A spirit sold only in the U.S. among Canadian Whisky Award winners

Whisky maker John Hall (right) receives award from jury chairman Davin de Kergommeaux.

VICTORIA, BC—The newest hard liquor creation from Kitling Ridge Estate Wines and Spirits earned the company in Grimsby, ON more honours last week, to add to the long list of awards it has collected since its distillery start-up in 1992.

John Hall, winemaker turned whisky maker, was in Victoria to collect three Canadian Whisky Awards for the spicy John’s Private Cask No. 1: Whisky of the Year, Best New Whisky and Connoisseur Whisky of the year.

Glenora Distillery was named Distillery of the Year, in recognition of 20 years making a Canadian single malt in Glenville, NS.

Other gold medal winners were Gibson’s Finest Rare 18 Year Old, Wiser’s Legacy, Wiser’s Small Batch, and a spirit that isn’t even sold in Canada at the moment, Masterson’s Rye.

The latter, produced in Calgary by Alberta Distillers Limited, was released in California last year for a company based in Sonoma, CA, 35 Maple Street.

It is scheduled for release in Canada this year.

Award winners were chosen in blind tastings by a group of whisky writers: Jason Debly, André Girard, Mark Gillespie, Kris Shoemaker, Chip Dykstra, and Lawrence Graham, with Davin de Kergommeaux as jury chairman.

For a complete list of winners go to www.candianwhisky.org.