Things are looking up in the state of spirit distillation in Alberta. Sure, your intrepid liquor reporter keeps tending to his hillbilly moonshine still, hidden in the reeds down at the end of the lake, but there are several new entrants on the market, thanks to the provincial government reducing the amount of red tape for small distilleries.
The giant players on the market are still here, the most prominent being Alberta Distilleries, which is Albertan in name only, being owned by the conglomerate behind Jim Beam, which is in turn owned by the Suntory whisky conglomerate out of Japan.
The 2nd-largest player would be Highwood Distillers in High River, who seems to have gotten back on their feet after suffering extensive losses from the 2013 Floodageddon, which destroyed millions of dollars worth of bottled inventory. I did my part to support them over the holiday season by guzzling many bottles of their seasonal candy cane cream liquer, as well as their famous Céili’s Irish Cream, a bargain-priced clone of Bailey’s Irish Cream.
But enough about the thundering juggernauts of the Alberta distilling scene; Let’s talk about the scrappy young upstarts that are putting out small batches of spirits in less industrial quantities than the big guys.
The first craft distiller to appear on the scene was the Eau Claire Distillery, located in the idyllic hamlet of Turner Valley, located 75km southwest of Chestermere.
Your humble narrator has gone through the tourist-friendly distillery tour, and was delighted to see that the master distiller is none other than local booze legend Larry Kerwin, who faithful readers may recall did stints as Brewmaster in Calgary for Carling, Molson, Big Rock, and Village Brewery.
The Eau Claire distillery makes Vodka, Rum, Gin, and they even have some whisky aging in barrels for a planned release in 2016. My favourite is their Parlour Gin, which is made in the style of a London Dry Gin. Made from locally grown barley and other grains, the distillate is then infused with the traditional Juniper berries, as well as more local botanicals including Saskatoons and Rosehips.
Turner Valley had a notorious history during the dark days of Alberta’s Prohibition from 1916-1924, when the surrounding area was known as Whiskey Ridge, due to the large number of illicit stills churning out rotgut moonshine. I did see a few old farmers that looked suspiciously like Uncle Jesse Duke, so there might be a few illicit stills out there to this very day!
The distillery itself is quite small, so the 20-minute tour of the shiny new distillery in a lovingly restored old-timey movie theatre was over almost as quickly as it began. Luckily, the tour ends in the attached tasting room, so I settled in for some serious sampling.
Closer to home, Last Best Brewing & Distilling opened in March 2014, in the illustrious location that housed the now-defunct Brew Brothers, and before that, the Fox & Firkin on Calgary’s infamous Electric Avenue strip that was so well-known in the previous millennium.
Last Best is the fourth location of the growing Bear Hill Brewing Company, which includes craft breweries in Banff, Jasper, and Fort McMurray. As their name would imply, they do both brewing and distilling, making them your one-stop-shop for beer and spirits!
While their beers are available on tap at select drinking establishments, you will only find their spirits at their onsite restaurant and brew pub, so you will have to make the trip to downtown Calgary to sample these wares. My favourite is their Moonshine Caesar, the perfect hair of the dog for a Sunday brunch after a Saturday night of debauchery.
Moving west, the newest addition to the spirit producers of Alberta is the Park Distillery Restaurant & Bar, located right on the main drag in Banff, in the spot formerly occupied by Giorgio’s Trattoria.
Park Distillery ran their first batch of hooch through the still in October, so they are just a few short months old. Their claim to fame is a unique vodka made completely from triticale grains, a hybrid of rye and hard-red wheat that is native to the prairie provinces. This combination of native grains and clean Rocky Mountain glacial water makes for a crisp and fresh vodka with a floral nose and buttery smooth finish.
If cocktails are your thing, they also make a vodka infused with Madagascar vanilla beans, which your humble narrator enjoyed more than a few of on his last trip to Banff.
Do your part to support the local distillers of Alberta by sampling some of their hooch at your local drinking establishment!
