London distiller wins bragging rights for Canadian whiskey of the year

A London distillery has taken top honors in a prestigious national competition, the bragging rights for Canadian whiskey of the year.

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Paradigm Spirits Co. won the award in the competition with more than 200 entrants for a 19-year-old blended whiskey from its 2022 Heritage Collection.

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The win was a surprise for the craft distillery, which went up against big names in the industry, including Crown Royal, with its single-grain corn whiskey blended with Oloroso sherry.

Paradigm submitted its product for the 14th edition of the Canadian Whiskey Awards held last week in Victoria, but no one from the company traveled there because they didn’t think they’d win, Michelle Debus, the company’s co-founder, said Tuesday.

“You never expect that you’re going to win against such a great group of companies,” she said.

Paradigm found out in the wee hours of the morning afterward that it had won, “and it’s kind of been a whirlwind ever since.”

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The honor means the company has to “work even harder” to maintain its high product quality, Debus said.

Sales have “skyrocketed,” she said, with enthusiasts snapping up the winning whiskey. Only a few bottles are still available for sale.

“They’re selling really fast,” she said. “When it’s gone, it’s gone.”

Not available in LCBO stores, the whiskey is advertised for sale on the company’s website at $119.42 for a 750-ml bottle.

Since the win, Paradigm has received congratulations from a lot of companies that it “normally wouldn’t have heard from in the past,” Debus said.

Davin de Kergommeaux, who chaired the judging panel, said Paradigm’s entry was a “clear winner and blew away all the judges,” an example of keeping the flavor and profile of traditional Canadian whisky.

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“It’s really wonderful whisky,” said de Kergommeaux, author of Canadian Whiskey: The Essential Portable Expert. “It’s got all of the elements of a traditional Canadian whisky. A strong wood backbone and you can taste the grain. It’s a beautifully made, elegant whisky.”

Paradigm is located at 100 Kellogg Lane, the site of a century-old former cereal factory, where it distills gin, vodka and whiskey and has a cocktail lounge.

The distillery also offers cocktail-making classes and sells spirits to restaurants from London to Waterloo Region.

“I hope Paradigm keeps on making spirits because people are going to keep on buying them,” de Kergommeaux said.

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