Whisky

Exploring Ontario: Niagara’s Unofficial Whisky Trail

October 2, 2025 No Comments

Five distilleries, one weekend, and a new way to taste Niagara.

The Kent Motel is a retro-modern boutique hotel. Reece Sims photo

When most people think of Niagara, they picture cascading waterfalls, winding vineyards, and endless glasses of Chardonnay. But if you know where to look, you’ll find another story pouring quietly in the background: whisky. Niagara is home to five whisky-producing distilleries, each offering a glimpse into how the region is reshaping Canadian whisky culture. And the best part? They’re all within about an hour of each other, making for the perfect sipping trail.

Tasting Panel

Canada in a glass

August 29, 2025 No Comments

Bye-bye bourbon. It’s Canadian whisky’s time to shine in these modern cocktails

Cocktails such as Lost Highway (above), created by Griffin Cox, bar manager at Bernie’s Supper Club & Cinema in Kelowna, use Canadian whisky in place American bourbon. Photo courtesy of Bernie’s Supper Club

For decades, Canadian whisky has played the quiet backbone in everything from Manhattans to whisky sours. But now, a new wave of bartenders is reclaiming it—not just as a versatile base spirit, but as a way to express local terroir, seasonality and storytelling in the glass. Whether it’s smoky and coastal, floral and bright, or tropical and spiced, Canadian whisky is proving that it can do more than blend in: It can take the lead.

We sat down with seven bartenders from across Canada to find out which whiskies they’re reaching for and the signature cocktails they’re crafting to showcase them.

Recipes

The Belly of the Beast

August 28, 2025 No Comments

Recipe by Tristin Vissers, bartender at Toronto’s Library Bar.

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 oz Appleton Estate 12 Year old rum

0.75 oz Brown Butter Fat-Washed Bearface Triple Oak whisky (see note)

0.75 oz Metaxa 5 Star brandy

0.75 oz grapefruit juice

0.75 oz sea buckthorn juice

0.75 oz Toasted Pecan & Mace Orgeat (see recipe below)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Garnish: cedar sprig, cinnamon sticks, bitters

Recipes

Rat Boy

August 27, 2025 No Comments

Recipe by Kat Saulnier, bartender at Toronto’s Bar Mordecai.

INGREDIENTS:

0.75 oz Lot 40 Rye Whisky

0.75 oz Tio Pepe fino sherry

0.5 oz Strega liqueur

0.75 oz Salted Oat Orgeat (see note)

0.5 oz fresh lemon juice

1 dash Angostura bitters

Garnish: star anise pod

Recipes

High Fives All Around

August 26, 2025 No Comments

Hight Fives All Around. Photo courtesy of Salt & Brick

Recipe by Bradley Horseman, bar manager, Salt & Brick in Calgary.

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 oz Forty Creek Copper Bold

0.5 oz Punt e Mes vermouth

0.25 oz maraschino liqueur

0.5 oz Chinese Five Spice Agave Syrup (see recipe)

1 oz pineapple juice

0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

Recipes

Lost Highway

August 8, 2025 No Comments

This thoughtful spin on a whisky smash uses flavour mapping to showcase the whisky’s range. Recipe by Griffin Cox, bar manager at Bernie’s Supper Club & Cinema in Kelowna.

Recipes

Pollination

August 1, 2025 No Comments

Bearface’s distinct character serves as the perfect foundation for a cocktail that connects flavour, place and story in Lacey Roberts’s (Published on Main) Bianco Manhattan, which is poured tableside from a beeswax-coated vessel, the wax sourced directly from the Queen Elizabeth Park apiary.

Recipes

Devil

July 31, 2025 No Comments

Recipe by Ryan Buchanan, bar manager at Arcana Spirits Lounge, Vancouver. Note that he uses lime ash to create black bitters to draw the pentagram on the drink, but recommends that home bartender use Angostura instead.

Recipes

A riff on the classic Paper Plane

July 17, 2025 No Comments

Recipe by Nathan Murray, bar manager at aKin in Toronto: “I prefer Canadian whisky over bourbon. Then I add an acidulated green tea blended with toasted brown rice in place of classic citrus. The result: a flavour profile that is sure to surprise even the most seasoned Paper Plane drinker.”

The Alchemist

Holy smokes! Peated Island whisky named best in Canada

January 17, 2025 No Comments

Macaloney’s Island Distillery takes top honours at 15^th annual Canadian Whisky Awards

Macaloney’s Island Distillery Peat Project Moscatel Barrique single malt is the Canadian Whisky of the Year. Macaloney’s Island Distillery photo

A peated whisky from Vancouver Island — Macaloney’s Island Distillery Peat Project Moscatel Barrique single malt — has just been named the Canadian Whisky of the Year and upended all our perceptions of what Canadian whisky can be.

Five distilleries, one weekend, and a new way to taste Niagara.

Bye-bye bourbon. It’s Canadian whisky’s time to shine in these modern cocktails

Recipe by Tristin Vissers, bartender at Toronto’s Library Bar.

Recipe by Kat Saulnier, bartender at Toronto’s Bar Mordecai.

Recipe by Bradley Horseman, bar manager, Salt & Brick in Calgary.

This thoughtful spin on a whisky smash uses flavour mapping to showcase the whisky’s range. Recipe by Griffin Cox, bar manager at Bernie’s Supper Club & Cinema in Kelowna.

Bearface’s distinct character serves as the perfect foundation for a cocktail that connects flavour, place and story in Lacey Roberts’s (Published on Main) Bianco Manhattan, which is poured tableside from a beeswax-coated vessel, the wax sourced directly from the Queen Elizabeth Park apiary.

Recipe by Ryan Buchanan, bar manager at Arcana Spirits Lounge, Vancouver. Note that he uses lime ash to create black bitters to draw the pentagram on the drink, but recommends that home bartender use Angostura instead.

Recipe by Nathan Murray, bar manager at aKin in Toronto: “I prefer Canadian whisky over bourbon. Then I add an acidulated green tea blended with toasted brown rice in place of classic citrus. The result: a flavour profile that is sure to surprise even the most seasoned Paper Plane drinker.”

Macaloney’s Island Distillery takes top honours at 15th annual Canadian Whisky Awards

Macaloney’s Island Distillery takes top honours at 15^th annual Canadian Whisky Awards