9 Canadian Whiskey Brands to Try

Food

Published: March 9, 2024 5:30 am

Last Updated: March 12, 2024 10:41 am

There are a few places in the world famous for their whisky (whiskey, depending on where you are). Tennessee, Scotland, and, more recently, Japan all have some fantastic distilleries, but it feels like one of the original whisky producers is often left out of the conversation—Canada. Canadian whisky is revered, and the country has some truly fantastic distilleries worthy of all the accolades that other, more famous places get credit for. To do Canada some justice, we’ve listed out nine of the best Canadian whisky brands you would do well to try.

To compile this list, 24/7 Wall Street used community recommendations from the r/askTO (ask Toronto) subreddit, along with some winners from the Canadian Whisky Awards. These aren’t ranked in any particular order. Also, as a note, most of these brands offer a reasonable approach and don’t exceed $100 a bottle. Additionally, certain brands are made in Canada and then shipped to the U.S., but we still count them as Canadian. Let’s get started and discover some Canadian whisky brands to try!

1. Canadian Club

Canadian whisky is spelled without the “e,” whereas in the United States, it’s spelled whiskey.

Location: Windsor, Ontario
Founded: 1858
Notable whisky: Canadian Club 100% Rye

Budget Friendly Winner

Canadian Club is a great and budget-friendly whisky.

Canadian Club is a budget whisky that doesn’t skimp on the basics. Despite being wallet-friendly, the brand offers some serious bang, especially for some of its more unique offerings. The 100% Rye Whisky, one of the brand’s best, is only $20 a bottle but offers fantastic value for its price. It’s hard to find something competitive with the brand at that price!

2. J.P. Wiser’s

J.P. Wiser’s is one of the oldest brands in Canada and calls itself the oldest continuously produced whisky in the country.

Location: Windsor, Ontario
Founded: 1857
Notable whisky: 18-Year-Old Blended Canadian Whisky

The Oldest in the Game

The brand is known for mid-priced bottles, usually around $50, but offer some great value.

J.P. Wiser’s is the self-titled “oldest continuously produced whiskey, dating back to 1857” in Canada, and we have no reason to doubt that. They currently have four award-winning whiskies, many of which are reasonably priced. We recommend the 18-Year-Old Blended Canadian Whisky for something really complex and smoky, all for around $50.

3. LMD Whisky

LMD Whisky is short for Last Mountain Distillery, and the brand started as a micro-distillery but has since grown.

Location: Lumsden, Saskatchewan
Founded: 2010
Notable whisky: LMD Whisky Release no.0005-Straight Wheat

A New Player, An Old Game

LMD is in the wheat capital of Canada. Saskatchewan produces much of the wheat for the country and even enough to export.

LMD (Last Mountain Distillery) is a newer distillery that started in 2010 as Saskatchewan’s first micro-distillery. Today, they are winning all sorts of awards and making great whisky. Its location, in the heart of the grain industry of Canada, makes it the ideal spot for all sorts of wheat-y experimentation. In fact, the brand won Wheat Whisky of the Year from the Canadian Whisky Awards with its LMD Whisky Release no.0005-Straight Wheat.

4. GrainHenge

GrainHenge is a play on words and references grain, the primary ingredient in whisky. Different grains are used in different combinations to varying effect.

Location: Red Deer, Alberta
Founded: 2015
Notable whisky: Arrowwood

A Troubled Monk

GrainHenge prioritizes storytelling and ingredient choice in its distillation process, with the new release following the story of an escaped pig.

GrainHenge is a whisky brand created by the brewers over at Troubled Monk, a brewery and distillery operating since 2015. GrainHenge uses storytelling elements, history, and so much more in the production of their products, and it really shows. Their Arrowwood whisky won Rye Whisky of the Year in 2024, and their next release follows the life story of a… pig? That’s what their website says, at least. The distillery really doesn’t mix, so we’re excited to see what ingredients they incorporate as a result.

