Led by Abby and Erika Jordan, 1964 Beverages is a Canadian ready-to-drink beverage brand. Its first product, the 1964 Margarita, is made with just six ingredients: carbonated water, 100 per cent blue agave tequila, real lime juice, real orange juice, agave nectar and Himalayan salt. But the meaning behind 1964 Beverages goes far beyond what’s inside the can.

The story began in 1964, the year the two sisters’ grandparents committed to building a life together. Growing up in a small town, the sisters watched their grandparents work incredibly hard, but no matter how busy life got, they always made time to slow down, pour a happy hour drink and connect with the people around them. Those simple moments at the dinner table, on the dock or around the bonfire, surrounded by family and friends, shaped what Abby and Erika wanted 1964 Beverages to represent.

Since launching in Alberta this summer, 1964 Beverages has sold out of its first production run and quickly gained traction across Calgary’s retail and hospitality scene. The sister duo is now building on that momentum with new retail partnerships, tastings and events across the province, while preparing to bring 1964 to Ontario this November.

The 1964 Margarita marks the beginning of a much bigger vision for the brand. With new flavours on the horizon, 1964 remains committed to the values that started it all: real ingredients, transparency and connections.

1964 is now available in a 355 mL single-can format at select retailers across Alberta, including Market Wines, Highlander Wine & Spirits and Crowfoot Wine & Spirits, priced between $3.95 and $4.95 per can.

Daniel Plenzik and Jacques Tremblay, unbeknownst to each other, both arrived in Kelowna from Calgary to attend a week-long distilling seminar. At the seminar, they learned about regulations in the industry, science, marketing skills and more. They realized they were the only two participants from Calgary, and at one point, they were hanging out comparing notes and started tossing around the idea of a partnership.

Both Plenzik and Tremblay were engineers, with Plenzik being an electrical engineer and Tremblay being a geomatics engineer, but both were searching for a career change. Tremblay was planning to wait and look at an area outside of Calgary, but Plenzik was both eager and charming, and managed to convince Tremblay to start a distillery in Calgary and to take the leap earlier than he originally planned. Jump forward two years to 2018, they signed a lease and started the company.

They began renovations. In spring 2019, construction was completed, and production started in order to have products available for their public opening. With the strong support of their wives, they were able to take the plunge fully into the distillery, becoming not only the two main investors, but also the first two employees.

It was August of 2019 when Bridgeland Distillery opened its doors to the public in the historic Bridgeland-Riverside neighbourhood. Today, they have about 10 employees, including front of house, production, and sales and operations. “We are a bit of an oddity when it comes to a distillery,” said Tremblay. “We’re an urban distillery in the true sense that we’re a block away from the Bow River.”

Bridgeland itself has been a place of immigration representation over the last 100 years, and with that rich history in the area, many of the residents brought along their heritage alcohol. Bridgeland Distillery thought this made for an ideal location to open their distillery with a plan to pay homage to some of those very same heritage alcohols. With their core focus on true craft products coupled with their desire to take their own spin on traditional spirits to the forefront, Bridgeland Distillery joined a network called “Artisans at Work” to keep their artisanal focus strong.

“It includes a wide array of artisans, including stained glass and cheese,” said Tremblay. “So, when we tour and taste on the weekend with customers, they get to experience our artisan practice of distilling in a variety of ways.”

We are hoping to get to Gold in the World Whisky Awards coming next.

Jacques Tremblay, Bridgeland Distillery

Currently, the distillery operates from Wednesday to Sunday and is open on Mondays and Tuesdays exclusively for bottle sales. While they don’t have a restaurant operating within their space, they have forged partnerships with existing restaurants in the neighbourhood, so all the food served in their establishment is coming from one to two blocks away. These restaurants include Villa Firenze, Toto Pizza, Noto Gelato and Moonlight & Eli. When they were back in Kelowna comparing notes, both Tremblay and Plenzik knew they wanted to focus on aged spirits.

“Whether that [was to] be whisky or brandy, we went to look around for the best equipment to make these spirits,” said Tremblay. Instead of looking for equipment that could ‘do it all,’ they wanted to focus on the best equipment fit for their goals. This led them to source their pot still from Vendome Brass & Works in Newville, Ky. “It’s a 1000-litre pot still with a unique design … there’s a coiled lyne arm at the top, and basically that coil will provide an additional filter and more surface contact between the copper and the vapour at the distillation temperature.”

Bridgeland Distillery also has five fermenters and a mash tun on site. Their equipment allows them to produce around 20 stock keeping units, “which feels ridiculous sometimes as a start-up distillery,” said Tremblay. Bridgeland’s three main product lines are brandy, whisky and a grappa-like product called Eau De Vigne.

“We are not technically allowed to call it grappa, as that is protected for Italian production, but [Plenzik] is Italian and the grape-side is strong in him, so he really wanted to [make] a brandy and a grappa-style product. For me, whisky was the priority. When we started to weave our dreams together, we realized that there were a lot of commonalities between brandy and whisky-making. Most of the flavour for both productions comes from the aging process, so once it’s distilled, you put it in a barrel for a few years, and you actively try to manage the best barrel for each batch.”

Their product blend has the team at Bridgeland Distillery focusing on a well-orchestrated and planned schedule. They produce their Eau De Vigne and smaller seasonal subsets, including their Chamomile Honey Eau De Vigne in late December because it comes after the winemaking is done, allowing them access to the grape skins.

Their whisky season takes place from January to August. Using 100 per cent Alberta-grown grain, they make a single malt, Irish-style with oats and raw barley, and their Taber corn Berbon, working with a local farmer to secure their allotment of corn. The name “Berbon” comes from a blend of the name of the location of Taber and some witty charm to capture the spirit of bourbon in a truly Canadian spin on the spirit.

“One hundred per cent of our grain is from craft malt producers, and [carrying this certification] is something we are very happy about. We think there should be more craft distilleries getting certified. We get [our grain] straight from the farmers, and it’s good to have control of the input. We get our grain from two farms: the Molnar family in Taber and Hamill family in Penhold.”

