Distilling Greatness
TRADITION & TECHNOLOGY AT MACALONEY’S DISTILLERY & TWA DOGS BREWERY
With a dram (or several) of ingenuity, a trio of Scots have distilled and condensed several lifetimes of industry experience, and put Canadian whisky on the map here in Victoria. Third generation Master Distiller Mike Nicolson’s career in single malt whisky has spanned 18 Scottish distilleries from Islay to Glenkinchie. The late Dr. Jim Swan, a lauded whisky maturation expert, pioneered the distillery’s proprietary rapid maturation process, and brought his expertise in cask finishing and the import of the finest oak casks available. Finally, the founder, Dr. Graeme Macaloney brings his PhD in Fermentation, background in process manufacturing, and refined whisky connoisseurship to the mix.
A layered tribute to their Scottish heritage, the name, Macaloney’s Caledonian Distillery and Twa Dogs Brewery, is at once a hearkening back to our early European settlement when New Caledonia (“New Scotland”) was often used to describe these lands, as well as a tribute to the celebrated Scottish poet, Robbie Burns. Burns’ infamous poem, The Twa Dogs, wherein two canines of disparate social standing engage in a humorous and profound comparison of the differing lives of their respective owners, the gentry and the working class, is a tale of communion beyond status that is reflected in the distillery’s culture. A rising star in the whisky scene, there is a sense of community and shared innovation at Macaloney’s that the “ploughman’s collie”, Luath of Burns’ poem would certainly appreciate.
Since the first drops of spirit trickled from the distillery’s massive hand-hammered Forsyth’s copper pot stills in 2016, these gentlemen have been using traditional Scottish distillation techniques to produce acclaimed new make spirits and whiskies including single malt, peated single malt, and Irish style. With peat from Penticton and Sooke fed into their combined soaker-smoker, they are also the first distillery in the country to peat-smoke their barley in-house, subsequently producing Canada’s first Islay-style peated whisky. The distillery uses a range of carefully selected oaken barrels sourced from around the world to mature their trappings on-site. In tandem they brew a wide range of craft beers often featuring exciting local ingredients and collaborations as with their Bilston Creek Farm lavender saison, their Caledonian whisky-kissed amber ale, or their sugar kelp infused ISA.
Keen to raise the profile of Canadian craft whisky and expand, ongoing crowdfunding campaigns (a first in Canada for a distillery) have seen over 500 whisky and beer enthusiasts from across the country become founder-owners with over $7-million dollars in funds accrued, while an additional $2.4-million was granted by the Canadian government in support of Macaloney’s commitment to exclusively use Canadian grown barley in their operations.
In addition to their enterprising approach to funding, this destination craft distillery and brewery is a true innovator when it comes to their products and programs. Macaloney and his team leverage the rapid maturation process developed by Dr. Jim Swan to produce world-class single malt whisky at a swift pace (3-4 years of maturation compared to the typical 8-10 years at other distilleries). Not only has this allowed the fledgling operation to more quickly recoup their investment and accelerate the growth of their inventory, the results have been recognized as outstanding with their single malt spirits being compared in quality to 15-18 year old Scotches in blind tastings, and their unmatured new make spirit just recognized as the “World’s Best New Make Whisky Spirit” at the esteemed 2020 World Whiskies Awards.
Alongside the founder-owner program which offers a wealth of interactive perks on top of equity in the business, Macaloney’s cask ownership program gives inspired whisky lovers an affordable chance to design their own dram. With guidance from the distillery team, aficionados can mix and match their favorite spirit and oaken cask types, taste the evolution of the spirit as it matures, and bring home 30 litres or even a full barrel. Participants can even bottle their creations with custom labels and trade them with others at private cask owners events.
Rolling full steam ahead, the distillery has plans to double their whisky inventory this year to 800 casks or more, and has invested in a canning line to ensure productivity and freshness of their craft beers. In keeping with their commitment to share Canadian whisky with the world at the highest levels, they will also be launching their brand in the USA, the UK and France as 2020 comes to a close, with plans to distribute to over 25 countries worldwide in the next three to four years.