The Silent Giant of Canadian Whisky, Dr. Don Livermore

Canadian whisky can be a polarizing topic in US whiskey circles.  Most remember Canadian Whisky as the high volume, 80 proof expressions to be used as a mixer by our grandparents or great-grandparents. On top of that, Canadian Whisky might be most known as a blend of grain spirits. Even more simply, Canadian Whisky is just “rye”. The category does not do itself justice with the allowance of “caramel and flavoring.” 

It might just be easier to clear the slate and provide the definition of Canadian Whisky from the Food and Drug Regulations are of the Government of Canada:

B.02.020 [S]. (1) Canadian Whisky, Canadian Rye Whisky or Rye Whisky

o   (a) shall

  •  (i) be a potable alcoholic distillate, or a mixture of potable alcoholic distillates, obtained from a mash of cereal grain or cereal grain products saccharified by the diastase of malt or by other enzymes and fermented by the action of yeast or a mixture of yeast and other micro-organisms,

  • (ii) be aged in small wood for not less than three years,

  • (iii) possess the aroma, taste and character generally attributed to Canadian whisky,

  • (iv) be manufactured in accordance with the requirements of the Excise Act and the regulations made thereunder,

  • (v) be mashed, distilled and aged in Canada, and

  • (vi) contain not less than 40 per cent alcohol by volume; and

  • may contain caramel and flavouring.

·       (2) Subject to subsection (3), no person shall make any claim with respect to the age of Canadian whisky, other than for the period during which the whisky has been held in small wood.

·       (3) Where Canadian whisky has been aged in small wood for a period of at least three years, any period not exceeding six months during which that whisky was held in other containers may be claimed as age.

Disclosing that I am a bit of a contrarian and with most of the US whiskey community, not paying attention to what’s going on in Canada, this allows me to enjoy some of the most innovative whisky on the planet without having to pay the ridiculous prices. A number of you might just stop here as you read the description as it does state that Canadian Whisky may contain caramel and flavouring. This is not the case in a lot of the Canadian whiskies on our shelves collecting dust which, in my opinion, might be some of the best values out there.

Some of those whiskies are the Northern Border Collection produced by Hiram Walker Distillery in Windsor, Ontario. Master Blender Dr. Don Livermore has been responsible for these brands since being named Master Blender in 2012. However, Dr. Don has been with Hiram Walker as a chemist and other roles for decades prior to being named Master Blender.

Tim’s autographed copy of Dr. Don’s book!

I got the chance to meet Dr. Don Livermore at WhiskyFest Chicago in 2017.  As with most Whisky Festivals when the Van Winkle’s or the BTACs are pouring, the rest of the vendors tend be very available. That’s where I like to spend most of my time… meeting new people and trying new things. Not only did we spend time with him at the booth, we also were only a handful in his Seminar where he presented special pours of J.P. Wiser’s, a Cask Strength Lot40, and Gooderham & Worts.  

What I found most interesting when speaking with Dr. Don was, not only his technical knowledge,  his welcoming personality to just talk about whisky. His technical knowledge is rivaled by few as he spent 15 years earning degrees, along with his Ph.D. in Brewing and Distilling.  When you have someone with that technical knowledge, you can get as nerdy as you want about process, distilling, fermenting, barrel aging, etc. I most enjoyed Dr. Don’s ability to translate that knowledge to meet each guest on where they are.  

Not being able to see Dr. Don again at a WhiskyFest over the past few years has been disappointing. However, one of the benefits of Social Media is the ability to stay up-to-date on projects that he is working on. One of those was him releasing two books in October 2021:

·       The Keeper of History, The Canadian Whisky Master Class – Volume 1

·       Blending 101 – The Canadian Whisky Master Class – Volume 2

When I saw him post about this on Instagram, I knew I had to get myself a copy. For us folks south of the border, we are not able to order from your typical venues.  We get the opportunity to reach out to the Hiram Walker Team directly to place our order. Brittney at the J.P. Wiser’s Experience was able to secure me a copy of each book and Dr. Don wrote a nice note as well.

After reading the first book on Canadian Whisky History, I have even more appreciation for what our friends up north have done for our own industry and what they are doing now. Additionally, Dr. Don has an interesting take on his responsibilities being Master Blender. He states in his first book, The Keeper of History, “I as the Master Blender of Hiram Walker & Sons Limited have kept my promise of preserving our history.” For those of you who have been drinking whiskey for a while know how the titles of Master Distiller or Master Blender are Marketing terms. What I appreciate about each one of these people who hold that title in the industry is that they all focus on the same thing, sharing their story and history, and that brings us to the common thread of all whisky lovers.  History is something we can all agree on being some of the most important topics to discuss.  Is there anything better than having discussions about a dram (where it came from, how it was produced, how it has changed over the years) amongst friends?

If you are interested in the same, I would recommend reaching out to the great folks at Hiram Walker Distillery to order your own copies of Dr. Don’s Master Classes.  You can find information at the following link - https://www.jpwiserstour.ca/collections/shop

Cheers!

Sources:

Branch, Legislative Services. “Consolidated Federal Laws of Canada, Food and Drug Regulations.” Food and Drug Regulations, 18 Feb. 2022, https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._870/section-B.02.020.html.

*I have received no compensation from Corby Spirit and Wine, Hiram Walker & Son’s LLC, Dr. Don Livermore, or anyone associated with his project.

Steve Akley