Bridgeland’s last bit of production occurs from September to November, which is their brandy season. When they receive fresh grapes, the vineyards they partner with press them on-site and ship the juice to Bridgeland Distillery in a tote. From there, they produce their own wine as soon as it arrives at the distillery. Then, they ferment it and distill the brandy in November.

“We just finished up our brandy season for 2025,” said Tremblay. “It is a very seasonal process. That’s why we decided to put our plans together, because winter and spring will be long until the next harvest, and we are using the same type of equipment anyway.”

Bridgeland’s craft is not without recognition. In 2023, they won the Best Brandy in the World award at the World Brandy Awards in London for their Moscato Brandy in the two to three-year category. Most recently, their Glenbow Single Malt Port Finish won Best Barrel Finish Whisky at the Canadian Whisky Awards in January 2025. They’ve also received Gold and Double Gold at the Canadian Whisky Awards, the Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition and the World Whisky Awards.

“We are hoping to get to Gold in the World Whisky Awards coming next. So far, we have achieved Silver,” said Tremblay.

Bridgeland Distillery’s craft products can be found on shelves at the distillery in Calgary. Additionally, they are available in 180 liquor stores and on shelves at more than 40 bars across Alberta. Their Berbon has also sparked enough of a demand in Saskatchewan that it is being carried in 20 to 25 liquor stores between Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Regina. Be sure to keep watch on Bridgeland Distillery in 2026, they are working on breaking into new markets, setting sights on Ontario or British Columbia.

Additionally, they are working on a trade mission to Japan. Bridgeland Distillery will be part of the food expo in Tokyo at the beginning of March. They will be one of six Alberta-based vendors in attendance. “It’s going to be a lot of work to be ready for the Japanese market, but we are looking forward to it,” said Tremblay.

The new limited-edition releases represent the latest chapter in Alberta Distillers Ltd.’s ongoing premium program: the Alberta Premium Cask Strength series and Rare Batch collection. Both series have helped raise expectations for Canadian-made rye, building a loyal following among whisky enthusiasts.

That momentum comes from the distillers’ clear focus, paired with ongoing work in cask selection, aging and blending to keep pushing the category forward. Now, each expression takes that same foundation in its own direction, one defined by age-stated cask strength intensity, the other shaped by long-aged depth and meticulous craft.

Alberta Premium Cask Strength 10-Year-Old

Distilled with local, prairie-grown rye grain and aged for a decade in charred oak casks, Alberta Premium Cask Strength 10-Year-Old is bottled at 67 per cent ABV for a bold, yet smooth tasting experience, with the added distinction of a 10-year age statement. Recently named Best Canadian Rye at the World Whiskies Awards 2026, the release also marks the first time Alberta Premium’s cask strength history includes a premium cork closure.

Building on the distillery’s award-winning legacy, including industry acclaim for past Cask Strength editions, this award-winning expression exemplifies the innovation and precision that has earned Alberta Distillers Ltd. the reputation as one of the world’s foremost rye whisky producers. Alberta Premium Cask Strength 10-Year-Old is available now across Western Canada, launching in Ontario early spring at a suggested retail price of $74.95.

Tasting notes

Aroma: Caramel, praline, espresso and woody undertones
Taste: Exceptionally smooth with layers of caramel, toffee and dark chocolate, balanced by rye spice and sweet espresso
Finish: Smooth, warm and spicy

Rare Batch Issue No. 2

Aged 21 years and bottled at 50 per cent ABV. More than 20 years ago, three distinct barrel types (Canadian Whisky, Bourbon Whisky and New White Oak) were laid down in a rack-style warehouse in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. With over two decades of aging 3,400 ft above sea level, the traditional maturation process of this whisky, combined with the dry Alberta air and chinook winds, which influenced a symphony of flavour profiles enriched with patience and devotion.

Rare Batch Issue No. 2 appeals to both seasoned enthusiasts and collectors seeking a distinctive experience. The premium Canadian whisky reflects precision, patience and the enduring appeal of Canadian distilling. Rare Batch Issue No. 2 is available now across Western Canada, launching in Ontario late spring at a suggested retail price of $149.95.

Tasting notes

Aroma: Notes of vanilla, dark molasses and touch of pepper
Taste: Spicy with hints of caramel and oak
Finish: Smooth and sweet

“Launching Alberta Premium Cask Strength 10-Year-Old alongside Rare Batch Issue No. 2 is a testament to Alberta Distillers Ltd.’s ability to capture the best of Canadian whisky, with precision in the build, refined flavour in the glass and depth from time,” said Deepti Gurkar, senior director, national marketing and global Canadian brands at Suntory Global Spirits. “Alberta Premium Cask Strength 10-Year-Old reflects the craftsmanship of our distillery team and the bold spirit of Canadian rye, while Rare Batch Issue No. 2 continues the series legacy as the whisky you reach for when you want something that feels special.”

Both the Alberta Premium Cask Strength and Rare Batch series have become hallmarks of the Canadian whisky category, earning international recognition and a loyal following among whisky enthusiasts. Alberta Premium Cask Strength 10-Year-Old carries that legacy forward with an award-winning, age-stated, high-proof profile built for intensity and balance, while Rare Batch Issue No. 2, the second release in the Rare Batch series, showcases the distillery’s long-aged expertise, shaped by time in barrel and meticulous craft.

Landing in the same release window, both reflect the standards that have defined Alberta Distillers Ltd. for decades, as 2026 emerges as a landmark year with the distiller celebrating 80 years of Canadian whisky-making.

At the core of Alberta Premium Golden Rye 9 Year Old is an aging process that draws on three distinct barrel styles – new white oak, ex-bourbon and ex-Canadian whisky casks. This layered maturation process results in richness, spice and nuance, allowing the rye grain to shine while evolving into a smooth finish. Distilled and crafted with locally grown rye, this premium whisky reveals what time, terroir and triple-barrel aging can truly offer.

