Still Waters Canadian Whisky

Still Waters Canadian Whisky

Situated on the shores of Lake Ontario and intersected by three rivers, Toronto was founded by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, who named it the capital of Upper Canada in the late 18th century. At the time, the city's central location and easy access to freshwater made it a bustling hub for commercial activity and distillation. In 1837, William Gooderham and John Worts established the Gooderham and Worts Distillery in downtown Toronto. As some two hundred others followed suit, downtown Toronto became known as "The Distillery District." Strict regulations and burdensome taxation, however, caused many distilleries in Canada to close their doors. Today, in an industrial complex on the city's outskirts, Barry Bernstein and Barry Stein, the founders of Still Waters Distillery, own and operate the last remaining distillery in Toronto. "We began the business in 2005 as importers of Single Malt Scotch Whisky," says Bernstein. "Our passion has always been whisky and we always dreamed of making our own. As we learned more about the business, we decided to take the plunge and transform our business into a full fledged distillery." Still Waters Canadian Whisky marries Still Waters' own whisky together with four to six year old Canadian whisky that Bernstein and Stein personally sourced. The process of making Still Waters Whisky begins when two-row Canadian barley grains are harvested, malted and fermented. Following fermentation, Bernstein and Stein distill the wash through a custom-designed, 450-liter Christian Carl copper pot still. After distillation, they dump the whisky into oak casks, where it matures for approximately three years. After aging, the whisky is blended together with the sourced whisky in small batches in order to create Still Waters Canadian Whisky. Still Waters Canadian Whisky has initial notes of minerals and rye with a hint of toffee and citrus fruits. The flavor gives way to rich, almost chewy notes of oak, sweet caramel and dried fruit, which fade toward a nutty, medium-long finish. Still Waters Whisky is already making waves it earned a score of 91 points at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge in 2012 and was awarded 92 points in Jim Murray's 2013 Whisky Bible. Pick up a bottle today!