to explain all the differences, but in a nutshell: whisky is a distilled, alcohol-based beverage that’s typically aged in wood barrels and can be made from a range of grains, including barley, rye and corn.
Scotch whisky, of course, is one
of the most famous styles. But scotch can only be called that if it’s made in Scotland.
On the other hand, Canadian whisky can only be made in Canada, where it’s been made since before Confederation.
Last year was big for Canadian whisky fans. To mark Canada’s 150th anniversary, Crown Royal, Forty Creek and J.P. Wiser’s all had special releases. And Canadian Club unveiled its first 40-year-old whisky. Made of corn, it is the oldest the brand has ever bottled.
Then there’s Alberta Distillers. Makers of Alberta Premium Dark Horse whisky and others, it was named Canadian Distillery of the Year in 2017.
Small distilleries are popping up across the country, too, including 24 in Alberta, according to Farran, who heads up the Alberta Craft Distillers Association.
As for Eau Claire Distillery, it opened in 2014 and quickly developed a reputation among boozeloving Albertans for its fine gins and vodka. But the idea was always to create a fine single-malt whisky, says Farran, Eau Claire’s president and founder. “I thought Alberta should have a single-malt distillery because we produce the best grain in the world,” he says.
With that in mind, he had the entire distillery built around the idea: the right still, space for barrels, time for aging. (By law, to be labelled Canadian whisky, a product must be aged three years.)
Farran hired master distiller Larry Kerwin, who had worked with him at Big Rock Brewery, and, now, Scottish distiller Caitlin Quinn. “The combination of these two has been a big part of the success of our first whisky,” Farran says.
One thing they’ve noticed is distinctive flavours from the same grains — rye, for instance — grown on different farms. It’s what winemakers call “terroir,” Farran notes, and it makes Eau Claire’s smallbatch whiskies vary from batch to batch.
“We can’t blend to uniformity the way a big distiller can, so each one of our whiskies will be different, according to the year it was produced and the field where we got the grain from,” he says.
“It’s not that it’s good or bad. It’s just different.”
Farran hopes more provincial distilleries take note of the difference and make their own distinctive spirits.
“When I hear that another distillery is opening up in the province, I don’t cringe …. It just helps us all grow the market,” he says.
“A rising tide lifts all boats.”