Editor’s notice: This evaluate was initially printed in 2023 by Jacob Wirt. It was up to date and republished in June 2025.
Bearface whisky is one thing of a pan-Canadian product. Though the mash invoice leans closely on corn (99.5% corn to 0.5% malted barley, to be exact) and eschews the rye generally related to Canadian whisky, it travels throughout a lot of the nation. The core spirit is distilled in Ontario earlier than being transported to a B.C. vineyard, the place it’s ready to endure a novel maturation course of that Grasp Blender Andreas Faustinelli has termed “elemental getting old.”
This may be regarded as one thing like backcountry Jefferson’s Ocean— casks are saved in repurposed transport containers that depart the maturing whisky considerably uncovered to the weather of the distant Canadian North. Of specific curiosity is the extreme seasonal fluctuation of temperatures on this a part of the world which introduces each variables of maximum chilly and excessive warmth to the interplay between wooden and alcohol.
I tasted three of Bearface’s choices– their flagship and two particular bottlings. Bearface’s flagship bottle is the Triple Oak, aged in a mixture of American ex-bourbon barrels, French former purple wine casks, and virgin Hungarian oak. I additionally tasted the Oaxaca version of their One Eleven Collection, which takes benefit of the pliability out there to the Canadian whisky class by mixing in a single half mezcal to 10 components of Bearface’s whisky. Inter-liquor mixing of this kind is disqualifying for a lot of main whiskey classes, however it’s honest recreation for Canadian whisky, which grants a large latitude for experimentation.
Learn the total article at Bearface Whisky Assessment: Wilderness Collection 01 Matusake Version
