Canadians are still enjoying whisky two centuries after whisky first made an appearance in Canada. 1799 was the year that John Molson introduced the first whisky still to Canada. The original process of distilling in Canada was very similar to that used in making Scotch whisky due to the large number of central Canada's immigrants being originally from Scotland.Quality control standards were far below those of today but still, it had a very willing and eager market. Canadian whisky, over time has developed its own individual personality with its own characteristics and nuances. It is now known as one of the highest quality whiskies in the world.

By the 1840's over 200 distilleries were operating in the country and Canada was gaining recognition as a producer of high quality whisky. Prohibition dampened the 'spirits' a little in 1916 -1917 when alcohol production was limited to use for military purposes only. At that time, whisky and all other alcohol beverages were only permitted to be used for medicinal, scientific, mechanical, industrial or sacramental purposes. Prohibition was repealed in the United States of America in 1933 and suddenly the popularity of Canadian Whisky bounced back--legally. By the 1940's all Canadian provinces, with the exception of Prince Edward Island, had repealed Prohibition. The federal government of Canada enforces strict health, safety and quality standards on the Canadian Whiskey distilleries. This has helped Canadian Whiskey earn a reputation for exceptionally high quality whiskies and a unique taste.

How to:

Canadian whisky is grain spirit that has been aged in charred oak barrels for a minimum of three years. Obviously this barely scratches the surface of the complex process that is involved in "rye." Canadian whiskies generally get a spicy, bitter-sweet character from the rye component in the blend, and this is rounded off by the sweet vanillin's that barrel aging gives them. They are among the smoothest whiskies produced in the entire world.In making whisky, Canadian distillers commonly go through the following twelve separate steps. Essentially every other whisky producer, the Scots, Irish, or American, produce their whisky in the same way.

1. Selecting Grains: The most abundant grain used is corn but small quantities of barley, malt and rye are also added. Each style of corn will have a different amount of fermentable sugar and contribute different flavours to the whisky. Although rye is a very small part of the grain used in the blend, it is the grain that adds the most flavour. Rule of Thumb: the more spice you smell in the aroma of a Canadian whisky, the more rye in the blend.
2. Milling: Grain is crushed to a carefully predetermined and controlled degree of fineness so that it can best yield its starch content and flavour.
3. Water: For every gallon of spirit produced, a distillery uses up to 100 gallons of water. The water also has to contain a certain amount of lime. Lime is essential to the enzymatic process necessary in the making of whisky.
4. Mashing: The Grains must now be cooked at carefully controlled temperatures and pressures so the the starch content is dissolved. After cooking, enzymes immediately begin converting dissolved starch into sugar.
5. Yeasting: The act of adding the yeast to the mash. Yeast converts sugar in solution into alcohol and contributes flavouring substances. Distillers locate the best yeasts they can find and they isolate these, in order to create the flavour they want. Pure yeast cultures are created from the isolated yeasts.
6. Fermenting: The yeast acts upon the cooked mash to convert grain sugars into alcohol. Three to four days of carefully controlled temperatures and sterile conditions contribute to making what is essentially a beer.
7. Distilling: To make a young whisky after fermentation, the mash is passed through the still where it is boiled, the alcohol vapour is separated, purified, condensed and cooled.
8. By-Products: Cattle feed is most common by-product and is from the unused portion of the grain and yeast.
9. Barrelling: The young whisky is reduced to 40% alcohol with distilled water and then put into carefully selected charred oak barrels.
10. Maturing: Vanillin's from the wood of the barrels imparts subtle changes in the mixture, as does the evaporation and chemical interaction between air, wood and water. A mellow whisky, no longer rough or harsh, emerges after years of maturation.
11. Blending: Whiskies of different ages are carefully blended according to a predetermined formula. Once a product meets the strict criteria of the blenders the whisky can be sent for packaging.
12. Packaging: The final stage in preparation for retail sale.

Recognizing a plentiful supply of local beer kept money in the country instead of paying for liquor from France, Jean Talon established Canada's first brewery in 1668. For the next century, brewing existed as a cottage industry. As early as 1786, John Molson established his first brewery in Montreal – the first of the families traditionally associated with brewing. Alexander Keith & Son founded their brewery in Nova Scotia in 1829. Thomas Carling opened the doors to his new Brewing & Malting company in London, Ontario, in 1840. And the Labatt name enters the scene in London, in 1847.By the 1870s, brewing had come into its own with brewers as far west as Victoria, British Columbia and as far east as Saint John, New Brunswick. Despite occasional economic setbacks, sales grew up to the First World War.

With the outbreak of war, prices increased due to a doubling of the excise duty on malt, and many provinces decided to go "dry" as a war measure.In 1918, the federal cabinet decreed that no intoxicating liquor of any kind could be manufactured or imported until 12 months after peace was restored. Called the "Noble Experiment" by the Prohibitionists, this measure lasted into the 1920s, until consumer demand and common sense reasserted itself.

Not for long, though. The Dirty Thirties and its Great Depression once again hit the brewers, followed by World War II, which spawned more production restrictions.Today, there are breweries in every province except Prince Edward Island, and Canadians have come to view brewers as an integral part of their communities.

Content provided by Brewers of Canada