Canadian Craft and (Mostly) Corn Vodkas
Recognizing that, for whatever reason, some people simply don’t drink whisky, I turn my #TariffTimes attention today to vodka. And it occurs to me that while most of the products people will be seeking to substitute are indeed whiskies, or rather whiskeys, there is an elephant in the room named Tito.
Tito’s Vodka from Texas is a 100% corn vodka which, despite its quaint “handmade” label claim, is the best selling spirit in the entire United States, period. Bigger than Jack or Jim, bigger than Smirnoff, and definitely bigger than Bacardi.
It’s been available in Canada for some time, although I’m usure as to where it ranks on our scale of national spirits sales. (The two largest categories of spirits in Canada, almost neck-and-neck, are vodka and whisky, together accounting for about 28% of national spirits sales.) Suffice to say I am sure there are brand loyalists out there looking for similar made-in-Canada vodkas to use in their martinis and Marys and, naturally, Caesars.
In that spirit, pun most definitely intended, allow me to introduce a trio of splendid craft distilled vodkas from across the country:
If you are a corn vodka fan, and want that corn character in a purely Canadian vodka, then it’s high time you tried a glass of Limited Distilling’s corn-based Vodka from Niagara-on-the-Lake. Belying the mythology that vodka should be tasteless and odourless, this has a sweetish, lightly fruity and spicy aroma and a creamy, corn-accented body that delivers mouth-coating richness and a touch of peppery alcohol on the finish. Try it neat at room temperature for full effect.
86 ($35)
Stealth Corn Vodka, British Columbia
The sweeter and rounder of the two vodkas produced by this North Vancouver distillers – the other is a more neutral-tasting Wheat Vodka – this is possessed of a sweetish aroma vaguely evocative of cotton candy, although certainly drier, and a creamy, rather rounded body that offers a vague cornflakes character in advance of an appealingly dry finish. Best enjoyed chilled on its own.
83 ($27)
YQR Distillery French Laundry Vodka, Saskatchewan
When Christine Sismondo and I included this vodka in our book, Canadian Sprits, this Regina distillery was still called Sperling Silver and production was significantly less than it appears to be today. What hasn’t changed, however, is the quality of this spirit, wheat- rather than corn-based, but bright, dry, and, in the words of our book review, “frankly delicious.”
89 ($23)