The grain toglass journey
How to make great whisky It’s not quick and it’s not easy. Crafting excellent whisky is the result of choices made over time, by a team of dedicated individuals who rely on each other’s expertise. The result is something we can all be proud of, one of Canada’s best-selling family of whiskies
01
Select Grains
The building blocks for each of our whiskies are simple yet extremely important – grains, yeast, water. We dedicate countless hours to ensure that we start with the right ingredients, going so far as smelling each batch of grain before it enters the building. Because choosing to start with quality means you’re on your way to ending with quality too.
02
Brewing
Once the rye, corn, and other grains are confirmed to be of the highest quality, we’ve got to get them ready for their transformation. We mill, mix, and cook the grains along with other ingredients so the starches break down and the yeast can turn sugars into alcohol. The choices made in this process are some of the most crucial, as the yeast is one of the most influential ingredients to the taste of our whisky.
03
Distillation
The distillation of this fermented mash is equal parts science and art. For as many precise measurements and strict timelines we adhere to, it’s the distiller’s intuition that we rely on the most. The choices made will take the flavours from the grains and the yeast, and either ramp them up or tone them down. It’s here that our head of distilling and Master Blender work hand in hand to shape our whisky.
04
Maturing
All Canadian whiskies must be aged for a minimum of three years in wooden casks, and many of our whiskies are aged even longer. We use charred casks to extract flavour into the whisky and remove unwanted flavours. Casks are porous which allows them to breathe. This results in a higher and more complex whisky.
05
Drain & Fill
The draining and filling of casks is no easy process. To achieve the desired flavours for each of our whiskies, our team must make the critical decision of when to empty and fill specific types of barrels with specific spirits – all this is done under the watchful eye of our Master Blender.
06
Blending
Our Master Blender, Dr Don Livermore, aims to carry on the tradition of quality, care, and craftsmanship of J.P. Wiser. Dr Don combines light distillates with flavourful, spicy spirits to achieve the distinctive flavour notes of our whiskies. His choices ensure consistency in our products. However, he also has the freedom to innovate while blending – leading to new and diverse whisky offerings.
07
Bottling
When it’s all said and done – and our patience has paid off, there’s one final quality check before they’re ready to hit the shelves for the ultimate quality check… yours.
08
Quality and sensory analysis
We wouldn’t serve anything we haven’t tried ourselves, so every batch of our whisky goes through a rigorous quality control phase. The role of the 20-person sensory analysis is the most important quality test as it confirms the consistency of every batch.