With a 45 per cent ABV, Alberta Premium Golden Rye 9 Year Old delivers a dynamic profile where aromas of caramel, subtle leather and a whisper of coconut lead into a palate rich with raisin and molasses. The finish is where this expression truly shines; sweet, yet laced with signature rye spice, it lingers with smoothness and layered warmth. This release is a tribute to the golden hues of the Prairies, the precision of Canadian whisky-making and the pursuit of a smoother, more refined rye experience. Proudly crafted from grain to glass in Canada, made with 100 per cent Canadian-grown rye, distilled and bottled on Canadian soil, Alberta Premium Golden Rye 9 Year Old is a celebration of homegrown excellence.

“Alberta Premium Golden Rye 9 Year Old, represents the essence of Canadian craftsmanship, elevating it with a complex, layered whisky experience,” said Deepti Gurkar, senior director – national marketing Canada and global Canadian brands at Suntory Global Spirits. “This launch is a celebration of what makes Canadian rye whisky so exceptional – bold flavour, rich heritage and our continued commitment to innovation. It’s a whisky made for those who value authenticity and are looking to explore deeper dimensions of taste.”

Alberta Premium Golden Rye 9 Year Old is available across Canada at a suggested retail price of $37.95 per 750 mL bottle.

The debut event, Whisky 101, took place June 30. Guests explored a curated whisky flight and learned the basics of how to taste, talk about and enjoy whisky without pretension, pressure or gatekeeping. The club launched during Pride Month, sending a clear message: Whisky is for everyone.

Inside a converted walk-in cooler on Vancouver Island, Dave Brimacombe, founder of Wayward Distillery, spent his early distilling days doing something few would associate with spirit production: warming 640-pound drums of crystallized honey. Wayward Distillery is a honey-based operation that specializes in crafting premium spirits made entirely from fermented B.C. honey.

“We converted a walk-in fridge into a walk-in heater,” said Brimacombe. “We kept barrels of honey there for two weeks so that the heat would get into them slowly. If you cook a barrel of honey, you destroy a lot of its protein.” The goal was to preserve the integrity of the material because honey, as it turns out, is a deeply challenging and incredibly rewarding ingredient in craft distilling.

While grains, molasses and fruit have long been the standard for fermentation, some Canadian distillers are turning to honey for its natural complexity, regional character and consumer appeal. Working with honey isn’t easy. It’s expensive, temperamental and doesn’t always fit into existing spirit categories or regulatory frameworks. For the producers who are wildly passionate about this liquid gold, however, that’s exactly what makes it worth the effort.

A buzzworthy ingredient

With increasing consumer demand for sustainable, local products, honey spirits sweeten the deal. Honey is a naturally renewable resource and, when produced responsibly, the harvest supports healthy bee populations, which are critical pollinators for a wide variety of flowering crops and vegetables.

Unlike traditional agricultural crops, honey doesn’t require planting, irrigation or soil disturbance, making its environmental footprint remarkably low. This means that honey-based spirits not only deliver flavour but also align with values of ecological stewardship and biodiversity.

Honey spirit gives you a light, delicate mouthfeel. It’s easy drinking, floral, fruity and it doesn’t have that big, oily mouthfeel you get from some cereal grains.

Jordan Ramey, Burwood Distillery

In B.C., where distillers must use 100 per cent local agricultural inputs, honey provides both a practical and ethical advantage for producers. “We work with honey because it’s a sustainable food source,” said Brimacombe. “Using all B.C. wheat, corn or fruit takes a lot of food out of our food web. Honey is a byproduct of food production.” The alignment with sustainability and provincial pride is echoed across the country.

At Alberta’s Burwood Distillery, honey became a core ingredient thanks to a founding partnership between Ivan Cilic, Jordan Ramey and Marko Cilic, a local beekeeper. What began as a practical decision – using excess honey to create spirits – grew into a commitment to celebrate Alberta’s agricultural heritage. “… we wanted to see what we could make with it,” said co-founder Ramey. “Other producers make mead, so why can’t [we], as a distillery, make a novel product featuring our local apiaries and craft something that’s unique in this part of the world?”

Chemically, honey is unlike other fermentable ingredients. Honey contains a mix of simple and complex sugars, acids, enzymes and trace phenolics, some of which break down during fermentation to create alcohol and aroma compounds, while others survive even the high heat of distillation, leading to notes of fruit, spice or floral sweetness in the final spirit. Honey-based spirits are often lighter, softer and more floral than their grain or molasses-based counterparts.

“Honey spirit gives you a light, delicate mouthfeel,” said Ramey. “It’s easy drinking, floral, fruity and it doesn’t have that big, oily mouthfeel you get from some cereal grains.” Wayward’s honey vodka, gin and rum alternative all retain that character, despite being triple-distilled and unflavoured.

“Honey tastes good all the way through, which means we start with a base that already has a really positive flavour profile in distillation,” said Brimacombe. “It’s got a nice viscosity, natural oils from fermentation and a softness that carries through.”

Sticky situations

If honey offers beautiful flavour and ethical sourcing, it demands repayment in logistics. For starters, it doesn’t pour. Wayward receives honey in 200-litre drums, each weighing more than 600 pounds. Its early days involved scooping 50-pound batches by hand using four-cup measuring scoops. Eventually, they developed a custom process using hot water injection and a specialized pump to liquefy and move the honey safely and efficiently.

That amount of honey isn’t exactly cheap. While grains cost mere cents per litre, honey is a premium ingredient – anywhere between four to eight times the price of malted grain, according to Ramey. This makes honey-based spirits significantly more expensive to produce, and almost impossible to scale cheaply.

Faced with this reality, Wayward had to pivot. When the pandemic shifted consumer spending, Brimacombe reimagined his 100 per cent honey approach, focusing honey’s use where it truly impacted flavour and quality, in products like Unruly Vodka, Unruly Gin and Drunken Hive Rum. For more accessible offerings, he introduced ethically sourced, pollinator-friendly grain that’s glyphosate-free, spray-free and fully traceable, keeping Wayward’s values intact.

A new challenge that appeared? Educating consumers. “We are a honey-centric distillery that has three products made 100 per cent from B.C. honey, and then everything else we do is pollinator-friendly,” said Brimacombe. “We use honey whenever we use sweetener. We had to communicate the difference between ‘made with honey’ and ‘made from honey.’”

