Between the Rockies & the Rodeo: Calgary’s Untamed Whisky Trail

Every year, Banff draws millions to its postcard-perfect peaks, and the Calgary Stampede corrals another million into cowboy boots and bleacher seats. But just minutes from the Stampede grounds and less than an hour apart, seven whisky distilleries are quietly building a different kind of attraction. It’s not on any tourism map, yet Calgary has the makings of an unofficial whisky trail, where each stop is shaped by prairie grain, wild weather, and a restless drive to experiment.

Calgary’s distilling scene is, for the most part, still in its infancy. Aside from Alberta Distillers, the quiet titan of rye whisky, the rest are newcomers, finding their footing by channeling Alberta’s agricultural wealth and extreme climate into bold, place-driven spirits. And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Calgary distillers are quick to nod to global whisky traditions: bourbon-style mash bills, single malt bottlings, 100 per cent rye expressions. But mimicry here always comes with a twist, whether it’s a maple syrup cask finish, an aged honey spirit marriage, or a quinoa mash bill. What unites them is the conviction that flavour here is inseparable from place, and that Calgary whisky deserves its own map.

The Climate as Collaborator

Calgary isn’t just a backdrop for these distilleries. It’s an active ingredient. Few places in the world can claim the same climate quirks that shape every barrel here. Chinooks, which are those warm, dry winds tumbling down from the Rockies, can melt a snowpack in a single afternoon while plunging barometers send pressure waves through oak staves. Add in a semi-arid climate, and Calgary casks breathe harder, faster, and differently than their Scottish or Kentucky cousins.

Where Scotland loses alcohol to the angels’ share, Calgary’s dry air does the opposite. Whisky here can climb about one percent in ABV each year, concentrating flavour and strength. Combined with Alberta’s world-class barley, corn, and Rocky Mountain meltwater, you get whiskies that couldn’t be replicated anywhere else.

The Trail Unveiled

Tucked between breweries, cafés, and the foothills themselves, seven distilleries have created an unofficial whisky trail that rivals any tourist attraction, just without the brochures. Each stop reveals a different take on prairie grain, mountain climate, and wood maturation, together sketching a liquid map of Calgary’s whisky identity.

1. Bridgeland Distillery

East Village might feel more like hip cafés and bike paths than industrial barrel houses, but Bridgeland Distillery has carved out a home that blends European sensibilities with prairie grit. The distillers at Bridgeland lean heavily on Alberta’s Taber corn, one of the province’s most celebrated crops, to produce a bourbon-style whisky that feels both familiar and freshly rooted in local soil.

Bridgeland’s flagship whisky, Berbon, wears its Alberta roots in its name — a portmanteau of Taber and bourbon. The mash bill is 60 per cent Taber corn, 32 per cent Penhold barley, and 8 per cent Penhold wheat, grown by two farming families who define Southern Alberta agriculture: the Molnars in Taber and the Hamills in Penhold. Berbon proves prairie cornfields can hold their own against Kentucky mash bills, while staking a flavour that’s distinctly Albertan. Beyond bourbon, Bridgeland also produces single malts, single pot still whiskies, and unconventional spirits from Canadian baijiu to Gewürztraminer brandy.

2. Confluence Distilling

Founded in 2018 as Calgary’s second independent distillery, Confluence has been a quiet driver of the city’s craft spirits scene. Long before whisky was ready to pour, they built their reputation on a diverse lineup of vodka, gin, aquavit, and even a mandarino amaro that hinted at their creative leanings.

The distillery’s latest whisky arrived in Spring 2025, featuring a five-year-old wheated corn expression matured in American oak. True to the rivers that inspired its name, Confluence is about bringing influences together. The spirit nods to Kentucky tradition yet asserts its Canadian identity with a maple syrup barrel finish, adding a subtle sweetness that makes the whisky unmistakably its own.

3. Two Rivers Distillery

When most people hear single malt, they picture Scotland. Two Rivers, opened in 2019, is rewriting that definition. They aim to source every ingredient within 100 kilometres, then push the category with unconventional grains.

Headlining the lineup is a Quinoa whisky, aged five years and launched in 2025. As far as anyone knows, this is Canada’s only quinoa whisky. Made with 80 per cent quinoa and 20 per cent barley, both malted, it technically qualifies as a single malt but delivers a completely unique flavour profile.

