Black Velvet

Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that only about 9% of Canadian whisky produced is consumed within Canada. As with Scotland and Ireland, the vast majority of what we make goes abroad and in our case, mainly to the US. The majority of our exported whisky, by far, is value-oriented, light, 'bottom shelf' stuff and interestingly, much of it leaves the country by tanker train rather than in a bottle. A trip to an American liquor store often exposes Canadians to brands of Canadian whisky they've never heard of, but that are absolutely massive in sales volume; Windsor, Ensign Red, Canadian Mist, and Ellington are just some examples. And then there's Fireball cinnamon-flavoured whisky, which has risen to become the most popular drink in almost every state. To satisfy the exploding demand for that drink, industrial-scale stills in Quebec churn out as much basic whisky as physically possible, to be loaded onto trains and sent to the US in bulk.

Many of the large distilleries employ the tanker train method to get product to their largest market. Once their whiskies hit three years of age, some of Canada's best known brands ship off millions of litres by rail for bottling in Kentucky, Illinois, Connecticut, and elsewhere. Black Velvet is perhaps the best example of this phenomenon. 

Although the brand can be found in Canada, Europe, and elsewhere, it's relatively unknown here. But in the States it's a phenomenon, and has been for decades. Over ten million litres are exported to two American bottling facilities annually! In fact, it's the second largest Canadian whisky brand there after Crown Royal. It's ubiquitous, to say the least, and is extremely valuable in spite of its limited recognition in its own country. 

Black Velvet's origins go back to the 1940s where it was produced at Quebec's Valleyfield Distillery (which today produces such whiskies as Seagram's VO Gold and Gibson's Finest Bold). It became known for its smoothness and for its popularity in the American Navy during World War Two. Production eventually moved to Lethbridge, Alberta and the Palliser Distillery. 

As the popular whisky brand took over production at Palliser, the distillery was renamed Black Velvet Distillery and became managed by Constellation Brands, a big name in wine. But as tastes in whisky changed dramatically in recent decades, Black Velvet had been somewhat slow to evolve, not unlike its major Canadian peers. So in late 2019, Black Velvet was purchased by Bourbon conglomerate Heaven Hill. This continues a trend of large American and Scottish distillers acquiring legacy Canadian brands and injecting needed marketing energy to revitalise them. Falling sales at the big value-oriented Canadian distilleries prove this wake up call is sorely needed.

In terms of the whisky itself, Black Velvet's aging strategy is unique. Whereas Canadian blends traditionally age each grain distillate separately before blending at the end, Black Velvet blends their new, light corn distillate right off the still into bolder two year old rye. The combined barrels then age for another three years (to bring the corn to the legal minimum age), allowing the rye component to reach five years in oak. This is a novel take on the Canadian blending tradition of light base whisky with bolder flavouring rye. 

The result is a light, simple whisky for blending or easy sipping, presented in a nicely weighty, ergonomic bottle that feels nice in the hand. It remains extremely popular (and insanely cheap) in the States but it will be interesting to see what changes, if any, Heaven Hill will make with this legacy brand. For now, it's the perfect whisky for mixing warm-weather drinks on either side of the border. 

Black Velvet Imported (US bottling)

40% alc./vol.

USD$9 at LBK Liquors in Florida

(C$12.25 at time of writing)

Once Canadian readers catch their breaths after seeing how cheap alcohol is in the States, the nose is very much that of sweet corn whisky but pleasantly so. Honey is driving the profile alongside a sugar cereal-like graininess. There is an earthy, soily component with dark stone fruit and even nuttiness. This is a surprisingly complex nose.

The palate is quite a bit simpler, tending toward 'smooth' and 'light,' which were the magic words in whisky for a century, and still are for the silent majority of whisky consumers. There's lots more honey and some red apple acidity. Lots of sweet corn, almost vodka-esque, keeps this whisky light as air. Butterscotch is met by a tepid rye spice that is more overshadowed by the young ethanol heat. Bitter grapefruit builds along with some more butterscotch and nutmeg late. The whole thing is extremely simple; I had to strain to pick out complexities beyond the corn sweetness. 

The finish is short and oaky with bitter citrus, but nothing lingers particularly long at all.

