Employees and fans of eight Atlantic Canadian distillers surely had big smiles resulting from the 2021 Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition (CASC). New Brunswick distillers Fils Du Roy, Big Fiddle Still, Winegarden Estate and Devil’s Keep walked away with a total of 17 medals, including eight Gold and two Best in Class. Nova Scotia distillers Compass, Ironworks, and Raging Crow claimed 18 medals, four of which were Gold and three were Best in Class. The Newfoundland Distillery Company took home six medals, including one Gold.

CASC is Canada’s only national annual spirit competition reserved exclusively for artisan distilleries. Created by B.C.’s Alex Hamer, this is the third iteration, judged by a cross-country panel. It includes spirits, liqueurs and bitters made in Canada from local ingredients.

Canada has seen a huge growth in distilleries, including here in Atlantic Canada. It is similar to the recent brewery boom that created thousands of jobs and boosted the tourism and culture of our region.

Gin is particularly good in Atlantic Canada. Gin Royal, a strikingly blue and exotically aromatic elixir from Compass Distillery in Halifax won Gold and tied for Best in Class. Gin Thuya from Distillerie Fils Du Roy in Petit-Paquetville, N.B. won Gold in the junipery Classic Gin category, with complexity from Eastern Cedar (thuya) leaves.

 

 

For full results: artisandistillers.ca/2021-results