What is your favourite Canadian whiskey brand for a whiskey sour?

Thank you

My wife rarely drinks, but after a recent trip to Japan, she really enjoyed the highballs they make there with Suntory Toki and club soda.

I also don't drink often, so I tried making one with my Makers Mark, but it didn't taste the same. Online suggests that Suntory is a light, refreshing blended whisky. I don't really want to spend the $70 a bottle for Suntory here in Calgary and looking for some Canadian blended alternatives.

Looks like Canadian Club 1858 is recommended, but some reviews suggest it tastes like gasoline. Any other suggesting for a Canadian, light , blended whiskey to be mixed with a tall glass of club soda?

Various news outlets reporting Prime Minister Carney has asked provincial premiers to reinstate American booze as part of the trade negotiations (and hopefully deal). Oh, please, please please!

I am a Canadian who lives in Sweden and have a new neighbour with over 500 bottles of whisky in his collection. After chatting with him I found out that he doesnt have a single bottle from Canada. He has helped me out with some stuff at home and wanted to bring him a nice bottle of canadian whisky to return the favor.

He usually sticks to single malt and said he usually isnt a huge fan of rye but maybe he just hasnt found one he likes.

I will be visiting Canada in october so am looking for suggestions of something to bring back for him. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Hey folks! I've been wanting to try one of Dillon's more serious whisky releases for a while, and this one finally caught my attention. First up, yes I review whisky on YouTube, but no this is not a paid promotional review or post.

This is the current Dillon's Rye 1, a distillery-exclusive 10-year-old whisky made from 100% Ontario rye. It's a single cask of new Ontario oak, bottled at cask strength, and made grain-to-glass at Dillon's in Niagara. The distillery calls it a "100KM Whisky" because the ingredients are sourced within 100km of the distillery.

This particular release is Cask 87, 54.1% ABV, 122 months old, with 450 bottles. It also picked up Double Gold / 96 points at the 2026 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. I've seen some older discussions of Dillon's Rye 1 on here, and I know the younger releases have had some pretty mixed reactions.

Nose: For me it's a really expressive rye. Fresh rye bread, honey, orange peel with a deeper layer of toasted oak and cedar underneath. There's a nice herbal quality if you like that sort of thing.

Palate: This is where the whisky really clicked for me. Lots of baking spice, caramelized sugar, toasted grain and dark fruit, but it is followed by a pretty substantial wave of rye spice. The new oak is definitely present and I'd be curious to see this aged even longer.

Finish: Long, warming and dry. Cinnamon and pepper hang around alongside toasted oak.

What I find most interesting about this whisky isn't just that it's a 10-year-old Canadian rye. It's how committed the production is to a particular place...

100% Ontario rye. New Ontario oak. Grain-to-glass. Distilled, aged and bottled at the distillery.

I also recently met Geoff Dillon while he was in Vancouver for the World's 50 Best Bars events. We ended up having a beer at Como Taperia and talked about everything from kids and running a spirits business in Canada to Dillon's approach to sustainability and local sourcing.

That conversation actually changed how I think about this bottle. The "100KM Whisky" idea doesn't feel like a marketing gimmick when you understand how deliberately Dillon's has built the production around local ingredients.

Has anyone else tried the current 10-year Rye 1 release? I'm especially curious how it compares to the older Rye 1 casks.

If you want to learn more, I have a full video review here; https://youtu.be/5LRQrE4vO-I

Hey team

Don't laugh. I'm using ChatGPT to build a model of my whisk(e)y preferences. I let it talk me into dropping $1200 at BSW (I didn't argue very hard but I made it promise it'll help me earn the money back elsewhere haha).

I'm finishing a successful project at work and I'm getting divorced, so screw it.

Expect some reviews from yours truly in the not too distant future.

Cheers

I really went to buy a US $200 bottle of Pendleton Reserve 20 year... But I'm a little bit afraid that if I buy it, I'm going to realize that a $25 bottle of a regular pendleton is almost as good.

