by Mary Bailey
Hansen Distilleries released its first whisky and gave a bottle to The City of Edmonton
“It is the first bottle of whisky from a craft producer in Edmonton—we wanted to give it to the city to archive and preserve this piece of history,” says Kris Sustrik. “It’s to say thanks to the good people of Edmonton for such love and support of our young distillery.” Northern Eyes Whisky is made from 100 per cent Alberta rye barrel aged in a single American oak barrel for three years. (To qualify as a Canadian whisky, the spirit must be barrel aged for a minimum of three years.) Northern Eyes was proofed down from 65 per cent in cask to 43 per cent bottle strength. If you haven’t been able to get your hands on a bottle yet, there will be more available March 3 and April 7, $69. You will be able to sample the whisky at Hansen Distillery for $5.
Wondering where to go for a great cocktail? Include the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in your wanderings— they have just announced the 2020 rendition of the Classic Perfected Menu. The program involved several bartenders from different Fairmonts around the world who have rediscovered and revamped the classics. For eg the Carte Blanche is inspired by the Vesper; the Chai Tai by the Mai Tai and the Madame Fleur by a French 75. The program is fun and the drinks are delicious. Bartender James Sequiera is serving the Soul Reviver with Casamigo Blanco and blackberry, right.
Neil and Lavonne Herbst have sold Alley Kat to Zane Christensen and Cameron French—two fans of the business from St. Albert.
“We are seeing craft breweries being absorbed by large multinationals; keeping Alley Kat in independent hands was extremely important to us,” said Neil Herbst, who was one of Alley Kat’s original founders back in 1994. Alley Kat, now 25 years old and one of the very first craft breweries in Alberta, was named Brewery of the Year at the 2019 Alberta Beer Awards. Word has it that Neil will keep on brewing at the Kat. Yaay!
Down 76 Avenue near the railway is the Monolith, Greg Zeschuk’s brewery for making barrel-aged beers. The first two beers, Buffalo Meadows and Measure of Patience, were released earlier this year. These beers can be tricky to make. Relying on several forms of fermentation—wild yeast, bacteria and brewer’s yeast—then aged in barrel and bottle conditioned. They are ready when they are, well, ready. You don’t have to be in any rush to drink these beers either, as they age in in the bottle. The best place to try them may be at Biera where chef Christine Sandford excels at creating dishes to pair with the beers.
Two Brewers Single Malt Whisky picked up a remarkable nine medals at the tenth annual Canadian Whisky Awards. Their whiskies are made in four categories, or expressions—classic, peated, special finish and innovative. Classic Release numbers 13, 16, and 18 won gold medals as did Release 12, a peated expression. It also won Sippin’ Whisky of the Year and the Best Canadian Single Malt Whisky. This is the second year that Two Brewers have nabbed this prestigious award, winning it in 2019 for Release 09. Innovative Releases 14 and 17 picked up silver medals as did as Release 15, a special sherry-barrel finished whisky. Yukon Brewing was formed by Bob Baxter and Alan Hansen in 1997, after a canoe trip conversation. After building a successful local craft brewery, they decided to expand into spirits. In 2009 they invested in a small pot still creating Two Brewers Yukon Single Malt Whisky. Their goal is that every release is unique, depending on the different malted and roasted grains, fermentation techniques and the mix of barrels.