Alongside it, their single malt rye showcases 100 per cent malted rye aged four years in double wood, bottled as a single cask release. Together, they prove single malt in Calgary means innovation, not imitation.

4. True Wild Distilling

True Wild may be Calgary’s newest distillery, but it occupies the oldest home on the trail: a 1911 concrete substation that once powered the city’s growth. Their philosophy mirrors the building, honouring tradition while carving new space.

For now when it comes to whisky, True Wild works with sourced spirit, bottled under their curated label Roper’s Hold, which spotlights blending as a craft. The name ties Calgary’s western heritage to the act of gathering barrels, much like a cowboy ropes cattle.

The second and most recent release, Roper’s Hold Edition 2, was unveiled in October 2025. This 20-year-old Canadian whisky, originally distilled in southern Alberta from 91 per cent rye and nine per cent malted barley, was finished for 10 months in new oak from Kelvin Cooperage and Okanagan wine barrels.

5. Alberta Distillers Limited

If Calgary’s whisky makers are just finding their stride, Alberta Distillers (ADL) is the veteran that set the pace. Founded in 1946 by Max Bell and Frank McMahon, with distiller George Reifel, ADL has been making whisky in Calgary for nearly eight decades.

From the start, they staked their name on 100 per cent rye whisky. Their operation dwarfs their craft neighbours, and their spirit travels worldwide, both under their own labels and quietly as the backbone of countless blends. The style is unmistakable: rich, spicy, and bold, making Alberta synonymous with rye.

The flagship, Alberta Premium, remains the number one selling 100 per cent rye whisky in the world (based on case volume). Made from prairie rye and aged a minimum of five years, it delivers explosive flavour with a uniquely earthy character. Their latest addition, Alberta Premium Golden Rye, is crafted with 100 per cent locally grown rye and aged nine years in new white oak, ex-bourbon, and ex-Canadian whisky barrels. It layers bold spice with aromas of caramel, leather, and coconut, finishing on a sweet-spiced crescendo of raisin and molasses.

6. Burwood Distillery

Burwood’s story is as much about place as it is about spirit. Their home, The Stables on the Currie Barracks, was built in 1936 as part of Calgary’s military history. Originally designed to house the Lord Strathcona’s Horse Regiment, complete with its distinctive “K”-shaped layout and high ceilings, the building has been reborn as Veranda, Burwood’s taproom and spirit hall. What once sheltered cavalry horses now shelters stills, barrels, and a community of whisky drinkers. It’s a setting that grounds Burwood in both Calgary’s past and its evolving present.

The distillery’s ethos is deeply local. Every grain is hand-crushed, every ounce of honey scooped, every drop distilled and bottled on-site. Barley and honey come from Alberta farms they know personally, a commitment to community as much as to quality. That focus comes through in their whiskies, like the Smooth Talker Bur-bon, a nod to Kentucky mash bills, and The Bee Whisperer, which blends aged honey spirit with whisky under Canada’s “1/11 Rule” to create something silky and distinctly Albertan. Beyond whisky, Burwood also leans into its beekeeping roots with 100 per cent Alberta honey spirits and Medica Honey Liqueur, a tribute to Croatian tradition reframed through prairie terroir.

7. Eau Claire Distillery

Opened in 2014, Eau Claire Distillery became Alberta’s first craft distillery and helped set the stage for the province’s modern spirits scene. From the beginning, they embraced a farm-to-glass philosophy, leaning into Alberta’s agricultural heritage in ways few others had. Among their most distinctive practices is the use of draft horses to harvest grain as a deliberate nod to pre-industrial farming that ties every bottle tangibly to the land.

Eau Claire’s whisky range spans from approachable, cocktail-ready bottles like Rupert’s Exceptional Canadian Whisky and Stampede Rye to the experimental Single Malt Cask Series, known for its diverse barrel finishes. Their latest premium release, Ploughman’s Single Malt finished in Spínola PX casks, offers the richness and depth to stand with the best of Scotland’s heavily sherried single malts.

A Map Worth Following

Together, Bridgeland, Burwood, Confluence, Two Rivers, True Wild, Alberta Distillers, and Eau Claire prove Calgary whisky is more than mimicry of old-world traditions. It is place-driven, forged in a climate that raises proof instead of lowering it, and shaped by distillers who aren’t afraid to experiment. Between the Rockies and the rodeo lies another trail, one marked by Calgary’s whiskies. Follow it, and you will see why the city deserves a place on the whisky map.