Mixing drinks and raising spirits as autumn arrives

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I love making cocktails; mixing spirits, juices, bitters and other components to create something delicious. To me, the best cocktails are balanced and harmonious – tasting like their own entity, not just one of the main components.

Of course, better ingredients make for better cocktails. With that in mind, here are some tasty spirits I’ve had recently. They would definitely elevate a cocktail but are also very good on their own. And two of them have Calgary connections. Cheers.

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High West Distillery

Double Rye

When former biochemist David Perkins and his wife Jane launched High West Distillery in 2006 in Park City, Utah, it was the first distillery to operate in the state in 136 years. Now that’s a dry spell!

The distillery, now owned by Constellation Brands, is known for its focus on blending. Sometimes master distiller Brendan Coyle even combines different types of whiskey. High West’s Campfire blends rye, bourbon and scotch whiskies. Coyle, who generally combines the same types of whiskey, says blending spirits of different ages and finishes lets him create a more complex product.

The Double Rye whiskey mixes High West’s aged rye with two-year-old rye produced by custom distiller MGB. The blend of young and old whiskies, both with high rye percentages, creates a smooth and spicy product. Look for flavours of green peppercorn, dried orange rind, pumpkin, caramel and hazelnut.

Price: About $50. Look for it at Always Liquor, BK Liquor, Bow Liquor, BSW Liquor, Cork Fine Wine, Liquor and Ale, Craft Cellars, 5 Vines, Highlander Wine and Spirits, Liquorano, Oak and Vine, Penbrooke Liquor, Real Canadian Liquor Store, Silver Springs Liquor Store, Vine Arts, Wine and Beyond, Willow Park Wine and Spirits, World of Whisky, Zyn the Wine Market.

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Cocktail match: This makes a terrific Sazerac. Cork stopper; 46 per cent alc./vol.

Gwen

Vodka

Gwen is a local brand launched by Calgarian Jaden Abfalter.

Possessing an entrepreneurial spirit and a marketing mind, Abfalter got an idea while shopping in a Calgary liquor store in 2021. He noticed all the bottles of vodka looked very similar.

With that thought, he saw an opportunity. He and fiancée Jessica LeBlanc hired master distiller Mark Freeland, founder of Two Rivers Distillery in Calgary, to produce the spirit. Then they packaged it in a distinctive black bottle with the name Gwen written with a pink flourish.

The unique name for the vodka is meant to “create a persona that feels like a close friend to our customers,” Abfelter says, adding that Gwen is the pink flamingo mascot of the brand.

“She’s charismatic, elegant and a bit whimsical. Like the flamingo, Gwen Vodka stands out with charm, balancing grace and fun,” he adds.

Made from Alberta wheat and distilled four times in a copper pot still, the vodka has a sweet, creamy, plush palate, with flavours of anise, lemon pith, vanilla and herbs. On the palate, it’s pure, rich and smooth, with creamy, spicy textures and flavours.

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Price: About $55. Look for it at BSW Liquor, Sobeys Liquor and Willow Park Wines & Spirits.

Cocktail match: This would be great in a dry martini, with a lemon twist. Glass cork; 40 per cent alc./vol.

Appleton Estate

Double Cask

Rum

Joy Spence was fascinated by chemistry as a high school student in Jamaica. Her university training as a chemist eventually led to work in the spirits industry.

As Appleton’s chief chemist, she worked with master blender Owen Tulloch, who saw great potential in her abilities and started training her in the art of blending. When he left the distillery 17 years later, she was promoted to the position, becoming the world’s first female master blender in 1997. She has introduced several new products since, including the Double Cask, which is only available in Canada.

“We decided that this should all be available in Canada, just to pay tribute to the Canadians’ enduring love for the brand,” said Spence during a recent interview. The idea for the rum was sparked during a conference of all the master blenders and distillers with the businesses owned by parent company Campari, including Appleton.

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During these meetings, she tried an 18-year-old Speyside scotch from Glen Grant that blew her away, so she arranged to have the barrels shipped to Jamaica after the scotch was bottled. She finished an eight-year-old rum in the scotch barrels for six months. The result is a fabulous, elegant rum, with baked peach, dried apricot, caramel, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, black licorice, dried raisin and toffee flavours.

Price: About $55. It has been sold at BSW Liquor, Co-op Wines Spirits Beer, Craft Cellars, Liquor Depot at Brentwood, Sobeys Liquor in Royal Oak, Vine Arts and Willow Park Wines & Spirits.

Cocktail match: While this is a terrific sipper, it definitely elevates a piña colada or Bermuda Triangle. Synthetic stopper; 43 per cent alc./vol.

Holyrood Distillery

Arrival

Single-malt scotch

Calgarians Rob and Kelly Carpenter are making waves in Scotland after launching the first distillery to make single-malt whisky in Edinburgh since 1925.

Founders of the Canadian chapter of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, the couple went all in and moved to the Scottish capital to launch Holyrood Distillery, which opened in 2019. Rob, who worked as a lawyer with Enbridge in Calgary, and Kelly teamed up with former Macallan master distiller David Robertson for the project.

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After early releases including gin, vodka and rum, their first whisky, named Arrival, became available last year. The name alludes to the distillery’s location in a former railway building and the fact it’s their first scotch.

The tipple delivers a great balance between smoothness and intensity. Cereal grain, walnut, caramel, cream, brown sugar and butterscotch flavours propel this impressive inaugural whisky.

Price: About $105. Check for it at BSW Liquor, Craft Cellars, Crowfoot Wines and Spirits, Market Wines, Silver Springs Liquor Store, Vine Arts, Willow Park Wines & Spirits, Wine and Beyond, World of Whisky and Zyn the Wine Market.

Cocktail match: This could make an excellent Rob Roy, but I would just sip it neat. Cork stopper; 46.1 per cent alc./vol.

Contact Darren Oleksyn at dm.oleksyn@gmail.com or follow him on Instagram or X. Looking for a specific wine? Because wine inventories are always in flux, it’s a good idea to call a store to confirm they have it. A search on Liquorconnect.com can give you an idea of stores that have carried the wines.

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