Top 5 drinks to try in Canada

Canadian drink is as diverse as the country.

Whether it’s an all Canadian cocktail, some ice wine, a locally brewed beer or a whisky, there are lots of drinks you can enjoy during your holiday.

Annual festivals are organised across the county to celebrate the varied drinks Canadians love, such as the Hopscotch Festival, which runs until 27 November in Vancouver.

If you are heading on a fly drive holiday or break to Canada in the near future and want to try a local brew after a long drive, then take a look at our top drinks to try in Canada.

Ice wine

Ice wine is synonymous with the Niagara-on-the-Lake region of Canada and this elegant, silky, lush and decadent drink has made the international wine world sit-up and take notice.

A true ice wine can only be made from grapes that have naturally frozen on the vine and are picked when the thermometer dips to -8° C or lower.

This method of picking means the wine is extra sweet with its gold liquid being high in natural sugars and acidity.

Ice wine is typically set aside for desserts.

How to make it at home:

•  Allow grapes to freeze naturally (alternatively you can freeze grapes in the freezer, but this will be called icebox wine)
•  Press the juice out of the grapes before they defrost

•  The Homemade Wine Making Guide reveals that you will then need to let the grape juice ferment as you would for a normal wine

Caribou

This Quebecois favourite is certainly the thing to drink in Canada during winter time.

According to the Interstude website, the cocktail comes from Native Americans, who used to drink hot and fresh caribou blood after hunting.

This continued until the caribou blood was replaced with red wine/port, but the name was kept.

How to make it at home, the BC Living website says:

• First you need to pick up 3 oz. of Polar Ice vodka, 3 oz. brandy, 12 ½ oz. Canadian sherry, 12 ½ oz. Canadian port or red wine
• Mix all the ingredients together in a pot and warm up the liquid on the cooker
• Serve the warm drink with added flavours such as maple syrup, sugar, citrus, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, depending on taste.

Moosehead Lager

You may be familiar with this tasty lager as it is sold throughout Canada, the US and other countries around the world.

Canada’s premium golden lager offers a fine balance between malt sweetness and hop bitterness. It is brewed with Canadian two-row pale malt and Moosehead’s own lager yeast.

The lager is popular for a reason and if you try this lager, you will be drinking an award-winning flavour.

How to make it at home:

The Moosehead Brewery, which is Canada’s oldest independent brewery, located in New Brunswick, has not revealed its special brewing process for this particular lager, but it has written a blog post on the brewing process for lager.

Sortilege Maple whisky

You really can’t get more Canadian than a maple whiskey liqueur.

Created from the land, Sortilege maple whisky is a unique blend of Canadian Whisky and pure maple syrup and follows a traditional recipe that offers the perfect balance between the strength of Canadian Whisky and the rich, golden flavour of maple syrup.

This tasty dessert treat is usually served over ice, poured into a coffee or mixed into whipped cream and served with warm apple pie.

How to make it at home:

• To make 1 litre of this iconic Canadian drink you first need to add 800mls of NChooch's Kentucky bourbon at 40%
• Then add 200mls of light Maple Syrup
•  Add a teaspoon of lemon juice (optional)
•  Let it rest for a couple of days

Caesar

Invented in 1969 in Calgary, the Caesar cocktail is a Canadian favourite.

Although it is often mistaken for the American Bloody Mary, it shouldn’t get confused as this tastes so much better.

This delicious concoction is rarely available outside of Canada and according to I Backpack Canada Caesar could become Canada’s national drink.

It is best to drink a fresh Caesar from a restaurant, pub or bar, but the drink is also available from supermarkets and liquor stores across the country.

How to make it at home:

• Wet rim the glass with lemon and dip in celery salt
• Fill the glass with ice and add 1 oz. of inferno vodka
• Add 3 oz. Clamato juice
• Add four drops of Worcestershire sauce and three drops of tabasco sauce
• Mix the drink and garnish the drink with a celery stick and a lemon wedge

Image Credit: Rawpixel.com, Dominic Rivard, Vince Viloria, Ruth Hartnup.