Well, it's extremely simple whisky; straightforward light corn with just a touch of the rye, all floating in a candy floss cloud. It's not a dram for brooding with by the fire on a storm-lashed coast; it's a friendly mixer or an easy-as sipper, and not at all unpleasant. It's free of the off notes you can find in cheap whisky; no doubt they've been worked out after so many decades. This whisky has reached the popularity it has by being light, approachable, and fundamentally sound.

And let's not forget something here; even by American standards, a bottle of this whisky is super cheap, and its fine; simple, but unflawed. If Canadians had access to Black Velvet for a tenner, we'd be lacing everything we drank with it, mixing it into sauces, feeding it to the dog...

So lets not pretend this is some kind of premium dram for nosing in a Glencairn. America, please continue enjoying this stuff however you like, so long as it's without pretension. 

Heatseeker Score: 79

Category Score: 91

Characteristic: Light

Snake River Stampede

Calgary's Alberta Distillers has long shipped bulk quantities of single grain rye to the States to be bottled by high-end American brands. Most of the time, this top-class whisky ends up being something of an open secret; few of these American labels like to reveal that their beloved whiskies are actually imports. Those in the know, however, should gravitate to Alberta's signature dusty hot distillates. 

Snake River Stampede is one of a couple whiskies from the northwestern American states that highlight rodeo culture. The Pendleton brand comes to mind as perhaps the best known. This one is bottled by Oregon-based Indio Spirits but commemorates its namesake rodeo held in Idaho. (Of course, the biggest rodeo of them all, Calgary Stampede, takes place just a short gallop up the road from where this whisky is made!)

Snake River Stampede spends eight years in ex-bourbon American oak casks before being finished in sherry casks, imparting the sweetness found in this whisky. That sweetness is balanced with a dusty rye profile that is the signature of Alberta Distillers. After its time in the barrel, it goes to Oregon for bottling. Usually priced in the mid-$30 range in Canada, though something of a rare find, it's great value for a spicy sipper that goes down easy. This is definitely a staple of my home bar and a rye I'll pour for anyone looking to explore the style. In spite of its American label, this is a very good look at Albertan whisky.

Snake River Stampede 8 year old

40% alc. / vol.

Found for US$26 in California, 

~C$35-40 in Alberta

This smells like cowboy whisky! On the nose it's the dusty Alberta rye signature along with hot ginger spice. There's some ethanol too, but the more intriguing hot note is reminiscent of hot pickled onions (Hayward's anyone?) and perhaps sushi ginger. It's a savoury, spicy, slightly earthy backdrop to the hot prairie rye. Very intriguing. 

On the palate, it's a balance between the powder-dry rye and sweet caramel. The sweetness takes over with fairly simplistic maple-caramel and brown sugar. It's just shy of cloying, helped by the smouldering rye just underneath. The straightforward interplay is perhaps a little underwhelming after the complex heat from the nose but a building bitter citrus and white pepper heat fully redeem things heading into the finish 

The finish is medium-length but brings the bitter citrus and rye spice to the fore. The whisky leaves with an echo of the flaming rye and the burning desire for another sip. 

A standard 40% bottling strength and likely chill filtration may have stripped some complexity out of this whisky, but it's simplicity doesn't diminish the achievement of this bottling. It's a dram very easily taken neat as a sipper or shooter; its rye spice compliments its smooth profile, rather than being diluted to achieve an easier profile.

In this case, what's in the bottle matches the label and those who like Alberta's powder-dry rye spice have found an easy sipper at a solid price. This is a bottle I always seek out when in Alberta and a definite recommendation for rye lovers. 

Heatseeker Score: 87

Category Score: 87

Characteristic: Spicy

We're reviewing five different ryes produced at Alberta Distillers as part of a series. We invite you to check out the other reviews and find your favourite.

Alberta Springs 10 Year

Canadian Club 100% Rye

Alberta Premium (standard bottling)
Alberta Premium Cask Strength

Seagram's VO Gold

These days, Bombardier is Quebec's fallen star, a global titan ravaged by mismanagement now a shell of its former self. But before Bombardier, another Quebecois company turned its back on its home and overextended itself to the brink. 

Unlike Bombardier, when distilling megabrand Seagram's began to founder, it didn't eventually catch itself, though the name still graces the shelves of bottle shops around the world. 

