Sales of Canadian whisky rebounded when Prohibition was repealed.
from Canada during Prohibition were imported Irish and Scotch whiskies. Yes, American bootleggers did come to Canada to buy whisky but volumes were very small compared with the pre-Prohibition era, and much of the whisky reaching the U.S. declared Prohibition in 1920, suddenly Canada’s largest market dried up. In reality, Prohibition threatened the formerly lucrative cross-border sales of Canadian whisky established during the Civil War. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Prohibition is mistakenly credited with the growth of Canadian whisky as a prominent whisky style. By 1865, Canadian whisky was the best selling whisky style in America and it remained so for a century and a half until bourbon sales took the lead in 2010. was badly disrupted during the American Civil War, so thirsty Americans turned to Canada as a reliable source of whisky. This wheat whisky with just a bit of rye grain quickly became known simply as “rye,” a name that has stuck right up until today.ĭistillation in the U.S. It wasn’t until German and Dutch immigrants suggested adding small amounts of rye-grain flour to Canadian whisky mashes that the whisky style we know today emerged. In those days, wheat grew abundantly in Canada and it became the primary grain for Canadian whisky making. This time these first Canadian whisky makers were neither Scots nor Irishmen, but English and German settlers. However, as settlers began moving west into Ontario where molasses was more difficult to obtain, distillers turned to grain to make their spirits, and Canadian whisky making was born.
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They were more interested in making alcohol than whisky, and took full advantage of easy sea access to Caribbean molasses to do so. Although many of these early settlers came to Canada from Scotland and Ireland, they distilled rum, not whisky. Like Canadians themselves, until very recently, Canada’s whisky has largely flown under the aficionado’s radar.Įuropean settlers arriving in Canada in the 18th & 19th centuries often brought small stills with them. Yet the story of Canadian whisky is shrouded in mystery and myth. Indeed, from small beginnings more than two centuries ago Canada has become the second largest whisky-making nation in the world, next only to Scotland. Whisky lovers are often amazed when they learn that Canadian whisky is the best selling whisky style in North America.
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