ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER MARKET DEVELOPMENT 16 Andrea Fujarczuk The whisky circle From farm to bottle and back again Don Livermore, master blender at Hiram Walker, has a favourite quote: "Canada was built on whisky,"—and he means it literally. Most people are unaware that taxes on distilled spirits in Canada date back to 1794, whereas income tax wasn't instituted until 1917. This means that distilleries were a key financial factor in the country's development for over 150 years before Confederation. And while most people envision a faceless distiller in a dark distillery, many early Canadian distillers were immigrant farmers who carried on the traditions they learned in their European homeland to ensure no grain went to waste. THE BEGINNINGS Hailing from across Europe—England, Germany, the Netherlands, and beyond— many of these immigrants grew up in tightknit farming communities. They learned how to run a farm, produce high-quality grains, and, most importantly, never waste good product. And as some of these farmers developed a surplus of grain, they knew exactly what to do with their excess product. Rather than risk their quality grains spoiling, a great way to preserve them was to distill them into liquid gold, or Canadian whisky. For farmers, it was, and still is, a win-win. They developed a circular economy with a symbiotic relationship. Any product left over from the distilling process was considered a highly nutritious byproduct and was sold back to farmers as livestock feed. Not only were these farmers innovative and adaptive, but they were also resourceful. After producing whisky from corn and wheat and receiving feedback that it could use more flavour, they returned to their roots and used a grain that many had grown to love on the other side of the ocean—rye. Known for its spicy, peppery notes, rye was the perfect addition to transform the once-boring spirit into a flavourful and bold whisky. Although tasty, rye proved tricky to distill, and farmers once again got creative by using the art of the blend. Since rye was so powerful in flavour, they were able to capture the taste and aromas of rye without it being the majority grain in their whisky.
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