Flavour over Formula

Canada’s flavour-focused whisky laws challenge the way the world thinks about grain, rules, and tradition. Whisky is a reflection of place and a record of what that place chooses to protect. Behind each sip is a story shaped by borders, traditions, and invisible rules.

One country’s “rye” might be another’s rule-breaker. That’s thanks to standards of identity: the behind-the-scenes regulations that quietly dictate what a whisky can (or can’t) call itself. They’re part legal code, part cultural artifact. And nowhere do they stir up more confusion, or controversy, than in Canada. Because here, “rye” doesn’t always mean rye. It means a flavour-first focus, not percentages on paper.