John Philip (J.P.) Wiser, purchased a distillery in Prescott Ontario in 1857, and began to produce Wiser’s Whisky. In fact, it may have been J.P. Wiser who first used the term “Canadian Whiskey” on a whisky label when he introduced his spirit to the World at the Chicago’s World Fair in 1893. Today Wiser’s is distilled at the Hiram Walker Distillery in Walkerville, Ontario, and aged in their facilities at Pike Creek near Lakeshore Ontario. Through all of these changes the Wiser’s Brand has been recognized as a vital component of each company’s portfolio of brands.
J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky (bottled at 40% alcohol by volume) was recently released across Canada.
Here is a link to the Rum Howler #23 Canadian Whisky in my list of the 100 Best of 2017:
Review: J.P. Wiser’s 15 Year Old Canadian Whisky
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Note: To follow the countdown list of the Top 100 Canadian Whiskies of 2017, you should follow me on twitter (Rum Howler on Twitter) using the hashtag #Top100CanadianWhisky.
Alternatively you can view the list as it grows by viewing my Reveal Page here on this website:
The Rum Howler – Top 100 Canadian Whiskies of 2017
The Reveal Page will be updated at as frequently as possible throughout the month of December.
Our #31 Canadian Whisky takes us back to the Last Mountain Distillery, Saskatchewan’s first micro distillery. I am a big fan of the husband and wife team of Colin and Meredith Schmidt and the spirits they distill. So it is no surprise to me that their Private Reserve Whisky is, according to my rankings, the best craft (micro-distilled) whisky produced in Canada for the year that is 2017.
In 2009, the folks at Yukon Brewing decided that it was time to expand their horizons, and so they formed a sister company called Yukon Spirits, grabbed a still and began to make whisky. My understanding is that they make three basic expressions, a Classic Single Malt Whisky, a Peated Single Malt Whisky, and what they call their Two Brewers Single Malt Whisky (Special Finishes). Each expression will apparently vary over time as their whisky barrels season and are re-used.
The Last Mountain Distillery is Saskatchewan’s first micro distillery. It is owned and operated by the husband and wife team of Colin and Meredith Schmidt. Colin Schmidt took a rather round about road into the distilling business as his original dream was to play pro hockey. He was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 1992 and signed his first pro contract in 1996. Unfortunately Colin’s pro hockey experience was brief, cut off by a few shoulder injuries after a brief stint with the big club playing what Colin referred to as “left bench”.
Whistle Pig 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey is an interesting whiskey. It is a 10 Year Old Rye Whiskey which began its life as part of the blending stocks at a distillery in Alberta Canada (almost certainly Alberta Distillers in Calgary Alberta). This spirit was purchased by 
The Rum Howler Blog 