Ramey faced this issue with Burwood’s first product, too. “Our first product was called Single Hive, like single malt,” he said. “But people were confused. Was it rum? Was it whisky? We wanted to tell people that it was a barrel-aged honey spirit, and it kind of tastes like rum and kind of tastes like a Scottish single malt, but there’s no grain in it. It’s hard to tell that branding story quickly.”

This challenge pushed Burwood to experiment and refine its approach, leading to the creation of The Bee Whisperer, a blend of its single-malt whisky and barrel-aged honey spirit. To make the honey spirit component, Burwood first dilutes the honey so it can ferment properly. Then, it ferments for about a week using Chardonnay yeast along with some wild microbes, which adds unique floral and botanical flavours. After fermentation, the spirit is distilled twice, just like traditional whisky, and aged in used American bourbon barrels for up to seven years.

“This honey spirit makes up about 10 per cent of the final blend, with the other 90 per cent being single malt whisky,” said Ramey. “The result is a Canadian whisky that tastes smooth and familiar, but with a subtle, wildflower-like twist.”

Honey spirits exist in a regulatory grey zone. In Canada, spirits like vodka, whisky and rum are defined by their base ingredients – typically grain, potatoes or sugarcane byproducts – which leaves little room for experimentation with ingredients like honey. This has created significant hurdles for producers trying to innovate. Wayward, for example, wasn’t allowed to label its honey-based spirit as vodka until 2018, because it didn’t meet the grain or potato requirement.

In Alberta, Burwood has taken a proactive approach, working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to create an entirely new category: Canadian rum, made from honey. The effort began with an unusual byproduct from beekeeping. When cleaning hive frames, leftover caramelized sugars form a dark, sticky substance. There was no good use for it, it couldn’t be dumped without causing environmental issues and storing it was a logistical burden.

Burwood began experimenting. Partnering with government researchers, it explored whether the substance could be treated like molasses: fermented, distilled and aged to create a rum-like spirit. The result is a bold, spiced honey spirit that’s low-cost and helps reduce farm waste.

According to federal regulations, however, it still doesn’t qualify as rum. Even though the base material is chemically and functionally similar to molasses, it doesn’t come from sugarcane, so it falls outside the current definition. As a workaround, Burwood markets the product as “rhum,” a tongue-in-cheek nod to the regulatory ambiguity. So far, the CFIA is open to the idea of a new category, but it needs more producers to participate before a formal designation can be made.

Blossom to bottle

Just as grapes and grains express their growing conditions, honey reflects the plants, flowers and climate from which bees forage. This is why distillers are highly selective about floral origin.

Honey has a naturally wide range of flavour profiles depending on the flowers the bees forage from. These are known as varietals. While all honey shares a familiar sweetness, each varietal carries unique floral notes layered on top. Distillation concentrates those flavours, allowing the identity of each honey varietal to shine through. At Wayward, the focus is on wild clover honey.

“The bees pollinate crops all over B.C., then rest on the wild clover fields in B.C.’s north,” said Brimacombe. “It’s an efficient food source for the bees, when you consider the density of one cubic metre of clover versus one cubic metre of, say, raspberries.”

It’s ideal both for the bees and distillers aiming for reliable yields and a balanced, floral spirit. Burwood, on the other hand, works with blended “prairie mix” honey, made up of canola, clover, wildflowers and myriad other varieties that Alberta bees encounter. “It’s bloom time in Alberta in a bottle,” said Ramey. “I get wildflower, honeysuckle [and] rose aroma. Some people say lavender; some get raw vegetal notes.”

Honey characteristics vary year to year based on climate, rainfall and blooming cycles. To maintain consistent spirit quality, the distilleries rely on detailed blending, sensory profiling and, in Wayward’s case, automated fermentation analysis using equipment they co-developed with a local college.

For Wayward, its mono-floral approach not only helps standardize flavour but also ensures a consistently higher sugar content than found in generic grocery store honey, which often contains more water. Higher sugar concentration leads to more efficient fermentation, better alcohol yields and fewer unwanted off-flavours, allowing for greater control over the final spirit.

While finding the right honey is an art, Wayward’s methods are also backed by a healthy dose of science. “Honey changes from barrel to barrel, so we built an automated system with a PhD chemist,” said Brimacombe. “It samples the ferment every 20 minutes, tracking 23 points like pH and Brix. After 100-plus ferments, we know exactly how to adjust – like adding water if the honey is sweeter – to maintain consistency.”

For Burwood, honey can vary a lot depending on the season and what the bees are foraging on, but it has a few ways to keep things consistent. First, the honey it uses is already blended by its producers at the end of the season, so it’s not working with wildly different batches from different months. When it’s time to blend the final product, samples are pulled from a large pool of barrels and only the ones that meet the flavour profile are selected. Every blend goes through tasting panels and small-scale trials before it gets scaled up. It also accounts for differences in barrel aging: where the barrel sits in the warehouse, how it’s made and even Alberta’s dry climate, which affects how the spirit matures.

A sweet shift

As Canadian drinkers grow more conscious about what they consume, and where it comes from, honey offers craft distillers a mix of story, substance and sensory intrigue. While it may not yet have the mainstream recognition of wine or whisky, that’s starting to change. Honey spirits are carving out their place in the industry and challenging drinkers to think differently about what’s in their glass.

“One of the biggest challenges with honey-based spirits is this strange disconnect in how people think about them,” said Brimacombe. “Consumers understand that beer is brewed locally, or that wine comes from a nearby vineyard. It’s visible, it’s agricultural and it supports the local economy. But something weird happens when you turn that beer or wine into vodka or gin: people stop caring about where it comes from.” That disconnect, he notes, is starting to shift.

“People are beginning to ask where their spirits come from, just like they do with food, wine and beer. I’m excited to be here when they do to say, ‘Hey, here’s something ethically sourced, sustainable, low-water and made from honey. It’s lovely. Give it a try.’”

