Happy Birthday Canadian Club, 150 Years Old!

Drink.

Hip Hostess is always on the lookout for eye-catching packaging. When I spotted the 30 Year Old Limited Edition Bottle of Canadian Club we were more than a little impressed. I decided to do a little research to find out what all the hype was about. What I found was a perfect party in the making, Canadian Club is celebrating 150 years of success and also has a very fascinating rich history.

Which reminded me of our post on hot toddies. No one associates women with whiskey…but why not? Whiskey is no more potent than vodka which is perceived as a girl-friendly liquor. So, Hip Hostess decided to break the old-school stereotypes and give it a go.

At our latest all-female party, not only were we serving delicious Canadian Club 30 year Reserve but also going to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition in the United States (December 5th). We designed small signs to place on serving trays with the fun facts listed below. This set the tone for the evening and got the conversation flowing.

· Legend has it that bottles of Canadian Club were inside cases stolen by Al Capone during an ambush in Chicago on February 14, 1929 - an event referred to today as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

· Canadian Club became a favorite cargo item for legendary smugglers like Captain William S. McCoy, who earned a reputation for hauling only quality contraband, not the watered-down knock-offs commonly found during the era. His shipments of top-quality brands like Canadian Club became known as “The Real McCoy,” a phrase still used today.

· The term “bootlegging” comes from the shape of the bottle used to smuggle whisky during prohibition because it would very easily fit into the boot and curve around the shape of your ankle/calf.

· Rumor has it that there are still thousands of Canadian Club bottles sitting at the bottom of the Detroit River from bootleggers who threw it overboard to avoid getting caught.

The result of our all women whiskey party was that we all found an appreciation for the previously intimidating liquor. The 30 Year Canadian Club is incredibly smooth. When you first pour the whiskey it has a sweet almost caramel-like smell. With each sip you get a hint of dried fruit/oak/spice that is very easy to drink. Yes, this is definitely a special kind of whiskey.

If more women turned in their cosmos for CC, we could break the stubborn notion that this rich, moody drink is just for Mad Men. --b