Eau Claire makes excellent gin and vodka, some of the best you’ll savour from a craft operation. When the Turner Valley, Alta., microdistillery subsequently launched a single-malt whisky late in 2017, eager palates were not disappointed. This is batch No. 2, displaying more refinement than most young, New World interpretations of the style for which Scotland is most famous. (Master distiller Caitlin Quinn, who emigrated to Canada from Scotland, apparently brought an ancestral affinity for her craft when she settled in the cowboy plains of Alberta.)
Bottled at 43-per-cent alcohol, this sequel single malt displays remarkable balance. Light-medium-bodied, it’s silky in texture, with a fetching pear-, raisin- and cherry-like sweetness in the middle that complements delicate grain, soda-bread, menthol and caramel flavours. Stylistically, one might place it somewhere between Glenfiddich 12 and The Glenrothes 10-Year-Old. Delicious and expertly blended. Available at the suggested price below at select liquor stores throughout Alberta and at the distillery, eauclairedistillery.ca.
- Region: Alberta
- Price: $95