Traduit par Audrey Lemire

Dans un réfrigérateur transformé sur l’île de Vancouver, Dave Brimacombe, fondateur de Wayward Distillery, a consacré ses débuts en distillation à une activité peu conventionnelle dans le domaine des spiritueux : le réchauffement de fûts de miel cristallisé pesant 640 livres. Wayward Distillery se spécialise dans la création de spiritueux haut de gamme élaborés exclusivement à partir de miel fermenté provenant de la Colombie-Britannique.

« Nous avons métamorphosé un réfrigérateur en réchauffeur, explique Brimacombe. Nous conservons les fûts de miel pendant deux semaines pour permettre à la chaleur de les pénétrer lentement. Une cuisson excessive du miel entraîne la destruction d’une grande partie de ses protéines. » L’objectif est de préserver l’intégrité de ce matériau, car le miel s’avère être un ingrédient à la fois complexe et exceptionnellement gratifiant dans le cadre de la distillation artisanale.

Alors que les grains, la mélasse et les fruits ont longtemps constitué les ingrédients standards pour la fermentation, certains distillateurs canadiens se tournent vers le miel en raison de sa complexité intrinsèque, de son caractère régional et de son attrait croissant auprès des consommateurs.

Un ingrédient digne d’intérêt

Face à une demande croissante pour des produits durables et locaux, les spiritueux à base de miel apportent une valeur ajoutée significative. Le miel est une ressource naturellement renouvelable et, lorsqu’il est produit de manière responsable, sa récolte soutient des populations d’abeilles saines, essentielles à la pollinisation d’une vaste gamme de cultures.

Contrairement aux cultures agricoles traditionnelles, le miel ne nécessite ni plantation, ni irrigation, ni perturbation du sol, ce qui réduit considérablement son empreinte environnementale. Ainsi, les spiritueux à base de miel offrent non seulement une palette de saveurs, mais s’inscrivent également dans des valeurs de gestion écologique et de biodiversité.

Le spiritueux au miel vous procure une sensation en bouche légère et délicate. C’est facile à boire, floral, fruité et cela n’a pas cette grande sensation huileuse que l’on obtient avec certains grains céréaliers.

Jordan Ramey, Burwood Distillery

En Colombie-Britannique, où les distillateurs doivent utiliser 100 % d’ingrédients agricoles locaux, le miel présente un double avantage, à la fois pratique et éthique, pour les producteurs. « Nous travaillons avec le miel parce que c’est une source alimentaire durable, affirme Brimacombe. Utiliser du blé, du maïs ou des fruits de la Colombie-Britannique retire beaucoup de nourriture de notre réseau alimentaire. Le miel est un sous-produit de la production alimentaire. »

Cette approche durable, ancrée dans la fierté provinciale, résonne à travers le pays. À Burwood Distillery, en Alberta, le miel est devenu un ingrédient central grâce à un partenariat fondateur entre Ivan Cilic, Jordan Ramey et Marko Cilic, un apiculteur local. Ce qui a débuté comme une décision pragmatique d’utiliser l’excès de miel pour créer des spiritueux s’est transformé en un engagement à célébrer l’héritage agricole de l’Alberta. « Nous souhaitions explorer le potentiel de ce miel, confie Ramey. D’autres producteurs fabriquent de l’hydromel, alors pourquoi ne pourrions-nous pas, en tant que distillerie, créer un produit novateur mettant en valeur nos ruchers locaux et concevoir quelque chose d’unique dans cette région du monde ? »

D’un point de vue chimique, le miel se distingue des autres ingrédients fermentables. Il contient un mélange de sucres simples et complexes, d’acides, d’enzymes et de composés phénoliques. Certains de ces éléments se décomposent pendant la fermentation pour engendrer des composés alcooliques et aromatiques, tandis que d’autres survivent à la chaleur intense de la distillation, apportant des notes de fruits, d’épices ou de douceur florale dans le spiritueux final. Les spiritueux à base de miel se révèlent souvent plus légers, plus doux et plus floraux que leurs homologues à base de grains ou de mélasse.

« Le spiritueux au miel procure une sensation en bouche légère et délicate, explique Ramey. C’est un produit facile à déguster, floral et fruité sans la sensation huileuse que l’on obtient avec certains grains. » La vodka, le gin et l’alternative au rhum de Wayward conservent tous ce caractère, malgré une triple distillation et l’absence de saveurs ajoutées.

« Le miel conserve ses arômes tout au long du processus, ce qui signifie que nous commençons avec une base qui présente déjà un profil de saveur très positif en distillation, précise Brimacombe. Il possède une belle viscosité, des huiles naturelles issues de la fermentation et une douceur persistante. »

Défis logistiques : l’art de travailler avec le miel

Bien que le miel offre une saveur exquise et une provenance éthique, il exige un retour sur investissement logistique considérable. Pour commencer, il ne se verse pas aisément. Wayward reçoit le miel dans des fûts de 200 litres, chacun pesant plus de 600 livres. Les débuts de la distillerie ont impliqué la manipulation de lots de 50 livres à la main à l’aide de tasses à mesurer de quatre tasses. Finalement, un processus sur mesure a été développé, utilisant l’injection d’eau chaude et une pompe spécialisée pour liquéfier et déplacer le miel en toute sécurité et efficacement.

Cette quantité de miel n’est pas exactement bon marché. Alors que les grains coûtent à peine quelques centimes par litre, le miel est un ingrédient premium, coûtant entre quatre et huit fois le prix du grain malté, selon Ramey. Cela rend la production de spiritueux à base de miel significativement plus coûteuse et quasiment impossible à échelonner à bas coût.

Face à cette réalité, Wayward a dû faire preuve d’adaptabilité. Lorsque la pandémie a modifié les habitudes de consommation, Brimacombe a réimaginé son approche 100 % miel, se concentrant sur l’utilisation du miel là où il influençait réellement la saveur et la qualité, dans des produits tels que Unruly Vodka, Unruly Gin et Drunken Hive Rum. Pour des offres plus accessibles, il a introduit des grains éthiquement sourcés, favorables aux pollinisateurs, sans glyphosate, sans pulvérisation et entièrement traçables, tout en maintenant les valeurs de Wayward.