The Seagram Company can trace its lineage to 1857, when it was a distillery in Waterloo, Ontario. During American Prohibition, the Montreal-based Distillers Corporation acquired the distillery and used it as a base for a rum running operation, which only led to further success when the American market reopened in the '30s. At the same time, Distillers Corporation, run by Samuel Bronfman, bought the shuttered Greenbriar Distillery in Tennessee, dismantled it, and had it reassembled in LaSalle, Quebec. 

From here, the Seagram brand flourished, growing to hundreds of products that were exported all over the world. Seagram produced Crown Royal and VO, two of the most popular whisky brands on Earth. Even today, rare Crown Royal bottlings made from Waterloo and LaSalle casks fetch hundreds of dollars. 

However, all was not destined to end well. When New York-based heir Edgar Bronfman, Jr took over the family business, he aggresively diversified, investing in oil, entertainment, and myriad other properties. This drove Seagram into debt until, by 2000, the company was being sold off left and right. The beverage division ended up going to conglomerate Diageo. An Indiana-based distillery was sold to MGP, today known as the source of whisky for dozens of American producers large and small. 

Today, Seagram's whiskies are still produced, though not by the Bronfman family. Diageo moved Seagram's brands to the nearby Valleyfield Distillery in Sallaberry-de-Valleyfield, just west of Montreal. The distillery produces a sweet corn distillate and rye distilled elsewhere is blended into Valleyfield's whiskies. 

Seagram's VO  ('Very Own,' likely) produced here remains wildly popular as a cheap mixer, especially in the States. The Gold offering is an extension for VO fans looking for a richer, slightly more upscale blend. So far as I've been able to tell, it's only available as an export, so Canadians will have to travel to the States to find this on the shelf. 

It comes in an attractive bottle with a distinctive ribbon and a statement proclaiming it as the signature blend of Arthur Peterson, veteran Master Blender. A good effort went into making this look like and feel like a premium bottling. All this despite a bargain price, though it would probably be more mid-range if it were sold in tax-mad Canadian bottle shops. It does, notably, carry an 8 year age statement - extremely rare at this price point. It's an interesting mixer in an attractive bottle at an even more attractive price point. It achieves exactly what was intended here and, though it won't win any awards as a sipper, it is the star of many a cocktail. And it offers more than you might expect on its own. Bartenders both at home and professional should be glad the Seagram story continues in whisky form. 

Seagram's VO Gold

40% ABV

USD$18.94 (C$26.80 at time of writing) found at Total Wine and More, Florida

The first whiff of VO Gold brings peach and linalool (Fruit Loop-y) sweetness quite strongly, moving into caramel and a restrained oaky rye spice. There's a little ethanol heat but its not overpowering. Citrus comes through as well, and is that coriander? I dare say the nose suggests a floral London Dry gin (Hayman's, perhaps) as much as rye whisky. It's pleasant, though, and surprisingly complex; a testament to what eight years can do to the sweetness of corn distillate. 

On the palate, sweet, floral tastes lead off. That distinctive coriander is there alongside those sweet double distilled corn notes you'll find in cheaper mixers. Caramel, a little maple, and peach give way to a dry, oaky rye spice with bitter grapefruit rind.

The finish is medium-length and led by oak and bitter grapefruit. Plum and dark fruit follow before a wave of oily, spicy rye washes over all and closes out this surprisingly complex whisky. 

There's no doubt about it, VO is a mixing whisky and it's Gold brother is built from the same stuff. Those who stear clear of sweet whiskies ought avoid this bottle, but it checks all the boxes as a liquid dessert. As sipping whiskies go, there are obviously better out there, but that's not why this whisky exists. It does deserve to be sipped and will reward the drinker who pours it neat, but VO Gold is best as a valuable asset for the cocktailer looking to add more than just vanilla or dry rye spice. The bitter citrus part of this whisky simply begs for a slice of orange and some ice.

Its a sweet whisky, but in the totality of that descriptor. It's longer aging time bequeaths a complexity that makes this a great exploration of corn as a whisky grain, and it's highly demonstrative of the Valleyfield style. For a surprisingly complex bottle that looks great on a bar, at a terrific price, VO Gold is a truly solid choice. 

Heatseeker Score: 84

Category Score: 91

Characteristic: Sweet