5. Crown Royal

Crown Royal is maybe the most famous Canadian whisky on the market, but still offers some great options that are worth checking out.

Location: Gimli, Manitoba
Founded: 1939
Notable whisky: Crown Royal Northern Harvest

The Velvet Bag

Crown Royal is famously known for coming in a purple velvet bag.

Yes, as hard as it is to believe, Crown Royal easily makes this list. For a while, the company had a branding problem, and people associated the brand with low-quality stuff, but those days are long gone. Their primary product is just fine, but they have some serious bangers that are lesser-known but all the better. Some crowd favorites include Crown Royal Northern Harvest, Crown Royal Deluxe, and Crown Royal Aged 30 Years (which won the Mixed Mash Whisky of the Year award). Don’t knock the velvet-bagged whisky before you try it, despite the branding you may have grown up with.

6. Glen Breton

Glen Breton is located on the northern island of Nova Scotia, Canada, and references Cape Breton, pictured here.

Location: Glenville, Nova Scotia, Canada, on Cape Breton Island
Founded: 1989
Notable whisky: Glen Breton Rare Whisky

Island Vibes

Glen Breton makes a whisky closer to how Scotland does it and less similar to how traditional Canadian whisky is made.

Glen Breton is a Canadian whisky made in Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island. If you don’t know Canadian geography, just know that it’s way out there. Glen Breton is a part of Glenora Distillers, who operate on the island. They are known for creating a Scottish-style whisky that is made as a single-malt, and not as a rye, something unique to the brand.

7. Lot 40

Newly filled bourbon barrels on rail to be transported to warehouse for aging in Kentucky. — Lot 40 plays around a lot with the barrels that they age the whisky in to give it unique characteristics, with their Port Cask being a perfect example.

Location: Windsor, Ontario
Founded: 1998
Notable whisky: Dark Oak, 100% Rye, Port Cask

Multiple Winners

Wine barrels in wine-vaults in order — Lot 40 has a few awards from various competitions for their whisky, including gold and silver medals, usually a few a year.

There isn’t much online about Lot 40, but the brand has won some awards. Owned by Pernod Ricard, the distillery offers a few products, including a gold-medal-winning 100% rye and two whiskies that won silver in 2024’s Canadian Whisky Awards, including the Dark Oak, 100% Rye, and Port Cask. The Dark Oak is a crowd-favorite online and has some devoted fans.

8. Caribou Crossing

Caribou Crossing has a metal caribou set atop its bottle’s lids and references the caribou that live across the country.

Location: Quebec
Founded: 1850
Notable whisky: Caribou Crossing

A Sazerac Brand

After being made in Canada, the whisky is shipped to Kentucky to be aged at the Buffalo Trace distillery which is owned by Sazerac, a company from New Orleans.

Caribou Crossing is a sub-brand of Sazerac Company, one of the more prolific distillery companies in the world. Other brands under the Sazerac umbrella include Buffalo Trace and Barton Brands. Caribou Crossing itself is a bit of a hybrid. It’s bottled twice a year but aged in Buffalo Trace barrels in Kentucky. It’s a touch pricier than some other brands, but it’s known for spice, honey, and vanilla.

9. WhistlePig

Woodchuck (Marmota monax) on a Log — WhistlePig is a slang term used to refer to marmots and other groundhogs and has origins in the Southern U.S. and certain Canadian regions.

Location: Alberta / Vermont
Founded: 2007
Notable whisky: WhistlePig Rye 10-Year

No True Canadians

WhistlePig is technically a company in Vermont, but it’s made in Canada and just shipped to Vermont for bottling.

Before you get upset, yes, we know WhistlePig isn’t a 100% true Canadian brand. The whisky arrives from Canada and is aged in bottles in Vermont, but we think it still counts and is a fantastic option that many people have either heard of or tried before. It’s known to have a complex, sweet and smoky profile.

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