Canada, and craft spirits

(Inside The Liberty Distillery tasting room on Granville Island, Vancouver.)

Last December, I came across a job opportunity in Singapore, which tuned me into the world of craft spirits in a big way. Having already been a big fan of the craft beer movement, and being a fan of spirits in general, craft spirits were an obvious bridge between the two. While I know a considerable amount about the microdistilleries and their products in my own city, not having the wider knowledge of the craft spirits world outside of Vancouver may have been my biggest shortcoming. Tyler and Howard, the owners of the Secret Mermaid have help tuned me into that world in a big way.

See Also: Flavored Vodka

The craft spirits revolution really seemed to have hit Vancouver in 2013, taking steam near the end of the year, and into the New Year as several microdistilleries began popping up. The trend has existed in the states for considerably longer, however, and as well most of my readers are American. It's one of those things that the culture just seems to be responding to a bit slower here, but in all fairness this is a place where its more common to find people immediately washing shots of Patron down with Coca-cola chasers, than opting to enjoy the taste of the - rather expensive - premium product, neat.  I internally sigh each time it happens, but I can't blame them. Being brought up on bad spirits culture has done Canadians a disservice, and even the days of Canadians having special world renowned microbrews is being overshadowed by the craft beer movement (not that there aren't still amazing beers in Canada - it just seems to be less of an accomplishment than it once was). In a previous article I lamented my own preference for hi-balls in years past. 

(Buffalo Trace is one of the higher quality American spirits that you can easily buy in Canada.)

Those drinking whiskey neat in my earlier days behind the wood, always ordered with the suffixes "and coke" or "and ginger". Rye and coke neat, or perhaps pressed, seemed like the classiest way to drink Canadian Whiskey, and it possibly took me years of bartending before I heard of my first neat Crown. In my mind, this seemed like something for Scotch culture, or alcoholics. My own obsession with Manhattans eventually became the breaking point.

See Also: My first go at Buffalo Trace - a bartender flop

Since my humble beginnings as no-nothing Maritime Canadian who drinks Alpine, I've managed to familiarize myself with many of the popular names in craft spirits produced by my neighbours to the south. The unfortunate truth is that it can still be quite difficult to get most of these products in Canada.This is only further testament for why craft spirits are moving much slower here than in the south. It's a very niche community, giving heed to the small population and population density of Canada. We're simply producing a smaller fraction of craft spirits compared to the United States, and on top of that, there's the fact that spirits and wine don't carry all of the same social significance here compared to the States. Beer isn't only the drink of the Everyman here, but it also identifies our culture as Canadians; our most popular beer is even called Canadian. Perhaps being Canadian needs to be encapsulated somehow in spirits, the same way as in beer.

(Canada has a plethora of awesome microbreweries, like Bowen Island.)

There does seen to be an end to the untouchable rainbow, though. The niche community I'm part of seems to be growing, at least from my perspective. The obvious consequence of this is that spirits culture will grow as well.