Seven Years, and a Lot to Show for It

Seven years ago, we opened the doors in Bridgeland with a still, a lot of Alberta grain, and a fairly loose plan.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated this anniversary with us on August 15. And thank you to everyone who has walked in, poured a dram, asked a question, argued with us about barrels, brought a friend, or bought a bottle over these seven years. None of the medals, special releases, media recognition, or designations below would have happened without you.

So here’s what we’ve been doing lately, with more grain and the same one pot still.

Introducing Alberta Wheat Whisky

Wheat is Alberta’s most widely grown crop, planted across millions of acres every year, and it’s the gentlest of the whisky grains. It usually plays a supporting role in a blend. We wanted to see what it could do out front.

This one is rooted in the rich soils of Penhold, and it’s crafted exclusively from locally sourced ingredients. The mash bill is 60% raw wheat and 40% malted barley, both grown right there.

Every sip reflects the spirit of the prairie and the character of Alberta.

Available on September 10th at the distillery, or delivered to your door in Calgary when you purchase online.

So What Does “Alberta Whisky” Actually Mean?

As of May 22, 2026, it means something specific and legally defined. Alberta is the first province in Canada to put its whisky in legislation, the same way Scotland did with Scotch and Kentucky did with the Bourbon Trail.

To call a bottle Alberta Whisky, it must be mashed, fermented, distilled, aged, proofed, and bottled entirely in Alberta. At least two-thirds of the grain has to be grown in Alberta, and even the water has to come from the province as well. It has to spend a minimum of three years in small wood barrels and be bottled at no less than 40% ABV. And nothing goes in after distillation except Alberta water and plain caramel colour.

The program is voluntary. Plenty of very good Canadian whisky won’t carry the designation and doesn’t need to. Every whisky we make already more than qualifies. We don’t put any additives in our whiskies (i.e., no colouring), everything is non-chill filtered, and our grain is 100% grown in Alberta. This is how we’ve always done it, since day one, back when there was no designation to earn. It’s nice to finally have a name for it.

Award Season Recognition

The inaugural Alberta Whisky Awards were recently held to recognize the best of certified Alberta Whisky. We won four medals:

• PLATINUM and Best in Class — Single Blend 2026, Alberta Blended Whiskies
• GOLD — Taber Corn Whisky 101, Alberta Blended Whiskies
• SILVER — Glenbow Single Malt Whisky, Alberta Single Malt Whiskies
• SILVER — Innisfail Whisky, Alberta Blended Whiskies

Special mention to the Single Blend 2026, our love letter to Red Shed Malting and the Hamill Farm, which we teased in the spring and which walked straight into a Platinum and Best in Class award. You can read about all the results in the September issue of Culinaire Magazine!

Artisan Collection: Rye Finished in Maple Brûlée

Unexpected yet delightfully familiar, the Artisan Collection is where we release limited edition spirits that celebrate craftsmanship, curiosity, and some of our favourite barrels in the building.

The latest one has a long paper trail. We aged our Rye in our own ex-Taber Corn Whisky barrels, then moved it into Maple Brûlée barrels for a six-month rest.

If these barrels could tell a story, it would be long. Handcrafted by the master coopers at Tonnellerie Moreau in Quebec, they held bourbon for seven to nine years, then maple syrup for a year, and were then torched to caramelize the residual sweetness — the brûlée — before finally meeting our Rye.

What that gives you is rye spice up front, then caramelized maple and toasted sugar, with a warm finish. Familiar in a way you can’t quite place, until you can.

Limited, as always. Available in early October!

Reminder: We’re the Only Craft Malt Certified Distillery in Canada

The seal comes from the North American Craft Maltsters Guild, and it isn’t something you can buy. It requires a licensing agreement with a member malthouse, that is small, independent maltsters who source the majority of their grain from within 500 miles, and that malthouse verifies you’re actually using their malt in your production.

In practice, it means the grain in your glass has a farm behind it, and we can tell you which one. Also, 100% of the malt we use is from a Craft Malting House, which is our unique feature!

What People Are Saying

A group of whisky enthusiasts recently ranked Canadian whisky on their channel and (spoiler alert) put two of ours at #2 and #3 in the country. Worth a watch.

And Kate Dingwall wrote about Calgary’s cocktail and spirits scene for Forbes with Bridgeland in it. The piece reaches 53 million readers on Forbes alone and has already been syndicated to Yahoo! Life. Thanks to Tourism Calgary for hosting Kate here in April: Calgary’s Cocktail Scene Is Ready For The World Stage.

Coming in November: Seven Years in the Making, Three Years in Oak

We’ve been working on something since nearly the beginning, and it’s finally close.

In November, we’re releasing a Single Malt smoked with Alberta peat. To our knowledge, no one in Canada has ever made one.

That’s all we’re going to say for now, but stay tuned for more information.

Here’s to the next seven years,
Jacques and Daniel