Basic HTML Version
The Food Issue
2014
grainswest.com
33
IS FOR
VODKA
Although Canada may be better
known for its whisky and beer, vodka is a
versatile spirit that has made great strides
here over the last 30 years. It represents
a sizeable chunk of the Canadian
spirits market, and new craft distilleries
are rethinking the classic spirit—with
delicious results.
Vodka can be made from a variety
of base ingredients, including wheat,
barley, rye, potatoes and even different
types of fruit. Anything that can be
fermented and then distilled can be
used to create vodka, with each base
providing subtle differences in flavour
and texture.
“Good vodka can be made frommany
products,” said David Farran, president
of Eau Claire Distillery in Turner Valley,
Alberta’s newest distillery. “The usual
base grain for vodka has been winter
wheat, and that has been primarily
chosen because of yield and economics,
but you’re starting to see other grains
used specifically for flavour profiles.”
In the U.S., vodka sales eclipsed those
of gin and eventually whisky, making it
the country’s top spirit by the mid-1970s.
Vodka’s popularity followed a similar
trajectory here in Canada.
“From what I have heard in general,
interest in vodka began during the
1970s and 1980s,” said Davin de
Kergommeaux, an independent whisky
commentator based in Ontario.
During this period, the old art of
mixology morphed into cocktail pre-
mixes that could be assembled on the fly
at bars. Vodka lent itself perfectly to this
trend, becoming the base for popular
cocktails such as the Cosmopolitan, the
Kamikaze and the White Russian.
From the 1980s onwards, the selection
of vodkas exploded across the country,
as producers sought to capitalize on
the spirit’s popularity and expand its
reach. According to Mike Shaddock,
manager of Willow Park Wines & Spirits’
main Calgary store, Alberta has been
no exception. Vodka is the top-selling
spirit at the store, he said, and they carry
roughly 150 different vodkas.
“With our selections in the province,
it’s totally taken off—really, ever since they
started introducing all the new flavours,”
he said.
Flavoured iterations have become a
mainstay for most commercial vodka
producers. The first commercial flavoured
vodka was a peppery concoction from
Sweden’s Absolut released in 1986. Since
then, the company has expanded its line
of flavoured vodkas to include everything
from raspberry to vanilla. In Canada,
Newfoundland’s Iceberg Vodka rolled out
new flavours in 2013, including cucumber,
chocolate mint and crème brûlée.
“The flavoured vodka trend really just
exploded with so many new flavours,” de
Kergommeaux said. “However, flavoured
vodka was a trend and it seems to be
running its course.”
The numbers seem to indicate an
adoration of vodka across the country.
Statistics Canada reported whisky
earned 27 per cent of the spirits market
share in 2013, while vodka was hot on its
heels, pulling in 24 per cent. With a thirst
for excellent vodka, homegrown options
are increasing as well.
“There are some really wonderful
vodkas made right here in Canada,”
de Kergommeaux said, pointing to
examples such as Still Waters Distillery’s
single malt vodka and 66 Gilead
Distillery’s rye vodka.
At Eau Claire Distillery, a base of two-
row malting barley, CDCMeredith, lends
the vodka its unique flavour.
“It brings out a really smooth kind of
nougaty sweetness in it, which is very
unusual and very tasty,” Farran said. “It’s a
sipping vodka.”
For Farran, great vodka starts with
great grain, and Alberta is the source of
the best grain in the world.
“All of our products are made with
Alberta grain,” he said. “That’s a core
part of our farm-to-glass philosophy.
The Eau Claire Distillery plans to
profile its farm suppliers, letting
drinkers learn exactly where the
grains originated from and the entire
production process.
“As a farm distillery, we specifically
source grain of specific types from
farmers, rather than treating the grain as
just a commodity, and that translates into
very special taste profiles.”
by Tyler difley