For those in pursuit of well-aged whiskies, look no further.
Canadian Club has unveiled the oldest whisky ever released by a Canadian distiller—the Canadian Club 43 Year Old. Dubbed “The Speakeasy”, this limited release is the third edition of the Ontario-based distillery’s Chronicles Series, paying tribute to the brand’s legendary role a century ago during Prohibition.
Batched and barrelled in 1977, Canadian Club 43 Year Old boasts notes of caramel and toffee grounded by oak and leather on the nose, and delivers nutmeg, cloves, burnt sugar and dried fruit on the palate, striking a lovely balance between subtle spiciness and sweetness.
While the luminous coppery tones and the unctuous mouthfeel is warm and bright, the history of Canada’s largest distillery is shaded with a clandestine past.
First of all, despite the name, Canadian Club was not founded by a Canadian. Rather, it was built by an American grain merchant by the name of Hiram Walker, who produced some whisky in Detroit as a side business. He saw the impending temperance movement as a threat, so he hopped across the river and built a distillery on a 190-hectare plot of land that would eventually be incorporated as the village of Walkerville, now part of Windsor.
When Prohibition went into effect, the distillery prospered. Thousands of cases of the whisky were smuggled across the border by bootleggers to underground watering holes known as “speakeasies” —patrons had to speak softly while inside, so as not to alert the authorities. In fact, it became the No. 1 smuggled whisky to the U.S. at the time.
The infamous Al Capone was one of the distillery’s biggest buyers. And while it was perfectly legal in Canada to trade in alcohol, bootlegging gangsters like Capone wanted more privacy. So the distillery turned its basement wine cellar into a speakeasy to provide a haven. Rumour has it that a bullet hole on the wall bears testimony to one particularly tempestuous business meeting.
Thanks to its arduous wheeler-dealers and its quality, the distillery’s whisky became the brand of choice in numerous exclusive bars and became known as the “club whisky”. After Prohibition was lifted, bourbon makers petitioned for non-American liquors to identify their country of origin, hoping to give themselves an advantage. The distillery obliged with a prominent “Canadian” above the words “Club Whisky” on the bottle and, to the bourbon makers’ chagrin, this only made the product more sought after.
So it wasn’t “Canadian Club” whisky, but “Canadian” club whisky, a proud proclamation of quality and business savviness. Cheers to Canada!
