The Best Canadian Spirits, in Case Trump’s Tariffs Come Through
Okay, first thing is first, don’t panic. No, but seriously, don’t. There is no time for a tariff tizzy when Canada is bountiful in tasty tipples in its own right. We can go down the rabbit hole of what a long-term loss of American spirits on our shelves might look like, but for now, let’s cut to the chase and pivot the conversation from what isn’t available to what we have waiting to fill our cup. Trust us, there’s a lot to get through here.
Whisky
There is absolutely no doubt that American Whisk(e)y is a wonderful import, but Canadian Whisky has been on an upward trajectory for the best part of 200 years, with our grain spirits frequently going toe-to-toe with anything stateside, taking home slews of international awards. Oh, and before we launch into the most intricate spirits category, let’s hold a moment of gratitude for no longer having to whisky it with an “e” to accommodate our Southern pals! We good? Okay. Let’s do this.

Corn Forward / Bourbon Style
The well-oiled marketing machine will have you believe bourbon is some kind of incandescent ‘Merican magic but, really, it is a corn-forward (51% or more) grain spirit, aged in brand-new charred American Oak, bottled at no less than 80 proof. Stylistically, corn is king here, meaning that most bourbons ferment on the grain, although this is not a hard requirement for the category. What is a requirement, however, is that bourbon be made in the USA, so you will not be finding any legally defined “bourbon” distilled in Canada. You will, however, find distillers with corn-forward spirits revered for their excellent flavour.
Taber Corn Berbon
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Created at Calgary’s small-batch Bridgeland Distillery, this multi-award-winning whisky is made from 60% locally grown Alberta Taber Corn, 32% Penhold Barley and 8% Penhold Wheat, aged in Char #4 New American Oak. ($55)
Signal Hill Whisky
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Crafted with the finest Canadian corn (95%) and barley (5%), and blended with the fresh waters of Newfoundland, the smooth, balanced whisky is aged in new oak, ex-bourbon casks and ex-Canadian whisky casks. ($40)
Bearface Triple Oak
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A single-grain corn whisky aged in ex-bourbon American oak, then ex ex-wine French oak, and finally finished in air-dried virgin Hungarian Oak, Ontario’s Bearface Distillery creates a masterful blend with a long complexity of flavour. ($30)
Crown Royal Blenders Mash
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Canadian whisky veterans, Crown Royal, recreate a typical bourbon mash, resulting in familia notes of vanilla and oak spice, with a famously smooth finish. ($45)

Rye Forward
Canadian whisky has been synonymous with rye for the best part of a century, even though corn remains the predominant grain in our glasses. The story goes that small amount of rye grain was added to whiskies to give them a distinct spice, and the flavour became associated with Canadian spirits, regardless of how much rye was actually in the mash bill. While Canada does not have any specific requirements for how much rye (as opposed to corn and malted barley, etc.) is needed to present a rye whisky, curiously rule-loving America has set the term “straight rye” for all whiskies with a mash of at least 51% rye grain. With that in mind, here are some rye forward Canadian whiskies that will have you declaring “Wild Turkey who?!”
Alberta Premium Cask Strength
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At the pinnacle of Canadian rye whisky production, Alberta Distillers in Calgary present a viscous, lengthy, and spicy cask strength (63.7%) whisky with bold notes of fruit cake, vanilla, baking spice and dark chocolate. ($85)
Dillion’s Rye 1 Whisky
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A 100% Canadian-grown rye (90% rye, 10% malted rye), aged in new Ontario oak, presented at cask strength (54.1%), and bottled from a single cask. Dillion’s proudly declares the bottle a “true 100KM Whisky made grain-to-glass by mashing, fermenting, distilling, ageing and bottling in house.” ($75)
Wild Life Rye Whisky
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A quintessentially Albertan whisky made with 88% rye and 12% barley, aged in white American oak for a minimum of 3.5 years. Presenting flavours of nutmeg, fig, grass and spice, Wild Life Rye is the first rye whisky to be made in Canmore, Alberta. ($78)
Shelter Point Single Cask Rye
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Vancouver Island’s revered Shelter Point Distillery’s incredibly rare Single Cask Rye saw a release of just 150 hand-numbered bottles. Twice distilled in a custom-designed copper still, and made with 100% Canadian rye, the whisky was bottled at 57.9% ABV from American oak casks. (From $100)

Single Malt
American Single Malt is still a relatively young and emerging category, with most notable single malts hailing from forefathers of malt whiskies, Scotland and Ireland. However, the Canadian single malt market is on its way to burgeoning, largely thanks to influence from tastemakers across the Atlantic.
Shelter Point Ripple Rock
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Another banger from B.C’s Shelter Point, the Ripple Rock is named after the largest peace-time explosion in non-nuclear times, and speaks to the high intensity flavour of the 100% single malted barley whisky, aged in American oak, then finished for 18 months in an alligator charred virgin American oak cask. ($80)
Peat Project Moscatel Barrique Single Malt
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Victoria’s Macaloney’s Island Distillery took home the 2025 Canadian Whisky of the Year award for its locally sourced single malt barley, peat smoked and Moscatel wine cask matured whisky. The only drawback for this otherwise proudly Canadian whisky, is that the peat was sourced from Washington State in a pre-tariff era. ($130)
Crown Royal Single Malt
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100% malted barley grains, distilled in copper and barrel aged to the beat of the Canadian terroir, this smooth expression of Crown Royal gives creamy vanilla and banana bread on the nose, with light tropical notes, nuts and cinnamon on the palate. ($90)
Bridgeland Glenbow Whisky Single Malt
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Sourced from a single field, in a single farm in Penhold, Alberta, Bridgeland’s Glenbow Whisky is crafted using pristine Bow River glacier water and presents honey, cloves and brioche on the nose, with a creamy mouthfeel and vanilla-nutmeg on the palate. ($70)
Eau Claire Anniversary Edition Single Malt
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Made with 100% Alberta malted barley, this rich taste of craftsmanship presents a whisky aged in virgin Hungarian oak, finished in rare Ximénez-Spínola sherry casks. ($150)
Glen Breton Rare Canadian Single Malt Whisky
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A ten-year-old, very light and bright Canadian single malt whisky hand crafted in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia by Glenora Distillery. Rated in the Top 50 Spirits Worldwide by Wine Enthusiast Magazine. ($85)

