LCBO Food & Drink Autumn 2023

ON A RYE NOTE Forty Creek Barrel Select Whisky LCBO 550715, $31.45 Canada’s whisky history, strongly rooted in the

nefarious bootlegging days of Prohibition, got even more colourful with the rise of small, independent distilleries in the last few decades. Brands like Forty Creek, founded by winemaker John Hall in 1992, helped bring pride, tradition and respect to a long-­ underrated spirit category. Canadian whisky garnered attention, with small-batch distillers that landed top awards at home and inter nationally now becoming big, grown-up brands.

Hard Truths Cottage Springs Lemon Lime Vodka Soda LCBO 553529, 355 mL, $2.85 Social Lite Field Strawberry Vodka Soda LCBO 649376, 4 pk, $10.50 Did we even know the term “hard seltzer” a decade ago? Nope. It was called a Highball (such as a Vodka Soda with a squeeze of lemon), and everyone mixed their own. But it’s way more fun to hit a back yard with a six-pack of premade multi-flavoured drinks that pack a perfect amount of fizz, fruit flavours and often low or no carbs or sugar. Brands like Cottage Springs and Social Lite staked out their Ontario territory early, before White Claw made the world its oyster.

DISTILLED WISDOM Dillon’s Gin 22 Unfiltered LCBO 358556, $42.95 | Georgian Bay Vodka LCBO 446559, $34.95 The arrival of Dillon’s Small Batch Distillers in 2012 heralded, in Ontario, the widespread thirst for artisanal spirits made in small quantities right in our own backyards, often using local grains, fruit and other ingredients. The trailblazers of the craft spirits movement have since been joined by many more small distillers across the province, some focussing on a signature product (like moon shine, gin or whisky) and others, like Georgian Bay, branching out into sodas, smashes and all kinds of innovative canned drinks.

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