Glenora Distillery

The truth is that when the world is spinning out of control, tranquillity looks a lot like a small inn and distillery on Cape Breton Island. For in the highlands of Glenville, Inverness Co., is the Glenora Inn & Distillery, a notable combination of fine food, stunning scenery and whisky that is getting worldwide recognition. Ah yes, the whisky -- scotch for all intents and purposes, but it can't be called that -- is part of the allure of this mystical place. It is on these grounds that Glen Breton Rare is produced -- North America's first, and Canada's only, single malt whisky.

The calibre of the whisky has always been striking, now guests are raving about Glenora's other attributes, says company vice-president Bob Scott. "It's a real experience," he enthusiastically declares. "I just talked to guests who said it is the best food they have ever eaten in Canada." Glenora draws more than 10,000 visitors a year to this hauntingly serene corner of the province. The staff have a genuine commitment to boosting tourism on the Ceilidh Trail and to treating visitors "as friends of Nova Scotia," says Scott. The sprawling complex is located on a 120 hectare site, featuring a modern, nine-room inn with a gourmet restaurant, an adjoining pub -- the Washback -- and six hillside chalets. The buildings, constructed in a traditional post and beam style mirroring distilleries found in Scotland, also house the malt, kiln, milling production, warehouses and bottling facilities. Locating the distillery was based on a simple principle, finding the purest and cleanest water, a key dynamic in preparing the finest single malt whisky.

The Gaels, or the Gaelic, say the water improves the flavour of the whisky. Nearly two dozen area streams were tested before the decision was made to build on MacLellans Brook, which is fed by 22 natural springs flowing straight from the Mabou highlands. Scott proudly describes the measures taken to blend each element into a striking mix of magic. Produced by the traditional copper pot stills method, only three ingredients are used: barley, yeast and water. The already malted barley is imported from Scotland and aged in oak barrels formerly used at the Jack Daniel's bourbon distillery in Tennessee. Nothing is left to chance and most important of all, the water has to be perfect, says master distiller Daniel MacLean, a Cape Breton native. MacLean oversees the distillery's annual production of 50,000 litres. Although the production follows the ancient Scottish methods, the whisky can't be called scotch. The reason, it isn't made in Scotland.

Marketed as Glen Breton Rare Canadian single malt whisky, it is the only single malt whisky produced on this continent. Since its introduction, Glen Breton Rare has drawn attention. Described by one connoisseur, an award-winning writer for the prestigious international magazine Robb Report, "an exceptionally clean, light malt. Yet lightness in no way means a lack of character or complexity. Single malt fanciers will prize the all-around balance of this rich and subtle dram." Ranging in price from $80 for a 750 millilitre bottle in Nova Scotia to $102 in British Columbia, the whisky enjoyed instant popularity when it was introduced in 2000. At that time, newspaper articles cited complaints from several posh Toronto hotels saying they couldn't get enough. A complaint still heard today. With an annual production of 2,000 dozen-bottle cases, demand is constantly outpacing supply, particularly with the product being marketed in the United States, Bermuda and Mexico, and orders arriving from Switzerland, Ireland and France.

Glenora is currently working to place the single malt whisky on the shelves of Japanese retail stores. At home, Glen Breton Rare could soon be in more Canadian hands thanks to advertising in Air Canada's in-flight brochures. Today's success is a result of resourcefulness, patience and persistence. After all, the whisky business is a precarious one. The Glenora operation has gone under twice, the original owners went bankrupt even before it opened. Bought by its present owner Lauchie MacLean in 1994, he had to wait six years, as the whisky aged, before seeing any dividends. At that time, it was described as, "Canada stepping onto the world stage in terms of whisky." Scott points out recent awards including a top award in the United States for best tasting product in a "Whiskies of the World" competition. He talks passionately about the company's plans, which include doubling the number of tourists to the site. He speaks of the pleasure it is to watch visitors take distillery tours, stop for a fine meal and taste the whisky. Daily entertainment, from mid-May to mid-October, is led by 80-year-old fiddler John MacDougall, who Scott maintains has written more than 34,000 tunes. The inn's chefs, a husband and wife team, endeavour to use only local lamb, fish and other meat, and they grow their own vegetables.

Scott loves to tell stories about the owners of Glen Breton Rare bottles. One bottle recently sold in a Vietnamese auction for more than $1,000 U.S. There's also the collector's series bottle No. 99, given to hockey legend Wayne Gretzky when he was in Nova Scotia for a celebrity golf tournament. The inn also has a new whisky appreciation seminar, provided by whisky relations staff. Guests stay at the inn and learn all about the whisky-making process, gain an in-depth knowledge of distilling, and revel in sampling. Scott alludes to a future that will bring more lustre to the Glenora brand. "Let's say it holds a major connection between old Scotland and New Scotland," he says slyly. "The old world and the new world." And with the company's accomplishments to date, one is inclined to believe him.

http://www.glenoradistillery.com/

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