Canadian Gin & Distilleries in Canada
On This Page: Candian Gin and Distillery directory, reviews and tasting notes, distillery tours in Canada, interviews with Canadian distillers, and industry insights with and Davin de Kergommeaux and Blair Phillips, Authors of Gin in Canada.
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Canada - coming soon!
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Canadian Gin Reviews - A to Z
- I haven't made their profle yet so feel free to leave this bit and I'll update it when I've done that :-)
- Sheringham Distillery Kazuki Gin - Info & Review Coming Soon | Buy / Garnish: Orange or Grapefruit
- Sheringham Distillery Seaside Gin - Info & Review Coming Soon | Buy / Garnish: Orange or Grapefruit
For more Canadian Gins try Black Fox Gin, Dillon's Gin, Eau Claire Distillery Gin, Empress 1908 Gin, Ironworks Gin, Levenswater Gin, Long Table Gin, Reid's Gin, Romeo's Gin, St Laurent Gin, Ungava Gin,
CANADIAN GIN FACT!
- Canada is home to some very colourful gins. One of the first on the gin scene in the UK was Ungava, a bright yellow gin comprised of locally foraged botanicals. Another good example is Empress Gin, a beautiful indigo gin, made with butterfly pea flower that reacts with the citric acid in tonic and turns from a deep blue purple into pink.
Distilleries & Tours in Canada
Some distilleries in Canada are open for tours and/or tastings, and they are wonderful experiences for gin lovers living in or visiting these areas:
- Cirka Distillery - Montreal
- Dairy Distillery - Ontario
- Eau Claire Distillery - Alberta
- Ironworks Distillery - Nova Scotia
- Park Distillery - Location
- Reid's Distillery - Location
- Sheringham Distillery - Location
- Spirit of York Distillery - Toronto
- Victoria Distillers - Location
Meet the Makers
Get to know some of Canada's finest gin creators and distillers in our 'Meet the Maker' interviews. Find out what inspired them and how they created and launched their gin, how it's made, what botanicals are used, what you can experience if you visit their distilleries, how best to serve their gins and what they have planned for the future:
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The Inside Scoop
We caught up with Davin de Kergommeaux and Blair Phillips, Authors of Gin in Canada, to find out what makes Canadian Gin special and how the industry has grown in recent years:
What is Canada's history with spirits and distilling?
Davin & Blair: Canadians made spirits almost from the beginning of stable colonization in the 18th century. However, over time romantic stories of tiny farm distillers have melded with tales of American moonshiners to marginalize the actual history of commercial distilling in Canada.
What was to become the United States was well settled and had a thriving distilling industry a good century before settlers began arriving in Canada in a big way. There was no reason for Canadian distillers to start over at square one. So, while hand-to-mouth home-distillers made liquor from fermented apples, wild fruits and molasses – and still do – this activity did not evolve into a distilling industry. Instead, well-financed millers from England, Europe and the US set up the large enterprises which became the first commercial distilleries in Canada. They made whisky of a sort, often flavoured with fruits, honey and sometimes wild juniper. Two of these early distilling enterprises remain today, Seagram's and Hiram Walker, although both have been entirely rebuilt.
Some distilleries in these early days did make gin, but the spirit didn't hit its stride with consumers until provincial prohibition collapsed in the 1920s, and the aftermath triggered a cocktail boom from home. The gin made in Canada through most of the 20th century used recipes imported from England and Holland or emulated these styles. Beginning in the 1960s, a global switch by consumers to drinking white spirits brought increasing sales of vodka and gin as whisky sales began to decline. But gin followed whisky, and sales tanked through the 1970s and 1980s as tastes shifted to lighter wine, beer and spirit. Throughout this period, new Canadian gins did appear in liquor stores, but they weren't popular. It was the 21st century before gin experienced a real renaissance in Canada, and this was driven by cocktail and locavore culture plus the emergence of small independent distillers.
Although many of these distilleries aspired to make whisky, the reality that they could generate needed cash flow by selling gin while their whisky matured inspired innovation and experimentation. Some genuinely outstanding gins have appeared on the market in recent years, and consumers, perhaps introduced to them through their curiosity about the new distillers, soon began to sing their praises.
How has the Canadian Gin industry developed in recent years?
Davin & Blair: Momentum has gathered at a quick pace over the past decade, although the pandemic has slowed this stride. Credit should be given to the restaurants and bars looking for local products to provide distinction for their cocktail lists. Making spirits in Canada is tricky. The provincial liquor laws, high taxes and bureaucracy mean most distilleries can't afford to make a spirit that won't sell quickly. The gin category was dormant until small distilleries took a chance on it and discovered that they loved making gin. For example, Ungava Gin broke through in the early 2010s opening the doors for Quebec to start building today’s incredible gin scene. In Ontario, the same happened when Dillon's Small Batch Craft Distillers opened their distillery with Gin 22 on the shelf. The past few years, the Newfoundland Distillery Company on the east coast did the same with their Seaweed Gin and then Sheringham Distillery on the west coast with their Seaside Gin. Put these gins in a flight, and they are all very different though equally delicious.
What makes Canadian Gin different / special?
