Canadian-made substitutes for American beer, wine and spirits
There’s never been a better time to drink local
Over the weekend, US president Donald Trump announced that he would slap 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods. In response, our country’s policy makers planned to retaliate with tariffs of their own and urged Canadians to buy local—both to lessen the financial hit and to avoid supporting the opposing side in what threatens to become a trade war. True to form, premier Doug Ford focused on booze, ordering LCBO shelves stripped of American-made alcohol.
Then, after a whiplash 24 hours, the tariffs were delayed for 30 days, meaning this sobering stand-off has subsided—for now. One of the biggest takeaways from this will-they-won’t-they hullabaloo? There’s never been a better time to drink Canadian. So consider swapping out your American beer, wine and spirits for these locally made alternatives.
The US booze: Tito’s The Canadian option: Ren Whether you like your Tito’s with soda or served up with an olive, the vodka is still Texas-born and -bred, which means come March, it’s (maybe, possibly) tariff time. So make the swap now to an equally clean and silky vodka like Ren, made from Canadian corn and Niagara water. $42, lcbo.com
The US booze: High Noon The Canadian option: Willibald seltzers If there’s a hard-seltzer-shaped hole left in your heart, fill it with Willibald’s candy-coloured seltzers. They’re made with Ontario vodka and flavoured with ingredients like pineapple, cherry, key lime and even gingerbread—for that Oh my god, it’s still winter drinking. $3, drinkwillibald.com
The US booze: Any California cab The Canadian option: Mason Vineyards cabernet sauvignon After years of making wine for the region’s big names (Queylus, Le Clos Jordanne), Kelly Mason cashed in her savings and purchased her very own vineyard on Niagara’s Twenty Mile Bench. Now she’s making small batches of chardonnay (which are long sold out, sorry) alongside pinot noirs, cabernets and a smattering of sparklers. California cab fans can convert to Canadian wines via her structured but fresh, complex and garnet-hued cabernet sauvignon. $49, masonvineyard.com
The US booze: Coors Light The Canadian option: Left Field’s Ice Cold Beer If you’re looking for something with the refreshing, crushable, no-thinking-just-drinking qualities of a Silver Bullet, Left Field’s craft ale is your all-local alternative: crisp, chuggable and made with exclusively Ontario ingredients. $3 each, leftfieldbrewery.ca
The US booze: California chardonnay The Canadian option: Bachelder’s Les Villages chardonnay Warning: this isn’t going to have all of the opulent, oaky and buttery business a stereotypical California chardonnay will offer—mainly because winemaker Thomas Bachelder takes his inspiration from Burgundy, the other great place to grow chardonnay. He cherry-picks grapes from organic or vieilles vignes plots and transforms them into incredibly site-specific wines, like this exuberant and broad chard with ringing savoury salinity. $30, bachelderniagara.com
The US booze: Michter’s rye whiskey The Canadian option: Dillon’s single-grain rye When tasked with updating Dillon’s 100 per cent rye, owner Geoff Dillon was obsessed with the concept of exploring what Canadian whisky actually is. He landed on a rye sourced from nearby Brant County, pot distilled, then aged in Canadian oak (from within 100 kilometres), old American and bourbon oak, plus some sherry casks for a bit of spice. $49, dillons.ca
The US booze: Jack Daniel’s The Canadian option: Canadian Club 12 For something similar to Tennessee’s JD, there’s this 12-year-old bottle from the Canadian whisky giant. It’s like the big sister of the classic CC—slightly sweet, light and a little bit leathery. $34.75, lcbo.com
The US booze: Aviation gin The Canadian option: Sheringham seaside gin If you want Canadian libations from farther afield, Sheringham’s seaside gin captures the energy of the West Coast. The base of the spirit is made with kelp—specifically diver-harvested winged kelp from the rougher shores of Vancouver Island. Add in juniper, rose, lavender, citrus, coriander and cardamom, and you have a bracingly fresh gin that tastes like a blast of sea air. $50, lcbo.com
The US booze: Oregon pinot noir The Canadian option: Tawse Growers Blend 2021 pinot noir The pinot noirs of Oregon’s Willamette Valley are expressive, elegant and about to get a lot more expensive. So get yours from this family-owned winery on Twenty Mile Bench instead. Tawse’s take on the heartbreak grape is floral, lifted and lean, with notes of cranberry and strawberry. $26, lcbo.com
The US booze: Cutwater pre-made cocktails The Canadian option: Civil Pours Cutwater—the canned cocktail company with a cult following—is based out of San Diego. For Toronto-made ready-to-drink cocktails, check out Civil Pours. The east-end micro-distillery pre-batches and pre-bottles classic recipes, including a cosmo, a margarita and a miraculously fluffy espresso martini. Simply chill, pour and sip. $34, civilpours.com
Related: These Ontario-made canned cocktails are perfect for park picnics
The US booze: California’s cool-kid natural wines The Canadian option: Paradise Grapevine’s Rotburger Never mind Niagara or Prince Edward County—Paradise Grapevine is making wine right in the middle of the city. From Geary Avenue, the bar and urban winery is churning out a full rainbow of natural-adjacent wines. Try mini bottles of moody rotberger (an electric Austrian grape), a pinkies-up syrah or a hazy orange wine. Various prices, paradisegrapevine.com
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Kate Dingwall is a writer, author and photographer covering spirits, business, culture, fashion and travel. By night, she’s a working sommelier. She has worked with Flare, Food & Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Maxim, People, Southern Living, Rolling Stone, Eater, Elle, Toronto Life and the Toronto Star, among other publications. She frequently appears on both CTV and NPR, has co-authored a book on gin, judges Food & Wine’s Tastemakers and has strong opinions on the city’s best martini.
This post originally included White Claw as one of the US-made products. In fact, a portion of White Claw products are made in Canada.
