Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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22 Beverage Dynamics • January/February 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com Canadian Whisky about any just yet) and look forward to showcasing them in the coming years." THE CATEGORY CONTINUES TO EXPAND Other new products have been trickling into the market. In the past year, Diageo unveiled a new fl avored extension to Crown Royal, Regal Apple, a blend of Crown Royal infused with fl avors from Regal Gala apples. The 70-proof product joins 2012 entry Maple Finished in the Crown Royal fl avor portfolio. The brand also in the past few years has added Crown Royal XO, an ultra premium blend of the fi nest 50 Crown Royal whiskies; and the 75th Anniversary Monarch Blend, a limited-edition offering that celebrates the 1939 visit to North America of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (and founding of the brand). Van Gogh Imports introduced TAP Rye Sherry Finished, an 8-year-old Canadian rye whisky blended with Spanish Amontillado Sherry (a companion to TAP 357 Maple rye and Canadian Rye whis- kies). And Sazerac launched Rich & Rare Caramel Canadian Whisky in the middle of 2014, the brand's fi rst fl avor entry. Black Velvet has been working on an eight-year-old expression to push forward next year, and while Canadian Club 100% Rye and Canadian Club Maple are available in Canada, Beam Suntory is currently focusing on Ca- nadian Club 1858, Canadian Club Reserve, Canadian Club Classic 12 Year-Old, and Canadian Club Small Batch Sherry Cask in the U.S. Flavors have generated a lot of interest among most Canadian producers. "After carefully looking at whisky and fl avored specialty spirit trends in the U.S., we decided to introduce four Canadian Mist fl avors," says brand manager for Brown-Forman, Pedro Berrueco. "Our intent is to provide consumers with a new and exciting brown spirit experience, blending Canadian Mist with its well-known clean and smooth taste without the harsh fi nish or bite with liquor-based fl avors. This combination will provide an unexpected taste experi- ence, especially for 21- to 29-year-old consumers who may be look- ing to start enjoying Canadian Mist but have the tendency to search for fl avored products." The fl avor line extension includes Peach Mist, Maple Mist, Cinnamon Mist and Vanilla Mist. While Canadian has sold steadily in solid markets like the Upper Midwest, its performance hasn't been uniform; Robertie says she's seen a dip. "In the past year, I have noticed a decline in sales in the entire Canadian category. From 2012-13, Canadian whiskies amounted to eight percent of our total whiskey sales, compared to fl avored whis- keys at 12 percent, and domestic leading the category at 40 percent. From 2013-14, Canadians have fallen to less than six percent in the category, whereas fl avored has increased slightly to 13 percent, and domestics maintain 40 percent." She points out that in her market, the resurgence of American whiskey, (especially fl avors), has dimin- ished interest in Canadian whiskies. TIME TO DIFFERENTIATE One of the reasons Canadian has been lagging the other whiskies in growth may be its modesty, suggests Richard McLeod, Brand Direc- tor, North American Whisky for Pernod Ricard. "I think that we have to start beating our chest a little more about our quality, what makes us different and how we stack up against the rest of the world," he says. "Globally speaking, over the last 10 to 15 years we have seen [most] of the major whisky producing regions in the world stand up and actively support their whisky export busi- ness. It is time for Canada to get involved and show the world that we really do make incredible liquid as good as any being made by our colleagues in those countries. We have as much fl exibility in the maturation and blending process as anyone, which gives us greater freedom to express different taste profi les for the consumer to enjoy." Each nation has specifi c rules for whiskey-making and naming, but Canada's can be confusing to an American. For instance, what can be bottled as rye whisky in Canada wouldn't meet U.S. standards, in that in this country a rye must be made with at least 51 percent of that grain as a component of the spirit. In Canada, a mostly corn spirit that gets small amounts of fl avorful rye added to the blend can be called rye. While all Canadian whiskies include some rye, it's pri- marily used as a "fl avoring whisky," adding a peppery punch to the mostly corn-based spirit. But oddly enough, two of the newer, pricey and widely sought-after rye brands — WhistlePig and Lock, Stock and Barrel — are sourced from Canada. And while Canadian whisky is usually the product of one distill- ery, U.S. laws encourage the inclusion of American spirits into the mix, meaning sometimes Bourbon or other American whiskeys make their way into the fi nal product. Also, unlike the American tradition, Canadian whisky distilleries generally make spirit from each grain separately, rather than in a house-style mashbill. The different spirits are then aged separately and blended together before bottling (Ca- Crown Royal Regal Apple, Monarch, and XO Collingwood Pike Creek