Un nouveau défi a émergé : éduquer les consommateurs. « Nous sommes une distillerie centrée sur le miel qui propose trois produits fabriqués à 100 % à partir de miel de la Colombie-Britannique, et tout le reste que nous faisons est favorable aux pollinisateurs, explique Brimacombe. Nous utilisons du miel chaque fois que nous employons un édulcorant. Nous avons dû communiquer la différence entre fabriqué avec du miel et fabriqué à partir de miel. »

Ramey a également été confronté à cette problématique avec le premier produit de Burwood. « Notre premier produit s’appelait Single Hive, à l’instar d’un single malt, raconte-t-il. Cependant, les consommateurs étaient confus. Était-ce du rhum ? Était-ce du whisky ? Nous souhaitions faire comprendre qu’il s’agissait d’un spiritueux au miel vieilli en fût, ayant un goût qui rappelle à la fois le rhum et le single malt écossais, mais sans grain. Il est difficile de raconter cette histoire de marque rapidement. »

Ce défi a poussé Burwood à expérimenter et à affiner son approche, menant à la création de The Bee Whisperer, un mélange de son whisky single malt et de son spiritueux au miel vieilli en fût. Pour élaborer le composant au miel, Burwood dilue d’abord le miel afin qu’il puisse fermenter correctement. Ensuite, il fermente pendant environ une semaine en utilisant de la levure de Chardonnay ainsi que quelques microbes sauvages, ce qui ajoute des saveurs florales et botaniques uniques. Après fermentation, le spiritueux est distillé deux fois, comme un whisky traditionnel, et vieilli dans des fûts de bourbon américains usagés pendant jusqu’à sept ans.

« Ce spiritueux au miel représente environ 10 % du mélange final, les 90 % restants étant du whisky single malt, précise Ramey. Le résultat est un whisky canadien qui offre un goût doux et familier, mais avec une subtile touche de fleurs sauvages. »

Les spiritueux à base de miel évoluent dans une zone grise en matière de réglementation. Au Canada, des boissons comme la vodka, le whisky et le rhum sont définies par leurs ingrédients de base, généralement des grains, des pommes de terre ou des sous-produits de la canne à sucre, ce qui limite l’expérimentation avec le miel. Cette situation crée des obstacles pour les producteurs. Par exemple, Wayward n’a pu étiqueter son spiritueux à base de miel comme de la vodka qu’en 2018, car il ne respectait pas les exigences relatives aux grains ou aux pommes de terre.

En Alberta, Burwood a collaboré avec l’Agence canadienne d’inspection des aliments (ACIA) pour créer une nouvelle catégorie : le rhum canadien, produit à partir de miel. Cette initiative découle d’un sous-produit de l’apiculture. Lors du nettoyage des cadres de ruche, des sucres caramélisés résiduels forment une substance sombre et visqueuse, sans utilisation adéquate. Burwood a donc expérimenté en traitant cette substance comme de la mélasse, la fermentant, la distillant et l’affinant pour créer un spiritueux similaire au rhum. Le résultat est un produit audacieux et épicé au miel, qui contribue à réduire le gaspillage agricole.

Cependant, selon les réglementations fédérales, ce produit ne peut toujours pas être qualifié de rhum, car il ne provient pas de la canne à sucre. Pour contourner cette problématique, Burwood le commercialise sous le nom de « rhum », en réponse à l’ambiguïté réglementaire. L’ACIA est ouverte à la possibilité d’une nouvelle catégorie, mais cela nécessite la participation d’un plus grand nombre de producteurs avant qu’une désignation officielle puisse être établie.

De la fleur à la bouteille

Tout comme les raisins et les grains expriment leurs conditions de croissance, le miel reflète les plantes, les fleurs et le climat dont les abeilles se nourrissent. C’est pourquoi les distillateurs sont particulièrement sélectifs quant à l’origine florale.

Le miel présente naturellement une vaste gamme de profils de saveur selon les fleurs dont les abeilles se nourrissent. Ces variétés sont connues sous le nom de variétales. Bien que tous les miels partagent une douceur familière, chaque variétale porte des notes florales uniques superposées. La distillation concentre ces saveurs, permettant à l’identité de chaque variétale de miel de s’exprimer pleinement. Chez Wayward, l’accent est mis sur le miel de trèfle sauvage.

« Les abeilles pollinisent des cultures partout en Colombie-Britannique, puis se reposent sur les champs de trèfle sauvage dans le nord de la province, explique Brimacombe. C’est une source alimentaire efficace pour les abeilles, si l’on considère la densité d’un mètre cube de trèfle par rapport à un mètre cube de, disons, des framboises. »

C’est idéal tant pour les abeilles que pour les distillateurs en quête de rendements fiables et d’un spiritueux floral équilibré. Burwood, quant à elle, travaille avec un miel « mélange prairie », composé de colza, de trèfle, de fleurs sauvages et de nombreuses autres variétés que les abeilles de l’Alberta rencontrent. « C’est le temps de floraison en Alberta dans une bouteille, déclare Ramey. Je perçois des arômes de fleurs sauvages, de chèvrefeuille et de rose. Certaines personnes évoquent la lavande ; d’autres perçoivent des notes végétales crues. »

Les caractéristiques du miel varient d’année en année en fonction du climat, des précipitations et des cycles de floraison. Pour maintenir une qualité de spiritueux cohérente, les distilleries s’appuient sur un mélange détaillé, un profilage sensoriel et, dans le cas de Wayward, une analyse de fermentation automatisée utilisant un équipement qu’ils ont co-développé avec un collège local.

Pour Wayward, son approche mono-florale aide non seulement à standardiser la saveur, mais garantit également un contenu en sucre systématiquement plus élevé que celui que l’on trouve dans le miel générique des épiceries, qui contient souvent plus d’eau. Une concentration en sucre plus élevée conduit à une fermentation plus efficace, de meilleurs rendements en alcool et moins de saveurs indésirables, permettant un meilleur contrôle sur le spiritueux final.

