GROWING THIRST FOR RYE WHISKY
A year ago, Jim Murray, who calls his annual Whisky Bible “the world’s leading whisky guide,” shocked the whisky community by naming Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye his World Whisky of the Year, writing that it “engulfs you in its natural beauty like an early spring morning on Lake Manitoba.”
Suddenly, one could not find Northern Harvest Rye for love nor money. As Murray, no stranger to hyperbole, writes in the introduction to his Whisky Bible 2017: “Not only did the Northern Harvest Rye sell out in days, but there was, in one Canadian store, even a fight over the last bottle — needing police to be called in to restore order.”
This year, Murray named another rye, Booker’s 13 Years, 1 Month, 12 Days, which is American, as his world whisky of the year, and named Northern Harvest Rye his Canadian whisky of the year.
Rye, in short, continues its dominance, which is great news for Canada’s whisky industry.
“It’s getting Canadians to fall in love with rye again,” said Rob Tucker, senior brand manager for Canadian whisky in the Toronto office of Japanese-owned Beam Suntory, which owns Canadian Club.
Tucker singles out three hot ryes: Northern Harvest, 40 Creek and Canadian Club 100% Rye, which launched one year before Northern Harvest Rye. “Those three brands have driven tremendous growth in a short time,” he said. “They told a story that Canadians really wanted to hear about craftsmanship and authenticity.”
Murray, who favours metaphors that compare his affection for whisky to passion for a woman, is a discerning lover. He almost anointed Northern Harvest Rye top honours for a second year running. Unfortunately for Diageo Canada, which distils and sells Crown Royal, he tasted another batch of Northern Harvest Rye and found it “not quite” as good as last year’s, his beloved batch L5085 N3.
Nevertheless, Diageo remains tickled pink at the latest accolade for Northern Harvest Rye.
“We are thrilled again with the recognition brought to us,” said Joanna Scandella, Crown Royal’s master blender at Diageo’s lab in LaSalle, Que, whose blending “library” contains about 1,200 samples (bottles), representing more than one million barrels that the company has maturing right now. “It is something that we are so very proud of as Canadians.”
Once scarce, Northern Harvest Rye is now so plentiful on shelves that it raises a suspicion: Is this really the same stuff? Or did Diageo just rush out any old rye to capitalize on the hype?
“When we were named whisky of the year last November, we didn’t know that was going to happen,” Scandella said.
“So, of course, the demand was very high.”
Diageo ran out of the rye blend and even, it seems, labels. But its distillery in Gimli, Man., had for years socked away large reserves of rye in its maturing distillate in anticipation of releasing a “highrye” whisky, she said.
“That’s why we were able to make the blend now.”
Diageo has sold 100,000 cases of Northern Harvest Rye in Canada alone in the past year, part of the total 650,000 cases of Crown Royal sold in this country. Canadian Club 100% Rye, crafted at Alberta Distillers in Calgary, rode the rye wave as well, selling 50,000 cases in Canada in the past two years, Tucker said.
Don Livermore, master blender at Hiram Walker in Windsor, Ont., the biggest distillery in North America, which belongs to Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd., said Canadian whisky’s profile is on the rise around the world.
“My phone is becoming busier and busier,” Livermore said. A recent release, J.P. Wiser’s Last Barrels, “flew off the shelves,” he added. National Post