Re: Ban coffee?

On 2025-04-01, Dave Smith wrote:

On 2025-03-31 11:30 p.m., Graham wrote:

You won't get US bourbon in Canada now, only Canadian made equivalent.

my son [...] got into Bourbon. He stocked up on Bourbon
before the LCBO removed it from their stores.

I am at a loss to what Graham means by the phrase
"Canadian made equivalent" to bourbon.

From: The National Post 22 Mar 2014: by Adam McDowall

Fix My Drink: Why Canadian bourbon is a mythical beast

This week’s question: “Apparently Canadian law requires products
labelled ‘bourbon’ to be made in the United States. But does Canada
produce a corn whisky? If so, can you recommend an American-style
whisky from Canada? Surely there must be a whisky in Canada
that tastes like bourbon.” Mike in Delta, B.C.

Answer:  You could make a bourbon-style whisky in Canada, but according
to our trade agreements it would have to be labelled something else.

According to Davin de Kergommeaux, who is the author of Canadian Whisky:
The Portable Expert (McClelland & Stewart) and the human being who probably
knows the most about Canadian whisky, “There is only one distillery that
I know of in Canada that … makes real bourbon. But all of it is used for
blending. I guarantee they will never release it as corn whisky or as
bourbon.” The identity is a trade secret.

Article content

It’s hard to imagine proud Canadian whisky-makers mimicking U.S. products

De Kergommeaux notes that there are two domestic all-corn whiskies on
the Canadian market, both from Highwood Distillers of Alberta:
Century Reserve Lot 15-25 and Century Reserve 21. The latter is available
in British Columbia and it doesn’t taste at all like bourbon.

It is a distinctively Canadian whisky — and not one that I particularly
enjoyed. Following a nicely sweet nose with citrus notes, I felt it
descended into an overly austere rinse of oak and searing pepper with
a hot finish. In my opinion too much age can wreck a North American whisky,
and 21 years is pushing it. (De Kergommeaux, for his part, disagrees:
He awarded it four out of five stars at his site, canadianwhisky.org.)

Bourbon and Canadian whisky are different and equally majestic animals.
Similar grains may be employed on both sides of the border — corn, wheat,
barley and rye, in varying proportions — but the processes differ from there.
“There is a lot more that defines bourbon than just corn,” de Kergommeaux says.
Wood and climate, for example: Canadian distillers mostly age whisky in used
barrels, which impart less oak flavour, and it rests in non-temperature-
controlled warehouses in locales with wild, cold weather. Moreover,
it’s hard to imagine proud Canadian whisky-makers mimicking U.S. products.

Our distillers generally aim for nuanced and spicy, whereas bourbon is more
exuberantly flavourful. If you’re a bourbon fan in the hunt for a Canadian
product, your best bet is probably an all-rye whisky like Alberta Premium
Dark Horse or Lot No. 40. These are flavourful — but they aren’t bourbons.

A cat will be a cat and a dog will be a dog, and there’s plenty of room
for both to coexist in your house.