Bien que trouver le bon miel soit un art, les méthodes de Wayward sont également soutenues par une solide base scientifique. « Le miel change d’un fût à l’autre, donc nous avons construit un système automatisé avec un chimiste titulaire d’un doctorat, précise Brimacombe. Il échantillonne la fermentation toutes les 20 minutes, suivant 23 paramètres comme le pH et le Brix. Après plus de 100 fermentations, nous savons exactement comment ajuster – comme ajouter de l’eau si le miel est plus sucré – pour maintenir la cohérence. »

Pour Burwood, le miel peut varier considérablement en fonction de la saison et de ce dont les abeilles se nourrissent, mais il dispose de plusieurs moyens pour maintenir la cohérence. Tout d’abord, le miel qu’il utilise est déjà mélangé par ses producteurs à la fin de la saison, évitant ainsi de travailler avec des lots très différents provenant de mois distincts. Lorsque vient le temps de mélanger le produit final, des échantillons sont prélevés dans un grand réservoir de fûts et seuls ceux qui répondent au profil de saveur sont sélectionnés. Chaque mélange passe par des panels de dégustation et des essais à petite échelle avant d’être mis à l’échelle. Il prend également en compte les différences dans le vieillissement en fût : l’emplacement du fût dans l’entrepôt, sa fabrication et même le climat sec de l’Alberta, qui influence la maturation du spiritueux.

Un doux changement

Alors que les consommateurs canadiens deviennent de plus en plus conscients de ce qu’ils consomment et d’où cela provient, le miel offre aux distillateurs artisanaux un mélange d’histoire, de substance et d’intrigue sensorielle. Bien qu’il n’ait peut-être pas encore la reconnaissance grand public du vin ou du whisky, cela commence à évoluer. Les spiritueux à base de miel se taillent leur place dans l’industrie et incitent les consommateurs à repenser ce qu’ils retrouvent dans leur verre.

« L’un des plus grands défis avec les spiritueux à base de miel est cette étrange déconnexion dans la perception des consommateurs, note Brimacombe. Les consommateurs comprennent que la bière est brassée localement, ou que le vin provient d’un vignoble voisin. C’est visible, c’est agricole et cela soutient l’économie locale. Cependant, une étrange dynamique se produit lorsque vous transformez cette bière ou ce vin en vodka ou en gin : les gens cessent de se soucier de son origine. » Cette déconnexion, souligne-t-il, commence à s’estomper.

« Les gens commencent à s’interroger sur l’origine de leurs spiritueux, tout comme ils le font pour la nourriture, le vin et la bière. Je suis ravi d’être ici lorsque cela se produira pour pouvoir dire : ‹Hé, voici quelque chose d’éthiquement sourcé, durable, à faible consommation d’eau et fabriqué à partir de miel. C’est merveilleux. Essayez-le. »

The Hilton family has been farming in southern Alberta since 1910. Today, the fifth generation of Hiltons rotates barley through their 17,000 acres of land, while using another 2,000 acres for pasture.

Since 2017, the Hiltons have also owned and operated Origin Malting & Brewing Co. Origin is one of the largest breweries in North America that grows its own barley, malts that barley itself and brews with it. There are only three such breweries and the other two do it on a very small scale as a fraction of their regular production, while every one of Origin’s beers contains malt from the Hilton farm. Origin is a rare, true grain-to-glass story, controlling every single step of the beer-making process, from the seed in the soil to the taste at the tap. “We grow beer,” is Origin’s apt motto.

Beer is an agricultural product

For decades, prior to founding Origin, the Hilton family was largely unaware of how precious their barley was. By law, since 1935, the Hiltons sold the fruits of their land to the Canadian Wheat Board and never got to see people enjoy their products; the Canadian Wheat Board served as a black box disconnecting farmers from consumers. When it was announced in 2011 that the board would be dissolved, the Hiltons began searching for buyers and were introduced to American craft breweries, who, unbeknownst to the Hiltons, had been using – and loving – malt made from their barley for years.

“When you finally get to meet the buyers and get feedback about how much they love your product … they were very generous with their praise,” said Sterling Hilton, farmer and president of Origin Malting & Brewing.

Working with four other Alberta barley farmers and an Alberta malthouse, the Hiltons entered into a first-of-its-kind, three-year barley and malt supply contract with a major craft brewer based in California. The contract was signed on Aug. 1, 2012, the very first day after the Canadian Wheat Board ceased to exist. It was the family’s first foray into craft beer and the first time they were able to connect their land to an appreciative customer.

They renewed that first contract for several years. Over the duration of the contract, the brewery and the Hiltons would visit each other biannually. Sterling witnessed the explosive growth of craft beer during visits to California, seeing new breweries pop up like stalks of barley every spring, and seeing their contract-partner breweries’ ever-increasing demand for malt. The original five barley farmers would eventually meet demand for their grain.

Vertical integration

Newly exposed to entrepreneurship, the Hiltons decided to lean heavily into their agricultural expertise. An opportunity presented itself to purchase craft malting equipment from a then-new, but now-defunct manufacturer in Fargo, N.D. Unsure about the tenability of craft malting as a business, the Hiltons reached out to their American brewery friends, who offered unfettered encouragement. “You grow the best barley on the planet,” they were told. “Why wouldn’t you do this?”

To complete the picture, Origin, as the malting enterprise would come be known, added a seven-hectolitre brewery made by WeCan Brewing Systems acquired used from, coincidentally, a California craft brewery. The plan was not to build Origin as a beer brand, but to have breweries that purchased Origin malt make guest beers to test recipes and malt. However, the Town of Strathmore, home to less than 15,000 people, had other ideas.

We grow some of the most sustainable food in the world.

Sterling Hilton, Origin Malting & Brewing Co.

Residents of Strathmore and Alberta supported Origin’s local, agricultural business in droves. Less than a year after installing the original brewhouse, Origin upgraded to a 15-hectolitre brewery, also made by WeCan and also acquired used from the same California craft brewery, a brewhouse that Origin still uses. Today, over 90 per cent of the grains used in Origin’s beers are grown on the Hilton farm. In keeping with Origin’s mission to bring its agricultural products to consumers, even the beef served in Origin’s Strathmore taproom comes from cattle pastured on Hilton land.

