| Type | Canadian whisky |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | William Grant & Sons |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Region of origin | Pennsylvania, United States |
| Introduced | 1856 (United States) 1945 (Canada) |
| Proof (US) | 80 |
Gibson's Finest is a brand of Canadian Whisky produced between 40% & 46% alcohol by volume (80 & 92 U.S. proof). The brand is owned by William Grant & Sons. Gibson's Finest was founded by John Gibson in 1837, [1] and is currently produced in Windsor, Ontario. [2]
The Gibson's whisky brand was started by the Irish-born spirits merchant John Gibson at a distillery in Pennsylvania along the Monongahela River on 40 acres (16 ha) of land that he bought in 1856. [1] He produced wheat, malt, and especially rye whiskey at the distillery. Prohibition in the United States closed the distillery, and shortly afterwards the entire Gibson plant and its contents were auctioned off.
As prohibition was ending, Schenley Industries purchased the Gibson's brand and in 1945, a Schenley subsidiary called Schenley Distillers Corporation established a distillery in Valleyfield, Quebec. [3] In 1972–50 years after the auctioning of the Gibson's distillery—Schenley re-introduced the Gibson's name using whisky distilled at Valleyfield. [4] The Gibson name re-surfaced on whisky bottles no longer containing Pennsylvania rye, but rather Canadian whisky.
Today, Gibson's Finest Canadian Whisky brands are owned by family distiller, William Grant & Sons and produced at the Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor, Ontario. [3]
Gibson's Finest Sterling, Rare 12 Year Old and Venerable 18 Year Old have won awards at major whisky competitions including Gold for the Rare 18 Year Old at the 2012 Canadian Whisky Awards [5] and gold and silver respectively for the Rare 18 Year Old and the 12 Year Old at the 2006 San Francisco Spirits Competition. [6]
Canadian whisky is a type of whisky produced in Canada. Most Canadian whiskies are blended multi-grain liquors containing a large percentage of corn spirits, and are typically lighter and smoother than other whisky styles. When Canadian distillers began adding small amounts of highly-flavourful rye grain to their mashes, people began demanding this new rye-flavoured whisky, referring to it simply as "rye". Today, as for the past two centuries, the terms "rye whisky" and "Canadian whisky" are used interchangeably in Canada and refer to exactly the same product, which generally is made with only a small amount of rye grain.
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain mash. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used.
The Seagram Company Ltd. was a Canadian multinational conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Originally a distiller of Canadian whisky based in Waterloo, Ontario, it was in the 1990s the largest owner of alcoholic beverage lines in the world.
Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey:
Tennessee whiskey is straight whiskey produced in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Although it has been legally defined as a bourbon whiskey in some international trade agreements, most current producers of Tennessee whiskey disclaim references to their products as "bourbon" and do not label them as such on any of their bottles or advertising materials. All current Tennessee whiskey producers are required by Tennessee law to produce their whiskeys in Tennessee and – with the sole exception of Benjamin Prichard's – to use a filtering step known as the Lincoln County Process prior to aging the whiskey. Beyond the perceived marketing value of the distinction, Tennessee whiskey and bourbon have almost identical requirements, and most Tennessee whiskeys meet the criteria for bourbon.
George Dickel is a brand of Tennessee whisky produced in Tullahoma, in Coffee County, Tennessee. Today owned by Diageo, the modern brand was introduced in 1964, though the distillery has a longer history. Whisky production and aging takes place at the Cascade Hollow Distillery, which offers tours to the public and is part of the American Whiskey Trail. George Dickel operates the second-largest distillery in Tennessee, selling 130,000 cases in 2013, while the largest is Jack Daniel's, which sold 11.5 million cases the same year.
William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is the largest of the handful of Scotch whisky distillers remaining in family ownership.
Crown Royal, originally known as Seagram's Crown Royal, is a blended Canadian whisky brand created by Seagram and owned by Diageo since 2000. Production of Crown Royal is done at Gimli, Manitoba, while the blending and bottling of the whisky are done in a facility in Amherstburg, Ontario.
Alberta Premium is one of the few remaining 100% rye grain rye whiskies produced in North America. The brand is owned by Beam Suntory
Black Velvet Whisky is a Canadian whisky brand owned by Heaven Hill and produced in the Black Velvet Distillery in Lethbridge, Alberta. It has a smooth taste and is known for its black labeling.
Schenley Industries was a liquor company based in New York City with headquarters in the Empire State Building and a distillery in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. It owned several brands of Bourbon whiskey, including Schenley, The Old Quaker Company, Cream of Kentucky, Golden Wedding Rye, I.W. Harper, and James E. Pepper. Schenley Industries was also the owner of the producer of Cruzan Rum. It also owned a controlling interest in Blatz beer and made a Canadian whisky called Schenley Reserve, also called Schenley Black Label. It was the only liquor available to submarine officers at Midway in World War II, where it was held in low regard and known as "Schenley's Black Death". It also imported Dewar's White Label Scotch.
Nelson's Green Brier Distillery is a whiskey distillery located in downtown Nashville, Tennessee that produces different varieties of Tennessee whiskey and bourbons. The distillery offers daily public tours and tastings as well as a large mercantile shop with bottles, barware and apparel available for purchase. In July 2023, Nelson's Green Brier Distillery opened a newly renovated distillery restaurant and full-service bar at their 1414 Clinton St. Nashville, TN 37203 location. The same facility also now offers four new private event and dining spaces available to rent for corporate functions, weddings and celebrations of varying sizes.
Willett Distillery Ltd, is a private, family-owned-and-operated company that produces bourbon and rye whiskey. Over the years, the company has bottled whiskeys that range from two years of aging maturity up to 28 years. The company was named Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (KBD) between 1984 and 2012.
The Catoctin Creek Distilling Company, which operates under the trade name of Catoctin Creek, is the first legal distillery in Loudoun County, Virginia, since prohibition. The distillery is a certified organic and kosher microdistillery in Purcellville, Virginia, that produces brandy, rye whiskey, and gin from local fruit, organic grain and Virginia wine.
It has been common practice in the whisky industry for more than a century for distilleries to sell barrels of whisky to blenders and independent bottlers as a means of making additional income. In fact, some distilleries exist solely to serve independent bottlers, and do not market any brands themselves.
Sazerac Company, Inc. is a privately held American alcoholic beverage company headquartered in Metairie in the metropolitan area of New Orleans, Louisiana, but with its principal office in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is owned by billionaire William Goldring and his family. As of 2017, it operated nine distilleries, had 2,000 employees, and operated in 112 countries. It is one of the two largest spirits companies in the United States, with annual revenue of about $1 billion made from selling about 300 beverage brands.
Old Pogue is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. Located in Maysville, Kentucky, the Old Pogue Distillery carries strong family ties dating back to the 1870s, and is privately owned by members of the Pogue family.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to whisky:
Chicken Cock Whiskey is a historic brand of bourbon that has been revived by Grain and Barrel Spirits.
