Purists might balk, but hybrid spirits are trending,

Iconoclasts will enjoy these easy-drinking and approachable offerings

When is a whisky not a whisky? How can you tell the difference between a gin and a vodka? What is the defining characteristic of rum?

There’s no simple answer. Each spirit has specific rules and guidelines for brewing, distilling and aging in order to qualify as, say, a cognac, tequila or pisco. Some cherish these rules, since they’re sort of like a quality assurance. For example, if it says “Canadian whisky” on the bottle, you know it’s been aged for at least three years.

Lately though, an increasing number of people in the spirits world are breaking the rules and releasing new crossovers and hybrids, such as Rumnac (rum and cognac); vodka distilled with botanicals (which treads on gin’s turf ); and even a blend of tequila and mezcal, Santo Mezquila Puro. To some degree, these experiments are inspired by the creativity found in natural wine and craft beer circles, where it’s been common to age beer in wine barrels for years. At times, it can be hard to tell the difference between a funky sour beer and a natural, skin-contact fizzy wine, such as a “piquette.”

Back to spirits though, we have several in the LCBO embracing this new rule-bending trend. From the United States, Basil Hayden has released a rye with port wine; Glenfiddich has released a Scotch aged in rum barrels and, on the home front, we have a botanical Canadian whisky, another aged in red wine barrels and a new whisky blended with mezcal.

Canada, in fact, is uniquely positioned to lead, given a peculiar regulation that allows distillers to blend in a small portion (up to 9.09 per cent) of other wines or spirits and still call it Canadian whisky. Few countries allow anything like this, so distillers here have been quietly taking advantage of it since at least the 1950s if not earlier, since it gives them a lot of freedom to blend in a little sherry, port, cognac or even rum to give it a different flavour profile.

Why “quietly”? Because some purists, especially in countries where regulations don’t permit blending foreign liquors in with whisky, consider this a cheat. So, until recently, Canadian whisky blenders didn’t advertise the practice too widely.

Now that hybrid spirits are trending, though, some Canadian producers are starting to make a virtue of their hybrid experiments and collab projects. One of the proudest new blending pioneers is Okanagan Valley’s Andres Faustinelli, master blender and creator of Bearface One-Eleven expressions, whose approach is the opposite of quiet. The blend of mezcal and whisky is proudly announced on the front label, the back label and even on the necktie.

One-Eleven refers to the fact that one in every 11 “parts” of the spirit is made from mezcal — the reverse of 9.09 per cent. The easiest way to think of all these numbers and ratios is to imagine that distillers used to make 10 litres of Canadian whisky, then add in a litre of something foreign for good measure. Bearface plans to release a new OneEleven expression annually, using different spirits each year.

Two questions remain. First, “Why are Canadian producers allowed this flexibility?” I’ve searched for an answer and never found a totally satisfactory explanation.

The other question is: “Are they any good?” Well, some are more successful than others and, obviously, personal taste is going to play a role. People who want their rye to taste exactly like a proper rye aren’t going to enjoy the noise that botanicals or port wine adds. Iconoclasts who love to push boundaries on the other hand, will be thrilled by the following five spirits, all of which have one thing in common — they’re easy-drinking and super-approachable. Basil Hayden’s Dark Rye ($54.95; LCBO 543611) is a cross-border blend of American rye whisky, Canadian whisky and a splash of California Port wine. As the label promises, it’s certainly “dark and rich” and, in addition, has a sweet aroma and flavour with a hint of fruit and chocolate. Drink after dinner or, instead, treat it like a finished cocktail and serve on the rocks with a cherry — it could easily pass for a Manhattan.

You might not expect Bearface One-Eleven ($49.95; LCBO 12826), a Canadian whisky adulterated with mezcal, to work but, in my opinion, it works quite well. Mezcal is similar to a tequila, only made in different regions of Mexico, from different species and according to production methods — usually more rustic. What’s nice about the One-Eleven is that you can definitely taste the mezcal through the whisky. It’s delicate, well-balanced, has a lively flavour and the perfect hit of smoke — reminiscent of a Highland single malt. Drink neat.

A lot of Scottish whisky is traditionally aged in port or sherry casks, so the Glenfiddich Experimental Series #4, Fire and Cane ($75.15; LCBO 629352), which lets the whisky rest in rum barrels from Latin America to soak up a little sweetness, isn’t the most radical departure of these five bottles. The finished product is a powerhouse of balanced flavour, though, with a gorgeous blend of smoke and sweet heat.

Adding juniper, spruce and Labrador tea to whisky, as the producers did with The Forager botanical whisky ($34.95; LCBO 13915), is definitely an instance of thinking outside the box. The end result is a true crossover — a gin/ whisky hybrid, that tastes like a really light and zesty summer whisky. The best way to drink this is definitely on the rocks with some nice tonic water, to make for a fresh twist on a classic G&T.

The highly anticipated, limited-release of Pike Creek 15-year-old whisky finished in Ontario Cabernet Sauvignon barrels ($69.95; LCBO online exclusive, coming midAugust) has got a lot of fans in other parts of the world wishing they lived in Ontario — the only market in which the 2,058 bottles are being sold. It’s a true collab project, thought up by the winemakers at Niagara’s Foreign Affair winery and the master blender at Windsor’s Hiram Walker & Sons distillery, that sees both a Cabernet aged in Canadian whisky barrels and a 15year-old Pike Creek finished in former Cabernet barrels. It’s delicious, rich, whisky, with a hefty dose of caramelized sugar, rich cherries and dried fruit, all of which stick around for the long finish.