good alcohol from canada?

Polar ice is pretty crappy, to be honest. The best vodka we make up here is iceberg, which is not on par with the best but is very good for the price.

We more or less only do wine and rye up here (I maintain that Rye is Canadian whiskey and hence American rye should probably be called something else, like sparkling wine or brandy), but it is not really better than american rye. The best I have had is Wiser's 18yo but I am not a big Rye drinker and until the past year or so just used Crown, which is neither great nor terrible, and Alberta Premium which is actually 100% rye.

BC wine gets very very good, I am told, but am not a connoisseur. Ice wine as mentioned is made in ON; I don't even know if they make it anywhere else in the world on that scale.

Seriously, outside of ice wine, Canada does not make any wine worth shipping out of the country. Given that the poster in question is from Germany, why give him something mediocre at best, when you can give him something world class (ice wine)?

Is ice wine really that good? I want to try.

Originally Posted by oneeightyseven

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Is ice wine really that good? I want to try.

It can be. It can also be insipid, watery syrup.

^ Really? Not worth exporting? I can't claim to be an expert, but the Okanagan region is pretty well regarded as a source of good, if not superb, wine, no?

Originally Posted by JD_May

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^ Really? Not worth exporting? I can't claim to be an expert, but the Okanagan region is pretty well regarded as a source of good, if not superb, wine, no?
First, 187, try this: http://www.erieshore.ca/store.htm To this question, it's well regarded by Canadians. I'm not going to get into the whole Canadian wine thing again tonight. Seriously, the ice wine made is world class. Why not be happy with that? What makes Canadian wine particularly wrong (other than ice wine), to give to a German is, Canada fairs best with cooler weather varietals. Like Riesling.

Some thoughts

1. There's not much that I'd proudly call Canadian when it comes to liquor... Canadian wisky is so so, though there are some good choices mentioned above. IMO the only thing really "worth" bringing back that's quite unique and good would be Ice Wine, but also considering you're in Germany, I believe you guys do some of that yourself too... Otherwise you could choose something generic like Iceberg Vodka that's just unique to here but not really all that special, or something like the Wisers 18... anyway, in short there's not much IMO.

2. Considering, like me, your friend is in Toronto, you should be aware that all alcohol sales in this province are regulated by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which operated the only liquor retailer here in the province. The selection is pretty good, but has its limits and the prices are generally a little high. Recently I went to mexio and found a number of high quality items at almost half the price to the retail here...

Is there a specific time or season to buy these for optimal taste? Or can I go anytime?

Both BC and Pelee Island wines are worth a shot (similar soil to Northern California, shares the same latitude as Provence and Tuscany - crazy, I know).

As far as Icewine goes, the best are from Niagara, and in that region I believe Royal de Maria is considered to be the best - tons of awards, but you're looking at $200. In a lower price range I would recommend Magnotta and then Inniskillin.

As far as Rye whiskeys go, I really like Forty Creek Barrel Select - it is not expensive at all but is one of the smoother and better tasting whiskys around. It has only been produced for about a decade but has already won the Brussels Monde award and a few others.

Finally, grab a case of beer. After all, we have some of the best microbreweries and "macro"breweries in the world. If they are in Toronto, I'd recommend Steamwhistle. If near Quebec, Trois Pistoles and Blanche de Chambly are world class beers.

Originally Posted by oneeightyseven

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Is there a specific time or season to buy these for optimal taste? Or can I go anytime?

Once it's in the bottle, doesn't matter the time of year. They ship, btw. That's the link to their page I gave you.

Originally Posted by closetmess

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Both BC and Pelee Island wines are worth a shot (similar soil to Northern California, shares the same latitude as Provence and Tuscany - crazy, I know).

As far as Icewine goes, the best are from Niagara, and in that region I believe Royal de Maria is considered to be the best - tons of awards, but you're looking at $200. In a lower price range I would recommend Magnotta and then Inniskillin.

As far as Rye whiskeys go, I really like Forty Creek Barrel Select - it is not expensive at all but is one of the smoother and better tasting whiskys around. It has only been produced for about a decade but has already won the Brussels Monde award and a few others.

Finally, grab a case of beer. After all, we have some of the best microbreweries and "macro"breweries in the world. If they are in Toronto, I'd recommend Steamwhistle. If near Quebec, Trois Pistoles and Blanche de Chambly are world class beers.

No, Pelee Island DOES NOT have similar soil to NoCal. I just got back from NorCal and I grew up in Essex County. Trust me on this.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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Once it's in the bottle, doesn't matter the time of year. They ship, btw. That's the link to their page I gave you.

Thank you. I shall give them a call/email soon. Expect an amateur review

http://www.winespectator.com/webfeat...-a-Glance_2174

Wine Spectator has reviewed 115 British Columbia wines, most of them since 1999. Roughly half have rated 85 points (very good) or better on the 100-point scale, with one ice wine earning an outstanding 91 points.

Ice wine has been the most successful style of wine from British Columbia to date; eight of its top 18 wines are ice wines. This mirrors the situation in Ontario's Niagara Peninsula, Canada's other important wine region.

The Okanagan Valley's best dry wines are its white varietals: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc. The red varieties have not met with the same success, but our most recent tastings show improved quality, particularly from new plantings in the southern end of the Okanagan. The most common varietals reviewed are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and blends of these grapes.

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It's like, "She has a pretty face..."

Iceberg makes excellent vodka, and awful everything else. NEVER drink their rum.....EVER.

There's a beautiful desert wine from Rodrigues Winery (Newfoundland, but available nationwide) made from the "bakeapple" berry, also called the cloudberry. The Finnish spirit Lapponia is made from the same stuff.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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Seriously, outside of ice wine, Canada does not make any wine worth shipping out of the country. Given that the poster in question is from Germany, why give him something mediocre at best, when you can give him something world class (ice wine)?

I tried something called "indian summer wine" which is something inbetween ice wine and late harvest. very nice.