Davin & Blair: Canada is a massive country with diverse climates. For gin, this has its advantages and disadvantages. It's nearly impossible for Canada to develop a national gin identity that international gin lovers can grasp. On top of this, the taxes and provincial laws make it challenging to distribute gin outside individual provinces, let alone the rest of the world. But, Canada’s wide range of growing conditions has made gin an inspiring category in Canada. The botanicals that grow in Newfoundland are vastly different from those grown along the Pacific coastline. The British Columbia's interior is very different from the prairies, the Yukon or the Atlantic coast. We're seeing distilleries carve a gin identity based on the flavours from their corner of the country. For the gin lover who wants variety, there may not be another place on the planet that comes close.
What's next for the gin industry in Canada?
Davin & Blair: The reality of Canadian gin is maintaining a status quo. We'd love to see Canadian distilleries get the well-deserved tax and policy reform they've been fighting for to allow them to grow, but that fight is moving at a snail's pace. It would be encouraging to see the larger distilleries make gin again. There are some beautiful workhorse gin stills collecting dust in the big distilleries, Black Velvet in Alberta for example. For now, expect to see Canadian micro distillers continue to drive the category with passion and innovation. Sadly, you'll have to move here to experience most of it.
What is Canada's history with spirits and distilling?
Davin & Blair: Canadians made spirits almost from the beginning of stable colonization in the 18th century. However, over time romantic stories of tiny farm distillers have melded with tales of American moonshiners to marginalize the actual history of commercial distilling in Canada.
What was to become the United States was well settled and had a thriving distilling industry a good century before settlers began arriving in Canada in a big way. There was no reason for Canadian distillers to start over at square one. So, while hand-to-mouth home-distillers made liquor from fermented apples, wild fruits and molasses – and still do – this activity did not evolve into a distilling industry. Instead, well-financed millers from England, Europe and the US set up the large enterprises which became the first commercial distilleries in Canada. They made whisky of a sort, often flavoured with fruits, honey and sometimes wild juniper. Two of these early distilling enterprises remain today, Seagram's and Hiram Walker, although both have been entirely rebuilt.
Some distilleries in these early days did make gin, but the spirit didn't hit its stride with consumers until provincial prohibition collapsed in the 1920s, and the aftermath triggered a cocktail boom from home. The gin made in Canada through most of the 20th century used recipes imported from England and Holland or emulated these styles. Beginning in the 1960s, a global switch by consumers to drinking white spirits brought increasing sales of vodka and gin as whisky sales began to decline. But gin followed whisky, and sales tanked through the 1970s and 1980s as tastes shifted to lighter wine, beer and spirit. Throughout this period, new Canadian gins did appear in liquor stores, but they weren't popular. It was the 21st century before gin experienced a real renaissance in Canada, and this was driven by cocktail and locavore culture plus the emergence of small independent distillers.
Although many of these distilleries aspired to make whisky, the reality that they could generate needed cash flow by selling gin while their whisky matured inspired innovation and experimentation. Some genuinely outstanding gins have appeared on the market in recent years, and consumers, perhaps introduced to them through their curiosity about the new distillers, soon began to sing their praises.
How has the Canadian Gin industry developed in recent years?
Davin & Blair: Momentum has gathered at a quick pace over the past decade, although the pandemic has slowed this stride. Credit should be given to the restaurants and bars looking for local products to provide distinction for their cocktail lists. Making spirits in Canada is tricky. The provincial liquor laws, high taxes and bureaucracy mean most distilleries can't afford to make a spirit that won't sell quickly. The gin category was dormant until small distilleries took a chance on it and discovered that they loved making gin. For example, Ungava Gin broke through in the early 2010s opening the doors for Quebec to start building today’s incredible gin scene. In Ontario, the same happened when Dillon's Small Batch Craft Distillers opened their distillery with Gin 22 on the shelf. The past few years, the Newfoundland Distillery Company on the east coast did the same with their Seaweed Gin and then Sheringham Distillery on the west coast with their Seaside Gin. Put these gins in a flight, and they are all very different though equally delicious.
What makes Canadian Gin different / special?
Davin & Blair: Canada is a massive country with diverse climates. For gin, this has its advantages and disadvantages. It's nearly impossible for Canada to develop a national gin identity that international gin lovers can grasp. On top of this, the taxes and provincial laws make it challenging to distribute gin outside individual provinces, let alone the rest of the world. But, Canada’s wide range of growing conditions has made gin an inspiring category in Canada. The botanicals that grow in Newfoundland are vastly different from those grown along the Pacific coastline. The British Columbia's interior is very different from the prairies, the Yukon or the Atlantic coast. We're seeing distilleries carve a gin identity based on the flavours from their corner of the country. For the gin lover who wants variety, there may not be another place on the planet that comes close.
What's next for the gin industry in Canada?
Davin & Blair: The reality of Canadian gin is maintaining a status quo. We'd love to see Canadian distilleries get the well-deserved tax and policy reform they've been fighting for to allow them to grow, but that fight is moving at a snail's pace. It would be encouraging to see the larger distilleries make gin again. There are some beautiful workhorse gin stills collecting dust in the big distilleries, Black Velvet in Alberta for example. For now, expect to see Canadian micro distillers continue to drive the category with passion and innovation. Sadly, you'll have to move here to experience most of it.
