Three From Laneway Distillers

For the purpose of transparency, let’s get this out of the way straight off: Laneway Distillers do not themselves operate a distillery. Instead, in the words of their director of sales and business development, drinks industry veteran Kenton Tasker, they “operate using two contract distilleries, both located in Ontario.”

“This approach,” continues Tasker, “enables (the company) to source the right spirit for each product while remaining directly involved in recipe development, blending, maturation, and quality control” and “gives (them) the ability to focus on producing the best possible whisky, gins and vodka without being limited to the capacity or equipment of a single facility.”

This is, in my view, neither necessarily good nor bad. Contracting operations have historically produced both very good and very bad beers and spirits, and pretty much everything in between, so for me this is an incidental aspect of their business model.

Caveat made, on to the products, specifically a whisky and a pair of gins.

Laneway Far & Wide Whisky (40%)

A blend of 95% sourced corn whisky and 5% sourced rye whisky, this new release was styled for, according to Tasker, “approachability, smoothness, and consistency.”

The nose is quite caramelly, not quite to the point of toffee, but edging close, with red apple notes, a hint of orange, and very faint peppery spice. In fairness, this is not a whisky designed to be sipped on its own and thus does not have the character one would expect of such a spirit, so it shouldn’t necessarily be judged as such.

The front end of the palate is similarly sweet – the neck tag suggests using it with maple syrup for a Canadian Old Fashioned, but I can only imagine the sweetness of that – and admittedly on the simple side. By the mid-palate, it has dried slightly with an oaky, vanilla-ish quality, boasting notes of brown spice and, towards the finish, a touch of black pepper. The finish remains off-dry, with lingering caramel, some brown spice, and a hint of pepper. 

For the price point, this is a lovely craft-assembled Canadian whisky, expressive of everything one might ask for in a classic, commercial Canadian blend. But like the Great Western Brewing Original 16 Canadian Pale Ale I was drinking in Saskatchewan a week ago, it is a commendable take on a somewhat pedestrian style, rather than a bold new direction within its category.

84 ($38.95)

Laneway No. 11 Gin (43.5%)

In addition to the standard London dry gin ingredients – various citrus, angelica root, pepper, and coriander, among others – this gin highlights five sustainably sourced Canadian botanicals: sweet fern, balsam, cedar, chaga, and Ontario juniper. It is also, like its brand brother, No. 12 Vodka, based upon sugar cane rather than grain spirit.

(I had to look up chaga, which I found is a “fungus in the family Hymenochaetaceae,” or in other words, a mushroom which typically grows on birch trees.)

Its London Dry styling is apparent from the nose, which declares juniper first, then follows with some foresty, evergreen notes, lemon oil, soft peppery herbals, and a very subtle earthiness that I can only attribute to the chaga.

The palate entry is, like its vodka kin, lightly sweet and nicely approachable, with notes of orange and green apple. (I picked up the green apple from the start of the vodka, as well, so I assume it is coming from the sugar cane spirit rather than any botanical addition.) The juniper blossoms on the mid-palate, but in a more savoury than peppery fashion, bringing with it some spruce and more citrus, lemon-lime rather than orange. The finish is dry, peppery, and wonderfully appetizing.

A very nice Martini gin, although given the label claim of it having “a uniquely Canadian twist,” I’d love it to be more expressive of its Canadian side. That said, it boasts a body and balance that will not disappoint any London dry aficionado.

86 ($49.95)

Laneway NWT Wild Juniper Gin (43.5%)

The first in the company’s limited edition ‘Canadian Terroir Series,’ this features wild juniper foraged in the Northwest Territories, as well as the No. 11 Gin’s core botanicals, the latter de-emphasized, according to the company, in order to draw attention to the juniper.

And does the juniper ever command that attention! Built on the same cane sugar spirit base as the Vodka and No. 11, the nose veritably screams pine forest, with white pepper, minty herbals, and an intriguing hint of florals in the background. For the juniper-phobic – and let’s be honest, if you don’t like juniper you’re hardly likely to buy a Wild Juniper Gin – the nose will serve as a warning bell, but for those of us who prize the stuff, this aroma is about as inviting as it gets.

The body likewise is quite junipery, but a shocking amount of it is retro-olfactory, meaning that if you plug your nose while sipping it softens to a very great degree. The start is pepper and pine, leading to a surprisingly round, even gentle mid-palate. It’s still loaded with juniper, but with a fruitiness – there’s that green apple again – and creamy character that moderates its impact. On the finish, however, the pine and peppery juniper come roaring back alongside some lingering, resinous herbal notes.

When I wrote about wanting more Canada in the No. 11 Gin, this is precisely what I had in mind. NWT is a very Canadian take on the London Dry style of gin, expressed without hesitation or apology, and it is quite delicious for it. Unfortunately, it is also is the very definition of a limited release, since wildfires burned up the area of forest where the juniper was foraged, so the exact flavour profile can never be replicated. In other words, when the 45 or so cases Laneway still has at the time of writing are gone, this gin is gone for good!

94 (Contact lanewaygin.com for availability and pricing)