Aged Whisky
Aged whisky statements are by and large a Scottish influence, with swathes of American and Canadian whiskies presenting no age statements on their bottles. That said, our thriving whisky industry has led to long-form experimentations in aging, with the process a huge driver in promoting richer, more complex flavours. Here are our favourite Canadian age statement whiskies.
Paradigm Spirits 2022 Heritage Collection
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Winner of the 2024 Canadian Whisky of the Year Award at the Canadian Whisky Awards, this aged, blended whisky, made from 100% Canadian corn spent 19 years in new American oak before receiving a dosage of Oloroso sherry. ($168)
JP Wiser’s 42 Year Old
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Distilled in 1982 and matured in a combination of ex-Speyside single malt casks, ex-bourbon barrels and Canadian Oak, this luxury bottle was the first release in JP Wiser’s “The Decade’s Series”, winning approving nods for its full bodies and long finish. ($470)
Canadian Club Chronicles 45 Year Old
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Fortuitously laid down in 1977, this 45-year-old whisky is one of the oldest and rarest whiskies in Canada, and the fifth and final release in the Canadian Club Chronicles Range. Bottled at 50% ABV, rich notes of leather, varnished wood, stewed apple and sticky toffee pudding give way to a palate of oak spice, brown sugar and butterscotch. ($500)

Other Canadian Spirits
We have a national tendency to get all up in our feels about whisky partly, perhaps, because it is bar Canada’s biggest spirts export category. That said, we have a booming craft distillation industry across the board, with award-winning gins and vodkas to our name, a developing rum scene, and even micro-forays into Canadian-distilled absinthe. For those truly committed to buying Canadian, here are our top picks.
Empress 1908 Gin
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Ah, the purple gin that took the world by storm! Victoria Distillers in British Columbia unleashed a deliciously Instagrammable monster when they first began distilling Empress 1908 in 2017. Infused with butterfly pea blossom, and an ode to the tradition of high tea at the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, Empress 1908 is one of the most iconic gins in the country. ($50)
Ungava Gin
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Crafted with six arctic botanicals from Northern Quebec, Ungava’s distinctively yellow hue comes, surprisingly, from rosehip. ($40)
Dillons Dry Gin 7
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A traditional gin made with 100% Ontario rye grain in a classic dry style, aka the perfect martini gin. Internationally recognized with a recent gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirit Awards, Dillons are masters in their small-batch weight class. Dillon’s multiple flavour-infused gins are also worthy of investigation. ($40)
Sherringham Seaside Gin
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The “West Coast in a bottle”, Sherringham Seaside Gin boasts sustainably harvested winged kelp as one of its charactisteric defining ingredients, giving it a subtle ocean taste. ($50)

Pur Vodka
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Made with corn and glacial water from Northern Quebec, Pur Vodka is the world’s most awarded Canadian Vodka. ($45)
Banu Vodka
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With just 400 bottles made per year, Banu is an exclusive and ultra-smooth vodka distilled in Concord, Ontario. ($64)
Dillion’s Vodka
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Dillion’s offer multiple small-batch vodkas, with a notable Ontario-grown Rye offering, as well as the Method 95 made with Niagara-grown grapes. ($45)
Spirit of York Vodka
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100% Ontario-grown rye, crystal clear water from the township of Springwater, Ontario. ($40)
Sortliège Maple Syrup Whisky
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Briefly jumping back to whisky — Canada has its very own whisky-inspired liqueur, Sortliège. A blend of Canadian whisky and Quebec maple syrup barrel aged in oak, this is a true taste of the Great White North. At 30% ABV, rich, golden flavours of fresh, thick maple syrup are delivered with the warm kiss of Canadian whisky. ($35)

Bluenose Rum
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Nova Scotia’s Ironworks Distillery has been creating amber rum since 2012, named after Canada’s famous Bluenose schooner, launched from Lunenburg Harbour in 1921. ($45)
Romero Distillers Sherry Cask Finish — Cask Strength Rum
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Canadian processed blackstrap molasses and glacier-fed Albertan Rocky Mountain water distilled in a custom made Canadian copper pot-still, the rum is aged in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in Olorosso sherry casks. Only 1200 bottles have been released. ($98)
5 Fathom Dark Rum
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Made from Crosby’s molasses, fermented, distilled and barrel aged in Nova Scotia, 5 Fathoms took home the “World’s Best” title at the 2023 World Rum Awards. Casked in Hungarian and Aemerican white Oak, the spirit is bottled at 42% ABV, but gives a surprising mellow earthiness. ($40)
Taboo Genuine Absinthe
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Proudly creating Canada’s “first genuine Absinthe” in 2007, Okanagan Spirits is created from a neutral fruit alcohol for a “softer, less aggressive finish”. Created with local wild herbs from the grasslands and meadows of Western Canada, this expression has attracted multiple international awards. ($45)
Dillon’s Absinthe
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Crisp, clean, Canadian-made absinthe, characterized by wormwood, lemon balm and hyssop, grown in the Dillion’s distillery garden. Distilled from 100% Ontario grain, and traditionally crafted, Dillion’s Absinthe is bottled at 67.5%. ($70)