Craft Spirits Québec

A unique appellation of origin in Quebec

ACERUM

You might think that the fate of Acerum was predetermined. The idea of making a spirit from maple sap or maple syrup has haunted the minds of some people on several occasions. To create this globally unique alcohol, nothing more was needed than a sparking occasion and a meeting of like-minded spirits.

It's not often that you can boast that you've created a new type of spirit! Because according to Joël Pelletier from the St. Laurent Distillery It was decades ago that new brandies were distilled. Each type of spirit is made from a specific raw material: In whiskey, it is grain, in grappa, grapes, in rum, cane sugar. For the acerum, maple sap or maple syrup is fermented. The invention of this new type or category has raised a number of questions, both with regard to the marketing and classification of the spirit drink.

Is it a whiskey? Is it a brandy? Or a fruit brandy? Yes, or no... “In terms of production, this spirit is similar to rum, but the taste is more of a fruit brandy,” says Joël Pelletier. “However, aging in oak barrels is reminiscent of whiskey.” It is therefore a unique product per se. And the taste? “The fruit appears first. Pear is very present, sometimes with notes of peach and orange,” explains Nathalie Decaigny from Domaine Acer. “Maple is complex. Fermentation produces new aromas, as does distillation. People who try Acerum for the first time are amazed that this alcohol does not taste sweet. “This is actually the case with all fruit brandies,” says Joël Pelletier. “At the end of the distillation process, the rind adds woody, tannic notes, which are sometimes even reminiscent of coconut.” “This results in an alcohol that focuses more on the fruit and less on the taste of caramel and yet has a buttery note. Like a full-bodied grappa or mezcal,” adds Gérald Lacroix from the Shefford Distillery. Absolutely worth discovering!

Quebec terroir

IN THE BOTTLE

Almost 100 years after the end of Prohibition, Québec craftsmen are rediscovering the know-how of distillation, relying on the terroir. To set themselves apart from the competition, they offer customers unique aromas and taste experiences. With the growing demand for local herbs, an entire supply industry is developing around local microdistilleries.

Die Michel Jodoin Cidrerie Swears by apples from the Montérégie region for the production of their brandy. Located on the Gaspésie Peninsula O'Dwyer Distillery Use wild mushrooms to flavor your Radoune gin. In the eastern municipalities and in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, the absinthe distillery is building Absintherie des Cantons And the Fils du Roy Distillery Use wormwood to produce an herbaceous spirit full of secrets. All over Quebec, microdistilleries are surpassing each other in originality to develop new flavor profiles with local produce. Plants, wildflowers, berries, wood, honey and algae are distilled. And that's not all: True to the motto “from grain to bottle,” more and more distillers are turning to offering spirits made entirely in Quebec from Québec grains. For example, the distillery transforms Cirkain Montréal Quebec corn to vodka. With Menaud In Charlevoix, wheat and rye from L'Isle-aux-Coudres are more likely to be used to produce neutral alcohol. Produced in Percé on the Gaspésie Peninsula La Societe Secrete their gin, fruit brandies and acerum made from malted barley and malted wheat, grape pomace from the Montérégie region, Bas-du-Fleuve apples and maple syrup from Gaspésie. “We see it as part of our values and our task to use the terroir as a supplier of raw materials and aromatic plants, I would almost like to say that we are fighting for it. La Societe Secrete After all, it processes over 30 tons of grain per year. And in order to offer a product that comes 100% from Quebec, the small company makes no compromises. “To sugar our liqueurs, we only use honey, which we obtain from our own four beehives,” adds Amélie-Kim as an example. To produce their gin Les Herbes Folles, the distillery uses La Societe Secrete only wild botanicals from the Gaspésie region, including sweet clover, caraway, mugwort, small-flowered fireweed and black cherries. In addition, the distillery has decided to only use wild juniper for its gin, knowing full well that this can have an effect on production volumes. “It's not the quantity that matters to us,” notes the entrepreneur, pointing out that some batches only contain around a hundred bottles. “We prefer to produce on a small scale, conserve resources and work with products that are not always available.” The owners of the distillery located at the foot of the Monts-Valin mountain range Distillerie du Fjord have been inspired by the local wooded terroir to launch their km12 gin flavored with gagel, alder kittens and fern myrtle. “We wanted to replace the ingredients traditionally used to make gin with local plants. To do this, we worked with biologist Fabien Girard,” explains Jean-Philippe Bouchard, owner of the Saint-David-de-Falardeau plant, “that's why we used fern myrtle instead of cardamom, for example.” The distillers agreed when developing the recipe to only use abundant plants to ensure responsible harvesting. Since the farm requires a few tons of different boreal plants, the Distillerie du Fjord together with companies that specialize in harvesting these botanicals. For 48 Chemin Price, which has been produced in small batches since autumn 2019, the Distillerie du Fjord But then there is the wild berry species native to Quebec. “It is a gin that is made with blueberry brandy and contains 48 ingredients that are harvested north of the 48th parallel,” explains Jean-Philippe. The 2500 bottles resulting from this 100% Québec “druid tour” were sold out in no time at all. A new batch is in the works.