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Of the four major whisky producing countries (Scotland, Ireland, United States, and Canada), Canada is something of an afterthought. Lacking the history and character of Irish whiskey, the distinctive flavors and complexity of the Scottish single malts, and the full-bodied richness of American bourbons and Tennessee whiskeys, blended Canadian whisky is often relegated to second-class status by whiskey enthusiasts. Yet, there are some fine Canadian whiskies, including Crown Royal, Canadian Club Reserve, and Wiser's Deluxe. These whiskies are called for in bars all over the world. When one asks for a ?rye? whisky, there is a good chance they will be served a Canadian. For novice whisky drinkers a good Canadian whisky is among the lightest and easiest to swallow. The light character of Canadian whisky makes it an ideal choice to combine with a mixer such as soda or Seven-up. All Canadian whiskies are blends, meaning barrels of different whiskies and neutral spirits are combined before bottling. Most Canadian whiskies contain at least some percentage of rye, and the best contain at least some of the spicy, slightly bittersweet character of rye, which is lightened with the blended spirit. The blending spirit is often corn-based. Sometimes the blending spirit is rye or another wheat spirit, but the nature of this spirit is moot, as it is distilled to a point of neutrality. Many Canadian whiskies have a hint of vanilla in their flavor, the result of maturing in oak barrels previously used to age American bourbon whiskey (Note that the Americans choose to spell whiskey in the Irish fashion, with an ?e?, while the Canadians opt for the Scottish spelling). Canadian Club was the first Canadian whisky to gain widespread popularity in the United States. Hiram Walker (an American) opened his distillery in Walkerville, Ontario in 1858. Walkers most notable whisky was known as ?club? whisky, named so because of its popularity in the exclusive gentleman's clubs of the era. The popularity of this whisky impacted the sales of American/Kentucky whiskey distillers enough that the American government eventually required Walker to label his whisky as ?Canadian?. Though the law was intended to reduce the popularity of his whisky, Walker used it to his advantage, and thus was born ?Canadian Club? Canadian Club played a prominent role in the prohibition-era America (1920-1933). Located directly across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan, the Hiram Walker distillery was an ideal supplier for whisky smugglers and bootleggers. A smuggler with a fast boat could cross the river (less than a mile wide) in minutes and deliver cases of whisky to runners waiting to transport the illegal spirit to Chicago and points beyond. In the winter, trucks loaded with illicit Canadian whiskey simply drove across the ice of the frozen river. It was even rumored that a tunnel was dug under the river to move that was used to move whisky from Canada to the US. A case of whisky cost approximately five dollars at the Canadian distillery but could be sold for seventy-five dollars in the United States. With profit margins of 1500% or more it is easy to see why gangsters such as Chicago's Al Capone and Detroit's notorious Purple Gang, imported hundreds of thousands of cases of Canadian Club, and fought over control of the whisky smuggling trade. The supply problems caused by prohibition began a decline in sales of Irish whisky from which have never fully recovered. Conversely, the ready availability of Canadian whisky during prohibition resulted in a surge in international popularity that continues to this day.
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Tania Gannaway has been tasting whisky for over 25 years. One of his most favourite at the moment is a single malt whisky called Tomatin.
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