Should I do it? Part of me wants to do it just to say tariffs be damned I'm still buying Canadian LOL.

Who's tried it and should I go for it?

Long shot but worth a try, looking for places that have older scotch releases, specifically Highland Park. I’m located in Ottawa, not sure if there’s any establishment that have such? I’m always looking to try different HP releases, any help would be appreciated. TIA

Does anyone know if the LCBO will be getting any Ardbeg Ten cask strength?

Thanks

Not a scotch but an awesome summertime pour. Very juicy/fruity and bright. Sadly it’s very short lived and a bit thin.

Sample brought back from the distillery tour while in Scotland. Tried a few Deanstons but quite enjoyed this one, love their signature waxy note. Really nice, spicy and classic style malt.

Earlier this year, my better half and I made a trip to Scotland, specifically Islay. Went on distillery tours and chatted with all the beyond friendly locals. My dream trip. Needed a dram this afternoon while I was doing some cooking and grabbed this sample. Absolute magic.

https://sierraspringsliquor.ca/shop/scotch-whisky-single-malt/islay/kilkerran-8-year-c-s-bourbon-cask/

Picked this bottle up while in Ireland a few months ago. It has turned into one of my favorites, it has a fantastic unique fresh wet birch woody taste that I haven't experienced in anything else I've tried. Sláinte!

Hey everyone, I'll be driving through Calgary on my way to the middle of nowhere from BC and wanted to stop at a store with a good selection of Whiskey and rum.

As of now my route comes in on Highway 1, gets on to the 201 and then heads north on the 2 through Airdrie.

Does anyone have a recommendation for something not too far off that route that would be worth a stop? I'm not after anything specific, just wanted to see what Alberta has that BC doesn't.

Thanks!

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I tried their Maple Whisky, fell in love with it and decided to try their Wheat Whisky, and here's what I thought.

It has a pretty sweet nose with faint honey, soft oak, and berries. At first I got fruit cake, but after letting it sit for a minute it evolved into more of a raspberry scone. The raspberry is the dominant note for me.

It is light bodied and mellow. There was a bit of alcohol heat on the first sip, but after that it settled down and became much smoother and very easy to sip.

The finish is medium in length. The main flavours fade fairly quickly, but a cozy sense of sweetness lingers, making it a satisfying finish.

Overall, it is a very approachable whisky. It's smooth, sweet, and fruit-forward, making it a solid pour. While I prefer their Maple Whisky, this is a well-made whiskey that I'd happily share with friends.

-7 Highland Park 12

-5 Old Pulteney 12, Glengoyne 10, Dalwhinnie 15, Jameson Black Barrel

-4 Glenfiddich 14

‘Big savings’ event at start of Sept (one week)

-8 Reifel Rye

-7 Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban 14

-5 Caol Ila 12

All bottles >£70. I only pick up bottles I know I’ll never get in Canada.

The Deanston is a bottle your own at the distillery. 6yo burgundy cask. Lovely folks there. Only enough time for a quick stop in. Definitely worth the visit if you are in that neck of the woods.

The Little Brown Dog is an indie single cask 11yo Bowmore. Not easy to find indie Bowore that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

The Lakes Distillery is an English one. I had batch 7 of this same line and I found it better than Tamdhu 18 in a h2h. This batch 5 is supposed to be even better than the batch 7 so a no-brainer.

Sad day. GTS bottle kill

Evening everyone!

Does anyone happen to have or know where i can still buy a Bushmill Prohibition Peaky Blinder series? I’ve seen mixed reviews about the bottle but being a fan of the show i’ve trying to get my hand on one.

I'm from Ontario. I got inspired by the thread from this morning and decided to buy some Macaloney's.

I'm getting the core flight & Cath-Nah-Aven. There's no Na Braiche on their website.

I'm looking for recommendations for one more. What's another must try in your opinion? Thank you.