Bourbon fans in Toronto are coming to the realization that their drink of preference is getting increasingly hard to find, months after the Ford government first pulled U.S. alcohol from LCBO shelves in response to tariffs imposed on Canadian goods.
To be labelled as bourbon the whisky product can only be made in the U.S. using 51 per cent corn and aged in charred oak barrels. And since the LCBO stopped stocking American liquors back in March, many bars and restaurants that rely on the LCBO for their supply have had to get creative to satisfy their customers’ tastes.
For Jayson Green, owner of Doc’s Green Door Lounge in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood, it’s been challenging trying to whet his customers’ appetite for bourbon, which his establishment has been completely out of for months.
“It’s difficult because there’s approximations of bourbon but it’s much like champagne where if it’s not from the area, you can’t call it bourbon,” he told CTV News. “And people love their Manhattans and it has been a bit tough, and there’s definitely been demand for it, for sure.”
MORE: How does removing U.S. alcohol off LCBO shelves impact the spirits industry?
On its website, the LCBO says that it has honoured online orders that were paid for prior to U.S. product restrictions “where possible.”
The LCBO, however, says that “wholesale customers, including grocery and convenience stores, bars, restaurants, and other retailers, are no longer able to place orders of U.S. products.”
It said the situation will continue “until the LCBO is directed by the government to resume normal business.”
Green admitted that while there are products help fill the gap, like whisky from Canada, Japan and Europe, some customers still ask for bourbon.
“When people want bourbon, they want bourbon, so it’s hard to totally replace,” he said.
Johnny Rafferty, owner of Rose and Crown in midtown Toronto, says that these days you’ll be hard-pressed to come across bourbon brands that were once commonplace at most bars, like Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Bulleit. As a result, many customers are pivoting from their drink orders.
“Everyone’s kind of switching what they prefer, and preferably going to Canadian brands,” he said.
Rafferty made sure to stock up on “Texas-sized” bottles of bourbon, which contain about three litres of liquid in each bottle.
He said that the extra supply will carry him through to the fall but will likely run out after that. Despite having a limited supply of the in-demand liquor, he hasn’t raised his prices on it.
Simon Ho is the president of Spirit of York in Toronto’s Distillery District. He said the lack of bourbon in Canada means that anyone who can make more Canadian whiskey is trying to do that -- but it takes time.
“You can’t say in March ‘no more American whiskey on the shelves’ and then have a Canadian producer produce brand new whisky for the summer,” he said. “It’s a minimum of three years that you got to wait for it to be ready… we can’t just magically tomorrow have more whiskey than we had planned on having.”
Ho said in the meantime, he’s focused on things he’s able to control, which is making locally sourced Canadian spirits.
“At the end of the day, we’re gonna continue to do what we do best, which is make the best booze we possibly can,” he said.
