No U.S. Whiskey or Wine? Canada’s Doing Just Fine

Typically, when a guest at the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac in Quebec City orders a Manhattan, the bartender offers a choice of rye whiskies: Canadian or American.

But the advent of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and a subsequent trade war—including a Canadian boycott of American-made goods—has effectively vanished American-made whiskey from Canadian shelves.

So when I sat at Frontenac’s Bar 1608 in October, my Manhattan was made with Lot 40: a rich, spicy Canadian rye.

“We used to have Sazerac rye, Templeton, or a different type of American rye, and Canadian ones,” explains Jeremie Deschenes, chief mixologist at the Quebec City hotel. Since the tariffs, Canadian-made bottles are prioritized, and more of those whiskies have been added to the backbar.

In March 2025, the Trump administration placed a 25% tariff on Canadian exports; in turn, Canada retaliated with a 25% tariff on many American goods. Canadian politicians even threatened to pull American alcohol brands off the shelves of government-run liquor stores. Remarks by President Trump referring to Canada as “the 51^st state” also raised hackles. In late October, that duty on Canada was hiked to 35%.

“The tariffs are annoying, but the government will sort it out,” says Davin de Kergommeaux, Ottawa-based author of Canadian Whisky: The Essential Portable Expert. “It’s the thought of annexing us, that people’s backs went up.”

While Canada’s federal government oversees agriculture and manufacturing of many foods, individual provinces have control over sales of alcohol. Even though Alberta and Saskatchewan lifted their bans on American liquor in June after a three-month moratorium, bans in Ontario (the most-populated province), Quebec, and most other provinces remain.

The effect of Canada’s boycott has been swift, cutting off the biggest export market for American whiskey and wine. In the second quarter of 2025, the export of U.S. spirits to Canada tumbled 85%, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (DISCUS). In December, Jim Beam announced it was shutting down bourbon production at its main Kentucky distillery amid the severe dip in exports.

Meanwhile, the Wine Institute reported a 91% drop of U.S. exports of wine to Canada in the three-month period from March to July compared with the year before.

“There is very much a ‘buy Canadian’ movement up here,” de Kergommeaux says.

Canadian Whisky on the Rise

Canada’s home-grown whisky has always been part of the bar scene, says Shawn Soole, a Victoria-based bar consultant. That Lot 40 Manhattan I enjoyed in Quebec City would have been readily available in many bars long before the current tariff situation, he says, “just because of the cost-prohibitiveness of American rye,” although it wouldn’t have been the only choice.

Now, Canadian whisky is on a tear. “People in the past who pooh-poohed Canadian whisky are now exploring it,” Soole says.

Rye whiskies like Lot 40 (owned by Pernod-Ricard) and Alberta Premium (Suntory Global Spirits) have benefited, bar pros say.

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Meanwhile, legacy bourbon drinkers are leaning into Canadian whiskies with corn-heavy recipes, which provide a similar flavor to American counterparts. That includes J. P. Wiser’s (Pernod), and Forty Creek (Gruppo Campari), and Caribou Crossing (Sazerac), a higher-end offering with a bottle shape that recalls bourbon stalwart Blanton’s.

“It will never be Kentucky bourbon,” de Kergommeaux notes, “but now people are trying them and find it makes a good Old Fashioned.”

BRBN, ‘Berbon,’ and Beyond

A number of craft distillery upstarts also are finding success. For example, Deschenes points to Cirka, Quebec’s first grain-to-bottle distillery, while de Kergommeaux looks to Okanagan Spirits in British Columbia, which makes BRBN, a bourbon-style whisky (it can’t legally be labeled as “bourbon”); Ontario’s Spring Mill Distillery, which makes American-style straight whiskey; and Bridgeland Distiller in Calgary, which makes “Berbon” from local Tabor corn.

Reifel Rye in Alberta is another one to watch, he adds; Alberta Distillers makes a high-rye Canadian whisky mixed with a small percentage of bourbon and aged in ex-bourbon barrels. “They were ready like 20 minutes after Canadians were annoyed at the thought of being appropriated,” de Kergommeaux says. “They’ve taken Canada by storm,” nearly tripling its sales since the beginning of the year, he estimates.

Meanwhile, wine has presented its own unique challenges. In lieu of California wine, Soole says wine lists now spotlight South American counterparts, while somms and consumers are “looking at British Columbia wines more than ever before.”

Yet it’s a tricky balance. While the Okanagan Valley and beyond produce a range of popular varieties, from Chardonnay to Merlot and Syrah, B.C. still produces a relatively small volume, Deschenes notes, and the colder climate doesn’t yield the same familiar California-style wines.

“We’re going to other references: France, Germany, Spain, Portugal,” he says, for approachable wine that might appeal to fans of bold California cabs. He’s also exploring Eastern European wines, especially Hungary’s Tokaji.

Looking Ahead

While there’s no timeline of when the tariffs might be lifted, pros say local habits (and tastes) are becoming entrenched. Distilleries have ramped up production of Canadian whisky. Local wine is finding a foothold. Consumers are developing new patterns.

One positive aspect of the boycott has been a doubling down on local pride. “These products will still have a place on our bar after the tariffs,” Deschenes says. “There is a place in customer demand.” Meanwhile, bartenders and somms are becoming more well-versed in Canadian whisky and wine, “because they have to,” Soole notes.

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Demand for bourbon is unlikely to go away. “People still talk about it and want it,” de Kergommeaux says, “You’re going to see a long-term boost in sales of Canadian spirits. People will look more favorably on Canadian products going forward. Some people are developing favorites, and sales will remain high even after all of this nonsense settles down.”

Ultimately, Canada’s gain might be the U.S.’s loss, as sales of Canadian whisky and wine continue to ascend.

“We’ve learned the business maxim,” quips de Kergommeux. “Don’t give your customers an opportunity to have a good experience with your competitors.”

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