Origin supplies malt to craft breweries in Alberta, British Columbia and California. That malt is made from barley hand selected to perfectly suit the needs of the Origin malthouse. From the 17,000 acres of land the Hilton family farms, barley from only 1,000 acres is needed for Origin’s malting and brewing needs. Of all the malt Origin makes, it has the advantage of brewing its beer from the freshest malt. “Origin has to be the best of the best,” said Sterling.

Partnerships and growth

Origin’s focus on being the best of the best, coupled with its ability to connect Alberta’s beer consumers with the land that surrounds them, has resulted in success far beyond the family’s initial business plan. In 2024, Origin acquired a 20-barrel DME brewhouse located in Calgary and now operates two breweries and taprooms. Acquisition of the Calgary brewery was a huge step for the endeavour that had originally started as a side project to showcase Origin’s malt.

Origin’s growth is more than a testament to the quality of Origin’s beer. Since the new brewery exceeds Origin’s own needs, the brewery now contract brews beer for other breweries, which not only utilizes available capacity, but is another opportunity to showcase Origin’s malt with their contract brewing partners.

Origin has also earned attention from outside the beer world, which has allowed them to enter into promotional partnerships. The first was sponsoring and making branded beers for the Barn Burner podcast, popular with fans of the Calgary Flames. Barn Burner Blonde was the first beer made to tie into the podcast, but the promotional sponsorship was so successful, Origin later added After Burner Pale Ale, to be consumed during the After Burner Show, which follows every Flames game.

Origin also entered in a partnership with the Sutter brothers, the legendary six brothers from Viking, Alta. who would all reach the NHL in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Proceeds from sales of Origin’s Six Sutter Shooters American Lager supports the Sutter Fund, which has supported communities in central Alberta with over $3 million in funding since its founding in 1996.

Stewards of the environment

Being so connected to the soil, it comes as no surprise that Origin employs the best practices toward sustainability. Like most craft brewers, Origin supplies its spent grain to farmers for feed and are careful in their water and heat use. “We take sustainability very seriously,” said Sterling. “We are the fifth generation, and we are obviously motivated to ensure the success of future farmers.”

This is just in keeping with a legacy started by the prior generation of Hiltons. Gordon Hilton, Sterling’s father, pioneered methods to reduce soil erosion through continuous cropping and no-till farming. Continuous cropping is the practice of always having a crop on the field, rather than having periods of fallow. By rotating those crops, different nutrients are removed from and returned to the soil, so that the soil maintains a balance of nutrients. This reduces the need for fertilizers and other chemicals. No-till farming uses specialized equipment to drill seed into the soil, rather than tilling that soil, which disturbs the soil’s microbiome and exposes it to wind erosion.

Pioneering the use of these two techniques earned Gordon induction into the Soil Conservation Council of Canada’s Hall of Fame and the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame. “We grow some of the most sustainable food in the world,” said Sterling. The Origin Malting & Brewing story covers decades of agricultural history, innovations in sustainable farming, barley for everybody from big multinational breweries to small craft breweries, entrepreneurship, grain-to-glass practices and surviving droughts and global crisis. “It’s a long story in six letters,” said Sterling.

Known for their dedication to quality, tradition and innovation, The Establishment Brewing Company continues to set the standard for craft beer excellence in Alberta.

The Brewery of the Year award was a result of the brewery receiving an impressive six medals in style-specific categories:

• Silver – Light Bodied Ale: My Best Friend’s Girl (Kölsch-Style Ale)
• Bronze – Other Flavoured Beer: Left My Wallet in El Segundo (Lichtenhainer with Pineapple)
• Bronze – Barrel-Aged Beer: Into the Void (Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout)
• Gold – Low Alcohol Beer: Chaise Longue (Table Beer)
• Silver – Mixed Fermentation Beer with Fruit: Rare Hearts (Barrel-Aged Beer with Strawberries)
• Silver– Mixed Fermentation Beer: Erlton Street (Barrel-Aged Anniversary Blend)

“In a region that boasts some of the best beer in the country, it is an incredible honour to receive this recognition for the third time! The beer industry in Alberta is constantly innovating and continues to be of the highest caliber. We have a lot of passion on our team for what we do, but having talented peers in such a collaborative industry pushes us to continue improving. We’re very proud of our team. It takes a lot of patience, dedication and skill sets to create these products,” said brewery owner, Dave Ronneberg.

Situated inside a restored heritage building with historic, industrial and art deco elements, True Wild Distilling boasts multiple event spaces, a restaurant and experience centre that allows guests to take a peek into the distilling process through venue-hosted tours and tastings.

“This urban estate we’ve created is something brand new for Calgary’s incredible food and beverage scene,” said Bryce Parsons, founder and CEO, True Wild Distilling. “Converting a 1911 electrical substation into a world-class distillery, restaurant and events space has been quite the undertaking, but we’re so excited to finally invite Calgarians and visitors in to experience what True Wild has to offer!”

While seated among towering Canadian-made whisky and gin stills, which includes Canada’s tallest copper pot alembic still, restaurant patrons will dine on locally-sourced, live fire-grilled proteins and vegetable dishes that are infused with the unique flavour profile that only charcoal can impart. Of course, a restaurant inside a distillery wouldn’t be complete without an innovative cocktail program, and True Wild’s mixology team has blended its house-distilled spirits with curated ingredients to create a menu teeming with classic cocktails. A selection of local craft beers, as well as a wine list, round out the drink menu.

From sophisticated gins to bespoke Canadian malt whisky, True Wild is part of a new era of distilling in Canada. Available upon opening are Breaker Box Gin, Breaker Box Vodka and Roper’s Hold Whisky. Those awaiting the upcoming True Wild Whisky, which sits between a Scottish malt and American single malt, will need to be patient for the next few years as the spirit ages in-house. The end result will be worth the wait, though, as the anticipated “new whisky of Alberta” promises to be unlike anything seen in the province to date.