Spirits Author
Davin De Kergommeaux
on Canadian whisky
Learn more & read reviews, or buy the paperback or E-book on Amazon now!
Learn more & read reviews, or buy the paperback or E-book on Amazon now!
Crown Royal Nobel Collection Winter Wheat is Canada’s Whisky of the Year in the 2022 Canadian Whisky Awards
Corby’s Park Lane 1945 tasting from Whisky Wonderland 2025. The earliest mention of Park Lane Canadian whisky I came across while researching my book, came from a Consolidated Distilleries file dated 1924. Consolidated Distilleries was a subsidiary of Canadian Industrial Alcohol Company, and comprised the Corby distillery (referred to as Distillery No. 1) in Corbyville, and a new/rebuilt distillery (called Distillery No. 2) at Wiser’s former location in Prescott.
Myths about JP Wiser continue to proliferate: For his 200th birthday here are the facts to refute four of them.
1 From the beginning JP Wiser was a co-owner of the Prescott-based distillery, not his uncle’s employee.
2 JP Wiser did not create or produce Wiser’s Red Letter Rye
3 Wiser was not first to bottle whisky
4 Wiser’s sons, not Albert Whitney, took over the distillery; it was destroyed in 1912 and never made whisky again; Corby bought the land in 1920.
Myths about JP Wiser continue to proliferate: For his 200th birthday here are the facts to refute four of them.
1 From the beginning JP Wiser was a co-owner of the Prescott-based distillery, not his uncle’s employee.
2 JP Wiser did not create or produce Wiser’s Red Letter Rye
3 Wiser was not first to bottle whisky
4 Wiser’s sons, not Albert Whitney, took over the distillery; it was destroyed in 1912 and never made whisky again; Corby bought the land in 1920.
Caption: Canadian Club Ambassador, Tish Harcus (left) accepts the award for Best Line Extension from head judge and awards founder, Davin de Kergommeaux (right), and co-host Heather Leary (centre).
Photo Credit: Jen Steele Photography
From the 2024 Whisky Awards
The Canadian Whisky Awards gala is held annually in conjunction with the Victoria Whisky Festival. Founded by Davin de Kergommeaux, it is the first and only competition dedicated solely to Canadian whisky. The Awards have become the first stop for whisky producers, distributors, retailers and fans looking for the very best Canadian whiskies. Davin still participates as host and head judge.
Visit https://canadianwhiskyawards.com to find out more information about this annual competition and festival.
CANADIAN WHISKY
EXPANDED, UPDATED & REVISED, THIRD EDITION
THE ESSENTIAL PORTABLE EXPERT
Whisky played a prominent role in the birth and growth of our nation, but Canada’s whisky is a long-neglected aspect of our history. Distilleries were once the largest source of government revenues, however, the disapproving influence of the temperance movement along with the politics of newspaper and book publishers, and sources prolific in other areas, generally kept the subject off limits. As well, annual reports written to encourage shareholders while minimizing tax liabilities, and outright fake news reports originating with the distillers themselves have kept much of that history obscured or confused.
Many of today’s online resources, while easy to find, don’t help to lift the veil. Even newspaper obituaries sometimes tell different tales depending on the political persuasion or citizenship of the editors. As much as possible we have visited public and private archives across the country to verify our stories. Nevertheless, our knowledge of Canada’s historic whisky makers will continue to evolve as new sources of reliable information are found to fill the gaps and take us in new directions.
Online news, views and reviews by whisky author, Davin de Kergommeaux, supplementing his book Canadian Whisky, The Essential Portable Expert.