A young Alberta distillery just took home a huge title at the World Whiskies Awards in London, England, beating out submissions from Scotland, Ireland, Japan and the U.S.
Anohka Distillery won “World’s Best New Make & Young Spirit” for its “This is Not Whisky” heavily peated single malt spirit.
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“The decisions that we’ve been making are the right decisions and knowing that is really important and gives us a lot of confidence,” Ranu said.
The winning spirit is described by the creators as deep and rich in texture, with a “sweet, honeyed pastry backbone supporting waves of ripe strawberry, tropical fruit and melon wrapped in complex smoke, leather and peat notes.”
It came by its name honestly, Ganu explained.
“In Canada, you can’t legally market whisky as whisky until it’s been aged for three years, so I said, ‘Alright. This is not whisky, I guess.’ But it is whisky but it’s not ‘whisky.’”
Anohka Distillery also produces two award-winning gins. Tempest Gin and Timeless Gin are available at liquor stores across Alberta. The distillery is launching an online store in order to sell its spirits, including the award-winning not-a-whisky whisky.