From the end of Prohibition in Alberta in 1924 until 2013, there was no legal way to do small scale distillation. The provincial laws regarding spirit production included a minimum annual alcohol volume level so exorbitant it would be impossible for a craft distillery to hit. Go big or don’t start at all! Same story for beer pretty much. Surprising, isn’t it? Alberta is full of farmland growing some of the best grain in the world and even though the province has a long history of government championing business, it took almost 90 years to creak open the gate that made it possible for the likes of Eau Claire to open a distillery. There are way more distilleries that don’t have plans to produce whisky than those that do, and there is plenty going on in the spirits world that doesn’t involve my drink of choice. However, for those who plan to make whisky, getting to your first bona fide whisky release is a major milestone and there are already quite a few Alberta craft distilleries that have. Distilling in the Wild Wild West BY EVAN ECKERSLEY
Evan decided to buy a beat up cowboy hat and slip on a pair of boots to traipse around the new distilleries in Alberta Canada!
Banff Park Distillery Black Diamond/Turner Valley Eau Claire Calgary
Bridgeland Distillery Burwood Distillery Wildlife Distillery Hansen Distillery Strathcona Spirits
Calgary Canmore Edmonton Edmonton
Fort Saskatchewan
Fort Distillery Broken Oak Latitude 55
Grand Prairie Grand Prairie
Leduc
Rig Hand Distillery
Red Deer Red Deer
Diony Distillery
GrainHenge Whisky
That was my first attempted at a comprehensive list so I apologize if I am missing a few. I also intentionally left out a few because I want to bring to your attention one specific company involved in making Alberta whisky = Bearhill.
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the whisky explorer magazine
FALL 2024
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