STILLHEAD DISTILLERY, Duncan, BC
"DARK & STORMY IN A SPICE CUPBOARD"
In the depths of January cold at an undisclosed suite at the Victoria Whisky Festival, a group of whisky enthusiasts gathered for a private tasting of award-winning Canadian whiskies. One of the invitees was Brennan Colebank of Stillhead Distillery who came to share his creations - my first taste of the huge flavour blasts that are the signature of Stillhead ryes, and the Cask 53 release, which Brennan calls ‘the best whisky we’ve ever made’ is the granddaddy boss of them all.
Caveat: I have not been a devotee of rye. I have tried to like it, even attending masterclasses at whisky festivals to learn and experience the different expressions of this historically Canadian spirit, however rye has not captured my imagination or my tastebuds until I tasted the unique handiwork from the team at Stillhead.
Founded in 2017 and stating that ‘No other distillery in Canada has such a collection of finishing barrels as we do…Ruby and White Port barrels from Portugal, Madeira casks from off the coast of Africa, Spanish Sherry casks, ex-Bourbon barrels from many different A-grade distilleries in Kentucky, Bourbon casks previously containing Maple Syrup from Washington and from Quebec, Hungarian wine casks, local Vancouver Island Wine barrels, and casks from a “smoky” distillery from the island of Islay in Scotland’, Stillhead Distillery has created a collector-focused Master Distiller Single Barrel program - the Gold Medal-winning Cask 53 Rye is the inaugural release, and with it they have set a very high bar for the future!
This whisky glows…the garnet depths disclose the barrel it was aged in – in a unique reverse finishing approach, the Cask 53 spent its’ first year in a ‘black beast’ Agria and Zweigelt wine cask from Cherry Point Vineyards, and the remaining three-plus years in an ex-Bourbon cask. At 64.2% full cask strength, the first-sip punch comes not from the alcohol or the remnants of the wine cask, but the cardamom, ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg that give amazing life to the foundational rye spice. The caramel almond sweetness on the nose has peppery, rye-bready hits which combine in the mouth with buckwheat honey and vanilla, finishing with a delightful beurre noisette, creamy and a delightful counterpoint to the rich darkness.
The Cask 53 Rye would have been excellent along with clarified butter and honey as a basting compound for a ham cooked slowly in a smoker, however for a whisky recipe, I knew that there was an even more decadent destiny for this beautiful spirit – as the star in the Toffee Sauce for Sticky Date Pudding, graced with Crème Anglaise to reflect the buttery finish!
Once I created this recipe, I found out that Brennan Coleman loves dates and thought this combination was ‘insane’ – in the best way, of course! He had the opportunity to find out when I gave him the cakes and sauces to enjoy when we attended the BC Distilled show at the Croatian Cultural Centre, and he proclaimed it 'Ridiculously Good'!
THE LAST WORD:
There are exciting things ahead for the Stillhead Distillery – Brennan purchased the whisky bar setup from the recently-retired Fets Whisky Kitchen, and will bring it back to life in a very cool new lounge space that will also serve charcuterie, baking and other goodies. Road trip to Duncan, anyone?!? I look forward to experiencing the atmosphere and vibe that the team will create. Oh….and the ‘not a fan of rye’ thing? Yeah, I really like Rye now. Thanks, Brennan and Stillhead Distillery for a lovely new addiction!
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