Chacha Premium Canadian Vodka is the creation of Will Webb, and is a 100% Canadian Owned Company who distill their vodka in Toronto, Ontario. According to Will it began with the positivity of enjoyment of being with the people he cared about. ” The summer of 2015, while boating with friends, I said “CHACHA” to them just for fun. They laughed and loved the expression, and naturally began to say it. All of a sudden, thousands of people enthusiastically said “CHACHA”, and people that I had never met before. To this day, they CHACHA! From that moment, Will decided to build his vodka business aroun ..read more

Beatties Farm Crafted Cranberry Blood Orange Gin is produced by Beattie’s Farms & Distillers in Alliston, Ontario Canada. Although the distillery is a more recent addition, the farm has has been in the family for five generations. It began with great-grandfather Roland Beattie, who immigrated from Scotland in 1876. He instilled the core values the family business lives by to this day: “Work hard, love what you do and give back to your community.” Today, Beattie’s Farms & Distillers is led by Ken Beattie and his team of family, farmers and distillery staff. They have one ambition and th ..read more

Great Plains Craft Spirits are a small spirits company located in Calgary, Alberta. They are a small company which sources special whiskies for blending and finishing. The intent is to offer to the marketplace limited edition bottlings which feature custom blending and cask finishes. I reviewed their first offering, a stunning 18 year old Brandy Cask whiskey in 2020, and was contacted this year to see if I wanted to taste and review their latest offering,  Great Plains Cognac Casks 22 Year Old Canadian Whisky. This new release is a 100 % corn spirit produced from stocks which were part of ..read more

Basil Hayden’s was originally promoted as part of Jim Beam’s Small Batch Bourbon Collection. This collection is composed of Knob Creek, Booker’s, Baker’s  and Basil Hayden’s bourbon whiskies. Although Jim Beam Distillers no longer promotes the Small Batch Collection, I would like to suggest that this selection of premium bourbon played no small part in the explosion of popularity of the spirit for whiskey enthusiasts. (It certainly has a positive impact on me.) Basil Hayden’s is unique in that it is produced from a distilling mash which has an especially high rye content, twice as much ry ..read more

Hendrick’s Gin is produced in Scotland, in the village of Girvin, Ayrshire by William Grant & Sons (who are perhaps better known for their whisky distillations than their gin).  It is made small batches using two unusual stills, a copper Bennett Still which has been dated to 1860, and a Carter-Head still made in 1948. These stills each serve a different purpose, but together they create a unique gin spirit which is infused with cucumber and rose petals. Hendrick’s Orbium Gin is one of the new peculiar Limited Edition spirits in the Hendrick’s Cabinet of Curiosity lineup which has rece ..read more

Cane Island is a rum brand owned by Infinity Spirits, who appear to be based in Amsterdam. The Cane Island Brand showcases rums which are sourced from iconic Island rum nations in the Caribbean and elsewhere in the world. According to the company website, Cane Island Jamica Rum contains spirit distilled at Worthy Park Estate, Monymusk Estate, Hampden Estate and New Yarmouth Estate, all of which are located on the Caribbean Island of Jamaica.  The spirit is both column distilled and pot distilled from molasses with the majority of the blend said to be from the pot still.  The various ..read more

Cap Diamant (Cape Diamond) is a headland at the edge of the Promontory of Quebec where the St. Lawrence River narrows between its two shores upon which Quebec City is located. French explorer, Jacques Cartier  found what he thought were diamonds in the high cliffs and so he named the cape, Cap Dianmont. In a story that every Canadian is taught in Elementary School, James Wolfe and his troops (in 1759) scaled Cap Diamant toward the Plains of Abraham and conquered Quebec making it part of the British Empire. Cap Diamont Vodka pays homage to this historic Canadian site.  This is a small ..read more

When I first encountered Atlantico Rum, the brand had just launched, and I was fortunate enough to be treated to an information session hosted by Brandon Lieb, of the Atlantico Importing Company.  I was also treated to a tasting where I was able to try their only rum in production at that point, Atlantico Private Cask as well as two rums which were still in development at that time, a premium white rum and an anejo rum. Today line-up consists of 3 rums, the Altantico Platino, Altantico Reserva, and that previously mentioned Altantico Private Cask.  (I suspect the Reserva and the Plat ..read more

Bearface Whisky Wilderness Series Matsutake Release 01 is owned by Mark Anthony Wine and Spirits. The company does not have its own distillery for making whisky so to make their Bearface brand they begin with Canadian single grain whisky from an undisclosed outside source.  In creating their Matsuktake limited edition whisky, they first mature the whisky in ex-wine casks and sherry pipes in shipping containers that have been placed in the Canadian wilderness in a process they call ‘Elemental Ageing’. The whisky is then finished in a Cask which contains Matsutake Mushrooms. To write t ..read more

Beatties Navy Strength Gin is produced by Beattie’s Farms & Distillers. Although the distillery is a more recent addition, the farm has has been in the family for five generations. It began with great-grandfather Roland Beattie, who immigrated from Scotland in 1876. He instilled the core values the family business lives by to this day: “Work hard, love what you do and give back to your community.” Today, Beattie’s Farms & Distillers is led by Ken Beattie and his team of family, farmers and distillery staff. They have one ambition and that is to make what they believe is the world’s bes ..read more